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A/N: All the characters and references to the show "NUMB3RS" are the property of

Cheryl Heuton and Nick Falacci, CBS and the Scott brothers. I am not making any profit from this and no infringement is intended.

Chapter 3

12:45 p.m.

Charlie walked to the cot and ripped a piece of cloth from the blanket, he wasn't planning on using it for anything else. He had less than twenty-four hours left and he wasn't going to waste any of that time sleeping. Walking back to the wall he used the cloth as an eraser. He was sure that Megan had figured out his first message so he needed to move on to the next step of his plan. So far his captors had not reacted to what he was doing, so either they didn't consider it a threat or they weren't watching the video. Either way, it was working to his advantage, he just hoped his luck continued to hold.

Picking up a piece of chalk he started writing once again. "Let's see, an equation to help them pinpoint when the signal will appear. A signal that comes at any given time in an hour, a totally random signal. Of course, it's not really random if someone has programmed it to come at intermittent time periods. I'm not even sure there is an algorithm to perform what I need it to do….hmmm…let me see….running the different algorithms through his mind he came to the conclusion that he was correct. "I'll just have to design one to perform the function that is required." He continued his musings and then began to write his equation on the wall.

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1:00 p.m.

David and Colby were back and Don joined his team in the bullpen to review their findings. His Dad and Amita were totally aware of the situation now and after the initial shock had worn off, the young woman was ready and more than willing to help find Charlie. There had been three more video feeds and in the last one Charlie had erased the wall and was starting an equation. His eyes dropped to the lower left corner of the video, the dollar amount had been steadily increasing with each transmission. Feeling more than a little nauseous at the thought, Don turned his attention back to his team.

"Okay, so what have we got?"

"Megan was right, Nacio Duque escaped from Chino two days ago, guards didn't even know it, they thought he was still in solitary confinement." David stood up and put Duque's picture on the board next to one of Charlie's.

"Check this out," Colby added. "Duque starts a fight with another inmate and they both end up in solitaire , now both are missing along with the guard who was in charge of those cells."

His partner picked up the conversation, "Guard's name is Sean Price, he was supposed to retire next year, guess he didn't like his retirement package" he added sarcastically as he put the guard's photo on the board next to Duques. "He missed his shift this afternoon, We've got an A.P.B. out on him and there are agents already on the way to his house."

"Who was the other prisoner?" Megan asked.

"Some dude named Carl Mittendorf, doing time for…"

"Kidnapping," the older agent interrupted, taking the photo from Colby and putting it on the board himself. "Two years ago, the Burdick kidnapping, remember David?"

"I remember, he was an expert at computers, could hack into almost anything. Now we know who hacked into the courthouse computers."

"If memory serves me correctly, he was a student at Calsci and hacked into his math professor's computer …. changed his grades, that got him expelled." Don frowned and walked back to his desk.

The pretty agent exchanged a puzzled look with the other agents, "What's the matter Don, do you remember something else.?"

The senior agent glanced around the room and his eyes fell on the photo of Charlie taken from the latest video, he was just starting to write an equation on the wall, an equation that hopefully would help them predict the signals and trace them.

"Carl Mittendorf, was a math major at Calsci." he said quietly and sat on the corner of a desk. Looking up at the others, he added. "If he figures out what Charlie is trying to do…..he'll find someway to stop him."

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Amita stared at the numbers Charlie had written on the wall. She only had a few of them to work with at this point, hopefully by the next video there would be enough for her to see where he was going with this equation. She marveled at his genius, he was designing a new equation to fit this situation, he was amazing that way, just as he had done with the Santiago kidnapping.

Her focus shifted from the equation to his picture. Letting her fingers rest on his photo, a tear fell silently down her cheek. "Oh, Charlie, I can't lose you, I love you so much. Everything was finally working out for us." A hand touched her chin and gently pulled her head upward. She could see the same tenderness in Alan's eyes that she had come to love in Charlie's. He offered her a tissue and patted her on the shoulder.

"I'm not going to lose my son and I believe that with all my heart." Alan spoke quietly, his voice breaking up just a little, he wouldn't admit it, but she could see that he was having a difficult time holding it together. Don had allowed him to stay after Alan had convinced him that he couldn't stay home and wait by the phone, he promised to stay out of the way but it helped him to be around the people who were trying to find Charlie and especially to be around his other son.

"Can you determine anything from what he has written so far?" he asked as he squinted at the screen.

"No, it's too soon, he's just beginning his equation. The only thing I can tell you is that he is designing this one, and until he's finished with it I won't be able to determine it's function. Hopefully it's purpose will be to help us predict when we will receive the signals and help us trace them back to their origin."

The announcement of another video immediately stopped their conversation. "Incoming" was a word that had taken on a whole new meaning to everyone within the sound of Agent Stendhauser's voice. Almost everyone froze in position and all eyes turned to the large plasma screen at the front of the room. This was the sixth transmission and they still had not been able to establish any kind of pattern. The technical staff had been trying everything they could think of yet the signals still remained unpredictable and untraceable.

