Author's notes: First thanks for the reviews. It does inspire me to write faster. Also being done with school for the summer (driver's ed in June) also helps! By the way, I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, so if my medical jargon does not ring true, lash me not with IV tubing! Also, as always the Numb3rs/CSI characters belong not to me. Colby's family names are my own creation since CBS hasn't given us anything to work with.
Numb3rs/CSI Numb3rs/CSI Numb3rs/CSI
Nick fought back the temptation to throw his alarm clock across the room. Reaching out he slapped at the off button and forced himself out of his bed. Crossing to the bathroom, he peeled out of his boxers that he had worn to bed and tossed them into the dirty clothesbasket. Turning the shower on, he let it warm for a moment before stepping in.
Less than five minutes later, Nick was back in the bedroom and pulling on a clean pair of jeans. Reaching into the closet, he grabbed the first shirt he came to and pulled it over his head.
Deciding to pick up coffee on the way, he headed outside. Living well away from the Strip meant that darkness still clung to the night. Perhaps a faint smudge of pink was evident on the eastern horizon, but it was hard to see.
He drove to a coffee shop and picked coffee for himself and three extra. He smiled at the young woman who handed him the coffee. "Morning Nick. Thirsty this morning?"
"Picking up some others. Hey, go ahead and give me a half-dozen of the muffins too."
"Sure thing." She smile and Nick thought there might be an extra wiggle in her walk to the back counter. Returning with a box containing the muffins, she rang up the order and continued to chatter on while Nick ran his debt card.
"Have a great day Nick."
"You too Sherry." Nick walked back to his vehicle and continued to the hotel to pick up the others.
Numb3rs/CSI Numb3rs/CSI Numb3rs/CSI
"Code Blue ICU 12. Code Blue ICU 12" A metallic sounding voice came over the loudspeaker and a flurry of activity broke out in room 12.
Numb3rs/CSI Numb3rs/CSI Numb3rs/CSI
She rolled over in bed and instantly regretted it. It felt like a small mouse, no a big one, was gnawing on the inside of her head trying to get out. Too much wine last night had helped to sleep but was now going to make the morning difficult to manage.
Megan groaned and looked at the clock. In an hour, give or take, they would be starting the search for Colby. Don had told her to stay in Los Angles, there was nothing she could do, but now she was regretting not being in Las Vegas. If she was there she could be helping with the search.
It was less than five hours to Vegas. She could be there and hopefully be part of the team looking for Colby. Jumping out of the bed, she hurried to take a quick shower and get on the road.
Numb3rs/CSI Numb3rs/CSI Numb3rs/CSI
They had come down to the lobby and had exited out into the cooler air of early morning. There were a few people still out at 5:45 a.m. Nick was due to pick them up in fifteen minutes so they were surprised when they saw the black Denali pull up to the front of the hotel.
Nick rolled down the window and with a nod of acknowledgment spoke, "I figured you might want to get an early start on it. I picked up some coffee and muffins."
"Thanks," Don replied as the men climbed into the vehicle. Accepting the coffee from Nick, he passed it back to David and the next one to Charlie. "Any word on things?"
"I got a call from Greg, he's still working on the GPS. He had a few hits, none from Humbolt-Toiyabi. I've contacted the Park Service and they are going to search those locations at first light." He indicated the box of muffins, "Help yourself. I don't know when we'll get a chance to eat."
"I spoke to the hospital last night at the hotel, nothing yet. Carter was heavily drugged after surgery."
"It would sure help out if he could just tell us where Colby is." David picked out a muffin from the box that Charlie had held out.
"Maybe he'll be up for questioning this morning."
Numb3rs/CSI Numb3rs/CSI Numb3rs/CSI
"Charge to 360 again. Clear."
"Still no heartbeat."
"Push 5 of epi and we'll hit him again."
Numb3rs/CSI Numb3rs/CSI Numb3rs/CSI
He wiggled his fingers again and then moved his arms the best he could. He had awoken again and after the panic of thinking that the coyote had returned had passed he concentrated on trying to keep blood flowing to his arms and fingers. The sharp pinpricks of pain told him that the feeling was slowly returning and he steeled himself for the possibility of cramping.
Colby had never been the type to get panicky when alone. After his father had died, the young teen would often go on overnight camping trips by himself. The closeness of the stars seemed to bring him comfort; a feeling like he could almost reach to the heavens and be with his Dad. He never would have admitted it to anyone, even his mother who had been his rock during that time, but often during his overnights the tears would flow like the spring rains. It had been part of his own healing process, something that the school counselor had tried to do with her talk of "stages of grief".
