Obsession:

Disclaimer: See Prologue

A/N: Your reviews have given me encouragement and I'd like to say a special thank you to all who have taken the time to review. I truly appreciate them.

Chapter 28:

Charlie watched with trepidation as the mountain lion continued to stand beneath the tree. He was overwhelmed by the sheer size of the creature. His eyes followed it from it's nose to the tip of it's tail and back again. It was huge, more than seven feet long, and had to weigh close to 140 lbs….or more!

He rubbed his forehead nervously while he tried to remember the instructions he had received from a Park Ranger the last time he and Larry had gone hiking together at the Topanga State Park. Apparently a hiker on the previous day had reported seeing a lion along one of the trails so the ranger's at the park had started giving every hiker instructions on what they should do if they encountered a lion.

"Think, Charlie, think!" he ordered himself. "Get a grip! If you panic now you'll become the main course!"

The lion was facing in the direction of the crash site and slowly brought it's head up sniffing at the air.

"Oh, God, it can smell me!" Charlie frantically thought. "The blood, it can smell my blood!" he took a deep, steadying breath. "Calm down, remember it's down there and your up here…. but cats climb trees, don't they?!"

Charlie studied the cat closely, carefully observing every detail. He noted the way the lion's ears were constantly changing position and the way the long tail was slowly swishing from side to side. It meant something important, if only he could remember what it was.

He forced his mind to focus on the ranger's words, while trying to remain calm as the cat's nose rose a little higher, still sniffing at the air.

"Think…think…..the ranger said is was important to understand the lion's behavior because that would tell you what it's intentions were. Right,…now I remember. It's behavior right now doesn't appear threatening…so, maybe ..maybe…it's just curious?" he wiped the sweat from his brow, never taking his eyes off of the cat. " Let's see, what else did he say.' Charlie ran his hand over his mouth as he studied the cat. "Something about height…or…oh, I know. The cat likes to have the higher position…so that's definitely in my favor." The ranger's words were coming back to him. " I shouldn't make any sudden movements or noise. Maybe it will just go away, please, please go away!"

All thoughts of the ranger's words disappeared as the lion began to move around again and he tensed up as it approached the tree.

The cat slowly started to circle the tree, this time with it's nose to the ground. Charlie inhaled and held his breath expecting to see it leap up into the branches with him at any moment but instead the lion circled around behind him.

He needed a weapon! Alarmed, he searched around the branches for something that he could use against the lion. His hand closed around a small branch and he broke it, wincing when it snapped off with a loud crack. The stick was about four feet in length and sturdy. Charlie didn't feel quite as helpless now, at least he had something solid that he could hold on too. He gripped the broken branch tightly in his hands, determined to fight as long as he could.

Sweat was beading on his upper lip by the time the cat re-appeared again, stopping once more beneath him. The lion turned around until it was facing the tree and abruptly sat down on it's rear haunches …..and then, to his horror, the puma slowly raised it's massive head and looked up into the tree.

Charlie gasped and forgot to breathe as he and the lion locked eyes.

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"Ranger Cromwell, meet Special Agent Ian Edgerton, the bureau's best tracker and the FBI's number four sniper."

Edgerton corrected him. "Ah, that would be number three now. That shot I took when I was working with you on that plane crash case moved me up another notch."

"Yeah…well congrats on that." Don said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "That was one hell of a shot."

"Thanks." Edgerton replied.

Don wearily pulled out one of the chairs at the long table and settled himself into it. Cromwell and Edgerton nodded in greeting as everyone followed the lead agent's example and sat down.

He glanced at his watch and sighed, only 12:52. " Could this night possibly get any longer?" Then another thought occurred to him and he shuddered. "How long do you think that lion was watching us?" he asked, turning to face the ranger.

Cromwell shrugged. "Not very long because Riggs didn't notice him when we first came out on the porch."

Don's eyes drifted down to the little dog at the ranger's feet and his forehead creased in puzzlement. "How come he didn't bark, I thought all dogs barked when they saw cats, and he didn't even try to go after it, he just froze."

Edgerton's eyebrows rose. "I've never seen a dog that didn't chase everything that moved. What's wrong with him?'

The ranger laughed. "There's nothing wrong with him, it's just like I told Agent Eppes,…"

"Call me Don." the agent said quietly.

Cromwell nodded. "Only if you call me Jeff." The agent gave him a slight nod and he continued on with his story.

