Chapter Forty-Two

David wrapped up his project at headquarters finding nothing suspicious in McPherson's background. He was feeling as frustrated as Megan at this point. Someone was tipping off Saborgia and that someone had to be an agent. He looked through the financial records of all of the agents who knew about Don being alive after the press release last week. He came up empty again and found himself wondering if they were taking the wrong tactic in this investigation.

David hated having to delve into the private lives of his coworkers, invading their privacy this way but by the same token he was not about to let the mole get away with nearly killing two of his friends. He had to stop by the safe house in Chinatown to deliver the package from Director Thompkins and thought that he might ask Charlie for his insight about finding the Informant.

As he drove to the east side of LA toward Chinatown David began to doubt his plan to request Charlie's help. He was under enormous stress and this could throw him into an emotional tailspin. He wondered how Charlie was doing with the anxiety attacks. After the mild attack this morning he was not sure Charlie could handle any more stress heaped on him. David resolved that he would first talk with him about the anxiety before deciding to ask for his help in narrowing down who the mole might be.

When he arrived at the safe house he was pleased to see the watchful eyes of the agent placed in the restaurant below the apartments that the Eppes men had been placed in. He exchanged a slight nod with the agent outside before the man resumed drinking his tea and carefully eyeing everyone who approached or passed the building.

When Dan let him in he was immediately on alert because of the worried frown on his fellow agent's face.

"What happened?"

Dan glanced over at the far corner of the room where some portable screens decorated with writhing dragons had been put up effectively blocking off one third of the large living area.

"He hasn't come out from behind those screens except to eat and his father had to practically drag him out at lunch time. What ever he is doing it has engrossed him to the point of obsession. Frankly his behavior is worrying me a little; and Alan as well."

Just as Dan said this; Alan stepped out of the small kitchen when he heard the voices coming from the front room.

"David! Has anything happened?"

"No, Mr. Eppes, I came to talk to Charlie. How is he doing?"

Alan looked over to the screens with a worried frown.

"He isn't working on P vs NP, but what ever he is doing is starting to concern me a little. He said the he put those screens up because he was having trouble concentrating with Dan and me around in his line of sight and he mentioned something about his work being classified. Charlie has worked on classified projects before without worrying about me understanding what he was doing. And to be honest I can't imagine that he received a request at this time for a classified consulting job."

David thought about the package that he was here to deliver and wondered if maybe he had. There could be a lot more to this hand off than met the eye. He may actually be working on something for the NSA but David would have been very surprised to have that be the case. Director Thompkins seemed to be acting out of concern for Charlie and his family. It didn't seem to him to be an appropriate time to give him a new project to work on.

David stepped over to the screen and knocked lightly on the wooden frame.

"Charlie? It's David. Can I come in?"

David could hear furious scribbling from behind the screen but no answer from Charlie. David rapped louder on the frame making the screen shudder slightly.

"Charlie!"

The scribbling stopped and David saw the silhouette of a curly head pop up.

"Charlie, I need to speak to you privately, can I come in?"

David heard some shuffling of paper and the click on the mathematician's lap top being closed. After a moment Charlie poked his head out from behind the screen and found himself staring directly into dark brown worried eyes.

"Uh, hi, David. Is Don all right? Nothing happened to him did it?"

"No nothing happened. Charlie I have to talk to you… privately."

David lowered his voice when he said 'privately' and didn't give Charlie a chance to object when he touched the young man's arm and guided him back behind the screen. David quickly looked around the enclosed working area that Charlie had erected. There were post-it notes everywhere winding around the inside of the privacy screens like some sort of multi-bodied serpent. It looked strikingly eerie with the faint outline of the dragons painted on the other side showing trough the papery material that made up the body of the screen.

Each of the post-it notes had a series of numbers on them that looked like account numbers and currency amounts. David took in all of these surrounding with a quick glance then focused on his young friend. Charlie looked tired but his eyes held a distinct fire that he had seen before when he was working on a difficult problem. What ever Charlie was working on, he was thoroughly engrossed and he had that look that said he would not rest until he found what ever answer he was looking for.

That fierce gaze isn't what disturbed David; it was the haunted look behind the determination that struck him. Somehow Charlie looked frightened, not of his surroundings, but of something else only David couldn't quite figure out why. His instincts told him that there was more to Charlie's oddly manic behavior than simple stress or anxiety.

David glanced down and saw the trash can sitting next to the small desk that Charlie was using to hold his laptop and notepads. There were several waded up sheets in there and he thought he saw something small and white resting between a couple of the wads of paper.

Before Charlie could stop him, David seized the trash can and began to rummage through it. He quickly found two small white pills and pulled them out. Charlie objected and tried to pull the trash can away from David with a nearly panicked look on his face.

"David, what are you doing? Stop it."

David held out his hand showing Charlie the pills he had found.

