Chapter One: The Calm Before the Storm

Charlie's eyes scanned the room. His young audience was getting antsy. He stared at the ceiling for a minute, as if he were thinking hard, and then turned his back to them.

He popped the lid off the marker in his hand and started writing on the portable dry erase board that had been set up on the small art easel.

8, 15, 52, 4, 9, 17, 71, 6, 22, 0

He turned back to the group.

"Are you sure you want another one? It's getting kind of late."

His question was answered by ten small heads nodding frantically.

"Ok, one for the road. Bring me the answer next week…….If you can figure it out."

"These numbers,"

He pointed out each of the numbers on the board, giving the kids time to write them down.

"are written on the door of the gym. To get in to play basketball, you have to place these numbers…."

He wrote three more numbers on the board just under the others.

43, 11, 35

"in their correct places in the string of numbers."

He paused again to give his audience time to catch up.

"SO…..you need to tell me, where do these three numbers belong in the sequence of numbers?"

He waited a minute to see if a prodigy in the group might have the answer right away. When no one spoke he decided to throw in a little incentive.

"If you can come up with the answer, there's pizza involved."

The room filled with excited chatter. A hand shot up and Charlie pointed at the young boy in a chair close to the back.

"Is it some kinda pattern?"

He nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes….it is. Good, Frankie."

He addressed the group.

"Does anyone see the pattern?"

"No."

Frankie spoke out loud as all the other boys vigorously shook their heads.

Charlie grinned.

"I'll give you a hint. Eight is always first and zero is always last."

He found himself almost laughing as the group immediately wrote his 'hint' down on their papers.

Several were studying the numbers intently. A few others were talking amongst themselves, trying to come up with the answer.

"Next week guys……bring the answer next week."

A resounding "AWWWW" filled the room and Charlie smiled at the group of students.

"I'll tell you what, I'll bring pizza anyway….if………"

The room quieted down.

"IF, you try to come up with the answer."

A few heads nodded in unison.

"Ok, see you next week."

The room filled with the echo of footsteps as the group broke up and headed for the exit.

Frankie de Gattás lingered near his chair.

Charlie headed over to where the twelve year old was standing. The youngster had only recently started coming to the community center and then it was only at the urging of his older brother, who was required to be here on Thursday nights under the terms of his probation.

"Hey kiddo. Everything ok?"

"Yeah, I guess. Gotta wait for my ride. Marcus made me promise."

Charlie nodded.

"Marcus knows what he's talking about. You should listen to him."

"Oh, I do. He says these guys will be ok….that it's ok for me to ride home with them, as long as I see their badges first."

The young boy nodded his head toward a tall, dark haired man in the back of the room.

"I don't know about that one…but I think I've seen him before. You don't think he's the one taking me home, do you?"

Charlie felt a smile spread over his face as he recognized his older brother. He gave Don a slight nod of the head in greeting. He hadn't seen him come in. He was standing near the back door with Agent Sinclair, talking to a man Charlie didn't recognize. In a moment, the three walked quickly over to where Charlie and Frankie were standing.

"Hey, Don. David. What are you doing here? I though someone from the Witness Assistance Program was escorting the kids to court tomorrow?"

The agent shook his head.

"They are. This is Agent Travis."

Don gestured at him.

"Sam….this is my brother, Charlie."

After a brief handshake and a friendly nod, Agent Travis turned to Frankie. Without being asked, he handed the youngster his badge.

"I'm going to be taking you home tonight, Frankie. Then, in the morning, I'll be back with a few of my friends and we will take you and your brother to the courthouse."

Satisfied with it's authenticity, Frankie handed the badge back to the agent and began gathering his things.

Charlie turned back to Don.

"So, why are you here?"

David interceded, allowing Don to sidestep the question.

"I heard you've been sending the kids home with some pretty challenging brain teasers. I thought I'd come see just how tough they were."

"Oh."

While David was talking, Charlie had widened his eyes at Don, again asking his unanswered question. Don had just shrugged.

Charlie turned back to David.

"Well, did you figure it out? The pattern?"

Before David could reply, a distinctly female voice spoke from the doorway.

"The numbers are arranged in alphabetical order."

Charlie swung his head around to see who had entered the room. An attractive woman in her mid 30's stood behind him.

