Disclaimer: Sorry. Don't own the show. Don't own the characters. I wish I did though… then I wouldn't have to worry about finance any more.

The sixth chapter! Wow, I didn't think I'd get this far…. Thank you everyone for your support and please enjoy the chapter!

"Here's Agent Eppes!" There were so many people in the office when Don arrived that he almost couldn't see his desk. It seemed as though Merrick had called in agents from four or five other teams, and they were all seated around a whiteboard with David running them through Terry's abduction and the deaths of the four members of Delta Blue. Amongst all the white shirts and black suits Don spotted Charlie, his curly head sticking out as he listened intently to David's summary of events.

The person who had called out his name so enthusiastically was Lydia, who was seated at her computer and was typing something with such speed that her fingers were a blur. The thirty or so agents who were listening to David suddenly turned around and looked towards the elevator. Don was standing with a pile of files in one hand, glad that he changed out of his crumpled suit and into a fresher shirt and tie. He didn't want agents from the other state offices thinking that he was some disorganized loser.

Charlie looked up suddenly, his eyes filled with worry at the tired lines on his brother's face. David had called him at five thirty in the morning, and although Charlie had been about to get out of bed, he was nonetheless surprised that he would receive a call at such an hour. He had just spent a sleepless night worrying about what could possibly happen to Larry, hoping that the investigators led by Don would soon find the murderers. When David told him that Terry had been kidnapped, Charlie couldn't find his voice for at least a minute. And there she was, in my house, just a few hours before she was taken… Poor Terry!

And poor Don, too… Charlie met his brother's eyes and tried gave him a small smile. Although he knew that Don often termed him 'inept' in relationship issues and matters that involve emotion, it hadn't escaped Charlie that his brother cared a lot more for Terry than he chose to admit. Just watching him talk to her, or about her, Charlie was certain that Don was enduring a daily struggle with his feelings for his unwitting partner.

"Good morning…" Don began uncertainly, trying to make his way to his desk. It was only twenty minutes past six, and he had never seen so many people on the same floor at this time of the day. Charlie slipped past the agents surround Don to place a hand on his brother's arm in a silent gesture of support. Unable to manage a smile, Don just nodded to acknowledge Charlie's presence and sat down. Both Eppes' turned around to face David, who was about to continue giving his rundown of the cases at hand.

"Right," On a map that was pasted over the whiteboard surface, David had marked fifteen red spots, with names and addresses labeled accordingly. "These red dots indicate the location of all fifteen members of the organization Delta Blue. The four dots with crosses over them represent James Well, Henry Clear, Andrew Sienna, and Gail Fox. These people were all killed in the same way and this was what initially led investigators to believe that they were murdered by the same person. However with additional information supplied by Dr Fleindhart we now know that the murderer was after a series of pass numbers to access the super-program MINOTAUR."

"And have these people been linked with Agent Lake's disappearance?" A red-haired man seated at the back of the group asked, scribbling notes onto a large pad of paper.

David nodded, and turned away so that he wasn't facing Don anymore. "Yes, we have reason to believe that Agent Lake was kidnapped by the same people who murdered four members of Delta Blue for their respective pass numbers."

Don was dumbfounded. Charlie too, was speechless, as he processed what David had just said. "What…?" Don looked over at the younger agent anxiously, desperately trying to meet his eyes, "When did we get any information that tied together the cases? David…?"

"Eppes." Merrick stood up suddenly and called out to Don, ending his concerned interruption. "Could you please step into my office for a moment? We need to speak about some new evidence that you might not have heard about."

New evidence…? I collected all the evidence in this case! What evidence would I not know about? Don got up quickly and followed Merrick into his office. The room was suddenly silent. Charlie knitted his brow, wondering why David was trying to avoid looking directly at him. The door was shut behind Don, a dull bang against the silence that hung in the air. Letting out a deep breath, David looked back at the whiteboard to continue talking about the case.

&&&&

"Agent Eppes, please have a seat," Merrick pointed to a chair, and quickly walked around Don to get to his desk. Don's face was an unnatural shade of white, and he sat down at once, feeling as though his legs weren't strong enough to support him. Terry's life was on the line, and evidence had been withheld from him? How could this happen?

"Sir, what have they found out…?"

"You can't blame Agent Sinclair for not telling you about this earlier." Merrick opened a drawer under his desk surface and pulled out a white piece of paper. "He didn't know until he arrived in the office this morning. He was surprised that no one else knew. It was not until he told me about what you and Agent Lake had found out that I realized this letter was important."

He placed the sheet of paper in front of Don, and sat down on his chair. Don stared at it for a moment, puzzled, then picked it up carefully. We are watching. His curiosity rose, and he turned the paper over, looking for a signature or an address. What was it about those three words that seemed so familiar? Don racked his brains for some information, but came up empty. "Sir, I don't understand…"

"That letter…" Merrick paused and drummed his fingers on a stack of papers restlessly, "That letter was sent to Agent Lake the day before she was abducted. Someone slipped it under her door after she got back from work at about three AM. She brought it to me when she came to work."

