Disclaimer: Not my characters!

Chapter 3

Don didn't go straight back to the office. He knew he had to calm down and get control of his emotions before he walked back in. He aimlessly drove through the hills for an hour or so before he realized how long it had been. Turning towards the office he reached for his cell phone.

"Sinclair," said the crisp voice on the other end of the line.

"David, is there anything new?"

"No. All the records were a dead end. All the information in them is fake information leading to fake bank accounts, fake real estate, fake…"

"I get the picture David."

"Anyway, where are you?"

"I'm on my way back into the office. I just came from the house."

"What did Charlie have to say." Don could hear the pick up in David's voice. Charlie always has an answer for them or something information that helps them out, but not this time.

"Nothing."

"Nothing," David voice registered surprise.

"Nothing. Something about a missing variable…I don't know we just spent the whole time going in circles look I'll be in, in a minute."

"Ok."

Don hung up the phone and was not oblivious to the defeat he heard in David's voice. There had been guys like this before there were guys like this everyday who eluded the FBI for years. But it had never happened to Don's team before and he didn't like it.

Walking into the office all the members of his team were hunched over desks or staring at computer screens. They all showed the tension and frustration in their bodies and faces. David and Terry looked up as Don approached them.

"So everything was a dead end?" he asked them.

Terry nodded her head, "This guy is too smart for us. Look at this." She grabbed a file. "This is a bank account set up in New York. All this information is fake but this guy didn't just create a fake name and social and what not." She grabbed another file, "He created a whole fake life."

Don looked through the file not sure what he was looking at. There were school records, immunization records, and doctor files. He looked up at Terry, "All of this is fake."

"Every last thing, these people never existed anywhere but this guy mind and then he made them real."

Don gave the file back to Terry and turned to look at the board that mapped out the developments they had followed and the dead ends that they found. While he had calmed down and didn't feel his blood pressure rising anymore he now felt a whole new sensation…defeat. A feeling he did not like having while working on a case.

"Don." He turned and saw one of the FBI financial accountants approaching him. "These files may be fakes but we think we have found a number sequence or pattern. Charlie needs to look at these."

Don scowled, "Alright." The accountant went back to her desk but Terry and David exchanged a look. Don had a look of obvious displeasure on his face but didn't hesitate in reaching for his phone. He punched in Charlie's number and hit Send. Looking up he caught the looks on his partner's faces.

"What?" he asked defensively. Terry and David said nothing and went back to their discussion.

After two rings the phone picked up but it wasn't Charlie who answered.