Chapter Four

Don shifted in his seat, his eyes glued to the corner of 42nd and Lincoln. As soon as he had returned to the office after his visit with Charlie, he had pulled several agents into the stakeout. Everyone was excited with the possible lead, and the fact that the information had come from Charlie had merely fueled that fire. Charlie's reputation around the Bureau office was quickly growing. The consensus generally was that if Charlie Eppes said something was going to happen, then something was going to happen. Not even a shred of doubt appeared in the mind of the FBI agents.

"Any sign yet?" Don asked softly into his mic, glancing to his right at David.

"Nothing on our side," Colby reported. He was stationed on the opposite corner with Megan, behind the construction site that was located in Charlie's predicted hot zone, in case the dealers approached from another angle.

"I got nothing," Danny's voice chimed in from down the street. "Donnie, you really think these guys will show here? We have nothing to go on except the word of your brother."

"Who also happens to be an accomplished mathematician," David spoke up before Don could reply. "They'll show. If Charlie says they'll be here, then they'll be here."

"Guys." Megan's voice cut into the conversation. "We've got movement on 42nd, heading your way, Don."

"All right, wait for my mark." Don straightened in his seat, casting his eyes across the street.

Within seconds, a figure moved into view. It was a young man in his early twenties, dressed in baggy jeans and a black sweatshirt that was several sizes too large. The pocket on the front of the sweatshirt bulged slightly.

"Second suspect approaching from the west," Danny's voice spoke up. "Male, twenties, all in black."

"Got him," David said, nodding at a second man walking towards them from down the street.

Don and David watched as the two met each other, talking quietly. Several minutes passed before the first man reached into the pocket of his sweatshirt and removed a plain brown lunch bag. He handed it over to the second man, receiving another brown lunch bag from the second man.

"That's it, let's move!" Don opened his door, drew his gun, and started to run up to the two men. "FBI! Hands where I can see them!"

Both men turned simultaneously at Don's shout. The second man shoved his partner to the ground and took off back in the direction he had come. Don ran forward, hearing David behind him.

"Danny!" Don shouted into his mic. "Second suspect is fleeing on foot, headed right for you!"

"I'm after him!" came the sharp response.

Don nodded and turned back to the first man, who David had just cuffed. As David read the man his rights, Don scooped up the brown bag that the man had dropped onto the ground and opened it.

Colby's car arrived near them with a screech, and the two agents hopped out. Colby reached David in time to help him lift their suspect to his feet.

"What did we get?" Megan asked.

Don shook the contents of the brown bag into his hand. A clear plastic baggie tumbled out, filled with a familiar reddish powder. He held it up and approached the dealer.

"Who is your contact?" he demanded. "Who gave you this?"

The dealer smiled, unconcerned, at Don's angry face. "I want my lawyer."

"Fine." Don turned to Colby and David. "Get him down to the Bureau and process him. I want answers."

Colby and David nodded and pulled their suspect over to Colby's car. Megan turned to Don.

"What about the other guy?"

Don shook his head. "Danny said he was going after the guy. Let's go see if we can track him down."

The two headed for Don's car and were about to jump in when Danny's rental drove up to them. Don moved back around his car and went to the driver's side window. "Danny! You get him?"

Danny shook his head. "Gave me the slip. The construction site is a regular maze. Sorry, man."

Don swore silently. "Okay. We got one of them. Let's regroup back at the office and see what we can find out."

Don stared hard at the television screen, hoping to catch some clue as to their new prisoner's source of information as Megan attempted to interrogate him. Unfortunately, the man's lawyer was refusing to let his client speak, and despite Megan's valiant efforts, she was forced to walk away with nothing more than an infuriating 'no comment'.

Megan exited the interrogation room and, spying Don, walked over to him. "Sorry, Don. He's not talking."

"Yeah, I know," Don replied. "That's okay. We have another name and some more of the drug off of the street. We can track his last known movements and pass the information on to Charlie."

Megan sighed as they began to move toward the conference room. "I'm beginning to wonder if we're ever going to get to the bottom of this thing. Every time we get close, the next lead seems to slip away."

"We'll get there," Don said confidently. "Look how far we've come since we started. It's only a matter of time now."

They entered the conference room to find David and Colby speaking quietly to each other over a file while Danny reclined comfortably in a chair, his feet propped on the table.