Alan rapidly walked toward the front of the room and stood silently with a hand over his mouth and watched as his youngest son appeared on the screen. He was still working diligently on the equation. There was a lot more of it written on the wall and as they watched he paused momentarily to consider what he had written there. When the screen went blank, Alan remained standing there, his world was beginning to revolve around those two minutes. "How strange, early this morning there were endless possibilities to my life and now it's limited to just one. How quickly a life can change, in a matter of minutes it can be turned upside down without any warning." He brought his hand up to wipe his eyes and turned away, he wasn't going to give up, somehow they would find a way to get him back.

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The forensics team had brought in Charlie's car and were going over it, but Don didn't really expect them to find anything. His brother's satchel now rested beside his desk. The agent sighed as he glanced down at the bag. Charlie never went anywhere without that laptop…another sign that this was not a dream but a very real nightmare.

Reluctantly, he lifted the bag up to his desk, he didn't really want to go through the bag, but it was evidence now and either he did it or another agent would have to do it, and he disliked that idea even more. He knew there wouldn't be anything in it that related to the kidnapping but procedure dictated that the bag had to be searched. He pulled out Charlie's laptop and set it aside, he would have to give it to the technicians. He allowed himself a small smile at that thought because he knew they would never get passed his brother's encryption codes. His codes were virtually unbreakable. It would take someone with Charlie's capabilities to break it and at this point in time, Dr. Charles Eppes had no equal, he was literally one of a kind. The bag was full of folders, some containing student papers yet to be graded, outlines of future class work, tests and one with the beginning of a speech he was supposed to make at an upcoming graduation. As he got to the bottom of the bag, he found pieces of chalk and some markers. The last thing he pulled out was a small black velvet box and he stared at it momentarily surprised by it's significance. He covered the box with his hand and quickly scanned the room for Amita. She was sitting at one of the desks working diligently on her laptop, too far away to see what Don was doing. Nevertheless, he kept the box hidden behind the pile of folders and opened it.

"Wow!" that was some diamond. He didn't know a lot about jewelry, but he knew enough to realize that this one must have set his brother back a few dollars. "He must have been waiting to get her answer before he said anything to us about it." Glancing back at Amita "How could he have any doubts about how she feels about him, she would say yes in an instant." He closed the case and gently put it back in the bag. It wasn't fair, his brother didn't deserve to have this happening to him. Charlie had helped so many people with his abilities and had the potential to make discoveries that no one else on earth could even begin to do and some scumbag could take him from them forever.

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4:00 p.m.

Sweat beaded on his forehead and he absently brought up an arm to wipe it off on the sleeve of his shirt. His tee shirt was already sticking to his back and he knew that pretty soon his shirt would end up over on the chair with his jacket, but that's as far as he was willing to go, he had no intention of putting on a show for anyone watching this video, especially someone with the audacity to think that he could be bought like some commodity. He looked forward to seeing anyone involved in this farce arrested and sent to jail for a very long time.

Backing up until his back rested against the opposite wall he continued to peruse his equation. He almost had it, a few more steps and it should be finished. As usual, the young professor had lost track of time while working with his numbers and glancing at his watch he was amazed at how long he had been there. Was it possible he had been in this room for nine hours? Letting his head fall forward he closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck, silently praying that he would get out of there soon.

Stepping away from the wall he removed the shirt and tossed it on the back of the chair.

His eyes fell upon the water and the snacks. His thirst won out over his caution and he took a long drink, it was warm, but he didn't really care as long as it was wet. A growl from his stomach prompted him to grab the Snickers bar and he sat down in the chair to eat it. He rested for a while and then returned to the wall to finish his equation.

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6:00 p.m.

Nine transmissions and they still didn't have enough information to put together a possible location. In the video's, Charlie was still working on the equation and Amita was getting it piece by piece, each transmission allowing her to get more and more of his equation.

Sinclair and Granger had left to join the agent's at the guard's house, hoping to find some clue to a location.

Don and Megan were reviewing all the information they had on Nacio Duque, old locations, old friends. He had been a member of the 18th street Mexicali's and with that in mind they had contacted Lt. Gary Walker of the LAPD Gang Unit. They had worked with him on a number of occasions and he had developed a great deal of respect for Charlie. Dismayed to hear what had befallen the Professor, he promised to get his task force on it right away.

Don looked around the room at all of the agents Every single one had volunteered to stay , all of them determined to see it through. His Dad has found something useful to do, he had ordered food from various restaurants and had set up a buffet in the break room, making sure that all involved had something to eat.

It had been a long day and he was afraid that the night would prove to be even longer.

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8:00 p.m.

He was finished. Charlie stood back and rubbed is forehead with his hand and thoughtfully studied his work. It was mathematically sound…he was sure of it. The next time the signal went out Amita should be able to see the entire equation and create an algorithm from it to predict the time of the signal transmissions and then backtrack them to the source…his location. Amita was smart and he had complete faith in her abilities, so logically, his plan should work.

He would have to find something else to occupy his time now, sitting and waiting just wasn't his style. Taking another sip of water he looked at the blank wall he was leaning on. Well, there was always P vs. NP, that would certainly keep him busy until morning.

