Charlie struggled internally and struggled hard. Ignoring the messages like he and Larry had discussed was harder than he had initially thought and had only confused Charlie opposed to making things easier and clear as he had silently hoped. His mind battled his gut feeling and he had an extremely hard time choosing sides. Even though he was convinced this was not to be taken lightly, that they had yet to see what power these people had over him and to what lengths they would go to prove that, his brother's words relentlessly echoed in his mind. 'Two so called assaults but no real danger. Pranksters.' Don had a point, but something was off. He just couldn't put his finger on it. Charlie just felt deep down somewhere Don was wrong.

But at the same time Charlie felt frustrated that he himself couldn't make up his mind anymore. Charlie felt torn between two sides. One being more than familiar to him, he had always been able to rely on his calculations and his ability to break down every aspect of a situation into numbers and equations so that he could get his head around something. But this new sensation of gut instinct was almost completely new to him. It was just there; lingering within, telling him that this was somehow very wrong. And yet both almost seemed to balance each other out now, trying to win him over with an equal indeterminable force.

Charlie contemplated the thought that if the people he cared about weren't targeted he might have been able to take some distance and clear his cluttered mind. But with the last message victim number three was announced. This time it was his father. And that made it so much harder to ignore the gnawing feeling that what had happened so far was only child play. Whoever they are, they were bound to be more capable than Don was willing to give them credit for.

As Charlie yet again found himself staring at the screen he suddenly heard a noise coming from the hallway. Charlie stared at a young woman standing in the doorway.

"Hey… Your cell phone is turned off." Amita said.

"The battery must be dead. What are you doing here this late?" Charlie said sounding blunter than he wanted.

"I couldn't stop thinking about what happened this morning. I called Larry and he told me about your experiment. I think I might be of help." She answered.

Charlie rubbed his eyes and let out a sigh. He was glad she was here, that he wasn't alone anymore but at the same time wished she hadn't come. This was his battle. He was determined to wave her off, he didn't need any help. Not from the ones close to him any way. The last thing Charlie needed was to worry about anyone else but his father right now

"You should go home." He said in a weary voice.

As Amita walked up to Charlie he suddenly snapped the laptop shut and got up from the chair. His sudden reaction left Amita standing stock-still in the middle of the office anticipating his next move knowing he was trying to brush her off. But he wasn't getting away that easily.

"Charlie…." She started.

"I'm going home. So should you." He interrupted.

But she didn't give up that easily.

"Are you shutting me out? Just like that? I'm offering help, Charlie; I think I found a way to put a trace on whoever is doing this to you with little chance of them noticing." She said in a voice thick with worry but with great conviction.

Charlie stared at her with his lips firmly pressed together and frowned. He knew Amita was good with computers and programs, and he had wanted to ask for her help only the fear of something dreadful happening had prevented him from asking. Now that she had come to him offering her expertise, again he was torn. Thinking logically, he should accept her offer simply because with her help they could turn the table around on whoever was behind this. But emotionally he couldn't. That would be placing her in danger if they ever found out she was helping to expose their identities. And they undoubtedly would, he was sure of that. Whatever she had planned was not airtight. She had said so herself.

"It's too dangerous. They'll find out it's you and lord knows what they'll do next. I'd never forgive myself if… They already have…" But Charlie couldn't finish the sentence.

"They already have what Charlie…? Did they contact you again?" She sped up to him and grabbed his arm. "Charlie, you need to talk to me. Did they contact you again? What did they say?" She pressed on.

"My dad." He said with a pained expression. "Something with my dad, filing tax returns and insinuating something will happen if he doesn't." Charlie finished, his hands gesturing confounded.

"But that doesn't make any sense, tax season is over and your father doesn't seem like the man to play games when it comes to that." She replied, slightly regretting the choice of words.

"That's not all; they mentioned something else when I didn't press the 'ok' button acknowledging their message…" He started.

"Net-send" Amita interrupted.

"…. Net-send… Those messages are called net-send?" He asked.

Amita only nodded hoping that he would continue and thankfully he did.

