CHAPTER SEVEN
The next morning, Don was the first awake. He had showered and dressed before Lauren had even stirred, and he left the room and walked to the conference room. He wasn't expecting to see his brother sitting cross-legged on a sofa staring at a wall covered in equations. Jimmy Dean and Kate were also there, deep in conversation, huddled over a laptop, and Anna was sitting in a chair, watching Charlie. It was quiet in the room, and Don almost felt like an intruder. Almost.
"Charlie!" he exclaimed. "You're back." He walked into the room completely now, and ignored Jimmy Dean and Kate and Anna as they stared at him. Charlie was the only one who didn't look at him. He was looking at the numbers.
Don rolled his eyes at that. Leave it to his brother to be completely in the dark about the worry Don and his father would have been feeling.
Don stepped into Charlie's line of vision, blocking the numbers on the wall behind him. "Charlie?"
"Don," Charlie replied, looking up at him with a slightly confused expression. He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. "Don't move. I really don't want to see those anymore." He motioned vaguely to the numbers behind Don, and Don shook his head.
"Are you at all aware that we might have been worried about you?" Don asked, crossing his arms in front of him.
"Why? I was fine," Charlie said, rubbing at his eyes with one hand. "Other than not having had enough sleep. I need to find a way to eradicate jet-lag."
That earned a snort of laughter from Jimmy Dean. "Bigger fish to fry, my friend," he said, locking eyes with Don and shaking his head slightly. He motioned to the conference table, where breakfast was set up. Don took the hint and walked over while Jimmy Dean excused himself and joined him.
"Now is not the time to confront Charlie about anything," Jimmy Dean said quietly. "He needs to solve that," he motioned to the numbers again. "That's the priority. I don't care about your feelings or those of your father."
Don couldn't help being mighty offended by that. "My feelings? My feelings are that I've been kept in the dark, and a virtual prisoner in this building. And Charlie's the one responsible for it."
"Maybe so, but if you don't let him work, I'll have you removed," Jimmy Dean threatened. "Got it?"
"Yeah, sure," Don muttered. "What world-saving problem is he working on now?"
Jimmy Dean didn't answer him but watched as Charlie stood somewhat unsteadily and erased a set of numbers. He started scribbling new ones in its place. "You're his brother," Jimmy Dean said, looking back over at Don. "I get that you're angry, you're allowed to be angry, having been shot at and all. And yeah we aren't the most forth-coming people in the world." He ignored Don's eye-roll and continued. "But we could use your help."
"With what?" Don demanded incredulously.
"Keep your brother conscious and on his feet so he can solve that," Jimmy Dean said none too gently. "That's the objective of today, and maybe tomorrow, and possibly days after that. We don't kid around here. We need that solved. Everyone needs that solved. And we need it solved now. We needed it solved ten minutes ago. So you can probably figure out the kind of pressure he's dealing with. He doesn't need you added on to it."
Don frowned and looked back over at Charlie. Anna was standing beside him now, quietly talking, her hand on his arm, holding him up, Don suspected.
"Is he injured?" Don asked seriously.
"He's… Not well, at the moment," Jimmy Dean said. "Not injured. He's focusing. You've probably had to deal with Charlie when he's hyper-focused. It's not that easy sometimes."
"Yeah, I know," Don said dubiously. Charlie looked far too pale. "How long has he been working on this?"
"Two days."
"So he wasn't in Cyprus?
"Yes, he was. That's where they got him the code. He wanted to come here. And when he's working on something, Charlie gets what he wants. Luckily he's not too demanding," Jimmy Dean said with a wry grin. "Usually he wants Anna, and he wants coffee. That's it. It's up to the rest of us to make sure he doesn't die of dehydration and lack of food." He shrugged and turned to the table to pour himself a cup of coffee. "Anyway, you can run interference with your father?"
"Yeah, of course," Don said with a nod. "But wouldn't it be better if you let him get some sleep? A fresh pair of eyes and all that?"
"We don't have the time," Jimmy Dean said dismissively. "Not that he could sleep anyway. Too much riding on this."
Don poured himself a coffee as well and turned his attention back to Charlie, who was sitting down again.
"Anna could probably use some sleep right about now," Jimmy Dean suggested. "She's been up as long as he has."
Don nodded and poured a second cup of coffee for Charlie, then walked over and sat down beside him. He shoved the coffee in Charlie's hand. "Here," he said. "Drink this. Do you want something to eat?"
Charlie turned his head slightly to Don without taking his eyes off the numbers. "What?"
"Eat? What do you want for breakfast?"
"Nothing," Charlie said with a shake of his head. He cocked his head slightly as he stared at the numbers. "This doesn't make any sense."
"You'll figure it out," Don said before turning his attention to Anna. "Do you want to get some sleep? I'll stay with him for a while."
Anna nodded. "Ok. Thanks." She stood and left the room.
