The Unquantifiable Variable
By Becky Sims
April, 2005


The Eppes family and the characters and situations from the TV show "NUMB3RS" are the property of the Scotts and the creation of Cheryl Heuton and Nick Falacci. No infringement is intended, and no profit is being made.

Chapter Five, part two

Terry hid her professional evaluation well, but he knew she could see right through him. "I'm all right," he muttered in a gravelly voice as Jacobsen came up. "What've we got?"

Her raised eyebrow said she was reserving judgment, but she stuck to business. "Benito says that the two men are brothers. The younger one," she inclined her head toward the ambulance, "is sixteen, the older he's guessing is twenty-five or so. The man inside feels some remorse for getting his brother into this mess, but acknowledged Charlie's point that it was better to have him alive and in Juvenile Hall than dead on the floor of a hardware store."

"Charlie's point?" interjected Don.

"Yeah," said Pete. "Seems like he got a conversation going. Could be the hostage-taker isn't talking to us because he's talking to Charlie instead. His younger brother is injured, so he's talking to another younger brother."

Don raised a hand. "Wait a minute. Charlie is older than both of them."

"But he doesn't look it," said Terry, "and he knows how to act like a younger brother."

Don filed that one away to consider later – hopefully in a long conversation with said brother. "So what does the hostage-taker want?" asked Don.

She shook her head. "He never even mentioned demands. Benito thinks he's in over his head, that he was completely unprepared for this situation."

"Great," said Don. "We have a loose cannon on our hands that we can't even talk to."

Pete nodded slowly. "On the other hand, your brother isn't doing all that badly. He got two of the hostages out of there, along with the injured brother. That takes a lot of the time criticality out of the situation, gives everything a chance to settle down."

"He bought us some time," Nolan said, coming up behind them. "Do you think he'll keep working it?"

"Yeah," Don answered. "He's no quitter, especially when he's had some success. He'll keep at it."

"Which could be a problem," said Pete, a thoughtful crease in his forehead. "It could backfire."

"What?" said Don. "How?"

Terry nodded. "Say Charlie sets up a good relationship with this man on the basis of older-younger brother. He might be able to talk him out. But if the gunman finds out that you're out here, he could feel betrayed, and he could take that out on Charlie, or on us, trying to get at you."

"We need more information," Don growled. "We need to talk to him."

David joined the group. "We got an ID off a car parked by the bar that no one claimed; looks like it could be a match. Jason Mackey, age 25, and his brother Rick, 16. They live about five blocks north of here with their grandmother."

"That sounds like him," said Nolan.

David nodded. "I ran out and talked with her." He held out a picture of two young men, one in Army BDUs, the other in jeans and a t-shirt. The older had his arm around the shoulders of the younger, and both looked pleased and proud to be together. "Neither of the boys has been in trouble with the law before. Jason is ex-military, six-year hitch in the Army. Got out and came back home to discover his girl was two-timing him with a rich daddy from the Valley."

"Deployed?" Nolan asked.

"Yeah. He lost a jeep full of his buddies to an IED, took some shrapnel himself, and once he was mobile, the docs gave him a medical discharge."

Don shook his head. "Then he comes home expecting to be a hero to his girl, but the only one who looks up to him is his little brother."

Terry looked at the picture and took a deep breath. "And he thinks that maybe if he just had enough money, he can get her back. The military history gives more credibility to the teller's claim about explosives." She gave the photo back to David. "How much training do these guys get in disarming IEDs? Any? If he knows how to take apart an explosive device that someone else improvised, maybe he knows how to put one together, too."

They all just stared at each other.

"Okay," said Don, "David, find out."

He nodded.

"Before you go," Terry said, "any history of PTSD?"

"Not that the grandmother knew of, but she said he's changed."

"He would have, going through that," Don said. "We need his medical records."

"Already working it," said David. "Hey, I saw three of the hostages when I came back in. Good work."

"Two," said Pete, "plus the boy, Ricky. Wish I could take credit, but Jason still won't talk to us. Charlie somehow pulled that one off. Don . . . ."

"Yeah?"

"It's been long enough that Jason might be thirsty and hungry. We might be able to bargain another hostage out for food and water."

"All right, let's try again to get him on the phone. And David, see if you can track down that girlfriend. Maybe she can get through to him."

"On it."

Don grabbed him on the shoulder before he left. "Good work."

David's face lit up, and he headed off at full speed.