Chapter 4: Getting Nowhere
At 6 AM the next morning, his alarm went off. Half an hour later, after a quick shower, Don was downstairs, following the smell of brewing coffee and pancakes to the kitchen.
"Morning, Dad," he greeted his father and looked at the feast of a breakfast in process, his stomach growling in cheerful anticipation.
Why again had he had the stupid idea to live in an own apartment when he could have this every day?
"Morning Donnie. Sleep okay?" his dad greeted him back, eying his eldest with a smile.
"Great, yeah," Don nodded and got the orange juice out of the refrigerator. He really had had a decent sleep, which did surprise him a bit. After the last day he had he would have betted he'd get nightmares, probably with his little brother starring in them.
Speaking of him - he eyed the progress of the coffee and the pancakes. Almost finished. "Want me to go get Charlie?" Don asked with a grin, already formulating the best way to rouse sleeping beauty from sleep in the most shocking way.
He and his brother had an ongoing little contest in waking each other up, ever since their early childhood. And no, they were not too old to continue this. Never. Especially not as he definitely was in the lead.
Already moving towards the door, he stopped cold when his father snorted. "Good luck with that. Your brother's been gone for almost an hour already."
Incredulous, Don turned back to stare at his father. "Gone? Where to?" he snapped, his heart beat accelerating.
This was not part of the plan.
Startled by his son's suddenly sharp tone, Alan eyed him frowningly. "To work I think. We didn't talk. I was still in bed by the time I heard him leave."
"Work? At CalSci? What on Earth would he do there at this ungodly hour?" Don wanted to know, his eyes narrowing.
Now really taken aback by Don's behavior, Alan turned to take a good look at his eldest. Don seldom showed emotion, even towards his family, but he was his father and he could read his son, if said son wanted it or not. Strangely, it always had been much easier for him to read Don, even after his training for the FBI, than to read Charlie, despite his youngest' knack to wear his emotions on the sleeve. His Margaret seemed to have been the only person who really got all of Charlie. Since she had passed away, he had become more apprehensive of what went on in his genius son's head, but he still was an enigma to him sometimes, unlike Don.
Keeping his eyes on Don, carefully observing, Alan shrugged. "He says he likes to go there early for the quiet. Plus, sometimes he wants to use that super computer they have there and early in the morning seems to be the best time for that." He briefly turned to take away the last pancake from the stove, adding it to the pile he had already prepared. Turning his attention back to Don, he decided to fish for some information. Lately, Charlie had been more distant than normal, barely ever at home anymore and now, Don seemed to have strapped the protective big brother full on. Neither of those facts sat well with Alan. "He leaves so early almost every day nowadays. But then, with the little sleep he seems to get lately, I'm not that surprised," he mentioned casually, keeping an eye onto Don's reaction to that out of the corner of his eyes as he brought over the plate with the pancakes and the coffee pot.
"Little sleep?" Don echoed, disturbed by that new tidbit of news.
Alan shrugged. "Goes to bed late, gets up early," he paused for a moment, his voice growing quieter as the concern he had held back over the last couple of weeks over his youngest finally came to light. "- having nightmares."
Nightmares?
Don tried to will down the welling concern - in futile. He sagged more into his chair than that he sat down. "What about?" he asked briskly and helping himself to a load of pancakes.
His father sighed. "I don't know. You know Charlie. He doesn't talk about things like that. He's almost worse in that department than you are."
Of course, contrary to Charlie, Don didn't live here anymore, limiting Alan's possibilities to note his eldest' sleeping patterns and therefore not giving him the opportunity to call Don onto them as he had with Charlie.
"Dad," Don sighed and suddenly remembered just why he preferred to have his own apartment. His father tended to hover and mother hen. He dug into his pancakes, having lost the appetite though. Now it was just necessary fuel.
And all because of Charlie, he thought darkly. Why couldn't he have just stayed and have breakfast with his family to then leave for work, like normal people do it every day. But no, not Charlie, of course not. Charlie had never been normal, not since the day he had been born, premature of course. Don loved Charlie, always had, unconditionally, but there had been many times, especially during their childhood, that Don had just wished to have a normal brother like everyone else and not Charlie with his numbers in that amazing head of him but with that frail body. Sometimes, he had almost hated the specialty of his brother - never Charlie, you couldn't hate Charlie with his gentle heart and big, expressive eyes - but that brain of him, that you could hate sometimes. Only after having put distance between him and his little brother, Don had learned to fully appreciate all of Charlie. It had been a long way, but eventually he got there and nowadays, he was just amazed by his brother's abilities and proud of him. Most days. Some days, he felt the old grudge toward him come up fleetingly and it was those days he tried to stay away from his family, especially Charlie.