Don looked at the numbers in front of him and tried to extract some meaning from them. They were too jumbled though; math so advanced no one in the country could probably figure it out. Except Charlie.
Don turned to look at the door that had just opened, and watched Colby, David, Marjolie and Lauren walk in. He hurried over before any of them could come talk to Charlie.
"He's back!" Colby said with a pleased smile.
"Is he alright?" Lauren asked with a worried frown.
"No," Don said. "He's working on a code of some sort, and he's under a lot of pressure, so he's…" Don shrugged. "He needs to be left alone. I know you've all been looking forward to him getting here, but I need you to not talk to him."
"We can do that," Lauren said with a supportive smile. "Until he's ok to talk to us. He's ok, though, right? Physically?"
Don shrugged. "I don't know. There's something not quite right, but I don't know what it is. Is my dad up?"
"He'll be by in a few minutes," David, who was sharing a room with Alan, said.
"Great," Don said. "I'm going to go sit with him," he motioned to Charlie. Don left the group at the conference table to eat breakfast, and went back over to Charlie, who was standing now and running his fingers along the equations and occasionally shaking his head. Don hovered close by. Charlie just didn't seem that steady on his feet, and Don was worried he would fall over. Charlie tapped his fingers against a set of equations a few times, then erased them.
He stepped back again, staring at them with his head cocked slightly and his arms crossed. "Kate?" he said.
Kate jumped to her feet and was at his side in seconds.
"I need the Argentina book," he said, never taking his eyes off the numbers.
"It's at Headquarters, but I should be able to print you a copy of it," Kate said with a nod. Jimmy Dean had already picked up the phone. "It'll be a couple of minutes, ok?"
Charlie nodded and rubbed his eyes. "It's very familiar," he said. "But completely wrong."
"You'll figure it out, Charlie, you always do," Kate said, her hand on his shoulder supportively.
"Not every time," Charlie said with a shake of his head. He sounded exhausted.
"Charlie!" Alan exclaimed from the doorway. Don cursed himself for not having been paying attention, and he rushed over to Alan.
"Dad! Can I talk to you for a second," Don said hurried, sidetracking a determined looking Alan.
"Not right now," Alan said. "I need to talk to Charlie."
"Yeah, he can't talk to you right now," Don said forcefully, blocking Alan's path.
"Why not?" Alan demanded with narrowed eyes.
"Because he's working on that," Don said as he motioned to the numbers. "And he's under a lot of pressure. He probably hasn't slept in days, and you know how he can get-"
"All the more reason for me to talk to him," Alan said determinedly. "He can use the break."
"No, he can't. Look, Dad, I've been told we're to leave him alone or get kicked out, ok? Whatever we want to talk to him about can wait a couple of days."
"Kicked out?" Alan repeated.
"Yes, kicked out if we don't leave him alone. So, let's just be supportive for now, until he's done. Then we can yell at him."
"I wasn't going to yell at him," Alan said.
"Well I was."
Alan stepped past Don and up to Charlie, enveloping him in a hug. Charlie mostly ignored him and stepped around to write a new equation in place of the one he had erased a few minutes before.
Alan didn't look bothered by that, having long since gotten used to a focused Charlie. "He feels hot," he said with a worried frown, holding a hand on Charlie's forehead.
"I'm fine," Charlie said.
"Ah, so you do notice me," Alan said, hands on his hips. "And you do feel hot. Are you sick?"
"Nope, no time for that," Charlie said, erasing a second set of numbers.
"That's hardly going to stop an illness," Alan said, shaking his head.
"Dad, I can't listen to you right now," Charlie said, turning briefly to glance at him. "Please?"
"Ok," Alan said, holding his hands up in defeat. "I'm going to make you something to eat for breakfast though." Alan determinedly walked over to the conference table and set about gathering up something appropriate and easy for Charlie to eat.
Don walked over to Jimmy Dean and Kate, who were still sitting by a computer. Jimmy Dean had hooked the laptop up to a printer, and they were watching their email inboxes impatiently.
"What book was he talking about?" Don asked.
"Not really a book," Kate said. "More of a notebook. Charlie wrote it for a code he broke a while back. He thinks there's similarities, so he wants to see it again."
"Charlie has photographic memory when it comes to numbers," Don said. "He shouldn't need to see it."
"Well he wants to see it," Jimmy Dean snapped in return. "There it is," he said as the computer chimed to indicate a new email. He clicked on print, and Kate walked over to the printer to collect the pages. Jimmy Dean stood as well, having apparently gotten tired of sitting behind the computer. He walked the length of the room a few times. Don decided that wasn't very helpful to Charlie, but thought better of asking him to stop, so he sat down on the sofa and watched his brother. Lauren came and sat down beside him after a few minutes. Kate gave Charlie a stack of papers, and he held them in his hand while staring at the equations on the wall. Kate hovered beside him uncertainly.