Don stared at the letter, astounded. Terry kept this from me? Why would she do that? She told me nothing was wrong! All of a sudden, Larry's worried voice popped into his train of thought. "They sent James an anonymous letter once… telling him that they were watching him. He was so worried for his family, but in the end they disappeared and we kind of… forgot about it." "Oh my goodness…" Don took a deep breath to calm himself. "It's the same people… Larry told us about James Well's anonymous letter and she went so pale… I asked her what was wrong…"

"Agent Lake thought it was a prank when she brought it in." Merrick interjected quickly. He sighed and pulled his hands off the table. "She said that she didn't want you to worry unnecessarily. At the time, there seemed to be no link to the case that she was working on. The crime lab tested for prints and came up empty. Neither of us suspected anything."

"When did you make the link?" Don's throat felt dry as he turned the page over in his hands. So this was what distracted her the whole day… Why didn't she tell me? I could have protected her!

"Agent Lake proved to be a lot less talkative than we hoped." That was what the kidnapper had said. Was he referring to how Terry told only one person about the letter? They had meant to frighten her, but she didn't take the bait. "I hoped that we would be in contact sooner…" So, by not talking… Terry had unknowingly delayed her abduction. Don leaned back on the chair and shut his eyes slightly. Terry… I would have protected you! I know I would have been anxious and paranoid and annoying but that might have prevented you from being taken away…

"Sinclair was reading her notes." Merrick paused for a moment, making sure that Don was still listening. "A notebook was recovered from her apartment, and in it she had written some notes when talking to Dr Fleindhart about Delta Blue. She wrote about an anonymous letter being sent to James Well six years ago. Agent Sinclair brought it up because Agent Lake had the whole sentence underlined. If he had known before he called you, he would have brought it up and you would have known earlier. I'm sorry."

Don was quiet for a while. Merrick was actually being nice to him! That was strange in itself. Getting up slowly, Don folded the letter and put it into his pocket. "Thank you for letting me know about this, sir. I've got to prepare for the phone call… and it's already ten minutes to seven."

&&&&

"Don." David's voice cut into the din inside his head suddenly, almost making him jump. It was seven thirty, and the whole office was frantically preparing for their conversation with the man who not only was holding a federal agent in captivity, but was also responsible for the murders of four innocent people. Charlie was inside one of the meeting rooms with a whiteboard, a few marker pens and a map of LA and its neighboring states. He, along with three other agents, were trying to pinpoint a location where these men were hiding.

Don was at the water cooler, splashing cold water on his face in an attempt to keep him alert. He looked up when his name was called and saw David was standing beside him with an uncomfortable expression on his face. "Hello David."

"Don, I'm sorry that you didn't know about the letter." David said quickly, shaking his head. "I know how that must feel. Terry trusts you, more than anyone… it's just that she knew your mind was on a case and she didn't want you to get sidetracked. I would have told you… it's just that…"

"David," Don interrupted him gently, wiping the water off his face with the cuff of his sleeve. "You don't need to explain. I understand completely. Terry had her reasons for only telling Merrick, and those reasons are what make her a good agent."

David nodded slowly, his eyes still on the ground. "I'm supposed to brief you before… before you get on the phone with him."

Don looked over at the myriad of machines that were attached to his cell phone, and the number of agents who were hovering around it anxiously. "Of course," he motioned to David to follow him as he walked towards the phone. "Go ahead."

"We are fairly certain they don't know that we have the names of all members of Delta Blue. If they knew they would have gone to you or Terry and tried to get it out of you right there and then. But by abducting Terry… that told us that they're using her as a hostage and not for information. All I'm saying is just to play dumb about all things associated with Delta Blue. Judging from how you described this man, he'll only be too happy to reveal how he murdered four people. We'll just note that and try to go along with whatever he asks for."

"Alright…" Don walked over to his desk and sat down. David sat on Terry's chair, just opposite him. "Anything else..?"

"Don…" David paused, trying to find the right words to use, "Terry means a lot to all of us, but you need to sound as though this is completely impersonal to you. When you talk to the man, refer to her as Agent Lake and never as Terry. If this guy suddenly picks up that you personally care about what happens to Terry, he might use it to his advantage. For now, all he knows is that she's your partner. It would help to keep it that way."

Although David did not actually say it, Don could see in his eyes exactly what he meant. I know that you love her, and I have no objections. Just make sure that the kidnapper doesn't realize that.

&&&&

Don leaned back against his chair and rubbed his eyes. It had been almost twelve hours since he had spoken to the kidnapper, and the floor was still bustling madly with the sound of thirty FBI agents all working at the same time. They had been unable to trace the call- Lydia said that the kidnappers had a scrambler attached to their phone which made it impossible to determine their exact location. Leaning back in his chair, Don shut his eyes for a moment as he wondered what their next move would be.

"Agent Eppes, it's good to speak with you again." The man's deep, crackly voice came through the speakers as clear as a bell. There was no background noise that they could hear, and Lydia was typing anxiously as she tried to trace the call. "I trust there are other agents who are listening?"

