Disclaimer: 'Kay, I think I has ta say dis one more time, but…I ain't got no part of Numb3rs or any of da Numb3rs characters. Da original characters is mine.
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"Ramanujan" Colby hissed as he and David got the news from Father Nate. "He's trying to get back to her. That's gotta be it!" He ground his teeth. They should've seen it coming. Charlie was goofy over the alluring crooner. No amount of common sense reasoning could dent his faith in the woman. Granger shook his head. Love made people act all loopy sometimes. The men talked further as Granger and Sinclair shed the nun's habits. Pants legs and shirt sleeves were gratefully unrolled.
"I feel as if I've been derelict in some way" Nathaniel put in. "I should've kept a closer eye on him, but I didn't realize, I mean, I suppose I didn't think he'd…"
"You don't need to feel responsible for this, Father" David told him. "If anybody's to blame here, it's me and Colby. We should have given you some kind of warning. The professor, he's got it bad for this woman. No matter what anybody else tells him, he's not gonna rest until they're back together. He probably started planning his great escape from the moment we got here. We knew that. We should've told you."
Colby was nodding agreement. "David's right. This isn't your fault. You have no reason to think it is. It doesn't matter anymore anyway. What we gotta do now is get to him before he can do something very not smart, like get himself found by Morelli's thugs." He looked at Sinclair. "How 'bout we split up? You take your car and check Ramanujan's place, I'll go in the direction of the club. He's gotta be headed to one of 'em."
"Sounds like a good plan" David replied "We can cover more ground that way. Look, Father Nate, thanks for all the help. Don't feel bad about Charlie. There's no way you could have known. I'm sure we'll get to him in time."
"Not if we don't get moving, we won't" Colby prodded. "Whichever one of us finds him first should take him to Rubys." He figured it would be easier than trying to make it back to the church unseen by any of the Morelli's.
The place he named was Sinclair's one time restaurant. Now under the ownership of David's former cook Ruby Griggs and her husband, they knew the location was safe. Currently C & D used Rubys to check in when they had to split up while working on a case, so they knew the married couple could be trusted to keep their mouths closed about any unexpected company. Also, if they could get the professor there, he'd stay put until his brother and the FBI could help protect him from Morelli. Ruby's strapping teenaged son Tilman would make sure of that.
"I was thinking the same thing" David responded.
As he finished speaking, Sister Anne arrived with Sinclair's car. With no time to explain, David accepted the keys from her politely, got in, and drove off.
Colby turned to the priest and nun. "Again, Father, Sister Anne, thanks for everything. You two make quite a duo. I'm glad you're on our side, I think." He grinned. "See ya." Leaving Father Nathaniel to explain to the perplexed Anne, he waved a goodbye and took off on foot.
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Charlie ducked into the doorway, hyperventilating and mopping his brow with his sleeve. That was his second close call. Lou Morelli, after finding out Charlie was alive and well, flooded the streets with his men. And every one of them carried instructions to keep their peepers peeled for one Charles Eppes. With a prodigious brain and keenly analytical judgment , Charlie was aware that his actions were foolhardy at best. If Morelli's men spotted him, it was all over for him and Amita. At least it would be when the gangster got it thru his head that the Fed couldn't be breeched. The professor also felt lousy about slipping away from the church without a word to Father Nathaniel or Granger and Sinclair. It was a poor way to repay them for their hospitality and protection. They might have simply turned him over to Morelli and gotten the criminal boss off their backs. Instead, they'd risked their lives to keep him from harm. And he'd repaid them by this pulling this crazy stunt. He realized he was spitting into the wind, but he couldn't stop himself. He had to get to Amita. He had to make sure she was safe, or at least that she was not bearing the brunt of Lou Morelli's frustration.
He cautiously poked his head out and took a peek. The coast seemed clear. Mashing his borrowed cap down and turning up his collar, he hoped to mask his features from any prowling Morelli employees. He really only succeeded in making himself look more conspicuous. Math might have been his forte, but he was lousy at skulking. He was so nervous and preoccupied he barely paid attention to where he was going. Mind on Amita Ramanujan, he never saw the couple coming towards him until he bumped hard into the middle aged woman.
"Oh!" she gasped, stumbling backwards and nearly falling. Her male companion steadied her, glaring hotly at her apparent assailant.
Charlie, aghast at his inattentive clumsiness, reached out apologetically. "I, I'm terribly sorry! I didn't mean…are you alright?"
Still flustered, the woman back away, her mouth forming a startled "O". His jaw clenched in an angry frown, the man who'd been walking beside her shoved the CalSci fugitive.
"Why don't you watch where you're goin' mac?! You walked right into my wife!"
The irate man was shouting, attracting a fair amount of attention from passersby, some amused, and others, hoping for fisticuffs.
"Herman, it, it's nothing! I'm fine. It was an accident!" Herman's wife regained her composure, saw all the staring and wanted to sink into the pavement.
"No, Madge, it ain't!" Herman yelled. "He almost knocked you down! I ain't letting him get away with that!"
Madge sighed. Herman had come out of the womb bad tempered. Her mother said it all the time. Some days it seemed like he got out of bed spoiling for a fight.