Today was not one of those days, but he still was angry at Charlie for simply leaving like that, after everything that had happened the last day. God damn it, someone had shot at Charlie and now, Charlie was somewhere out there, unprotected. Perhaps at CalSci but something told Don that Charlie hadn't gone straight to campus - which meant that he could be anywhere right now. What if the guy who had attacked him yesterday was following him, attempting to take his life again perhaps right this minute?
The bite he had taken got stuck in his throat and he had to swallow hard to get it down. Having lost all appetite, Don pushed the plate away and grabbed his coffee, downing it quickly to immediately fill up his cup again.
That was exactly why Don had spent the night here, instead of going to his apartment, so he could catch up with Charlie and at least bring him safely out to the campus. He had even thought about taking some personal time that day so he could keep watch over his brother. He needed to be sure that Charlie was okay, safe. And he had planned to press Charlie some more about what really was going on. And now? Now, Charlie was gone, Don had no idea where he was and he was left to worry once again.
"Why don't you tell me what it going on here?"
Startled out of his thoughts, Don's head jerked up to see his father's eyes scrutinizing him mercilessly. He suppressed the urge to squirm. Heaven, he was a seasoned FBI-agent. He faced down some of the worst monsters the human race had brought out, never even blinking - but his father could still make him squirm with one look. Hell, sometimes he even felt the urge to quiver and immediately confess to have done something wrong when his dad gave him the look that fathers gave their sons all over the world since the age of time.
"What.. what do you mean?" he asked back, getting a grip on himself.
The look and Don nearly swallowed. "Don't give me that, Don. Something is up with your brother. And by your behavior, I guess you know what's up." His father frowned. "Is it a case? Is your brother in trouble?"
Forcing himself to remain calm and unreadable, Don met his father's eyes - and lied. "No Dad, I don't know what is going on. But I'm sure, whatever it is, it's fine." Well, halfway lied. He really didn't know yet what was going on. He didn't think though that it was fine. Not if his brother got shot. But his father didn't need to know that, really not.
"Donnie..."
Shooting his father a grin, Don got up and carried his plate and cup over to the sink. "You know, Dad, I really need to hit the road now. Thanks for breakfast. I'll call later." Not giving his father a chance to get another word in, he breezed out of the door, grabbed his things and left his childhood home, breathing in relief when he heard the door fell close behind him. Another reason why he had his own apartment was that his Dad just knew too damn much by simply looking at him - in Don's line of work not exactly always a too comfortable trait.
With a sigh, he headed for his truck and got in, pulled away to head North towards CalSci.
Back in the kitchen, Alan looked at the uneaten pile of pancakes and sighed. Great - another son out on the streets without a decent breakfast in him.
Frustrated, Don looked around Charlie's empty office for the second day in a row. Even more disturbingly this time, it didn't look as if Charlie had been here yet this morning. Okay, part of Don had already expected that, but still - to have confirmation now left an uneasy feeling in his stomach.
"Charles, what a surprise! I thought you called in some personal time for the rest of the..." Don turned and abruptly, Larry, having walked in, stopped and sputtered. "Oh my, Don... I'm sorry, I thought you might be Charles there, for a moment." He frowned. "So I don't know why as the both of you are really quite different in stature. Probably the old curse of habit bespelled me for a moment to believe I see Charles in his office." His frown deepened. "Uh, what are you doing here, Don?"
Having narrowed his eyes, Don gave a shrug. "Just looking for something. What was this you said about Charlie taking some time off?" he inquired.
"Well, Millie just informed me that Charles has called her to let her know that he'd take off for the rest of the week and suggest Amita to cover his lower classes and that he has asked an old friend of his over at UCLA to cover his more advanced classes," Larry answered and eyed him curiously. "Did Charles not mention that to you?"
"No, he must have forgotten that," Don said lowly, frowning.
