The Nautilus

by Ryo314

Charlie knew things were going to get interesting the moment he saw a very nervous Liam Keller enter his office.

1. Chapter I

Title: The Nautilus

Author: Ryo314

Rating: T

Spoilers: Breaking Point

Disclaimer: I don't even know if these things mean anything, but for the record, I do not own Numb3rs.

Summary: Charlie knew things were going to get interesting the moment he saw a very nervous Liam Keller enter his office.

Note: I went back and redid this story using some suggestions I got in my reviews because I intend to write a sequel in a different show. I hope you enjoy and review. Chapter 1/4.

The Nautilus

Chapter I

"Skill is successfully walking a tightrope over Niagara Falls. Intelligence is not trying."

Liam Keller sipped at his drink and then adjusted the tie he was wearing. He should have been excited, or at least more interested than he was acting. He was at a math conference attended by some of the greatest mathematical minds in the country with one of his professors-who doubled as his mentor-but his mind was far from the small talk of the attendees. Instead, his mind was on girl who had left the conference about half an hour before.

Liam took another sip of his drink and sighed; there was a knot forming in his stomach, and he wanted nothing more than to go outside and make a phone call. Better yet, he would have really liked to just return to his hotel. However, he'd been told that he needed to act as normal as possible, and leaving an event that anyone else in his position would kill to be at would not be classified as "acting normal."

"You really need to calm down, Liam," said a voice to his left.

"I'm fine, Prof. Gordon."

"Really? Because if your hands start to shake any worse, you could be used as a Richter Scale." Liam looked to his professor. "We are in California."

Liam looked down at his trembling hands and then spoke softly. "I can't help it, Prof. Gordon; Emmy left. She wasn't supposed to leave."

"Franklin went with her. Besides, it's hard to keep a mind such as Amelia's entertained with the pompous prattle of scholars." Prof. Gordon gave a polite smile and wave to two men who walked past.

"I can't help but think that something is going to go wrong."

"If you keep thinking like that, something will." Prof. Gordon sighed and waved for Liam to follow him. "I have someone I would like to introduce you to."

Liam sighed and nodded. He followed Prof. Gordon across the hall, waiting rather impatiently-and doing a poor job of hiding it-when Prof. Gordon got stopped by another colleague. After a couple of minutes of comparing projects, Liam and Prof. Gordon continued on their way.

"Dr. Eppes, this was the student I was telling you about. Liam Keller is one of my most promising students. He finished his masters about a year ago and is already well on his way to his Ph.D."

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Eppes," said Liam, extending his hand; Dr. Eppes shook it. Liam was amazed by how young he was. "I've always been interested with the math you've applied to solving crimes with the FBI."

"You've heard about that?"

"Chicago may be a ways away, but the math would is pretty small."

Dr. Eppes smiled. "You can say-" Before he could finish his sentence, an explosion rocked the hall they were in. Prof. Gordon and Dr. Eppes were both knocked off their feet, while Liam barely managed to retain his balance. Looking up, Liam spotted several men entering the hall who were definitely not part of the conference.

"I have to call Emmy!" Liam's mind screamed at him. He pulled out his cellphone-ears still ringing-and dialed.

XVIIIIV

"Die you stupid Minotaur!" Emmy shouted at the laptop screen. "Why won't you die?!" She had only been back at the hotel about fifteen minutes, but after pulling down her ridiculous up-do, kicking off her heels, and changing into some jeans and a t-shirt, she was well into a quest in the snowy mountains of Tyria.

Her cellphone, which was sitting next to her computer on the hotel table, started blasting the theme from Zelda, startling her. Emmy snatched up the phone, stuck it between her cheek and shoulder, and answered. "Hello?."

"Amelia, get out of the hotel!"

She furrowed her brows as she sat up straight in her chair. "Liam? What's going on?"

"Get Franklin and get yourself out of there!" In the background, Emmy could hear a lot of yelling.

By this time, Emmy's game was long forgotten as she tried to figure out what was going on. "Liam, what happened?!" She could feel a pit growing in her stomach. Why was he calling her? Shouldn't he be calling Franklin?

