A/N: July 10, 2007. Good news for me at least. I have found a beta who has combed through the first 8 chapters of this fic and help me fix it. As you can see based on the comments there was at least 55 chapters. All will return as they are fixed and updated.

Thanks to those that have read this long long fic I really appreciate it.

Special thanks to sororcula for betaing all the grammar, Lemonpoptart, Timespirt and donlover for their comments and content betaing over the last year. Your help is appreciated.

Disclaimer I do not own Numb3rs I only like to play

"There's nothing on them in the fingerprint database," Colby said as he sat down in his seat in the LA branch of the FBI.

"What are they, ghosts?" Megan mused.

Don rubbed his jaw, where a small purple bruise was forming, and replied, "There has to be something on them, if they work for the government. Their prints have to be on file somewhere."

Colby shrugged. "Nah, Don. It's like they don't exist."

Don looked at Megan. "Have any of them said anything?"

"No, they keep just repeating their names and that phone number."

Don sighed and stood up. "This is getting us nowhere. I'm gonna take a crack at the one named Elle. See if I can pry anything loose."

Megan snorted. "Yeah, well good luck with that. I think you are the last person she'll talk to."

Don grimaced. "Yeah, well, it's worth a shot."

Colby leaned over to Megan and said, as Don walked to the interrogation rooms, "Better him than me any day."

Don stepped into the small viewing room to observe the woman named Elle. Her eyes were closed as if she was relaxing in a spa. His eyes roamed over her appreciatively. Her curly hair reminded him of Charlie's, but put together with a well-toned body it equaled a very attractive, although dangerous, woman.

He rubbed his jaw again where she had hit him and considered that, if anything, her delicate features were deceiving; she was more than she seemed.

He walked into the interrogation room. Her eyes snapped open. They were as dark as the night sky and shot Don an icy, unfriendly look, making Don tread carefully. Don mused that her eyes were a stark contrast to her fair, creamy skin.

Don spoke up as he undid the handcuffs. "Let me get those." He noticed that her biceps were sleek and muscular, explaining why her punch had such an impact. Her clothing consisted of a short sleeved black shirt that was cut short and dark jeans that hugged her hips and legs.

He watched her bring her arms forward and begin to rub the circulation back into her wrists. She continued to glare at Don but stayed silent.

"I'm Special Agent Don Eppes. It's Elle, right? Can I get you water or something?"

The woman still refused to speak as he sat down at the metal table across from her. She stared at Don, like her eyes could bore holes through him.

Don found both her attitude and presence unsettling. Under a calm exterior, a tiny thread of alarm ran through him from being in close proximity to this woman. As a pro, he buried that down so no shadow of it carried into his voice. When he spoke, the words peppered out like a rapid fire weapon. "We ran both your prints and government ID, but we came up empty. I think you knew that would happen. What are you and the others, ghosts? How about you tell me why you were in that warehouse, armed to the teeth? Maybe if you do, we won't have to press charges against you for assaulting a federal agent."

She settled back into the chair and crossed her legs before repeating the same thing the other four suspects had said. "My name is Elle. Please call 818-555-6699." When she was done speaking she stared at her fingernails for a moment before cracking her knuckles. Elle looked at the table and began to tap her fingers on the table in a steady rhythm.

Don ground his teeth as he retorted, "Yes, we called that number. It goes straight to voicemail. Whoever that phone number belongs to hasn't returned our call yet. So again I ask, who are you? What were you doing at that warehouse?"

A tight, arrogant smile graced her lips as she leaned forward. "My name is Elle. Let me spell that for you, since I know how slow you FBI types are. E, L, L, E. My name is Elle. Please call 818-555-6699." As she completed the repetition, she relaxed back in the chair and crossed her arms in front of her as she closed her eyes once again.

Never in Don's life had he hit or wanted to hit a woman, but at this moment, he was beginning to reconsider that policy. His eyes narrowed as he reached up and touched the bruise where Elle had punched him. That arrogant smile she wore was getting on his last nerve. Hell, this whole thing was getting on his nerves. He could tell that he had poked through her facade since she had said more than the others in her group. "You leave me no choice; we're going to book you and the rest of your crew."

Don was about to put the handcuffs back on her when AD Merrick's voice came over the speaker. "Eppes."

Don lips formed a straight line as he stalked out of the room and entered the observation room. His body hummed with annoyance at being interrupted.

Merrick looked at Don and said, "Cut them loose."

Don snapped his head up. "What?"

"I said, cut them loose. I got a call back from that number. They've been cleared."

Don's jaw tightened. "Fine." He gritted his teeth and walked back into the interrogation room. "The people from your phone number FINALLY got back to us. They cleared you."

She stood up and stretched languidly like a cat. When she did that her low cut jeans gave Don a glimpse of her fit abdomen and the small black tattoo on her hip. She smirked. "Good."

She moved to walk out of the office, but stopped inches from where Don stood. He watched her eyes flick up and down before she leaned in closer. "Tough luck, Eppes." She chuckled lightly at him. "This ghost is out of here."

From their desks, Megan and Colby watched the "ghost" group leave the office.

Don joined his team as Megan gave him a look. "What's going on?"

"Merrick told me to let them go. He said the phone number cleared them."

David hung up his phone. "Hey Don, I dug a bit deeper into that number the group kept giving. It is some government prefix, but the trail ends there."

Don looked up while David was listening and caught Elle looking back at him. She caught him watching them and smirked. She mouthed the word "ghost" at him before turning her back to him to get on the elevator.

Colby groaned. "All that work down the drain now. So now what Don?"

Turning, Don growled, "Government, huh? Colby, see if we can get a tail on them."

Megan inquired with a raised eyebrow, "Do you think that is a good idea?"

Don grunted before he sat down at his desk. "No, but we've worked on that case for some time and now we're at a dead end. I want to know who they are, and how they're involved."