"I must say, I was a bit surprised myself as well. When we talked yesterday evening he didn't mention it to me either," Larry nodded and sighed. "Of course I fear he was a bit distracted by doing the analyzes on this test series for the LAPD. I must say, that's quite an extraordinary project he has there. And the simulation yesterday seemed so real! Hard to believe it was only a test."
"He told you that? When?" Don wanted to know.
"Last night, he called to explain the previous situation to me and apologize to not have informed me sooner of the harmlessness of the happenings yesterday afternoon," Larry answered and glanced at his watch. "Oh dear, I fear I have to hurry. Don, please greet Agent Reeves for me, will you?"
Don gave an absentminded nod and stared at one of Charlie's prisms. So Charlie had taken some days off? He wondered why, not really liking the possibilities his mind conjured up for him though.
With a last glance around, Don left Charlie's office to go back to his SUV, deep in thoughts. Charlie hadn't said anything to him about taking time off and his dad hadn't mentioned anything about that either. So he assumed that Charlie had only taken some time from the university and wasn't planning to leave LA as well. As it looked he actually seemed to have wanted him and their dad to believe that he was going to CalSci regularly. But if he stayed here in LA, then where was he going to instead of to work?
To the LAPD? Don doubted it, but then, it would be easy enough to check up on that. Climbing into his SUV, he got out his phone and dialed his office, hoping that Megan was already there.
For once, he was lucky. Megan picked up after only the second ring. "Hey Megan, can you do me a favor? Get me the number of Chief Suttner of the LAPD?"
"Just a moment," Megan told him and he could hear her tapping away. "Why do you need it?"
"I just need to check up on something with him," Don evasively replied.
"Hmm - and it doesn't have anything to do with Charlie by any chance?" Megan though wasn't easily fooled.
Don sighed. "Just give me the number."
"Okay - it's 555-639."
"Thanks," Don told her quickly and hung up before she could question him further.
Hesitating a moment, he finally punched in the number for Chief Suttner. He wasn't exactly looking forward to check up on his little brother with a chief of the LAPD, but it wasn't as if Charlie left him much choice. Don needed to know what was going on.
"Suttner," a gruff voice sounded through the line.
"Chief Suttner, this is Special Agent Don Eppes of the local FBI," Don responded, falling back into agent mode.
There was a slight pause. "What can I do for you, Agent?"
Ah, now came the tricky part. How could he get what he needed without letting it on that he was just spying on his little brother? "I believe my brother is working on a project for the LAPD? Charles Eppes?" he started.
"Yes," Suttner answered shortly.
Don took a deep breath. "I understand that his project is in a hot phase right now and of course also the importance of it. He also consults for the FBI and we've come to appreciate his help. But we received some threats against him, recently, that have me quite concerned. And after yesterday's test - well, I'm sure you'll understand that I'd like to check if it really had only been a test and not someone making a serious attempt on his life. From what I gathered, the circumstances were a bit - shady."
Another slight pause. "Threats? What kind of threats?"
Don scratched his head, thinking quickly. "The family member of a person Charlie helped to send to jail got wind of his involvement and now seeks revenge. I'm sure you'll understand that I can't tell you more. I haven't warned Charlie yet, not wonting him to worry too much. Still, this incident yesterday left me a bit on edge. I can't shake the feeling that our perp had perhaps been also there on the scene, that's at least what he wants us to believe. So I'd like to talk to the officer who've mimed the sniper. Perhaps he has noticed something. Could you please give me his name?"
Suttner hesitated. "Yesterday, you said?"
"Yes - the fake sniper attack against Charlie at CalSci yesterday afternoon," Don complied, his full concentration on Suttner's voice to not miss even the slightest reaction.
"Oh yeah... I think I've seen the report somewhere," Suttner though replied to Don's surprise. "Just a moment. Yes, here it is - ah, but I'm afraid there are no names of the participants listed, only the facts and numbers. Why don't you ask your brother - I'm sure he'll be able to give you the name of the officer who played the sniper."
Was it just his imagination or could he hear a trace of sarcasm in the chief's voice there? Gritting his teeth, Don forced himself to remain calm. "Like said, I don't want to worry Charlie. Isn't there anyone else who could help me?"
"If this threat is as real as you fear it is, don't you think it would be better for your brother if he knew to look out and be even more careful?" Suttner countered to Don's frustration.