Emmy heard Liam let out a huge sigh. "Omega."

Emmy swallowed hard. "But-what-it-"

"Get Franklin and get out! Now!"

With shaking hands, Emmy hung up her cellphone and then quickly closed the laptop without shutting it down. Struggling to keep the panic building inside of her from taking over, Emmy went around the small hotel room, gathering up her things. She threw some clothes into her bag along with her wallet and iPod. She managed to shove her computer into the bag as well and then threw the bag across her shoulder. Grabbing her sneakers from where she'd kicked them off under the table before the conference, Emmy pulled them on. She grabbed a hat, jacket, and cellphone and then reached for her Ripstick. Her brother told her she was ridiculous for going through all the effort of getting it on the plane, but now she was glad she had it. She then ran out the door.

Emmy hurried down the hall to Franklin's room and was about to knock when she heard voices from coming from inside.

"Where is it?" demanded a voice Emmy didn't recognize.

"I don't know what you're talking about." The rough, tired voice belonged to Franklin.

Pushing on the door slightly, Emmy was surprised to find it open. Looking through the crack between the door and frame, Emmy saw Franklin-looking much worse for the wear-sitting in a chair in front of two rather intimidating looking men.

"Last chance," said the man on the left. "Tell us where it is, or you die."

Franklin smiled as he hung his head. "Even if I did know what you are after, you'd kill me anyway." He took in a haggard breath and looked back up. "Go to Hell."

"I'll see you there."

Emmy's eyes went wide as the man raised a gun and aimed at Franklin's head. With her heart feeling like it was going to burst from her chest, Emmy took off running down the hall; she suddenly felt like she had the weight of the world on a single shoulder.

XVIIIIV

Don hurried through the crowds, trying to find Charlie. When the FBI got the call about the explosion at CalSci, his thoughts had immediately gone to Charlie, knowing his brother was at the school that night for some sort of conference. Judging from the way everyone was dressed up, tonight must have been a more formal part of it. Spotting Charlie talking with a few other people, Don let out a sigh of relief and made his way over to his brother.

"Charlie, are you okay?" Don grabbed hold of his brother's shoulder and scanned him for injuries.

"Yeah, Don. I'm okay. My ears are ringing a little, but I'm fine. It doesn't seem as though anyone was hurt." Charlie scoffed. "Now, I'm really glad that Amita and Larry couldn't make it tonight."

"What happened?"

"I'm not really sure. I was talking to a post-grad that a colleague of mine introduced me to, and all of a sudden, there was this huge explosion. My colleague and I were knocked down, but the student managed to stay on his feet. Then, all Hell broke loose."

"We've already got people investigating the explosion, and we're going to try and question those people who were closest to where it went off." Don thought for a moment. "Charlie, do you know who prepared the hall for tonight?"

Charlie though but then shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I don't. I could find out for you though."

"Are you Special Agent Don Eppes?"

Don and Charlie both looked over to see two men in suits walking towards them. Don immediately got a bad feeling. One was a rather short man with thinning brown hair and glasses who Don honestly would never have noticed if he hadn't spoke. The other man-or giant, depending on your point of view-stood well over six feet tall, with broad shoulders and a hard face.

"Can I help you?" asked Don curtly.

"Yes, you can. I'm Agent Bach," said the smaller of the two, "and this is my partner Agent Banks. We're from the NSA." Both men flashed their badges. "We were told you the lead agent here?"

"Yes." He studied the two men carefully. "What can I do for you?"

Agent Bach gave Don a smug smile. "We don't want to be stepping on each other toes, but several of our consultants were here this evening, and it is very important that we locate them immediately and be on our way.

Don raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me? No one is going anywhere until they have been questioned. I don't care if they work for you are not."

"I don't think you understand that importance-"

"I understand that I have a possible terroist attack, and if it is possible that these people have information, then they are not leaving here until they have been questioned." He paused for a moment and squared his shoulders back to indicate he meant business. "Get off my crime scene."

