Disclaimer: I'm borrowing the boys and girls from the FBI and Cal Sci, and Alan of course, I promise to put them back safely when I've played with them and intend no infringement of copyright apart from paying homage to the wonderful creators of great characters.
Warning: Set after All's fair and Rampage( Season 2) and will probably contain spoilers in upcoming chapters.
Synopsis:- Charlie is caught up in a devastating event.
Primary Focus
Don rubbed his hand over his face wearily, his fingers lingering as he rubbed across each eye, as though that would take some of the sting out of what he'd seen today, but he knew that it wouldn't, couldn't. These were images that would etch themselves there for a lifetime and their intensity wouldn't fade. He'd just manage somehow to harden himself to it, to deal with it, as he had all of the other terrible atrocities that he'd seen in his career. Only with this one, even he would be admitting that he would need help. The department shrinks would be working overtime, they'd probably ship more in from outside, organise group sessions, everyone would talk and hug and feel better and . . . Dammit he didn't want to feel better, he wanted to be angry and. . .
He cut the thoughts off and pinched his nose trying hard to pull his focus back. He still had a report to fill out before he could hand this off to Homeland Security. This was now officially their headache, not his, and a part of him at least was grateful for that. He wouldn't have to deal with looking endlessly at the photographs, interviewing the witnesses, the injured, the relatives of the dead, or would he? There were so many. Would Homeland security need to use his team after all? The same part of him hoped not. He looked back at the screen ready to continue typing when his cell rang.
"Eppes," he stated, his tone even more clipped than usual, as he fought to keep the emotion out of it.
"Don, this is Larry."
The introduction was unnecessary Don recognised the slightly nasal tones. Something cold rippled down his spine.
"I'm sorry if this is a bad time," Larry continued hesitantly, "But I . . ." he trailed off the pause stretching.
"It's not been the best of days," Don admitted, the understatement of the century. In fact it had probably been the worst day Don could remember. He was tired and uncharacteristically emotional, and he still had hours of work to do, he didn't really have the physical or emotional space to deal with anything else. He let out a short sigh and pinched his nose again, forcing himself to be polite to the absent minded professor. "What can I do for you?"
"I. . er. . ." Larry still seemed unsure of himself. "Could you come to your brother's office."
Don should have snapped back with an 'are you kidding me? Don't you know what's happened today? Don't you know what I, and every other law enforcement officer in the city is working on?' but he didn't. He knew that Larry knew exactly how busy he would be, and had called him anyway, knew as the cold streak danced back up his spine that something was wrong. Alarm bells were ringing in Don Eppes head, loud and clear like Klaxons, and so, instead of brushing Larry off, he gave a slightly shaky "Sure," licking suddenly dry lips as his intestines tightened. He asked the question that he didn't really want an answer to. "Is there something wrong?"
There was a pause on the other end of the line. "Yes. . no. . I think so." There was another pause. "Do I?" the question was clearly rhetorical. "Yes. . yes. . .definitely something wrong."
"With Charlie?" Don asked, trying not to show his frustration at the vaguenesss. His gut tightened once again as he felt like someone was trying to carve out a large hollow in the pit of his stomach.
"Yes, that's exactly right," Larry stated, the hesitancy gone, now replaced with a confident tone. "There's something wrong with Charlie," another pause. "I think he needs your help."
"Why? What is it?" Don asked, needing more, much more.
"I. . ." the hesitancy was back. "I can't really explain but I think . . ." the pause seemed endless but was no more than a second. Larry sounded somehow lost, and not just in his usual, deep thought, contemplation of the universe way. "Can you just come?"
Don picked up his jacket from the chair cradling his cell under his ear as he put it on, rationally he knew he should stay and finish his report, but rational had nothing to do with the churning tension from his gut, with the fact that he knew beyond any doubt that 'there's something wrong with Charlie was another huge understatement. "I'm on my way."
