Disclaimer: I don't own anything Numb3rs, it's all property of CBS and whatnot, so don't sue.
Chapter 16: Seeing if Believing
It was a rare day off for agent Colby Granger, he decided on spending it at his favorite gym/ dojo. It was a good opertunity to catch up on his Jiu Jitsu. Colby parked his silver SUV and got out of the vehicle, gymbag in tow. He was ready for a good workout, he didn't realize he'd also be seeing a certain someone in action because they also had Kendo at this gym.
" Hey Granger, long time no see." Called out Manny, one of the trainers.
" Hey Manny, what can I say, FBI is a full time job." Shrugged Colby as he grasped the other man's hand.
Then Colby noticed the crowd at the far end of the gym.
" Hey man, what's going on over there?" Asked Colby curiosly.
" Why don't we go check it out, those are theKendo mats over there." Said Manny as he and Colby headed off to see what was up.
" Hey Jacob, what's goin on?" Asked Manny as he and Colby pushed their way into the crowd.
" You could say we have a little tournament. It's between the more experienced fighters and this new guy. We don't know his name and what he looks like, just that he's already taken down three of our guys. Fox istaking him on, put that guy in his place." Said Jacob as he pointed to the center of the mat, where two fighters stood. One of them was their man Fox, the undesputed king of the mat, dressed in red armor and mask while his opponent, the " New Guy"stood in black.
" Get him Fox!" Yelled Manny. Colby watched on in fascination as Fox raised his Shinai and got the crowd cheering. The " New Guy" however, was unfazed and merely stood there and waited for the sparring to begin.The ref, Danny, another one of the trainers stepped between the two combatants.
" Are you ready?" He asked Fox, who let out a small growl as he nodded.
" Are you ready?" Danny repeated the question to the New Guy, who nodded silently.
" First person gets three rounds wins, bow to each other and begin!" Yelled Danny as he got out of the way.
The two fighters bowed to each other before they both took their stances. Fox trying a little one uping by showing off his speed when he did. The New Guy however, slowly, and calmy got into his fighting stance.
The two of them stood that way for a fraction of a second before Fox rushed forward and began his viscious attack with his wooden sword. It was a stunning showcase of Fox's attack capability but, what was more stunning was his opponent's uncany ability to calmy and fluidly block each attack. Then out of nowhere, the unknown fighter lunged forward and became a black blur as he unleashed an onslaught of fury.
There was a collective gasp as the crowd watched Fox become overwhelmed by the barrage of attacks more viscious than his own. Then everything stopped when Fox's Shinai went flying and he found himself on his knees with his opponent's wooden sword at his throat in a faux kill-blow.
" Woah, this guy's good." Said Colby, Manny sent him a look that could've killed him, but Colby merely grinned.
Danny was in action in no time, he was between both fighters,sending them to opposite sides of the mat.
" Winner of the first round, fighter in Black." Shouted Danny, the crowdjeeredand then began to cheer for the next round to begin.
Within minutes the two fighters were facing off again and from behind his mask, Fox was furious, no beginner was gonna beat him.
" You guys ready? Get it on!" Shouted Danny as he quickly got out of the way.
Fox decided not to rush headlong into another attack, instead opting to be more calculating in his strikes. He inched forward and lashed out once before snapping back, however,his opponent didn't react to the false attack at all.
Then, Fox lunged forward with a lighting fast attack, which to his disbeleif, was deflected in a millisecond and he found himself with a Shinai at his throat one again. The crowd groaned collectively as another round was lost to the fighter in black.
The two fighter retreated to their sides of the mat, Fox's anger was evident.
" Oh you are going down." Thought Fox as he glared at his opponent, who was clamly twirling his Shinai in a graceful manner.
" Who the hell is this guy?" Asked Manny in disbelief at the calm fighter standing on the other side of the mat.
" A damn good fighter." Someone in the crowd pipped up. Colby and the others got ready for the third and final match, maybe Fox could turn things around still, all he needed was one win to stay in the game. But in the back of his mind, Colby could tell that this would be the last round.
It was all or nothing, the fighters met in the center of the mat, Fox unleashing a barrage of his best moves, feeling a sense of glee when he forced his opponent backwards. Then in an unexpected move, the Black fighter showed off his acrobatic chops by doing a one handed frontal cartwheel, landing silently and poised to strike. Fox rushed him for the kill. The Unknown side stepped Fox and tripped him, sending the red fighter into a full fledged face plant with the mat. The crowd watched as the New Guy leapt into the air and like bird of prey, came swooping down on the fallen fighter.
There was a collective silence as the other fighter landed deathly close to his opponent, his Shinai pointed at the back of Fox's neck.
Danny sprung into action at that moment, the fight was over and vistory had been one by the stranger. Danny was about to step between the two fighters when the fighter in black lowered his Shinai and simply stood looming over Fox.
Fox rolled over to stare up at the one who'd defeated him. He was about to pounce and beat the guy to a bloody pulp when the other fighter held out a hand. Fox stared at the offered hand a moment before deflating and accepting the hand. A stong force pulled him to his feet and the two of them stared at each other before the fighter in black spoke.
" You're a good fighter Fox, you just have to realize that attacking with arrogance and anger ensures only defeat." Came a quiet voice from behind the mask.
These words seemed to strike a cord and Fox pulled off his mask and then held out his hand. The crowd watched as the victor reached up and pulled off his mask. The moment the mask was off, Colby felt his jaw loose all tension, probably becoming good friends with the floor.
There standing with a Shinai and Kendo mask under one arm was Charlie Eppes, unruly curls pulled back into a tight ponytail, his face was graced by a light shadow of stubble, and there was no fatigue from the hard battling he'd been doing, hell, it didn't look like he even broke a sweat, no trace of the emotional wreck of just two weeks ago.
Manny noticed the shell shocked look on his friends face an felt immediate concern.
" Hey, Granger, you OK?" He asked. He shook the other man to snap him out of his trance.
" Oh my God, That's Charlie Eppes, that math genius I told you about." Said Colby as he continued to gawk at Charlie shaking hands with Fox, the crowd clapping at the sign of mutual respect.
" What's your name?" Asked Fox as he gazed at the young man who'd just whupped his ass.
" I'm Charlie, Charlie Eppes." Said Charlie with a small smile.
" Wait a minute, Eppes, as in the math whiz Granger keeps talking about, his boss's younger brother?" Asked Fox disbelief etched into his voice.
" You know Colby?" Asked Charlie in feigned shock, he already knew Colby worked out at this gym and he could see said man staring at him with wide green eyes, out the corner of his eye.
"Yeah, he comes here all the time hey, there he is over there." Said Fox as he pointed to the crowd. All eyes turned to Colby and the totally shocked look on his face.
" Busted" Thought Charlie as he met Colby's wide, green eyed stare.