Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own anything or any characters to do with Numb3rs. These are the property of the show's writers and producers. Anyone else is mine!

A/N Thank you so much to those of you who have reviewed, written privately, alerted and put this story into your favourties - WOW! is all I can say. The encouragement means so much.

Need to say the biggest thank you ever to AriesTaurus for beta-ing this for me. You've been such a huge encouragement and are teaching me so much. I really, really appreciate it. This is a much better piece thanks to your eye. Lots of chocolate for you!!

Hope everyone enjoys it!

Chapter 3

"What is he doing?" drawled Nikki. "He's been in there for hours."

David, Colby and Liz followed her gaze to one of the tech rooms where their boss sat in front of three computer screens. One had crime scene photos on it, one mug shots and the other was running videos – they couldn't see of what.

"If I had to guess, I would say he's working a hunch," offered Colby.

"Yeah," agreed David. "He's much more like Charlie than either would like to admit sometimes. When they get something in their heads they can't explain, they just keep going at it until it either goes away or they figure it out."

"In Charlie's case though, it can happen even when he knows there isn't a solution!" added Liz with a smile.

"It's just that I've never seen Don like this before," stated Nikki.

"That's 'cause you're still the 'New Guy!" teased Colby, managing to dodge Nikki's swipe.

'Seriously, though, he pulled this kind of thing before?" It was a genuine question.

"It's just the way he rolls sometimes," answered David. "He'll let us know when he's ready."

Had he heard the conversation, Don would have agreed. They were all right; he had been in there for hours, he was playing a hunch and he definitely wasn't going to let this one go. Something was off. He didn't know what, just knew it was. It was in here somewhere and if he looked through this stuff enough he'd find it.

Don should have been much happier than he was. The raid that morning had yielded the seizure of a small arms cache and the closure of a drugs lab, which was always good, but there was nothing in the way of new information, nowhere else to go. The guys they'd arrested clearly knew nothing – even offering them a deal gleaned no new names or intel.

The past weeks had seen the LAPD, DEA and FBI forced to work together on a 'Special Project' or SP, to chip away at the structure of the organised crime gangs. Usually, they would go for the guys at the top, the idea being that the structure would flounder and collapse as the leadership was taken away, but the Working Party that put this idea together decided to go for the bottom and middle players, 'taking away the heart of the gang.' At least that's how Capt. Kanski had put it at the regular press conferences he held every time an arrest way made, before promising how the LAPD were cleaning up the city and to be fair, they had made some major busts lately.

Don remained unconvinced. There would always be low lifes looking to take the place of those who had been put away, looking for their piece of the pie and a foot in the door to a more rewarding criminal life. The people they needed to get were the brains. These raids only drove the bosses even further underground and put more pressure on the guys working undercover. Still, he just went along with it and got on with doing his job. The raids were raising his squad's already impressive clean up stats, but he didn't really care. He wanted substance. And that was here – somewhere.

"Don, Charlie's here. He's got something for us." Nikki said.

"Hey bro, what you got?" he asked his younger brother.

"I think I've managed to predict where the next jewel store robbery will be. Given the information about these guys' M.O. you gave me; their speed, time of day, how many there are of them, the fact that they only go for the high end stuff, ease of egress, I've narrowed it down to two locations."

This would be the fifth jewel store robbery in almost as many weeks and they believed that this was one of the ways the gangs were funding their operations, as well as testing out new members.

"How sure are you about these locations Charlie?" Colby asked.

"84.3% on the first 83.1% on the second," he replied.

"There's not much difference there Charlie, so which one is it?" Nikki asked.

"Sorry, that's the best I can do. Both have all the factors that would appeal to this gang and there's no mathematical way of telling which one they will favour."

"Hey, buddy, don't worry about it. This information is just great. We'll work it out. I mean we have to do our part in this as well right?" Don's tone was light as he squeezed Charlie's shoulder, but the look he shot Nikki was anything but. He knew how personally Charlie took his work and he didn't want Charlie thinking he had let him down.

