Vendetta
By BeckyS
April 2005-2006
The Eppes family and the characters and situations from the TV show "NUMB3RS"
are the property of the Scotts and the creation of Cheryl Heuton and Nick Falacci.
No infringement is intended, and no profit is being made.
At the cry of anguish that ripped through the doors, Megan, David, Colby and the doctor all burst back into the room, Colby with one hand on his gun. Don whirled from the open vault and in two steps was grabbing at the doctor's scrubs.
"Where's my brother?" he demanded. "Which door?"
"That one!" Sabello answered, trying to pull Don's hands down and away from his throat. "Seventeen!"
"That's not Charlie," Don growled. "Where is he? Do I have to go through every body bag in here to find him?"
Sabello's face was frozen in stunned surprise. "I – I put him there myself, the paramedics that brought him over – we put him there. I checked the toe tag—"
David spoke from near the body's feet. "Don, the toe tag has Charlie's name on it."
"What?" he exclaimed, and let go of the doctor. He examined it for himself.
"Maybe the morgue messed up," Colby offered.
"Well, I'm gonna find out, and by the time I get it straightened out, there's gonna be a few heads on the floor."
"Eppes!"
Don whirled to find AD Merrick in the doorway.
"Agent Eppes, you are supposed to be in my office. What are you doing down here?" he demanded.
"What do you think? I'm looking for my brother, the one that the medical profession," he shot a vicious glance at the doctor, "seems to have lost."
"Upstairs," Merrick ordered. "Now. Sinclair and Granger, see to it that he gets there. No stops on the way, no talking to anyone, and don't leave him alone for a minute." He stood aside and glared at them.
"But, sir," David started to explain, appalled at what he saw as a complete lack of faith in one of his top agents, "he just found out about his brother."
Merrick's expression didn't change. "I'm well aware of the situation. I have a few words for the doctor, then Reeves and I will be right behind you."
Don shot him a look of fury, but stalked out behind the other agents.
Megan's gaze narrowed on their boss. "Sir, what's going on?"
"That's what I'd like to know," muttered Sabello.
"Doctor, you will continue your work as normal. You will perform a post-mortem on the body in drawer seventeen on your normal schedule. You will leave that body tagged as Dr. Charles Eppes, and you will speak of this aberration to no one. As soon as I can I'll tell you what's going on, but for now, all you need to know is that an agent's life depends on you progressing exactly the way you would normally operate."
Megan's eyebrows went up. So AD Merrick really was up to speed. More than the rest of them, from the sound of things.
"In the meantime," he continued, his voice just a bit softer, "can you prescribe something so that Agent Eppes can get some rest tonight? I need him put back together as soon as possible."
This was stranger and stranger. Merrick might come off to most people as a hard man, but Megan read something else into his behavior.
The doctor apparently decided to trust the AD, because he led them to his office where he unlocked the glass doors to a cabinet and rummaged around in the shelves. Merrick jerked his head at Megan, and she took the bottle.
The doctor instructed, "Two in his coffee once you get him home, and he'll be out for at least eight hours. He'll probably wake up spitting mad, but for a man like him, that'll likely work to your advantage. If he gets any alcohol in him, and a drink wouldn't be a bad thing, then reduce it to one."
"Thank you," said Merrick, and led the way back to the elevator. When they got into the empty car, he said, "Agent Reeves, I know you have questions that Agent Eppes would ask if this hadn't completely blindsided him. I can't answer any of them right now. I need you to get him home, make sure he gets some rest, and bring him back tomorrow by nine. I hope by then I'll be able to tell you more."
"Yes, sir," she answered.
"You, Sinclair and Granger are released from all other duties to work this case."
"Yes, sir. Do you want one of us to stay here tonight?"
"No. For now, your team goes wherever Agent Eppes goes."
In spite of his warning against questions, she felt compelled to ask. "Sir? What aren't you telling me?"
The elevator doors opened. "In my office," he answered.
As they passed his secretary, he said, "No calls; no interruptions."
"Of course, sir. Agents Eppes and Sinclair are inside. Agent Granger is handling a related call from CalSci police. Do you want coffee?"
He sighed, and Megan had the sudden notion that this was as hard on him as on the rest of them. Except Don.
"Knock first," he said, then led the way into his office.
Don was standing by the large windows that looked out over Los Angeles, David nearby but not intruding.
Merrick went to his desk and tapped a folder that was lying on top, then seemed to change his mind about something. "Agent Eppes."
Don slowly turned to face him but didn't say anything.
"You are relieved of duty until tomorrow morning at nine a.m. At that time, I want you back here in this office. Agents Reeves, Sinclair and Granger will remain with you and will accompany you back here tomorrow."
"You're assigning me babysitters?"
Megan couldn't quite read his expression – shock, disbelief, but something else, too.
Merrick shot him a hard look. "Yes. I am."
"What do you think I'm going to do, go kill my father's last son?"
The silence hung like a live thing, taunting everyone to say something. Megan didn't dare move.
There was a knock at the door, and at a nod from the AD, David opened it. The secretary brought in a tray with a carafe surrounded by mugs. She set it on the low table by the window, poured the steaming brew into a mug, added a healthy dose of sugar and creamer, and wrapped Don's hands around it. She waited until he took a sip, than asked her boss, "Anything else, sir?"
Rather than answering her directly, he poured himself some coffee and said, "Don, do you know where your father is?"
Don winced, and Megan could see the pain shoot through him all over again.
"San Diego," he said finally, and took another sip from his mug. It seemed to steady him a little. "He booked through CalAmeriTours. I have his itinerary at home. I need to call him, tell him about—"
"You will not."
"What!" His head jerked up.
"You will not contact your father. Not yet."
"You're walking a fine line, Assistant Director," Don warned. He'd been an Agent In Charge of an office and knew very well the rules that they followed – and this was apparently not one of them.
"Yes, I am, Agent Eppes," Merrick replied evenly.
Something in Merrick's tone got through to Don, and his expression sharpened. "What's going on?"
Merrick put his mug down on the window sill and stared outside, as Don had before. "Go home. Get some rest. Report back tomorrow morning, and I'll have a new assignment for you that I need you to be sharp for."
"A new assign—" Megan started in disbelief, but cut off when the AD glared at her.
"Go home, Agent Eppes. I'll see you at nine a.m." He strode back to his desk and started flipping through his papers, an effective dismissal.
The secretary held the door open for them, an apologetic expression on her face. The three agents filed out and headed for the elevator.