Disclaimer: Don't own anything, let alone Numb3rs or it's characters! Jasmine is from my imagination.

Hope you enjoy reading.

Chapter Eight – Imprisoned

Don, David and Megan all rushed back into the bullpen, AD Wright was waiting for them.

"I'm taking you and your team off this case Eppes."

"With all due respect Sir, you can't. Agent Granger is a member of my team and if anyone can find him we can."

"That's all well and good Agent Eppes but you are too close to this situation."

"Damn right we're close, we're a team and I am not going to sit idly by whilst god knows what is happening to one of my agents." Megan put a steadying hand on his arm knowing that antagonising the AD was not the way to get what he wanted.

"Sir, I understand that under normal circumstances a team can not investigate something involving one of their own, but this is hardly a normal circumstance, how often do we have agents go missing?"

"I share your concerns about Agent Granger's safety, which is why I believe it would be best to put another team on it."

"Sir, please, let us work this case, we can not sit by and watch other people try to find him and do nothing. If our judgement starts to fail then I will accept being removed from the case, but don't take us off when we have done nothing to deserve it."

AD Wright looked at Megan carefully. "OK, you can work it, but I want you to report your findings to me, the first sign that you are too close to this and I'll bring in another team, is that clear?"

"Crystal Sir." Responded Don.

The AD turned and headed back to his office.

"Don?"

He turned at the sound of his brother's voice.

"Charlie, Amita, Larry, thanks for coming down so quickly, we really appreciate it."

"It's Colby." Said Charlie simply, Amita and Larry nodded. The group headed to the war room and Don briefed the scientists on what he had so far.

"Not much to go on."

"I know Charlie, but it's all we've got." Replied a despondent David.

Just then Don's cell rang. "Eppes." He paused as he listened, nodding even though the caller could not see him. When finished he thanked the person and hung up.

"That was Jim Vickers, he knows we need answers fast, he bought in the blood samples from the scene and had them run as a priority. The blood on the staircase is Colby's." He paused to let them take this in.

"Well there wasn't much there, so we should take that as a good sign." Stated Megan.

Don nodded his agreement before continuing. "The blood on the glass from the table came back to Bill Yardley, he is a hired thug, he works for Jason Rutherford."

"Jasmine's ex?" asked David.

"Yes. I think we need to run down all known associates and addresses for Rutherford. I'll call Lieutenant Walker at LAPD and ask if he can get us anything."

Forty minutes later Gary Walker stood in front of them. He had bought with him a large box filled with files.

"This is all the information we've accumulated over the last 12 months. It includes known addresses and contacts, as well as details of our surveillance. I have to tell you folks that Rutherford is a nasty piece of work and I'd be happy to help you track him down and take him off the streets."

"Thanks Gary, we'll take you up on that offer, any help we can get to bring Colby and Jasmine back safely."

"Right we need to separate the data." Started Charlie "Details of known locations in one pile, known associates in another." The team got to work doing as he suggested. A short time later they had two separate but equally large piles in front of them.

"Why don't Charlie, Larry and Amita work on mapping the locations, the rest of us can run down the associates. Find out where they are and perhaps shake some useful information from them?" Everyone nodded their agreement. "OK, Gary why don't you come with me?"

"If you get any new locations give me a call so I can add them into the expression." Called Charlie.

They all set off to carry out their given tasks, knowing that they may not have much time.

Three hours later Megan, David, Don and Walker walked dejectedly back into the war room.

"Nothing, nobody knew a thing, or if they did they weren't telling."

"I've got my guys keeping their eyes on the main players, see if anything shakes loose."

"We can't wait! We have to find them. NOW!" A frustrated David banged his hand on the nearby table to emphasise his point.

Megan, ever the clear headed, calm one, reached over and rested her hand on his shoulder. "We're going to find him David."

"We're doing all we can. Hang in there." Added Don.

"It never feels like enough though, does it?" he murmured in response.

"If we have to we'll go back out on the streets and go through the known associates again, Sinclair." Walker was as annoyed as the FBI agents at not getting even a clue.

"Er, I don't think that will be necessary."

All heads turned towards the team of scientists that had been working silently too busy to pay much attention to the exchange.

"Oh Charlie, man, tell me you've got something?"

"Yes, I believe we have David." Responded an excited Charlie, he pointed to a map pinned to the board behind him. "We plotted all the locations mentioned in the files, warehouses, bars, home addresses. What we ended up with was this." He pulled down a translucent sheet of plastic covered with, what appeared to the non-scientists in the room, lots of random red dots.