"They mentioned something about going to jail, not passing start and not collecting 200 $" He continued.

"Monopoly." She whispered.

Charlie decided it was best to sit down again. Another game, another stupid childish game. Charlie had made up his mind; it was all crystal clear to him. No matter how hard it was going to be he was more determined than ever to see this through and bring an end to this madness. He was not going to be played this time. He looked up at Amita who placed herself on a chair next to him.

"Are you sure you want part of this?" He asked her despite already knowing what the answer would be.

"That's why I came here remember. Now what do you say we go home and get some rest, it's getting late" She replied.

Charlie nodded.

---

Charlie felt relieved that his father had already gone to bed when he arrived last night and made sure that he left home before his father woke up. Avoiding his father was not something Charlie enjoyed but facing him after the net-send the hackers had left him he felt it was the best way to go about things right now At least until he knew more about the riddle and what they meant by it. Charlie was never good at hiding his emotions and he didn't want his father asking questions he'd rather not answer.

When he arrived at CalSci Amita was waiting for him at his office. He had an hour or so before his first class and Amita had the whole morning off before she had to attend her first class of the day. Charlie turned on the laptop and entered his password before handing it over to Amita.

She placed herself in front of the computer and pulled a CD from her bag placing it in the CD-ROM drive and turned to Charlie as the computer started to run the software.

"I've designed this program to monitor glitches and alterations in software for calculating complex data based algorithms. It is originally designed to run in the background to synchronize with the software to copy and track all the software runs and compile all the anomalies it detects. I have altered it so that it picks up on all alterations on common software that runs on a computer. Each computer has a registry, a mini data base for the computer where the essentials of software running on a computer can be altered or controlled. Because this software is programmed to only follow and compare the standard functions of a computer and cannot be altered, it will register any change in the registry and its source." She explained.

"So, whenever someone is to grant themselves access to the computer the software would identify that as an irregularity" Charlie said.

"Yes, and it will register the time and place the alteration took place on the hard drive and possibly the MAC-and IP address of the source causing the irregularity"

"And how is it that it is nearly undetectable?" Charlie asked, still not feeling at ease Amita was involved and wanting to know the exact details of what he was getting them into.

"This software is an exact copy of the already existing software on your computer. It merely runs aside all the others. It's like a mirror of the software. Because of that it hardly raises attention because it runs on top of the basics of a computer without really doing anything but filter and register what wasn't programmed by default." She explained as he finished the installation.

Charlie nodded in contentment. He felt less helpless and vulnerable now that they had done something. Though he still wasn't sure about Amita being involved.

When the software was installed, there was nothing to do but wait and Charlie decided that it was time he let Don know what had happened the night before. He had deliberately waited before calling him, because he knew that Don would blow it off as another stupid game again and Charlie just didn't have the energy to argue with him anymore. Still, he knew that he should inform Don now about what happened. After all, their dad might be in danger. Charlie would be doing everything he could to protect his dad, but he could use all the help he could get. And even though Don might not believe there was a real threat, he had spent time to investigate this and moreover, he would be very pissed when he learned that Charlie had not told him everything.

When Amita had left the office he picked up the phone and dialed his brother's number. After only a few rings he picked up.

"Eppes."

"Don, it's me. Yesterday I got another message." Charlie started, and before he could continue his brother's voice broke him off.

"Come on, Charlie. Don't you think it's enough? I told you to stop playing along and just ignore it." He rattled off with clear frustration in his voice.

"I did, Don. I didn't do anything, I didn't respond. But… he knew." Charlie muttered, his voice trailing off when he replayed yesterdays events again in his mind. Remembering the way the hacker had known that Charlie was there, and that he was not playing along had been terrifying.

"What do you mean, he knew? Knew what? Charlie, what are you talking about?" Don sighed, and Charlie could picture him in his mind. He could see Don sitting at his desk, his eyes closed in frustration and his hand running across his forehead. This image alone, the clear way in which Don didn't seem to take him seriously again, worked like a red flag and Charlie felt his frustration rising also.