"It's like I told Don, he's the smartest dog that I've ever seen." he glanced down and patted the little dog on the head. "I've seen Riggs stand toe to toe with dogs three times his size and not back down so his courage is not in question here. Not that I consider that especially smart on his part but he is smart enough to know where his place is on the food chain with those kind of "cats." The little dog looked up at them and barked at that moment, as if agreeing with the ranger.

"My wife and I were both confused by his behavior at first, we'd take him out to do his business at night and every once in a while he would just freeze up." he glanced knowingly at Don. "Just like tonight, or as soon as the door closed he would turn right around and want to go back inside. We were truly at a loss until we finally spotted the lion, and let me tell you, once we knew the reason, we were just as eager to get back inside ourselves."

Don reached down and patted the dog's head. "Well, he sure saved us tonight. I never would have seen the lion until it was too late."

"That's amazing." Ian said, obviously impressed with the little dog. "I've seen full grown German Shepherd's go after a mountain lion without any hesitation at all." he shifted in his chair, stretching his long legs out in front of him. "Of course, when we finally caught up to them we usually had to bury them…..what was left of them, that is."

"Like I said, he's the smartest dog that I've every seen."

Don glanced reflexively at his watch again and sighed inwardly; one-forty. He was beginning to think that this night was never going to end. He looked up and realized that everyone had stopped talking and were all watching him. Clearing his throat, he asked.

"So, where did you run into Ian?"

Megan replied as she stifled a yawn. "There is an all night diner near the entrance to the park and we practically ran into each other on our way in."

Colby held up a paper bag. "Yeah, we brought you guys some sandwiches. We weren't sure what you liked so we just took a guess. You can take your pick." He placed the sandwiches on the table in front of them.

"Oh, and we brought along a couple of drink's too." David said, placing them on the table.

"Thanks." Don said as he pushed the sandwiches toward the ranger. "You can choose first, I'm not really that hungry." He knew he should eat something but he wasn't really sure that he could keep anything down. His stomach had been turning flip flops long before the mountain lion had shown up.

Jeff nodded quietly in understanding and opened a tuna sandwich leaving a chicken sandwich for Don. Don opened it and forced himself to take a small bite before putting it back down on the table. "So, Ian, what's your story?" he asked as he took a sip of his drink.

Ian leaned back further in his chair and crossed his arms. "I just finished an assignment and while I was in the area I thought I would drop by and see what you guys were up too. Wright filled me in and it sounded like you might need a tracker so I volunteered. " He tilted his head slightly as he met Don's eyes. " You've helped me on a couple of cases, thought I might return the favor. Besides, the Professor is a friend of mine."

Don nodded his head thoughtfully. "Well, as I said before, I'm glad you're here."

Megan's phone rang and she quickly flipped it open. "Reeves. Good, it's about time. What took them so long? Uh huh, okay send them right over. Thanks." she jumped up from her chair and hurried over to the computer. "That was Stendhauser, they finally got the aerial photos from the Navy. She's sending them over now."

"We should have had those hours ago, what was the hold-up?' Don asked impatiently.

Megan answered without looking up from the printer. "Something about separating the pictures of the crash from other classified photographs." She looked up and glanced over the tops of her glasses. "You know how they are?"

Colby snorted. "Yeah, we all know that drill."

Megan returned to the table and slowly spread out six photographs of the crash site. The room became quiet as the agents studied them closely, each one afraid that the body of a brother….or a friend would be seen lying amid the debris.

Don's hand shook slightly as he picked up one of the photographs.

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Charlie exhaled slowly as he continued his stare-a-thon with the mountain lion. The lion hadn't moved, it just sat there gazing up at him. It's ears would twitch occasionally but that was all, the large eyes never blinked.

Charlie never broke eye contact. He had remembered the ranger saying that if you broke eye contact, the puma would attack, so he was desperately maintaining that eye contact. The cat hadn't made any aggressive moves, so Charlie was hoping that the animal was just curious and not hungry.

The young man risked a swallow and realized how dry his throat was. He had a bottle of water in his jacket pocket but was afraid any movement might insight the lion to climb up the tree after him. He laid the stick across his lap but he kept a solid grip on it with both hands.

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Don closed his phone. "Forensics recovered fingerprints from the limo." he glanced over at Megan. "Stendhauser is sending photos over in a few minutes. Along with the prints and facial imaging they were able to identify all of them except Bashere." He moved over to the desk and waited for the pictures and the additional paperwork on the men to print out. It was two-fifty he noted after another glance at his watch and it took another five minutes before the printer was finished.

