Three Eppes hostages, a very bruised jaw, a deadly snake, a raging river and a bad guy on the loose. Yes, it was a very bad day for the Eppes. Don whumping and some Charlie too.

Hi everybody! First of all, I wish you all a very happy New Year.

I wrote this story between Xmas and New Year Eve. I didn't want to disturb my Beta during her Xmas break so the text hasn't been corrected. My apologies for any weird phrasings or grammar mistakes, English is not my mother tongue.

I will post a chapter per day. Reviews (good or bad) always welcome.

Chapter One

Alan smiled as he adjusted his tie. It was his birthday and his sons had decided to take him to the restaurant. Of course, it wasn't the first time it happened but these last past months had been very hard on his two sons, with Charlie losing his clearance and fighting to get it back, and the consequences it had had on Don, both professionally and personally. His eldest had shown signs of discouragement and doubt lately, and although Alan was glad that Don opened up a little, it also worried him: things had to be pretty bad if his son felt the need to talk about his feelings with him. That was why this outing was important to him: it was the first time since Charlie's arrest that they were going out as a family.

He didn't know where they were going – it was a surprise although Charlie had had a hard time keeping the secret. Alan smiled at his refection in the mirror. Yes, he was happy. The only black cloud was the one in the sky. It hadn't stopped pouring for three days.

"Dad, you're ready?"

Alan startled and turned to watch Charlie dashing down the stairs four at a time.

"Don's gonna be here any minute now." And sure enough, a few seconds later, the two men heard the SUV stop in front of the craftsman's house.

The door burst opened and Don appeared in the doorway. "Jesus, what a weather!" he grumbled as he swiped his feet on the doormat. "You're ready, guys?"

"Yep!" Alan replied quickly. He looked at his tie one last time in the mirror, immediately imitated by Charlie and the three men left the house to run to the SUV.

Once inside the vehicle, Alan asked "So, where are we going?"

"Patience." Don replied with a mischievous smile.

"To the Three Swans!" Charlie said with excitement.

Don glanced at Charlie in his rear-view mirror: never mind how old he was, Charlie was still a big kid at heart. Don shook his head, amused as he started the engine.

It took them longer than planned to reach the restaurant. The rain had doubled, slowing down the traffic. Even with the windshield wipers on full speed, Don could hardly see the road. They finally made it safely and Don pulled over in front of the restaurant.

"The parking lot is just behind. No need for all of us to be drenched. Go ahead. I'll park the car and will join you right away."

Alan and Charlie got out and ran to the restaurant while Don drove to the parking lot. He locked the car and ran back to the entrance.

He shook himself, pushed the door and looked around to find his father and brother. The place was only half full and he saw them rapidly. He took one step but something in their body language and the general ambiance made him stop. He scanned the room briefly, his hand moving instinctively to his hip. He swore under his breath as he remembered he had left his gun and badge at home- tonight he was going out as Don the son, not Don the FBI agent. That was when he noticed from the corner of his eyes a man walking over to him. Without hesitation, he plunged casually his hand in his pocket, discreetly flipped his cellphone open and pressed one of the speed dial keys.

The man stopped in front of Don, smiling "Good evening Sir. You have a reservation?"

"No" Don replied quickly, making sure not to look at Alan and Charlie. "I didn't book but I was hoping there would be a table free tonight."

The man took a deep breath, nodded and smiled strangely. "Well, it's your lucky day." He replied drily before pulling a gun out of his pocket and aiming it at the agent. Don raised his hands lightly in a peaceful movement. There were too many people in the restaurant to try anything... just yet. Not to mention that the man had certainly accomplices. "Go sit there and don't move. Hands on the table."

"Sure" Don replied calmly.

The man kept his eyes on Don until the agent sat at the table.

.

The day had been long but the paperwork was finished and David was more than glad to be home. He fished his keys out of his pockets and started to turn the key in the lock when his cell phone rang. "Don" was displayed on the screen. David could not hold back a sigh. God! The man never stopped working! He was about to speak when he heard a muffled voice.

"... sit there and don't move. Hands on the table"

David froze. It wasn't Don's voice. He listened more carefully.

"Sure." This time is was Don.

"Nobody moves and there're no reason for this to end badly."

In a second, David understood the situation. Keeping his phone to his ear, he pushed his front door open and ran to his landline to call Colby and explain what was going on. Then he made another call.

