Thank you, Brunie03 for the review, I'm glad that you're enjoying the story thus far!
I'm a broke college student, there's no way these are mine.
There's a bit more violence in this chapter, but not too graphic, promises.
Charlie jerked awake. He had been dozing on and off for the last few hours. He tried to get more comfortable, but it was difficult; his injuries were painful, and the rope felt like it was burning his skin. He swallowed thickly. The pizza he'd had at Papa Dons seemed like so long ago; actually, it had been, since this was the third morning he'd woken in the room. For the first time, his hunger was more painful than his injuries. He gently lifted his head when he heard the door open again.
"Dr. Eppes, how are you feeling this morning?" Asaf asked. He was holding the laptop again.
"I've been better, "Charlie responded.
"I can understand that. But, if you finish your next assignment, I can see what we can do about getting you some food."
Charlie tried not to scoff again. Better if he played along. "And what is this assignment?"
"We need you to get into Mossad files and find the Director's security detail for the next two weeks," Asaf said without hesitation.
Charlie stared at the man. "And the reasoning for wanting that information is…"
"Not your concern," Asaf answered. "Now, are you going to do this, or will I have to convince you?"
Charlie thought hard. By now, he had no idea if the people looking for him had figured out his code, he knew he needed to buy some more time. But there were so many things he didn't know. He didn't know if, or rather when, these men were going to kill him. He didn't know if they were going to use the information about Director David to kill him, he didn't know if his brother was on the case, or if anyone had figured out his code. He needed more time, and right now, since he didn't know when they were going to kill him, there was only one way to stall for more time.
"No, I won't do it," he said firmly, and swallowed the bile that rose when he said it, knowing what it meant.
Asaf sighed sadly, as though he had suffered a great disappointment. "I was afraid you would say that," he said, and pulled out a gun, and pressed it hard against Charlie's thigh. "Are you sure you won't do what we ask of you?" he asked, voice now hard.
Charlie struggled to control his breathing, he was about to hyperventilate; his heart was about to jump out of his chest, it was beating so hard
"I'm sure," he whispered, then his world exploded into pain.
By ten am, everyone had taken a few hours for rest, food, and showers; they were all back to work. Every few hours, someone would run out for more coffee, which fueled the efforts. Don was struggling not to lose hope, but he was lost. Then his cell phone rang.
"Eppes," he said quickly, answering it on the first ring.
"Don, it's Amita!" he heard her voice, sounded excited.
He hurried to put the phone on speaker and waved everyone over. "You found something in the code?" he demanded.
"Don, we are so stupid!" she cried. "It's not a code!"
The FBI team leader turned to the plasma, where the message was still up. "What do you mean, it sure looks like a code to me."
"I know, that's why I was so confused, because I assumed that since Charlie is a code breaking machine that this would have to be a code. But the message is Charlie's shorthand, Don. It's directions."
The agents turned again to look at the message. "That's directions?" David asked, skeptical.
"Wait," Colby said quickly. "I think I see it. Most of the letters are R and L, so…
"Right and left," McGee said, chiming in.
"Exactly," Amita said. "You just need to know the starting point."
Don thought hard. "The crime scene where he was grabbed has to be the starting point."
"Eppes would be able to keep track of the turns for that long?" Gibbs asked, somewhat skeptical.
Colby laughed and pulled out a map. "It's numbers, dude. If there's one thing the whiz kid can do, its numbers."
Don agreed and Colby went over to the map. "Alright, Amita, are the numbers miles or blocks?"
"Miles," she answered promptly.
Don dictated to Colby the miles and turns that Charlie had given them, and Colby had a marker out to track the progress. Then he paused, confused by the next abbreviation. 2ndE? "Okay, where is he now?"
"He's at the interstate," he responded, not looking up.
Don grinned. "Alright, take the second exit, the make a left…" And they continued going through the message.
"2H?" Don asked. "What does that mean?"
"Could be the second house," Amita offered, and all the agents jumped slightly, having forgotten that the line was still open.
