-1
Title: Obsession
Author: 1st endeavor
Disclaimer: See Prologue
A/N: Thank you for your wonderful reviews.
Sun-Tzu ping-fa (Sun Tzu The Art of War)
Warfare is the Way of deception
Therefore, if able, appear unable
If active, appear not active.
If near, appear far
If they have advantage, entice them
Attack where they are not prepared, go out to where they do not expect
……and so it begins.
Chapter 2:
Don Eppes sat at his desk in the downtown Los Angeles office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation reviewing his teams 302 forms from the day before.
It had been a surprisingly quiet week for them, one that had given them a breather and a chance to get caught up on all of the paperwork involved with their latest cases. He was finally getting the stacks of paper down to a final few when his phone rang. Grabbing the phone and placing it between his shoulder and ear, he listened as he continued to peruse the paperwork.
"Eppes."
He quickly grabbed the phone in his hand and put the paperwork back down as soon as he identified the caller. "Yes sir, I'll be right up."
Sighing he closed the folder and pushed his chair away from his desk, frowning at the small stack of folders still lying there.
"Okay, so I almost got them all finished." he thought as he grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair.
He looked around the glass walls that surrounded him until he spotted his team. All three of them had gathered in the break room.
As he strode toward them he put on his jacket wondering what they were doing. They appeared to be looking at something on one of the tables and his curiosity grew as he got closer to the room.
Megan, Colby and David were so engrossed in the paper that was spread out in front of them that they had failed to notice his approach. Don quietly peaked over they"re shoulders and his eyebrows shot up in surprise when he realized what they were up too.
"Oh, man, you guys are going to be so dead when he finds out what you're doing." he said raising his voice deliberately.
Three startled, guilty faces turned toward him.
Colby tried to grab the paper from the table, but Don was too quick for him and slapped his hand down on top of it first.
Don let out a whistle, "How many people are in on this office pool anyway?"
Colby glanced at his co-conspirators and got up enough nerve to speak. "Well so far, almost everyone on this floor and twenty people from the 2nd floor. Everybody likes Charlie, so you know, everyone wanted to get in on it."
Megan put her hand on her hip and leaned toward him conspiratorially. "Larry thinks it will be soon. What do you think Don? Has he given you any hints?
Don straightened up with a smirk on his face. "Hey, if I did know I wouldn't tell you guys, that's up to him."
"Come on Don, you don't think this will upset him do you?" David asked as a look of concern crossed his features but he quickly shrugged it off and added. "If it was one of us we would do it and besides Charlie is one of us anyway."
"It's all in good fun." The pretty agent noted. "Charlie wouldn't get upset about this."
"Uh huh." Don remarked. "I don't think that I would let him see this, trust me, it wouldn't be a pretty sight."
Colby snickered and rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on Don, what's a mathematician going to do to three FBI agents?" The three agents burst out in laughter at the thought of the Professor having any chance of getting any sort of payback.
"I don't know guys, but I learned a long time ago not to underestimate my little brother. Don't let those big brown eyes of his fool you because behind them lurks one of the sharpest minds in the world today."
As he turned to leave he remembered the reason for coming to see his team.
"I'll be with AD if you need me."
"Don, aren't you going to place a bet on what day Charlie will propose to Amita?" Colby asked waving a pen in front of him. "It's only twenty bucks."
"Hell, no, I've already been on the other end of that sharp mind and I gotta tell you… it still stings." he called over his shoulder as he walked out of the room.
The three remaining agents shared a moment of hesitation and then shook their heads and laughed. They couldn't stop now, this was too much fun.
...
Don exited the elevator and headed straight for the assistant director's office. The receptionist was on the telephone when he arrived and when she saw him she covered the receiver with a hand and turned to him.
"You can go right in Agent Eppes, he's been waiting for you."
"Thanks Karen," he responded as headed for the glass door to the office.
The agent could see Wright sitting at his desk and there was another man seated across from him with his back to the door. As Don entered the room the assistant director stood up and walked around his desk to meet the agent.
The other man stood as well and turned to face Don.
To the agent's surprise, the AD clapped him on the back as he introduced his guest.
"Special Agent Don Eppes meet Detective Patrick O'Connell, Special Detective Unit of the PSNI Special Branch."
Don extended his hand and as he shook the man's gloved hand he asked, "Police Service of Northern Ireland?"
Nodding his head the man smiled and spoke in an unmistakable Irish accent. "Well, I'm impressed, there aren't too many people who know what those initials stand for. It's an honor to meet you Agent Eppes, your reputation proceeds you."
"Detective O'Connell is here to learn about our investigative practices. I have assigned him to your team." The director paused to retrieve a folder from his desk and hand it to Don. "All of the specifics are in here, he's especially interested in the mathematical applications. I want you to make him a member of your team. He'll be here for a month, his clearance levels are in the folder and he has permission to carry his sidearm."
