AN: Hey guys so this is a random CWDA oneshot. I'm thinking of posting a series of them whenever inspiration strikes but this one was kind of long so I might leave it as a standalone, I haven't decided yet. Prompts are welcome. Warnings: very mild cussing (all of two cuss words) and I don't have no beta so sorry for any mistakes. Enjoy and please review
PS. If anyone is reading both my fics, this one and my flashpoint one, the flashpoint fic WILL be updated next Tuesday, the final chapter.
The activity at the FBI headquarters was winding down. At nearly 5pm, and with no active cases, all of the on duty agents were wrapping up paperwork so they could actually make it home at a decent time. There was a low hum of activity but no were close to the usual amount of excitement. Don was taking advantage of the quiet by filling out his last few forms so he could leave. The dark haired agent kept a close eye on the clock while he quickly jotted down the information. There was no doubt Don would need to recheck all the forms, his attention was not on his paperwork at all.
All Don could think about was Charlie's surprise party waiting back at the Craftsman. The young mathematician's birthday was actually during the weekend but Charlie was asked to speak at some math conference again. Of course the conference was taking place on Saturday, Charlie's birthday. Alan and Don had decided to throw Charlie a surprise party before finding out about the conference and planned the entire thing out but were waiting for the right day. When Don's team, with the help of their resident genius, wrapped up the last case early they chose the following Wednesday. It would be cutting it close, only a few days to gather all the supplies, but they all knew it would be a bad idea to wait. Who knows when crime will decide to pick up again?
Don let out a relived sigh when he signed the last paper. Now all he had to do is get someone to take Charlie, who was in the office filling out his consulting paperwork, home while he himself slipped away. The elder Eppes brother needed to get home before the mathematician to make sure their dad was able to set everything up.
He glanced around the bullpen. Don's eyes landed on Megan's desk, who had already left to change before the party, and moved on to David's. David had rushed out earlier to ask his girlfriend, after getting permission from Don, if she wanted to join them at the party, which left Colby. Luckily, Colby hadn't left yet.
Granger was sitting at his desk, eyes squinted, as he typed up some reports on the computer. He looked frustrated and also in a rush to leave for the party. Agent Eppes shrugged and figured Colby would love an excuse to not finish his paperwork.
Don , standing swiftly, walked over to Colby's desk. He kept one eye on Granger and the other on the conference room to make sure Charlie wasn't close enough to overhear.
"Hey Granger."
Colby looked up slowly, trying to not loose his train of thought on his paper while paying attention to Don. "Yeah Don."
"So I've got to get home. I need to be there before Charlie to put on the finishing touches."
"Yeah, for the party." Granger nodded.
"Yeah so I need someone to take Charlie home, the long way." Colby nodded again. "Megan and David already left so it's up to you."
The larger man fully turned to face his superior, the paper completely forgotten. "You need me to stop somewhere? Waste some time?"
Don turned to look at his brother. Charlie was fully engrossed in whatever he was scribbling down in the conference room. The older chuckled, "No but I think he'll ask to go to the mall though."
"For what?"
"There's some maths and science store on the first floor. He was rambling this morning about some math thing and how they have exactly what he needed to prove a hypothesis."
"So you really need me to make sure he doesn't get lost in his head while in the store."
Don smiled, "Exactly."
With a pat on Granger's shoulder, Agent Eppes went to gather his things and hit the elevator before Charlie started asking questions. He was free and clear, on his way home, for five minutes before the youngest Eppes left the conference room.
Charlie reentered the bullpen, brown curls bouncing, as he smiled brightly clutching a few papers to his chest. His smiled dimmed slightly when he noticed Don's empty desk. Instead of being fully dissuaded, the mathematician walked up to Colby's desk.
The agent had just finished packing his things together when Charlie appeared next to his desk.
"Hey Colby. Have you seen Don."
Granger pulled his jacket on and grabbed his car keys. "Yeah he just left a little while ago, said he had something to do." The agent watched as Charlie's face fell a little. "He asked if I could take you home and I said yeah." He grabbed the yougner's arm, steering him towards his jacket and notebook and then towards the exit. Colby wanted to leave as soon as possible to give Charlie a bit more time in the maths store.
"Oh, okay."
They went to Granger's car with next no conversation before it picked up again. Apparently, the small rain cloud above the genius's head dissipated because he was grinning from ear to ear.
"Hey, you think you can stop at the old mall on Fifth? I really want to go to this store before it closes." Colby said a word in agreement before the younger excitedly cut him off. "I'm working on this theory about-"
Colby blocked out the rest of the maths speak. He nodded in the appropriate places but really only caught a few words here and there. At first Granger had honestly tried to pay attention. After the second unrecognizable math term was dropped, he stopped focusing on what Charlie was saying and instead on driving to the mall.
Honestly, it was surprising the mall was still standing. The thing was built over half a decade ago and seemed to have some serious ware. While tons of rumors and protests had been in the news about the mall needing serious reno, there was no actual proof. There was a lone case of a man walking through the mall when a piece of the ceiling fell on him. Unfortunately, the man died. Only the one section of the mall was redone because a 'freak accident' still wasn't enough for a judge to rule the whole building unsafe. Colby didn't trust the mall himself. If anything creaked he was out of there, fast. The mall must have been doing well though, since businesses, like the maths and science store, were still renting shops there.