Both agents glared at him, but only Agent Bach spoke. "This is not wise, Agent Eppes." Agent Banks was giving him a hard glare; apparently, he was only there for intimidation. "I will only give you one chance to change your mind."

"That's not gonna happen."

Agent Bach glared at him, but apparently knowing he lacked the authority he needed shook his head. "You will be seeing us again soon, Agent Eppes." He and Agent Banks walked away.

"Something tells me that is not going to end well," said Charlie, from where he stood behind Don.

Don laughed slightly. "I think I could take Bach, but Agent Banks may be a little tougher." He shook his head, now ready to be a bit more serious. "Where are the two people you were talking to right before the explosion? The colleague and the student?"

Charlie shrugged. "I don't really know what happened to the grad student; he was gone before the colleague and I had even gotten back to our feet. My colleague left after saying he needed to make sure the rest of his group was okay. Apparently, he was here with a group from his school who had all been working on some project."

"You have any idea who the NSA would have been looking for?"

Charlie shrugged. "A lot of mathematicians end up doing government work in some capacity. It could honestly be anyone." He let out a shaky sigh and looked around at the damage. Despite his best efforts to hide it, Don could see how shaken up his brother was. Of course, even when working with the FBI, Charlie was typically this close to the incidents.

"What do you think Dad is gonna say?" Charlie asked after a minute or two of silence.

Don was brought out of his thoughts. "Huh?"

"What do you think Dad is gonna say? He's bound to have seen this on the news by now." Charlie groaned. "I'm probably gonna spend all night convincing him I'm okay."

"Maybe he went to bed early," suggested Don with a shrug. "Like at seven."

Charlie shook his head, not impressed by his brother's ridiculous optimism. "That is statistically unlikely."

XVIIIIV

There was something wrong. Their "interrogation" of the NSA agent/code maker had not gone as planned; the man had adamantly refused to say anything, preferring death to being a traitor. They had given the man his preference. But something about the agent didn't seem right. Unlike other agents they had encountered in the past, Franklin had been well-trained in self-defense-putting up a fight when he was attacked-and had held up against their interrogation methods. This was not a typical agent, and it was somewhat unsettling.

Now, back at "headquarters" they were investigating what exactly was wrong. Why would a single member of the group-especially the one who seemed most proficient in self-defense-have gone back to the hotel by himself, abandoning the other four members of the group? That was just asking for trouble. After deciding to take a second more in-depth look at the group's travel plans, they had discovered a sixth traveler who they hadn't known about before listed only as E. Keller. The leader decided it was time for a chat with their mole.

"Who is A. Keller?" the leader demanded immediately after the mole had answered their phone.

"Amelia Keller. Liam Keller's younger sister. She was a change in the plan that was not intended. You need her."

"Why? What is so important about her?"

"Without her, no one can read the code."

"Can you be a little more specific?"

"Not on this phone. It may be a prepaid, but I am not taking chances."

"You said you would get us a copy."

"And I will, but I personally don't have one."

"Wait! You mean you don't have a hard copy of the code?"

"Franklin deemed it too dangerous to travel with a copy. We found...alternative means."

"Do you remember the code?"

The source scoffed. "Do you understand how complex this information is?! You're lucky I remember how to decipher it because we weren't allowed to write that down either."

"So what do we need this Amelia for?"

"The code is on her...literally." There was a knock in the background. "I have to go." The source hung up the phone, leaving the leader very unhappy.

"We need to find out more about this Amelia Keller; she has the code." He looked at the files in front of him. "Let's start with her brother: Liam Keller."

XVIIIIV

The warm wind blew Emmy's short hair into her face, and she pushed it back behind her ears with shaky hands. She was getting as much money as she could from her savings and checking accounts at an ATM; after this, she couldn't used her card or else she would put herself at risk of being found.

Emmy was not looking forward to spending the next several days on her own in LA. She would have done anything to be back in Chicago where at least she had a bed and an EL pass. At this moment in time, she was actually beginning to miss her cramped dorm room and the crazy people who took the red line. She would have given anything to only have to be dealing with the man who tried to sell umbrellas to people who already had them on the El whenever it rained in Chicago.