"I'm hoping that we can apply some of your techniques to our specific situations. I am looking forward to meeting your consultant and hopefully getting some ideas on whether we would benefit from these types of applications."
Jokingly Don remarked. "I'd be happy to introduce you to him as long as you don't try to take our mathematician with you."
"That would be Dr. Eppes, right, your brother?" The Irishman asked excitedly. "I'm really looking forward to working with him."
"Yes, indeed." The assistant director answered for Don. "It was Agent Eppes's idea to use the mathematical applications that the Professor suggested and they have proven so successful that we now have Math consultants available for all of our teams."
"If you have any problems, I'm sure Agent Eppes will be able to help you with them." the director added, officially ending the meeting.
Don and O'Connell left the office together and stepped into the elevator. The agent pressed the floor number button and glanced at his companion. O"Connell was a tall thin man, maybe 6 foot two, with bright red hair cut similarly to his own style. He seemed nice enough, but Don had learned never to accept someone at first glance. There were surprises if you did that and some of them were not always so pleasant.
The elevator door opened on his floor and as they walked toward his office the agent watched the other man out of the corner of his eye. The detective was checking out the floor, almost like he was looking for something or someone. Warning signals began firing in Don's brain. Maybe there was more to this guy than there appeared to be.
His team had returned to they're desks so Don motioned them over for an introduction.
"Special Agent Megan Reeves, Special Agent David Sinclair and Special Agent Colby Granger." he said pointing to each one as he introduced them.
"This is Detective Patrick O'Connell of the Special Detective Unit for the Police Service of Northern Ireland."
O'Connell shook each of they're hands as he was introduced to them.
"Please, call me Patrick."
"Patrick is joining our team for a month. It seems our solve rate has attracted some international attention and he would like to study our methods." The senior agent explained as he pointed to an empty desk. "You can use that desk over there." Turning to Colby he asked. "Could you get him set up?
"Sure thing boss." the junior agent responded.
"Oh, Colby, one more thing. Could you show him how to access some of our case files so he can review them?" Don asked as he opened the folder in his hands and showed the agent the Irishman's level of security clearance.
They had all started to move when the Irishman asked. "Files? But I thought I would get to see you in action?"
"I wouldn't worry too much about that." David snorted. "We just finished up a case but trust me, we don't sit still for very long."
Colby spoke up. "Yeah, man , this is LA. There's always another case coming along." he took the man's elbow to direct him toward the desk but was taken by surprise when the man didn't move. Before he could ask him what the problem was, the Irishman directed another question at Don.
"Where is Dr. Eppes? I was hoping to ask him some questions." His voice had taken on a demanding tone; gone was the friendly manner of only a few moments before.
Megan arched an eyebrow at her boss as he turned back around to face the man.
At the tone of the man's voice, Don's demeanor had changed and the Irishman found himself suddenly faced with the agent in charge, his friendly attitude hidden by his professionalism.
"Dr. Eppes is a consultant. He doesn't work here full-time and only comes in when we need his expertise." This wasn't true, of course, Charlie had a habit of just stopping by but this guy didn't have to know that.
The disappointed look on the man's face prompted him to add. "Charlie isn't an F.B.I. agent, he is a full-time professor at Calsci."
"I see." the man returned in a clipped voice. The excitement had gone out of his eyes and was replaced by something else. Don wasn't sure if it was resentment or some kind of defensive mechanism.
"Your not afraid that I'll try and steal your mathematician from you, are you Agent Eppes? The detective said with a smile but it never touched his eyes.
Surprise flitted across all of their faces; they hadn't seen that coming.
"That was a joke, Detective O'Connell." The authority in Don's voice was clearly evident. "If you are truly here to study our methods then the files are the best place to start."
He waited to see if the man was going to respond and then turned toward his desk.
"All 302's on my desk by three o'clock people. I'd like to get out of here by five tonight."
Colby directed the Irishman toward the empty desk and proceeded to acquaint him with procedures and protocols.
David returned to his desk and began working on his forms so they would be completed by the time that Don had allotted.
Megan stood thoughtfully watching the newcomer before heading over to Don's desk. She pretended to be interested in the file that he was working on and leaned over his shoulder to get a better look as she quietly asked.
"What do you think that was all about?"
'Not a clue." he commented as he brought a hand up to rub his chin. "What's your take on him Megan?"
She shook her head. "Too soon to put my finger on it, but something is definitely going on. More than what he is telling us, anyway." she paused and glanced in the Irishman's direction. " I can't decide if he thought you were deliberately keeping him away from Charlie or if he was just disappointed." She added and pretended to look at the file again.
"Yeah, that's pretty much what I was thinking too." He flipped open the man's file. "According to this he was thoroughly checked out so maybe he's just a little over-eager."
She straightened up and tucked a lose hair behind one ear as her eyes drifted once again to the newcomer. "Maybe." she commented as she made her way back to her own desk.
