A/N: This is my first fic for Numb3rs...Hope you like it!
The warehouse is dark and windowless and it reeks of smoke and human excrement…shit, in other words. He ducks inside, careful not to allow more than a tiny sliver of fading light in as he ducks through the small door. Even ducking, he nearly smacks his bald head on the doorframe. Once the door is shut, the dark returns and it takes a few seconds for his beady eyes to adjust to the change; he struggles to make out the room through the spots that still remain on his vision. He can see others, hunched in various corners who are also staring intently at him. Cautiously, he meets their eyes. There is a tense moment before one speaks.
"From where do you come brother? What have you seen?"
"I come from the depths of nowhere where I have seen many wonders, friend. Have you also been to the place of which I speak?" he replies confidently.
The tension in the room disappears in an instant; he is in the company of friends. The coded phrases have been spoken correctly and so it is safe for now. He cannot stop himself from smiling in relief. Too often, he has forgotten the passwords he needs to know and has been thrown out of what would otherwise be a safe haven.
"The meetin' stahts in a few minuh's," one the men in the corner tells him, "You's lucky. You almost miss'd ih. We wouldna letcha in afta the boss stah-ted speakin' 'bout the new plans."
He smiles politely, having known this information for three weeks. It had been difficult to find a flight from his latest operation location to L.A., and without a little "persuasion" it woudn't have been possible, but here he is.
The men around him chatter quietly, most of them wondering why they have been summoned again. Maybe someone is expendable and it is finally time for another lynching??? He exchanges small talk with those who greet him, shrugging off the long coat he has been wearing for the past few days to reveal a clean suit beneath it. From the corner of his eye he can see some of the lesser men eyeing him jealously but he does not acknowledge them. One of the advantages of rising through an organization is bigger payoffs. Some of these men are simply squatters who are lucky to still be alive. He smiles at the thought of being able to lynch one of them. Pity they don't do that very often, he thinks
A sudden hush falls over the room. Every head turns to see the final man enter. This man is much smaller than the first newcomer, but he carries an air of authority. This is the boss and it is very clear. He wears a hat that casts his face in shadow and his clothes are unremarkable; dark coloured and threadbare. The tall, balding man bows his head slightly to his employer.
"Good to see you could make it, Jay. We will need your skills for our next project," the boss greets him and he is gratified.
The man in charge of this whole branch of the cult has in essence, praised him. He feels a surge of euphoria and hastily deepens his bow. He shows his gratitude in silence.
"Everyone, be seated," the boss says, "We must make this brief. Some of you may have noticed that Corin is missing. The Feds nabbed him last week. He'll try his best not to tell them anything, but he's not going to last forever."
"What's he in for?" someone asks.
"That doesn't matter," the boss replies impatiently, "What matters is that that cuts into whatever time I have to explain our next assignment. This one's straight from the top. It's something we've done before, but this is a special request….A favor for Johnson, our man behind bars. Basically, we've been given a target. We're not to kill him, though, at least not at first. The idea is to harass him, and, in doing so, his employers and coworkers. You'll be briefed further when we require your services. Until then you're all on need-to-know….got it?"
Most of the men in the room smile and nod slowly; harassing is something they are extremely good at.
"Good. Scram…We don't need anyone else dragged in to face the feds. Except for you, Jay, you stay back."
Jay, who is already half way to the door and is wondering why he was called back for something as mundane as this, turns back and faces his boss.
"Yes, sir," he replies, stepping around the rapidly departing men.
He moves quickly across the room, until he stands in front of his employer.
"Please, sit. And address me as Jameson, rather than 'bossman'….it gets irritating. It's also a dead giveaway if anyone busts us."
"Yes, sir. What is it that you require?"
Jameson smiles before he pulls a few folded pieces of paper out of his pocket. He runs a hand through his thinning hair, sighing.
"This is all the information we have on our man. Your first assignment is to find out more about him. We need more information. Here."
Jay takes the papers, carefully unfolding them and glancing at the cover sheet. He smooths the creases on the photo they have been given, memorizing the man's name.
"Are you looking for something in particular?" he asks, flipping to the next sheet and reading the information.
"Yes. I've already been over the information and we need weaknesses to exploit. This guy's resume hasn't given us much to work with so far."
Jay looks up at his employer in confusion.
"But isn't his biggest weakness obvious?" he asks Jameson, "It's right on this paper…Well, he might have more weaknesses, but for most people this is a nasty one…"
"What are you talking about?"
"Look….This guy is a Fed. And it looks like he has pretty nasty street rep, a real hard-ass….he sees a therapist, yadda,yadda,yadda…..Here it is: Over the past few years he seems to have become much closer to his brother and father."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
Jay rolls his eyes, allowing his exasperation to show.
"A family! He may be a hard-ass Fed, but his brother teaches math at CalSci for God's sake! Perhaps he himself isn't very vulnerable, but the people close to him are. Therefore, the weakness that we know he has is his family. We can effectively attack Don Eppes through hurting his family. You see?"
A/N: Anyways...any comment, questions, criticisms welcome!
pendragoness
