Night had fallen quickly, but after yet another successful day, Charlie had no hesitation in packing up his laptop and papers into his briefcase. There were whiteboards that still needed to be wiped down, case profiles scattered across the table, but he hardly ever bothered himself with such trivial matters. The equations could stand as a testament to the success of this latest case, the fact that his algorithms had once again brought justice to a world full of inequity. He could stand and beam as they praised him, but it was truly the numbers that sang their miracles.
It was part of the satisfaction that came with working with the FBI, the immediate reward to his work, instead of a classroom full of blank faces staring back at him. The gratification received from success was one of the reasons that Charlie was so strongly drawn to such an intense line of work, as his brother had been. A day with the bureau was guaranteed to be more exciting than giving a seminar, and in a way, Charlie had reached a point of no return. After so many cases, after so many brushes with trouble, the adrenaline was something his heart craved. There was no way that he could sit through another hundred seminars without itching to go out and get his hands dirty in the real world.
His idle thoughts were interrupted by the sound of knuckles tapping against glass, and the door to the room sliding open. Turning around, Charlie found his gaze meeting that of Don's hardiest team member, an agent who seemed to look particularly distraught this particular evening. When it came to their agents, Charlie hardly ever saw a flicker of negative emotion, so to see one so quickly was a red flag. He had picked up on this anomaly immediately, so Charlie didn't hesitate in reaching out to his friend, using as kind a tone as possible.
"Hey, Colby, do you need something?" Charlie asked, trying to keep his tone as light as possible, while simultaneously trying to detect the source of a subtle attitude alteration. There was a darkness flickering in the depth of Colby's eyes, as though a storm were raging inside his mind. Silence spanned between the two for just a few moments, but then Colby answered, seemingly reluctant to do so, and reluctance was not a word that served well to describe the field agent's usual attitude.
"I was just wondering… Do you think you could do me a favor?" Colby started, his hands clasped together, thumbs poking at each other idly. "It'd be a pretty big one, but you're the only one I know that could help me out. If you're too busy, or you don't want to, you totally don't have to" he finished, nearly sheepishly, if Charlie had to judge. This was yet another uncharacteristic display from the agent, but those emotions were pushed to the back of Charlie's mind as he tried to process this request that Colby had put forward. There was very little outside of looking at crime from a unique angle that he could do; especially when it came to favors that an FBI agent was asking for. Curiously intrigued, and somewhat excited, Charlie decided that it would do no harm in hearing what Colby had to say. He set down his briefcase, abandoned the papers in his hands, and spoke to Colby will the full sincerity that he felt.
"Depends on what it is. You know what I do, I can't imagine that you need something from me that I can actually accomplish. My field might be useful, but even math has its limits" he tried to explain as gently as possible, hoping not to deter the agent. He wanted nothing other than to be truthful, to stress to Colby once again that his methods were not magic, just math. For a moment, Charlie feared that he had, watching Colby chew on his bottom lip in contemplation for just a second before replying.
"That's the thing, Charlie. It's about math. I want you to teach me."
These few words were just enough to stun Charlie into silence, unexpected to a degree that he was left simply staring at Colby with disbelief. After a few seconds, Colby turned his eyes to the ground, almost as though he were ashamed of what he was asking. Upon noticing this drastic change in demeanor, Charlie immediately tried to amend the situation, realizing that his silence must have made the agent feel as though his request was foolish. Recognizing the courage it must have taken for Colby to ask such a thing, Charlie smiled to ease the tension.
"Of course, Colby, I'd be happy to teach you. What do you want to know?" he tried to comfort, and at the confirmation of the request, it seemed that Colby's usual tempered cheerfulness was back. A crooked smile had come over his face, as though he were an excited child, but his body language was still rigid and defensive .
"Anything at all, Charlie. I want to at least start to understand what you do, any little piece of it. Anything you think you can teach, I'll be willing to learn." The excitement that Charlie had interpreted from Colby's face was suddenly apparent in the pitch of his voice. Inside, Charlie's heart was blooming with excitement. In hindsight, he should have seen something like this coming. Colby was always the first to come to him when he thought that the case might involve a mathematical aspect, even in cases when Don hadn't recognized the same. Something in Colby's mind worked to identify potential numbers and patterns from abstract information, almost as well as one of Charlie's own algorithms. Similarly, it was Colby who had a tendency to recall similar methods from past cases, and ask if Charlie could use them again with a slightly different application. It was this agent above all others who had shown a keen interest, and something as close to understanding as he could with his level of education.
