"You're what?" Megan asked, certain she'd heard wrong.

"Keep your voice down," Don chastised her. "It's the only way to make sure my family is safe."

"A transfer? That's a little drastic. You haven't even given us time to work on the origin of the letters or the cause of the blast."

"I know," Don sighed. "But Charlie's on this mission to help with the case." He looked his colleague in the eye. "I can't let him put himself in danger, Megan. This is the only way I know to stop him."

"Even if you transfer, you know he'll still work on the threats."

"Yeah, but if I'm not around anymore, then whoever has been making them should lose interest. Maybe even follow me away from LA."

"Don-"

"You have a better idea? I'm open to suggestions."

"Then don't turn in your request yet. Give me a few days to work on the case myself. I'll talk to Charlie, too – try to convince him to leave it alone."

"He's a little stubborn," Don snorted.

"Yeah?" she asked sarcastically. "I wonder where he gets that from."

Don cracked a smile for the first time in days. "Alright," he relented. I'll give you through the weekend – provided you get Charlie to drop the case."

"Thank you." She started to walk away, but turned back to face him. "Have you got someplace to stay now?"

Don frowned and rubbed a hand over his face. "The Bureau's got me a room at a motel under an alias. They've also got a pair of agents doing guard duty until we figure this thing out." He saw her look of concern start to fade. "I'll be fine, Megan. You just worry about Charlie."

As Megan left, Don fingered the transfer request and then put it in his desk drawer. He hoped the threats did turn out to be harmless, but he hoped even more that Megan would be able to make Charlie listen to reason.

--

"Knock, knock," Megan called from the doorway of Charlie's office.

"Megan," Larry greeted her warmly. "What a lovely surprise. To what do we owe this honor?"

Charlie grinned. "Is this a professional visit or do I need to leave you two alone?"

"Actually, Charlie, I came to see you." She turned to Larry and flashed a dazzling smile. "It's work related."

"Perhaps I could be of some assistance, as well?"

Megan shook her head. "Sorry, but it's kind of a private matter."

"Well then, I shall take my leave." He nodded at Charlie, then smiled at Megan before leaving and pulling the door shut behind him.

"Is this about what I think it is?" Charlie's tone had changed from pleasant to frustrated, as he realized why she must have come. "Don sent you, right?"

"Not exactly." At Charlie's confused expression, she elaborated, "This visit is my idea, but it was because of something Don tried to do." She saw that she still wasn't getting through. "Charlie, Don was going to put in for a transfer today."

"He what?" Charlie asked, certain he'd misunderstood her.

"He's concerned for your safety – that's why he asked you not to work on this case." She paused to let the words sink in, and quickly realized they hadn't. "Charlie, he's willing to sacrifice his life here – give up his job, his friends, and his family to protect you. He doesn't want to, but he feels it's the only choice he has if you keep pursuing this."

"He's my brother! Am I supposed to just sit around, twiddling my thumbs, while I wait for the FBI to figure out who's behind the threats? Megan, I can help you narrow down the list of suspects. And once I get into the files, I might be able to do even more than that." He dropped his gaze to his desk top and whispered, "Why can't he understand that I want – need – to help him?"

Megan placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Probably for the same reason that you can't understand why he needs you not to help." Charlie looked up at her, and she saw the anxiety in his brown eyes. "You have to make a decision, Charlie. Which do you want more – to let us do our job and have your brother stay here, or consult on the case and drive him away, possibly for good?"

"Neither," Charlie sighed. His face lit up as an idea formed in his head. "What if I consult, but not officially?"

"What?" Megan asked hesitantly, afraid of what was coming.

"I don't need to go to the office, and Don is staying at the motel. You could get me all the data I need – just drop it by my office."

"No, Charlie. If I did that Don would – well, I'd be transferred somewhere isolated and very cold."

"But you'd be bringing the data straight to me. Don would never have to know." He saw a flicker of indecision on her face. "You know my calculations can cut down on your workload, which cuts down on the time needed to identify your most likely suspects." He saw another flicker and moved in for the kill. "The sooner we find this person, the sooner Don will be safe."

Megan rubbed her forehead. I've had a nice run as an agent, she thought wryly. "Alright, Charlie. This is our little secret though, we don't tell anyone else for any reason. Deal?"

Charlie nodded eagerly. "Let's see, I'll need copies of the letters, case files on anyone that Don has helped send to prison for the past... When did the threats first start?"

"Two weeks ago."

Charlie gaped at her in shock. "Two weeks? He's been living with this for two weeks? And you still don't have any leads?" He angrily shook his head. "Whatever. Okay, I need all the case files for anyone released in the last six weeks, in case they took time to plan these threats. I also need all of the up to date information on the explosion at his apartment. That will give me a good start, but I may find that I need more as I get further into it."

"I'll start gathering it, but it'll be tomorrow before I get it to you."

Charlie nodded. "Hey, Megan, do you think I could see Don tonight?"

She saw the look on his face and realized he needed to see for himself that Don was okay, and hadn't gone ahead with the transfer. "Sure, Charlie. I'll have David pick you up and take you there."