Now, Don had the choice to either backtrack or insinuate that Charlie wasn't strong enough to deal with a threat. Grinding his teeth, Don shook his head. He couldn't betray his brother. "You are probably right. I'll talk to him. The sooner the better," he added, changing tactics. "Uh, he mentioned he's working for you today but I hadn't had a chance to ask where. Can you at least tell me where I can find him?"
But again, Suttner was no help. "Agent Eppes, I'm the chief of the LAPD. Do you really think I know where each of my boys is at every moment of the day, let alone a consultant?"
Realizing that the chief was not going to tell him anything, Don finally gave up. "No, of course not, Sir. I'll give him a call and ask him directly."
"You do that, Agent Eppes," Suttner said and the line went dead.
With a growl, Don snapped his phone shut. Well, that had been quite futile. He hadn't learned much. Though the chief had said there had been a test yesterday. But then, with the way this was all working out, Don wasn't all that surprised about that. Actually, he'd be very surprised if - if he insisted on it - he wouldn't get the name of this fake sniper soon and that officer would have the very same story Charlie had fed him to tell him once again.
Whatever Charlie was involved with at the moment, it was clear to Don that another agency or group must had to do something with it, covering up everything. It had to be, with the fast and efficient way everything had been dealt with yesterday - and who knew for how long already. Perhaps it was the NSA, perhaps someone else, but he was sure that there was something going on.
And his little brother seemed to have been caught right in the middle of it.
Gritting his teeth, Don pulled away from the parking lot and headed back into the city. Even after all this time, Don still had a hard time picturing Charlie involved with matters that concerned national security. Or with agencies like the NSA or CIA. Sure, he had seen what Charlie was capable to do with his math and just how many lives could be saved by a simple equation. And still...
After learning of Charlie's high security level, Don had tried to find out more about it. Just how high it actually was, how he had gotten it and for whom exactly Charlie consulted or had consulted to require such a high clearance. But he had to find out that Charlie's security was pretty tight as he only found out a few things and nothing specific. None of his contacts seemed to be high enough. Part of Don had been relieved that his involvements with the government seemed to be well protected - another though deeply worried because if Charlie's security and clearance was as high as it seemed to be then it had to mean that his little brother must have had to do with some pretty heavy stuff. And heavy usually meant dangerous.
But life had gone on and Don hadn't been able to detect any massive threats for Charlie and gradually, he had pushed it all back, not exactly forgetting that Charlie was involved with top secret matters, but not consciously thinking about it anymore.
Until one fine afternoon when he received a phone call that supposedly never happened only moments after Charlie had been shot at to then vanish for a few hours.
His cell phone sprang to life and Don activated the speaker. "Eppes."
"I've heard you've received some threats against me? Care to enlighten me?"
"Charlie?" Don exclaimed a bit surprised upon hearing his brother's voice.
That was fast.
"What are you doing, Don?" Charlie continued as if he hadn't heard him.
"Where are you?" Don immediately demanded to know.
But Charlie ignored his question and spoke in a tight voice. "You are not seriously snooping around after me, are you?"
Well, two could play this game. "Where are you?" Don asked again, sharper this time.
"I'm at work!" Charlie snapped. "What the hell were you thinking, interrogating the chief like that?"
Don's jaw clenched, ignoring his last question. "I'm just coming from CalSci. Larry said you've taken the rest of the week off," he pointed out. "So for the last time: where are you?"
"At work," Charlie repeated once again and this time it wasn't hard to tell that he was angry. "It may surprise you, but my work consists of more than just standing in front of a class and talk about math."
"Yeah, I see that, a math professor really comes around," Don threw in, sarcastically.
"Actually yeah, he does, otherwise I probably would hardly spend as much time at the FBI as I do," Charlie countered.
At that, Don gripped the wheel harder. Yeah, he could say little against that, couldn't he? "Where are you, Charlie," he finally asked again, letting a bit of his desperation show in his voice, aiming for guilt. "I just want to talk to you. See you."
Charlie sighed. "We talked yesterday, Don. I'm safe. So don't worry and please, stop harassing my friends!"
"I wasn't aware the chief and you were such tight buddies," Don stated frowning. He really hadn't counted with Chief Suttner ratting him out - at least not so fast.