Finally, Don brought the documents back to the table and placed two photos next to the one containing the pictures of the pilots. He pointed to the pilot. "This is Martin Thompson, a.k.a. Fred Morris and Todd Humphrey, a.k.a. Ben Henderson. They have warrants out in several countries, drug-trafficking and transporting arms in Afghanistan."

He pushed another picture across the table and matched it up. "This is Tad Benton, a.k.a. Samuel Gedwick, currently residing in the morgue." he glanced sideways at Edgerton. "He fell from the tail-section of the plane. It says here that he hired out as a bodyguard, no major warrants against him."

Don rubbed the back of his neck as he studied the last two photos. "These two are hard-core, both are mercenary's out of South Africa. Interpol has been looking for them for quite some time. James Picarry , a.k.a. Jake Myers and Alexis Krill, a.k.a. Travis Oakley." He paused momentarily while he flipped over a page of the report.

"There were only two more sets of prints. One of them was Adam Harkins and the other set belonged to Charlie." his voice faltered and he cleared his throat before going on. "They found traces of a micro-mask, that explains how they got through security and why we still don't have a clear picture of Bashere."

"No prints on Bashere?" Colby asked.

Don shook his head ruefully. "None, probably wore gloves the whole time." he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You know, now that I've had time to think about it, there were two men who had dinner with us this week. Detective O'Connell and a crazy Scotsman that's renting the house across from Charlie."

"O"Connell always wore gloves, said it was because of bomb injuries." David said quietly.

"Yeah, and he left in a hurry too." Colby added as he pulled out his cell phone. "I wonder if he really did leave."

"Patrick was the same height and build as Bashere." Megan's eyes settled on Don. "What about the Scotsman, is he the same height and build as Bashere?"

Don scrubbed his hands through his hair and walked slowly around the table. "Yeah, only he hunches his shoulders a lot and he's really kind of clumsy." Shaking his head doubtfully he turned back to face them. "I don't know, this guys the exact opposite of Bashere, I mean, this man would have to be a really great actor to pull….." he met Megan's eyes and his eyebrows rose as she seemed to read his mind.

"it off." She finished his sentence for him. "An Oscar worthy performance., isn't that what Bashere called it?" Megan asked. "Is is possible that he could have been living next door to Charlie the whole time?"

Don whipped out his phone. "Fisher. Eppes here. Send two agents to check out a man going by the name of Angus Fitzgerald, said he was from Scotland." his brow furrowed in thought. "Town was Inverness, I think, see what you can come up with. He's currently renting a house directly across from my brother's. It's possible he's Bashere so proceed with caution. Oh, yeah, get a picture of him and fax it over asap."

Don walked over to the table and picked up the photograph of Charlie and Bashere, studying the older man's face closely.

"Fitzgerald could be Bashere." he mumbled more to himself than anyone else.

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A cloud covered the moon and Charlie was suddenly plunged into darkness. It wasn't completely dark though, the menacing yellow eyes staring back at him seemed to glow with their own inner light. All at once a deafening roar cut through the darkness and the glowing eyes vanished..

Frantically, Charlie scrambled to his feet, planting his back firmly against the tree trunk. His heart hammered in his chest and his breath was coming in short gasps as he gripped the stick tightly in his hands. Swallowing nervously, he desperately peered through the darkness to find the lion but without the moonlight, it was impossible to locate it. He tried and failed to silence the pounding in his ears as he anxiously listened for sounds of the animal climbing up the tree.

The silence was un-nerving because he could sense that the lion was still close by. The cloud drifted away from the moon and it's light once again illuminated the surrounding area and Charlie sighed in relief….but it was short-lived.

He could see it now, the lion was halfway up the trail and facing toward the crash site. A low, menacing growl emanated from the beast and as Charlie watched, it lowered it's head and it's tail began to swish furiously back and forth.

Almost immediately he heard an answering growl coming from the shadowed trail ahead of the puma.

Charlie's eyes widened in disbelief. "Two….there are two lions!"

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At three-thirty a knock sounded on the door of the ranger's station and all heads turned as Jeff went to answer it.

"Maddie." the ranger greeted the plump woman in her mid-fifties. "Thanks for bringing this food over." He nodded a greeting as two men entered carrying a table.

"My pleasure Jeff." she answered . "Can't let all of this go to waste now, can I?" She waved her arm toward the table where the two men were currently covering it with various kinds of pastries, muffins and setting up a large coffee pot. " I have all of this food left over since the park was evacuated." Her eyes drifted over to the FBI agents that were gathered around the wall map.

