Run the Numbers

Chapter Eleven

It was now just past nine thirty in the morning and Yokonovitch had gotten up and ordered room service for breakfast. Don and Jeff Armstrong were talking quietly when Terry and David came up to the passenger side of the car.

Terry leaned in and said, "Don you need to come with me, David can take over for you here."

Don looked immediately concerned

"What is it?"

David had stepped around to the drivers side of the car and opened the door.

"Your father has been found Don, he's wounded."

Don got out of the car and David got in as Don went with Terry to another car. Once they were inside Terry said, "A call to 911 came in stating that a man with a GSW was at the Truck Stop Motel out on the 110. When ALS arrived on the scene they found your father with a gunshot to his abdomen. He gave a note to the officer on scene and told them to make sure it got to you. He has been taken to Mercy Hospital and is undergoing emergency surgery."

Don paled visibly and asked, "What did the note say?"

Terry shook her head. "I don't know. We are going to the motel to look over the scene."

Don was torn between wanting to go to the scene and the hospital and Terry said, "The note must be from Charlie which means he is still with them. Don, your dad is safe now and in good hands but not Charlie."

Don took a deep breath and said, "Right, I need to focus on Charlie now."

He pulled his cell phone out and dialed.

"Hello Larry, It's Don Eppes. Look I need you to do me a favor, Dad has been taken to Mercy Hospital; he was shot by the men who kidnapped him. I need you to go to the hospital. I want someone there who knows him when he comes out of surgery."

There was a pause and then Don said, "I haven't found Charlie yet but he left a message with Dad. Larry if anything happens…"

Don's voice cracked and he stopped talking for a moment.

"No don't call my cell, call this number 555-0785 and they can get a message to me… and Larry… Thank you."

Another pause followed and then Don hung up the phone. Nearly forty minutes later Terry pulled into the parking lot of the Truck Stop Motel and they got out. The room was still swarming with police and Don saw all of the calculations on the wall.

"Charlie was here alright," he said, as he pointed at the markings and went directly to the officer in charge. He showed him his badge.

"Agent Eppes, FBI. You have a note for me?"

The officer handed him the note and Don read it quickly.

The data is safe
Marina del Ray
Slip A500 noon
We will arrive early

Don pulled out his cell and called David immediately.

"The meeting with the buyer is at Marina Del Ray slip A500 at noon. Charlie is with Baker and Reed and he says that they will arrive early. We need to get everyone there but we don't want to tip them off too soon or they could kill Charlie. Dad is in surgery and I asked Larry to go to the hospital. We'ill meet you at the public launch ramp near Fiji way in half an hour."

There was a pause and then Don said, "Keep a unit on Yokonovitch but everyone else goes to Marina Del Ray. Yokonovitch is probably the buyer but if he isn't I don't want to waist units on his tail since we know where the data and Charlie are going. I'll contact Sub Director Reynolds and inform him of the new development."

Terry and Don left the motel and headed straight for the coast. Don had the coast guard, harbor patrol, the Marina del Ray police department, Homeland Security and FBI teams all meet at the public launch ramp and with the assistance of the harbor patrol and local police got all the units positioned near the end of Basin A where the meeting was going to occur.

The fact that the marina was very crowded worked both in their favor and against them. It was eleven thirty by the time all of the units were in position and for the last fifteen minutes plain clothes police were quietly evacuating the immediate vicinity of the A basin.

David had stayed on the tail of Yokonovitch with Agent Armstrong and radioed in to Don that he had left the hotel and met with half a dozen Russians at Csadras. They had all gotten into a white cargo van and headed toward the Marina.

The Russians arrived at the back end of A basin by eleven forty five and Don radioed to all the teams to stand at the ready.

"Remember people that there is a hostage who must be protected."

Don looked at Terry with a worried expression then back to the dock at Slip A-500. The Russians were all carrying bags or satchels of some kind and when they arrived at the dock they positioned themselves in a circle around the slip. Yokonovitch took a laptop computer out of his satchel and placed it on a bench next to the boat moored in the slip.

After a few minutes Trevor Baker, Charlie and Michael Reed came from the other direction around the end of the dock from a building with the sign 'Marina Fuels' printed across the face.

Baker was walking very close to Charlie and Don was certain that he had a gun trained on him.

"Heads up, our sellers have arrived and they have their hostage with them."

As Baker's group approached Yokonovitch he pulled out a disk and handed it over to Michael Reed who stepped up to the bench and put the disk in the drive and the screen came up with a request for the password.

He looked up at Charlie and said, "Professor?"

"P vs. NP"

Michael smirked and shook his head. "I should have known it would be something like that."

Trevor looked puzzled and said, "What is P vs. NP?"

Michael punched in the code as he said, "It is a famous unsolvable math equation. Just the sort of password our little genius would come up with."

As soon as Michael hit enter the screen filled with a stream of data and Yokonovitch looked on not saying anything. He nodded to the men around him who lowered their guard slightly.

Don said, "Now move in Go Go Go."

Agents from every direction moved in quickly as Don and Terry ran toward the group shouting, "Freeze FBI! Put your weapons down!"

The Russians all pulled automatic weapons from their bags and started firing. Trevor grabbed Charlie around his chest and pulled him in front of him like a shield and returned fire as he ducked behind a 55 gallon barrel on the dock edge.

Don was trying to keep his eyes on Charlie and get to him but the Russians were laying down heavy fire in all directions. Everyone dived for cover but three agents lay on the ground who were not so quick.

One of the Russians was firing all around Terry who was about ten feet from Don and he raised up to get a clear shot. As Don did this Trevor pointed his gun at Don and whispered, "Goodbye Agent Eppes" as he was about to fire.

Charlie saw what was about to happen but Baker had such a tight hold of him he couldn't move very well so he did the only thing he could. He tucked his chin down to his chest then snapped his head back with all the force he could muster right into Trevor's face. Trevor's shot went high and hit the wall just above Don's head as Don fired and took out the Russian pinning Terry down.

Charlie turned and tried to grab the gun from Trevor and they ended up coming out from behind the barrel struggling with the gun between them. Don ran straight at them when the gun went off and the struggle ended.

Charlie and Trevor fell to their knees facing each other and Don, his heart in his throat, closed the distance between them in three great strides. Trevor fell sideways onto the dock with his eyes wide in an expression of shock.

Don grabbed Charlie and was shouting, "Charlie, are you hit, Charlie are you shot?"

The rest of the Russians could not keep up against the superior size of small army of Law enforcement agencies and gave up after four of their number lay dead.

Charlie couldn't really hear Don for when he had hit Trevor in the face spoiling his shot at his brother he had split his stitches open and had given himself another mild concussion. He was staring at Trevor lying on the dock and then looked down at his hands and saw blood on them.

"What have I done?"

The new concussion coupled with lack of sleep and food and the emotional trauma that he had undergone over the last two and a half days were throwing him into a state of shock. He looked at Don not really seeing him before he slumped forward into his arms.

"Charlie!"

Don saw blood covering the back of Charlie's collar and down the upper portion of his shirt and assumed that he had been shot in the crossfire.

"Oh God! Charlie! I need a medic; he's been shot! Get a medic!"

Terry ran over to Don and Charlie and looked him over quickly.

"Don, he hasn't been shot! He's going into shock!"

She quickly took off her coat and placed it over Charlie as Don laid his limp form carefully to the dock.