"We aren't, but we've worked together for years now and hold a mutual respect of each other," Charlie answered and the anger seemed to be back. "And when my brother comes and interrogates him, he thought he'd let me know, courtesy to that good working relationship we have going on instead of putting in an official complaint with Merrick. What the hell were you thinking, Don?"
"I didn't interrogate him. He must have widely exaggerated," Don corrected.
"Oh, so you didn't question him about the officer who staged the attack or about my whereabouts?" Charlie asked back.
"We both know that there was nothing fake with that attack yesterday," Don emphasized. "I don't care what the Chief said. You don't get a graze from a blank. Considering that some unknown person attempted to kill you, I think it only normal that I'd like to know where you are."
"Don, you really need to stop this," Charlie stressed, his voice tight.
Don frowned. "No, actually I think I need to get to the bottom of this."
"This doesn't concern you, Don," Charlie tried to reason.
"You were shot. That makes it to my concern, Charlie," Don replied, angry that Charlie was too thickheaded to see that.
His brother was silent for a moment and when he talked again, his voice was oddly calm. "No, Don. No, it doesn't. Or how would you react if you get hurt on the job and I'd come brazing in, trying to take over the investigation?"
"That is hardly the same, Charlie," Don protested, incredulous. "I'm an FBI-agent. It's part of the job. But you're not an agent. You're..."
"I'm a professor. I'm a mathematician. I'm a consultant," Charlie interrupted him. "And part of those professions bear a certain risk. Nothing like what you face on an everyday basis, but from time to time, my involvement with certain things puts me in a tight spot. But there are people who look out for me and you know, they actually know how to do their job."
"You've been hurt..."
Charlie fell into his word once again. "But I'm still alive, aren't I? You've got nothing to worry, Don. And for the last time, this doesn't concern you or the FBI for that matter. So please do yourself the favor and butt out before you get in trouble."
"So I've got nothing to worry? It doesn't work like that, Charlie!" Don contradicted him, taking a sharp turn that left the tires screeching.
An impatient sigh. "Do you really think I don't know that? My brother works for the FBI, for God's sake. You think I don't worry when you go on a bust? Don't you think I'm hesitating each time an unknown number shows on my phone or worse, one of the FBI numbers that doesn't belong to you in fear that it will be that call? You think it's easy to accept the possibility of you getting hurt or even killed any time and there's absolutely nothing I can do about that? Do I go and interrogate your boss and teammates though? Or do I perhaps get on your nerves with calling you every five minutes to see if you're still okay?" Charlie fired back, his voice rising.
Uncomfortable, Don shifted in his seat. He knew his family worried about him. Had known that always. But this wasn't the same. "You just can't compare that!"
"No, you're right. I can't. That's how I have to feel every goddamned day. That knowledge is always present, no matter what I do, no matter how far I'm into the numbers. It's always there, Don." Charlie took a deep breath. "I'm sorry you're worried, Don, I really am. I wish nothing of this had ever come to your attention. But you've got to deal with it now and that includes to just give it a rest. I'm fine. And you make it worse than it actually is."
For a moment, Don was at a loss of words, feeling partly guilty about the impact his job had on his brother, partly flabbergasted to hear Charlie talk to him like that. It wasn't like him to be so - resolute. "Charlie..."
There were suddenly voices in the background and then he could hear Charlie's answer distantly: "Yeah I know. I'm coming already." Then Charlie was back on the line with him. "I have to go. But, Don, please - no more investigations in this, okay?"
Don was quiet. He wouldn't give a promise he already knew he couldn't keep.
"Don..." Charlie pleaded quietly.
"Charlie!" was heard in the background.
"Yeah!" Charlie impatiently called back then sighed. "Please, Don, do me the favor. Don't get involved in this."
"It's too late for that, Charlie," Don finally answered quietly. But he had to work around a sudden lump in his throat. Charlie almost never asked him for any favors. Not like this. And he didn't want to say no to him - but there was this overwhelming combination of the big brother and the agent in him that stopped him to just let this rest. That actually urged him to get to the bottom of all this.
Charlie was silent for too long after that to Don's liking. "Fine. Whatever," he finally said, coldly. "I guess I'll see you tonight then."
Before Don could give an answer, the line went dead.
Frustrated, Don punched the steering wheel.
