Chapter Sixteen: Revealed Veracity

Less than two minutes later the SUV pulled up next to the large brick building. The door to the garage was standing ajar. Before Colby had brought the truck to a complete stop, David and Megan had their doors open and were running toward the building, guns in hand. Megan paused at the front entrance and David headed for the rear of the building. Colby followed Megan and they tore through the front door. Don didn't move. He couldn't. He felt like he was watching them all proceed in slow motion

I failed. I failed and now you're dead. And nothing else matters. I did everything I could and it still wasn't enough. There wasn't anything I could do. I'm so sorry Charlie.

He heard Colby shout.

"FBI, don't move!"

A series of gunshots from inside the building brought Don out of his shock induced daze.

You still have a job to do Eppes. They still need you to do your job. This isn't over yet.

He pushed down his emotions and let the trained federal agent take over, leaving the devastated older brother of Charlie Eppes in the backseat of the SUV.

………………

Don moved stealthily through the door and into the garage. In the dim light he could see Megan crouched behind a burgundy sedan, her weapon leveled at a door near the back of the building. Colby sat awkwardly on the floor next to her with his back to the vehicle.

Several blind shots were fired in Don's direction, catching him off guard. He squeezed off three rounds in return as he ran for cover and felt a burning pain radiate across his left shoulder. Don instinctively hurled himself to the floor and fell behind the small counter at the front of the building. Another round tore through the cash register above his head.

He heard Megan return fire from behind the car. From his position behind the counter, Don could see David entering through the back door of the building on the same wall as the office and just out of the gunman's line of sight. They needed a distraction so David could get close enough to take down the shooter. Don darted out from behind the counter and fired three more shots in the direction of the small room. The automatic weapon was pulled back into the office as the gunman took cover and the three slugs from Don's GLOCK buried themselves in the door frame. David saw the shooter stumble backwards into the room and he dove toward the open door and fired two shots. Then everything was still.

David got slowly to his feet, gun still aimed at the prone figure on the floor just inside the office door.

"Everybody okay?"

Megan stood and reached down to help Colby up.

"Granger took one in the vest and went down pretty hard. I'm alright."

Colby staggered over to the trunk of the car.

"I'm okay…just need to catch my breath."

Megan looked at Don. He was standing by the front counter, a dark crimson stain spreading quickly down his shirt sleeve. His face was almost expressionless as he stared past them at the place the gunman had been standing. Only a glimmer of the grief he was feeling reflected in his eyes.

"Don…?"

The lead agent didn't respond. He seemed oblivious to his injury.

"Don? You're bleeding. Where are you hit?"

He still didn't take his eyes off the door to the office.

Megan left Colby leaning against the car and ran over to Don.

"DON? How many times were you hit?"

He answered her question with one of his own.

"Is he in there?"

David glanced at Don and he saw Megan nod her head at him. He needed to know. They all needed to know.

David stepped over the man he just shot and cautiously entered the small office. Behind the body of the large blond man he had fatally wounded, a second corpse lay heaped in the corner. The blood splatter on the wall was apparent even in the dim light that shone through the door. David felt his heart slamming in his chest. There was just no way this was for real. This couldn't be Charlie.

"Guys….we've got a body……..."

Megan had ripped Don's sleeve to get a better look at his injury. He remained rooted in place. He seemed unaware of her presence and had made no effort to move toward the office.

Colby glanced at Don and Megan, and then followed David into the room.

"David? Is it….?"

His partner was kneeling on the floor, giving the second body a close examination.

"I don't think…..no, it's not Charlie."

"You don't sound sure."

"It's a face shot, point blank, but no…no, it's not him."

Megan was putting pressure on Don's arm to stop the bleeding as Colby stepped back out of the office. He shook his head at the other two agents.

"It's not him."

Don's voice betrayed the hope he was trying to repress.

"Are you sure? David? Are you guys sure?"

David stepped out of the office to look directly at Don.

"I'm sure. It's not Charlie. He's not here. But Sandoval isn't either."

At that moment, another vehicle could be heard pulling up outside the building. Then a familiar voice came over their headsets.

"Team one, this is tactical backup, state your position."

Megan answered the call.

"Team one. We couldn't wait for you. Location secured but we've got a code three. That's a code three! Requesting emergency medical assistance. Single suspect at large. Possible hostage situation. Copy?"

"We've gotcha team one. Ambulance is on the way. We're coming in."

………………………………

Despite his physical injury, Don had remained in full agent mode. Any mental anguish he was feeling was well hidden behind the unwavering professionalism of a seasoned federal officer. When the second team stormed in he gave the orders and got everyone started on securing the crime scene. Megan pulled a stool up from the floor and sat it next to the counter motioning for Don to sit.

He shook his head.

"I need to do this."

"Don, you're bleeding. You need to sit down and wait for EMS."

"It's not bad. Just a graze………"

He responded to the exasperated expression on her face.

"Really…...I'm fine."