"And?" Prompted Megan.

"We overlaid his known associates." Stated Larry, and another translucent sheet was dropped over this time covered in blue dots.

"Still not getting it Larry."

"I think I can help." Jumped in Amita. "I put this together on the computer." They all turned towards the large screen at the front of the room. "If I take away certain outlying addresses and associates, we're left with quite a clear pattern, especially when we factored in the known addresses and associates of Bill Yardley." She punched another button on her laptop, changing the amount of dots once more by adding in yellow ones.

"I see it." Said Walker, astounding everyone. "The blue, yellow and red all seem to be converging in this one area. Hang on a minute, that's Rutherford's warehouse, it sits on a remote tract of land just outside the warehouse district."

Not needing to hear any more Don picked up the phone to Tim King, the SWAT Leader. Megan in turn picked up the phone and filled in the AD, who was pleased to hear that they had a lead and was actually happy to allow King to take charge.

"Good job Chuck." Said Don as he, Walker, Megan and David all headed out to meet Tim in the parking garage.

Once downstairs Don filled in the SWAT guys quickly and they all piled into their vehicles and headed out to the warehouse district.

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Back in the warehouse Colby wasn't faring too well. Jason persisted with questioning Jasmine about the money, she in turn persisted in refuting his claims that she had any. Every time she denied it poor Colby became Carlos' punching bag, though tiring of using the same method to torment him, he had found that inflicting small shallow cuts using a penknife was reasonably effective in getting a cry in response from Jasmine, even if not from Colby, he was sure that she wouldn't be able to take much more and would give his boss what he wanted, thus allowing him to finish off the FBI agent in any manner he saw fit. Colby was managing to bite his lip and, mostly, not give his tormentor the satisfaction of crying out. He wanted badly to get out of the ropes that bound him so securely to that chair and beat the life out of the other man, not for what he was doing to him, but for what he was putting Jasmine through. He had continually strained against his ropes, but all he had succeeded in doing was to cause them to tighten cutting deeper into his wrists and drawing blood.

"Jasmine, I tire of your lies."

"They are not lies. I have the house that you gave me and the lease for the boutique. I live off the allowance you provide as part of our separation agreement."

"I will let Carlos kill your FBI friend, you know that don't you?"

"I don't doubt it for a minute Jason, you're an evil man."

Jason just laughed and turned to look at Colby. "I'm evil? I gave her everything she ever wanted, and more. This is how she repays me. Before you die, Agent Granger, you need to know something about Jasmine…" before he could finish his sentence there was a loud bang and cries of "FBI…" followed by gunfire.

Jason grabbed Jasmine and pulled out a gun. Carlos deftly untied Colby's hands from the chair so he could use the agent as a shield, inadvertently giving the agent the opening he was looking for, he pulled his head quickly forward driving it back into the face of Carlos standing behind him, caught by surprise the man dropped his weapon and fell to the ground momentarily blinded. Colby then ran headlong into Jasmine and Jason, this caught the man off guard, knocking him to the ground, causing him to also drop his weapon and smash his head into the floor with some force, knocking him unconscious.

"Jasmine, get in the bathroom and lock the door, NOW" yelled Colby at the frightened woman. "MOVE." At his second shout she did as instructed before Carlos had time to recover from the shock of being head butted and grab her.

As Colby watched Jasmine disappear into the bathroom he turned to see a very angry Carlos barrelling towards him, hands still tied behind his back Colby couldn't defend himself easily, he tried to feint and step out of the way, but unfortunately Carlos predicted his move and hit him full force in his already painful ribcage. Both men tumbled to the floor, Colby landing on his back. A look of pure hatred was on Carlos' face as he swung his fist back and punched Colby repeatedly in the stomach and rib area. He could still hear the sound of gunfire outside in the main warehouse and knew it was just a matter of time before they found him, he just hoped he'd still be alive when they did. Colby used what little strength he had left to try to buck the man off of him, but all he succeeded in doing was changing the mans focus so that he started punching him in the face, his head was reeling and he was starting to lose consciousness, the man was clearly not content with the damage he had already inflicted as he pushed himself up off the floor and kicked him hard in the ribs, the pain was becoming unbearable, he closed his eyes and waited for the next kick, he heard the sound of a door being kicked in, a gun shot being fired nearby, he thought a familiar voice called out his name but he was in too much pain to focus and then he slipped gratefully into the darkness that beckoned him.

