Numb3rs: Trouble

Disclaimer – I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however.

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"I'm sorry. I really am." Andy said, but Don felt that the kid's voice lacked a certain sincerity. He motioned with the gun and waited as Don walked back towards him. "We want to avoid the Sheriff."

"I can tell." Don said dryly. "What I would like to know is why?"

"Tammy and I," Andy started. "Well, we're not supposed to be together."

That was hardly sufficient grounds for pulling out a gun. "And?"

"We are really not supposed to be together. The court issued the order last week. But I can't not be with Tammy." Andy explained.

"What court order is that?"

"I was sentenced last week but it was suspended in favour of a restraining order."

"Why is there a restraining order stopping you from being with Tammy?" Don looked to the girl in question. At no time had she shown any concern or fear to be in Andy's company. Worried about something yes, but it was clear that she was not afraid of Andy.

"Her dad wanted to keep us apart. We got into a fight and he got me charged. He pushed for the restraining order."

Great, star crossed lovers. They had the whole Romeo and Juliet thing happening and from what little he could recall of that story it didn't turn out well. He remembered that they had seemed totally unprepared to be hiking with no equipment. He'd written that off as complacency but now in combination with the gun and this restraining order issue Don was led to a simple conclusion. These two were on the run. He reasoned that as a gun had been produced something more serious than a breach of a restraining order had happened. "Anything else? How did you come to be up here on the trail?"

"Dad didn't want me to go with Andy. He caught us as we were leaving." Tammy provided. A tear rolled down her face, "Andy…"

"No." Andy interrupted. "Don't say anything else. He's FBI remember, he'll use it against us."

Don frowned in surprise, how did they know that?

Andy looked back up at Don correctly interpreting the look. "I found your ID in your backpack."

"I see." Some FBI agent he was, not noticing that his backpack had been tossed whilst he slept. Even more worrying was the fact that the kid knew what he was but still pulled a gun on him.

"Didn't find a gun though, I thought you guys were always armed?"

"Usually." Don admitted. In the future he was going to carry his weapon, not that it would have helped in this scenario.

"So where is it?" Andy demanded. "In your car?"

"No. I left it with the Sheriff, figured I didn't need it up here." Don looked to Andy's gun, a .22 semi-automatic, small and easy to conceal which explained why he hadn't noticed that the young man was armed. He returned his gaze to Andy's face. "So you shot Tammy's father?"

Andy's grip tightened on the gun. The kid tried for tough. "I wouldn't worry about Tammy's father."

Don felt that was answer enough to his question. He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. It just wasn't fair. He was going to need Charlie to do him up an algorithm listing safe places for him to go when he was on a break. Don was no mathematician but his ability to find trouble was far beyond any statistical probability that he could imagine. "Alright. So what now? We can't sit here forever and Tammy still needs a doctor for that ankle."

"We need to get to your car and out of here. Just like we planned."

Don realised that his plan and Andy's plan had been somewhat different. It was obvious now that they wouldn't have been stopping at the local doctor's surgery in town, Andy would have pulled the gun and hijacked him before then. The Sheriff waiting in the campground had soured that plan before it could be put into motion.

"Not as you planned." Don said. "Not any more."

"I guess not." Andy looked back down the trail. "How long before they get here?"

"No idea. They were still in the parking lot." It had looked like the group was ready to head out but he wasn't going to tell them that.

"Search party though, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then we gotta get away from here." He stepped away from Tammy and motioned with the gun. "Help her up."

Don sighed. He had no choice for the moment. Not wanting to spook Andy he slowly approached the injured girl and helped her to her feet. Andy moved around behind him as he settled Tammy's arm over his shoulders. Cold metal touched the back of his neck briefly.

"Don't try anything stupid or hurt her in any way. Understand?"

"I get it." Don replied shortly and the gun moved away. Television had a lot to answer for; a gun was sufficient enough threat without needing to be put against the back of a hostage's neck. Damned effective though.

"Back up the trail. I saw an overgrown spur back about quarter of a mile. We'll be able to hide up there until they've passed us."

Don started moving, adjusting his pace and stride to best suit Tammy. So, Andy was still intending on them making their escape via the agent's SUV. "Tammy, this is foolish." He started after they'd been moving for a few minutes. Andy was following a couple of metres behind them.

"We have to get away." She said.

"I appreciate that, but have you thought this through either of you?" He raised his voice enough to be heard by the young man behind them.

"Just keep moving." Andy ordered.

"Whatever you've done you can't spend the rest of your life on the run. The longer you stay out there the harder it will be when you are caught."

"We're not going to get caught. Once we're off this mountain we'll disappear. LA is a big city."

"Sure it is, but not big enough. I know what I'm talking about."

"They're not going to catch us."

