Beware the Air

Summary: When a threat to national security is made, the Eppes' brothers are enlisted to help find the culprits before it is too late.

Disclaimer: NUMB3RS is the creation of Cheryl Heuton and Nicolas Falacci and I have no legal rights to the characters and their backgrounds.

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"Emily said that she would meet us at the restaurant at 12:30. Larry? Are you ready to go?" Charlie Eppes asked as he popped his head into the doorway.

Looking up from the chaos of his desk, Dr. Larry Fleinhardt smiled at his friend. "I'm just finishing up here, Charles. I'm looking over a manuscript I've submitted to Annals of Physics on my predictions of quantum corrections that I observed from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory. I've received the reviewers' comments and I have to say, they are quite critical about my findings."

Charlie made his way over to the desk and looked over his colleague's shoulder.

"Hmmm… Looks like they're questioning the validity of the co-ordinates you're using for the LIGO." Charlie skimmed through the manuscript, briefly looking it over until something caught his eye. "Wait a minute; they're criticizing the equations that support your work about gravitational waves? These people are idiots. There's nothing wrong with the math. I looked it over myself, multiple times. They completely support the rationale behind what you proposed. I… I can't believe they want you to re-evaluate them." Charlie's disbelief was quite apparent, as he continued to sputter about the reviewers' audacity.

"Now, Charles, they aren't criticizing it exactly. It's obvious from their comments that they just don't understand it. The reviewers are anonymous but nonetheless, I can say without hesitation, that they cannot possibly know math the way you know math. I simply have to address their concerns with the proofs you provided me earlier in the year. Not to worry."

"Good, good. You do that. You show them." He ran a hand through his hair while he shook his head. "Anyway, we should get going if we want to make it on time. We can pick up Amita on the way. I think she said that she was working with Dr. Kepler today."

"Oh, I saw Amita earlier. She said that she can't make it. She mumbled something about fluid dynamics and wet papers. She seemed quite distracted." Larry rearranged the documents he was working on and stacked them on the tallest pile of papers, being careful not to knock them over.

They made their way out of his office and the physics building towards Larry's car. As they approached the Model A Ford, Charlie asked, "Wet papers?"

"Yes, I believe the place she's staying at had a slight flooding issue." The two men got into the car and Larry started the motor, placing a loving hand on the dashboard and giving it a soft pat as the engine roared to life.

"How does one have a slight flooding issue, Larry?"

"Well, I don't think that there was too much damage. She lost some documents she was working on for her thesis. I'm sure it's saved on her computer, though. I advised her to invest in waterproof storage containers. She did not seem too pleased by my suggestion."

Charlie grinned. Of course Amita wouldn't be too pleased… Larry's was the kind of advice given a little too late. Charlie made a mental note to ask her if she'd lost anything related to her work as his thesis student and if so, to see if he could find a copy of it in his own files.

"So, you seem rather excited to see this Emily again, Charles. Is she another Susan Berry from your past?" Larry chanced a glance at his friend as he maneuvered the vehicle in traffic.

"No, nothing like that. We worked together on a project a number of years ago. We got along really well and have kept in touch ever since. Whenever she's in town or I'm in her neck of the woods, we try to get together for at least lunch or something. She hardly ever comes to California, though. The last time I saw her was at that conference in Savannah last year."

"So, she's from Georgia, then. Lovely state, Georgia."

"Yeah, she works for the CDC over there, and is an adjunct professor at UGA."

"The CDC?"

"Yeah, she's an epidemiologist. Her specialty is the dispersion and spread of air borne pathogens."

"Air borne pathogens… now I have to wonder what kind of project would bring together a professor of applied mathematics and an epidemiologist."

Treading on thin ground, Charlie answered evasively, "You'd be surprised".

Larry, noting the vague answer, took the hint and let the matter drop. "You're sure she won't mind me coming to lunch with you two?"

Charlie laughed. "No. She's wanted to meet you for ages. I've told her all about you."

"All good things I hope."

"Of course. Although, there might have been an anecdote or two about your long history of absentmindedness."

"Long history… Come now, Charles, that's an exaggeration if I've ever heard one."

"The first time I met you, you gave me a tour of the campus. You showed me where the library was three times and would have showed it to me again, if I hadn't pointed it out. We walked around in circles for an hour." Charlie laughed at the memory.

"Yes, well, it's always good to know where the tomes of academia are, Charles." Larry hummed to himself as he spotted the restaurant where they were to meet Charlie's friend. He carefully pulled over and parked the car, making sure to leave plenty of space on either side to minimize the chance of another car dinging his precious vehicle.

Charlie glanced at his watch, noting that they were five minutes late. Hurrying his steps, with Larry following behind at a more sedate pace, he entered the bistro and searched the crowd. His eyes stopped on the familiar brown hair of a woman sitting at one of the booths in the far corner, head bowed over a book, and her right hand busily taking notes on a pad of paper.

Smiling widely, Charlie made his way over to her. When he neared, he placed his hand on her shoulder causing the young woman to start slightly and look up at him. Her surprised expression gave way to pure pleasure and a radiant smile blossomed on her face as she gasped, "Charlie!" and jumped up to give him an enthusiastic hug in greeting.

Burying his head in her hair, he returned the hug with a tight squeeze of his own. "It's good to see you, Emily! Sorry we kept you waiting."