Great. Just great. The morning had barely begun and he had interrogated Charlie's best friend and the chief of the LAPD, without getting nowhere and to top all that off, he also had displeased his father and gotten into a fight with his brother.
Oh yeah, this day was turning out to be just fine.
One look at her boss and Megan knew that she better stayed clear of him for the time being. His stalk from the elevator to his desk was aggressive and the expression on his face could only be described as thunderous.
Unfortunately though, she was not only Don's team member, but also his partner and his friend. And she happened to be a profiler. So she couldn't let him brew like that. She did wait a bit though, in the hope that his mood would get better.
Thirty minutes later it was clear that if anything, it only got worse. She had watched out of the corner of her eyes how Don had attacked the paperwork with venom, his mounting frustration visible by the force with which he slammed every newly signed report onto the done-pile. And she had witnessed two other agents and one secretary approach Don's desk, take one look at his face and backtrack immediately again.
With a sigh, she wished she could do it like them and just go and hide, hoping Don wouldn't notice her until he wasn't so furious anymore. Shaking her head, she stood up, walked over to the coffee pot to pour two cups, then, bracing herself, approached Don slowly, ignoring the incredulous looks she got from the other agents in the bullpen.
Usually, Don was a very balanced person, always calm, always in control, always having a clear head, even if he was dead tired on his feet. It made him the good agent he was and one of the best team leaders the FBI had at the moment.
But from time to time, Don lost his cool and then he usually grew angry and a ticking time bomb that could blow up at any time. It happened seldom enough but when it happened, in eight out of ten times Don's little brother played a major role in getting Don into that state. Megan had to suppress a smile. She had always found it amusing that the cool, controlled, confident and strong Agent Eppes could be so easily thrown off by his brother, a math professor on top of that. And yeah, she almost found it endearing. She wasn't so self suicidal though as to ever tell Don that. But sometimes she also worried about that. It had its good reasons why an agent couldn't work a case where his family was involved. Or why it was always dangerous to let family work together. With Charlie working for them as a consultant, Don's strong emotional reactions to his brother could impair his usually very good judgment. Megan was aware of that and always looked out for it when she saw signs that something had gone on between the two oh so different but at the same time also oh so similar brothers. It was her job to have her partner's back after all.
This time Charlie wasn't working for them - but it was obvious that Don was loosing objection anyway and while they didn't have a case at the moment - it could come one in anytime and then they needed Don with a clear head.
"Hey," she greeted him, leaning against his desk and putting the second cup of coffee in front of her boss.
"I'm busy, Megan," Don replied shortly, not even looking up.
Not that that flustered Megan. She hadn't expected anything else. "So I take it the talk with Chief Suttner hadn't gone oh so well then?"
"Don't you have reports of your own to tend to? If not, I'm sure I'll have some for you," Don answered briskly, still not looking up.
"Not that I'm surprised about that. I doubt the chief of the LAPD appreciates it much to get questioned by a FBI-agent," Megan said as if she hadn't heard him.
Finally, Don raised his head to glare at her. "I didn't question him. I merely had some questions for him concerning my brother. That's all."
Megan nodded. "Of course."
"Go back to your own paperwork, Reeves," Don grumbled, turning back to sign yet another report.
Megan regarded him for a moment. "I'm curious. What did Charlie say did happen last afternoon?" She really was curious about that.
Don snatched himself another file. "It was all a big test for the LAPD on their responding time. Nothing of it real."
"Oh," Megan said slowly, finding it hard to believe it. But then, Charlie did work on all sort of projects, many of them for the law enforcements. It was possible that it was true. Still... "So the shots were blanks? And the people there were from the LAPD?"
Don shot her an unreadable look. "To my knowledge, blanks don't leave graze wounds."
Slowly, Megan nodded. "So you think he's got involved in something with another agency." It made sense, that.
With a sigh, Don threw his pen onto his desk and ran his hands over his face, grudgingly accepting that Megan wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. "I don't think it, I'm sure of it. And Charlie more or less confirmed it earlier on."
Megan raised an eyebrow, interested. "You spoke with Charlie?" That in turn would explain the mood with which Don had come in.
"Suttner called him and he in turn thought it necessary to call and give me hell for only wanting to keep Charlie safe," Don growled, his expression darkening.