Don shook his head. It was the invulnerability of youth that led to that rash statement. Andy believed what he was saying. He decided that there was no point in continuing this argument at the moment. Much more important was the question of what Andy planned to do next and how Don was going to get himself out of this situation. Concentrating on his thoughts he made no further comment as they continued back along the trail.

They reached the spur Andy mentioned and pushed their way through the overhanging brush. They stopped for a moment as Andy adjusted the bushes to make it less obvious that anyone had passed this way. He waved them on along the faint but visible trail for another hundred yards or so before calling a halt. Don gently set Tammy down and moved aside.

"Sit down."

He slid his pack off his back and reluctantly complied. He was somewhat relieved a moment later when Andy crouched beside his girlfriend. He hated having anyone stand over him. "So what is the plan Andy?"

"We get to your car and you drive us out of here, just like before." He repeated.

"Hiding here isn't going to help. They will leave someone down there to keep watch."

"Then there'll just be the one cop to get past."

"Not as easy as it sounds Andy."

"We got you. He'll let us pass."

"It's not like the movies. This is a real cop we're talking about. There are a whole raft of policies and procedures relating to this type of situation."

"I don't care what policies and procedures he has. This should be enough." Andy waggled the gun at him. "He does as we say or you get hurt."

"Killing me will get you killed." Don turned to Tammy. He hoped she would be more reasonable, girls usually were. "What do you think about all this?"

"I love Andy. Whatever he does will be the right thing for us. You need to listen to him."

So much for that theory, Tammy wasn't going to be helpful. "It doesn't bother you that he is prepared to kill me or a cop to get away?"

She reached out her hand and rested it on Andy's knee. "He doesn't want to kill anyone unless he has to."

That was so not reassuring. "Alright, say we get past the cop and I drive you to LA. What then, I drop you off on a street corner and you let me go?" He decided to leave aside the fact that there would be a BOLO on his SUV before they'd gone more than a few miles followed by the highly probable pursuit as a consequence before they could make it into LA proper. He'd been there, done that and really didn't want to do it again.

"Yep."

"Just like that?"

"Why not? By the time you call in the feds or the LAPD we'll have disappeared."

Unfortunately he would have to give Andy that one. It was possible to vanish quickly in LA. But then the sightings would come in and sooner or later, most probably sooner, Andy would make a mistake. On the other hand if they made it that far it meant that his neck wouldn't be on the line during Andy's subsequent capture. Unlike now.

Andy suddenly tensed before leaping to his feet.

He hadn't heard anything. "Wha-?" He cut the word off as the gun lifted. He supposed that Andy being familiar with the area would be more likely to notice a change in the forest than him. It was quicker than he expected but it was possible that the searchers were approaching. He briefly considered giving away their position to bring the searchers to them but then discarded the idea. There were two possible outcomes that immediately sprung to mind. One he could be shot out of hand and thus whatever happened after that hardly mattered and two, it could panic Andy causing a firefight that would result in numerous casualties. He kept silent. The status quo at the moment was the safest option for both himself, the two fugitives and for the searchers. Much though he hated to admit it Andy's half-baked plan was probably the best option for them at the moment. Despite what he'd said earlier he probably could talk their way past the deputy that would be standing guard below.

Assuming that Andy wasn't going to simply surrender that was. As assumptions went, that was a fairly safe one, Don thought. However that brought to mind the fact that he hadn't actually made the suggestion yet. Sometimes all it took to resolve a hostage situation was to ask for surrender. He didn't really believe it would be that simple with Andy but he had to try.

It was a good five minutes before Andy relaxed. "They've gone. Help her up."

Now was as good a time as any. He stood but made no move towards Tammy. "There is another option Andy."

"What's that?"

"Give me the gun and we walk out of here."

"You think I'm stupid or something?" Andy hissed bringing the gun up to point directly at the agent's head.

"Easy." Don lifted his hands and motioned downwards trying to calm the kid. "It was just a suggestion."

"A stupid one."

The flippant 'so shoot me' that hovered on his lips went unsaid. Somehow he didn't think it would be appropriate right about now.

The gun jerked towards Tammy as Andy repeated his command. "Help her up."

Don reached first for his pack but Andy vetoed that. Letting it drop he pulled Tammy to her feet and once again settled her arm over his shoulders. He started back to the main trail, slower now than before after Andy added the admonishment: "Quietly."

Upon reaching the main trail they stopped as Andy listened intently in both directions. Satisfied he waved Don on. Negotiating the steps cut into the final section slowed them considerably as he had to work at keeping his balance with Tammy hopping down one step at a time. He had suggested that Tammy could use the rail but Andy had insisted he keep helping the girl. Don could see a sensible reason for that, Don would be occupied and unable to make any move against him without risking harm to Tammy. Andy knew that as an FBI agent Don would try to avoid that if possible even if she was an accomplice. Once they reached the short flat section at the end of the trail Andy moved up close behind them. Don's breathing quickened; they were fast approaching a dangerous confrontation.

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A/N: Just one more chapter to go…