Six Steps to Purgatory
Rating: PG-13 (For naughty language) Be on the lookout for a possible change in rating soon.
Author's Notes: Just a little plot bunny who decided to gnaw at my ankle until I gave in.
Author's Warning: Just some dirty language that'll filter in and out, and a bit of violence towards our chaste little Charlie.
Disclaimer: If you tie someone up and hide them in your basement, eventually they'll turn over all of their human rights to you. I'm working on the brothers, but for now all character's belong to CBS and the creators.
Final thanks to Zubeneschamali. She did amazing work on this story, and made it possible for everyone to read without being annoyed by small mistakes. So, we should all just bow down right now.
Chapter Six: Judgment
Using his stature and the substantial height difference, Don loomed over the Asian man in the hospital bed. He braced one hand on the bedside table and the other on the railing attached to the medical bed. Terry stood behind him, her silent confidence urging him on.
"Listen to me, Tao, and listen good. You've got a warrant out for your arrest. It seems you're pretty popular with the NYPD, and you've been trying to make your mark here in LA. As it stands now, you're going down for several felonies, and you're looking at many, many decades in prison."
Don spared no sympathy for Gideon Tao. Despite the man's fragile appearance, he was a hard-laced criminal, and he had plenty of bite left in him. He was a conman according to his file, and Don knew he'd be taken for a long and costly ride if he didn't come down hard on Tao. He had to let the man know exactly who was in charge.
"We know what went down in the Fitzgerald complex. We know you were double crossed by a group of men who've been robbing LA blind. We want to know who these men were and how to find them."
Terry stepped into view and around Don. "We're prepared to offer you a deal on shortening your sentence. We know you have three small children with your wife. You don't want them to get to know you behind bars. You don't want to get out when they're forty."
"What's so important about Jerry?" Tao asked, voice straining.
"Jerry who?" Don surged forward. "Give me a last name."
Tao turned his chin up stubbornly. "You answer my question and I'll answer yours."
Don paused, shared a sharp look with Terry and then leaned down into Tao's personal space.
"He fled from the scene of a crime in which several police officers were killed, and we suspect he and his associates are responsible. He also took a civilian consultant hostage. We want him recovered alive."
"Oh, no," Tao coughed deeply. "He's much more than that, Agent Eppes." The prisoner tugged on his bed restraints. "Your eyes flickered when you mentioned the consultant. He is of great importance to you."
"My brother was the consultant. Now answer my question." Don felt unnerved by the man, but even more so at his admission. Unfortunately, it was becoming apparent to both of them that he needed Tao more than the other way around. Don was losing ground quickly.
By sheer luck Tao relented, "Never gave me a last name." His gaze flickered over to Terry. "How good a deal?"
She pushed her glasses up the rim of her nose. "You might get to see your kids graduate, and that's the best offer you're going to get from anyone."
"Tao," Don said, "Be reasonable. This is a once only deal. Pass it up and you'll be in prison until you're gray."
The Asian man slid his eyes closed, whether in thought or pain, Don did not know. He only understood if Tao refused the offer and withheld any information that could help Charlie, then Don was going to make sure he ate through a straw for the rest of his life. If he lost Charlie, his badge would be worth his vengeance.
"If I help you out, my family will be in danger. I'll go down as a squealer and they'll be in danger. If getting Jerry is so important, you have to guarantee my family's safety."
Don couldn't pause. "Done. You give us the information we need to know and we'll take them into protective custody."
Tao asked for water afterwards, preparing to speak for a long period of time. Don allowed a nurse to assist him in drinking, and then pulled a stool near the bed. Don asked for Terry to check on David's status, more for his own benefit than David's. Don had a hunch Tao would be more willing to divulge mass quantities of information if it was just the two of them.
"We only met twice before," Tao started shakily. "Different cases, small cases. Jerry was a nothing then. He was scum on my employer's shoes, but he had potential, and the loyalty of those who worked with him. When he contacted me for his latest heist, it seemed like a sure bet." His voice fell low. "There aren't any sure bets in this business. I was stupid."
Don nodded. "Understandably. He double crossed you, took your cut and tried to kill you."
"But it was that bastard Lee who pulled the trigger. He's been gunning for me for a while."
"Let me guess, no last name either?"
Tao shook his head. "Nothing remotely real."
Don had to ask, "Did you see the kidnapped consultant?"
"Yes," Tao confirmed. "Saw the guy being yanked around by one of Jerry's muscles. I wanted to get rid of him right then and there. You can thank Jerry for not letting me blow his brains out right on the spot. I thought the guy was trouble, especially when the Feds were mentioned."
