As he approached the desk at the inpatient admitting department of Huntington Memorial Hospital, Colby felt a little nervous. It wasn't a feeling he was used to or all that comfortable noticing. Being stoic was a strength he'd learned in the army, and he'd needed it many times since he'd joined the FBI.

If this guy the nurse had talked about was Don, then everything would probably be all right. If he wasn't… well, the leads were pretty thin on the ground. The idea of going back to the FBI and telling Charlie this didn't pan out… He didn't even want to think about it.

Looking over the desk, he addressed the man sitting behind it. "I'm looking for Nurse Keegan. Is she around?"

The man nodded. "Just a moment." He picked up his desk phone, pressed a button and broadcast over the loudspeaker. "Nurse Keegan, please report to admitting desk one. Nurse Keegan, admitting desk one."

Within 30 seconds, a woman in purple scrubs with a coppery brown ponytail was heading for the desk. "I'm Irene Keegan. Can I help you?" she asked Colby.

"Yes. Special Agent Colby Granger, FBI. We spoke on the phone?"

"Of course." She looked at him seriously. "There's an empty exam room right over here where we can talk."

They walked over to the room and stepped inside, pulling the door shut behind them.

"I wanted to ask you a few questions about the patient you mentioned to me."

She held up a hand. "Before you ask, I really can't reveal any details of his medical condition without his consent."

"OK. I get that," said Colby. "But I'm looking for a missing FBI agent. We know he was beaten, abducted and held for several days. The man we're looking for would have injuries that fit that story. But what tipped you off about this man?"

"He was admitted in a strange way. He didn't come in by ambulance. Two men brought him in, but all the documentation was faxed in—even before he arrived—by his sister," she said. "He's had someone visiting him constantly, though not always the same person, since he was admitted this morning, but his sister hasn't come in, even though the address she gave us was local. And then you called around with that description."

She stopped for a moment. "Do you have a photo? That would be the easiest way."

"Sure," said Colby. He pulled out a copy of Don's FBI ID badge. "Is this the man you saw today?"

She squinted at the photo. "Yes, I think so. You can go on up and confirm. He's in the trauma unit, room 1108. It's up one floor and to the right when you get off the elevator."

Deeks was just getting up to stretch his legs when a well-built man with a holster at his hip approached the door to the room. He stepped forward to block the man from entering. "Sorry, I can't let you in there."

"Like hell." The man reached into his pocket and pulled out his badge. "Special Agent Colby Granger, FBI. I'm going in."

He began to push past the man, but Deeks pushed back, then held up his own badge.

"Detective Marty Deeks, LAPD. I can't let you in there."

Colby sighed in frustration. "Look, I don't know what your orders are, but I'm pretty sure my boss is in there, and I need to see that it's him. *His family* would like to know it's him," he said pointedly.

Deeks held up a hand. "I'm not here to have a jurisdictional dispute, but the man in that room is under our protection. What I'm going to suggest is that you let me have my people check your ID before I let you in."

Nodding reluctantly, Colby said, "OK."

Deeks pulled the door to the room shut as he walked into the hallway and stepped a few feet away. Pulling out his phone, he speed-dialed Eric in Ops.

"Eric, it's Deeks. I have an FBI agent here, claiming that our mystery man is his boss. Can you check his ID?"

"No sweat. What's the name?"

"Special Agent Colby Granger."

Deeks could hear Eric's fingers tapping quickly over the keys. "OK. Special Agent Colby Granger. Grew up in Idaho. Former Army intelligence, did a tour in Afghanistan. Now works in the Los Angeles office of the FBI. He's been there a little more than a year, working on the violent crimes squad."

"What's he look like?"

"Umm… square-jawed football player, light brown hair. I wouldn't want to get in his way. I'll send a photo to your phone."

"Good. Send it, and hang on for a second." Deeks turned back toward Colby. "What's your boss' name?"

"Special Agent Don Eppes."

Deeks turned away again. "Eric, also run Special Agent Don Eppes for me."

"You got it. Let's see." He trailed off for a moment. "Special Agent Don Eppes. Native of Pasadena. Worked in fugitive recovery and ran the FBI's Albuquerque office before transferring to Los Angeles. Currently violent crimes squad supervisor, and wow! He's got, like, a totally awesome case closure rate. And… he's listed by the FBI as missing."

"Send me his photo, too, would ya?"

"Both of 'em coming at you now."

Deeks hung up the call and looked through his text messages. As promised, there were two photos. One was very definitely the man in front of him. The other, well, it was a pretty good guess this is what their mystery man looked like when his face wasn't swollen and bruised. He looked up to see Colby Granger also on his phone, talking. Deeks caught his eye and nodded.

"Go ahead and bring him down, Megan. I'm about to go in and see Don."

He kept talking for a few moments, and Deeks used the opportunity to call Callen.

"Hey, Callen. I've got the FBI here, and I think we have a positive ID on our mystery man. Eric can give you the lowdown, but he's a missing FBI agent." Deeks looked up again and saw that Colby had finished his conversation and was glaring at him to move out of the way.

"Look, I have to go, but you might want to see where the cases intersect."