He saw the entrance of the mall and tuned back into Charlie's one sided conversation.
"-awesome. As soon as I grab what I need I can finish the last calculations to prove everything."
While, Granger obviously had no idea what was 'awesome' or what 'everything' was he still showed some enthusiasm for the mathematician's work. Thankfully the conversation seemed to be completely over now that they had arrived. He parked in he nearest spot, not too close to the door but not too far either, both getting out quickly to head into the mall. On the way in Colby's phone buzzed with an alert. The agent stealthily took it out of his pocket knowing it would be from Don about the party.
Sender:Don
Colby, almost done here. Still waiting for David and Amita but everyone else is here. Txt before you leave the mall as a heads up.
Charlie was so wrapped up in leading the agent through the mall entrance to the store, he didn't notice Colby texting back.
To:Don
Okay. Just got to the mall. I'll give him ten minutes then we'll head out, expect a message around then.
Sender:Don
Sounds good.
The last text from Don was sent right as they entered the store. The maths and science store was located near the end of the mall. The mall itself isn't very large, there were two full floors and one main entrance along with an emergency back entrance, so there weren't too many people around. The particular store was vacant.
A kid about 17 years old was leaning lazily on the counter of the store. He was lanky with short black hair and brown eyes. The kid glanced at them, he had a perfect view entrance from the counter.
"Welcome to Tesla's. We are closing in fifteen minutes. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Charlie waved, said no thank you, then walked towards the left of the entrance where the maths section of the store was kept. Colby hung back before deciding to check out the science experiments on the right side of the store near the register. He glanced at the kid.
"Not much fun working here is it," he looked at the kid's name tag, "Nolan."
Nolan pulled a straight face and said monotone, "No, Tesla's is the best. Where else can the starving intellectual mind come to find his or her's science and maths needs."
Granger out right laughed at the black haired teen's expression and tone. Soon Nolan himself was laughing. They joked about the store a little before Colby checked his phone, five minutes to, he hoped Charlie would be done soon.
No sooner than he thought it, Charlie appeared at the counter.
"Hey uh," Charlie checked the kid's name tag as well, "Nolan I would like to buy this." He placed the item on the register, keeping his notebook in his hand. Nolan scanned the item then reached out for the notebook. "Oh, this notebook is actually mine."
The teen shrugged, "Okay. Mind my asking what's in it?"
"Just some math equations."
"Ugh I hate math." Both Colby and Charlie gave him a look of confusion and amusement. The kid works in a maths store. "I know what you're thinking." He said as he took Charlie's card, "why would I work in Tesla's. I'm here for the science portion. You know, stuff I can actually use later in life."
Colby dramatically shook his head no as he stood behind Charlie while Charlie himself laughed.
"You think you can do science without math? Math is everywhere, in everything." The mathematician quickly gave the sprinkler scenario, one of the many scenarios he gives Don, while taking his receipt and bag. Colby checked his watch, two minutes.
"So you see, math is everywhere you just have to know what you're looking at?"
Nolan actually looked interested and joked about Charlie teaching math at his high school instead of the teacher. Charlie, who is always asked to speak or teach places, agreed right away and handed the teen his card.
"All right Whiz Kid, time to go." The FBI agent motioned for the door so they could keep to the schedule he told Don. They exited the store when Colby decided to text the older Eppes brother now before he forgot.
To:Don
Whiz Kid got his stuff, just left the store headed out now.
Don returned the message very quickly.
Sender:Don
Okay. We're finished here so just come right in when you get here.
Colby texted back yes just as they rounded the corner on the way out of the mall. Both men stopped when the building rumbled. It was deep rumbling, as if the building was moaning or aching. The mall was old, yes ,but there is not way it should be making those sounds. There were a few people around them also glancing nervously at the walls in ceiling. The curly haired mathematician had gone a bit wide eyed a the noise but with the doors in sight, decided to shrug it off. In two minutes they would be out of the building anyway.
The two took a few more steps before there was more rumbling. The lights begun flickering wildly. People had now started running towards the exit about half of them making it out. If it was rush hour there would have been a stampede, instead it was near closing time. They stared at each other in disbelief before their eyes simultaneously widened and they both took off into a sprint. Colby and Charlie had only made it a few feet before what could have only been taken as an explosion rang out. The noise had emanated from above and behind them. The curly haired mathematician looked back just in time to see parts of the ceiling come crashing down around Nolan who must have left shortly after they dd. Both had equal amounts of horror on their faces.
Nolan's terrified expression is the last thing Charlie saw before there was another explosion and the building seemed to come down around him.
The lights were still on at the Craftsman while Megan stood peaking out of the window. There were streamers along the wall of the living room and hallway along with a banner saying happy birthday above the entrance to the dining room. The others were seated in the dining room room waiting for the signal to turn the lights off and quite down. Don stood from the dining room table and walked into the hallway. He begun glancing out of the door every so often, like Megan, but was jittery. There was no reason for Charlie to be 15min late. Even if he got wrapped up in that stupid maths store Colby would have pulled him out of it in time for the party. Their father was beginning to worry as well.
Alan had called Charlie several times on his cell when the time passed the ten minute mark. Everyone knows the curly brown haired male gets wrapped up in his own thoughts but Colby was there and wouldn't want him to be late to his own party. At eleven minutes exactly, Alan had voiced his concerns to Don, who wanted to give Charlie the benefit of the doubt, and begun ringing the youngest Eppes on his cell. The birthday cake, decorated cups and plates, and Charlie's favorite foods were forgotten after the third try on his cell went to voicemail. The rest of the party goers sat in a tense, worried silence.