Don forced himself to keep his mouth shut, his fists clenched at his sides. He couldn't lose his tempter with Tao. He couldn't risk the man holding back any important information. He couldn't let Tao know how absolutely rattled he was at the thought of the man wanting to kill his brother.
"He seemed fine," Tao continued, "Upset and scared shitless, but fine. As long as he hasn't pissed Jerry off, he's probably still alive. If Jerry had wanted him dead, he'd be lying in the alley you found me in. Jerry tends to think ahead, a quality essential in our line of work."
Don forced himself back on track. "How'd Jerry contact you? You get his number or a meeting place?"
"He called me from payphones, and we met in different places, so there isn't anything for you to trace. When I needed to contact him he gave me a number, but it wasn't his."
"Can you remember it?" Don retrieved a small pad of paper from his coat pocket and a pen. "Who's number was it?"
Tao fell silent, his attention drifting. His eyes fell to half-mast and the heart monitor he was hooked to beeped a bit more quickly.
"Hey!" Don snapped his fingers, noticing the sweat on Tao's upper lip. "Focus here, Tao. I need my information and you need your family to be under police protection." It came out as a threat, which Don felt slightly concerned about.
"607-689-1101."
Don scribbled it down quickly.
"Who's number is it?" He already had his cell phone flipped open, dialing the trace department. He recited the number over the phone with a message to forward the information to Terry.
"A woman always answered the phone." Tao was talking again, although his eyes had fallen closed. "Sounded southern, like she just moved out here. She always had the information for Jerry. She talked like she knew him intimately."
"A girlfriend," Don asked.
Tao disregarded that notion right away. "I've been at the game for a long time. I know the difference. I suspected a sister. Her name was Kim, I think, heard it in the background once, which told me she wasn't pro."
Tao opened his eyes and shifted towards Don. "Phone tracer told me she lived in the Cambridge apartment complex. I can't remember the number." Tao finished, with wide and bright eyes, "That's all. You find her and you'll find Jerry, and then your brother."
Don stood and left Tao's bedside.
"I expect to find my family in good health when I get out of prison."
"You have my word they will be protected."
Don left Tao in the company of the assigned guards and had just flipped his phone open to make a call when his cell rang.
"Phone number is registered to the home address of a Kimberly Comet." Terry's voice was just what Don needed to hear. "She lives in the Cambridge complex, number 249, west section. Units closest are in place and I'm on my way to the hospital. I'll pick you up in about a minute." Terry paused, the sounds of LA street traffic coming over the cell. "Is that where Charlie is?"
Don raced down the hall towards the elevator. "No, but she's most likely the sister to the man who kidnapped Charlie, a Jerry fellow. Tao says she'll know where to find Jerry."
Don could hear David's voice in the car and he assumed Terry had met up with him just after her departure from the hospital. His talk with Tao hadn't last more than fifteen minutes, even with Tao needing to take breaks.
Then Terry was speaking again. "David says her file lists one sibling, a Jerry Hallowell. We don't have an address on him but David's calling it in. However, chances are--"
"It'll be a fake address," Don finished. "Alright, I'll be waiting for you outside."
They raced off to the Cambridge complex, a mere ten minutes from the hospital.
When the FBI kicked Kim Comet's door open, it was late into the evening and they found her tucking her children in bed. Don counted two children in the room she was in, and another two doors in the hallway, leading to the possibility of many more.
"Tell us about your brother, Ms. Comet." Don had her cornered her in the living room, FBI agents littering the space. "We know he's involved in the recent robberies in LA and we know you know how to find him."
She was a strikingly beautiful woman and Don was almost ashamed for noticing. He could easily see himself being attracted to her, was she not even remotely involved in Charlie's case. She was petite but strongly built, radiating confidence in herself.
"Who do you think you are?" She shot back, poking him in the chest.
Don caught her hand, forcing her back. He reminded her to keep her hands to herself and then questioned her again about her brother.
"Even if I knew where he was, do you think I'd tell you? My brother is a saint among sinners. After my pathetic excuse for a husband ran out on me he supported me. Who was there for me when my children needed medical care? Jerry was! You're scum in comparison."
It was David's hand on his shoulder that held in place. He hissed, "Scum is killing honest police officers. Scum is kidnapping someone who can't defend himself against a gun. Scum is your brother's definition. We know you know where he is, and we're going to find out one way or another."
"Don!" Terry entered the room in a flash. "We're checking all the phone calls made to and from this residence over the past month. It's going to be a while, but we'll find the number if he used a cell phone." Terry was confident in that, because everyone had cell phone.
"How many kids do you have, Ms. Comet?" Don asked, jerking his thumb towards to bedrooms.
"Four," She said defiantly.
"Now ask yourself, if you don't cooperate with us, who's going to look after them? You're withholding information, and if Jerry gets away, or if anything happens to the man he's kidnapped, you'll go to jail. Can your children afford to have their mother go to jail."