Charlie tried again to apologize. "I really sorry, I, I didn't mean to walk into you-"
He was in the middle of his explanation when the touchy Herman grabbed him, taking a fistful of collar in each hand.
"I think you did mean it! I think you got no regard for anybody else. I think ya needs to be taught a lesson and I'm the guy what's gonna do the teaching."
With that, the much larger Herman drew back a meaty paw, calling class into session.
Charlie Eppes, who prided himself on being a man of intellect rather than force, tried to raise an arm to shield his face, but it was knocked away. He winced, and squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the blow that never landed. Flailing about for support when Herman abruptly let go of him, he cracked an eyelid.
Colby Granger had Herman's right arm in a rock hard double handed grip. Tilting upward with an elbow, he used it to clock Herman square on the latter's cleft chin. Letting go of the other man's arm, Colby gave him a bop to the beezer.
"Ow!" Herman wailed, sounding surprised, holding his offended beak. "You hit me! I think you broke my nose!" A bully from his schoolyard days, he was unused to being on the receiving end.
"Yeah?" Granger threw back. "Well next time try picking on somebody your own size! Now take your wife and breeze outta here before I cool ya! Go on, beat it, Graziano!" Colby ordered.
The mortified Madge rushed in, plastering a lace trimmed handkerchief to her spouse's bloody nose. Grabbing Herman by a lapel, she pulled him past the crowd of onlookers and down the street, haranguing him in true wifely fashion.
"You couldn't let it go, could you?! Noooooo, you just had to step in and defend my honor, didn't ya! Even after I told you it was an accident, which anyone could see! You and your temper! You couldn't even give the guy a chance to apologize! He was trying to say he was sorry, Herman! But you wouldn't listen would ya?! No, you had to play the tough guy! Now look at ya! Now, I gotta go home, take one of the steaks we was gonna put on the grill and use it on your face! Let me tell you, Herman Mickleman….." The couple vanished around the corner, Madge still in operatic tune.
I might have a cold blooded greedy psychopath hunting for me, Charlie Eppes thought, but it could be worse. I could be Herman right now! Youch!
"You think he's compensating for a name like Herman Mickleman?" he joked. He turned to find Colby regarding him steadily, unsmiling.
"I'm sorry" Charlie started to explain his actions. "I know I shouldn't have taken off like that. I, I was just so-"
"We can talk about it later" Colby told him. Let's get you off the street and out of sight before one of the people combing the streets for you gets lucky. Come on." They detoured down an alley and off the main drag.
"Where are we going? Back to the church?" Charlie asked.
"No" Granger answered. "Too much open ground to cover. There's too many chances for you to get spotted. I've got someplace else in mind. It's not as good as St. Theresa's but it'll do until we can let your brother know where you are."
"I thought you said you had trouble getting Don to believe you." Charlie was puzzled.
"We did, but that was before we had your pop in our corner."
"My father? You've spoken to my father? You went to see him?" Charlie buried both hands in his dark curls, trying to catch up to what Colby was saying.
"No, he came to see us. You know, professor, I think you're selling your family short. I think they can handle a lot more than you give 'em credit for. This way" Granger indicated a turn into another back alley. Rubyswasn't too much further. He'd leave a message for David while he was there. He fingered the slip of paper in his pocket. He could try to call Alan Eppes too.
"What about Amita?" The woman he loved was never far from Charlie's thoughts. "I need to make sure she's not being harmed because I-"
"Tell you what, doc." Colby bargained. "You stay where we're going, don't give the Grigg's any trouble until David or your brother shows up to get you, and I'll check on Amita Ramanujan for you. If I can, I'll get her out. I mean, officially she is the one who hired us. Deal?"
"Deal" Charlie agreed reluctantly.
"Good. We got about six blocks to go and we're about to run out of alleyway. So follow my lead, huh?"
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Well, that's out, Colby decided. Doing a careful once over of the area before abandoning the shelter of the alley, he'd spotted some of Lou Morelli's bone crushers slithering by. Heads rotating slowly from side to side, they looked like a carful of human periscopes. It wasn't only them to worry about either. With the kind of cabbage he could spread around, the powerful Morelli could afford to hire extra bodies to be on the lookout. Good thing Charlie was securely deposited in the storeroom at Rubys with Tilman Griggs keeping a watchful eye. No one knew of the professor's presence but Ruby and Isaiah Griggs and their son. With any luck, it wouldn't have to remain that way for too much longer.
"When David calls" Granger instructed, "you can tell him the doc's here. If an FBI agent by the name of Don Eppes or William Cooper should show up, that's good too, but nobody else gets to know, huh? And watch him." He gestured to the red faced Charlie. He's smart and he doesn't look it, but he's slippery." Charlie studied the floor, shamefaced. "Thanks." He shook hands with Tilman and his father and gave the motherly Ruby a bear hug before leaving.