"Don, he's going after dad, and if we don't do something, I don't know what will happen, ok?" Charlie nearly shouted, trying to contain his anger and unconsciously he started mimicking his brother's actions, closing his eyes and rubbing his hand across his forehead.

"Going after dad? Charlie, this is a kid who's playing with you, and he's got you right where he wants you. Believe me, nothing is going to happen, and certainly not to dad. The only one who is in danger is you, of losing your mind."

"Why won't you help me, Don? Why don't you believe me? Why don't you trust me on this?" Charlie almost started pleading with his brother.

"Look Charlie, I just think you are overreacting a bit. Let's face it; you are not the most stable person when it comes to situations like these, right?"

"When someone threatens to hurt my friends and family? No, of course I'm not stable!" Charlie started shouting in the phone, not caring about anyone who might hear him. "At least I care about my family, and I thought you did too. Guess I was wrong." Not being able to say more, Charlie hung up the phone with as much force as possible, disappointed that merely pushing the 'off' button on his cell phone didn't produce the same satisfying effect a normal, old-fashioned telephone would give him.

He stared at the phone in his hand and could not believe the conversation he had just had. Don had again refused to believe him, and he had just accused his brother of not caring about his family. Of course he didn't mean it, but right now Charlie found it hard to admit to that fact. Right now he was pissed, and knew that it would be on his shoulders from now on. He didn't have to count on Don's help, so it would just be him and Amita. He just hoped it wasn't too late.

---

When Alan had woken up that morning, he noticed that Charlie had already left. He had heard him come home late the night before, and hadn't had a chance to speak to him yet. Not that there was something particular to talk about, but he knew as a father that something was bothering his son and he was determined to find out what that was. Charlie had seemed a bit preoccupied the last few days, and now Alan was sure that he was avoiding him. A true sign that something was wrong. He made a mental note to make sure Charlie would be home for dinner and that he would talk to him then.

After doing his morning chores Alan grabbed his Sudoku puzzle book, took a pencil and settled on the couch. He had an appointment with Art that afternoon, and he enjoyed the little time he had left to do some puzzles. When Charlie was at home he tried to avoid doing them because Charlie had a habit of standing behind him, looking at the puzzle for only a minute and walking away again. Alan knew that that was all the time Charlie needed to complete a puzzle, even in his head, and although he never tried to help him, or give away the answers, it had a very annoying effect which made Alan decide to never do any Sudoku's with Charlie present again.

Alan was engrossed in his puzzle, and had just decided where to put the '4' when he was disturbed by the doorbell. He quickly scribbled the 4 in the designated box and walked to the door, his puzzle book still in his hand. While looking at the book, he opened the door and so he didn't really take in the look of the men standing before him.

"Are you Alan Eppes?" a stern voice asked which made Alan look up immediately. Only then he noticed that the men were both looking very official.

"Yes, I am. Who are you?" he asked confused, wondering if maybe something happened to one of his sons. The suits reminded him a bit of the FBI agents Don was working with, and he had the feeling something was wrong.

"IRS." The voice replied showing a badge. "We need you to come with us" Before Alan had a chance to react, one hand grabbed Alan by the shoulder while the other turned him around. An LAPD officer grabbed his wrists and then he felt the cold metal of handcuffs against his skin... The puzzle book, momentarily forgotten, slipped from his hand and landed on the floor. He was turned around again and was leaded towards a car on his driveway.

"What is going on?" Alan managed before the strong arms pushed him on the backseat.

"Tax fraud" was the only answer he heard.

---

Don stared at his cell phone fuming. This time Charlie had seriously crossed the line…. Don picked up the phone again and dialed their home number. He needed to speak to his father and talk about Charlie. He was worried about his little brother. Charlie could get carried away at times and their father was the best person to calm him down and convince Charlie that he was chasing ghosts. This was getting ridiculous but most of all tiring.

As Alan was escorted out of his house he heard the phone ring ... and although he had other issues to think about at the moment, he couldn't help but hope it wasn't anything important.

---