"Ok, Nikki, get on to LAPD and find out if they have any information that could help us. David, get hold of the stores and tell them what's going on. We'll have to cover them both but find out if they have anything special happening; a scheduled or unscheduled delivery or a special collection on show, you know the kind of thing. Colby, you're with David. Look at security cameras in and around the stores for any customers in the last week or two and see if they cross-reference with those from the other heists. Liz, you check with the techs and see if they can tell if any of the stores' computers have been hacked. Oh, and get the background on the staff and floor plans of the stores." Don watched his team go to work.

Turning to Charlie he said simply "Thanks Charlie. If we can get some of these guys, we may be able to get some real information out of them you know? You did good there Chuck."

He knew that using the much hated nickname would provoke a reaction and sure enough Charlie glared at him.

"You coming by for dinner tonight?" Charlie asked.

"Well, given what you just told us I'd say that was unlikely, wouldn't you?" Charlie's face fell. "Ok, look, if all goes well and I can get the report written up, I may be able to drop by. Don't depend on it though right? Charlie? And don't promise anything to Dad ok?"

"It's just that you haven't been over in a while. You know how he gets."

Don sighed. "Yeah, Charlie, I know. I'll do what I can ok?"

Charlie acknowledged his brother and went on his way.

ooOoo

Don, Nikki and Liz were at the first store Charlie had identified. They'd had to split the team into two. As Charlie had said, there was nothing to separate the stores so that they could be sure which one the gang would hit. David and Colby were at the other store close by. Both Teams had their back-ups in place and were just waiting for it to all go down. Whichever one was hit, the others would get there as fast as possible.

Liz's enquiries with the techs had shown some sort of computer attack on the stores' firewalls had been attempted, only to be stopped again almost immediately. Not long enough to know what, if anything, it was for.

The stores had closed up for the night and both teams had watched the managers lock up and arm the alarm systems. They settled in to wait.

From their vantage point behind the store Liz noticed them first. A security truck pulled down the side road that led round to the back of the store. Three men, all in security company uniforms hopped out and went to the back door. One of them swiped something over the alarm box and that was it – they were in.

"Ok, targets are acquired. Wait for my command. All units confirm that you are in position and ready to move." Don spoke clearly and quietly, waiting for the responses that everyone was ready. Satisfied that they were as well prepared as they could be, he gave the order to execute.

There was a cacophony of shouting, movement and gunfire as Don and his team stormed the store. Clearly caught by surprise, the man on the main showroom floor opened fire. Not having much in the way of cover in the glass cased room, he soon went down. Don, Nikki and Liz carried on to the vault, where Don signalled an abrupt STOP, realising there was no one there. Seeing the stairs, he silently motioned to Nikki and Liz. They understood immediately.

He counted down from three and as he reached one, they swung round, covering him as he moved towards the stairs. Suddenly, movement and a burst of gunfire came from the stairwell. Don instinctively ducked low and back before rapidly returning fire, hitting his target as the agents heard the other man run through a door at the top of the stairs. The man Don had hit was on the first landing, groaning in pain.

He took the stairs two at a time and quickly disarmed the man before nodding to Liz to deal with him. The guy had been wearing a vest and though in pain, wasn't seriously injured. Don and Nikki cautiously moved up the next flight towards the door. From the schematic they had studied earlier, they knew that this door led to a stock room and office space. There was also roof access and a fire exit, which was in the back room. Figuring that there would be nowhere to go from the roof, Don guessed the fire exit would be his only choice.

Don and Nikki waited in silence, pressuring him to make a break for it. And he did. In attempting to move from one room to another he fired rapidly to cover himself, emptying his clip. Don and Nikki seized their chance and he went down hard. Again, he was wearing a decent grade vest so despite several broken ribs he'd live. Thankfully, the perpetrators hadn't expected any trouble so were only lightly armed.

Nikki disarmed and cuffed the writhing man and called for the ambulance while Don checked in on Liz. Just as he did so, they heard gunfire coming from outside the building. He looked at Nikki.

"I got it. Go!" she glared at him, urgency in her voice.

Don quickly looked down the stairs, seeing Liz with the man he shot. She gave him the all clear and he bolted past them and down towards the back of the store where he met David. He looked at him, his expression demanding answers.

