Summary: Larry's gotten himself into a little trouble; can Don help him out of it?
Warnings: none
Author's Note: Just a little fluff at 3 or so in the morning…enjoy!
Feedback: Same as usual, any comments or helpful suggestions are welcome.
Disclaimer: I do not own Numb3rs or any of the characters involved on the show.
The Right to Remain Silent"Mr. Fleinhardt, you have the right to remain silent-" The officer stated as he began to turn Larry around.
"Don Eppes, FBI, can I ask what's going on?" Don rushed up to the officers who were cuffing Larry Fleinhardt and flashed his badge.
"Yes Sir, this man was caught breaking into CalSci…says he's a professor here, but he doesn't have any identification to prove it"
"Breaking in, how so?" Don asked, pocketing his badge.
"He was trying to go through a window. We received a call about a suspicious man near CalSci and found him when we arrived" one officer informed him.
Don looked between Larry and the two officers. "Well, this is a good friend of mine and I can vouch for him, as can a lot of other people. He's Dr. Larry Fleinhardt, a physicist here at CalSci and an occasional consultant with the FBI." Don turned to Larry, "How come you were trying to go in a window?"
Larry looked nervously at the policeman who had him cuffed, "May I speak?" he asked, timidly.
Don smiled and tried to keep from laughing. The cop nodded, "Yes".
"Thank you" Larry nodded slightly then turned his attention back to Don, "I can assure you this is all a big misunderstanding…my car is in the shop, I'm finally adding those seatbelts-"
Don couldn't help himself and interrupted, "Oh yeah? What changed your mind?"
"Well, Charles did. He showed me an in-depth analysis about the probability I might get in an accident and what the odds are that I could be injured unless I add seatbelts. It was very thorough and detailed; I was quite impressed. He incorporated where I drive, the time of day I drive, how many accidents have occurred in those areas, how many that were fatal, how many that were not, as well as how many accidents there are with my type of car. He even incorporated the injury ratings for cars that do not have seatbelts-" he rattled off, his eyes getting wider with each new factor listed.
Don interrupted, "Alright, anyways…" gently prodding his friend on.
"As you know, I refuse to allow my little free time to be interrupted with a cell phone and I left my keys to the building in my office. I went out with Charles for an early dinner, but he had to dart off to help you so I just wandered around for a while. I was in the middle of trying to flag down a cab home when I realized I needed my notes and tests from my classroom. When I got here I realized I did not have my keys to the building…and with no cell phone, it proved to be quite an obstacle to get inside." He thought for a moment, "Someone must have seen me peering through the windows and doors"
Don smiled, "That's quite a story, Larry"
Larry nodded vigorously in agreement.
Don turned to the two officers, "I'm sorry for the confusion, could you please let him go? I can call his co-workers, Dr. Charlie Eppes, also my brother, and Amita Ramanujan…they can vouch for him as well. I could also call Agents Colby Granger, Megan Reeves, and David Sinclair. They all have worked with him at the FBI" Don offered.
The police officers looked back and forth, "That won't be necessary. We can let him go under your charge" One officer unlocked the cuffs and turned to Larry, "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, Professor. Have a nice night" The two officers began to walk back to their squad car.
"Thank you" Larry called after them. He turned to Don, "Thank you so much for getting me out of that little fiasco" Larry crossed his arms and ran his fingers through his hair and let out a sigh of relief.
"No problem," Don lightly patted Larry on the forearm. "Let me give you a ride home?" He motioned towards his car.
"That would be wonderful, may I impose?" Larry asked, relieved.
"Don't worry about it, come on" Don began walking toward his SUV and Larry fell in step with him.
"I'm actually quite a bit embarrassed by this whole ordeal" Larry commented.
Don stopped himself from snickering, "Don't worry, it could have happened to the best of us" He gave Larry a side glance. "Just wait until I tell Megan you were almost arrested" Don smiled.
"Oh, you wouldn't dare" Larry stopped in his tracks.
Don shrugged as he kept walking, "I don't know, it just might slip…by accident of course" he called over his shoulder. Don smiled, enjoying himself.
"Oh, that's cruel" Larry said, as he hurried to catch up to Don.
Don just laughed, leave it to Larry to get himself into something weird like that.
A/N: Like I said, this came out around 3 when I was supposed to be writing my research paper…there's just not enough Larry humor out there :)