She wouldn't be surprised to see steam coming out of Don's ear and nose any second now. "I'm sure he understands that you are worried," Megan said carefully.
Don snorted, his fingers twitching nervously. "Oh, he gets that. He just thinks I should just suck it up because that's what he has to do all the time as well."
Now, that surprised Megan. "What?"
Don laughed humorlessly. "He seems to think that if he has to worry day in and day out about me getting hurt on the job and has to swallow that worry that I should just do the same."
Her eyes widening a bit, Megan pulled a chair close and sat down, confident that she was allowed to do that now. "I guess I can see where he is coming from there. But it's not the same," she slowly said, thinking about what Don had told her.
"Thank you!" Don exclaimed. "That's exactly what I told him as well. But that bonehead of a brother of mine refuses to see this like that. He's not an agent! He's a mathematician, a professor! His job is to be safe and not get hurt!"
Megan passed him a look. She agreed with Don - but only partly. "Well - to be fair, he is also a consultant for various organizations with a pretty high clearance."
"So what?" Don gave back, giving her a glare. "He consults for us too, like a number of other people as well. It shouldn't put him at risk. If the idiots he's consulting for now had done their job well, he wouldn't have gotten hurt yesterday. For Heaven's sake, someone shot him! And all Charlie keeps telling me is that he's fine and safe. He told me to butt out and leave it alone, can you believe that?"
She felt for her boss, she really did. She knew how much Charlie meant to Don, had seen how deeply her boss loved his brother - and vice versa, for that matter. Of course Don worried after the scare of the past afternoon. To be honest, so did she. But Don still wasn't objective anymore. And she also knew Charlie. He would do anything to keep his brother out of trouble and if Don really butted into the operation of another agency or organization - then he definitely would get trouble. Taking a deep breath, she looked her boss directly into the eyes. "And perhaps Charlie is right with that."
The glare was instant and burning. "What?"
With a sigh, Megan held Don's eyes. "Whatever is going on, it's obvious that it's some other agency's business. You can't just barge in on that and you know that. You wouldn't tolerate it either if it were your operation."
He narrowed his eyes. "They got my brother hurt, Megan."
"I know. But then, you said yourself it was just a graze. That Charlie assured you that everything was fine. He's not stupid. You should trust his word, don't you think?" Megan told Don bluntly.
Don regarded her for a long moment and slowly, Megan got nervous that she had crossed a line she shouldn't have.
Finally, Don sat forward, turning his face away from her. "When Charlie was twelve, he and I were both in the same grade, high school, even in the same classes sometimes. I wasn't too pleased about that. Who wants his five years younger brother in the same class as you after all? So I avoided him and Charlie respected that, he didn't even try to approach me when being in school. And I was just fine with that, paying him no attention at all." His voice was conversationally and it sent a shiver down Megan's spine. "After a couple of months or so I emerged somewhat from my impassiveness and noticed that Charlie was moving around stiffly. And that I hardly saw him anywhere in the school yard during breaks. Finally, he wore long sleeves and that with almost ninety degree in the shadows. So one evening when Mom and Dad were out, I asked him if everything was okay. If someone was perhaps giving him a hard time. All he answered was that everything was fine, then he changed the topic." He made a pause and Megan's stomach clenched in anticipation to what Don would tell next. She had a pretty good idea what it would be though.
Don signed another report calmly as he continued. "Two days later he didn't come to meet me after school to walk home and I went looking for him. I found my brother unconscious in the boys locker room. His body was covered with bruises, some new but most of them old ones and the latest attack left him with two broken rips and three cracked ones. And one of the assholes kicked his head when he had been down, giving him a second grade concussion. He was in the hospital for a day and reluctantly, Charlie finally admitted that he had gotten beaten up every day since school had let in, sometimes more than once in a day."
He turned his head and looked Megan straight in the eyes. "Trust me, Megan. Nothing is fine when Charlie says everything is fine. In fact, if anything, something is very wrong when he uses that particular phrase."
Don held her eyes for a moment longer before he turned back to his report, clearly dismissing her.
Megan didn't fought it. Instead, she just got up quietly and walked away from Don without another word. Then again, there was nothing to say, wasn't there? She couldn't say anything in response to Don's little story. She stopped at her desk and stared at her chair, contemplating if she should sit down or give in and go outside to get some fresh air. Shaking her head, she threw a glance back at Don who was hunched over his report, then turned to head outside. She really needed some fresh air.
