David slowly walked down the hospital corridor on his way to Don's room. He tried to prepare himself for seeing his boss, but he had no idea what to expect. He reached the room and paused outside, taking a deep breath and calling on every bit of strength he had to slide a mask of detachment on his face. Deciding that he would follow Alan's lead for speaking to Don, he gave a light knock and entered when he heard Alan's voice.

"David!" the older man called in delight as he rose from his chair to greet him. "What a pleasant surprise!"

He smiled at Alan and waved at him to remain seated. Ever since the Russian mob case, he and Alan had formed a tight, almost father-son like bond. "Alan," he greeted. Noticing that Don was sleeping, he quickly lowered his voice. "How's he doing?"

"It's tough," the other man admitted. "For him, for us... It will be for you, too, David. Keep that in mind."

"I will," he assured him. "Megan gave me a heads up, but I've never heard of aphasia before, much less met anyone affected by it."

"Well, God willing, this is a temporary thing. I think we're all ready for Don to be up and about, and bossing us around like normal."

David laughed softly. "Indeed."

"So," the older man grew solemn. "I'm assuming there's an official reason for this visit."

"I wanted to say hi to Don, but yes, I am here to see you on business."

"Me?" Alan asked in shock. "What on earth do you need with me?"

David gestured questioningly at his sleeping boss. "I don't want to disturb him..."

"He sleeps hard these days," Alan told him. "We'll just keep our voices low."

Nodding, David moved a chair to the other man's side and gingerly perched on the edge. "We're in a bad spot in this investigation, Alan. We've got no physical evidence and no eyewitness accounts. Best we can tell, Don went to a private gym to work out and was grabbed from inside."

"A gym? And you're telling me no one saw anything?"

"The receptionist working the desk stepped away for a while. No one else signed in while he was there."

"What about someone who didn't sign in?" Alan asked.

"I don't follow you," David replied.

"If someone walked in and grabbed Don while she was gone, don't you think it's possible that someone else might have walked in, too? Not to go after my son, but for some other reason." Alan paused while David thought about his words. "I'm guessing that this isn't the first time this receptionist has wandered away from her post."

"According to her boss, it isn't. That's a good thought, Alan. I'll get Colby to follow up with the gym." He sighed and met the older man's eyes. "This part is kind of hard for me to say..."

"Son," Alan said softly as he placed a hand on David's shoulder. "You may not believe it, but hard has become a permanent part of my day-to-day life. I can take it."

"Right," David said in embarrassment. "I wasn't thinking."

"That's okay. Now," Alan said in a firm tone. "Spit it out."

"We think that Don was grabbed at the gym and then beaten somewhere else before being brought to your – Charlie's – house. We found Don's SUV and personal items, including his wallet, so we don't think robbery is a motive. Our main concern is the possibility that someone is out to hurt both of your sons and that's why they brought Don to Charlie's house that night. Obviously, that leads us to an important question: Do you know of anyone that might be angry enough to exact this kind of revenge on you? Someone you angered through your work?"

"What?" Alan asked, taken aback at the mere thought. "I have an architectural consulting firm, for goodness sakes. How would I make enemies there?"

"I know it seems far fetched, but we've got to look at every possibility, no matter how remote. What about on a personal level? Anyone from your past?"

"No," the older man insisted. "I've never had an enemy that I can think of." He shook his head. "It must be something else."

"Alright," the agent nodded. "I appreciate the information. And I'll check on the gym angle again."

They both grew silent and turned their attention to Don as he shifted in the bed. His eyes fluttered open and found their way to Alan, then David. He grinned at David and held up his right hand by way of greeting.

"Yo, Don," the agent beamed at his boss. "Just thought I'd stop by to say hi."

"How are you feeling, Donny? Still hot?"

"Maybe," the injured man replied, waggling his hand in a so-so gesture.

"I'll let the nurse know when she comes in," Alan responded as he laid his hand on Don's forehead. "You feel a bit cooler."

"You'll be up and on your feet in no time," David stated with confidence.

"Want... not... soon."

"You want to, but it won't be soon enough for you?" Alan tried to clarify.