The silence was broken by the shrill ringing of Don's phone. He glanced away from the window and down at the phone before flipping it open.
"Agent Eppes."
His back unintentionally straightened. "Director." Megan also straightened from her position at the window once she heard the title Director. "What can I do for you?"
"About 15 minutes ago there were multiple reports of two explosions at Fifth and Western. LAPD are requesting FBI support."
"It must be bad if they're asking for us."
"It is. Most of the mall on Fifth is collapsed in on itself and on fire."
Don gripped the phone so tightly his knuckles started turning white. He adopted a stone face mask and his tone also changed.
"The mall, sir?"
"Yes agent. Is there a problem?"
"Colby was at the mall and hasn't responded to calls or texts for 15 minutes." There was a slight pause in his speech. "My brother was with him."
"I want FBI on this. We have two men inside," It was obvious Colby was one of them, he was a fine agent and determined, but Charlie's role wasn't usually as obvious. Luckily, Merrick had long since become use to Charlie helping out on cases. The director even chatted with the young man whenever they passed each other at headquarters. Charlie was considered a valuable asset to many agencies as well as a friend to most of the directors. "and I want them out yesterday."
"I understand Sir."
Merrick gave a small sigh, "Can you handle this agent? You're one of the best, I want you on this, but you do still need to at least try to be objective. If you don't bring your A game your brother and Colby are as good as dead."
Don straightened even more. His tone moved from concealed dread to fury and determination. "I understand Sir." He would find out what happened, God help the person responsible.
Megan broke his silent fuming by closing the front door then tapping him on the shoulder. Her expression was, naturally, concerned.
"What's going on Don?"
"That was Merrick," Agent Eppes flipped the phone closed."He wants us on the scene of an explosion." Don, turning suddenly, walked down the hallway, into the living room and stood at the head of the table.
"Listen up everyone." All five people turned to face him. They showed concern at his harsh 'I'm-an-FBI-agent-and-you'll-do-what-I-say' tone. "There's been an explosion. David, Megan and I have to go, Merrick wants us on it."
Alan looked upset, "Can't this wait Donnie?" Father Eppes looked down at the cell in his hands, "At least until we hear word from Charlie or Colby."
"We aren't going to hear word." There was a pregnant pause, a tense silence. "The explosions were at the mall about 15 minutes ago." Don looked at his father, his mask cracking a bit to share the pain. "It was bad. LAPD requested FBI support on the scene."
The oldest Eppes turned extremely pale and David's girlfriend moved to give him some water. Amita gasped loudly with her hands over her mouth. David simply stood, gathered his jacket and off duty piece. While Larry sat, open mouthed, in shock.
Don turned to nod at Megan. "Let's go." He stopped briefly in the hallway. "Dad, I would say stay here but I know you'll come anyway. You can't pass the blockade. If you try I'll have officers escort you back home."
Without another word, the three FBI agents left the Craftsman and headed to the mall, the surprise party completely forgotten. They arrived quickly what with Don breaking all driving laws. The sight of the mall, or what was left of it, stopped all three in their tracks.
The mall used to have two floors and a partial third floor in the back. The first and second floors were shops and vendors, while the third only took the back end of the mall and held offices. Everyone knew the mall may not be structurally sound but there was always a sell or two happening to attract customers. After whatever had happened, the mall seemed to have a floor and maybe a half. The front end of the mall was nothing but rubble, the middle seemed to have the outer edges of the second floor but not much else. It was hard to see the back end of the mall, but the entire third floor on the back was also gone. Smoke billowed from various sections due to fires. There was three ambulances, 6 EMTs, two fire engines, 12 firefighters, and various police cars and officers. None of the first responders turned off their sirens causing an eerie mixture of the police,ambulance, and fire truck sirens to be the only noises piercing the air.
Nothing was silent. People were rushing about here an there as the agents exited their SUV in shock. They simply stood for a few seconds taking in the rushing fire fighters trying to combat what seemed to be various fires at once. There was also several EMTs near the rubble attempting to rescue survivors but were being held back due to the fires. What good is a bunch of injured EMTs? After simply staring for a few seconds, Megan, David, and Don joined the fray. Megan immediately went to talk to witness and anyone already pulled from the rubble. David left to speak to the fire fighters about the building. As the head agent, Don sought out the officer in charge of the entire situation.
Don walked up to the oldest officer, assuming they were in charge, at the mobile command center. He held his hand out politely, "Agent Eppes, FBI. Are you the man in charge here?"
The older man stuck out a wrinkly but firm hand, "That's correct. Name's Warner, glad you could make it agent."
Both let their hands drop. "What's going on here Warner?"
"Well as you can see, the third floor offices collapsed in the back into the second floor. Then the second couldn't take the weight, which the fire fighters say is because of structural problems, and collapsed into the third. Then there was another collapse on the floor two but in the front the mall by the main entrance."
Don nodded, staring at destruction. "Merrick said there was an explosion."