"Just as we arrived, we saw a guy get out of the truck and run down the alley. We went after him. He turned and fired a couple of rounds at us. We got a couple of shots back, but he jumped into a car and was gone. Obviously, he'd been able to tell someone this was going wrong and they came for him."

At that point Colby had jogged back towards them.

"He's hit Don, and judging by the amount of blood I'd say more than a flesh wound. He's gonna need treatment at some point."

Don's brain was in overdrive.

"Ok, alert all the hospitals and clinics. Give them the best description you can," he directed at Colby. "Go see if Liz and Nikki need a hand too." The younger man nodded and went. He turned to David.

"What do we know? That was a pretty slick move getting in to this place."

"Looks like our man in the truck was handling the IT. The techs are examining it now, but it seems like the same thing that Amita was telling us about. You know the 3G wireless connection?"

Don nodded."Yeah, they hack in and set up a new administrator password but don't change anything that you can see right?" They had seen this more and more. Once this was done, they could then make their own pass code card and they were in.

ooOoo

Back at the office, Don had written his report and had sent the others home, Liz and Nikki from the hospital and Colby from the office, telling them their reports could wait until the morning. They had all been putting in the hours lately and his team deserved a relatively early night.

David was just leaving, on his way to Charlie's house with the computer they had found in the truck.

"What do I tell them when they ask where you are?" he asked Don.

"The truth," he replied more tersely than he should have. "We're in the middle of a case. I can't just leave. I'll be there when I can."

He caught the look David gave him. They both knew that he could leave, but that he wouldn't, not when something was still bugging him so much. Don also knew that David hated misinforming his family.

"David…" he warned.

Throwing up his hands and backing away David said "Ok, ok, just don't blame me if Alan decides to come down here!"

With that he turned and left.

Don spent the next hour going through the photos and videos again and again. He just couldn't shake the feeling that there was an answer in there. In his concentration he didn't hear the gentle knock on the doorframe.

"Hey, Don."

He turned around and his surprised and confused expression turned into a smile when he saw Abi standing there.

"Hey Abi, what you doing here?"

She smiled back at him.

"I'm sorry, I hope it's ok. I saw Agent Sinclair in the lobby and he kindly brought me up. He said it'd be ok," she said apologetically.

"Yes, sure, of course it is. I'm just surprised that's all. Is everything alright?" He suddenly looked concerned.

"Yes, fine, why wouldn't it be? I'm here to have coffee with you remember?" she said gently. "8.30?"

Realisation crossed his face.

"Oh Abi, I'm so sorry, I just kind of got caught up …." He stood up and as he came toward her she saw the sincerity in his eyes.

"Sorry for what Don? Doing your job? It's fine, don't worry, really. It was only coffee – I don't even drink the stuff!" She smiled warmly back at him, hoping to put him at his ease.

"Look, I can see you're busy. Rain check huh?" She knew what it was like to be absorbed in something.

"No, it's ok, honestly. I could do with a break anyhow." He led her to their break room and motioned for her to take a seat.

She watched him in amusement as he poured himself a coffee and made a face at the successive cartons of obviously sour milk that he pulled from the fridge. She chuckled to herself and watched him as he added lots of Splenda, obviously deciding it was safer to drink it black.

He sat down opposite her. They had done this a few times in the past weeks. He had intended to ask her out and then all this 'Special Project' work had come up and coupled with an already heavy caseload, it just hadn't been possible. When they could though, they'd grab a coffee or a sandwich and just talk. Just the 20 or 30 minutes spent with his head somewhere else had been good for him.

"So, that all looks rough" she said, motioning in the general direction of the computer screens.

"Yeah, well, sometimes things just don't fit together you know? You have all this information you just can't make sense of, so you just keep going over it hoping that something will jump out at you."

"Well, maybe you need to change your area of focus a bit and look at it in a different way," she suggested.

"Meaning?" he asked.

"You're trying to find an answer from all the information you have right?" He nodded in reply wondering where she was going with this.

"Well, have you considered what's not there?"

"I'm not quite with you," he answered.

"Sorry, I'm not explaining myself very well am I? When a patient comes in, we ask them about their symptoms. That gives us a rough idea as to what the problem might be, but generally, it's nowhere near enough to make a conclusive diagnosis. So we take a full medical history to give us more clues, and then look at the bigger picture. This is kind of where you're at right?" She was warming to her subject now and Don nodded in agreement.