That apparently struck a nerve, and next to Don, David jumped into action.
"Think about your situation, Ms. Comet. Your brother has been using you." Kim Comet shook her head, refusing to believe the words. "He knew there was always the possibility of someone catching on to his plans, no matter how calculated they were. He knew if the heat was turned on any of his contacts or partners, they'd give the FBI and police your number. You've been acting liaison for him and his customers and contacts, and that makes you a part of this case, no matter what you say. He's counting on you taking the fall for him. He's probably been feeding you money all this time in case everything led up to this moment."
Don added, "If you cooperate with us we'll work with you and the judge. We'll make sure the judge knows your brother manipulated you. If you tell us where he is, we can work out a deal for probation and your kids won't be split up and placed into foster care. Think of your kids."
And with a silent scream of joy, Don knew he had her.
(NUMB3RS)
Charlie gingerly touched his right cheek, tentatively feeling around the skin that he knew was discolored. He was currently curled on the ice cold floor of the house's basement, his left hand cuffed to a pipe protruding from a wall. He'd been informed the overhead garage door didn't open, and the door that led from his location to the main house was firmly bolted closed. He wasn't going anywhere again, not that his ribs would permit it.
They'd worked him over good after his escape attempt. He had good reason to believe his cheekbone was broken, or at least fractured, because he's been beat up before and he was hurting worse than ever before. And while he suspected on his cheek, he was certain with his ribs. Hank had wanted to break his legs, but thankfully the man had settled for his ribs. It was getting harder to breathe and part of Charlie wondered if he had internal bleeding.
Jerry had made it perfectly clear he wouldn't put up with another attempt. There was shoot on sight order if he tried, not that Charlie wanted move ever again. His ability to determine the most probable place to strike next was probably the only thing that had saved his life. Jerry agreed about the accessibility and had based Charlie's worth on that fact. If Charlie believed in luck, he sure figured he was the luckiest kidnapped guy in the world.
Over the past year Charlie had been working with Don, he had grown confident in his brother. While he wasn't naïve enough to think that Don was a hero who swept in and always saved the day, he was congratulating his brother more often then not. But now Charlie had all but given up hope. He found himself in a lose-lose situation, aware that if he had internal damage, he could bleed to death, or be used to help a criminal rob and hurt good people. They were both equally frightening.
The heavy bolt on the door popped open and Charlie squeezed his eyes shut. The door swung open silently and light footsteps made their way down the few steps that connected the basement floor to the house. Then unexpectedly a cool hand was on his forehead, the same forehead he had concluded was far too hot to be normal.
"Charlie?" A voice whispered to him quietly.
"Clarence?" Charlie blinked his eyes open, squinting at the tall man. "What're you doing?"
Clarence reached over to Charlie's cuffs and retrieved a key, unlocking the younger man. "I'm getting you out of here. Jerry has lost it. He's really lost it. He and Hank are on a war path."
Charlie bit down on his tongue in an effort not to scream when Clarence sat him up.
"How?" He gasped, finding it almost impossible to think clearly. "How are we going to get out?"
Clarence waved a small pistol. "I swiped it from Jerry. I'll do what I need to." He slipped and arm around Charlie's shoulders, preparing to help him climb to his feet. "They're going to kill you, Charlie. They're going to kill you and kidnap another mathematician or some crazy plan."
"You didn't want to help me before," Charlie pointed out. He had to bury his head in Clarence's shoulder when he was hoisted to his feet.
"You're a good person, Charlie. You actually listened to me when I talked about my family. You didn't judge me. I couldn't live with myself if I let Jerry hurt you anymore or kill you. I want to be your friend, Charlie, when I get out of jail and everything."
Clarence and Charlie hobbled over to the door, maneuvering the steps with a painfully slow speed. Clarence leveled the gun in front of him, ready to shoot anyone who they came in contact with. Charlie thought it odd, through excruciating pain, that they hadn't encountered anyone so far. It made him nervous.
They were so close to the front door when Clarence slammed into Charlie, taking them both down to the ground. In shock, with eyes wide, Charlie was still and rigged as he was trapped beneath Clarence's bleeding body.
Jerry was standing behind them, a smoking gun in his hand.
"He's your cousin!" Charlie remarked, wiggling under Clarence's weight. He could feel the man's blood seeping through his shirt and staining his own.
"He was weak!"
Hank and Lee appeared behind Jerry, and then bypassed him to drag Clarence's body off Charlie. Jerry took it upon himself to yank Charlie upward, without concern for his well being.
Charlie saw stars as Jerry shook him. The mans word's made no sense, and Charlie wondered why he was hearing gibberish. His heartbeat was so loud, so thunderous. The ringing in his ears was threatening to overtake him and his vision had blackened a while back. He felt as if it were the end.