"Uh yeah," Warner flipped open a notepad, "One of the people we pulled said the building 'groaned', which was probably a smaller muffled explosion, in the back and then there was a 'loud boom', our second and much bigger explosion, from above before they blacked out. The second explosion took down the front end of the mall. The debris caused some serious fires, it shouldn't do any additional harm to survivors because the rubble separates the two."
'You pulled people out?"
The old officer sighed. "Only about five. Everyone started running when the lights begun flickering after the building groaned. We managed to get a few from the entrance but three of them were actually outside of the mall. They were covered by the falling building. Two of the five are dead, three are in critical and one is injured but refusing to leave before seeing if a friend is pulled out."
As they finished speaking both Megan and David came over.
"Warner, this is Agent Reeves and Sinclair." Handshakes were exchanged. "What did the witness say Megan."
"The mall wasn't too full. It was near closing and there's been a decline in business. One woman says there may have been 20-30 customers in the whole mall."
"How's that possible? I get the mall isn't doing that great but they still have new stores, right?"
"Right, she said the second floor was closed for maintenance ."
Warner scoffed, "So after all these years and complaints they finally decide to fix the place up. Of course, when they begin there's an explosion."
Don ignored the man and gestured to David, "David?"
"EMTs were trying to work an estimate of how many people are in there. So far they only know there's less than 50 with the amount of workers and supposed amount of shoppers. They're trying to dig through the cleared rubble to find people." He hesitated then sighed. "Look Don, it's slow going. We need Charlie to come up with an algorithm or something to find people. Even if he just answered his phone we would have a man on the inside to tell us where not to dig."
Don grunted, "Good idea." He turned to fully face David, "Go work with the Fire fighters give them anything they need and keep trying Colby and Charlie on their cells." Then Don turned to Megan. "Work with the EMTs on pulling people out, interview any survivors before they go to the hospital." With two sharp nods, the agents under Don were off to go fulfill his commands.
Warner was still staring at the building but addressed Agent Eppes. "Who's Charlie?"
Don took on a tortured expression, "My brother. He consults for the FBI sometimes, using math to solve crimes, and other agencies."
"Great. Where is he?" Though the old man had a feeling he already knew.
"Inside."
Don joined Warner in staring at the collapsed building. The older office only offered a grunt in sympathy. There would be too many people he would need to offer reassurances and condolences that today, and he wouldn't let it start with one of their own.
Charlie came to slowly. He was flat on his back with something dust getting in his eyes. The young man blinked groggily a few times before turning his head to the left, knowing trying to stand right away would not be a good idea. There wasn't much to the left of him, a small flickering light on the wall, the only light where he was, and shattered glass from the store that use to be there. Further blinking showed the store was now reduced to a pile of concrete from the ceiling and probably the wall. Great.
The youngest Eppes groaned before shifting to turn his head to the right. The view was basically the same except for the large metal beam sticking out. If Charlie had to guess he would say the beam was the foundation between the two stores on the right. During the explosion, or whatever it was, the beam must have gotten bent. Brown eyes sluggishly follow the beam from the ground up. Wow, how had he not noticed that before? The metal beam was tall and bent severely at the top. The resident mathematician had not problems with that though since it seemed to be holding large pieces of the of concrete from falling and crushing him.
Knowing he need to move to somewhere a little less dangerous, Charlie begun to do an injury check. The check was simply moving parts of his body slowly to see what hurt and what didn't. Left arm, pretty good. Right arm, good. Head, could be better but nothing more than a serious headache and a gash across his brow. Right leg, good. Left leg...left leg. There's a moment of internal panic before he sucks it up and tries to channel his big brother. With a surprising amount of strength, Charlie uses his forearms to sit up, trying to get a good look at his legs.
There's an uneven slab of concrete covering both of his legs. The slab is weights more on one side than the other and is shifted to that side as a result, which of course is the left. The tip of his right sneaker can be seen but every thing else is covered. Charlie's analytical mind runs the numbers. Without any real way of knowing how long he' s been unconscious, there's no way to find out how long his leg has left before the decease in blood flow has permanent effects. The brunette knew he needed to find a way out soon.
He took in the sight in front of him, praying for a way out. The only thing visible was another wall of rubble. It seemed to extend from one side of the hallway to the other but the light didn't provide much visibility. Maybe if Charlie could stand he would check it out, or Colby could. Brown eyes widen drastically. Where was Colby? They had been in roughly the same spot when everything started falling around them. The larger man pushed Charlie to the side, away from the larger portions of falling debris. Colby was either under or on the other side of the wall, either way not good.
"Colby!" His attempt to yell came out more as a harsh cough. The brunette cleared his throat a few times before trying again.
"Colby! Colby!" After a few more tires, the mathematician gave up and tried to come up with a different solution.
Charlie twisted his body as much as possible to look behind him. The small light provided more brightness behind him than it did in front of him. The brunette was able to make out a few feet of mall hallway but it was littered with small piles of rubble and gigantic pieces of debris. Slowly, the mathematician turned back around to face in front of him. The groan had come from the dark corner to his right. What was that? The corner made another noise before a large figure got up slowly.
"Colby?" Charlie whispered, "That had better be you."
The figure simply groaned again before moving out of the shadows. Luckily, it was Colby and despite seeming a little worse for wear, the agent looked okay. The only concerning wound, other than cuts and bruises, was a long gash going nearly around the large agent's bicep. Colby brought his uninjured arm up to rub the back of his head as he stumbled forward. He felt a rather large bump on the back of his head but there being no blood was a good sign. The agent looked around briefly, taking in their situation and surroundings, before walking up to Charlie.
