Thought Police

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it's not mine. This story is on an AU track.

Chapter 10: When The Wheels Come Off

"Where on Earth are Don and Nikki?" Alex said a bit irritably. "They should've at least reported in by now."

"I can't raise them on the radio," Serena reported grimly. "There is a chance it's nothing, though. I didn't notice until they'd left, they took the unit that's been giving us trouble lately. It wasn't supposed to be on the rack, but someone must've put it there by mistake."

The blonde Lieutenant sighed. "You could be right; I hope you are. But I'm not inclined to bank on that right now. If we do and we're wrong -"

"I understand," Serena replied, nodding. "We don't want to waste that time."

"Alex!" That was Captain Hannah, walking towards them in a hurry. "Is anyone on your team using a vehicle right now?"

An icy slick of fear began to form in her stomach. "Yes, I've got one team out. Why?"

"I've just gotten a report," he said briskly. "Car wreck a few blocks away from here involving one of our department SUVs. All of my people are accounted for."

"It's them," Alex whispered, stunned despite already having had a bad feeling. "Come on, Serena, let's go. Cho! Colby!" she shouted across the room. "You're coming too! Captain, text that location to me, would you? Thanks."

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Two ambulances, a fire truck, and a patrol car were already on the scene when the sedan came screaming up to it, lights flashing. Alex slammed on the breaks with enough force to throw the occupants as far forward as their seatbelts would allow, but no one commented on the rough stop as they all scrambled from the vehicle, running towards the mangled frame of the SUV.

A uniformed officer beside the scene put up his hand to stop them. "Don't come any closer!"

"I'm Lieutenant Alex Eames," she replied sharply, showing her badge to the man. "Those are my people in that wreck!"

"I understand that, Lieutenant," he said evenly, "but we still can't have you back here. The fire department is already working on the scene; you guys need to stay out of the way."

Colby stepped up next to Alex, and it was clear he was uncharacteristically shaken. "Can you at least tell us what's happened?"

The officer looked at them for a long moment, taking in Colby's obvious concern. "All right," he said finally. "It appears the department SUV was struck on the rear bumper and left side. FDNY is removing the driver from the wreck now; she's injured but they're optimistic." Then something seemed to occur to him, and he turned back to Alex. "Wait. Did you say people?"

"That's right." The icy fear was back. "Two people."

"Ma'am," the officer said somberly, "when we arrived on the scene, there was only one occupant in the SUV."

Alex drew a deep breath. Focus, Eames, she scolded herself sharply. Now isn't the time to lose control. "You indicated the driver was female, is that right?"

"Yes, ma'am. African-American female."

"Okay, her name is Nikki Bentencourt, and she's an FBI agent. The missing passenger - take this down - the missing passenger is Don Eppes, also an FBI agent. White male, about five-ten, brown eyes, dark brown hair, cropped short. Last seen wearing black slacks and a black polo shirt. Get an APB out right away. And cordon off the area as soon as EMS is clear; this is most likely a crime scene."

"I'll ride with Nikki," Colby offered. "If she's been out for this long, chances are she's lost any memory of the accident. It'll be good for her to see a familiar face when she wakes up, especially if she doesn't remember what happened."

"Go ahead," Alex acknowledged. "And keep an eye on her. The 'no one goes anywhere alone' rule still applies."

"Copy that."

Even as Colby returned the acknowledgement, the four officers could see the EMTs finally beginning to remove Nikki from the wreckage. Her black curls were visible for a moment over the top of the backboard, just before it was laid flat and carried carefully to a waiting stretcher. Colby made a beeline for her; this time, the officer didn't stop him. But Alex barely had a chance to acknowledge this before a new voice spoke from behind her. "What is going on?"

She turned abruptly. "Zach? What are you doing here?"

"Captain told us what was going on," the detective replied. "As soon as I heard how fast you ran out of there, I figured it had to be serious. So we ran over. Literally."

"Remind me later to tell you how stupid that was. Wait," she added a moment later, "who's we?"

"DON!"

The horrified scream answered Alex's question for her, even as Zach lunged to hold the mathematician back from the scene of the wreck. Charlie fought frantically with the taller man. "No! Let me go! Don! Don!"