Colby felt hands pull at the ropes round his wrists, releasing them from their binds. He heard a familiar sounding voice call out. "Get me a medic in here, I've got a pulse." Colby opened his eyes slowly, was that really David he could see, his left eye was only a slit due to the swelling. He moaned as he tried to move.

"Stay still buddy, help is on the way." David said.

"Jasmine, bathroom…."

"What's that?" He leaned forward to hear his partner better.

"Jasmine is in the bathroom.."
"It's OK, man, we've got her, she's gonna be fine."

Colby felt relief wash over him, he had done his job, he allowed his eyes to close.

"Hey, no, no, no. Come on stay with me."

He felt hands gently shake him and he prised his eyes open to look at David unsure why he wouldn't let him rest. Just then two more men appeared beside him and David moved out of the way.

Colby felt hands pulling at his clothes, probing places that were too painful to be touched gently let alone poked at. He tried to pull away but the same firm, but gentle hands held him still.

"Can we get some more help over here, we need to immobilise him for transport."

He felt something being secured round his neck and then he was being rolled and a hard surface was under his back, why won't they just let me sleep? He thought to himself.

"I need to insert a line and get some fluid going, lets get some O2 on him and secure him on the backboard."

The face of a paramedic appeared above him. "What's his name?"

"Colby Granger, he's an FBI Agent." Called a voice in the background, another familiar voice, Megan?

"Colby, can you hear me?" He tried to nod his head. "Don't move, if you can just answer yes or no, ok?"

"Yes."
"Good, my name is Will, I'm a paramedic. I am going to tell you what we're going to do OK?"

"Yes."

"We've put a collar on you and have you strapped to a back board, we don't know the extent of your injuries so we're erring on the side of caution. I've put a line in your hand and I'm going to put an oxygen mask over your face in a minute. Can you tell me if anything specific is hurting."

"Everything. Hard to breathe." As if to emphasise his point he paused. "Head hurts. Stomach too."

"Alright Colby, I'm going to give you something for the pain, then we're going to get you to the hospital, I need you to try to stay awake."

Oh boy, did this Will guy expect miracles or what? Thought Colby.

The next thing he felt a mask over his face and the movement of air, it was a little easier to breathe, a cold sensation also went up his arm as something was injected into the back of his hand. "Right, lets get him transported." With that he was lifted onto a stretcher and placed in the back of an ambulance.

He could vaguely hear things going on around him, the sound of a siren, the persistent beep of a machine, which was driving him nuts, he just wanted peace and quiet. He heard the voice of Will, the paramedic. "33 year old male, multiple blows to the face and head, possible cracked ribs, query internal injuries, multiple lacerations. We are 10 minutes out."

The next thing Colby was aware of was bright lights being shone in his eyes, he winced in pain.

"Colby, it's Doctor Jensen, can you hear me?"

What is it with people, do they think I'm deaf? He thought. "Yes." He managed to mumble through the wall of pain.

Doctor Jensen started pressing on his abdomen, causing Colby's eyes to widen as much as they could and him to yell out in pain and try to move, suddenly he was finding it a whole lot more difficult to breathe. This wasn't right surely?

Doctor Jensen put a stethoscope over Colby's right lung.

"Dammit, tension pneumothorax, get me a thoracostomy tray and chest tube and the ultrasound machine, I suspect he has internal bleeding, page the on call Surgeon, we're losing him…."

That was the last thing Colby heard as he drifted into oblivion.

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David, Megan and Don hurried through the doors to the ER and headed straight for the reception area.

"Excuse me, can we speak to someone about a patient who has been bought in by ambulance?" Megan asked the woman behind the desk.

"Are you relatives?"

"He's a member of my team, I'm his boss." Responded Don.

The woman eyed him not sure if she should give out the information when Don pulled out his FBI ID. The combination of this and the looks of distress on the groups faces made her decision for her. "Patient's name?"

"Agent Colby Granger."

She typed something into the PC in front of her. "He hasn't been booked in yet."

"What does that mean?"

"The paramedics have to provide the patients paperwork so that it can be entered on to the system. I'm sorry but I can't tell you anything yet." She looked at the three agents with sympathy.

"Can you ask someone? Please?" begged David, desperate to find out how his partner was.

"Wait a moment." The woman got up and disappeared. On her return she had a nurse in tow.

"You're looking for information on Agent Granger?"

They all nodded in confirmation.

"Doctor Jensen is with him now, please, I know it's difficult, but take a seat and he will come and see you as soon as he can." The nurse indicated a seating area opposite the reception desk.

They nodded bleakly knowing that they had to let the medical team do their jobs and headed to the waiting area.