"Ms. Rawlings."

"I've told you. Please, call me Olivia."

The community center's director smiled at Charlie.

Turning to Frankie, she pointed at the numbers on the board.

"Try writing the numbers out, using their words, and then you'll find the pattern."

Frankie looked at her in amazement as if she had just shared a forbidden secret. She leaned toward him and whispered.

"Well, somebody has to earn that pizza."

The boy grinned and grabbed his bag as Agent Travis headed for the door.

"See ya tomorrow, Charlie!"

He shook his head and corrected himself.

"I mean….um…Mr. Eppes."

He shrugged his shoulders in a silent apology and followed the agent out the door.

Olivia had her hands in her pockets and was staring at Charlie, shaking her head.

"When David told me you wanted to volunteer for after school tutoring I wasn't sure it was going to work out."

Charlie looked nonplused.

"Why?"

"You're just a little….."

David chuckled.

"White?"

Don tried to hide a smile and Olivia laughed. She gave David a reproachful look.

"I wasn't going to say that…..but it may have crossed my mind. We don't get many……Anglos in this part of town………..except for cops……...but no, that's not why."

Charlie blushed a little.

"You were going to say that I would be over their heads. That I wouldn't be able to relate to these kids?"

She nodded her head briskly.

"But, David insisted it would work. And he was right. You're the first person we've brought in here to help with homework that the kids haven't run from as soon as their work was done. They actually wait around to hear you talk. That's a little freaky."

Charlie offered a wry smile.

"I'm working on my technique. Maybe I can chase them off next week."

Olivia threw her head back and laughed.

Looking slightly embarrassed, Charlie tossed his backpack over his shoulder.

"No, really…..It's a joy. If only college kids were that enthusiastic."

She gazed at him in admiration.

"Well, I don't know how you've gotten them so caught up in math, or so willing to come in and do their homework. But whatever you're doing…keep doing it. The kids love you. Thank you for spending your Wednesday evenings with them."

Charlie nodded humbly and she continued.

"Of course, I'm sure the pizza offer will increase the number of kids next week. Word gets around….you might want to order a few extras."

"A few?"

She offered David an affectionate smile.

"See you tomorrow night? You'll still be here right?"

He nodded, and his eyes followed her as she walked from the room.

Charlie was still standing by the door.

"How many is a few?"

Don headed out the exit and Charlie turned and followed.

Unable to resist the urge to rib David, Don grinned.

"She'll see ya tomorrow, huh?"

"I volunteer at the community center on Thursday evenings, Don."

"And then you stay after and help the beautiful director clean up?"

David gave him a sly smile.

"Yes, in fact, I do. For the past ten months, Don. Every week."

Grinning, Don pulled his keys out of his pocket and pushed the button to unlock the door. He turned to his younger brother.

"Do you have anything you need to do on the way home, Charlie?"

"No. I was going to…….."

He paused and stared at his brother with incredulousness.

"Dad made you drive down here to give me a ride back to my car, didn't he?"

David nodded comically as he climbed into the front seat, but Don shook his head in denial.

"I'm thirty six years old, Charlie. Dad can't 'make' me do anything."

Then he tilted his head back and gave an over exaggerated sigh.

"Ok, he didn't exactly give me the chance to refuse."

With a groan Charlie opened the door and climbed into the back of the black SUV.

"Well, thanks. You didn't have to."

Don climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine.

"Hey, he just doesn't want you hanging out down here by yourself waiting for a cab or the bus….and frankly, neither do I."

"I've made it home without your help since I was in kindergarten, Don. Moreover, I've made it home fine for the past eight weeks from here without any help from anyone. Just because Dad knows about it now does not suddenly increase the odds of my being waylaid by thugs. Anyway, with all this attention, I'm starting to feel like I'm being tailed by the FBI."

"That's because you are."

David laughed at his own quip and Charlie couldn't help but join him.

Don loudly cleared his throat and gave them both a glib smile as he backed out of the parking space.

"Really, Charlie. This neighborhood isn't exactly safe after dark. Dad was ready to kick my ass when he found out I already knew you were volunteering down here without telling him about it. He'd kill me with his bare hands if he knew I'd been letting you take the bus from here to the office all this time."

