Chapter Six

A/N:groans: I feel horrible… Sorry, had to get that out. I had some dentist work done today and my mouth hurts sooo bad. And finally I get my internet to pull up! At least that's one thing that went right this afternoon. Now I can update!

"Travis Paytes was a brilliant criminal if the FBI has ever seen one. He's hacked into systems all over the United States and Europe, leaving behind nothing solid to convict him on," Terry was saying as she took a sip of coffee. "I never met him personally, but I've heard the stories. He moved past his games after a while and turned to bigger things. Apparently a large job he was doing here in LA got him in trouble with a local cop. The cop found him out, Paytes went after the cop's family, co-workers, and finally the man himself. The FBI finally tracked him down and he's sitting on death row in, needless to say, a very secure place. His younger brother, though, is free as a bird with only minor offenses under his belt as far as we can tell."

"Until now, with the deaths of the college professors," Don pointed out.

"Where does that tie you boys in?" Alan asked.

"He specifically said he wanted Don and me," Charlie said as he finished buttoning the last button on his shirt and slowly stood on two unsteady legs. He felt Don's hand on his shoulder, keeping him from toppling over.

"If he wanted us in the beginning, why kill all of those men and women?"

"Isn't that the question?" Terry muttered. She glanced over as the phone rang. "Speak of the devil."

Charlie was the first to reach for the phone. "Paytes."

"Hello there, Dr. Eppes. Good to hear that you're sounding stronger."

"I want to talk to Amita, Paytes."

There was a sound like the phone switching hands and Amita's voice sounded on the other end. "Charlie? Are you okay?"

Charlie managed to chuckle a little at this. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"He said you were hurt. Are you okay? Charlie, I've been worried."

"I'm fine, I'm fine. We're going to come get you, okay?"

There was a short silence on the other end. "Please don't put your lives in danger, Charlie. Please-" She was cut off as Paytes grabbed the phone back.

"Here's what you're going to do, Dr. Eppes…."

Charlie sank down in the car seat, glancing over at his elder brother who was at the wheel. Don met his eyes. "You feeling all right, buddy?"

"I'm all right."

"It's been a long day/"

Charlie looked at the clock on the dashboard. Eight o'clock at night. "Yes, it has."

"We'll get her back, Charlie."

"We're here."

"And here we go."

A/N: Wow, really short. Sorry. Like I said, I don't feel too well, so I just did what I could.

Katsuya: Math has NEVER been a good subject for me. That's why it took me so long to actually sit down and watch Numb3rs. My parents got the biggest kick out of me liking it. I'll never hear the end of it. Glad you like Paytes as a villain.

jwmathias: I'm glad I could amuse you. Lol, oh well, evil spellcheck.

Lynneanne: Hehe… I'm the master now? You should see my friend Anna Maxwell and I when we write together. We're twenty times worse. Lol.

NghtStlkr64: Thanks very much!

Eby: Haha! Every chapter but the last has cliffhangers. :)

troubletwinintx: I hadn't explained it yet, so don't worry, you weren't alone :) Everyone was confused.

SharpShooter626: Is this a good twitch or a bad twitch?