Don lay on his back on the cot, wondering what he'd done now. It's not bad enough that I got myself in this mess, he thought. Now I have to get Charlie involved, too.
It had been quite some time since his captor spoke to him. He wondered about that, too. He had tried to get more information out of him, but the voice had remained conspicuously silent. Like he wasn't there.
On that thought, Don rolled off the cot and began feeling his way down the wall. He was very thorough, exploring each brick from ceiling to floor and back up. It took a long time to do the entire thing. He even attempted to move the cot, but soon found it wasn't so much a bed as a shelf, bolted to the walls that surrounded it.
By the time he got to the last brick he was exhausted. One down, three to go – not counting the floor and ceiling. He rested for a moment, noting the air had become poorer since he began. Unless I'm imagining it, he thought. Don finally gathered his strength and started exploring the next wall.
-x-x-x-x-x-
"Hello?" Charlie said.
The response wasn't what he was expecting. Instead of a voice, all he heard was a data stream, as though from a fax machine. He quickly pulled the cell phone away from his ear. Addressing the technician, he asked, "This is being recorded, right?" The tech nodded and pointed to a monitor adjacent to her workstation.
"What is it, Charlie?" Megan asked. He offered the phone, which she took. After listening for only a few seconds, she asked, "Is this some kind of joke?"
Charlie shook his head. "I don't know, but somehow I doubt it." He watched the screen as the information scrolled by, looking for all the world like something off of a science fiction movie.
"Do you know what it means?" Megan asked.
"Not yet," he replied as the line went dead. "But you can bet I'm going to find out."
-x-x-x-x-x-
Colby waited with growing impatience for David to return from the café. Just when he decided he was going to go inside himself and find out what was going on, Agent Sinclair emerged and headed for the car. Colby barely gave him time to open the door and climb in before he asked, "Well? What did you find out?"
David shook his head. "Not much. The guy was there, all right. The guy behind the counter saw him. Same description you gave, though."
"Surveillance?" Colby asked.
"Not functioning," David answered. "And before you ask, Granger – no, he didn't recall ever seeing him before. And no, he wasn't wearing or doing anything remarkable."
Colby hung his head, suitably chagrined. "Sorry, David," he apologized. "I just feel somehow responsible…"
David cut him off. "You aren't, Colby. None of this is your fault. So just stop thinking about that, and start thinking about what we're going to do to this guy when we finally catch him."
"You're sure we're going to?" Colby asked.
"Positive." David clapped him on the shoulder. "Let's get back to the office."
"Don't we want the computer the guy used?"
David shook his head. "The one thing the guy behind the counter did remember about him was: he never touched the computer. He hooked a cable up to it, which he then plugged into a cell phone."
"He never touched it?" Colby's scepticism was plain. "Maybe the guy just didn't see him do it."
"Granted, he might have done something to it that the clerk didn't see," David agreed. "But how many people do you know wear leather gloves in Los Angeles at this time of year?"
Colby shook his head and turned the key.
-x-x-x-x-x-
"I'm sorry, Professor," the technician said. "The programs we have can't pick up a pattern – it's just… numbers."
Charlie looked at the woman with a mixture of sympathy and exasperation. "There is no reason for it to be 'just numbers' – there must be a pattern your programs haven't picked up on."
"The guy was toying with us before, Charlie," Megan said from behind him. "Why not now?"
Charlie spoke over his shoulder. "He wasn't toying with you at all, Agent Reeves."
"What?"
Standing, he explained, "You told me the first explosion wasn't intended to harm anyone."
Megan nodded. "That's right. It was wired to the car alarm."
"So it was intended to draw attention," Charlie elaborated. "You also told me the bomb in Don's SUV was made with the same type of explosive."
"Exactly the same," Megan replied. "It had to be the same person."
"Okay, so answer me this," Charlie said. "Why bother blowing up Don's vehicle, when he already had Don?"
"A message?" Megan ventured. "Trying to tell us something?"
"Or," Charlie said. "Testing."
"Huh?"
"This person thinks cryptically," Charlie explained. "That's apparent from the way he's conducted himself so far. Not watching the explosion of Colby's car directly, but through a mirror. Not sending a phone call or a text message – or even a straightforward code – but instead sending a coded code. Very cryptic thinker."
"Right. A coded code that we can't break." Megan folded her arms. "What good is that?"
"I'm thinking you can't break it, but I might be able to." Charlie gestured at the screen beside him. "He's had Don for about nine hours, and the call was placed to my cell phone. I think," he took a step closer to Megan for emphasis, "Don told this guy about me."
"So all of this is for you?" Megan pointed at the monitor. Charlie nodded. "What about the testing part?"
"When Colby's car blew up, who showed up?"
"David." Megan thought for a moment. "I left him there, and went with Colby in the ambulance. I called Don when I got there."
Charlie nodded. "Then what?"
Megan scratched her temple. "Don showed up and we found out what was going on with Granger from the resident." She paused, "Then Don drove me home. He said he was going to see what David came up with."
"So basically, Don moved in and took over," Charlie said. Megan nodded. "And if you were being watched, or followed, that's what it would look like – like Don was in charge."
Megan shrugged. "He was in charge – you just lost me, Charlie."
"Maybe that's what this guy was looking for – the person in charge."
"Then why Don's truck?" Megan was truly puzzled now.
Charlie smiled grimly. "Another test – a kind of… verification."
"He was watching that, too?"
"Probably – who showed up? You and David." Charlie shrugged. "He'd already seen you two taking orders from Don, therefore he must be the top rung on the ladder, right?"
Putting a hand over her mouth, Megan whispered, "Oh my God… He was there? The whole time?"
"No," Charlie replied. "At least – I doubt it. He only needed to stick around long enough to see who showed was in charge."
"It's a good thing Assistant Director Merrick didn't show up, then."
"Yeah," he agreed, his voice lowering to a murmur. "Then he would've known he didn't have the right person. No way of telling what he would've done then."
-x-x-x-x-x-
Don managed to examine every brick on three walls before collapsing onto his cot, gasping for breath. He knew it would be smarter to just lie still, but his inner drive to find a way out overrode cautious behavior every time.
"We will soon see how intelligent your brother is, Agent Eppes."
Don groaned. His reprieve was over. He debated not responding and decided against it. "What… what did you do?" he panted.
"I sent him a message," came the reply. "The pertinent question is: What have you been up to?"
"I was… looking around." Don tried to take a deep breath, but found it inadequate. "Sort of… throws off your experiment… huh?"
"You are very foolish, Agent Eppes," the voice chastised. "You have seriously depleted your air supply. What were you hoping to accomplish?"
"Find…" Don stopped. It was too difficult to talk.
"You won't find a way out, Agent Eppes." There was a slight pause, and then, "Would you like more air?"
Don hated himself for being weak. He tried to rationalize by telling himself it was a stalling tactic – that he needed to give Charlie more time. The truth was, he wasn't prepared to die. He nodded.
"On one condition. You mustn't be so foolhardy. There is no point in wasting your breath – literally – in attempting to escape, because you won't be able to. Is that understood?" Don nodded again. "Very well."
The sound of fresh air being forced into the cell was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard.