NUMB3RS
TITLE: MEMORY RECALL
RATING: PG-13
DISCLAIMER: CBS, PARAMOUNT, CHERYL HEUTON AND NICOLAS FALACCI OWN AND OPERATE NUMB3RS. NO COPYWRITE VIOLATION WAS INTENDED, AND NO PROFIT HAS BEEN MADE IN THE MAKING OF THIS STORY.
SUMMARY: AFTER LOSING HIS MEMORY IN A HORRIBLE BOATING ACCIDENT, CHARLIE IS FOUND BY A WIDOW WHO THINKS HE IS HER SON. DON AND HIS TEAM MUST SOLVE ONE OF THEIR TOUGHEST CASES WITHOUT CHARLIE, WHO UNBEKNOWEST TO THEM, IS RIGHT IN THE THICK OF THINGS.
Chapter One:
It was a gorgeous day in California. The birds were chirping as the sun shone over the city.
One lone boat left the Osage dock and headed out towards a small island off in the distance.
The old wood of the small boat creaked as the three passangers got settled to wait.
The three passangers were all math consultants from CalSci, who were taking some time off to go camping on the small island called Chatanooga Island.
Dr. Edward Morris turned to his two friends and collaegues Dr's. Leo Crawford and Charles Eppes, who both set up front, enjoying the morning air.
This was the first time in five months that the three of them could just get away for some male bonding.
Usually every two months the three of them would camp out at Chatanooga, but lately, with their work schedules' and Charlie spending more time with his brother at the FBI office, they hadn't had a chance to get together, but finally their schedule's eased up, and Charlie took some time off,(which he rarely, if ever did) to go camping with his buddies.
"This is my favorite time of day." Leo commented to his two friends as he breathed in the slightly salty air.
"Uh huh, and why is that?" Charlie asked as he looked at his friend questioningly.
Leo chuckled as he replied, "It's the coolest part of the day. In about...one hour and thirty minutes, the tempature will be at least 98 degrees."
Charle nodded his head and smiled slightly.
"Hey Charlie, don't forget that it's you're turn to set up camp!" Edward said from his seat at the moter.
"I remember. How can I forget with you drilling it into me every two hours?" Charlie replied with a grin on his face.
Edward chuckled as he tightened his grip on the controls of the small boat as he made a small course correction.
The waves were a little stronger than usual, which usually meant that a storm was brewing up out in the ocean.
Usually he didn't have to fight the controls this much to keep control over the small boat.
Suddenly the controls locked up completely as smoke began to pour out of the engine!
"Oh crap, this is not good!" Edward said as he lept away from the engine and nearly toppled the boat.
"What the heck..?" Leo began, but he stopped when he saw the smoke.
"The engine's on fire!" Charlie said as he to, leapt up.
"If that gas tank blows we've had it!" Leo said as he looked towards the distant shore of Chatanoog Island.
"We'll never make it to Chatanooga. I don't trust the engine to start up, not with the amount of smoke pouring from it!" Edward informed his friends.
"Looks' like theirs nothing for it but to swim!" Leo said as he prepared to leap off the boat.
"Swim? In this current?" Charlie asked as he directed his friends' glances to the water, which was steadily pulling the boat towards Chatanooga.
"Do we have a choice!" Leo asked his friend.
Charlie looked from his friends, to the smoking engine and back.
Before any of them could make a choice, flames lept out from the engine and set the gas tank on fire!
"We have got to go, like now!" Edward said as he pointed to the water and prepared to leap off.
Charlie saw that he was right and dove off into the water, but not before the boat exploded!
The force of the explosion sent Leo's body into Charlie and forced them both under the surface of the water!
Charlie sunk like a rock and before long he hit the bottom of the small river.
Regaining his footing, Charlie tried to push off towards the surface but his feet got tangled up in some old fishing net.
No amount of tugging, twisting or yanking could pull him free of the old netting.
The air bubbles escaped Charlie's mouth in ernest as his lungs screamed for air.
It seemed to Charlie that it had been forever since he had breathed in a single breath of oxygen!
Finally, Charlie had no choice but to breath in the water, which he immediatly choked on.
Charlie's struggles became more violent, so violent that the old netting finally jerked off of him, but not before Charlie lost conciousness and stopped breathing.
Slowly his body started to float to the surface.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Oh my God!" Steven Mayweather said as the small boat exploded.
"What?" Steven's friend, Jonathan Conder asked.
"Did you see that!" Steven asked.
"See what?"
"That boat out there on Chatanooga just blew up!" Steven gasped out.
"What!" Jonathan asked as he strained to see the bits of flaming wreckage on the water.
Turning to Steven, he asked, "Did you see any survivers?"
"No, but we better check just to make sure." Steven replied as he and Jonathan started their speed boat and raced towards the explosion.
-----------------------
Both men searched the wreckage, and quickly found the bodies of Leo and Edward.
"Oh man, this is a bad way to go." Steven said as he covered the dead bodies with a tarp.
"Who were they?" Jonathan asked.
"Two math professers from CalSci. A Edward Morris and a Leo Crawford." Steven said, reading the dead men's ID's.
Jonathan nodded and looked back into the water just in time to see Charlie's ID come floating to the surface.
Swiftly, Jonathan leaned over and snatched it up.
"What'cha got?" Steven asked his friend.
"Another ID. Probably from a third victim of this accident." Jonathan replied.
Steven gazed into the water,searching for another body.
"I don't see anybody else." He said.
"The body's probably at the bottom of the river." Jonathan replied as he flipped open the ID and gazed at the picture of Charlie.
"Who is it?" Steven asked.
"A Dr. Charles Edward Eppes. He's a math professer from CalSci." Jonathan muttered.
"That fits with the other two." Steven said.
"Man, he was so young, still in his twenties..." Jonathan continued, oblivious to his friend.
"Jon, snap out of it. Look, the best thing we can do is call 911, hopefully they can contact the family's of the victims." Steven said.
Jonathan closed his eyes as a single tear slid down his cheek.
In all reality, he didn't know why he was crying for someone he didn't know.
But, deep down in his heart, he knew why.
This man, this Charles Eppes, was the same age his father was when Jonathan's father died in a boating accident.
Jonathan had never forgiven himself for that, he still blamed himself for the accident.
Steven reached into his pocket and withdrew his cellphone.
Flipping open the reciever, he punched in 911, before he put the reciever to his ear.
When the person on the other end picked up, Steven said, "I'd like to report a boating accident."
He went on to tell her what happened and the fact that he had two confirmed dead bodies and a possible third.
The 911 operative assured Steven that local police would be there at the dock to help him when he got back.
Thanking her, Steven hung up and began to bring the boat back to Osage.