"Charlie!" Zach was yelling over his friend. "Charlie, you can't go in there!"

"Charlie." Alex joined in, laying a hand on his arm to get his attention. "Charlie, he's not here," she said when he had stilled and was no longer screaming. "There's nothing you can do. The only thing you'll accomplish is to contaminate the scene."

It was clear that the realization had been coming even before the Lieutenant had spoken. Charlie slowly went limp, prevented from falling to the ground only by Zach's grip on him. "No. Donnie, no." It was barely a whisper now as the mathematician began to cry. "No."

"Charlie," she began hesitantly, "we are going to do everything we can to find him."

But the words sounded hollow even to her own ears.

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"Keep coordinating the searches," Alex ordered Lisbon briskly. "Step up everything we've been doing so far. We have evidence of foul play now; use it as leverage if you have to. And let me know as soon as Cho and Serena get back from the scene. Wylie, keep working on that internet trace. Have someone get you the number for Computer Crimes; you have my authorization to borrow personnel if you need them. Zach! Can you keep going on the network without Charlie?"

"I think so. I don't understand the math, but I've got some solid data to start following up on."

"Do it. Get as much done as you can on your own; meanwhile, I'll see if I can track down a consultant who can make sense of the numbers."

"You don't have to do that." Charlie stepped slowly into the room, eyes still red-rimmed but with a new look of determination on his face. "A new person will only have to waste time getting caught up. I can do it."

"Charlie," Zach asked gently, "are you sure?"

"I need this," the mathematician insisted. "I need to work. If there's any chance of finding him -"

"Okay," Zach replied after a moment. "I think you can save yourself that call, Lieutenant."

"Copy that. Liz! I need to see you for a second. Everyone else, keep doing what you've been doing. Except you, Jane," she added sharply to the consultant. "You need to stay in this building unless you're going out into the field with someone. Try to be useful, and if you can't, at least stay out of the way."

Jane whistled under his breath, but Alex decided to ignore him, instead leading Liz into one of the small observation rooms. The LA agent looked a bit shaken, despite her attempts to maintain a calm facade. Alex laid a gentle hand on her arm. "I know this is hard," she began softly. "Can you hang in there?"

"You bet I can."

"Good. I'll let you get back to it in a minute; I just need your help first. You're the only one here - besides Charlie, and he's a mess - who really knows Don."

"You need help with the notifications," she said grimly.

"Don't worry, I'll do them." She knew how hard of a job that was; it was the last thing she wanted to delegate, especially to someone who was already upset. "I just need information. Who to contact, and how."

"Right. Well, apart from Charlie, it would just be Alan and Robin - Don's wife and father. I'm sure I have both numbers saved somewhere; if not, the home office will have them on file."

"I appreciate it. Anything I should know?"

"Only what you probably already know. This is just about their worst fear come true."

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"Message deleted. Next message."

"How many of those is he going to leave?" Robin mumbled to herself, a mixture of irritation and guilt welling up inside her. But all of that was erased in a moment as an unfamiliar voice came over the line. "Ms. Brooks, my name is Alex Eames with the New York Police Department. I'm calling regarding your husband, Don Eppes. It's urgent that you call me back as soon as possible."

Robin sat numbly, almost missing her chair. For a fraction of a second, the thought crossed her mind that it might be some sort of trick, an attempt by Don to force her hand in returning his calls. But she dismissed the idea just as quickly. She knew her husband, knew that no matter how desperate he got, he'd never stoop to such a tactic. She felt shame for even considering the possibility.

Worry churning in her stomach, she replayed the message so she could take down the number. Then, with a shaking hand, she dialed.

The phone rang twice, and then a voice answered. "Eames."

"Alex Eames?"

"Yes. Who's this?"

"My name is Robin Brooks. My husband is Agent Don Eppes. You said you had something urgent to tell me?"

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"Look at this," Cho commented. "It looks like they were hit once from behind, and then at least once in the driver's door."

"What I can't make sense of," the crime scene tech replied, "is the final position. If they were driving in the direction you indicated, which is supported by the debris we found, I can't figure out how the car ended up at the angle that it did. It's not consistent with the impact."