Don sighed in frustration and shrugged. "No thought... done." He clamped his mouth shut and shook his head.

David, sensing it was his presence that was making Don so reticent to speak, rose from his chair and nodded to his two companions. "I've got to get back to work now. I'll see you soon, Don – got that?" David winked and nodded encouragingly.

Don humored him with a smile and a nod.

"Good," David grinned ear to ear. "You, too, Alan."

"Take care, David," the older man waved.

"I will." In a lower voice that he was certain Don wouldn't hear, he said to Alan, "And I'll keep you updated."

"Thanks," the other man whispered back.

David left the room and strode down the hallway, intent on checking into Alan's idea. What if there had been someone else who had sneaked into the gym? That person might very well have seen what happened to Don and could be the key to breaking the case wide open. Flipping open his cell, David pressed speed dial two.

"Granger."

"It's me," David said. "Listen… Alan had an idea I think we should check out, but it means that you're going to have to go back to see Sally."

His answer consisted of a short bark of laughter, followed by a sarcastic, "The things I do for you, man."

--

"Agent Granger!" Sally Graves exclaimed happily. "Interested in that private membership after all?"

"Ah, Sally," Colby grinned. "You know me too well." He leaned over the desk and lowered his voice. "I need to talk to you about the case."

"Of course," she answered, all signs of flirting gone. "Let's go to my office."

She led him through a short hallway behind the sign-in desk to the last room on the right. Sally opened the door and took a seat in a luxurious looking office chair, gesturing for Colby to sit in its counterpart.

"Nice digs," he remarked as he took in the rich, wood paneling and plush, colorful carpet. "How much do you charge for membership?"

"Don't let it fool you," she giggled. "My sister is an interior decorator. Did all this for free under the condition that I bring prospective clients in here to join and casually mention who did the office."

"Smart girl," he said, winking at Sally. "Must run in the family. And it's Colby, by the way."

"Right," she smiled. "Colby. As much as I enjoy your company, I doubt you're here on personal business."

"No. We're still trying to get a jump on this case, Sally. Ms. Rogers leaving the desk unattended – that wasn't a first-time occurrence, was it?"

"No, unfortunately not. She's done it several times, but it's hard to catch her when there's no one else here to see that she's gone."

"True," Colby agreed. "I was just wondering – have you had any problems with a person or persons sneaking in here when she's gone? Or any time at all?"

"Well," Sally chewed her lip as she thought. "Actually there was this one guy. His name was Garrett... Alderson, I think? He used to be a member here until we discovered that he had hidden cameras in the women's locker room. One day when he came in we confronted him with that information and he denied it, but in the process we noticed that he had a camera in his gym bag. We confiscated it and had the roll developed, and... Let's just say he's one sick individual."

"Those pictures," Colby said as he wrote the man's name in his notepad. "Were they of members or employees?"

"Neither," she answered with a shiver. "We never did find out who they were of, but they were taken through bedroom windows. The women were all undressing or fresh out of the shower. We turned the pictures in to police, but they said without complaining witnesses..."

"Yeah, I can guess what they said. Unfortunately, that is true." He glanced up and gave her a warm look. "What ever happened to Alderson?"

"He started sneaking into the gym – to plant more cameras, I suspect. We don't really have security, per se, but we do have some pretty big guys who look out for us." Sally suddenly paled and gasped. "Oh dear..."

"What?" Colby asked.

"I should have thought of it sooner," she whispered. "But I didn't put the two together."

"Sally," he said gently. "What is it?"

"He came in one evening just as I was going home. He'd sneaked in behind a group of about five women here for an aerobics class. I spotted him and... Agent Eppes was here that night."

Colby leaned forward in his seat. "And?"

"He asked me if I needed help and I told him about Alderson. Agent Eppes approached him and told him to leave and never come back. Alderson started to give him a hard time, so Agent Eppes flashed his badge and physically shoved the little pervert right out the front door."

"Sounds like Don," Colby smiled. "You think Alderson was mad enough to want to get him back?"

"That's just it," Sally said sadly. "He told Don that FBI or not, he'd have his revenge."

TBC