"We didn't have a choice Maddie, the people on that plane are dangerous. We can't risk them hurting anyone else."

"Oh, I understand." she replied. "Better safe than sorry, that's what I always say." she lowered her voice and glanced over at the agents. "That's the brother isn't it, the dark haired one in the middle. I recognized him right away." she clasped her hands in front of her. "Oh, that poor man, what he must be going through." Her voice was full of concern and a look of pity crossed her face.

Jeff's brow furrowed. "Maddie, how do you know him and how did you find out what was going on?"

"Why, it's all over the news, Jeff. The whole story, how the young professor was kidnapped from his home and how his brother was trying to rescue him when the plane crashed." She shook her head sadly.

"I didn't think they were going to air that until the story was confirmed."

"It was confirmed, the reporter interviewed an FBI agent and he said it was true and then the news station had a special broadcast, all about the young professor, you know, a biography of his life." She brought her hands up to her face, distraught. "It's such a shame, he seemed like such a nice young man too. Did you know that he was a child prodigy, a true genius.? He was really close to his family too, his father even lived with him and he worked with his brother."

Jeff frowned, displeased but not surprised at the media's lack of discretion. "You make it sound like he's already dead."

He glanced over at Don and wondered how he was going to take this latest news. The ranger found himself feeling protective of the younger man, he didn't know him that well, but Cromwell felt in his heart that the agent was a good person. "His father must be very proud of him, I know I would be." his eyes drifted back to Maddie.

"Not me, it was that reporter." she said emphatically. "He said there wasn't much of a chance that the professor would be found alive."

The tantalizing aroma of the coffee had lured the agents over to the table and as Don walked by she grabbed his free hand to offer her sympathy.

"You poor man, I'm praying that you will find your brother alive and well tomorrow morning."

Don's startled eyes quickly turned to anger as he turned to face the ranger, but before he could say anything Jeff spoke up.

"It wasn't me. Apparently, that reporter got confirmation from an FBI agent, and it's all over the news." he quickly changed the subject. " Don, this is Maddie Lewis, she runs the park lodge."

Caught off guard, Don simply thanked her for her concern and gently removed his hand and waved at the breakfast buffet. "Ah, thank you for bringing the food and the coffee.'

"Your more than welcome honey." she patted his forearm sympathetically before he managed to escape and re-join the other agents.

"Maddie could you do me another favor." Jeff asked, drawing her attention back to him. "Could you take Riggs back to the lodge with you tonight. In another hour or so, this place is going to be packed with a lot of agents and police and I want to make sure that he's safely out of the way. It could be a while though because I don't know how long I'll be up on the point in the morning. It could take most of the day."

She smiled brightly at him. "Now Jeff, you know how much I love that little dog. I'd be happy to watch him for you." she glanced around the room. "Where is he?"

He patted her shoulder. "Thanks, stay here and I'll get him for you."

Jeff found him on the other side of the conference table with Don. The agent was kneeling down next to the dog and scratching him under the chin. As he came closer he could hear what Don was saying and it tugged at his heartstrings.

"Charlie would like you." Don said softly. "I hope he gets a chance to meet you."

"We'll plan on it then. After we rescue your brother, just give me a call and we'll arrange it."

Don met his eyes and looked away, embarrassed that he had been overheard. He stood up quickly as the ranger attached the leash to the harness that the little dog was wearing.

"I….ah….wouldn't want to impose."

"It's no imposition Don. I'd like very much to meet your brother." he glanced over at Maddie and added. "Don't mind Maddie, she means well, she's really a very caring lady. As a matter of fact, she's going to take Riggs home with her and watch him for me until this is over."

Don bent down and patted the dog on the head. "See ya Riggs." The little dog licked his hand and trotted after the ranger.

The agent turned back to the wall map of the park, his eyes settling on the Projecting Point. He glanced at his watch, three forty-five, just a few more hours and this night of terror would be over, one way or another.

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Charlie could see the other lion now slowly creeping down the trail, head down and snarling just like the other one. This one was smaller but it didn't look like it was going to back down.

All at once, both lions roared and rushed forward. They fought viciously, biting and slashing at each other . The noise was deafening and Charlie instinctively covered his ears as he watched the savage fight unfold before him.

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Bashere leaned up on one elbow and listened warily to the distant lion fight. " Perhaps a mile away." he mused. "Fighting over something."

He frowned worriedly, not for himself, he was safe enough, but for Charlie. The Frenchman glanced at his watch, three thirty, two and a half hours until daybreak. Bashere sighed and threw some more pieces of wood onto his fire.

