Chapter Two
With his office door closed and locked behind him, Charlie allowed himself to physically and emotionally collapse in his chair.
Sometimes his big brother really knew how to tick him off and it looked like to Charlie, that Don had finally succeeded!
Grumbling, Charlie pulled out the small, portable television that he kept hidden away in his office and switched it on.
Channel 4's early morning news cast was on and the topic of discussion instantly got Charlie's attention as the headline picture of the man made Charlie's blood run cold.
"Our next story takes us to Pasadena California where 34 year old Shaun Douglas was caught sending out a hit on the prison's fax machine. As of yet, the Pasadena police haven't figured out who the hit man is, or who his next targets will be but you can be assured that they will.
Shaun Douglas was arrested six months ago on a drug dealing and rape charge. The FBI was the agency to make the arrest and so far no comment has been made from the FBI in regard to this new threat. Megan, back to you." The news reporter said.
Charlie switched off the television and just sat there, staring at his hands, for he had a vague impression on who Mr. Douglas' next victim's would be.
He remembered the Douglas case just like it was yesterday, for Charlie remembered that it was he who had cracked the code and had allowed Don's team to make the arrest.
Charlie had been there when the arrest was made, and after Douglas had caught sight of him, he had promised Charlie that someday soon, he and his family would pay for this mistake!
'I've got to warn Don!' Charlie thought as he slid the television back into its small hidey hole.
Their early argument stopped Charlie in his tracks.
"What if he doesn't want to talk to me?" Charlie asked himself as his hands stood poised, ready to grab his cell phone and hit his brother's number.
Finally he decided that his brother's life was more important than the argument, Charlie took out his cell phone and dialed his brother's number before he realized that Don's phone had needed to be recharged after Don had accidentally left it on for two nights.
Charlie was about to hang up when Don's cell-phone picked up and the word, "Eppes." flitted through the reciever.
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David Ballard tightened the scope on his sniper rifle as he took another glance at the Eppes house, where inside he could see Don and his father talking at the kitchen table.
Talking about what, David didn't know or care about.
All he cared about was killing Don and his kid brother and getting his money before he hightailed it out of the country.
The fax that he had recieved from Shaun Douglas was very explicite in what he wanted done to Don and Charlie.
First, he wanted to scare the FBI agent, which was what David was going to do tonight, then in the morning when Don and his team go in to speak to a drug lord who supposedly would have some information about the assassian, that's when David would kill Don.
After that, David would head over to CalSci, kidnap Charlie and kill him somewhere else.
It was the perfect plan.
David smirked as his left eye closed, so his right eye, his dominite eye, could clearly target Don.
Suddenly, Don rose from his chair and walked out of David's field of view while his hand went to his belt to grab his cell-phone.
Cursing, David quickly got into another position and readied to fire his weapon.
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Don had been talking to his father about Charlie, when suddenly Don's cell-phone rang.
Sighing, Don rose, grabbed his cell phone and walked into the living room.
"Eppes." He said into the reciever.
"Don?" Charlie asked.
"What? You talkin' to me now?" Don asked his little brother.
"Listen Don, I'm a...I'm sorry about earlier, I just..I needed to be alone to think." Charlie said as he swallowed nervously from his classroom at CalSci.
"That's alright buddy." Don replied as he took a seat on the couch.
"Don, you know Shaun Douglas?" Charlie asked.
The name sounded familiar to Don. After thinking about it for a moment, he remembered the case.
"The drug dealing rapist. Sure I remember him. What about him?" Don asked.
"I just heard on the news that the prison guards caught him sending out a hit list." Charlie said.
"Yeah, so what?" Don asked.
"Well, when you arrested him, Shaun Douglas always said that he would make you pay for what you did." Charlie reminded.
Don sighed audibly as he rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.
"Listen Charlie, I'll.." Don began, but that was as far as he got.
The window right in front of him suddenly shattered and Don felt the wind rushing by his face as a bullet embedded itself in the wall right by his head.
"WHOA!" Don said as he jumped back from the window and wall, nearly dropping his cellphone in the process.
"Don? Don you there?" Charlie asked into his cellphone.
"Listen Charlie, I'll call you right back." Don said as he snapped his cellphone closed and took out his gun.
Carefully he looked out the window, looking for the sniper.
Not seeing anyone, he quickly alerted his team of what had happened and requested that they come to the house ASAP.
By the doorway Alan Eppes was frantic. Repeatedly asking Don what had happened and asking him if he was alright.
Don assured his father that he was fine and that Alan should back away and out of the living room.
Within minutes Megan, David and Colby arrived at the house, along with a couple of investigators.
Don explained to them what had happened and watched as Colby looked at the hole in the wall, while David and Megan took a look outside.
"Well, whoever the sniper was, he's long gone by now. Didn't leave a trace." David said as he made his way back into the house.
"So, you were standing right there," Colby said, pointing towards the wall, "You're father was in the kitchen, what about Charlie? Where was he?"
"I was on the phone with Charlie. He had gone back to CalSci earlier, and he had just called me and told me about Shaun Douglas, and his little hit list. I think Charlie thinks that the hit list is for me." Don replied.
"He maybe right. It's worth checking out." Megan said.
Don was just walking over to the window when his cellphone rang again.
Walking back to the couch where he had dropped it, Don grabbed his cellphone and flipped up the reciever.
"Eppes." He said.
A sinister voice replied, "Well, how did you injoy that little display Eppsie? What were you're thoughts as the bullet went by you're head?"
"Who is this?" Don asked.
"Who I am is none of you're concern. I think you're main concern right now would be you're brother. He's all alone over there at CalSci. So alone...so vunerable. It would be so easy to pull the trigger and end his pitiful little existance right now." The sinister voice said.
"What do you want from me?" Don asked.
"What I want from you? I want to see you and you're brother in a box in the ground." The voice replied coldly.
Don's hands shook with anger as he continued to listen to the sniper's threats towards him and Charlie.
"Well, I have to go now. Say goodbye to you're brother." The sniper ended.
"Wait!" Don said, but then the sound of the dial was heard.
Gulping, Don speed dialed his brother's number.
He listened to it ring twice, and then nothing.