Alan Eppes was pleading their case with the Bureau. Now all Colby had to do was talk to him. Granger called the number given him by Alan while still at Rubys. No dice. Maybe the man was still trying to pound some sense into Don Eppes's head. Having made the acquaintance of the eldest Eppes brother, Colby could see where that might take a little more effort than with most people. He'd give it a half hour and try again. In the meantime, he was going to take a gander around C&D. Might as well see if the dogs were still barking up that tree. So here he stood, peering around the corner of the building across the street. Yep, there they were, big as life and twice as ugly. Three of them, probably just dumb enough to be deadly. No way would he make it inside to C & D Private Investigations without being seen. Now to keep his promise to Charlie. He made for the Starlight Room putting together a plan in his head as he went. Since they knew what he looked like, the drunken hick routine was definitely out. He'd need to try something different. He hunched his shoulders as a thought occurred to him. The professor had managed to hide out for days in the Starlight's backroom. Maybe, Colby thought, I can make it work for me too. Granger was so busy plotting a way past Lou Morelli's guard, that he momentarily dropped his own. Only for a minute, but it that was long enough. A shadow appeared in front of him, blocking his path. He looked up.
"Well would ya look at what we got ourselves here, boys?! If it ain't one of our old PI chums! How's youse doin, pal? It's real good to see ya again!" rumbled Knuckles Lamone. Behind him, Vinnie and Iggy grinned stupidly, looking way too eager to do some damage. On their way out of town to escape Morelli's expected vengeance for blowing their assignment, Knuckles couldn't believe his luck when he'd spied the man!
Did I just say somebody else was dumb? Granger had enough time to think before they piled on.
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" I can't believe you fell for it, dad!" Don Eppes exclaimed to his father. "They're working for Morelli!"
Don, Alan and Billy Cooper were in a small conference room, with the door closed.
"Of course they're not, Donnie!" Alan shouted back, annoyed. His firstborn had Margaret's stubborn streak. "And don't you raise your voice to me! FBI agent or not, I'm still your father!"
Don held his tongue, marshalling his argument. His father was an intelligent man with a sometimes enviable innocence where people were concerned.
I've gotta make him see… Don thought.
Alan wasn't done. "I know you think I let them pull the wool over my eyes, but you're wrong. I'm not as easy to fool as you think. Don, son, listen to me! They could have turned your brother over to this Lou Morelli person the moment they found him, but they didn't do that! Instead, they protected him. They're still protecting him! At a considerable risk to their own skins, I might add. Does that sound like they're working for the wrong side? Does it?!"
"Dad, Otto Ramsey showed up to snake them out of FBI custody! Ramsey's Morelli's top mouthpiece. Why would that happen if they weren't working for the same boss?!"
"Uh, Mr. Eppes-" William Cooper interjected.
"Billy" Alan turned to the second agent. "I've always liked you. I think you're a fine agent and I like the way you look out for my son, but you need to stay out of it. This is between me and Don." Alan's tone and look left zero room for argument. Cooper subsided.
Alan refocused on his son. "Don, did you not hear what I said? Colby Granger and David Sinclair, they have a priest and nuns helping them hide Charlie. Do you suspect Father Nathaniel and the Sisters at St. Theresa's too? Do you really believe they'd be helping someone who worked for a gangster? I know this job can make you think the worst of people, but you have to trust sometime. And you have to trust me! I'm not as gullible as you think I am. I'm telling you these are good men. They're trying to help your brother! Believe me!" Alan knew how to talk to his son.
At the risk of being told to butt out again, Cooper waded back into the argument. "He's got a point, Don." Ignoring Eppes's betrayed look, Billy continued. "Consider it for a sec, okay partner? Sinclair and Granger, they could have been on the blower to Morelli hours ago, unloaded Charlie and been done with it. But they haven't. If Morelli had your brother his boys wouldn't still be all over the place like a pack of bloodhounds. Plus, I know Father Nate. He's the genuine article. He wouldn't help 'em if he thought they were workin' for Morelli. What your father's sayin', it all makes sense."
Don knew when to fold. "Okay, alright, uncle, uncle. Maybe Granger and Sinclair can be trusted. So now what? What do we do? We still have to get to Charlie before Morelli does."
Alan was about to offer a suggestion when the door opened to reveal Agent Tom Kemper. "Uh, I don't mean to interrupt, but, um, there's a phone call. It's about Charlie."
"I'll take it, Tom." Don told him.
"Uh, well, that's the thing, Don. It's not for you. The caller asked for Alan Eppes."
"Me?" Alan's surprised look was almost funny.
"Yes, sir" Kemper told him. "Some guy named David Sinclair. Says he knows where Charlie Eppes is and said if you're here, he needs to talk to you."
"I guess you better take it, then, huh?" Cooper said. The small conference room emptied quickly.
"Hello, David?" Alan said, accepting the receiver from Tom Kemper.
"Mr. Eppes, yeah, it's me. Listen, I heard from Colby. Charlie's at a place called Rubys on Central Avenue. He's fine for now, but the sooner his brother gets there the better. And Alan, tell him to take plenty of backup. I'm on my way there now, but I gotta be careful. Morelli's gang is all over the neighborhood. I gotta go, 'bye." Sinclair hung up.