David was standing with the fire fighters by the most recent fire when Don jogged up to him.
"Hey, did they answer yet?"
"No." The black agent shook his head.
"Keep trying. I'm going to check in with Megan."
With a sigh, but determination, David redialed Colby.
Just as Colby was going to begin speaking to Charlie, a strange sensation on his leg stopped him.
Charlie looked at the agent, confused, while the larger man begun searching his pockets. "Colby?"
The agent ignored him. After a few more seconds of searching, and cursing cargo shorts having so many pockets, Colby pulled out his cell then quickly answered the call.
"Granger."
"Colby?"
"Colby?"
David heard a sigh on the other side of the phone. "Hey, David. I'm guessing you know where we are?"
"Yeah man. Hold on, I need to get Don." The black agent pulled the phone away from his ear, without waiting for a response, and raced off to where Don was standing with Megan.
"Don!"
The lead agent looked away from Megan and questioningly at David.
"I've got Colby on the phone." Don's eyes widened a little before he practically ripped the cell out of David's hands.
"Granger?!"
"Hey Don."
"How are you"
Colby looked down at Charlie, who was stilling sitting on the floor with his leg pinned. He knew Don was really asking how Charlie was but was still trying to be a little professional and probably a little afraid of the answer.
"We're good Don."
He heard a sigh of relief on the line, much like the one he gave David. "Good." There was a slight pause. "Put Charlie on."
The phone was wordlessly handed to the younger man. "Don?"
"Really Charlie?! I mean I know by now that trouble follows you wherever you go but this is a bit excessive, right? You can't even go shopping."
The younger huffed. "I know, it sucks. You guys are trying to get us out right?"
"We're working on it. Almost the entire second floor is gone though. There are some small fires breaking out too. We've already pulled some people out."
"Survivors?"
"...Some were."
Charlie sat their and mulled over the entire situation. "Charlie?!"
"I'm here. Who did this?"
"I don't know but I'l find out." There was a companionable silence for a few seconds. "I'm going to get you out buddy."
"I know Don." There was indistinct shouting over the phone and what sounded like the sirens of a few ambulances.
"Look buddy, I have to go. Two more ambulances just got here and I need to get the EMTs up to speed. Before I go I need your help. Put me on speaker."
"Okay." The youngest Eppes dutifully put Don on speaker phone and gestured for Colby to come closer.
"The EMTs and firefighters are working to get people out but it's slow going. What were you guys by so we can put you on a map."
Colby spoke up first, "We were between the shoe store on the first floor, near the bathrooms. Before the explosion, we were looking at the doors but didn't make it out."
"Okay. I know where you are. We've got three jackhammers on the way. When they get here I'll tell the fire fighters to start diggin-"
"Wait." Charlie's yell cut his brother off. He pointed up, causing Colby to look at the metal beam. "If they begin drilling here they'll crush us. There's a beam from in between the stores that was bent over and is holding up huge pieces of concrete. If they start drilling at it will break apart and fall on us."
"Shit." There was even more background noise. "Alright, I told them but we'l probably have to come up with another plan. Can you move somewhere else?"
"Not forwards, we'll have to go back. Charlie and I are near the entrance to the mall but are cut off by a mound of rubble. Our best be would be to go away from the entrance."
"Great. I would say try to make it to the back emergency exit but it's completely caved in." There was a sigh. "The fire fighters think we should stick to the plan. We just need you to give us the all clear first so you don't get crushed. You need to find cover somewhere, maybe a larger piece of ceiling or go into a store where falling debris won't hit you. Do what you have to do. You have ten minutes before the equipment get's here. If you're not ready by then I'm calling it off. Remember you only have ten minutes, I'm calling back in five. Answer the phone."
With simultaneous okays, Charlie hung up.
"We'e got to get your leg out."
The curly headed brunette sighed, "I know." He looked around a little. "If you get that pole over there you should be able to leverage it off my leg."
Colby nodded before swiftly going over to piece of metal debris. He grabbed it with his good arm,the other throbbing and still bleeding slightly, then took it over to Charlie. With the mathematician's instructions, the agent placed the pole at an angle near Charlie's good leg and stood over the slab holding the pole. The larger man had both hands on the pole, getting ready to pull, before stopping.
"Charlie."
"Yeah?"
"You need to be prepared. This thing has been on your leg for a while and has kept the pain away but once I move it...It's going to hurt, a lot. Plus the fact that your leg is probably broken..." He trailed off again.
Charlie gulped loudly but nodded at Colby to move the slab. The agent was right, the pain did hit him hard. With a scream, and a few gasps, Charlie managed to move his definitely broken left leg out of the way. Colby dropped the slab and stood there, giving the mathematician a minute to work through the pain.
"Alright." The brunette cleared his throat, it was horse from yelling. "Alright, let's go."
With the help of Colby, Charlie managed to stand and limp his way to the back blockade of rubble. They both leaned against the rubble, having little energy after the explosion, and rested a bit.
Charlie gasped once again,"What happened to your arm?"
"No sure." The agent winced at the sight. The cut was red and still bleeding, most likely infected. "I need you to wrap it for me." He shifted his good arm down to his waist then took a concealed knife off of his belt. Charlie raised a brow but took the knife anyway.