XVIIIIV

Liam was panicking; He didn't even like it when Emmy took the EL around Chicago with her friends, and now, his little sister was somewhere in LA by herself. Liam groaned. This was not good! He'd called Omega thinking that Franklin would keep his sister safe, but Franklin was dead. D-E-A-D...dead. Franklin was dead-shot in his own hotel room-and now Emmy was on her own in LA. The whole basis for Omega was that Franklin would be with Emmy as he had self-defense training, but Emmy was on her own, and the entire operation was in danger.

Liam threw his bag over his shoulder, grabbed the hotel key off the dresser, and made his way to the hotel room door. About twenty minutes ago, he'd gotten a call from Agent Bach informing Liam that he and his colleagues were to remain in their rooms until the agents came to collect them. This gave Liam very little time to get out before they arrived. Sliding the room key into his pocket, Liam opened the door and stepped out into the hall. He made his way down the hall and around the corner, intending to take the elevator when it suddenly dinged. The doors began to slide open, and Liam could just make out a group of three men in suits before he hurriedly ducked back behind the corner.

Struggling to get control over his breathing, Liam struggled to come up with a new plan of action as he ran in the opposite direction. He needed a new plan of escape, and he needed it fast because any second, the three agents would be coming around the corner. Some deity must have been smiling on his that day because a plan of escape came to him in the form of the emergency exit. Liam knew the agents would first collect his colleagues before they would go and see what had caused the alarm, and he hoped that would give him just enough time to escape.

The alarm began blaring the moment Liam pressed the release bar on the door, and he went sprinting down the stairs, hoping that he would be able to save his little sister.

XVIIIIV

CalSci was still functioning despite the explosion from the night before, and after a long day of classes, Charlie was gathering his things to head home. All he had to do before he left was stop by Amita's office to iron out their dinner plans for the next night. Charlie was about ready to grab his laptop bag and head out when there was a quiet knock on the door. With a sigh, Charlie set down the notebook he'd just grabbed.

"Come on in."

There was a brief pause, but then the door to his office opened. Charlie recognized the young man who entered as the post-grad student he had been introduced to the night before.

"Dr. Eppes?"

"Yes," said Charlie. "You're...Liam Keller?"

The young man nodded. "Yes."

"What can I do for you, Mr. Keller?"

"You can...you can just call me Liam."

"Okay. What can I do for you, Liam?"

"I need your help."

Charlie sighed but did his best not to sound exasperated. "I'm sorry, but I'm in a bit of a hurry right now. Is there anyway we could discuss this tomorrow?" He began gathering his things together again.

"It might be too late by tomorrow."

Charlie stopped and looked up to stare at Liam, now very intrigued. "What is going on?"

"I think I might know something about the explosion that happened last night."

Charlie stared at him suspiciously. "Like what?"

"Like who they were after?"

Charlie creased his eyebrows in confusion. "Who were they after?"

Liam sighed. "My colleagues and I."

"Why?"

"It is a very long story."

Charlie looked at his watch; Amita was probably going to be very angry at him, but this seemed very important. "I've got time."

Liam sighed. "It all started about three months ago. Prof. Gordon asked me along with an assistant professor from one of his Ph. D. classes to help him with a project. Another professor at the school was also involved. We worked on the project for about three weeks before I made a major mistake."

"What was that?" asked Charlie when Liam didn't continue.

"I got my younger sister involved. She also goes to the Illinois Institute of Technology. She majors in math, but all she wanted to do was make computer games." Liam rubbed his temples. "I was just trying to show her that there was more to math than just her games...stuff that could help people. My sister is amazing with patterns, and she helped with the project to condense some of the information. Had I known then what I know now, not only would I never have allowed Emmy to give input, but I would never have told her about the project."

"What was the project for?"

"I don't even know for sure. It has a lot to do with condensing complex codes and other information into waves in order to send it via sound rather than through a computer. Beyond all that, I can't tell you much. We were only told what we needed to do by Prof. Gordon, but we never actually knew what were doing it for. One day, Prof. Gordon came in with a man named Lucas Franklin. Prof. Gordon nearly had a meltdown when he saw my sister had been helping with the project. You see, what we were never told was that the project were developing was for the NSA." Liam sighed. "Now my sister was completely involved with the rest of us."

