Disclaimer: I do not own Numb3rs or the characters. No copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: Special thanks to D. Lerious!
Chapter 8 - Epilogue
A week later, Charlie and Amita were hunkered down on his next-door neighbor's lawn behind a low hedge. Both of them cradled several brightly colored water balloons in their arms. Charlie was glad Mrs. Kaplan wasn't home at the moment because explaining what they were doing on her lawn would have been tricky. Her one-eyed cat, Milo, had wandered over to give them an inquiring sniff and an opportunity to pet him before losing interest and wandering away. A couple of kids biking down the street on a lazy Sunday afternoon had circled back to shoot curious stares at Charlie and Amita, but so far no one had come over to ask them what they were doing.
"Are you sure he's coming?" Amita asked excitedly.
Charlie simply nodded, too charmed by her childish delight to formulate a proper answer.
He glanced up at the sound of a car approaching, half expecting it to be another false alarm. Instead, Don's black SUV slowed and turned into the driveway. He parked behind their dad's car on the bottom of the driveway, close to the street. Perfect! From their position, they'd have a direct shot at the driver's side.
Stepping out of the vehicle, Don paused and seemed to sense that he was being watched. With his hand still on the car door, he turned and scanned the quiet neighborhood street. Charlie held his breath and resisted the urge to duck down lower— afraid any movement would tip their prey to their location. Amita remained equally still beside him.
After a moment, Don relaxed and reached back into the SUV to retrieve his jacket from the passenger seat before shutting the door. He was casually dressed in jeans and a blue polo shirt, and Charlie was relieved to see he was unarmed.
"Ready?" Charlie whispered to Amita.
She nodded and flashed him a quick grin before focusing on Don.
As Don took his first step toward the house, Charlie threw the first balloon. It wobbled through the air before impacting against the side of the SUV right next to Don, spraying him with water.
Don spun to look in the direction it had come from just in time to catch a water balloon thrown by Amita right in the face. Sputtering, he staggered back as the next balloon thrown by Charlie hit him high on the chest. Charlie hopped over the hedge and ran toward his target, throwing two more water balloons in rapid succession. The first caught Don on the shoulder, while the second impacted against the SUV, sending water streaking across the window behind him.
Don darted around the front of his vehicle and ducked down behind the passenger side of it as he called out, "Charlie? Charlie, can't we talk about this?"
Charlie laughed and hollered back, "No!" as Amita drew up beside him. He was already out of ammo, but she generously passed over one of her two remaining balloons.
He smiled in thanks before signaling for her to approach Don from the front of the SUV while he circled around from the back.
Creeping around the back of the SUV as quietly as he could, he drew his arm back and prepared for the final assault. Springing out from behind the vehicle, he was met with the startling impact of a water balloon to the face as he heard Amita cry out, "Oops! Sorry!"
Before he could puzzle out how Don had managed to give them the slip, Charlie felt a hand reach out from beneath the SUV and tug hard at his ankle. It wasn't enough to knock him over, but it threw him off balance and the water balloon he'd been holding slipped from his grasp to tumble to the ground behind him.
The hand disappeared back under the SUV.
Charlie brushed wet hair out of his face and looked over at Amita who smiled apologetically and mouthed, "Sorry." He quickly smiled back to show there were no hard feelings.
From beneath the SUV, Don called out cautiously, "Charlie?"
Charlie snickered and raised his arm to rest on Amita's shoulders as she stepped beside him and put an arm around his waist. "It's safe to come out, Don. I promise," he assured his brother.
Don awkwardly scooted out from under the SUV and then rolled over to lie flat on his back on the driveway, staring up at Charlie and Amita. He raised an eyebrow at their cozy stance and his lips curled up in a hint of a smile, but he made no comment.
Soaking wet with smudges of dirt decorating his shirt, he somehow still managed to look cool as he put his hands behind his head and casually crossed one ankle over the other as if lying on the ground staring up at them was the most natural thing in the world. In an almost conversational tone, he asked, "Charlie, can you give me one reason why I shouldn't be mad?"
Charlie confidently looked him in the eye as he answered, "Because Eddie Darnell would have been proud."
Don blinked and then slowly smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure that's true."
Charlie stepped closer and extended a hand to help his brother up. "Truce?" he offered.
Proving he didn't have a problem with hugging, Don took Charlie's hand and used the momentum of getting up off the ground to pull his brother into a tight hug, making sure to get Charlie's clothes as wet as possible in the process. "Truce," he agreed with a smile.
THE END