"What do I do?"
"Just cut the sleeve off of my t shirt at the hem." Charlie followed the instructions fairly well leaving the sleeve hanging on Colby's arm. "Now cut it in half. Good. Pull it as tight as possible. Don't worry about hurting me the tighter it is the best chance I have of not dying from blood loss." At that piece of encouragement, the curly haired brunette used all his strength to pull the shirt around his friends bicep and tie it. There was a grunt but Colby seemed to be okay.
The agent panted before patting Charlie on the shoulder, "Good job. Now let's look for a way out of here. Don should call soon and I want to have some good news for him."
Charlie readily agreed and they begun searching the remains of the hallway. A few stores away, towards the back of the mall, it looked like a prone figure was lying on the ground. The large pieces of ceiling, piles of debris, and a small fire blocking the direct path to the figure making the person, who was hopefully alive, unrecognizable. The brunette tried to straighten up against the wall.
"Colby, do you see that?" He pointed towards the prone figure.
The agent squinted his eyes, "What? Is that a person?"
"It looks like it. Help me move over there."
Colby hesitated for a second. Don would probably kill him for delaying his little brother's rescue but the figure could be a survivor. From this distance and lighting though, it could also be a pile a debris that just looks like a person. Is that a risk they're willing to take? The larger man shrugged before grabbing Charlie's arm. Either way, they're more likely to find shelter where the possible person is due to the larger pieces of ceiling.
They were halfway to the figure when Colby's cell begun to ring. Charlie fished it out of his pocket with one hand and awkwardly shuffled, while trying to hobble to he figure with Colby's help, to put i ton speaker.
"Hey Charlie. You guys okay? Did you move yet?"
"Been better, could be worse. We're trying. I think we found a survivor."
"What really?"
"Yeah. A few stores away from us there looked like there was a person lying on the ground. We are approaching now but it's slow going, there's a ton of debris and a small fire."
There was a sigh,"Great. Go check to see if it is a survivor but look for shelter too."
Charlie nodded. "Sounds good. Um, I'm not sure how long this will take."
"What happened?"
"Nothing, not really anyway. I do have a broken leg though,Colby has a nasty gash on his shoulder, and we found someone."
"God Charlie! Why didn't you tell me about your injuries earlier?! I'll have them change the pla-"
"No! It's a good idea and probably the best choice. We'll find some cover in time and we've almost reached the figure. "
Don sighed, "At least you found a possible survivor. You've only got five minutes then the equipment will be here. If I don't get a call from you saying you're all clear I'm changing the plan."
"Okay Don." He clumsily hung up the phone then returned it to his pocket.
The agent and professor were a few feet away from the figure at this point. Colby steered the younger man towards an open store on their left. He then propped Charlie up at the entrance and began walking to the figure. Don usually tires to shield Charlie from gruesome sights, while an unconscious figure isn't exactly gruesome it also isn't good for morale when trapped under ground from an explosion. Luckily, the mathematician didn't notice he was being left behind and took the time to take a well needed brake from hopping around.
Colby approached the figure cautiously, not wanting to startle them. Once he was about a foot away it was obvious who the figure was. Nolan, the kid from the maths and science store. The teen laid on his stomach, a knot on his head and an arm twisted in an unnatural angle but otherwise okay. The agent crouched down then slowly grabbed Nolan by the shoulders to turn him over. He felt for a pulse, letting out a sigh of relief when he found one then tried to wake the kid by shaking his shoulder's lightly.
"Who is it?"
The sudden question startled Colby making him drop the teen to the floor. He looked over his shoulder to see Charlie trying to make his way over.
"Stay there an-"
The shrill ringing of the phone cut them off. Charlie quickly whipped out the cell and put it on speaker, turning the volume up so Colby could hear.
"Where are you guys?"
Colby raised his voice to yell a response to Don, "We moved according to plan. I found some shelter in a store, it looks sturdy enough and still has a ceiling." The teen lying at the agent's feet groaned then shifted at the booming voice. Nolan clenched his eyes shut in pain before slowly trying to open them.
"Hey Nolan, take it easy." The teen blinked a few time and, with the help of Colby, sat up.
"Who's he talking to? What did he say?"
"We made it to the figure it turned out to be Nolan."
"Who's Nolan?"
"It's the employee at the maths and science store. He was behind us during the blast."
"Take him and anyone else you find to the store with you. The equipment is being set up now, drilling will begin in a minute. You traveled farther away but the fire fighters thinks the drilling will effect more than the area you were in when you woke up."
"Hmm, makes sense mathematically. The vibrations should cause other pieces of stuck debris to move or shift."
"Yeah, well just get to cover okay. I've go to go. I'll call after they begin."
The brother's hung up without another word. Charlie sighed, slipping the phone back in his pocket, and leaned against the wall again. He watched as Colby tried to help Nolan become more aware of his surroundings. Waking up after an explosion was tough to say the least, the teen seemed to be handling it well enough and was soon on his feet.
Nolan was led over to Charlie with the aid of the FBI agent. It was painfully obvious the teen's arm was broken. It was bent awkwardly at the elbow and was being clutched protectively to Nolan's ribs. They took a quick break where Charlie was already resting.
"Kid" Colby was staring at Nolan's broken arm.
"Yeah?" He replied through gritted teeth.
"Take your jacket off, I need to make a sling."