Liam took a deep breath before continuing. "Once the project was complete, there came the task of delivering it. Franklin was not only a code-breaker, but he was also an NSA agent with a lot of self-defense training from when he was in the Marines. Franklin was supposed to protect us while we traveled to LA to deliver the code. We couldn't carry a hard copy of the project; it was too risky. It took us forever, but someone finally came up with a different method."

Liam didn't continue, and Charlie finally had to prompt him. "What was it?"

"A tattoo...on the least suspicious group member: my sister Amelia. On her back is a tattoo with all the information buried in it. Only the members of the group know how to decode it."

Charlie found all this information very intriguing, but he wasn't sure why Liam had come to him. It was obvious there was very little he would be able to do without the code. "What do you need my help for?"

"Last night, after the explosion, I called one of our escape plans in case something went wrong. Emmy was supposed to go with Franklin, and they were supposed to remain in hiding for five days with absolutely no contact with any other members of the group."

"So what is the problem?"

"Franklin was killed last night; Emmy left without him."

"I hate to sound pessimistic, but how do you know she got away?"

"Because no one outside our group knew about Emmy; she took her things and escaped."

Charlie shook his head. "What do you need my help with?"

"I have to find Emmy. I have to find her before someone else does. I need to get my little sister back safe and sound. These people who are after this code, they're dangerous. And the bad thing is, I don't even know who they are."

"How can I help you?"

"I know you work with the FBI, and I also know that you work with the NSA." Charlie's eyes went wide. "I had temporary clearance with the NSA; I used it to my advantage."

Charlie shook his head and sat down in his desk chair. "I just...I just don't know how I can help you."

"Take me to the FBI; you have pull with them. If you have a brother or sister, you must know how I feel right now."

Liam's words hit home, and Charlie nodded. "Okay. My brother works at the FBI; I'm sure together we'll be able to figure out something."

Liam breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Thank you, Dr. Eppes. Thank you so much."

Charlie grabbed his laptop bag and notebook and gestured for Liam to follow him as he walked out of his office. Once he got Liam to the FBI offices, he, Liam and Don could probably figure out what was the best plan of action.

"What is the information you guys developed for?" asked Charlie as they headed to his car.

Liam shook his head as he adjusted the strap of his bag nervously. "I don't know exactly. We knew that we had to get the information to take up as little space as possible in order for it to be transmitted through waves, but other than that, we were kept in the dark a lot. Prof. Gordon often ran his projects that way; he was afraid of someone else taking credit after a friend of his stole one of his thesises."

"I'm not sure how much help I can give you if I don't even know what the project you were working was about," said Charlie, unlocking the car doors so he and Liam could get in.

"You don't need to know what it was about to find Emmy. She was just supposed to go somewhere with Franklin. Now she is trying to stay off the map on her own, and I need someone's help to find her. Someone who is good at predicting people's patterns." Charlie stared at Liam. "I know a lot about you. You're my sister's idol. Last Thanksgiving all I got to hear about was your work. Granted it was interesting but not for three hours. I swear IIT created a math monster when they admitted her."

Charlie nodded as he started his car and pulled out of the parking lot. "You and your sister both study math."

"It's about the only thing we have in common," Liam muttered in reply.

Charlie decided it would be best if he didn't respond to that.

XVIIIIV

Don was looking over a case report when a shadow fell over his desk. He looked up to see Colby holding two cups of coffee.

"What are you working on?" asked Colby, setting one cup in front of Don and taking a drink of the other.

"I'm just looking over the information we gathered from CalSci last night."

"You ever find out who the NSA agents were after?"

Don shook his head. "Everyone we spoke to last night checked out, and none of them seemed to know why the NSA would want with them." Don paused for a second. "However, I'm not sure how many people would admit to an agent during an investigation that the NSA had an interest in them." Don paused again and went to take a sip of coffee but then stopped. "How did you know about that?"

