Disclaimer: So, basically, I wanted to write this story, so I took Charlie's blackboards from both his garage and from Cal-Sci, promising to return them if Charlie agreed to do this story. Of course, big brother Don came to try to get the blackboards back, so I got him to join Charlie in the story. He brought the entire FBI team to back him up, so I had to get them into the story. And Alan didn't want to be left out. Point is, I don't own these people; I just have control over them for a while. Ah, the wonders of what a few blackboards can do. No wonder Charlie likes to use them so much.
Author's Note: I'm sorry this took so long to put up. Between schoolwork, humongous chemistry tests, and writer's block, I haven't had much chance to write. And sorry this is so short, but I wanted to get it just right, as this is an important chapter, and nothing else really fit into it well. There will only be one, maybe two more chapters after this.
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Once again, Don found himself in the interrogation room of the FBI office, facing the two-way mirror. Charlie was sitting on his right, his face set and emotionless, looking like he wasn't afraid of what was coming. Don would have been fooled if he didn't know Charlie well, but the face showed him that Charlie was afraid, and very much so. On Don's left was their lawyer, going through his suitcase, which was on the table. Both David and Megan were facing the three of them, and Don assumed that either Colby or Merrick was in the observation room, if not both of them.
The lawyer he and Charlie hired was a buff man, but was very nice. He wasn't like many of the lawyers Don had seen in the past that defended their clients like there was no tomorrow. He listened to both Don's and Charlie's thoughts before deciding a course of action. And now that they were listening to all the evidence David was giving, and the lawyer was listening intently, not interrupting him. It was nice that Mr. Kalkan was giving professional courtesy to the coworkers of his clients, and he was a good lawyer, but Don honestly would not be recommending this guy anytime soon.
"We have evidence to believe Don and Charlie are guilty of kidnapping and murdering six students. We have a handwriting sample that puts Don at the scene of the murder of Miss Stephanie Broker, and eyewitness accounts and their statements put them at the scene of the kidnapping of her. We believe that her case follows a pattern, connecting it to the kidnapping and murder of five other people. So now, we are asking for a confession." The entire time David was talking, Megan was silent. She watched Mr. Kalkan, who was still facing David.
Mr. Kalkan finally spoke, slightly surprising Don, who had started to think he wouldn't get any defense from his lawyer.
"Six kidnappings? We were only aware of five."
"This morning, we found another body, Mr. Kalkan. The background of the vic matched the previous cases, so we believe they are related."
Another kidnapping. Another death. The test of Charlie's theory had come, but they didn't even know if this kidnapping followed the pattern or not.
Mr. Kalkan nodded his head, and silence filled the room. Five seconds, ten seconds, thirty seconds, a whole minute passed before anyone said anything. Then, to the horror of everyone else in the room, Mr. Kalkan asked, "What kind of deal can we get if my clients plead guilty?"
Charlie's eyes became wide with shock. His brown eyes seemed to want to pop out of their sockets. Don's eyes looked exactly the same. David's mouth dropped, and he didn't show any sign of closing it soon. Megan simply stared at Mr. Kalkan in disbelief.
Don was the first to respond. "David, Megan, do you mind if Charlie and I talk to our lawyer alone for a while?" The chairs scraped against the concrete as the two agents left the room.
Turning to his left, he could see that Mr. Kalkan was not worried. In fact, it looked like he was completely calm. Don was the exact opposite; anger and rage surged throughout his entire body. "What do you think you are doing? Why are you asking about the plea bargain?" he all but yelled.
"Well, as your lawyer, I need to guide you to get the best deal you can get. With the evidence they are giving, the courts are likely to find you two guilty of the six kidnappings and murders. You can get life imprisonment for that, if not the death penalty. If you plead guilty, you can get a much better deal, and probably save your life." The all-too-calm look was still on his face, and Don wanted more than anything just to wipe it off.
"What evidence? It's all circumstantial!"
"But you've already admitted that you were around the scene of the kidnapping of one of the young girls when it happened. You admitted that you spoke to her mere minutes before she was kidnapped. Believe me, it will be much better for both of you to plead guilty and save your necks than be tried by the court and sentenced to death!"
"That puts us at the scene of only one kidnapping, Mr. Kalkan," Charlie spoke up. "There were also several hundred other people there at that time. We were heading out the front doors to the math building at the time, and the kidnapping took place at the back exit. Besides, Miss Broker's kidnapping and murder doesn't fit the pattern. They can't find us guilty on the other five, even if we did kidnap and murder Miss Broker."
"What do you mean, it her murder doesn't fit the pattern of the other girls'?" Mr. Kalkan asked, and the calm finally disappeared from his face, surprise taking over. "They were all female students. They all had similar backgrounds. There was no pattern. They were all random."
"Nothing is random, Mr. Kalkan. There is always a pattern," Charlie responded.
Don followed the conversation, curiosity building in his mind. A lawyer shouldn't know that there wasn't a pattern, unless he had other information. He shouldn't be telling Charlie stuff like he was saying.
"You know, Mr. Kalkan, if you continue to tell us that we should plead guilty on this case, I'm going to have to let you go as our lawyer," Don said nonchalantly.
"What do you mean you are going to 'let me go'? I'm the best chance you two have of getting any type of plea bargain. The kidnapping and murder of six girls is a heavy offense."
"And we told you that we didn't do it. You are supposed to be acting as our representative, and working towards our best interests, not your own."
"Your best interests might not be what you think they are, Mr. Eppes. You might think that you are not going to be convicted, because you work for the FBI, but even you can be charged for murder."
"Well, even if we are, we still need a lawyer that will fight for us. You aren't doing that. In fact, you seem to want to get us into jail. So, you are fired," Don announced.
Mr. Kalkan's mouth opened, but he closed it before he said anything. Instead, he angrily slammed his briefcase closed, turned on his heel, and headed towards the door. Reaching to grab the handle, the door opened before he even touched it.
"Where do you think you are going, Mr. Kalkan?" Megan asked, fake sweetness apparent in her voice. David was right behind her.
"Don, Charlie, I'll escort you two out now. We would like to talk to Mr. Kalkan alone right now," David said, motioning them to walk out into the hallway with him.
"You are not talking to me without a lawyer," Mr. Kalkan responded.
"That can be arranged. I'm sure whoever you get will be a better lawyer than you were with the Eppes'," Megan countered.
Closing the door, David looked over to the brothers. "This may be the break we were waiting for."
