Chapter One

2012…

CalSci…

Larry sighed in contentment as he walked down the halls of place he had worked at for many years, as he walked to his last class of the day, relieved that he only had three classes a week now, as he and Megan can have more time together, especially after she returned permanently last year back to the FBI.

He smiled at the thought, when she left, they tried to do long distance but were forced to take a break due to both scheduling and the distance between them. It saddened Larry that they weren't together for a long time, until she came to Don and Robin's wedding and they, along with everyone else, got close to her again.

When he reached the classroom, he noticed that a man was waiting by the door as students were walking in and didn't recognize the man and wondered what he wanted at the moment.

"Greetings, I'm Professor Fleinhart, may I ask what you want?" Larry introduced himself, hoping it wasn't going to take too long.

"I know who you are, Fleinhart, I wanted to meet with you before your class to have a little chat with you." The man said in the tone that suddenly made Larry nervous, as he wondered if the man was here to hurt him or anyone else on campus.

The man seemed to sense Larry's nervousness and just smirked at him for a moment before he got to the point.

"Relax, Professor, I mean no one any harm, not yet at least but I did come here to give you a message from Johnny's Casino." The man said

Larry paled when he heard the name of the place he and his former friend Leonard were there to simply gamble to prove a point when they were brought in the back for a "talking to", something he had tried to forget about for years and used as a motivation to give up on the whole thing.

"May I inquire what that message entails." Larry asked after a few moments, hoping this was just some twisted joke.

"Your old friend, Leonard Philbrick, made a deal with my boss due to him trying to get through the system again and getting caught and you and your friends may want to watch your backs, as he is selling you all out to make sure you don't go after him first. My boss is a fair man, so if you want a deal of your own, you know where to find him and try to save your own skin." The man said before leaving before Larry could even answer with either a yes or a no and was shocked when he heard his former friend and colleague's name and what the man was doing to save his own skin.

'Leonard, what in the world do you think you are doing?' Larry thought to himself before going into class and did his best to concentrate on the subject while also feeling a growing anger at the man he once called his friend and elected to call Don and Charlie after class to tell them of his situation and try to get out of trouble with the casino he once tried to outsmart.

Meanwhile…

FBI…

It was a slow day for Colby, as the team didn't have an active case, which meant catching up on paperwork, which he hated with a burning passion but he knew it was part of the job and Don was in meetings all day, which was part of the promotion he got two years ago. It also meant a new team leader, since David took the job in DC and he was eventually convinced to take the team leader, though he was relieved that he could still go into the field, which meant he could still see action, something Don rarely does now, especially with Robin being pregnant with their first child now and helping Alan out due to the man getting older.

He really missed David, even though they have phone calls every day they have a chance, including the one they had earlier in the day but he wished he was here, as it helped lighten the mood with the paperwork while they tried to get things done.

Still, he liked working with Liz, Nikki, the newly returned Megan as his second-in-command, as she had no desire to lead a team for a while. It suited him fine, he was just happy that she came back, something he was never sure was going to happen but he was happy all the same for it. Colby was grateful for her being there with the hard case involving the deaths of a well liked agent and his wife, leaving their two children orphaned and in the care of one of the agent's siblings, it was just a mess all around and Colby was just glad the case was closed and could do the best he could to move on but he can't for a while.

They were also getting a new agent tomorrow, someone James Akinson, fresh out of the academy, which made Colby nervous, as he knew that they would always need help, but he wasn't sure it was the right time, as he was trying to deal with some issues stemming from the case they recently closed, which made the new change all the more difficult but Colby promised himself to be as professional as possible when the new agent gets there and to withhold any judgement until he can see first hand on how the agent handles himself and the cases the team gets handed.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when his office phone rang and he picked it up, wondering what it could be about and sighed as he accepted what dispatch was telling him about a case, a murder on federal grounds and beckoned the others to follow him, which they were also unhappy about but knew it was important.

Don came in while they were leaving and he gave Colby a sympathetic pat, also giving him some advice.

"Don't think too much about past cases, Colby, I went down that road way too many times and it nearly destroyed me, so try to keep positive and you can talk to me anytime when something is bothering you, okay?" Don said before he had to leave to finish up some things before heading home.

"Thanks Don, I will, I promise." Colby said as he and the team went into the elevator, waiting to see what the case had in store for them and what leads it could lead them to.

They had no idea that it would lead them to danger.