"Right, so let's say a person has 4 of 7 classic symptoms associated with a particular condition. What happened to the other 3? Of course, not all symptoms appear in all patients, but you have to stop and consider those other 3. Why aren't they there? What does their absence tell me? Is there something else going on that looks similar but needs very different treatment? In other words, is there anything in your information that you're expecting to see but isn't there? If not, why?"

Something in what she said registered with Don. He looked up at her and could tell that she was worried she had offended him, or sounded accusatory.

"I'm sorry, I'm not telling you how to do your job, it was just a thought," she looked at him, misreading his facial expression.

"Well, I'm going to leave you to it. Looks like you're in for a long night." She got up to leave. He put his hand on her arm to stop her.

"No Abi, it's fine, I'm just thinking about what you said. You're right, I hadn't thought about it in that way, but it makes sense. Thanks."

They spent a little while talking in general before they got up and he signed her out. Turning to her he said,

"Listen, I'm glad you dropped by and I'm sorry I messed up. When things are not so crazy around here I'll make it up to you ok?"

"I told you already, it's not a problem, but I'll hold you to that." She smiled and then went to say something but thought better of it. Of course he noticed.

"What? Go on, I can take it," he teased.

She gave him a smile before saying "Look, I don't want to sound like a nag, but if you're going to work for days on end at least try and get a decent meal inside you and more than a few hours sleep a night every now and again. Strong coffee and food eaten out of cartons is not the best way to keep a brain alert. Even a little bit of down time will help a lot."

"It has," he replied softly. It was Abi who broke their gaze.

"You know what I mean," she scolded, trying to keep it light.

"I do and will bear it in mind, doc." With that he gave her a gentle kiss and saw her out of the building.

Across the street he was glad it was a busy evening with lots of road and foot traffic, it made it easier to stay unnoticed. He watched and smiled as Abi walked out into the street.

ooOoo

Don went back to the tech room. 'What's not there?' he repeated to himself looking again at the screens. Things started to fall into place; 'coincidences' began to appear. Nothing definitive, but at least now he had a starting point and a much clearer idea of what he needed to know. After deciding what information he needed, there was nothing more he could do until the morning.

He glanced at his watch. What else had she said? A decent meal and even a little down time would be good.

He smiled to himself. It wasn't too late to go to Charlie's was it?

ooOoo

Don was in the office early the next morning feeling more refreshed than he had in a week.

As each of his team arrived, he set them to work gathering various pieces of information that would help prove the theory that he'd begun to formulate the night before. Don didn't let them totally in on what he was thinking – he wanted clarity in his own mind first – but he knew they trusted him and where he was going with it.

He asked Nikki to speak to her contacts in the LAPD, specifically to get information and if at all possible, video of the busts related to the Special Project as well as the independent LAPD ones. Similarly, Liz would work the Agency's Narcotics Division as she'd been tasked there previously. Both women had been asked to go about it quietly, but that could be difficult for Nikki as she'd have to go to Kanski. Don told her to massage his ego; tell him that they wanted the video for training purposes if she had to. He especially wanted the tapes of the major bust they'd just made and that Kanski was holding a press conference about as they spoke.

David and Colby were given the job of going through statements, running more thorough background checks and going over their own squad's raids, while Don was back in the tech room collating the information and casting his net wider. He was expecting Charlie a little while later and needed to be sure in his own mind what he hoped and needed his brother to bring.

When Don had arrived at the house the night before he found, as always, a meal plated up for him, a shower, a beer and his Dad and Charlie thrilled to have him there. It was clear to them though that something was on his mind and so they talked it out.

Don had explained his change in approach to Charlie, and he could see that this brother had been impressed by his logical thinking. Charlie had seemed even more impressed when Don had asked him if he could apply the math that he had used before with terror cells to this new problem. Don wanted Charlie to go through the information he gave him with a view to finding key players who were needed in running these Mob Operations, but who were missing from the lists of know personnel the LA Bureau had. Don had also given him the stats from the Special Project and LAPD busts to look at and analyse, but without telling him specifically why. Being Charlie, he had started work straight away and had already called to say that he'd had some interesting findings. Don asked him to come over after his last class.