"What am I doing? Charlie these are your anti-anxiety pills. What are you doing?"

Charlie looked at David defiantly poking his chin out for emphasis.

"They cloud my thoughts. I don't want to take them anymore. I'm an adult and I don't need anyone's permission to stop medication that I feel is not helping me."

"Look, Charlie, I'm not trying to treat you like a child; you know me better than that, but this isn't like you. This medication helped to ease the anxiety. This morning was the first attack you've had in how long?"

David couldn't hide the accusing tone in his voice. He was worried not only about Charlie but for his father as well. David wasn't sure the older man could take the stress of watching Charlie have repeated panic attacks with all of the other pressure he was under. Charlie turned away from David and started grabbing pages from the small desk.

"You said you wanted to speak to me privately. So what do you want?"

It was clear that Charlie wasn't going to talk so David dropped the pills back into the trash can and set it back down next to the desk. He pulled the package for Charlie out of his pocket and dropped it on the desk in front of him.

"Director Thompkins sent this for you. His agents arrived this afternoon and Megan has them watching Don."

David was about to tell Charlie that there were two other agents watching Anthony Saborgia but decided against it. He wanted Charlie to talk to him about this situation and decided to take a different approach.

"There was a note in there for me as well."

Charlie who had picked up the package turned quickly and started at David.

"You told Director Thompkins that you could trust me. I appreciate that but I'm not sure I believe it right now."

Charlie sighed and sunk down on the small folding chair in front of the desk.

"I do trust you, David. Look I'm sorry I snapped at you just now. I just don't want to take the pills. They make it harder for me to concentrate and right now I need to concentrate."

Charlie seemed to be pleading for David to understand, but David wasn't going to be dissuaded so easily.

"Charlie what are you working on? What has you so wound up that you won't take this medication? Why won't you trust me now?"

"This isn't a matter of not trusting you. This is something that I have to do…
That only I can do."

Charlie waved a hand encompassing all of the notes posted all over the screens and the equations on the white boards set up in the corner of the work space.

"I can't explain what this is all about, but I need you to believe me when I tell you that it's something that I have to do. As for the medicine, if I start having problems with the anxiety again I promise I'll go back on the meds. The anxiety would be worse for my concentration than the drugs so I will do the right thing."

David once heard Don say that Charlie wasn't good at keeping secrets but he thought that this was a definite misconception on Don's part. Charlie seemed to house more secrets than were good for him. He conceded the fact that Charlie was not going to tell him what was going on. He wasn't taking the anxiety medication so he was even more hesitant to ask him about his investigation into the FBI informant. Charlie seemed to sense this internal conflict within the agent.

"There is something else, isn't there?"

"You seem pretty wrapped up in what ever it is that you are doing here Charlie. We can handle it without you."

"David, I know that you are not working on any new cases. Not with all of this going on so what ever it is has to do with this case, so that means it has to do with me."

David pointedly looked around at Charlie's workspace. If Charlie could keep secrets then so could he. Charlie was a lot more perceptive than most people gave him credit for and he knew exactly what David was driving at. He did not want to tell anyone what he was up to, but he wanted to know what David was holding back. He looked directly at David and the two simply stared at each other waiting to see who would back down first. Finally after what seemed an eternity Charlie came to a decision.

"All right, but this stays between us. I want your word on that, David."

With a feeling of triumph David smiled. Perhaps he should try his hand at poker with Charlie again after this was over. He had not really believed that his tactic would work.

"You have my word, Charlie. I won't tell anyone."

Charlie eyed him warily.

"There is a contract out on our lives. No one has ever been able to make a workable case against Saborgia. We are in protective custody and I know full well that we are only one step away from the Witness Relocation Program. David, that might work just fine for Dad, but not for Don or me. Where would I go? I am too well known in the academic field to hide and Don is a federal agent. This has to be resolved here and now! Saborgia has to go to jail on a charge that will stick for us to be free from this."

David sighed because he and Megan had discussed this a few days ago. This situation was more far reaching than any of the Eppes realized, that is except for Charlie. He realized it; and was doing… what? Before David could begin to contemplate what Charlie was doing he continued speaking with an almost urgent tone in his voice.

"The Bureau has never been able to pin murder, racketeering, extortion or that sort of charge on Saborgia. Well, tax fraud is a charge that will stick and he could go to jail for a very long time."

"Charlie don't you think that the Bureau has tried that? We have had our forensic accountants trying to trace the money flow for years without success. He sends all of the illegal income through off shore accounts. They snake their way threw so many banking institutions and so many layers that it is impossible to follow."

David suddenly realized what he had just said. All of these post-it notes were positioned all over the screen forming snakes. Charlie was tracking the money in the unique fashion that he has. The FBI may have been working on this for a long time but Charlie had only begun and from what he could see the young genius had amassed far more information than any of the Bureau's forensic accountants ever had.