Don's tale shouldn't impact her like this - but there had been something in the way he had told it, so detached, that made it all the more real for her. Megan had always suspected that Charlie had had a tough time as a child, it seemed to be a common factor among prodigies like he was one. She had done some reading on the matter after meeting Charlie. And still - to hear Don talk like that about how badly Charlie had been hurt, even if it happened years before, it sickened her.
And she couldn't help but wonder if perhaps, Don was right.
That nothing was fine at all with Charlie and hence, also not with Don.
Taking a deep breath, she let it out in a long sigh as she leaned against the railing.
Something told her that they had some long days ahead of them.
Don glanced at Megan's retreating back and closed his eyes, rubbing his temples. He hadn't wanted to say anything to her, let alone talk about what Charlie had said on the phone.
But of course, Megan was Megan and before he knew it, he had started talking - venting.
Still, he should have never spilled that old story from high school. Don knew perfectly well that Charlie didn't want that to be widely known. And under normal circumstances, he would never have said something. Hell, most of the time he had banished that terrible incident from his memories. But Charlie's stubborn behavior while he was once again threatened just had brought that memory up again. And he had wanted Megan to understand that he had a very good reason to worry and do what he did - and would do until this was over.
Even after all these years, Don still blamed himself for not noticing earlier on that his brother got beat up repeatedly. Or rather said, for not wanting to notice it. He wasn't stupid after all. He had known how the hierarchy worked at high schools and especially for a twelve year old boy wonder among much older kids who had the audacity to be much smarter than any of them - if not even all of them together. But Don had ignored it, too angry to have his five years younger brother in the same class as him, being better than him. Okay, so they hadn't had that many classes together, but even one had been too much and the three they had had had definitely been too much. His parents had told him to watch out for Charlie, had forced him to walk him to the school and back home, and he had been angry about that as well. Charlie had never asked him of anything though and in hindsight, Don understood that Charlie had probably sensed Don's anger and frustration of finding himself in the same year as his little brother and had stayed out of his way as much as possible. So much that it was possible for a bunch of guys to beat him straight into the hospital.
That wasn't what Don had wanted, far from it. Actually, after it had happened, he had gone to have a talk with the bastards who had hurt his little brother himself - earning himself three days of suspension by the school board and two months of grounding by his parents, having to do a various bunch of chores on top of that. Don had never regretted that. In his eyes, the guys he had beaten up had gotten what they had coming for them by beating his brother unconscious. Besides, it got a clear message out to other bullies at school just fine.
No one hurt Charlie, and if someone did, that someone would have to deal with Don.
After that episode, Don kept an eye on Charlie, making it a point to know where he was when. He wasn't exactly keeping watch over him, but he regularly made sure to see him occasionally after at least every two classes and if he didn't show up for lunch, he went looking for him. As far as he knew, it worked. Charlie had no other trip to the hospital during high school. Then again, he and Charlie had never talked openly about high school. Who knew what other grief his classmates gave Charlie back then?
And ever since then, his hairs stood up whenever Charlie claimed that everything was fine. It always meant that he actually wasn't fine.
Just like this time. It wasn't fine. Something was going on and from what little Don had learned so far, it was something big, especially for Charlie. And it made him sick with fear that Charlie refused to get his help or even talk with him about it. That was even a worse sign about just how bad things actually were.
His phone rang and glad to be ripped out of his unpleasant thoughts, Don quickly answered it.
"Eppes."
"It's not over yet, Agent Eppes. Your brother is still in very great danger."
Fear clutched his heart, but it was pure anger that spoke out of Don. "Who the hell are you?"
"They're playing with him, Agent. But I warn you: it's a deadly game they're playing."
Don gritted his teeth and restrained himself from repeating his earlier question, knowing that he wasn't going to get an answer anyway. Instead, he forced himself to ask another question. "Who are 'they'?" he snapped as his gut clenched in dread as the word 'deadly' echoed in his mind with increasing volume.
"You better watch him, Agent Eppes."
The line went dead.
TBC!
(Author's Note: Well, well, well - hope you liked my little cliffy. Hopefully more soon. Thanks for the many wonderful reviews. Loved them! I do hope you enjoyed this one as well.)