Alan filled his son in on the conversation. Don grabbed Cooper, Agents Kemper and Daniels and four others. Packing extra weaponry, they piled into several black FBI sedans.
"Dad, stay here. I'll be back in a few with Charlie."
Alan nodded helplessly. It never got easier, watching his son go charging into possible danger. And this time, both his children were involved. All he could do was wait. He looked on as the three cars roared off, and then went back inside like he'd been asked.
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Charlie knew he was doomed. As remorseless as an approaching night his stalker dogged his every move, slowly cutting off all avenues of escape until there remained but one choice. With what dignity he could muster, Professor Charles Eppes bowed to the unavoidable. If he must face death, then he'd make it death with honor. Reaching out he gently tipped over his king, resigning.
"You didn't have to do that Professor" Tilman Griggs told him with a lopsided smile. "You still had at least two more moves."
"At which point you would have had me checkmated, Tilman, as we're both aware." Charlie had never been a sore loser. "Are you positive you don't want to enter CalSci's next sponsored tournament? With your gift for the game, you might even take first place."
"Nah" Tilman shrugged off the suggestion. "Me and my dad, we play for enjoyment. That's what I like, just to enjoy playing. In a competition, it wouldn't be the same. People take it too serious. Win a couple of games and before you know it, the other guy's offended, accusations are flying, names are being called. It's not nearly as much fun. This is better. Um, I have to go out front for a while, take care of the customers while my dad goes to the bank." Tilman appraised his guest with a look that went far beyond his sixteen years. "Can I get your hand on it that you won't do something stupid, like, maybe, leave?"
"I promise, I'll stay right here. You have my word. I will not venture out of this room" Charlie swore, sealing his words with a handshake.
Tilman accepted the guarantee with a single nod of his head and left.
Since he wasn't sure how long the young man would be gone, Charlie wasted no time. He planned to keep his pledge. No trips outside, but, he'd noticed something earlier. Ruby and Isaiah Griggs often did the necessary paperwork for their business at a small desk in the corner of the storeroom. On that desk, sat a lamp, a cup filled with pens and pencils, a typewriter, and, most important of all, a working telephone. The second the door closed behind Tilman, Charlie headed for the phone. He couldn't see her right now, but maybe he could talk to her.
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"Easy, Don! You'll be looking Charlie in the face in about fifteen minutes. If you don't get us all killed that is!" Billy Cooper yelled as Don slewed the car around another corner. Cooper grabbed for any purchase he could find as the Dodge sedan came uncomfortably close to becoming a two wheeled vehicle.
No response. All Don could think of was getting to his brother. When Charlie first disappeared, he hadn't known what to make of it. He only knew something must be drastically wrong for Charlie to vanish, leaving his father and older brother thinking the worst. Plus, walking away from his beloved math? When Charlie was three years old, their mother Margaret caught her baby boy scribbling on the dining room wall in bright red crayon. In the midst of plotzing over the damage and trying to imagine what she would say to Alan, she noticed something. Her little one's doodling wasn't stick figures or some abstract rendering of dogs or cats. It wasn't cars, boats or choo-choo's either. It was an incredibly complicated long division problem. Not only that, but the solution was correct, right down to the last digit. Alan returned home after a long day of city planning to find his wife sitting in a corner of the sofa, softy contemplating their youngest child. Charlie, oblivious to the impending hoopla over his brain cells, was busily arranging his building blocks into the shapes of quadrilaterals. A citizen of math universe almost from the moment of his birth, numbers were as much a part of Charles Eppes's world as breathing. Throwing his beloved chalk boards and equations over without explanation? Not his little brother.
To complicate matters further there was, if Granger and Sinclair were to be believed, a mysterious femme fatale involved. Charlie with a gorgeous chanteuse for a girlfriend? Talk about the world being upside down!
Don's intention to reach Charlie was so intense that the surrounding city bustle and activity became irrelevant. He floored the accelerator and barreled on, swerving in and out of lanes and around other cars. The two chase vehicles, carrying the other agents, struggled to keep pace. When several Los Angeles fire department trucks came screaming up behind them, sirens braying, not only didn't the FBI cars yield, but Don nearly collided with one of the red, white and gold behemoths.
"Don!" Cooper bellowed, jerking the wheel sideways. It shouldn't be much further but with his partner's driving they might not make it there alive! "We ain't gonna do Charlie any good by gettin' ourselves plastered all over the pavement!"
"Just hang on, Billy!" Don yelled back, more focused than ever.
The LAFD trucks, one of the ladder variety, sped on, bypassing their temporary obstructions. The deafening wail of the sirens faded, only to be replaced by others. As Don attempted to resume his urgent mission, several ambulances cut he, Cooper and the other agents off, following the path taken by the firefighters.
"Looks like something went about as bad as it could, and I think it's close." Billy commented. Craning his head out of the window, he could see, and now smell, all the components of a major blaze nearby.
As Don wheeled onto Central Avenue, a huge explosion rocked the entire neighborhood. The concussive force of the blast was so enormous that the car's occupants felt it from where they were. Clouds of sooty, acrid smoke filled the air, choking off breath and burning eyes. Don stood on the brakes, stopping the car so suddenly that the following agents narrowly avoided a chain reaction crash. With no warning, the FBI convoy was pelted with flying glass and debris. Their only protection was remaining inside their cars.