"Agent Sinclair. I need you to locate Agent Eppes. His mobile's on. Find his position and give it to Agent Granger. It's urgent. I think Agent Eppes is held hostage, probably with other people."

His mobile still glued to his ear, he kept listening to what was happening as he drove back to the office.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Don again.

"When I said 'Don't move', I also meant Shut up!"

He knew his boss was trying to give him as much information as he could. He also knew it was a very dangerous game to play. What puzzled David was why the HT hadn't taken Don's mobile away. Something wasn't clear. They should have searched him and taken his cell at the same time as his gun... unless they didn't know he was FBI. Damn! Alan's birthday! Don had mentioned he was going out with his father. Don was unarmed and chances were, Alan and Charlie were held hostages too.

.

The man turned to the waitress "you! Carry on serving these people. Everything must look normal."

Don glanced very briefly at Alan and Charlie to make sure they were alright. He didn't want the other man (and his accomplices, surely he wasn't alone) to know they were together.

The man sat at a table in a corner of the restaurant from where he had a clear view of the entrance and the kitchens.

Carefully and slowly, the agent scanned the room to try and identify the other HTs. He noticed another man seated at the opposite corner of the room - He also noticed the bulge under his jacket. Not knowing their names, he decided to give them a number. Charlie would like that, he thought briefly. Alright, this one would be HT2. Don carried on his inspection and spotted a blond man at a table in the middle of the restaurant. Don couldn't see any weapon but he looked very calm for someone held hostage. Okay, HT3. He turned his attention to the table located in the third corner of the room occupied by a couple. To anyone else they were just a regular couple but to an experienced eye like Don's, it was clear that the woman was terrorised by the man sitting with her. Yep! The guy was one of them. Don looked away casually. Right, we now say 4 HTs. There was probably another one maybe two in the kitchens watching the staff, which brought the number up to 5 or 6. Don winced inwardly. There was nothing he could do on his own. He had to wait for his team.

The waitress approached his table hesitantly. "Can I take your order, Sir?" She asked, opening the menu with a trembling hand.

The whole scene seemed unreal but Don took the card and, pretending to read, he asked in a low voice. "How many are they?"

The young woman blinked at him, surprised. She hesitated then replied quietly "Five".

Don kept his eyes on the menu "Four in the restaurant and one in the kitchens?"

She stared at him, even more surprised then nodded slightly.

"Hey! What takes you so long?" The young woman jumped and whipped around to face HT1. Don looked up and, handing the card back to her, replied aloud "I'll have a salad."

Shyly, she asked. "Uh... which one? We have the chicken salad or-"

"Chicken will be perfect." He said with a reassuring smile.

The waitress tried to smile back then went back to the kitchens.

.

"Dad, stop staring at Don." Whispered Charlie "If they realise you're watching him, they're gonna become suspicious."

"Yes, yes I know" Alan muttered back, looking at his starter: "Egg mayonnaise". He wasn't too keen on egg mayonnaise but he had ordered the first thing on the menu while the man with the gun was standing next to him.

"Why didn't he sit with us? What is he planning?" The elder man asked as he cut his egg in two. He could tell by Don's eyes that the FBI agent had taken over. Although he seemed to act normally, there was something imperceptibly different in his attitude, something Alan didn't like.

Charlie glanced quickly at his brother. "He's trying to protect us, I guess. If they find out he's FBI, they could take it out on us."

"Well, how come that doesn't make me feel better?" Alan replied drily. He knew his eldest would do anything in his power to keep them and the other customers safe but he could also tell that he would act if an opportunity occurred. And that didn't reassure Alan at all.

.

Colby and Liz were already at work when David arrived at the Bureau.

"Any news?" He asked, covering the speaker of his phone with his hand.

"He's at a restaurant called "The three swans." Colby replied, pointing at the map on the wall.

"Do we know how many hostages there are?" Liz asked

"Nor but from what Don said, there seems to be at least five HTs. Charlie and Alan are there too but I had the feeling that Don wasn't sitting with them. And I don't think that the HTs know Don's FBI."

"That's good. Things could turn really nasty for him if they knew." Colby commented.

"Do we know what they're after?" Liz inquired

David shook his head. "It's not clear yet. They act as if they were waiting for something or someone."