Tipping his head back he could see the stars through the gaps in the trees. Focusing on a bright star, he couldn't see enough of the surrounding ones to know which star he looked at, but it didn't matter. Looking hard he tried to calm the unease that had grown within him. He thought about his father, Matthew Granger, how he looked in the pictures from his youth and as a young man. Colby knew that he was the spitting image of his father, something that his mother never failed to mention when she would see him. Colby had already reconciled with her over her own feelings of hurt regarding his alleged betrayal of the United States. Don had contacted her when he was in the hospital after he was flown off the Chinese freighter and it was Don that had told her the entire story, letting her know that her son was a hero.
"It will be hard for her to lose me too." Colby thought, accepting what was going to be his fate. "Candice and Michelle will be there to help." His younger sisters, one who still lived close and the other who had relocated after college to Chicago, would help ease the blow. "I hope they find my body. Closure will be best."
He realized that the star had grown fuzzier; the tears that had welled up in his eyes thinking about his family had obscured his vision. Blinking he cleared them and decided that perhaps the sky had lightened slightly. He was mulling the idea when the cramps began to spasm through his upper body. Crying out and past the point of caring about "sucking up the pain", his voice scattered the nocturnal animals that had been in the area.
Numb3rs/CSI Numb3rs/CSI Numb3rs/CSI
The night shift at the lab had started securing the projects they were working on; anticipating their replacements who were due to arrive within the next hour. A frustrated Greg was still attempting to glean the current information from the handheld GPS unit that had come from Doug Carter's car.
Warrick had left several hours ago stating that Greg should pass off the project to a night worker and try to get some sleep. Like a dog with a bone, Greg had refused to give it up and was hunched over the remains.
"Crap." Greg sat up and stretched out his back quickly, hearing several pops as his spine aligned.
"What's up Greg?"
Looking up, Greg spotted Denise Jensen, one of the newer technicians approaching him. She worked day shift, but had the newbie habit of coming into work early. "Hey Denise. I'm trying to recover some data from this GPS unit."
"Glad you told me what it was, doesn't look like much right now."
"Went through a car crash. It might have some data on it that could lead us to the location of the missing FBI agent."
"No shit, I saw that on CNN. I didn't know you were working the case." She was obviously impressed, something Greg didn't fail to notice.
"Catherine usually relies on me in cases like this." He watched her admiration grow. "Would you want to give me a hand?"
"Most definitely. Lets see what you've got so far." She moved in closer to look at Greg's data and the two began working to retrieve the information they hoped was stored within the memory.
Numb3rs/CSI Numb3rs/CSI Numb3rs/CSI
Pulling into the Ranger Station, the men were not surprised to see a flurry of activity already. True to their word, the rangers had arranged for additional help and men and women were being assigned search grids. Crossing over to the command post, Nick and Don waited patiently while the lead ranger finished speaking to someone on the phone.
"Morning gentlemen. We've got about 25 minutes until sunrise, so we have searchers moving into position. I thought that it would be best for you to wait here until we have some results."
"No way." Don and David both voiced.
Nick intervened. "I think we have enough experience that we shouldn't be a hindrance. We can work at least one of the grids."
"I could stay back and help with the incoming information," Charlie suggested. "When grids start reporting back I can track the data and perhaps narrow down our coordinates."
"All right." The ranger acquiesced. "Here is your search area, we are reporting on channel 17."
"You two ready?" Nick looked at Don and David.
"Let's go find Colby."
Numb3rs/CSI Numb3rs/CSI Numb3rs/CSI
Megan looked at the green sign she had just passed, "Las Vegas 100 miles", it had read. Pulling out her cell phone she decided to call Charlie. She knew that he would be more receptive to her sudden arrival. Not that she was too worried about Don. He would understand her desire to help with finding their teammate.
Numb3rs/CSI Numb3rs/CSI Numb3rs/CSI
The cramps were subsiding again. The inability to rub his aching muscles made it necessary for the oxygen starved muscles to unknot them selves. Colby was breathing heavily, trying to deal with the pain that had racked him for what seemed like hours.
He had thrashed around enough that he could feel the gunshot along his side bleeding again. The agent was sure that he hadn't lost enough to be worried, but the bigger concern was dehydration and the likelihood that infection had already set in from both the wound and the bite. He wasn't sure which was causing it, but he was feeling very warm and he was having problems keeping himself focused.
He knew what hot was, having served in Afghanistan, but the internal heat was impossible to take. He could feel sweat breaking out on his face and back. Once the sun rose and the day turned warmer it would only intensify his discomfort.
Colby leaned his head back again. The stars had faded from the sky. He thought about the significance of that; morning was coming and his guiding light was gone. Closing his eyes he waited.