"What, what was that?!" Cooper yelled.
Instead of responding, Don shifted into park and killed the engine, staring, open-mouthed. One block ahead, a large combination laundry and warehouse was burning. The heat and smoke generated by the fire was compounded by secondary explosions. Excited by the flames, an immense shipment of illegally stored fireworks cooked off. Their erratic trajectories imperiled anyone close. The injured were being attended to or rushed to hospitals. The dead were covered by sheets and blankets. They would have to wait. Desperate to contain both damage and casualties, the police and fire departments were busy cordoning off the area. Unfortunately for Don, that included Central, which the building's rear backed on to. He swore. Ten blocks beyond the bedlam of the warehouse lay Rubys, and Charlie.
The clamor of an air horn forced his attention away from both the blaze and plotting a way around it to get to his brother. More fire trucks and equipment, seeking to attack the enemy from behind, found their access blocked by the Bureau. Don suddenly discovered himself coping with an angry fire captain.
"Get those cars outta the way, NOW! " the man screamed, furious. "Move 'em or lose 'em, jerk!" The gear clad chief jumped back into the cab of the truck, which stormed ahead, just barely giving the FBI agents a chance to get out of the way.
As soon as the trucks were no longer a factor, Don got his team turned around. There had to be a way around all of this pandemonium. He was going to find it. Charlie's life might be depending on it right this minute. They headed back the way they'd come, avoiding being trampled by more arriving fire trucks and ambulances.
"Looks like that thing is gonna tie up everything the LAFD's got!" Cooper yelled to be heard over the din. Give him an FBI agent's job any day over what they had to contend with. He couldn't imagine running into a flaming structure for any reason.
Don headed up Dixon Street, seeking a route around the blockage caused by the fire. As they passed the openings provided by alleys, he peered down them, trying to determine where the barricaded area on Central ended. He saw it! There, no more fire or police vehicles. He cut that way, bringing his fellow agents along. The three cars caromed back on to Central, speeding for Rubys.
Don was so engrossed in reaching Charlie that he didn't see the woman who ran out in front of him until she was almost crushed beneath his wheels. As the Dodge grew closer, she stopped in her tracks, too shocked to move. Certain he would be unable to stop, or even slow sufficiently in time, he had to try anyway! Putting all of his weight on the brake, the car responded to his demand with a squealing protest of burning rubber and smoke from the tires. At the same time he wrenched the wheel to one side. The ploy didn't work. The car twisted sideways, but still angled at killing speed towards the frozen woman. The high pitched wails emitted by the auto were joined by screams as onlookers saw what was happening. With both strong hands on the wheel, Don fought for control, not daring to breathe. Eyes half closed, he clenched his jaw as the big sedan continued its long, grueling SSSSSSSSKKKKKKKKIIIIIIIIIIIDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!! They jerked to a body wrenching halt. Opening his eyes completely, Don and the other agents sagged with relief. Somehow, incredibly, there remained a scant two inches of space between his car and his unintended victim. She was alive! Shaking violently and hysterical, but unharmed. Good Samaritans hurriedly guided the petrified woman out of the road.
SPANG! Spang! Bllllllaaaaatttt!!!! Blllllllaaaaatttt!!! Now it was the FBI's turn to be surprised as they were rudely introduced to the reason for the woman's heedless flight into traffic. All the men ducked for cover as more bullets flew at them. This couldn't be happening! This was not happening! It couldn't be! It just absolutely could not! No, no, no! Using the massive warehouse fire as an intended diversion, four men were robbing the Central Avenue Bank and Trust! And Don Eppes and his rescue mission had stumbled right into the very teeth of it!
Inside the bank, the McClendon brothers and their compatriots were equally stunned. All the planning that had gone into this job! Finding out about the fireworks stored in the nearby laundry, the small but prosperous bank with only the one guard, all of it just perfect. All the coppers was supposed to be busy with the commotion of the fire! Who was these guys?! And what were they doing here, now, ruining a perfectly good heist?! No matter. They'd gotten in the way! They were about to be moved out of it! Rising up as one, the brothers and their cohorts aimed their Tommie guns at the interlopers and fired!
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"Oh, Charlie!" Amita Ramanuajan gasped, throwing her arms around Charlie's neck. She clung to him, weeping, releasing days of bottled up emotions.
Charlie returned her embrace, holding her tightly as the smell of her jasmine scented hair washed over him.
