Show: NUMB3RS
Genre: Action/Adventure/Suspense
Rated: T (some violence and language, but it'll be kept at a minimum)
Pairing: Don/Terry friendship
Summary: As Charlie works on his formula to find the perpetrators of a devastating robbery and murder spree, Terry disappears. When Don and the team are given an ultimatum, will they be able to find her in time and uncover the identities of the criminals before another attack?
Disclaimer: I swear I don't own NUMB3RS. I swear I don't make money by writing this. Please don't beat down my door and arrest me, nice-awesome-CBS-executive-people.
Chapter Six:
Don's grip on the cell phone tightened, and he noticed David glance up at the sound of Terry's name from the microscope slide he was holding. The man on the other end of the line chuckled, "Bingo. That's one point for the Feds. You've certainly got your deduction skills honed to a fine point today, Agent Eppes."
Don could feel the angry pounding of blood rushing through his eardrums. "Let me talk to her."
"Mmm…I don't think so," the voice replied, "You see, in case you haven't realized, you're not exactly in the position to make demands, and this conversation is going to go my way."
"Did you hurt her? Did you touch her?" Don shouted, barely noticing heads snap up all over the room, including Charlie's, who looked at him with wide, concerned eyes.
"Well, that's just the point…if everything goes the way I want it to, I won't have to do that…but that all depends on you and the cooperation of your buddies down at the Bureau. Now if this kind of cowboy-politics negotiation doesn't appeal to you, and you don't want to take me seriously, I can hang up the phone, blow a hole in her forehead right now, and leave you alone. It's no skin off my nose, and I'll just leave her in a ditch somewhere for you guys to find," he paused. "Would you like me to hang up?"
Don knew he was being manipulated, hated being jerked around by this bastard, but he could also tell that he was completely serious and probably quite capable of what he was threatening to do. Terry's life was his bargaining chip, and right now all bets were on the table; if he didn't like the cards, he could fold at any minute and leave the game. Don couldn't risk that, so he had no choice but to say, "No. What do you want?"
"It's pretty simple, really. I understand that you have a genius brother who's been working on a very interesting formula, something about that crime spree that's been going on," he continued.
This was just about the last thing that Don expected to hear. "And why is that so interesting to you?"
"Well, that's the trade. I get all of his work on the case – the formula, the scratch paper, the numbers – everything. If I get it – and I mean all of it – you can have your friend back," he said, as calmly as if reporting the weather, "We'll call it a fair and even trade. But if you don't like it, I could end all of this right now with one bullet."
Don felt as though the bottom had dropped out of his stomach. What was so important about this formula? How could he risk handing it over to someone who sounded like a complete sociopath? How could he not without signing Terry's death sentence?
He was jolted out of his thoughts by the man on the phone, "I'll let you think it over. Expect another call in an hour, so keep the line open. And don't do anything stupid, Agent Eppes…I'm just as good at this game as you are, and my stakes are not nearly as high as yours."
The dial tone suddenly came on, indicating that he terminated the conversation without waiting for a response from Don. He slowly closed the cell phone and glanced up from the desk surface that he had been staring at for the last two minutes. Everyone was watching him cautiously, David and Charlie correctly interpreting the horrified look on his face and waiting for him to give an explanation about the phone call.
"It was him," he said slowly, "He has her."
David and Charlie quickly crossed the room to join Don. "Did he say if she's okay? Did he make any demands?"
Don nodded, "He knows about Charlie's formula, the one he's been working on for the serial killer case. He told me that he wants the formula in exchange for Terry."
The reactions of the others looked just as puzzled and stunned as Don felt. Charlie touched his arm lightly, "But she's okay? They haven't hurt her?"
"He said she's fine for now, but I doubt his word is very trustworthy. He wants to trade, one for one, the formula for her life – he'll kill her if he doesn't get it."
"But how could he know?" David asked, "How could he have found out about the formula at all?"
This was bothering Don more than anything. "I'm not sure…but I don't think we can give it to him without completely blowing the confidentiality of the case and possibly endangering more people."
Charlie, whose eyes had become glazed with a curtain of deep thought, suddenly snapped out of his reverie, jumping up from the table. "What if these are the criminals? The guys that the formula is meant to catch?" His eyes flitted from Don to David excitedly, "Think about it – why else would they want it? They've been so careful not to leave any evidence, and now we have a way to catch them. If they get the formula, then we'll be back to square one, and they can get away without any chance of being caught."
It all made perfect sense, but Don was far from comforted by the idea of a lead like this. These guys were good, they were thorough, and they were completely without conscience. If the people who had Terry were really the ones from the crime spree, she was in the hands of several cold, calculating killers. If they didn't get their way, he had no doubt they would kill her.
"All right," he began, breathing deeply, "He said he'd be calling back in an hour, so we've got until then to figure something out."
He motioned Agent Brooks over to the table and quickly outlined the situation for him. "So how are we going to handle this?" Brooks asked, "They'll kill Agent Lake if we don't comply – these guys sounded pretty serious?"
"They're serious," Don affirmed, "But we can't risk handing over Charlie's work…it's our only key to finding them." He was suddenly struck with an idea that was so simple it might actually work. "Hey Charlie, how good are you at forgeries?"
Charlie's forehead quirked. "What do you mean?"
Don grinned. "We'll give them a fake formula, something else you've been working on that can pass for the one for the case. Use one of those unsolvable problems you're always working on. You can make a copy of your work, and we'll give them that formula instead!"
"I've got one we can use. It's at home, but I could have it ready by the end of the day," he said, his face lighting up.
"Get started on it." Charlie burst from the room, excited to finally be able to help. "David, Brooks – we've only got an hour. I want my cell phone hooked up to a tape recorder and a tracer. I want to be ready when these guys call next."
David took the cell phone, and Brooks gathered up the blood sample results as they headed off down the hall. Don started barking orders to the others in the room, praying hopefully that Terry would soon safely be back with them.
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I'll update ASAP, but I have a performance this week, so that means many long hours of dress rehearsal. I promise to try my best!