"I didn't want to leave my car parked out here."

"Exactly, Charlie. I just should have been picking you up from the very beginning. If something were to happen to you down here………"

From the back seat, Charlie interrupted.

"Then it would be due to my own lack of good judgment, Don. Not yours and not Dad's. I know we laugh about it, but I really don't need to be followed around for the rest of my life just because………….."

He sighed again and looked at Don in the rearview mirror.

"I thought we agreed….."

Don interrupted.

"We agreed to a lot of things Charlie, whether we meant them or not. But Dad…….he didn't sign this treaty."

Silence pervaded the interior of the vehicle as they pulled into the parking complex behind the federal building.

David shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Um, Don. You can drop me off here, I've got to run up to the office before I head for home."

"Sure."

Don pulled over to the curb just on the other side of the guard shack.

David turned and tipped an imaginary hat at him.

"Have fun tonight, Don. You've got nothing to be nervous about."

With a grin, he closed the door and headed into the building.

For a moment Don looked confused.

"Fun?"

His eyes widened.

"Oh, damn it. I completely forgot."

He put the SUV in drive and raced across the parking lot to where Charlie usually left his car.

"Forgot what?"

"Robin's coming over to the house for dinner tonight."

Charlie raised his eyebrows.

"To meet Dad?"

"Yes, to meet Dad. What time is it?"

Charlie glanced at his watch.

"Just after six….when is she coming over."

Don ran his had through his hair as he pulled up behind Charlie's car.

"At six."

"To late now. Once you leave them alone with Dad it's all over. I give you guys two more weeks, tops."

As Charlie climbed out of the back of the SUV, fat raindrops began to pitter-patter off the blacktop. He sat his backpack on the seat and dug for his keys. Don absentmindedly flipped the windshield wipers on and shook his head. He twisted around, glaring at Charlie and trying to look despondent.

"I'm doomed. Dad'll have my baby pictures spread all over the table by the time we get home. She'll never look at me the same again."

Charlie grinned at his older brother before he closed the door.

"Well, maybe he can manage to convince her to run while she still can."

He could hear Don's reply, even though the closed door.

"You're just jealous…….."

With a beaming grin, Don put the SUV in drive and speed off toward the gate. As the intensity of the rainfall increased, Charlie hunched his shoulders and quickly fumbled to unlocked his car door. He had to smile when he saw that Don had stopped in the middle of the lot.

Sure. They had agreed to a lot of things. Whether Don could keep his part of the bargain or not.

Only when Charlie had pulled his car up behind the SUV did Don exit the parking lot and head for the house in Pasadena.

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Don's eyes flew open. His heart was pounding as if he had been running a marathon. Somewhere in his chest an unknown terror had a death grip on his heart. He blinked in the darkness and tried to remember the nightmare that had jolted him from sleep. The room was almost pitch black and he was tempted to reach for the light. He could tell the curtains were open, but the moon was hidden behind clouds. When a flash of lighting momentarily illuminated the space, Don was startled when he failed to immediately recognize his surroundings.

The instantaneous crash of thunder involuntarily set his heart racing again. He had almost forgotten where he was. Then he felt Robin's leg rub up against his. Smiling to himself, Don turned to face the woman sleeping next to him.

He could barely make out her face in the pervasive darkness. But he didn't need the light to see it. He had memorized every inch.

Tenderly he reached out and caressed her check. It had been almost three months since he had started sleeping over. In fact, he hadn't spent the night at his apartment for two straight weeks. And it wasn't just sex, this was real, of that he was certain. The possibility that this was the one had entered his mind on several occasions. Now he was almost convinced. And why not? Dad had liked her. Charlie already adored her. And Don was pretty sure he was in love with her. Don lay in the darkness, smiling. He had to almost lose his life to realize he wasn't taking the time to live it. Once he had put things back into the proper perspective, he had decided it might be time for him to move on to the next stage of his life. And maybe Robin Brooks was the one he wanted to go there with.

The storm began to subside and Don felt himself dozing off again. The remnants of his nightmare resurfaced in his fading consciousness and he pushed the underlying current of dread to the back of his mind. As the driving rain beat against the side of the house, Don allowed Robin's steady breathing to lull him back to sleep.

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Chapter Two: And Then You Blink