Don nodded. "Makes sense. Where is he, then?"
Tony grimaced. "That's a wooded area, it's a pretty bad part outside DC."
Don nodded. "Thanks, Amita," he told her, then closed the line. "Let's roll," he said, looking at the agents. The NCIS looked at them strangely, and Don stared at them. "You coming or not?" he demanded.
Gibbs was the only one brave enough to speak up. "We don't know for sure he's there, Eppes. This could be a trap."
Don growled, then knelt by his duffle, following his agent's movements as they pulled on flak jackets, grabbing extra ammo, and putting on their coms. Then he stood and looked at his NCIS counterpart. "You guys want to sit this one out, that's fine. But I know that my brother wouldn't have given us this message for nothing. We're going there and getting him back. It's up to you if you want to join us."
Gibbs looked at Don for a moment, searching for something. Then he nodded. "Gear up," he ordered, and the other agents hurried to grab their bags and guns.
Megan had called the DC FBI for back up while Don was talking with Gibbs, and a few minutes later, they were in two SUVs and driving towards the location Charlie had given them.
For the FBI agents, the drive was torture. All of them were having a hard time blocking the images of what their teammate had been going through. David was at the wheel, and had his lights flashing and sirens blaring; the NCIS team right in front of them doing the same. A few miles outside of DC, and another two SUVs joined their high speed caravan: the DC FBI was providing back up.
When Charlie opened his eyes again, he was surprised to find that he was on the floor, and wasn't tied. He shifted, then groaned in pain. Looking down, he saw a blood stained bandage around his leg, and his memory came back. His breathing became erratic, and he wondered how his brother did this for a living. He knew that his brother had been shot on more than one occasion; so had the rest of the team. Charlie knew that he would give almost anything to avoid this again. But, then he considered that thought. He had known this was likely when he refused to do more work for his abductors. If they came back in here and asked him to do something, Charlie honestly had no idea what he would say. Charlie tried to move, and found that he really couldn't. The hunger and exhaustion, combined with the injuries from Akim and the GSW from Asaf mean that being tied up was no longer necessary to keep him from leaving. Charlie felt a wave of despair. If anyone came to rescue him, how would he get out to meet them? He knew how dangerous it would be for them to storm the house, since all the kidnappers were armed.
Just as he was thinking that, the door opened again, and Asaf ambled in, looking at ease. "How are you feeling, Dr. Eppes?" he asked with a smile.
Charlie didn't even bother to grace that question with an answer. This man knew exactly how he felt.
"Yes, I figured that was the case. I brought you some broth," Asaf told him, placing a large mug next to him. "You lost quite a bit of blood before Noam was able to bind your wound. We can't have you dying on us until we put you to good work. I'll be back later with some more broth."
Charlie stared at the man as he walked out, then considered the mug. There was a good chance that it was laced with something; but then again, if they had wanted to kill him, they wouldn't have bandaged his leg. Charlie shrugged. He didn't really have a choice, so he grabbed it. As soon as he took the first sip, he couldn't help gulping it down. A few seconds later, he placed the empty mug back on the ground, and felt a lot better. The hot, salty liquid had helped to clear his head, and filled his stomach nicely. He closed his eyes again, intending to rest a bit more, when the door burst open suddenly.
"Get him up," Asaf snapped at Akim and Noam, and the two obeyed, pulling Charlie up none too gently. Charlie cried out in pain. "Shut up," he ordered, then turned to his men. "Hadar called, said he saw four SUVs on their way here, sirens going. Get him up to the cabin. No one knows about it. I'll stay here and keep them busy while you make a run for it. You can come back here later after the cops leave."
Charlie felt a rush of hope followed quickly by despair. At least someone had managed to figure out his message, but what good was it if they left? Would they be able to find him again? He was pulled from his thoughts by the jarring pain as his companions pulled him out of the house and towards the woods out back.
"I hope you are up for a bit of hiking," Noam said cruelly, and pulled him forward.
A/N: Thoughts, opinions? I'm so mean to Charlie, I know it.