His furtive call to her apartment had been totally unexpected. She'd been steeling herself for another night in the harsh glare of Lou Morelli's sinister gaze as she sang, her dread growing as the L.A. sunlight began to fade. The gangster's impotent fury at his inability to locate Charlie was reaching a fever pitch. Granger and Sinclair's refusal to play along increased the man's rage. Soon, she and her parents could be made to pay the price. Lou had implied as much that morning. The ringing phone made her jump and she almost fainted when she heard Charlie's voice. She needed to hurry. Morelli's men would be here soon to drive her to the club. Grabbing her purse, Amita rushed out of the apartment, eager to be reunited with the man she loved. Slipping out of the building's rear entrance, she ran to the nearest hack stand, her mind already on being together with Charlie again at long last! He would help her figure out how to rescue her hostage loved ones. Her aching desire to be in Charlie's arms was so strong, she didn't stop to consider how easy it had been to leave her place, hail a taxi and be on her way. Nor did she notice the big Packard trailing two cars behind the Checker. Finally, though, she was with him. It was going to be alright now. Charlie was so smart. He'd help her find a way to free her mother and father from Morelli's clutches.
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David Sinclair, admitted into Rubys delivery entrance by Tilman, stepped gratefully inside, extremely happy to be off the streets. Giving Morelli's droppers the clean sneak had taken years off his life.
He clasped Tilman's hand firmly. "Thanks for this. Colby and me, we would've been in dutch without you and your parents help."
"Come on" the teenager responded. "You know you don't have to thank us. Pop would be a stiff long time now if it wasn't for you (another pre-Colby case). Besides, you and Granger, you're like family. Course, Colby's the white sheep of the clan and all…" Tilman trailed off with a grin.
David groaned on cue. "The professor's in the back, right?"
Tilman nodded. "Yeah. I had to come out front and help out with the customers while Pop makes the bank deposit, but the professor, he gave me his word to stay put. I figure he's trustworthy. I'm starting to get worried about Pop, though. Central Avenue Bank and Trust ain't that far away. He should have been back by now."
"He might have gotten held up by the fire. There's a big building burning a few blocks down. Looks like half the fire trucks and john laws in the city are down there. They got everything roped off. Not letting anybody thru. If your dad ran into that, he's gonna have to find a way around it before he can get back here."
"I heard all the sirens. Wasn't none of my concern, so I stayed here. So that's what's happening. Pop, he's savvy enough to stay clear of it" young Tilman told him, firmly convinced.
Colby here too?" David asked.
"Uh, no." Tilman answered, confused. "He, uh, he left awhile back. Said something about checking out C & D. That was some time ago. Expected him back by now too, to tell you the truth."
David swore softly, trying to strangle the sliver of concern Timan's words stirred up. His partner's tendency toward impulsiveness had gotten Granger into trouble a few times. The saving grace there was that Colby learned fast. And that once a lesson was learned, it stayed taught. Plus, the former army lieutenant was tough as nails. He's okay, David insisted to himself. Nothing to worry about. He's probably on his way right now. "I'm gonna check with Charlie. His brother's an FBI agent. He's on the way with some of his buddies. Hope they don't get held up by all that mess" He jerked his head in the direction of the monumental fire. He headed for the back room. Sinclair did a quick knock to warn Charlie he had company.
In the midst of a passionate kiss, Charlie Eppes and Amita Ramanujan sprang apart, flushing like two children nailed during a cookie jar raid.
David was astonished. "How did you… what, what are you doing here?!" He questioned Amita. "How did you know about this place?! I know Colby didn't bring you here!"
Charlie shielded Amita physically by stepping in front of her. "No, he didn't. I called her after Colby left." He gulped, see how angry Sinclair was. "I, I, I, I know what you said, but, but listen, I trust Amita! She loves me and I love her. She would never do anything to hurt me! Don't be mad at her!"
"I do love Charlie! I need to be with him! And I need his help! Lou Morelli, he-" Amita began breathlessly.
Sinclair cut her off. "You're nothing but a stalking horse for Morelli! You hired us on his orders!"
"Yes, I did!" Amita conceded, "but that doesn't change the fact that I love Charlie!" she turned to the mathematician. "I do love you Charlie, with all my heart. I didn't want to do what Lou said, but he has my-"
Again, the lovely young woman was interrupted before she could reveal Morelli's leverage over her.
"Da reunion is very touching" Kunckles Lamone pushed in the alley side door, Tommie gun at the ready. Iggy and Vinnie were with him, similarly armed. Deciding to follow da singing dame around had paid off in spades. "But I'm afraid it's gonna have ta get cut short. Da boss is very interested in resuming your previous conversatin' professor. I thinks youse and da broad here are gonna be comin' wit me." He pointed the lethal firearm at David. He's got plans for you and dat friend of yours, too."
Sinclair took an involuntary step forward, halted when Knuckles raised the machine gun. "What did you do to Colby?!" he rasped, seething. If these goons had killed his friend…
"He's still breathing for now" Lamone answered coldly. "Probably wishes he wasn't, but he is. I ain't saying how much longer dat's gonna be da case, seein' as how da boss is real displeased wit da both of ya. But, dat ain't my call. Enough talk, let's move it. All a' ya's. " Gesturing with the Tommie, he step back, forcing Amita, Charlie and David ahead of him. Iggy was first out, then the captives. Bringing up the rear was Vinnie. Unexpected, the door from the dining room opened to show the surprised face of Tilman Griggs. Vinnie reacted by preparing to shoot the young man. Tilman stared down the muzzle of the gun as Vinnie's finger tightened on the trigger.