"I think we can work with that." Charlie reaffirmed with a smile, already imagining the full realm of possibilities he could explore. "You know I'm usually at the university during the day, but that's when we're both working, if we're not on a case. Would you be willing to maybe stop by my place some nights? That would be the best. I have a bunch of chalkboards and old books in my garage, which would probably be the best place to get you started. All you have to do is let me know what days you're free, and we could get started as soon as you want" Charlie spoke, his mind already moving at a hundred miles a minute, like it always did when he got an idea. It had only been before Colby showed his enthusiasm that Charlie had been hesitant; now he could see the desire for knowledge plain on Colby's face. The usually businesslike CalSci professor was feeling as though he had been handed a gift, a gift of nothing but potential. Though he didn't know where Colby was in his current mathematics education, there was an infinite possibility for growth- there always was.
"Hey, Charlie?" Colby piped up, interrupting the professor's train of thought. What really distracted Charlie was the fact that Colby's voice had returned to a soft, shameful tone, one that the brash agent had never adopted in front of his peers. It was only when Charlie looked up at Colby that the man finished his statement, still uncharacteristically timid.
"If we really are going to do this, would you mind not telling anyone else? Like, can this just be our little secret?"
To this question, Charlie was slightly confused. He knew that his social skills were somewhat subpar, but none of his rationalizations could understand why Colby would want to hide such a simple thing from his teammates. There was nothing criminal about the study of maths, and Charlie knew he couldn't be the only one that had seen Colby's intense curiosity on the subject. There was no real reason for the agent to desire such secrecy, but as both a good professor and as a good friend, he entertained Colby's request with yet another question.
"I mean, sure thing, but what's your reasoning behind our lessons being secretive?" He asked, tilting his head, almost as though he were a confused puppy. Colby just shrugged in response, looking at the ground as he shifted his weight from one leg to another. It was obvious that he was doing his best to mask his true feelings, as though he had been trained to feel nothing at all.
"Math isn't my thing, Charlie. That's not the guy I am. I'm here to be a field agent. Outside of basic deduction, and plenty of good strategy, I'm not really supposed to be the brains behind the operation. That's your job, that's even Don's job. I'm not here to be smart; I'm here to be effective. I don't want the guys knowing that I'm doing something that I'm not really meant to do. I just figure they wouldn't take too kindly to it."
Charlie almost winced at this. It was scalding to his heart and soul to think that some people still frowned on any type of intelligence. Whether it was due to their field, profession, or because of who they made themselves out to be, such distaste for furthering education was abhorrent. Although Colby didn't present as the genius type, Charlie knew he was smart, and it was a bitter shame that he felt unable to express this to his fellow colleagues. Though Charlie was sure that none of his teammates would particularly disapprove, he had been the butt of enough jokes to understand Colby's reluctance.
"It's whatever you want, Colby. We can make it work however you need to feel comfortable. Just drop me a text telling me what days you're free, and we can get started. Maybe make an effort to brush up on whatever you learned in high school, alright?" he joked, and this was enough to get a smile to curl up on Colby's lips once again.
"Not a problem, professor. Thanks, seriously." he said with a smile, and the agent finally turned around, as though he were preparing to leave. Just before he exited the door, Colby turned around, looking over his shoulder with a cautious glint in his eye.
"Just checking… You won't be charging me for this, right? I'm still swimming in debt from a few courses I took more than a decade ago" he joked, and Charlie couldn't help but laugh at such a thought.
"Of course not" he laughed, shaking his head. "Free of charge. The real cost is having to put up with me for an extra few hours here and there" Charlie finished, smiling broadly as he watched Colby chuckle.
"Whatever you say, professor. I'll seeya 'round" Colby said with a curt nod of his head before making it out the door, shutting it gently behind himself. Charlie sat and watched for a minute as Colby walked out of the office, his casual gait carrying him to the elevators at the far side of the office. As soon as the agent was firmly behind the silver doors, Charlie turned his attention back to his possessions.
Charlie smiled, picking up his briefcase again, and he shoved the last of his papers into it with less care than he normally took. He blamed his growing excitement for his carelessness, trying to reign it in as he thought over all of the possibilities for this coming relationship. Tutoring an FBI agent on complex mathematics, in secret, of all things. If anything else, these coming days would be interesting, but Charlie was utterly assured that they would also be thrilling.
Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this story! I hope that you've enjoyed so far. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to drop a review or shoot me a PM. I hope to be updating soon!