The thin jacket was painfully removed before begin expertly turned into a make shift sling. The idea was to hold the arm above the heart and try to set it so it wouldn't be as bad when the trio finally made it out of there. It was done quickly but still caused a scream to be ripped from Nolan's throat. After a minute, which the teen spent panting through the pain, the trio moved on and begun walking back to the shelter.
Colby and Nolan had reached the chosen store while Charlie,who was walking at a slower pace due to his broken leg, trailed behind. The FBI agent reached the store first, he begun clearing an area in the rear for them to stay while the rescue workers drilled through the rubble. The task was simple enough. With a solid sweep of his foot a few times, the glass and sharp debris were cleared from the designated resting spot. Nolan was even able to help the agent drag a fallen aisle shelf out of the way to make a bit more space. Meanwhile, Charlie was taking a breather outside of the store.
The mathematician was contemplating how everything had happened. Hopefully there wouldn't be too many casualties and the three of them wouldn't need to spend much time recuperating the hospital. He sighed, first they have to get out, moving his good leg into the store, praying their shelter idea would work.
The scene outside the mall was just as hectic as it was when Don's team first arrived. There was less smoke billowing from the collapsed mall but the ambulances, firetrucks, and police cars did not add any reassurances to any spectators. Most of the spectators were gawking at the five firefighters who stood atop the area Charlie and Colby were initially at,each with a jackhammer. It was a sight to see. Five men, each holding a jackhammer, standing in the middle of a collapsed building with smoke rising from the rubble around them, it was something out of a movie. Don walking towards them, like a man on a mission, only added to the dramatic scene.
"Alright, we've got three survivors in there all doing okay. I mean we want to get them out without causing further damage, so take is slow alright." Agent Eppes stood off to the side, not wanting to get in the way. "If there's any serious cracking or shifting stop and move out of the way. Last thing we need is firefighters injured during the rescue."
The plan was to slowly drill down, into the floor/ceiling, to create an opening wide enough to send down a stretcher and a few men. After finishing the opening three firefighters would go down to survey the area then two EMTs would join them to get out any survivors. All in all the plan sounded good. Only problem being, the vibrations from drilling may cause smaller debris to break apart and the section they're drilling at would definitely break apart. Everyone was relieved when Don had told them his brother and agent had found a store with enough ceiling to protect them, and anyone else, from falling debris. Now all they had to do was be very careful.
Don pulled his cell out to call Charlie after getting the ready signal from the five firefighters.
"Don"
"Yeah. You guys ready?"
"Yup, Colby found a store. It was a few shops away from where we were initially and has a ceiling that's actually intact."
"Alright, make sure you stay away from the front of the store for max protection."
"We've got it Don and Nolan is doing good."
"That's good. Look they're staring now. It'll go according to plan and in about twenty minutes you'll hear people down there looking for survivors."
"Okay we'll see you then."
The lull in silence after the phone call was broken quickly by the sounds of three jackhammers.
Nolan, Charlie, and Colby sat in the cleared section of the store. They had been idly sitting there, breathes held in anticipation, for 25 minutes now. Colby's cell had finally died, it was the end of the day after all, fifteen minutes ago and they were desperately hoping there had been no problems Don tried calling them about. Of course both Charlie's and Nolan's cells hadn't survived the explosion. The trio had tried, at first, to make idle conversation but the idea quickly died with Colby was trying to be professionally optimistic, Charlie being mathematically realistic, and Nolan trying his best not to freak out.
"Do you think something happened? Are they coming?"
Charlie tried to smile at the teen reassuringly. "Don always comes through, it's fine."
"That's it." Colby stood suddenly. "I'm going out there to see what's going on."
The brunette professor struggled to stand but had help from Nolan. "Wait. They're still drilling, you can see the rubble shaking out there."
"Yeah after it stopped five minutes ago, when Don said they would be done." The agent took a few cautious steps towards the messed up store entrance. "Something happened. They thought they were done but then had to drill again."
Charlie looked at him doubtfully causing the larger man to sigh. "Look either way Don's worried. The phone died a while ago and he's probably freaking out because he can't get through." The rumbling sounds of the jackhammer stopped. The trio looked to the ceiling in unison but turned their attention outside of the store when they heard the sound of falling rocks. They waited a minute, to see what would happen, and were greeted with sounds of talking.
The teen perked up upon hearing what sounded like other people. Nolan shuffled Charlie and himself closer to the door to see what was going on outside. Visibility was terrible. Their only flickering light had died out when hit with a stream of water the trio assumed was from the firefighters putting out a fire above them. They peered into the darkness trying to see anything, anyone. There was rapid blinking from each of them when a bright light flashed in there eyes.
"We found them! We've got three survivors over here, let's get them out!"
"Come on Charlie. It's late, well early, and the three of us haven't been home for nearly two days." Don stood, arms crossed, at his brother's hospital bedside where the younger sat with a stubborn expression on his face. "Just sit in the damn wheelchair!"
The nurse pushed the chair closer to Charlie. "What was the point of spending two hours learning how to use crutches if I have to be wheeled out." He looked petulantly away from the nurse but was greeted by the sight of their father sitting in a chair in the hospital hallway. "I'm fine. Why can't I leave by myself?"
"Look Chuck, you want to leave right? Well it's hospital policy for you to leave in a wheelchair and if you don't so if you want to leave, come on."