Holding on for a moment longer than was necessary, Emily stepped back and said, "It's good to see you, too. Don't worry about it. I know you well enough to know that 12:30 doesn't necessarily mean 12:30. How someone so enamored with numbers can't seem to keep time very well is beyond me." She grinned impishly at him and then noticed the man standing directly behind him.

Leaning to the side, she addressed him easily. "You must be Larry Fleinhardt. Charlie's told me so much about you. It's a pleasure to finally meet you!" Reaching out her hand, she playfully bumped Charlie aside to get to Larry. "You must share stories with me about when you two first met. He's told me stories but they somehow always put him in a flattering light. Something tells me you can put a whole different spin on them."

Larry took in the cheerful young woman and marveled a bit at the energy that seemed to be reverberating off of her. Shaking his head, he took her hand and said, "It would be my pleasure. I've been told he's been telling tales about me, too, and it seems only fair to return the favor".

Keeping Larry's hand in hers, she lead him to the table and offered him a seat before taking the one that she had just vacated. She removed her papers from the tabletop and handed each man a menu.

"I haven't ordered anything yet. I wanted to wait and see if y'all wanted to split an appetizer or something."

"First off, did you just say y'all and secondly, Larry has this thing about eating only white food."

Eyebrows raised, Emily asked curiously, "White food"?

"I'm testing a theory about super-symmetry," he said.

"Ah, examining the nature of collectivity and complex multi-dimensions in space? Well, that's one way to look at it, I suppose. You don't mind if we have something more colorful, do you?"

"No, no, by all means. I've heard good things about the three-cheese spinach dip."

"Well, I do like cheese. What do you think, Charlie?"

"Sounds good to me."

The trio contemplated the menu and gave their order to the waitress when she came to their table.

As they waited for their meals, they exchanged pleasantries and Larry had them laughing hysterically with stories about a young Charlie. By the time their food came, the three were talking like old friends.

"You know, by the time I met Charlie he was about 22 or 23. I think he was done his second doctorate by then. Anyway, he was so sure of everything… very focused. I remember being a little in awe of him. I mean, we were the only people under the age of forty at the site and he just fit right in. I sort of lurked in the background for the first month or so."

"First month?", Larry asked curiously.

Startled that Larry had no knowledge about the circumstances surrounding how the two met, Emily tried to recover quickly. "Yes, um, that first month. But, anyway, after I got over being intimidated by him and everything else, I found out that he was actually much more timid than I was. Except about math… nothing about math scared him."

Trying to get Larry's mind off Emily's slip-up, Charlie remarked, "Did you just imply that YOU are timid? I'm sorry, nothing could be further from the truth."

Rolling her eyes, she responded, "Well, I'm not shy at all anymore. But it took me a long time to feel confident enough to share my ideas and even longer to be comfortable in my own skin. I remember you told me some stories about bullies from your high school, but I have to tell you, it's nothing compared to what a group of spiteful and malicious teenage girls can do to a person's self-confidence and perception of self-worth, especially if they're much younger and have no one to defend them. Those girls took mean to a whole new level."

Larry nodded sagely. "Sticks and stones can break one's bones but words can shatter a soul. You turned out remarkable well in spite of all that, though."

Emily laughed, "Well, that depends on who you ask"!

Larry took a quick look at his watch and made a small noise of surprise. "Charles, it's almost 3. We've been here for over two hours! I have to be on campus in fifteen minutes and don't you have a class at 3:30?"

"Are you kidding me? I can't believe it. Time just flew by… and no wise cracks about mathematicians not being able to keep time." Emily tried to suppress the smirk on her face. "Listen, Em, you have to come by the house before you leave. We'll have a barbecue or something. I'm not a great cook, but I'm pretty good at making burgers. I've calculated the most optimal placement of the burgers on the grill to have them all cook evenly, dependent on the temperature of the grill and any hot spots in the fire itself."

"Only you would construct an equation to cook hamburgers. I'd love to, and maybe I could meet your dad and older brother that you keep talking about… the big, bad FBI agent. I still can't believe you and he work together sometimes. That has got to be one of the oddest crime-fighting duos: Law-Man meets Math-Geek. Do you guys have matching capes or what?"

"Ha, ha. Don't let Don hear you say that. And I prefer "The Incredible Math-Hulk", thank you very much."

Grinning she made shooing motions with her hands. "You guys better head out now or you'll both be late. It was great meeting you Larry. I hope to see you at Charlie's barbecue later this week. I'll take care of the bill and you'll just owe me for next time, okay Charlie?"

Charlie gave her a one-armed hug as he got his bag out from under the table. "Thanks. Sorry to rush out. Come by on Saturday afternoon. I'll e-mail you the details later or maybe give you a call at your hotel. Will you need a ride to get to my place?"

"Probably, although I'm not sure I trust you behind the wheel. I still haven't forgotten what happened the last time."

"I got distracted. It's not my fault."

Emily's face clearly said that she didn't buy his excuse for a second. She shook Larry's hand and bid them both farewell. She watched them leave the restaurant and asked their waitress for their bill. As she waited, she drew out the book from her bag, and resumed her earlier task of reading and taking notes. She did not notice the two men wearing dark suits sitting two rows over, who had been sitting there during the entire duration of her lunch with the two professors.

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A/N: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I'm trying to establish the Emily character a little bit, so this first chapter is mostly the introduction of her character with some interaction between Charlie and Larry (they have such a quirky relationship sometimes). I hope you enjoyed it! Comments, suggestions and reviews are always welcome. Thanks!