The team worked steadily through the day, bringing Don each piece of information as it came to them. It was looking more and more as he thought it would. This was not good. It also implied something far more unpalatable too, but hopefully Charlie's input would confirm it, one way or the other.

They were all grabbing some lunch when Nikki took a call.

"Don, that was one of my contacts at LAPD. A doctor at one of the walk in clinics has been attacked and forced to treat a gunshot wound – doc said the guys had East European accents so I'm thinking it could be our guy who got away at the jewel store. Worth checking out right?"

"Absolutely. Any idea who the doctor was?" He kept his voice as level as possible.

"Yeah, it was an ER doc who works there occasionally." Nikki checked her notes.

"Abigail Lawrence. Took a hit to the back of the head, obviously to give them time to get away, but is basically ok. The hospital is keeping her in for observation, so that's where we'll find her. I'm going now."

Don's mouth went dry but he kept his emotions totally in check.

"I'll tag along," he said, his voice steady. "I could do with getting out. Besides, one of us can talk to the doctor while the other accesses the surveillance tapes, it'll save time."

He caught David's understanding nod.

"Sure Boss," replied Nikki, none the wiser.

ooOoo

Don tried not to rush as they arrived at the hospital. He let Nikki do the introductions and luckily, it was Teresa who met them to take them to Abi. Ever the professional, Teresa didn't say a word to Don on a personal level with his colleague there.

She led them into a side room where Abi, looking small, pale and tired, lay, a large dressing just visible snaking round her neck from under the hairline at the base of her skull. Don's stomach knotted and he had to fight the raging anger that was welling up in him.

Abi's eyes opened at the sound of the door opening and she saw Teresa standing there with Don and the curly haired agent she remembered from before. This was an official visit.

"Abi, you remember Agent Eppes from the FBI, well he and Agent Betancourt need to ask you about what happened."

Before she could leave, Don asked Teresa if there was any video they could have a look at. He was more than a little relieved when she said that there was and that it was ready for them to view. David had obviously called ahead and arranged it to be brought there from the clinic. He sent Nikki off to collect it while he would question Abi.

Once they were gone, he sat on the edge of Abi's bed just looking at her and shaking his head, hating that he was here officially.

"Hey," she started. 'It's ok. Just got a heck of a headache, but at least I get a couple of days off work to recuperate right?"

She attempted a smile but it just made her wince.

"Abi, I'm sorry but I've got to ask…" He couldn't help it, he took her hand.

"There were two of them. Both in ski masks, both Eastern European accents, probably Russian." She spoke slowly and carefully, obviously finding concentrating difficult. She took a deep breath and continued.

"They caught me as I was opening up. I got there early today and they must have been waiting. They had a hand gun, no idea what type and forced me into the back exam room. One guy was clearly injured and was very weak. He had a gunshot wound to the shoulder, a through and through. Nothing major hit or he'd have bled out by now. It was infected though, I'd say it was a day or so old. I cleaned it up, gave him an antibiotic shot and a mild painkiller. By that time, other staff were beginning to arrive and they panicked. Next thing I knew I was here."

"You did good," he replied, trying to smile, 'but is there anything else you can tell me about them? Anything? Identifying marks, smell, anything?"

He could see her trying to force her addled brain to concentrate on his request.

"Yes," she said suddenly. "The one I treated, he had a huge tattoo up his left arm, from wrist to shoulder. Not sure of what, but it had lettering on it in the Cyrillic alphabet. And they both smelled of strong cigarettes. I would say the injured guy had also been smoking drugs – trying to dull the pain maybe?"

"That's great Abi, really great. That everything?" He tried to make it sound as though it was enough.

"No. He's going to need more meds. He asked me for thyroid meds. I couldn't give them to him because I don't have that access at the clinic. Also, those meds are given in a dose specific to the individual."

She spelt out the name of the drug asked for. T.A.P.A.Z.O.L.E.

"You've been really helpful. Now get some rest. I'll try to come back later ok? You going home?"