Colby laughed. "The entire office knows about it. You kicked two NSA agents off a crime scene, and they practically threw a tantrum when they left. No one likes those guys." Colby was about to walk away when he suddenly raised his hand to smack his forehead lightly with his palm. "I nearly forgot. David said that Charlie is looking for you along with some young guy."

"Why didn't he check my desk?" Colby shrugged. "Where is he?"

Colby pointed in Charlie's general direction, and Don stood from his desk to go his brother. After a few minutes of searching, he found the professor outside the war room with-as Colby said-a young guy in tow although, to Don, kid would have been a better term.

"Hey, Charlie, what's going on?"

Charlie turned around and hurried over to his brother. "Don, this is Liam Keller. Liam, this is my brother Don Eppes; he's an agent." Don reached out to shake Liam's hand, and the younger man shook it nervously. "He has some...information about the bomb last night."

Don couldn't help but notice how agitated the younger man seemed. "Well, that's great because right now we don't have a lot to go on."

Noticing Liam's discomfort, Charlie pushed open the door of the war room. "Can we talk in here?"

Don nodded and followed his brother and Liam into the room. "Isn't it a little late to be stopping by here?"

"I...um...you see that's my fault. I had...I had to make sure I wasn't being followed." Liam ran a hand nervously through his hair, feeling the eyes of both brothers on him.

Don's eyes narrowed slightly. "By who?"

"Technically, my employers, I guess.

"We're okay. I can't say the same for my car, but I was still able to drive it here." Don could tell that even though his brother was making jokes the entire thing had him freaked out; his hands were shaking slightly. Charlie swallowed hard. "I think it would be best to start from the beginning. Liam, can you tell my brother what you told me?"

Liam nodded and took a deep breath. It took nearly ten minutes, but Liam explained the entire situation to Don even adding some parts that he had neglected to tell Charlie. When he finished, Liam let out a large sigh and shook his head.

"I didn't know when I invited my sister to come learn about the project that all of this was going to happen," said Liam as he collapsed into a chair. "I was just so happy to see her using her skills to do something other than make minotaurs more human like...or whatever it is she is always going on about. By the time I find out what was really going on, not only did Emmy know about the project, but she had contributed."

"Why didn't you refuse to let your sister get the damn tattoo if you were so worried about her?" demanded Don; it was obvious that he was angry. The thought of another sibling purposely putting another sibling in danger made him fume; perhaps it it a little too close to how he felt about letting Charlie work with the FBI.

"It was a catch-22. My sister was already involved." Tears started to form in Liam's eyes. "If I said no, not only would it anger the man who's my mentor, but I make my sister think I didn't think she can do it even after all that time I spent trying to convince to work on stuff like." Liam sighed. "If I said yes, I willingly putting my sister's life in danger." His shoulders slumped in defeat as if reliving the impossible dilemma. "I just didn't say anything, and I think Emmy felt forced to agree."

Don suddenly felt bad for the young man, and he couldn't help but wonder if Charlie ever felt forced into helping him at the FBI. "Why don't you just go to the NSA?"

"Franklin-the man who was supposed to keep Emmy safe-is dead, and I don't really trust any of the other agents I've met. The NSA won't find Emmy; the NSA will find the code. They can read her tattoo whether she is dead or alive. I want someone to find Emmy."

Don nodded. While the young man's view of the NSA may not have been entirely correct, Don couldn't help but agree with Liam in that the NSA would be more concerned with getting the information back than actually finding the young girl.

"Okay," said Don. "We'll try and find your sister." He began to pace the war room. "You said your sister isn't supposed to contact you for five days?"

"Yeah."

"Do you have any idea where she would have gone?"

"No. Emmy's never even been here. All she knows is Chicago and our hometown."

Don nodded and then turned his head as something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. The elevator at the far end of the office had opened revealing the two NSA agents from the night before.

"Damn it!" Don nearly shouted.

Both Charlie and Liam looked over and spotted the two men. "What are they doing here?" said Charlie, instantly recognizing the men.

"I can't go with them!"

"How do you know they're after you?" asked Don.