"The whole floor is waiting to hear why you kidnapped Agent Lake," Don clenched his fists tightly and sat down. "I hope there's a good reason."

"There's an excellent reason, Agent Eppes!" the man almost laughed. "You may call me Mr. Chambers, for the sake of propriety. Now, we have a favor to ask the FBI… and it should be very simple. I just want a few names, and I will release your partner as soon as we get them."

Chambers had wanted the names of the remaining Delta Blue members. Don was a little puzzled to why he did not already know them. It would make more sense to wait until he had all eight names before targeting each individual member. So he inquired, and he got a reasonable answer.

"Names..?" Don tried to sound as ignorant as he could. "What names are you looking for? It seems as though you are resourceful enough to find out without the help of the government."

"Not resourceful enough, Agent Eppes… You see, there's a little security wall that we need to bypass and it completely escaped us that we were wrong about how many passwords we required for entry. We thought four was enough, and now we realize that we need eight."

"So you want me to give you the names of these people who have the remaining passwords? And let you torture them, or kill them to get what you want?"

"Well that depends on how cooperative they are." This time Chambers laughed. It was an unpleasant, throaty noise, and sent chills down Don's spine. "As the fate of your lovely partner depends on your cooperation, Agent Eppes. Other than a somewhat nasty bump on the back of her head, Agent Lake is quite unhurt. But I do have a gun to her head, and if you do not help me then she will die."

They had asked for time to find out the names that Chambers needed, and were given two days. Throughout the entire conversation, Don hadn't heard from his partner once. He took a deep breath and glanced over at Terry's desk, noticing that the pile of papers that she had left there the day before had already been pulled apart by other agents. God, it's only been less than a day since he last saw her and already he missed seeing her face. Hearing Chambers say that he was holding a gun to Terry's head had made Don extremely nauseas. Please, please, don't hurt her… I can't go on without her.

And there are so many things I have to say to her that I need to say.

"Agent Eppes," a breathless young man appeared suddenly in front of Don's desk, looking as though he had run a mile. "Agent Eppes, we have a problem."

"What- what is it?" Don almost jumped out of his seat. A problem is not what we need right now! The younger agent took a few deep breaths as he calmed himself enough to answer.

"One member of Delta Blue has just died, Agent Eppes." The young man handed Don a sheet of paper with a telephone message on it. "But he wasn't murdered. Robert Lee had a heart attack and died unexpectedly half an hour ago. The two agents who were protecting him rushed him to the hospital, but it was too late. The doctors there said that it wasn't the first time that he had a heart attack. This was coming to him for quite a while now but none of us knew that he had a condition."

The paper that Don held in his hands was a note signed by the doctor who pronounced Robert Lee dead upon arrival. Robert Lee had a pass number to access MINOTAUR… if he didn't tell anyone about it, then it's lost forever! Don jumped up and put the page down on his desk. "If no one else knows what his pass number is, which is quite likely, then this changes everything. Find out if anyone else knows about his involvement with Delta Blue, and who are the people in the hospital who know he's dead."

Don moved out of his desk space quickly and jogged over to the meeting room, where Charlie was still trying to pinpoint a likely area where the kidnappers were hiding. The young professor was pacing back and forth restlessly as he muttered variables and numbers to himself. The three other agents who were assisting him exchanged confused looks every now and again, obviously unable to understand what Charlie was going on about. Don walked over to his brother and put a hand on his shoulder. "Charlie, Charlie… something's just come up and you need to listen."

Charlie looked up at his brother's anxious face and stopped muttering immediately. "W-what happened? Don, is Terry…?"

All of a sudden, Don's cell phone rang, and the answer died on his lips.

&&&&

Terry opened her eyes and wondered at what the sudden commotion was. Stiff from sitting in the same position for many hours, she tried shifting slightly to ease the tiredness in her limbs. A few meters away, the team was having an extremely loud discussion. Obviously something didn't go their way… Terry tried to make out what was being said, but with all five of them talking at once it was very hard to figure out what was going on. Her head was throbbing painfully, and staying conscious proved to be quite a difficult feat.

"One of them is dead, and no one else knows what the password is." She heard Raspy Voice speak very clearly over the din, and all of them suddenly fell quiet. "Unfortunately, that is the situation, and it was unexpected. However there just might be someone who may be able to help us…"

He glanced over at Terry, who tried to look at him squarely in the eye without moving her head too much. One of them is dead… she thought. That can't be good. But what can the FBI do? Who are they expecting to help them?

"Call Agent Eppes." Raspy Voice continued, looking back at his men. "I've heard that he has a very clever younger brother who might be able to figure out the passwords for us… given the right incentive, of course."

The men turned their eyes to Terry, and she felt herself shaking. Good god… she wondered, trying to look less frightened than she was feeling. What is going to happen to me?

TBC

Phew…that was a long chapter! I hope that everyone enjoyed it. Please review and give me your opinion of this story… And don't worry; it can't be gloomy forever!