Chapter Three

Don waited impatiently as Martinez hooked up his MacBook Pro and accessed the file he would need to share with the two Feds in the room. Brennan stood up as his partner finished and began to explain the case that CX-5 had been working for seven months to date. The faces of eleven men and women of all ages, nationalities, and backgrounds appeared in sequence.

"The disappearance of Christoph Meuller sent up a red flag at the agency. He is one of the top geneticists on the planet. Two months later, Rodion Prokofiev was abducted from his home in Tver. His area of expertize is also genetics." Brennan continued to narrate the pictures that dominated the screen. "Since then nine more scientists – all top in their fields have vanished or been abducted from their homes or offices. Leaders in math, physics, genetics, and then – and then we finally got a lead on the first two scientists. We sent Agents Brennan and Terrinova in to retrieve them from Geneva." Michael didn't miss the question that crossed both Don and Megan's faces when he threw out his own surname. "Agent Jonathan Brennan is my brother." He informed them.

"You guys really like to keep it in the family over there, don't you?" Megan smirked.

"You have no idea." Michael continued, "Agent Brennan was wounded on that mission. It was not successful. Two days later, we recovered the bodies of both scientists. We were working a new angle on the case when we came across surveillance photos from LAX. Photos of this man – Christian Androssi. He is a known terrorist that specializes in biological weapons. Diseases that have no cure. We know he's working on something huge and we think that this man is his next target." Don was sure that his heart stopped when a picture of his brother popped up on the screen. "We already have a team watching him, Agent Eppes." Michael read the panic on Don's face.

"What evidence do you have that Charlie is the next target?" Megan asked.

"A traffic cam picked up shots from the his and Sasha's accident. Androssi was the driver of the dark blue SUV that was following them." Martinez informed them.

"If you guys knew he was at the airport, why didn't you pick him up then?" Don demanded.

"I think you know the answer to that. This is part of an ongoing investigation. We are trying to track down all of the key players in this as well as the rest of the missing scientists."

"You indicated that Androssi has already abducted at least one mathematician, why would he need another?" Megan questioned.

"Because the body of the woman he had taken was found three days ago. We're thinking he needs a replacement." Martinez took up answering questions as Brennan's cell phone rang.

"This is crazy. You're telling me my brother may be a target because he's a math geek?" Don was visibly frustrated. "Why wasn't I informed about this sooner?"

"I'm sorry guys, we need to get to the hospital." Michael announced as he shut his phone. "Your father and brother are on their way there. Sasha started having convulsions and was transported by ambulance. Katherine is with her. Your family is driving there now, Agent Eppes."

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"Charlie, would you please sit. Your pacing isn't going to make them come out here and let us know how she is any sooner than they would if you just sit down and relax." Alan requested of his son for the second time in the past ten minutes.

"She seemed fine. I just don't understand." Charlie sounded a little lost.

"These things just happen sometimes, Son. I am sure that Katherine will be out here to update us very soon. Now, sit."

"I just can't right now. I'm going to take a walk." Charlie announced and took off down the long corridor.

Alan went back to pretending that he was interested in the outdated fishing magazine that he had picked up upon their arrival to the waiting room. This was how Don and Megan found him when they arrived several minutes later.

"Dad, where's Charlie?" Don's tone was harsher than he intended but he failed to apologize.

"Well hello to you too Don." Alan chided.

"Where is he? Did he come here with you?" Don was about to panic. "They told me he was with you."

"What are you getting so worked up about? He went for a walk just a minute ago. He was driving me crazy pacing. What's going on?"

"Don't just a little upset about a case that just fell into our laps, Alan. What direction did Charlie take off in?" Megan asked.

Alan was bemused by his son's behavior and even more so when both agents took off after he indicated the direction that Charlie had taken.

Don couldn't remember the last time that he had been this worried about his brother. To suddenly be informed that he was in danger from some crazy terrorist seemed surreal to Don at best. He and Megan spent the next fifteen minutes searching for the wayward professor to no avail Megan could see that her partner was close to loosing it when she suggested they try the next floor down. Leaving no route unchecked, they took the stairs down one floor and nearly tripped over Charlie, who had been sitting at the bottom of the steps.

"Charlie, what the hell are you doing sitting here?" Don demanded.

"Why are you so angry?" Charlie was confused. "And what are you doing here?"

"Don't worry Charlie. Your brother's just happy to see you." Megan pulled Charlie to his feet and shot Don a look. "Let's go see if we can get an update on Sasha."

This time it was his oldest that was driving him crazy pacing. Charlie seemed to have settled down although he kept giving Don strange looks. Alan knew something was going on with Don, but he knew that this wasn't necessarily the time to question him about it. Then there was the mystery of the two men that had entered the waiting room shortly after Don and Megan had taken off after Charlie. Neither of them had spoken but it was obvious that they were connected to whatever was happening with Don.

Katherine appeared a short time later and was startled to see two familiar faces from home. "Michael, when did you two arrive?" She questioned Agent Brennan.

"We arrived this afternoon. Cruz sent us with a care package for you and we had business to discuss with the FBI." He rattled off the barest of explanations. "How is she?"

Katherine took a deep breath and blew it out. "She's suffering complications from the concussion. They're running a new CAT scan now. If you'll excuse me, I need to call my husband."

Having overheard the conversation, Don seemed to make a decision and he addressed his father and brother. "Hey guys, it sounds like Sasha's going to be here a while and she's got plenty of support here. I really need to get the both of you back to the house. Please." Don begged with his eyes when he saw that Charlie was going to argue with him. "I promise I will explain everything when we get there."

Sensing that Don needed them to agree, Alan and Charlie let themselves be escorted out of the hospital and into Don's SUV for the trip home.

"Megan, I've got Colby and David and two other teams setting up security around the neighborhood tonight. I'm going to need you to get with Brennan and Martinez. Profile this lunatic for me. We need to get up to speed on this now."

"Yeah, Don. Whatever you need. As soon as we get the guys settled at your house, I'll hook up with our CIA friends." Megan promised. "You have to do something for me too. Okay?"

"What?"

"Promise me that you won't shut us out. You have a team to help with this. Don't be afraid to ask for help."

Don seemed to think about that statement for a minute before he nodded in agreement.

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Charlie didn't realize how tired he was until he climbed out of the SUV. He had every intention of crawling into bed and staying there for at least twelve hours - after finding out what had his brother so spooked. Maybe it was because of his exhaustion that it took him longer than it should have to realize that his vision was graying out around the edges and he tried to look to see where his brother and father were. He thought maybe he had lost his mind because it looked like Don had decided to take a nap on the lawn. He couldn't see Megan or Alan from his side of the car but he suspected that maybe they had decided to nap outside as well. Charlie fell to his knees but was suddenly jerked up by two sets of hands. He couldn't tell who they belonged to because his eyes had decided to close and refused to open back up. A second later all conscious thought slipped away.

To be continued ...

Thanks for reading. I promise that the next chapter is longer and more action packed.