But then he heard, and he understood.
"You let him go, now."
Charlie could have wept.
He found his tongue, and while cloudy, his vision returned. He now realized Don was in his line of vision, gun raised and looking so intense Charlie wondered if he'd ever smile again. He also realized that there were other FBI agents filtering into the house, and he was pressed against Jerry's chest as some sort of shield. Don wasn't trying to shoot him, he was trying to hit Jerry.
"How'd you find us?" Jerry asked, genuine curiosity in his voice. He jerked his head towards Hank and Jerry who were both being cuffed. "That whore sister of mine told you, didn't she?"
"She did the right thing," Don calmly told him. "And now you're going to do the same."
The barrel of a gun jabbed at the base of Charlie's skull while Jerry nearly screamed, "You don't tell me what to do! I'll blow his brains out if you come any closer."
Jerry moved them backwards, towards the clear glass backdoor.
"If you let him go now, you won't be harmed. Listen to me, Jerry, you don't want to go this way."
Jerry removed his gun from the back of Charlie's head to wave it at Don. "Which way, Fed? I'm in control of the situation."
The shot came from outside, in the backyard where an FBI agent had taken a clear shot. With the gun removed from Charlie's head the trained sniper had shattered the glass door and nailed Jerry Hallowell in the back of the head.
With Jerry no longer holding him up, Charlie fell to the floor, boneless. Don was at his side seconds later, calling for an ambulance, his hands probing Charlie's bloody chest.
"It's not mine, Donnie," Charlie managed, trying to ward off his brother pushing on his chest. "Not mine."
Charlie slid his fingers through Don's, holding on tight. He let Don be his anchor, for the millionth time in his life. He was soothed by his brother's warm breath and soft words while he waited to be carted off to the hospital. Don made his chest numb and with his brother at his side, the pain didn't seem so bad.
(NUMB3RS)
Charlie was sleeping soundly in his assigned room when both Don and Alan were allowed access to him.
"You take the chair, Dad," Don said, guiding his father to a sitting position. "I have no doubt you've been pacing since you left the hospital. Rest for a while and keep Charlie company."
Alan blinked from one son to another. "Aren't you staying, Donnie?"
Don leaned over Charlie and kissed his brother on the forehead. "I've got some lose ends I have to wrap up first, but I'll be back." Truthfully, no matter how much a silent Charlie bothered him, Don wanted to pull up his own chair and just sit with his brother. Only recently had the doctors told them how serious Charlie's injuries had been. He was on the road to recovery, his ribs reset, but Don was wary about the idea of letting his kid brother out of his sight.
"I understand, hurry back."
Don embraced Alan longingly and then left the room, finding Terry and David waiting for him outside in the hallway.
"How's he doing?" Terry asked, her worry broadcasting loudly.
Don rubbed a tired hand over his face. "He came close to irreversible internal bleeding with the beating and all the moving around, but the doctors are confident in his recovery. It'll be a while, but Charlie will bounce back." He smiled fondly at the amount of strength his brother had managed, holding out for so long.
"Gideon Tao's condition had deteriorated," David informed Don. "He slipped into a coma just a little after you left and the doctors are not confident in his condition. He started bleeding again and isn't expected to survive for very long."
Don pressed his lips together, then said, "If he dies, put the word out on the street that Tao held out against the FBI. Make it known he died without betraying anyone. And keep a unit assigned to his family for a few weeks, just in case. I promised him his family's safety, and I intend to keep that promise. What about Kim Comet?"
Terry shook her head and gave a sigh. "She's going to testify in court against Lee Terrence and Hank Gibbon. She's going to tell the judge everything her brother filtered through her, and where to find most of the stolen merchandise that didn't go up in the explosion at the Steel factories. She'll most likely get strict probation, but she'll get to keep her kids."
Satisfied, Don wanted to know about the fourth man, Clarence.
David had to flip through several pages of notes to find a few lines on the man in question. "Died of blood loss on his way to the hospital. There isn't a whole lot of information on him. We can question Terrence and Gibbon about what happened, but it looks like a dispute."
"Alright." Don's whole body was still tingling with adrenaline. "Go home. Seriously, go home and sleep." His face softened as he faced the two people who stood by him without question. "I'll see you in the office tomorrow morning."
Both Terry and David offered their goodbyes and took off towards the elevator.
"David? Terry?" They looked back and he raised a hand. "Thanks, for everything."
He turned and headed back to Charlie's room, intending to be present when his brother awoke.
The End
And never fear, there is a sequel currently in the outlining stages that will clear up any leftover questions. Expect it out in a few months time. And expect lots of drama.