"Anything?" Danny asked Don.

Don shook his head. "He's not talking. We got anything on his background check?"

"He's got a rap sheet with LAPD, big surprise there," Colby stated. "Possession mostly, some armed robbery."

"He lives with his girlfriend not too far from where we picked him up," David added.

"Great, then we'll go and talk to her," Don stated. "Maybe she can give us more information. Let's try and backtrack where he's been. Maybe there's something he and our other suspect have in common."

"We already got Larson and White working on it," Colby told him. "I'll go see what they've come up with."

Don nodded as he left the room. "Good. David, you and I'll go pay the girlfriend a visit. You got an address?"

"Right here," David said, waving the folder.

"All right, then, let's go," Don stated. "I want this case finished within the next two days."

"Hey, Donnie!" Danny dropped his feet to the ground, stood, and moved closer to Don as the other agents filed out of the conference room. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure, buddy," Don replied. He turned back to David. "Go on, I'll catch up."

Danny smiled faintly at David, then focused his gaze on Don once more. "It's about the runt."

"Charlie?" Don asked, confusion sweeping across his face. "What about him?"

"I think you should pull Charlie off this case," Danny said bluntly.

Don gave a slight start. "Why?"

"Don't get me wrong, man, but how much more of a contribution can he really make?" Danny wanted to know. "He's found a good starting point for us, but really, there's not much else a math teacher can do, is there?"

Don shrugged. "I don't know, but if I've learned anything from Charlie since he started consulting for us, it's that he's full of surprises. Even if he doesn't come up with anything else, what harm is there in letting him run a few numbers?"

"And you don't think it's dangerous to let him consult on an active case like this one?" Danny pressed.

Don looked at Danny closely. "Are you all right? You've never really been concerned about Charlie before."

Danny smiled and shook his head. "Times change, man, and you gotta change with them. The runt's all right, really. Hey, if you say he can help, that's good enough for me. Listen, I gotta go take care of a couple things on my people's end. Bureaucratic red tape and all that."

"Tell me about it," Don replied, returning the easy smile. "Talk to you later."

Danny waved a farewell as he headed out the door. Don emerged from the conference room, his eyes scanning the bullpen before settling on Megan. He approached her and waited beside her desk as she finished speaking with another agent.

"Yeah?" she asked, turning to give Don her full attention.

"Could you grab Colby and head down to Charlie's office?" Don asked. "He's been able to work on those reports we gave him since yesterday, so he should have some rough results for us."

"Sure, Don," Megan replied. "We'll go as soon as Colby finishes gathering the data from Larson and White. We think Charlie might be able to use it."

"Great," Don replied, feeling a tingle of excitement thrumming through his body. He finally felt as though they were headed somewhere.

Hopefully they'd get there fast.

Charlie finished the last of his equation, then frowned as he glanced back over the data. He had run the same numbers through his equation at least three times, and the results had come out the same. That had to mean his findings were accurate. He just wasn't sure how well his information would be received.

"So this is where you work. Funny, but I somehow pictured it darker."

Charlie lifted his head from his desk at the voice, and his heart skipped a beat when he realized who it was. His eyes widened as Danny stepped into his office and stared around the room in curiosity.

"Um . . . Don sent you?" he stammered uncertainly.

"Not exactly," Danny admitted. "I just stopped by to see what you've dug up so far. Not that it'll really help or anything."

Despite his anxiety, Charlie couldn't resist responding to the veiled challenge. "Actually, math has been proven to help in most investigations in identifying patterns, determining areas of high crime-."

"Whatever," Danny said dismissively. He moved around Charlie's desk to stare at the boards the younger man had been scribbling on earlier. "Is this it?"

"Ah, well, that's most of it," Charlie replied. "Well, all that I can do right now with the information I have. Really, the more data I have, the more accurate my information tends to be."

Danny shook his head at the sea of numbers and operations. "And Don actually buys into this stuff? It looks like gibberish to me."

Charlie opened his mouth to reply again, but was forestalled by a raised hand.

"Don't even try to explain to me, runt, I ain't interested in it," Danny replied. "I actually came by to see if you bothered to talk to Don yet."

Charlie tensed. "I . . . I did."

Danny cocked his eyebrow. "Then why are you still butting into our case? I thought I made it clear that you weren't wanted."