"No!" David yelled, seeing Tilman's life in danger. Heedless of the weapons held on him, Sinclair tried desperately to get between Vinnie and Tilman. Vinnie altered his aim to meet the perceived threat.
"Don't kill 'im!" Knuckles ordered. "Da boss wants him alive!"
At the last second, Vinnie changed his grip, savagely smashing Sinclair senseless with the butt of the gun. Tilman stared, unmoving.
"Leave da kid! Come on! Let's go! We got other business! Come on!" Knuckles yelled.
As the shaken Tilman watched helplessly, the gunmen forced Charlie and Amita ahead of them, dragging the unconscious David. Securing his hands and feet with lengths of chain and padlocks, they tossed the insensible sleuth into the trunk and took off. Filling the air were the sounds and smells of the still enormous blaze and of a fierce gun battle emanating from the direction of the Central Avenue Bank and Trust.
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Don Eppes stared down at Carl McClendon's bullet riddled corpse. Nine tenth's of the way to dead, Carl's brother Eugene was headed to a hospital, under the guard of agents Sullivan and O'Keefe. The remaining pair of robbers had thrown down their guns after the McClendon's were taken out. The whole thing was stupid. Carl and Eugene had supposed themselves to be home free with many of the city's policeman tied up helping to manage the Kowloon laundry/warehouse fire. What a pair of dopes. Mistaking Don's reluctance to run down an innocent woman for the arrival of law enforcement opposition, they'd started shooting. Now, one was croaked, the other was probably gonna get that way before long, and as night fell, Don had still not gotten to Charlie.
He turned as Cooper returned from talking on the phone with their boss, Wainwright.
"OK. I got him convinced we're here because we got an anonymous tip that the bank was going to be robbed. He doesn't suspect it has anything to do with Charlie. Halloran and Mitchell can wrap things up here and deal with the police. Charlie's probably going out of his mind by now. Let's go."
Along with Kemper and Daniels, Don and Billy were soon arrived at Rubys and getting the latest developments from the thoroughly frightened Tilman. The young man's mother Ruby stood by and as they spoke Isaiah Griggs returned. Trapped inside the bank during the holdup attempt and shootout, he was just now free to return to his family.
Don learned how David Sinclair and Colby Granger were connected to the Griggs family.
"Maybe Sinclair and his friend are on the side of the angels after all. Sounds like Sinclair left here a prisoner and they already got Granger, too" William Cooper observed.
"That doesn't help me figure out what Lou Morelli wants with my brother. Or get me any closer to finding the kid" Don answered bitterly.
"Of course it does." Cooper told him. "You've got to start thinking like an agent, Don, not a brother! Look, for now, I'm pretty sure Morelli isn't looking to kill Charlie. He wants him alive for some reason. So for the time being, he's not going to be hurt. You follow me?"
Don nodded, getting a handle on his anxiety and disappointment with an effort.
"Alright, good" Billy continued. "We know we can't go charging into the Starlight Room with our guns drawn and put everybody down, right? We got nothing concrete to go on. No reason to accuse Morelli of having anything to do with Charlie's disappearance. Wainwright would just sneer, say Charlie's a big boy and order us to stay away from Morelli and his ritzy patrons at the Starlight. In the meantime, Lou has your brother and he's forcing him to do who knows what. On the other hand, partner, who is it that's spent the last twenty four hours at least, with Charlie bending their ear about his troubles. Who's been trying to keep Morelli off of him, huh?" Coop prompted.
Don was quick to understand. "You're saying we find Granger and Sinclair again, and they lead us to Charlie. That they probably know exactly what the deal is between him and my kid brother. If we find them, we pick up where Morelli's taken Charlie and this woman, Amita Ramanujan."
"There's the Don Eppes I've partners with for the last three years. We track Granger and Sinclair to find Charlie." Billy was relieved. He had Don back on course.
"We don't have time to back trace all their movements, find out who they know, figure out where they've been, that sort of stuff." Don was thinking out loud.
"True" Cooper told him, "but they're both apparently now being held by Morelli, if they're still alive, and I think they are. If he wanted 'em dead, his boys would've gunned Sinclair, not taken him with 'em."
"So?"
"So" Billy said, "remember when I told you I'd had Kemper and Daniels running down some leads for us while we were babysitting Humboldt's moll?"
"Yes, wh- wait a minute! They were running down Morelli's holdings. Granger and Sinclair are at one of 'em. With Charlie's whereabouts in their heads." Don's energy was beginning to return.
"Yeah" Coop answered. "And probably running out of time. Let's fade. We got a couple of hopefully still breathing private investigators to find."
Giving the Griggs family his thanks for their help to Charlie, Don and Billy left with Kemper and Daniels, planning their next move.
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Sinclair looked around the darkness of the deserted dockside garage, then tried again. He could taste the tang of the saltwater fifteen feet away.
"Colby?! Colby?! Granger! Come on man, stay with me! Come on, open your eyes!" David shouted, trying urgently to rouse the other man.