Maybe this time he would actually solve it.

It had been fourteen hours since the kidnappers had forced him from his car, at least twelve hours since there had been any contact with them. Hopefully they would continue to leave him alone, at least until Amita got all of the equation.

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1:45 a,m.

Carl Mittendorf staggered back to the room that he had set up as the control room. He had made sure that everything was working properly, showed Duque what to do and had left to celebrate his successful escape from Chino. If the latino wanted to hang around here all day and night, well that was just fine by him, after all, he had set up all of the necessary equipment to get their little party started, so he deserved to go out and have a good time, let Duque stay and baby sit the professor. Just as soon as he got his share of the money he was leaving LA behind for good.

He had set up two laptops, one to provide the video link from the professor to his potential buyers and the F.B.I., and the other one for contact with their online bidders. It was that laptop that drew his attention first, he wanted to check the amount that were being offered. A loud whistle exploded from his lips and grinning he turned to his partner who was seated at a table where the other laptop had been placed.

"Hey, man…you really had a great idea…who would've thought that a math professor could bring us so much money." he raised his hand to give the other man a high five but hesitated when he saw the look on the man's face.

"Where have you been?! I've been trying to call you all day…..if you've done anything to screw this up, I'll shoot you." the latino angrily retorted.

"Chill, dude, I just needed to relax a little….I didn't talk to anyone about this, what do you think I am, stupid?" Sliding over another chair to sit down, he paused halfway in the process when he glanced at the monitor. "What the hell!….how long has he been doing those equations?

"All day, it's kept him quiet, and the bidding actually increased after he started working on them….why?

Mittendorf jumped up and pulled on his mask. "You idiot! What do you think he's been doing? He consults for the F.B.I.. How do you know he's not telling them how to find us? he shouted as he ran to the room where they were keeping their captive.

Duque grabbed his own mask and took off after the other man yelling "Don't hurt him….they won't pay if he's hurt….. Mittendorf!"

In an uncontrollable rage Carl pushed open the door and stormed into the room.

Charlie was working on P vs. NP and the door crashing open startled him so much he dropped the chalk he was using. "Uh, oh, they finally looked at the video, I guess my luck just ran out". He didn't have much time to reflect on the matter, the enraged man came at him so fast that any defensive moves he might have tried were out of the question. With a loud bellow his captor took him by his arms and threw him against the opposite wall where he had written his equations. The back of his head hit the wall with such force that he blacked out momentarily and he found himself sliding down the side of the wall, a trail of blood following him down. Trying to stay conscious was really becoming very difficult. Slowly he touched the back of his head and felt something warm and sticky. Holding his hand up in front of his face he tried to focus on the red stain but his vision was becoming more and more blurry and his head was pounding so hard that he could barely here what the angry man was yelling about.

"You son of a bitch! What did you tell them? Your going to pay for this!" and he aimed a vicious kick at Charlie's ribs..

The sudden excruciating pain in his ribs made him forget about the pain in his head, he gasped and doubled over trying to wrap his arms protectively against further assaults. He was losing his battle to stay awake and as all consciousness started to fade away he saw the man raise his foot to deliver another blow but he mercifully passed out before he could feel it.

Nacio ran into the room just as the other man was bringing his foot back to kick the professor a third time, he tackled his partner and knocked him to the floor.

"Stop it! I'll kill you if you touch him again! he yelled , pointing his gun at the other man. "You better hope that he's okay or I will pull this trigger….now…back…off!!"

Carl pushed himself up off the floor and raised his hands in submission, the sight of the gun brought him to his senses. "Okay….okay….just put it away. I just lost my temper, that 's all, I didn't hurt him that much. "he muttered.

"Really…then why is he unconscious!" holstering his gun, the latino bent down and put two fingers to the young mathematician's neck. "You are one very lucky gringo, he still has a pulse…help me put him on the cot, we'll make it look like he's just sleeping. "

The two men picked up the unconscious man and laid him on the cot. Duque rolled Charlie over so he could get a look at the wound, it wasn't deep and it had already started to clot.

"I don't think it's too bad, he'll probably have a concussion from it though, but nothing permanent. Did you do anything else? " When he didn't get an answer, he straightened up an turned to see what his partner was doing.

The other man had found the cloth that Charlie had been using for an eraser and started wiping the equations off the wall. When he finished, all that was left was a dark red spot that was leaving a trail down the wall. He threw the cloth to the floor and started looking around the room.

"What time is the next transmission? " Duque demanded. "We have to make sure that our buyers don't witness this.."

"Don't worry, next transmission is twenty minutes away," the other man said as he looked at his watch " the only thing they are going to see is the little professor sleeping. Now, help me find the dam chalk. Search his pockets, when he wakes up there will be no more writing on the walls!"

The latino conceded and turned to go through the young man's pockets and sure enough he found a piece of chalk.

"Here it is….now let's get out of here. You better hope that he wakes up, because if he doesn't, I promise you, I will kill you. Let's go."