"No. You're not. Don, please. Bleeding to death won't help Charlie. You're being difficult."

Don screwed up his face and gave Megan an apologetic look that might have been comical under any other circumstances.

"And I'm a stubborn jackass."

She glared at him as she walked out the door.

"Yes, you are."

But there was an underlying smile in her tone.

Don surrendered and sat down.

Colby had made his way across the garage and he looked at Don in alarm.

"How ya doing, Boss?"

"I'll live. You?"

"I think so. Man, I hate it when that happens. It hurts like hell. I still can't quite catch my breath."

Colby grimaced as he rubbed his hand over the hole in his vest.

"Thank God for the bullet proof vest."

Don nodded in agreement.

"Amen."

The memory of Charlie's own close call slipped past Don's mental blockade and the reality of the last six hours threatened to come crashing down around him. He took a deep breath and blew it out slowly and again Don reined in his emotions.

Not yet Eppes. You've got to find him first.

He swallowed hard and turned to Colby.

"He's not dead?"

He tried to make it a statement, but it still came out as a question.

"If he's not in there, he can't be dead."

"Don, what did Sandoval say? What did you hear on the phone?"

"He knew his brother was dead. He told me Charlie was too, I heard a door open and then the shot…that's it."

Colby shot Don a peculiar look.

"I have a crazy idea. Suppose Charlie wasn't in the room where he was supposed to be? Suppose Sandoval just shot the first person standing there."

"One of his own men?"

"Yeah."

"He needed someone to shoot and Charlie was no longer available?"

"That's what I'm thinking. If he had shot him Don, his body would be here. He had no reason to let him live and he would never have let him just walk out the front door."

"That door is in the middle of the garage. He couldn't have snuck past them. Is there any other way out of that room?"

Colby helped Don to his feet and they headed for the small room at the back of the building. The two agents in the office turned and Don nodded to them.

"Hey guys, can we have the room for a minute."

There was no light except what was shining in from the open door and the exiting agents handed Colby and Don their flashlights. With two bodies on the floor, there was little standing room in the small office. The desk almost filled the room and a single folding chair was lying on its side on the floor next to the wall. The coppery smell of death pervaded the small space. If it weren't for a slight breeze, the odor might have been unbearable.

Don's eyes searched the room for the source of the air flow. He looked at the walls trying not to linger on the blood and grey matter that was splattered on them. It could have been Charlie's.

But it's not, Don. It's not. You have to find him.

His eyes went straight to the small window barely visible in the dark.

"Well look at that. Now who'd put a window way up there?"

"It provides air flow without the possibility of someone using it for entry…or exit….Don, that window is way too small for someone to climb out of."

Don shook his head.

"Maybe for you and me. But not for Charlie. It would have been tight, but I think he could have made it."

When Don and Colby exited the garage, Megan was surprised to see them walk quickly past the arriving paramedics and behind the building. She caught David's eye and they followed their teammates into the alley. Don was shining a flashlight up at the top of the wall, where a small window stood open.

"Don?"

"I don't think Sandoval took Charlie anywhere. He got out."

"That window is about twenty by ten, if that. Even if he wasn't injured, he never could have……."

Don interrupted.

"He could have gotten his head and shoulders through there. Look closely."

Megan scrutinized the window.

"Get me up there."

David put his hands together and boosted Megan up till she was eye level with the window.

"We've got some blood. Across the bottom of the sill."

"There's a little down here too."

Colby pointed at a spot on the ground next to the building.

"If he landed that hard, he couldn't have gone far."

David called out to one of the members of the tactical team.

"Hey, call in a code six. We've got an injured civilian out here somewhere and I don't want local P.D. to start shooting at us or him while they're searching for the suspect!"

Megan looked at Don with concern. She could see the verbal articulation that Charlie was alive had sunk in and an impenetrable fortitude that she didn't recognize had permeated his ashen features. The blood loss from his wound had not been excessive, but still significant. As it was with any gunshot wound, Don needed medical attention. But from the solid determination behind his eyes, Megan could see that the ambulance would have to wait.

"Have EMS stand by, we're still gonna need 'em."

………………………………

Authors Notes: What kind of monster do you think I am?

Keep giving me your input...the more you comment the faster I'll get the next Chapter up!

Addendum to my Notes 6/12/06: In the spirit of not committing "reviewer blackmail" as accused by my faithful reviewers I revise my prior statement. Don't hate me for my need to hear from you! (Since I can't leave smiley faces here - just know - I am smiling!)

So for the record, it will make no difference what-so-ever how many of you leave comments. I will still post the next Chapter within 24 to 48 hours if at all possible.

But I do like to know that you're out there. And it's nice to know what kind of reaction each chapter of the story provokes from each of you. I'll admit it. I like to hear from you and I will not be ashamed of begging! So please, for the love of all things holy, let me know your thoughts as you read each chapter! I will be forever grateful.

Next Chapter: Equitable Culmination