The younger scowled but stood up. "My name's Charlie." He knew there was no way the nurse was letting him out of the hospital, well at least not without financial compensation, without begin in the wheelchair. If he was completely honest, being wheeled out sounded nice. Charlie's a genius so the concept of crutches was understood easily enough but the cast on his leg is huge, and while the break didn't require surgery, it still hurt like a bitch when the pain killers wore off, which they were starting too.
"Okay, fine let's go." The nurse helped him get comfortable in the wheelchair. "I just want to go home."
Don ruffled his hair and dropped the small bag of personal items on his lap. "Don't we all. Let's get Dad and go."
Alan, who had dozed off in the hallway chair, was roused easily and joined the brothers in the slow walk to the car. The nurse assisted them all the way. She made sure Charlie was seated correctly in the car, had his pain meds from the hospital, knew when the next appointment was, and made sure he had the pair of hospital issued crutches. Don thanked her wholeheartedly, knowing Charlie would take the direction from someone who worked at the hospital faster than he would from Don or their father. With a quick inventory check, Don, Alan and Charlie were off and on their way home.
The car ride was mostly silent. Alan asked a few questions to find out if he missed anything while asleep. When ensured nothing had happened, he resumed staring in the mirror at Charlie, just reveling in the fact that his youngest was safe but trouble does seem to follow him everywhere he goes. Alan was brought of his musing about bad luck by Don pulling up at the Craftsman.
It was the agent had no intention of returning to his own apartment for a while, except for the essentials, and parked in the driveway. The older two Eppes exited the car quickly knowing Charlie would try to get out on his own. They both helped the youngest navigate his way out of the car and onto the front lawn with his crutches. Alan grabbed their things out of the car, which wasn't much since neither he nor Don had gone home since leaving two days ago when they found out the mall collapsed. Don stood behind Charlie to keep an eye on his progress without making it seem like he was hovering. When the brothers reached the front steps Alan moved in front to open the door for his youngest son.
"Here you go Charlie, home sweet home. Donnie help him up the steps."
Despite their fathers protests, Charlie manged the steps on his own and stepped around his father into the Craftsman. The mathematician made it into the hallway before stopping abruptly. Don blinked a few times, his sleep riddled mind trying to figure out why they stopped before he had the chance Charlie begun moving again. The Eppes trio stopped in the dinning room.
"What is all this?"
Don looked up while their father turned on the lights. "What do you mean?" There was a pause followed by an 'oh yeah'.
Their father gasped, "Oh I forgot." He gestured around the decorated dinning room with his hand, "We had planned a surprise party for you because you weren't going to be here on your birthday."
Charlie nodded thoughtfully, taking in the streamers, banner, cake and other classic birthday decoration. "That's why you didn't take me home Don?"
"Yeah, there was still some stuff to do. That's also how I knew you weren't just caught up in the maths store. Colby was supposed to make sure you got home on time."
"How is Colby and that teen you guys found?" Their father was a little out of the loop because he had to stay on the sidelines.
Charlie smiled, "Their good. Colby's arm should heal up nicely. Nolan's going to joining me in the cast club for a while."
"The cast club, Chuck?"
"It's a name I hear one of the nurse say to a kid in the hospital, they broke their leg and didn't want to wear a cast. I thought it was pretty good."
They all chuckled while Don ruffled Charlie's hair.
"Hey, I think we should celebrate now? It's not my birthday but I did just survive an explosion?" The brunette trailed off. "How did that happen anyway Don?"
The older frowned, "One of the survivors, a janitor, told us. They were using the janitorial closet by the back stairs when they saw a blonde woman leaving. The area was restricted for reno so there's no way anyone should have been up there. He went to confront here, and call the cops, but she pulled out a burner phone and set off both bombs. One in the third floor offices and one in the front of the second floor."
"Wow." Charlie said breathlessly as he took a seat at the dining table.
"She's in a coma but through some digging we found out what probably happened. Alice, the blonde, was at the mall with her brother when a piece of the ceiling broke off and hit him over the head. Death was instantaneous. She was already leading a petition to close down the mall, her brother was the head of their safety group, and him dying pushed him over the edge. They had just come from trying to get a meeting with the mall manager about doing something, his death was the last straw for her. For revenge, and in a sick way, to save people Alice built two bombs to get people to pay attention. They weren't even relatively strong. Most of the damage came from here playing off of the structural weakness of the mall."
"That's crazy Donnie! This Alice woman didn't care at all about people getting hurt."
Don shook his head sadly at their father, "No. I mean she timed it to happen near closing, one of their least busy times, but she probably still wanted a body count. We found a blog of her's saying no one would pay attention until there was a pile of bodies."
A weird sort of silence filled the room. It was full of a mixture of anger at Alice, sorrow that Charlie was caught in her mess, and a little bit of fear, if this happened today what could happen tomorrow. Don took the imitative to change the subject and ultimately the mood.
"I think a partys a good idea."
Charlie smiled, "Yeah and we can have another one for my actual birthday since I have to stay now."
"Oh, I'm sure you would love that Charlie." Alan smiled fondly. "I guess you guys deserve it. You can even invite that kid, Nolan was it, and his parents."
"Great idea dad, thanks."
"No problem and happy birthday Charlie."
"Thanks dad."
AN: So what did you think? Any prompt ideas?