"No, I'm stuck here for observation, then I'm going to Teresa's. I've got a head injury and live alone, so it's Teresa's or here. And Don, don't worry about coming back ok? You don't have to. I know you have work to do."

"What if I want to?" he asked simply. As she smiled back at him Nikki came through the door.

"Think we may be able to get the licence number off the tape. I've got the copy here to take back with us."

"Great. Let's go then."

Formally thanking Abi, they left her to sleep.

ooOoo

Back at the office, Charlie arrived with his findings. They confirmed what Don had thought. He was ready to throw his theory out to the rest of the team.

Don called them all in and as they were gathering Don took a call that unexpectedly tied some ends together nicely.

Charlie put up Don's first chart for them all to see. Don explained what they were looking at.

"These are the busts made as part of the Special Project. Low to mid level players mainly into drugs and arms across the major gangs."

He motioned to Charlie to put up the next one.

"Here's the stats from the LAPD raids independent of the SP. What's the difference?"

Liz answered first.

"The size of the busts is what jumps out first. These are major drugs operations they shut down here."

"They took out some major players too," added Colby. "Maybe the SP going for the smaller guys, flushed out the bigger ones after all?"

"But what's missing?" asked Don.

They all looked avidly at the charts in front of them. Don helped them out.

"Compare the major busts with the SP. On the SP there was a spread of gang affiliation. On the major busts you have Mexican, Colombian and Vietnamese. Where's the East European connection? Information is information right? What are the chances of getting all these major players and big busts for 3 of the major 4 gangs, but only low level on the 4th - and I mean not even close on the 4th?"

Realisation dawned on David first.

"They're getting rid of the competition. The East Europeans are playing us, using the SP and the LAPD to eliminate the other gangs, opening the door for them to control the market."

"Exactly. It gets worse," added Don. "Charlie.'

"I looked at the structure of the gangs. This East European Mob is not the same as the others. It operates more like a terrorist cell – a need to know only basis. I did an analysis based on key people they would need to run the whole operation and who are known to have been in Las Angeles in the last few months. I came up with this."

A series of names and faces came up on the screen like a who's who of Mob bosses.

Colby whistled under his breath.

"You'd have noticed that these people are not just in LA, these are bosses from all over the country and from different 'specialties' if you will." Charlie continued. "Drugs, arms, human trafficking, casinos, money laundering, they're all here."

It was Don's turn now.

"Each of them has been in LA in the past few months. Nikki, I just heard that plate you ran from the clinic tapes is registered to the guy who picked up Fyordor Kolyenko at LAX not three days ago."

"Kolyenko? Wasn't he the big player from Chicago that Ivanko gave us?" asked Colby.

"Exactly," affirmed Don.

"So what's with the space there Charlie?" asked Nikki, pointing to the chart.

"That's the unknown variable. We know this person exists, because the evidence and math says that the group isn't complete without him. We just don't know who he is.'

Liz has been studying the screen intently.

"But Charlie, what's his job? I mean there's just about every kind of Mob related crime I can think of covered here."

"Ok," Don said, "look at this.'

He ran the videos of two of the raids that had gone down. One on a Colombian dealer, one on an East European.

"Notice how on this one, the Colombian one, there's a big firefight, 8, 10 men, heavily armed, but LAPD timed it well, played it perfectly right? Now look at the second. Hardly any resistance at all. 3 maybe 4 men, all lightly armed."

The magnitude of what he was saying was just beginning to hit them. He went on:

"You seriously telling me they'd leave that much merchandise that unguarded unless…"

"They knew they were coming." David couldn't believe what he was saying.

"So let me get this straight," Liz said. "What we're saying is that the East European Mob are in effect trying to win LA by ratting out the competition with a view to taking over. Meanwhile giving up some of their lower end stuff and people, with the odd bigger one thrown in, as a cover."

"Yep, but it's wider than that," answered Don. "I've been speaking to some of our other offices and stuff like this is happening all over. It's like they're trying to unify all their activity. By working together and getting rid of the others, each slice of the cake is bigger."

"But how did they know about the raids?" wondered Nikki out loud.

"Him," Charlie said pointing at the empty space on the screen. "He's the one you have to find."