"Unless they weren't going that way anymore," Serena suggested after a moment's consideration. "It looks like what came off first was pieces of the bumper. So they're driving that way, and they get hit from behind."

"But Don and Nikki aren't fooled." Cho was beginning to understand her theory. "They know, just like we do, that it's as likely as not to be a deliberate tactic, not an accident."

"So they know, or at least suspect, that they've been targeted," Serena said half to herself. "When a person thinks they're in danger, their instinct is usually to...get to somewhere safe." Her head snapped up, eyes locking onto the tech. "If they were hit somewhere along the trajectory of a U-turn, would that match the scene?"

"Yeah," he said after a moment. "Yeah, that could explain it. Unfortunately, that may be the extent of what we can determine. Rescue crews had to take the roof off to get the driver out, and the scene's been trampled to hell and back."

"Do what you can," Serena told him. "Call right away if you find anything. Cho, we should get back. The Lieutenant will want a report."

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"That was...rather harsh," Jane commented, sounding more amused than upset.

"She has a point, Jane," Lisbon admitted. "You've had this problem with just about every supervisor you've ever worked with. You wander off randomly in the middle of cases, you don't follow the rules...Hightower almost fired me over one of your stunts, if you recall, and Abbott was ready to lock you up when you ran off on that case in Brooklyn. Eames is taking this case personally - something you of all people ought to be able to understand - and she hasn't had a chance to get used to your methods. To her, it probably seems like you just don't care how this case turns out."

"You know that's not true, Lisbon," he objected.

"Yes. I do. But I didn't always. Things were rocky for a bit there, until I got used to your style. I used to think those same things; I know you remember. Alex hasn't had time to get to know you that way, and she sure as hell doesn't have the time now. Just give her some space and try not to bait her, that's the last thing either of you needs right now."

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"Alex."

"Colby." She turned in surprise. "I thought you were at the hospital."

"I was. Until Nikki told me to quit babysitting her and get my ass back to work - that's a direct quote, by the way. Don't worry, I left a guard on her and had a uni bring me here. After what's happened, no one's taking any stupid risks."

She smiled despite herself. "I take it, then, that she's doing okay."

"Yeah, she'll be fine. A few broken bones and a small skull fracture, but nothing that won't heal. I guarantee that within a few days, she'll be raging to leave the hospital and get back to work."

"She remember anything?"

He shook his head. "She's lost at least an hour. She couldn't even remember why she'd been in the car."

"That's a shame, if not entirely unexpected."

"Alex -" Colby began after a moment.

"What is it?"

"I overheard that argument you had earlier with Cho and Lisbon. What you said about getting a skilled consultant here in less than a day - was that just to make a point, or were you actually thinking of doing it?"

"It crossed my mind," she admitted. "Why?"

"Because you should," he said bluntly. "Not to replace Jane, but to add on. We need everyone we can get; it's what Don would do." He cringed. "I'm sorry. I'm not sure why I said that, it just kind of slipped out."

She laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Is that what he would do?"

"At the very least." Colby smiled a bit sadly at the thought. "And I should know. To be blunt, Alex, by all rights I shouldn't be alive right now. The only reason I am is because Don Eppes decided to throw procedure out the window and come after me, despite the fact that he had every reason to doubt me and only my word to the contrary. I was literally moments from being killed when they showed up; if they'd stalled at all, it would've been too late."

She turned to him, and there was a hard determination on her face. "I'm not giving up on them. On any of them. Not until I know what's happened. If they're alive, I will find them. That's a promise."

Yeah, I know Alex is being a little harsh on Jane here, but she doesn't seem like the type to tolerate his antics even on the best of days, and the stress she's under would only add to that. Hmm...I wonder what consultant she was thinking of bringing in!

The episode where Lisbon gets in trouble over Jane is Blood Money; the episode where he runs off in Brooklyn is Green Thumb. Colby's talk about Don saving his life is from the Numb3rs episode Trust Metric, and Charlie's reaction to Don's disappearance is based on his reactions to Don's injury in The Fifth Man and Amita's abduction in Angels and Devils.

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