"How did you get all of this information Charlie?"

"That doesn't matter."

"It does matter. We can't use this in court if we got it illegally."

Charlie slumped his shoulder a little. He was sure that David believed him but he hated being less than completely truthful with him. There was no way he could tell David what he really planned to do with this information. The agent would never allow it, but that didn't change the fact that Charlie still planned on doing this no matter what. If anything David's objections to what he had reveled confirmed the fact that if he didn't do things his way then this would never end for any of them.

Charlie bent his head down and David thought it was in dejection although Charlie was actually trying to hide his expression from the shrewd agent. He was not a good liar. His face was far too expressive and he knew that was a problem with him. That is usually why he refrained from speaking about something at all when he needed to keep it secret. That is why he had erected the screens. That is why he was going to great lengths to keep what he was doing private from his equally perceptive father. David placed a hand on Charlie's should startling him a little.

"All of this work that you have done could be useful though."

This was not at all what Charlie had expected to hear and his head popped up.

"What are you talking about?"

It was David's turn to look a little uncomfortable. He knew that Dan was in the kitchen with Alan and couldn't hear them talking but he still poked his head out from behind the screen just to make sure.

"There is an informant inside the Bureau. He or she is on Saborgia's payroll but I haven't found anything that ties one of our own to Saborgia. Have you found any money coming back to LA that doesn't go right back into Saborgia's coffers? It would probably be some amount that is consistent on a monthly or quarterly basis."

Charlie just stared at David for a moment. He was stunned that one of the agents that he had worked with, that Don had worked with and most likely protected could be responsible…

"Are you saying that this informant caused what happened at the hospital? Don is in a coma because of a fractured skull and Colby was seriously burned because an agent is sleazing information to the mob for money?"

"No one else would have known that the report of his death was false. Charlie, the assasin knew which hospital room he was in. The attack happened from outside in the parking lot which means that he knew right where Don was. That is the main reason you and your father were moved and why so few know where. Even the agents that are outside of this building don't know who is under protective custody. We have three different witnesses being protected right now and the only people who know that you are here are the agents who come up into this apartment."

An all encompassing anger began to fill Charlie and David saw this clearly in the hard set of the young man's jaw. He was still hesitant to ask Charlie to work on this but he had already done so much work that he didn't want to let it all go to waist. He also wanted to redirect his young friend's activities to a course of action that would be beneficial to them.

"I haven't finished my analysis yet but if there is someone on Saborgia's payroll I'll find them. I can guarantee that."

Charlie was serious about that promise. He still intended to finish his work and approach Alto DiBenedetto but he would pinpoint the mole that nearly killed his brother and Colby as well. This gave him more of an approachable means to continuing his work undetected. He could now simply claim that he was searching for the informant.

"Charlie, promise me that you will go back on the meds the next time you have an anxiety attack."

"I already told you that I would if they became a problem."

"No you don't understand me. It takes time for the meds to start working. You had an attack this morning. If you have even one more, Charlie I want you to go back to taking the meds. If you are going to work on this case with the Bureau then I have to be able to report that you are stable. You must promise me that if even one more attack happens you will stop cheeking the pills."

Charlie looked up at David. He could see the concern in his face for him, but he also saw that the agent was dead serious too. David would tell his father that he was throwing the medication out and then he would have no peace. His father could be very determined when he thought he was helping his sons.

"All right; I promise."

David stared at Charlie for another moment before he stepped over to the opening of the screened enclosure. He pointed at the package held loosely in Charlie's hand.

"Call me on that cell if you come up with anything."

Charlie frowned in confusion for a moment then looked at the package that he was holding and that David was pointing to. He nodded to the agent who stepped out and walked over to the kitchen to join Alan and Dan. Charlie turned the bubble envelope over and opened it. Inside there was a small cell phone, a charger and a note addressed to him.

Dear Charlie,
This phone is secured and you can use it to
contact me directly if you need to. I sent Marco
and Devon out there to help with surveillance
for your brother.

Agent Reeves has kept his situation a closely
guarded secret. I have spoken to Director
Donaldson and he believes that your brother
is dead. I offered NSA assistance to him again
and he said that he would get back to me by
the end of the day. With the death of one of his
best agents he will probably take me up on that offer.

I am very concerned about what you may or
may not be doing. I have gotten the impression
that you are going to try and resolve this situation
on your own. Do not do this. I am not sure what
you have in mind, but these people are very dangerous.
As I said last time I do not want to lose you,
especially not to foolishness.

I have two agents watching Saborgia.
They will inform me and Agent Reeves if there appears
to be a threat to you or your brother.

Please contact me for anything that you need. Please
take caution in what you do and be smart. Don't
take risks that are unnecessary.

Bob.

Charlie folded up the letter and slid it into his jeans pocket along with the small cell phone. He had no intention of taking unnecessary risks, only the ones that he had to.