In addition to the horrendous beating he'd been subjected to, Colby's upper torso was pockmarked by angry looking, painful burns. The smaller ones were from cigarettes. The big larger ones were from Knuckles Lamone's cigar, clamped perpetually between Knuckles teeth.
Back on Lou Morelli's good side since handing over the prize of Professor Charles Eppes, along with the broad, (what a waste that was!) Knuckles finagled a consolation prize out of the deal. He, along with Vinnie and Iggy, whom he couldn't seem to get quits of, Lamone fumed, got to decide the fate of the private investigative team of Colby Granger and David Sinclair.
"I don't care what ya do wit 'em" Lou Morelli snapped in his customary guttural rumble. "Just make sure they pay. Nobody double crosses Lou Morelli. Nobody livin' that is." The icy matter-of-factness on his boss's bulldog like countenance sent a shiver the length of Knuckles backbone.
Lamone had taken his employer's edict to mean he had free rein where the two gumshoes were concerned. He could do whatever he wanted. Do it quick with very little pain, or slow and make it hurt a lot.
Knuckles being Knuckles, he'd opted for the latter. Pain was something he knew, Lamone reflected rather clinically. How to take it, but mostly how to give it, in small or large doses. Using some sap for a punching bag was fun, breakin' bones even funner, he decided, but hearin' 'em scream? Now dat was special. It made gettin' out of bed worth a man's while. And let's face it, dere wasn't too many things that made a helpless victim scream louder than bein' introduced to da business end of a proper stogie. Besides, it taught the lucky recipient to appreciate a good rope. Like dat Ogden Nash guy his old grandfather like to quote said, "a woman is just a woman, but a good cigar is a smoke."
After poundin' on Granger got old, he, Vinnie and Iggy amused themselves by using their chained up trophy as an ashtray. Then, they'd gotten their hands on the other one, the dinge. Course they didn't have time to play with him properly, havin' to deliver the goods to da boss and all, so they settled for smackin' the second one around some, drawin' a little blood and hanging da guy up like a side a beef until their return.
The chained up David, arms excruciatingly suspended over his head with the same lengths of chain used to bind him earlier, tried once more to awaken Colby, who was in and out of consciousness.
"Colby! Come on man! Open your eyes! Wake up! That's an order, soldier! Wake up! Now! On your feet!" David yelled as loudly as he could, desperately trying to make a dent in the shroud of pain surrounding Colby.
"Alright! Alright! Nag, nag, NAG!" Colby croaked hoarsely , opening his one good eye. The other green orb was swollen shut for the time being. "I'm awake. Happy now?" He coughed, wincing with each one. He wasn't restrained. Knuckles had decided he was too injured to present a problem.
"You gotta stay awake, Granger. I think you probably got a concussion" David told him, relieved.
Pushing into a sitting position by sheer grit, Colby slowly shook his head in the negative. "Me, a concussion? Nah! I been hit harder by Sister Willie. I'm okay. I am feeling a little peckish though. Breakfast was long time ago."
"Yeah, make jokes" David said, "but somehow, I don't think we can count on a last meal with this crowd."
"Who said anything about last" Colby returned, "I think I'm about ready to dangle on these mooks. They haven't been very good hosts anyway."
With that, he hoisted himself painfully, by inches, to his knees and crawled to David's side. Above Sinclair's head was an old fire ax, no doubt used by Knuckles and company in days past for more nefarious purposes. Forcing himself to ignore his loudly protesting muscles, Granger managed to get his feet under him and stand up enough to reach the ax. He hefted in both hands, its weight almost overwhelming him in his weakened state. His one good green eye met both Sinclair's brown ones.
"You ready to drift on these mugs?" he asked.
David knew what he meant. Hoping Colby's aim was equal to his moxie, he nodded. "Take the swing. Do it"
Just as his partner was about to comply, the door crashed open. Bursting thru, Knuckles Lamone, backed by the ever present Vinnie and Iggy, jumped Granger, their superior numbers more than a match for his depleted strength.
"Now, boys, we ain't havin' none a dat. Youse two, you wasn't gonna leave wit out sayin' so long, now was ya? I got annuder way for the two of ya's to go bye-bye."
He turned to Iggy. "Go get da stuff. All of it. Help him bring it in" he ordered Vinnie. Once everything was in place, they got down to brass tacks.
The entire process took just about an hour or so, but in the fullness of time, the three newly restored Morelli henchmen surveyed their handiwork.
"Dat's good, real good" Knuckles pronounced, plopping his butt into a chair. There was a certain amount of satisfaction in a job well done. Normally he hated any kind of manual labor, but dis…
"Now all we has ta do" he told Iggy and Vinnie, "is wait." Interlocking his fingers, he stretched, placed his hands behind his head, propped his feet up on the desk and corked straight off.
Vinnie and Iggy, easily bored, began a game of five card draw after about five minutes.
"I think we've just been insulted" Colby told David. "I mean here we are, all dressed for the dance and our escorts can't even be bothered to pay attention. I think that's pretty rude, don't you?"
Looking down at the slowly drying concete which encased he and Colby's feet, David could only snort at his partner's weird sense of humor. It looked like curtains for C & D Private Investigations.
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