"Because they came to the hotel my colleagues and I were staying at. Luckily, they called us all before they arrived to tell us to stay put, but I managed to duck out before they got there. I almost jumped off my balcony." Liam began pacing back and forth frantically. "I can't go with them! There is no way that I will be able to find Emmy if I am with them." He looked toward Don as if pleading for a solution.

Don felt for the young man, but unlike the night before, he didn't really have any authority in this situation. Liam as their consultant, and it was very likely that he and the project were in danger. The NSA had every right to collect him; Liam was trapped in the middle of a very difficult situation.

"Look," said Don, trying to calm the already agitated young man. "You are currently their consultant, and they have every right to take you with them. I'm not sure there is anything I can do to keep you here short of listing you as a suspect or...or you assaulting an agent." Don wasn't certain he had even gotten to the end of the sentence before a fist connected with his jaw and caused his to stumble back a few steps.

"Don, are you okay?" shouted Charlie as he hurried over to his brother. The elder Eppes was rubbing his jaw, but other than that, he seemed okay.

"Does that count?" asked Liam. He seemed shaky, but strangely more calm for a person who had just technically committed a crime. The young man was determined not to go with the NSA agents making their way to the war room.

The door to the war room, and Don heard the first of the two agents speak. "Agent Eppes," said Agent Bach, "are you okay?" He sounded concerned, but Don was able to detect the smugness hidden in his tone. Without even waiting for an answer, Agent Bach turned toward Liam. "Mr. Keller, we missed you at your hotel, and if I remembered correctly, we asked you to stay put. If you would be kind enough to come with us."

Liam looked between the two agents and the Eppes brothers; there was a look of sheer panic on his face, and his breathing was becoming heavy. Don had a feeling that if he didn't do something quickly, Liam might just try and run.

Still rubbing his jaw, Don cleared his throat and spoke. "He can't. Liam Keller is under arrest...for assaulting an FBI agent."

While the two NSA agents looked as though their heads were going to explode in anger, Liam actually smiled; it was the only time in Don's entire career that he saw someone smile after being placed under arrest.

It was quite easy to miss the subtle movement of Agent Bach clenching his jaw, but to a trained FBI agent like Don, it was as obvious as a neon sign over a rainbow unicorn. "This was not smart, Mr. Keller. It is not just your sister who is in danger." The agent abruptly turned toward Don. "You haven't seen the last of us, Agent Eppes." Without another word, both Bach and Banks turned toward the door to leave. From their posture, it seemed like although they had lost this particular battle, they were still planning on winning the war.

All three men breathed a huge sigh of relief as the war room door clicked softly shut. It was short lived, however, short-lived as Liam started panicking once again; it seemed the gravity of what he had just done had finally hit him.

"Agent Eppes, I am really sorry about punching you, but I couldn't go with them." Liam looked as though he was sincere, and Don had a hard time thinking that he would have done something different had Charlie been in danger. While it certainly hadn't been the hardest punch Don had ever received, Liam did back quite a punch for such a small, unassuming guy.

"It's okay. Don't do it again, but I'll let it slide this time. You're just lucky none of the FBI agents saw or else things would have been a lot more interesting." There was a brief pause in the conversation as Don tried to formulate a plan of action for his new "criminal". Don turned toward Charlie who still seemed a little shocked by the fact Liam had punched his brother. "Charlie, do you have room at your place?"

It took Charlie a second to respond, but he eventually nodded, understanding what his brother was getting at. "I'll have to tell Dad we're having a guest."

Liam looked at Don and Charlie, genuinely confused. "I'm...I'm going to be stay at Dr. Eppes' house?"

Don crossed his arms and gave the young man a smirk. "It's either that, or I can lock you up for punching me."

Liam turned pale and then looked toward Charlie. "Thank you so much for the invite."

XVIIIIV

Across the street from the FBI building stood two rather imposing looking men. They had been sent there in order to gather information regarding Liam Keller and his sister Amelia, but before they got a chance, Liam had gone to the FBI. Neither man wanted to be the one to break the bed news to their employer.

TBC