Disclaimer: I do not own Numb3rs or the characters. No copyright infringement is intended. The math in this story is from Wikipedia.
A/N: Many thanks to my beta, seether79!
Chapter 4
Charlie cautiously stepped into an empty hallway and immediately felt a hand grab him by the front of his shirt and yank him to the side. He squeezed his eyes shut, certain he was about to receive a water balloon to the face.
Instead, the hand shifted to his shoulder and shook him roughly. "Charlie!" his brother whispered urgently. Opening one eye warily, he watched Don gesture 'stay low' and then 'follow me.' Silently, they ran at a low crouch down the hall and into the conference room. Charlie felt awkward and clumsy trying to run that way, but Don made it look smooth and effortless. He tried copying Don's movements, but that only made him clumsier and he found himself silently cursing Don in frustration by the time they reached the conference room.
Charlie was delighted to find Amita sitting on the edge of the conference table casually swinging her legs back and forth. But a wave of guilt washed over him as he realized how rudely he'd abandoned her earlier. He gazed at her, struck speechless, as he struggled to think of a way to make it up to her.
Misinterpreting the reason for his stare, Amita pointed to a nametag on her shirt and explained with a slightly embarrassed grin, "Don's idea." In the middle of her shirt was a nametag with the word SAFE written in big block letters. Turning around, she displayed a similar one on her back. It looked silly, but Charlie suspected she might be the only one walking out of here still dry by the end of the day. It also meant a lot to him that Amita put up with Don's overprotective tendencies with such good humor.
"I should probably be mad at you for disappearing earlier," she teased, "but Don says that's his fault."
Before he could reply, Don nudged him and said, "How many do you have?"
Charlie looked at him blankly, not understanding the question.
Instead of clarifying, Don looked him up and down and then groaned. "Charlie! I send you to where there's a bucket full of water balloons and you don't bring back any? We're dead!"
"What? How was I supposed to know this little game would be continuing inside? This isn't exactly…"
Their argument was interrupted when the door to the conference room suddenly swung open.
Before Charlie could even react, Don darted out of the way.
Charlie sputtered as several water balloons hit him at once, spraying water everywhere. Holding up his arms to try to block them proved useless, but he managed to catch one unbroken balloon in his hands. Lobbing it back, he hit one of the agents just under her chin. She gasped and then retaliated by throwing two more balloons in rapid succession. David threw a balloon that caught Charlie on the side of his head, soaking his hair and dripping water down his neck. Then the attack was over, as suddenly as it had begun.
Charlie swept wet hair out of his face and glared at the small crowd of laughing agents. David and Colby, clearly the ringleaders, stood in front. Then he turned to look over his shoulder at Amita and Don. Amita crouched in the middle of the conference table with her legs curled up under her, clearly trying to stay as far out of the line of fire as possible.
Don stood further back behind the conference table, but his evasive maneuvering hadn't saved him. He'd been pinned down in a corner, unable to move without risking putting expensive video conferencing equipment in harm's way. His clothes were soaked and clinging to him.
Charlie couldn't help smiling. He was still annoyed at their attackers, but it helped to know Don hadn't escaped unscathed.
Don slowly drew his arms up and placed his hands on the back of his head as if he was a suspect under arrest. The instant he did, two agents dragged him forward while a third dropped a balloon directly on his head. Don laughed and shook his head like a dog. Drops of water radiated away from his head in every direction, and the agents who'd been holding him took a step back.
"Alright! Alright!" Don announced, still chuckling. "You win."
A general cheer went up, and the small crowd began to disperse, gloating over their victory as they went. Only David stayed behind.
Don pointedly looked him over, taking in his dry exterior. David caught Don's look and shrugged casually. "Day's not over yet."
Don seemed cheered by that thought. "Yeah. Yeah, that's true."
David eyed him warily, but Don shook his head to indicate he wouldn't pursue the matter further at the moment.
Don pulled out a chair and was about to sit down when he hesitated. Obviously reluctant to get the chair wet, he settled for perching on the edge of the table instead. Charlie leaned against the table beside him, fidgeting slightly against uncomfortable wet clothing.
David made a show of sinking into one of the chairs. Amita, relatively dry despite being caught in the crossfire, sat in a chair as well. Once they were all settled, Don ran a hand through the wet hair now plastered to his scalp and asked, "Where's Jack?"
David snickered. "Men's room. I think he's trying to dry off using that little automatic hand dryer. Should only take him about five hours or so."
Knowing how wet Jack had been, Charlie burst out laughing at the mental image.
Don leaned over to Amita. "See, I told you he has an evil streak."
"Hey!" Charlie protested, "That… That is just…"
Don shook his head sagely. "Don't try to fight it, Charlie. After all, women always go for the bad boys."
David nodded. "True. So true."
Amita rolled her eyes. "Where's Megan? I need somebody on my side for this debate."
Don and David exchanged amused glances. David coughed slightly to cover a laugh as Don explained, "Megan is of the opinion that throwing water balloons is immature, juvenile, and…um…" He looked to David for help.
"Acting out behavior," David supplied.
Don stiffened slightly and an incongruous expression passed over his face. Charlie couldn't quite identify it, but he found it troubling because for a moment Don looked almost sad. Then the odd expression disappeared as quickly as it came. "Right," Don nodded quickly.
"Plus, she threatened to break your arm if you messed up her hair," David added with a smirk.
"That too," Don acknowledged easily, his smile firmly back in place.
Silently observing his brother, Charlie decided it wasn't a fake smile. The playfulness Don had exhibited all day seemed genuine. It was more like David had unwittingly hit on a painful subject.
But Don's mischievous mood had clearly returned as he gazed up toward the ceiling and commented in a thoughtful tone, "Yeah, I don't think there's anyway I could convince her to come back to the office today. I think it'd have to be someone she considers far too intelligent to take part in such childish games."
TBC