"Ok so we go there and wait until we know more?" Colby asked.

"Yes. With Don on site, we have the best source of information we could ask for. We wait for his signal to proceed."

.

The waitress placed a salad and a bottle of water in front of Don.

"Is there an emergency exit?" The agent whispered.

"In the kitchen." She replied in the same tone as she opened the bottle before pouring some water in the glass.

"Any back door?"

"In the corridor leading to the toilets but it's under alarm... Are you a policeman?" She asked timidly, placing the bottle on the table.

"FBI. Do you know who they are or what they want?"

"No... You're going to help us, aren't you?"

"I'm gonna try. Go before they get suspicious." He let his gaze wander around the room, checking the guests, stopping slightly longer on Alan and Charlie. He turned his head and realised that HT1 was watching him. Looking as calm and detached as possible, Don then looked down at his salad, and sighed. Food was not what he needed at the moment. His Glock and his team would have been better.

The level of tension was rising by the minute in the restaurant. Suddenly, one of the clients got up and asked forcefully "What do you want? Tell us what you want. If it's money I give you what I have."

He lifted his hand toward the inside pocket of his jacket but was stopped before he could reach it. HT3 - the blond man sitting in the middle of the room jumped on him and hit him violently before searching him. The woman sitting with him started to scream and HT3 pulled his gun to aim at her. "Shut up!"

"Leave her alone." Her companion shouted.

"I said 'Shut up'!" Yelled HT3. He raised his hand to slap the woman.

Charlie, who was sitting at the table next to the couple's, couldn't help intervening. "Can't you see she's terrorised?"

HT3 turned around swiftly and punched the professor, sending him to the floor. Charlie saw a multitude of bright stars dancing in front his eyes. He tried to sit up but fell back on the floor when his arms refused to cooperate. Alan shot off his chair to help him.

Don had also jumped to his feet but HT4 pointed his gun at him

"Sit... now!

Don lifted a hand "I just want to see how he is."

"Why? You're a doctor?"

Before Don could answer, a woman's voice replied behind him. "No, he's a Fed!"

Don span around and stared at the waitress with wide eyed. She hadn't just?... What was wrong with her?

HT1 reacted quickly "A Fed?" He pushed Don violently against the wall and started to search him.

"I'm not armed."

"You won't be offended if I don't take your word for it, will you?" A Fed? How could they know? If they had sent one of them, there were probably more. HT1 held his gun tighter while aiming at Don.

Don read the man's thoughts and replied "I'm alone."

The man studied Don's face but couldn't decide whether he was telling the truth. The blond man approached and pressed his gun against the Agent's forehead and growled. "A good Fed is a dead Fed. We must get rid of him. It's too dangerous to have him here."

HT1 mulled over what his man said then shook his head. "No, if things go south, we could take him with us. A Fed as hostage is a guarantee to get out. They won't put his life at risk". The man looked at Don and smiled "But you're right. He's dangerous. Turn around and face the wall."

Don obeyed. A heavy silence fell in the restaurant. Alan, now holding Charlie in his arms, watched horrified as the man pressed his gun against Don's nape. He wanted to scream, say or do something but he was petrified. How could Don remain so calm with a barrel against his head? He watched, powerless, as the man lifted his gun and, with an evident satisfaction, hit his son. The agent fell on the floor.

"This is a warning, Fed. If you try anything, I shoot you dead. Got it?"

His hand reaching shakily to his neck, Don took a moment to recover before pushing on his arms to sit up against the wall.

Satisfied, HT1 turned to the rest of the clients "Anyone else has anything to say?... No? Good." He looked at Alan. "Grand Pa, pick up your kid and no scene."

Alan helped Charlie to sit back on his chair "How do you feel?"

Charlie worked his jaw. It was painful, very painful but not broken. "I'll be fine, Dad. What about Don?"

Alan looked as his eldest got on his knees and with the help of the wall, stood up a little unsteadily, still holding his nape.

HT3 approached and pushed him forcefully towards his chair. Don managed to grip the table to keep his balance and sat down. He closed his eyes and waited for the pain to ease up.

His two sons were wounded and there was nothing he could do. Alan wanted to yell in frustration. No, it was definitely not the kind of evening I expected, he thought, an arm around Charlie's shoulders and an eye on Don.

Tbc