"B-But I am wanted," Charlie insisted. "Don said he wanted my help, and that's good enough for me."

Danny's face suddenly became very hard, startling Charlie into silence. Charlie took a step back involuntarily, uncertain as to whether or not to keep pressing his point.

The DEA agent moved until he was mere inches from Charlie. "Well, that ain't good enough for me. Listen, runt, I don't give a damn if Don thinks you're useful or not. You are still the same little shit who stuck his nose where it didn't belong ten years ago, and I'll be damned if you're gonna tell me how to do my job."

Fine tremors were running through Charlie, but he summoned up enough courage to speak. "B-But Don . . ." he stammered.

Danny seized the front of Charlie's shirt and shoved him forcefully against the wall. "Maybe I didn't make myself clear. You're not needed on this case. Don and I can handle this alone. You're not wanted."

Charlie flinched at the hurtful words, an echo from the past. His heart thudded in his chest, but he bravely continued. "I-I tried to talk to Don, but he said that he wanted me to help. If y-you have a problem with that, then maybe you should talk to him."

"Hey! What's going on here?"

Danny released Charlie and took a step back.

Megan and Colby moved into the room, stopping between Charlie and Danny. Colby folded his arms and stepped into Danny's personal space. "Is there a problem here?"

Charlie shuffled behind Colby, snagging Colby's sleeve with a shaky hand. He kept himself partially hidden from Danny. "N-No, nothing's wrong. We were just talking about the case."

"Yeah." Danny flashed a smile that had the hint of challenge behind it. "Thanks for the info, professor. I have to get going. Catch you all later."

Colby and Megan glared after Danny as he sauntered out of the room, then turned to Charlie. Charlie was leaning back against the wall, fighting to get his breathing under control. He studiously avoided the agents' gazes.

"Charlie, are you okay?" Megan asked gently, laying a hand on Charlie's arm.

Charlie pulled away from the touch and straightened. "I'm fine. Listen, it wasn't what it looked like. Danny and I . . . well, we go way back."

"Funny, but I don't remember seeing him holding Don against a wall," Colby said bitterly, ignoring Megan's warning look.

Charlie shrugged. "It was nothing. Really." He chanced a look up at the agents. "Uh, could you guys maybe . . . Don . . . he doesn't have to know about this."

"Charlie, if Danny's assaulting you-," Megan began.

"He's not!" Charlie insisted in a sudden burst of emotion. "He was just fooling around. Don's got plenty on his plate right now, and he really doesn't have to be told, you know?"

Charlie's dark eyes pleaded with the two agents. Megan and Colby exchanged a long look before nodding at Charlie.

"Sure, Charlie," Colby said. "As long as Danny's not hurting you, Don won't hear about this from us."

Relief swept over Charlie's face, and he nearly sagged back against the wall that, only moments before, he had been pinned against. "Thanks."

"Don't thank us just yet," Megan replied. She was clearly as unhappy about their promise as Colby. "You got anything for us yet?"

Charlie returned to his desk to nervously shuffle through some papers. "I-I've started on possible hot spots for the distribution of the drug. The data you've been giving me has helped, but I need more if you have it. Right now, I'd say your best bets are in these locations." He handed Colby and Megan the papers he had been looking through. Colby and Megan glanced down at them.

"Okay, some of these make sense," Colby stated. "Poorer sides of town, abandoned areas, places where no one would talk. But a country club in Glendale? And a private elementary school just two blocks down the road from a police station?"

"Actually, they make sense too," Megan interjected before Charlie could explain the numerical values he had used. "What safer environment to deal drugs than clean neighborhoods with no one suspecting the wiser?"

"But a country club?" Colby pressed.

Megan shrugged. "Even well-to-do upper class elitists like to use recreational drugs every now and then. In fact, there's a good possibility that some of our more well-to-do victims scored Blaze there than going to more dangerous areas."

Colby nodded. "Okay, but other than the D.A.'s friends, there really hasn't been any other high-profile deaths."

"Yet," Megan added. She turned to Charlie. "Thanks, Charlie, this helps. If you've got time, we've brought you our preliminary interviews of another dealer we just picked up. We're wondering if you can use it to give us some more leads."

Charlie nodded. "Okay, I'll see what I can do."

Megan smiled warmly at him and, nudging Colby, left the office.