"Well, I hope it's a territorial fight." he thought as he lay back down. "because I'm really going to be pissed if they killed my young man."

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The lions broke apart, both bleeding from wounds but continued to circle one another, continuously growling and snarling. They suddenly lunged at each other again and the large one managed to inflict a deep bite into the younger one's side. The smaller lion screamed in pain and managed to break away. It darted around the other lion and ran past it , racing down the trail behind Charlie's tree. The larger male roared and swiftly followed him disappearing into the shadows of the mountain.

Charlie's heart was racing as he strained to hear the lions. Minutes seemed like hours as he waited for the cats to return. In the distance he could still hear the roars of the lions but they appeared to be getting further away. Finally, silence descended once again in the oak grove and Charlie 's heart began to beat at a more normal pace. He opened a bottle of water and took a long drink and after wiping his mouth with the back of a trembling hand he carefully returned the bottle to his jacket pocket.

"If I live through this night, Dad and Don will never believe it." he thought as he finally started to relax and settled back more comfortably against the tree

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Don stood at the window and stared at the caravan of headlights as they approached the ranger's station. He glanced at his watch, four o'clock, only two more hours , no, less than that, because he planned to be up on that cliff as soon as it turned daylight. He had scheduled a briefing for four thirty and the tactical teams were beginning to arrive. There was an open field next to the station that was large enough for the helicopters to land, two FBI assault helicopters and one medical chopper.

Don's eyes drifted back to the mountain. "Hold on Charlie, it won't be long now."

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Alan checked his watch, four a.m., it was time to go. He had showered and changed his clothing in an attempt to calm his nerves, but it did little to ease his mind. Still, he felt a little better, physically anyway.

He glanced at Amita and Larry, both awake and sitting silently on the sofa, coffee cups clutched tightly in their hands. Alan had known before he even asked them, that they would be going with him to Malibu Memorial and he was grateful for their company.

"I'm ready." he spoke quietly.

Amita and Larry stood without speaking and quietly shuffled behind him as he left the house. As he walked to his car, Alan absently noted the police cars at the end of the road, blocking the news vans from entering their street. The black sedans across the street from the house didn't even register as he climbed behind the wheel and started the car. Larry took the passenger side and Amita opted for the backseat , lying down across it almost immediately.

He heard a knock on the window as he started up the car and looked up to see a young police officer standing there. Alan pushed the button and the window opened.

"Yes, Officer?" he asked numbly.

"Are you alright Mr. Eppes? Where are you going?"

Alan looked through bleary eyes at the young man and wasn't really sure how to answer him. Was he alright…hardly. Was he okay to drive…certainly." I'm fine officer, thank you for asking. I'm going to Malibu Memorial to wait for my sons."

"Would you mind an escort sir? We can keep the news media away from you." the young officer asked, the concern evident in his tone of voice.

Alan looked up, both surprised and touched. "Thank you, I would appreciate that very much."

The young officer smiled briefly. "Follow me sir."

Alan pulled up behind the police car and soon they were following it down the highway, speeding past the news vans and heading toward Malibu.

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Charlie let his head fall back against the tree and closed his eyes in relief. A song began to swirl through his mind, the refrain playing over and over again. "Knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door."

The young mathematician opened his eyes and gazed up at the stars and couldn't help but wonder if he had used up all of his luck tonight. By some miracle he had survived the plane crash ,escaped from a madman and had narrowly avoided becoming a midnight snack for two.

He could almost hear his brother's voice teasing him. "You better hope that you don't run into anything else tonight Chuck, because you've used up all of your luck. Just sit tight and wait for me to get there." Not that he believed in luck, of course, it just wasn't logical, still, he hoped that he wouldn't have to put it to a test.

He smiled softly and whispered. "Don't worry Don, I have no intention of climbing down from here until I see you."

His head was pounding and he rubbed at the sides of his temples in a circular motion in an effort to ease the pressure. The refrain returned and the thought occurred to him that he had already knocked on heaven's door twice that night and it had not opened. A chill ran through him, he had a feeling that the next time he knocked, that door would open and he wouldn't be able to avoid going through it.

Charlie glanced at his watch, two more hours until daylight, two more hours until Don would get there, two more hours to stay alive and avoid Bashere.

That damn refrain just wouldn't be silenced, it continued to swirl through his mind.

"Knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door."

TBC

A/N: "Knocking on Heaven's Door" was written by Bob Dylan.