A/N: This story takes place during and after Trust Metric. This first chapter delves into Colby Granger's thoughts as he is tortured. Enjoy!
Colby Granger was going to die, was preparing himself for it. He could feel his heart pounding painfully in his chest and he tried to focus on that rather than the white hot pain the rest of his body was experiencing.
He was losing track of time, and with it clarity of mind. He struggled to remain focused. He had to hold out until his team could find the boat. Because that's what this was all about, what it was all for. If he died and they never found the boat then all his work, all that he had given up, had sacrificed, was worth nothing.
More needles, more drugs, this guy was too professional to leave him alive, too smart. Colby had known him the moment he saw him. He'd seen him on a number of occasions, but hadn't known him well enough to suspect him. He had to hope Charlie was smarter, no, he knew Charlie was smarter, had to believe that.
He could hear Dwayne behind him. How he wished he had been bailed out by someone else all those years ago, hated that moment which had sealed his fate for the next six years.
Death was coming soon, he could see it in Lancer's eyes. They both knew that Colby Granger would never crack, never give up his country, his friends. His friends…the pain that lanced through him at the thought was worse than any of the physical pain he'd endured. It was enough to make him want to cry like a baby. They all thought he was a traitor, he would die here a traitor and they'd never know. Never know how much he cared about them, how much of him had died that day when Don interrogated him.
During his weeks in prison he had imagined a thousand scenarios where he was welcomed back with open arms. Now he knew he would never go back. He could see their faces: Don, Megan, Charlie, Amita, Larry, Alan, David. The people who had loved him, had been his family, different as they all were. He could almost smile when he thought about the first time he had visited CalSci. He'd thought his new boss was nuts, sending him to a bunch of math geeks to solve an FBI investigation. And then he'd been surprised at how real these people were. Yes they were quirky and no, he didn't always understand them, but he'd take a bullet for any one of them.
Alan Eppes. The man had treated him like a son. He'd always been welcome at that house for dinner or a beer. It was no wonder Don and Charlie had chosen the careers they did. The need to help others ran in the family.
Don. He was a great boss, a little tense at times, but he always got the job done and got them home. He cared about each one of them, had saved Colby's life on several occasions.
Megan. Colby still didn't know how he'd made it past her. There had been moments over the years he was sure she saw right through his excuses and knew that he was reporting on them. She knew how to push his buttons, and he pushed right back. It was so annoying how she was always right, but there was something comforting about that reliability too.
David. That pain was the worst of all. Colby could still see the tears in David's eyes during that interrogation. His best friend, his brother, he had completely let him down. Every time he thought about it, it was like a knife going through his heart. David would not forgive him quickly, and it hurt to think he had lost his trust.
The last syringe. Potassium chloride. The end was coming. He would die here, alone, and the people he cared about most would never know the truth. He had failed. His mission and his friends both. And for the first time, Colby Granger was afraid to die. Because all those other times he'd come close, he would have died fighting, and now he would die a failure.
Sirens, yelling, gunshots. Colby's heart began to pound. Someone had found them. Charlie. Thank God for Charlie. More yelling, Don's voice, and David's. Relief flooded him. He had not failed. Just as quickly it was gone again. One look in his torturer's eyes and he knew it was too late for himself. But it was okay. Lancer wouldn't get off the boat free. He watched Lancer prepare the syringe, heard Dwayne question him, and then braced himself. He felt the needle enter his chest and his vision began to blur. A gunshot, very close. His heart contracted painfully once, twice, and then he knew nothing.
A/N: More to come! Let me know what you think!