She saw the tension leave his body as relief washed over him. "Thanks."

--

Charlie nervously glanced over his shoulder as he stood in front of his brother's motel room. He didn't see anything suspicious, but then David had used evasive driving maneuvers in case they were being followed. He didn't see any agents watching the area either and that concerned him. He turned back and was raising his hand to knock when the door opened.

"I was beginning to think you were going to stay out here all night," Don said as he left the door open and plopped down on his bed.

Charlie stood in shock for a moment before closing and locking the door and taking a seat at the small desk area. "Aren't there supposed to be agents out there?"

"There are," Don answered, his eyes never leaving the TV in front of him.

Charlie peeked around the curtain and scanned the lot. "I don't see them."

"If you could then they wouldn't be doing their job." Don fell silent again as he concentrated on the Dodgers game. He wasn't sure how to feel about Charlie showing up tonight. Megan had given him a heads up and he'd bitten back his protests, knowing his brother would come no matter what he'd said.

"Are they winning?"

Don laughed softly. Charlie must be uncertain of his feelings as well if he was inquiring about the game. "Do they ever?" At the lingering silence, Don glanced over at him – sitting and staring down at the desk top, lightly tracing the patterns in the wood finish. He looks so scared, Don thought. And it's because of me. Some older brother I am. "So why'd you come over?"

Charlie looked up, startled by the question. "To visit, I guess. I thought – I thought maybe you'd want some company." He forced a smile on his face. "You get stir-crazy sometimes. I figured it would be worse with you being away from your apartment, and in some boring motel room."

"You're right about that," Don said as he laughed at the baffled expression on Charlie's face. "What?"

"I thought you'd be mad at me for showing up."

"I should be," he told him as his laughter died away. "But I know how stubborn you are. Actually, this is probably the safest place you could be right now – in some unknown motel, being guarded by the FBI." Don turned the TV off in disgust. "They can't ever win a game." He got up and fetched a phone book from the nightstand. "How about we order a pizza?"

Charlie nodded eagerly. "My treat."

"I don't think so, bro. The FBI is picking up the tab on this one." He picked up the phone and grinned mischievously. "Extra anchovies, right?"

"You wouldn't!"

"Relax! I'm not that mean. I'll just get them on my half. Do you still like pineapple on yours?"

"Please."

"Okay," Don said as he picked up the phone. "Half anchovies and half pineapple it is."

"I thought you liked pineapple, too."

"On pizza? I can't stand it."

"But we've always gotten pineapple on it, ever since we were kids."

"And I've always picked it off," Don replied.

"Why didn't you ever say something? I could have gone without it." Charlie paused before muttering, "But then, you don't like speaking up about things, do you?"

"Charlie," Don growled in warning. "Let's not go there, okay? Let's just have a pleasant dinner and a nice visit."

An hour and a half later found an empty pizza box on the desk, Don flopped across the bed, and Charlie slouched in the chair.

"That was good," Charlie yawned as he stretched.

"Except for the pineapple," Don groaned. "I can't believe they put it on the whole pizza! Fish and fruit isn't my thing."

Charlie chuckled as he remembered Don's face after the first bite. His thoughts grew serious as he sat up straight and studied his brother's relaxed form. "Don?"

"Mmm?"

Charlie rose and moved to perch on the side of the bed. He steeled his nerves, and put on his best poker face. "I talked with Megan."

Don cracked an eye open and regarded him. "And?"

"She made some good points about my involvement in the case." Charlie forced himself to maintain eye contact, and tried not too blink too much or too little. Lying never did come naturally to me, he thought. "I took her advice – I'm not going to consult on the case."

Don opened both his eyes and propped up on his elbow, studying the look on Charlie's face. "Really?" he prodded.

"I understand how you feel, and the potential danger involved." Charlie took a deep breath. "Can I ask you a favor in return, though?" Don nodded. "Will you please keep me updated on the status of the investigation? That won't put me in any danger, and I'll feel better knowing that you're not hiding anything important from me." At Don's hesitant look, he added, "Please, Don. It would mean a lot to me."

"Alright, Charlie," Don reluctantly agreed. "I think I can manage that, as long as you aren't working on the case." Don saw a flicker of something on Charlie's face so he added, "You promised not to work on the case, right?"

"I told you I wasn't," Charlie said evasively. He didn't think he could actually say 'I promise' and be the least bit convincing. He hoped Don would leave it at that.

They held each other's gazes until Don finally looked away. "Alright, Charlie." He glanced at his watch and rolled his eyes. "How did it get to be this late? I have to be at work tomorrow."

"You're still working?"

"Yes," Don sighed. "Mostly in the office – they've limited my field work for now, so you don't have anything to worry about." He picked up the phone and called an agent to come pick Charlie up. About ten minutes later Don was ushering Charlie out of his room.

"Remember our agreement, Don."

"You too, Buddy." Charlie nodded and climbed into the car, waving good-bye as they drove away. Don closed the door and leaned against it, looking upward at the ceiling. He was pretty sure Charlie was lying to him, but only time would tell.