Chapter Seven: Rushing, Rising Rivulets

When Colby stepped onto the bridge, he was taken aback by the number of spotlights that were being directed at the water. The rain had been reduced to a drizzle, but the river was still flowing at flash flood speed under the bridge. A uniformed officer quickly ran out to meet them.

"FBI. Special Agent Granger."

He nodded his head at David.

"This is Special Agent Sinclair."

"Good. Glad you're here. The guy we pulled out with the kids said to call you in. We're all more than a little curious as to why. Did you talk to Lieutenant Seymour?"

Colby looked moderately disgusted by the enthusiasm in the officer's voice.

"Yeah, we talked to your Lieutenant. But don't get your panties in a wad on our account. This isn't what you might think."

Catching up to the pair, David shouldered his way between his partner and the young cop.

"Doctor Charles Eppes is a consultant for the Bureau. Do you have any word on his condition?"

"Last I heard, they've gotten his core body temperature back up a bit, but he hasn't regained consciousness. Looks like he took a pretty nasty knock to the head at some point and spent a lot of time in the water. That's all I know."

The officer almost visibly grimaced at his own words as he watched the melancholy expressions develop on the faces of both agents.

"You know this guy pretty well?"

David and Colby nodded, answering almost simultaneously.

"Yeah."

"We work with him."

The officer led them across the bridge.

"Well, they took him to Saint Josephs….."

Colby cut him off mid sentence.

"Yeah, we know. Have they found the other guy?"

The officer stopped and looked at him suspiciously.

"Why are the feds so interested in this guy? Is he a fugitive? Is he the one responsible for……….."

"He's not a fugitive, you flipping idiot. He's our boss!"

Colby's verbal explosion got the attention of several nearby emergency personnel.

David shot Colby a warning look and turned to the flabbergasted rookie.

"We just need to know if they've found him yet."

The young officer shook his head.

"No, man. We just got back out on the water. We had to wait for the wind to slack off again. We couldn't keep the boats under control…..they kept slamming into the trees."

Before David could comment that he didn't give a rats ass about their boats, a loud shout from somewhere nearby turned all three men's heads toward the water.

"HEY!"

"HEY! WE'VE GOT 'EM!"

Both agents rushed to the railing. About fifty yards downstream, one of the rescue boats was pulling up toward the bridge. They appeared to have two extra passengers wrapped head to toe in blankets. David and Colby exchanged hopeful looks and quickly took off around the railing and down to the water's edge. Emergency personal crowded the shoreline, pulling each mound of blankets out of the boat.

"If you don't give me a damn phone, I swear to God; I'm going to start killing people."

The authoritative, familiar voice was shaking and a little slurred, but it rang out over the roar of the raging water.

"Surely you people carry cell phones?"

An anxious expression plastered on his face, Colby pushed through the crowd that had gathered nearby. He stopped in his tracks at the sight of his boss.

Don's lips were tinged blue and a large gash in his forehead looked as if it should have rendered him unconscious long ago. But he was completely alert despite the injury. His shoulders were shaking violently and he appeared to be in a lot of pain, nevertheless he was fighting hard to get on his feet.

"I need someone to call the FBI!"

Colby turned and gave David a thumbs up…just without the customary ear to ear grin that usually accompanied the gesture, and the other agent nodded in acknowledgement.

"DON!"

At the sound of Colby's voice, Don stopped struggling against the medical personnel.

He didn't need a phone after all.

"Ccccolby? Whwhwhat?"

As soon as he stopped moving, the EMT closest to him grabbed his shoulders and leaned him back onto a stretcher. He stayed in the prone position this time and alarmed the surrounding medical personnel when he suddenly closed his eyes and allowed his body to go slack.

"Mister? Hey!"

Their initial panic was short lived when Don's eyes opened again and Colby was shocked to see that his supervisor appeared to be on the verge of tears.

"He's gone, Granger."

As the emergency medical personnel began to check Don over, Colby tried to move closer to him without getting in the way.

"Don? I don't…."

Don tuned his head and looked mournfully at the younger agent.

"I couldn't do anything. And he's gone."

As Colby stared at his boss he was stuck with the sudden realization that Don thought Charlie had drowned. He shoved an unsuspecting EMT aside so he could look Don straight in the eye.

"Don. No, man. Charlie's at the hospital."

He watched the expression on Don's face change to one of hesitant optimism.

"Yeah?"

Colby nodded his head vigorously.

"Yeah….him and all three of those kids, Don."

"He held on to her?"

It wasn't so much a question as a statement, but Colby answered anyway.

"He held on to her, Don."

A staid, detached expression settled over Don's pale features and Colby could tell that he was struggling to contain his emotions.

"Is he……okay?"

Unsure of how to answer, Colby was grateful when the EMT he had shoved aside maneuvered back between him and Don to lift the stretcher. Don had kept his eyes on Colby and was still waiting for an answer.

As the medics walked past, David reached out and put his hand on Don's shoulder.

"They took Charlie to Saint Joes….which is where you're going. Just relax, Eppes. You're in good hands."

Don flattened his shoulders on the stretcher as he tried to relax his rigid muscles. Charlie was alive. Injured, yeah…..maybe even badly….since Colby wouldn't say. But that didn't matter right now. He was alive or David would have told him. If he were dead, Colby would have told him.

As they reached the street; the full memory of exactly how their car had ended up in the river played through his mind again. Suddenly Don tried to sit up and the rescue workers who where carrying his stretcher nearly dropped him on the pavement.

"HEY! Hey, Sinclair!"

David and Colby were right behind them and they rushed up to the back of the ambulance.

"It wasn't an accident. We were pushed off that bridge."

The two agents exchanged a moment of silent communication as two of the EMT's lifted Don's gurney into the back of the ambulance. With a nod at his partner, David climbed into the vehicle behind Don and the EMT slammed the doors.

As the man walked toward the front of the ambulance, Colby grabbed his arm and flashed his badge…just to make sure the driver knew what and who he was dealing with.

"Hey. Is he gonna be alright?"

The man nodded his head confidently.

"He got out of the water, which is more than I can say for the first guy. Luckily it's not as cold as it was last night. Moderate hypothermia, he's banged up pretty good and I'd say his ankle's broken. But I think he'll live."

As the man climbed into the driver's seat of the ambulance, Colby walked toward his car and pulled out his cell phone.

"Megan? It's me. They found him."

………………………………

Authors Notes:

So, here is the AMITA warning as request by imbreena:

I have done an uncharacteristic thing. I have included Amita in this fic. This is not a Charlie/Amita pairing….They will not be falling into each others arms at any point in this story, but she is present and accounted for and experiencing special feelings about her ex-thesis advisor. I haven't done much with her in the past……But I thought I'd better give it a try just once before I decide to send her after Robin into the great beyond. That was in Elegy for Justice - if you haven't read my trilogy you should give it a shot while you are waiting for …………………

Chapter Eight: Forces of Nature