Disclaimer: I don't own anything Numb3rs, it's all property of CBS and whatnot, so don't sue.

Chapter 12: Explaining a Vague Memory and Scars CanTell Much About a Man.

" Don, I Think I owe this guy my Life"

Don felt a ringing in his ears after these words were spoken. He stared at Colby in disbelief and it took him a moment to get his voice back.

" What...What do you mean?" Asked Don, watching Colby shake his head. The Ex- soldier sigh before he spoke.

" I was just outside of Khandahar with my group when someone started shooting at us. We shot back and it was total chaos. I was standing a few feet away from this run-down car when it blew up, sent me flying, according to one of my friends who was nearby.All I can really remember are a pair of cold blue eyes staring down at me before everything went black. When I woke up, I was in medical with a nast bump on my head. Later, one of the other guys who was out there came by for a visit and told me that we'd all made it out safely, thanks to three men all in black. He told me that one of them had seen me get knocked out and dragged me out of there by the collar of my outfit and left me by the side of the road where they would easily find me." Said Colby. He looked up at Don to see what the other FBI agent was thinking.

" Did he say anything else about these guys?" Asked Don softly. Colby shrugged before he spoke.

" It was almost midnight out there and we were ambushed. When day-light came we were alive, and the twenty something men who'd attcked us were either dead, or without certain body-parts. My buddy had said that the one who'd dragged me away came back afterwards and started hacking everything to pieces with his Samurai sword, the other two guys had either guns or grenades. You know Don... I'm kinda glad I did get knocked out. According to my guys, these three were ruthless, and that they could hear the screams of all twenty men dying in rapid succession. When it was all over, these guys simply walked away across the sand and disappeared into the night like ghosts." Said Colby as he went back to chewing on his thumbnail.

" Wow... That must have been intense." Came a new voice, soft but serious. Both Don and Colby looked up to see who'd spoken, Megan Reeves was leaning against one of the cubical while David Sinclair stood next to her, they'd heard the entire conversation.

" It was intense two nights ago too." Said David, remember the small but powerful exchange between Colby and the CIA Dude. Colby nodded in agreement.

"One things for sure, if we ever meet these guys again, we better be careful." Said Megan as she combed her hair with her fingers.

Don sighed before he looked at his team.

" Hey c'mon, lets get back to work before Merrick jumps us." Said the Agent as he headed back to his desk, Megan and David following suit.

And so the day went one, with a few new revelations and a feint sense of foreboding.

After work was done, Colby finished writing the last report on his desk and bid his fellow agents farewell. He was looking forward to a few relaxing hours at the gym, blowing off some steam and trying to make sense of some current events. He left, looking forward to a few hours of just hanging out with some good buddies and just being.

Little did he know, he'd be learning some new, startling information about a certain Curly- haired friend on his. The drive to the Gym was thankfully without any incident, Colby parked his silver suv infront of the Gym/Dojo and grabbed his gym bag before heading in.

" Hey Manny." Said Colby with a grin as he clasped hands with the Gym Trainer.

" Hey Granger, good to see you, and before you ask, most of the guys are here, even Chuck, he's in the lockers." Said Manny, pointing to said location.

" Thanks man." Said Colby before he headed to the lockers.

When he got there he found the place to be relatively deserted. When Colby turned a corner he stopped when his eyes fell on a certain Mathematician sans a shirt as he was putting on his kendo armor. It was the first time Colby was seeing the powerfully muscled and pale back. His eyes also fell on the tattoo on the lower right side.

" See something you like Colby?" Said Charlie suddenly without turning, momentarily startling the other man.

" Woah man, how'd you know I was here, I was being extra quiet?" Said Colby as he walked over to the locker that was two places away from Charlie's.

" You weren't being quiet enough, I could here you breathing." Said Charlie with a smile. He turned slightly to reach for the black T-shirt he dropped on the bench behind him, giving Colby a clear few of his well-built front and the scars that marred it.

Colby felt his eyes grow wide when they landed on the scars that adorned Charlie's body.

" Charlie, how the hell did you get all of these scars man!" He asked before he could stop himself.

He watched as a small, sad smile graced Charlie's lips as he stared back at him. He then pointed to the scar on his shoulder.

" I got this from a piece of shrapnel from whenI was in Istanbul.Building blew up." Said Charlie simply. He watched as Colby's jaw lost all tension and made good friends with the floor. Charlie heaved a sigh before he continued. He next pointed to the scar on his hip.

" Bullet graze. I was caught in a fire fight in Russia when I was consulting for the US Military." Said Charlie, if it was possible, Colby's mouth hung lower and his eyes grew wider. Charlie then got to the most prominent scar.

" My sparing partner almost disembowled me whenI was learning Swordplay in Japan." Said Charlie finally.

It seemed like an eternity before Colby coulduse his voice. He swallowed once before he spoke.

"Who are you?" He asked, in disbelief and awe. At this Charlie gave a soft chuckle before he reached out and gently pushed his friends jaw up, which had been hanging agape after the question had been asked.

" I'm Charlie Eppes. But to you, I'm the Whizkid. There just scars man, don't worry about it." Answered Charlie with a smile before he went back to getting ready for what would be very rigorous sparring.

Colby watched his friend silently get ready and with one final smile, head out of the locker-room Shinai and mask in hand. Green eyes still wide and awed followed him before he disappeared around a corner.

" I need to sit down." Thought Colby as he sank to the bench and sat there trying to contemplate what he'd just found out.

This coversation they'd just had was far from over... Far from over.