Chapter Three: Life isn't fair, just fairer than death

Don crossed his arms and leaned against the cold steel table. Lt. Walker looked moderately embarrassed as he followed the still livid federal agent, and the County Medical Examiner through the double doors into the refrigerated storage room at the county morgue.

"I'm sorry about all this, Eppes."

Catching the incensed expression on the younger man's face, he continued.

"I do agree. They acted like idiots. They should have questioned him at his home."

"Well, I hope I didn't undermine your authority in there. But honestly.

They were treating him like he………"

"Agent Eppes?"

The M.E. interrupted, nodding his head back toward the double doors.

Charlie was still standing in the outer room, rubbing his forehead, looking somewhat traumatized and out of place.

Don raised his eyebrows doubtfully at Lt. Walker.

"Do we really need to do this?"

"I hate it, but it would be helpful to know if this is the kid who took his backpack. If he's not, we could still have a potential witness out there somewhere."

Don caught Charlie's eye and waved him into the room.

As the doors swung shut behind him, Don evaluated his brother's expression. Charlie looked like he wanted to throw up. He was pale enough to be one of the bodies lying on these slabs and that image gave Don an oppressive sense of foreboding.

His job with the FBI had provided him with frequent, pervasive glimpses of death. Don was used to it, but never in direct association with Charlie. And those two parts of his life colliding in the same room, this room, made him feel slightly nauseous himself. He moved around the table, trying to clear that offensive vision from his mind. When he put his hand on Charlie's shoulder, he could feel a slight tremor.

Damn it. He's just not geared up to do this sort of thing.

Walker grabbed a labeled bag from under a table and handed it to Charlie.

"Is this yours?"

A battered navy blue backpack was encased in the bag and the letters

C.E.E. could be seen through the plastic, written in black marker across the right shoulder strap. Charlie nodded, and then looked apprehensively at Don, still trying to gage his reaction to the description of the gang, which he had given the detectives. But his brother was unreadable. With the exception of the dealings he had with Marcus and the gun, he gave them the un-edited version of events, most of which Don hadn't heard.

"Yeah, that's mine."

The officer pulled out another plastic bag, filled with the personal effects of the victim.

"Does any of this look familiar, Charlie?"

At the sight of a bright red pair of basketball shoes, Charlie took a step backwards, staggering right into Don. He turned to his brother; his expressive eyes displayed an unanticipated shock.

"Can I see him?"

Lt. Walker gave Don a wary glance.

"That's why I brought him over here."

Don shrugged and Walker nodded at the M.E., who ambled over to the wall. He pulled a long metal drawer out into the room.

Charlie approached the slab and Don stayed close behind. His younger brother had managed to get a glimpse a few dead bodies while assisting the FBI, but seeing one at such close proximity was something new. And this was someone he may have known. Don didn't even glance at the stiff, his entire focus was on his brother.

Charlie forced himself to look at the body lying on the table. Until he had seen the red high tops, he had expected a much smaller, much younger corpse. But instead of the young boy he had prepared himself to identify, he was, instead, looking at the cold, dead face of an older Hispanic teenager. Not the face he had expected, but a familiar one nevertheless. A white sheet was pulled up to the boys chin, but that didn't hide the bullet hole that was visible in the center of his forehead.

Don watched his brother's shoulders sag as he blew out a deep breath and again reached up to caress the scar on his brow.

"Not who you were expecting, Charlie?"

He shook his head.

"But you do recognize him?"

This time he nodded and Don saw him swallow hard.

"Then, he was there too….on the Metro?"

Charlie's eyes looked glassy as he tore his gaze from the body and looked up at Don, giving him another silent nod.

Lt. Walker moved swiftly across the room, and stood next to the body.

"His name is Jose Menendez. The Mara 13th got four others along with him, his girlfriend and three of his sisters. It looks like they were after his older brother, Roberto. I guess he wasn't home."

Don turned to Lt. Walker. "Why is this so significant, Gary? It's gang members killing gang members. It happens everyday."

The Lieutenant nodded resolutely.

"Maria. She was a snitch. One of our favorites. She'd been dating Jose for a few weeks and had been feeding us information on Roberto's activities. She was our best line on the 18th."

He paused and turned to Charlie.

"So Jose was on the metro with you, but the younger one….this Frankie. He was the one who left with your bag?"

Charlie slowly nodded and he turned his eyes back towards the body.

The M.E. still hadn't closed the drawer and the bullet hole in Jose's forehead was looking more and more like a third eye the longer he looked at it.

Walker continued. "That's good then, Charlie. That means one of the other boys may have been with him when he was killed. These guys are seldom alone. It's a common precaution. So, we could still have a witness to this mess."

Don was watching Charlie's face. His brother still looked like he wanted to throw up and Don was starting to wonder how much longer he was going to be able to hold it down.

Walker moved toward the back of the room.

"Don, hang on and I'll walk you out. I'm gonna call in a BOLO for these five other kids."

Without warning, the M.E. shoved the drawer containing the body back into the wall. The resounding thud made Charlie jump.

Without waiting for the Lieutenant, Don put his hand on Charlie's back and pushed him away from the wall of drawers. Charlie remained silent and let his older brother steer him through the double doors and out of the building, pausing in the parking lot when he finally decided to lose his lunch.

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Authors Notes: Keep those comments coming! I had no idea how motivating it is to know you have someone waiting for the next chapter. It's great to read your impressions of where I may be going next, and commenting on the direction it's headed so far. AND…..if you care enough to let me know I made a mistake, then you must be enjoying the story or you wouldn't bother to let me know. So thanks for all your comments, including the ones that question my choice of words!

It's just good to know you're out there!

Next Chapter: Just between you and me.