After a few minutes Charlie actually looked at the papers in his hand. He shook his head after a few moments. "That wasn't what I wanted."
"That's the one from Argentina," Kate said as Jimmy Dean walked over also.
"I know," Charlie said with a nod. "I know. I just… This isn't what I wanted." He shoved the papers back at Kate, who turned to Jimmy Dean with an uncertain frown. He dropped down on the sofa and rubbed his eyes roughly. "Sorry," he said after a few minutes. "I'm not… I need to go take a shower or something."
"We don't have the time," Jimmy Dean said quickly.
"I know that," Charlie said. Everyone in the room had fallen silent now and was listening. "I just need to look at something else for a little bit. Fifteen minutes."
"You know what's at stake-"
"Yes, I know what's at stake!" Charlie snapped, getting to his feet again. "I've got the damn President on the phone every five minutes asking for a damn update. I'm aware of what's at stake." Charlie swore quietly under his breath. "I just need to breathe."
Don looked at his brother in surprise. Charlie never, ever swore; he considered it unintelligent. "Go then," Don said. "Take a shower, or a quick nap. Whatever you need to do. I'll speak to the President myself if I have to, to get him to back off."
Charlie looked at Don in surprise, as if he'd forgotten anyone else was in the room.
"Don," Jimmy Dean said, beginning to get angry.
"What?" Don snapped in return. "If he can't concentrate then it's no use to you anyway, right? If sleeping is going to help him function, then that's what he needs to do!"
"You don't understand-"
"I understand my brother!" Don replied, getting to his feet to confront Jimmy Dean and well aware this was entirely the wrong approach.
"So do I!" Jimmy Dean replied. "We've done this before. He can sleep when it's done."
"That's enough," Alan said angrily, stepping in between them with a plate-full of sandwiches. "Do either of you think this is helping the situation? You're making it more stressful for everyone involved. Charlie knows what he needs, so the two of you can let him make his own decisions. Now sit down and be quiet, the both of you."
Jimmy Dean and Don both glared at each other and Don took the first step and sat back down on the sofa. Charlie had turned back to the numbers and was erasing another set.
"Charlie?" Alan questioned. "Sit down for a minute."
Charlie ignored him and Don could feel the tension in the room ratchet up another notch. Everyone seemed uncertain of what to do or where to look. Anna had slipped back in the room, freshly showered and wearing yoga pants and a tank top. She stood by the doorway for a few moments before stepping up to Charlie. He was still writing, and she spoke quietly to him in French for a few minutes before he nodded and allowed her to take the marker out of his hands.
"We'll be back in half an hour," Anna said, taking Charlie by the hand and guiding him out the door. She closed it firmly behind her.
"Man," Colby said with a shake of his head.
Don glared at him before redirecting his glare at Jimmy Dean who was fuming over by the computer station.
"Leave it alone," Lauren admonished quietly.
"That's easy for you to say," Don said. "My brother looks like he's well on his way to a nervous breakdown."
"It's not like I don't care about Charlie," Jimmy Dean said irritably. "He's a very good friend. Sometimes things are more important."
"Nothing is more important than my brother," Don snapped in return.
Jimmy Dean shrugged at that, then nodded. "Right, well. We'll see."
"So has anyone figured out yet why we were shot at?" David asked, deciding that a change of topics would lessen the tension in the room a bit.
Jimmy Dean shook his head. "We're keeping an eye on the FBI investigation, but they're not making any headway so far as we can tell. We're actually starting to think this was maybe a set-up."
"A setup?" Don asked. "By who?"
"The FBI and CIA were investigating Charlie," Kate said carefully. "But they had no solid proof of anything. So they couldn't get warrants to search anything."
"You think the FBI shot up my house?" Don said incredulously.
Jimmy Dean shrugged again. "CIA, probably. They tend to have a lot of leeway in the way they operate. And anyway, it was obviously done in a way that ensured no injuries. Not unless there's regularly someone at the house who's 10 feet tall. They shot up your ceiling more than anything else. Now that your house is a crime scene, the FBI has full access. Of course, I don't know what exactly they were hoping to find."
"Evidence, maybe?" Don said with a snort.
"Yeah, except not," Kate said. "Charlie wasn't exactly hacking bank accounts from his living room couch."
"So there's no evidence?" Don asked. "Nothing they could arrest Charlie for?"
"Of course not," Jimmy Dean said dismissively. "First of all, what they're accusing him of, would need a pretty powerful computer system, which Charlie doesn't have. Now, he does have access to one, or to several, but the only one the FBI knows about is the one at CalSci, and Charlie is not exactly stupid enough to use a computer that is easily linked to him. Secondly, it would take a lot of planning, and coding, and hacking. Charlie doesn't have the time."
Don looked up at him and frowned slightly, then nodded. Jimmy Dean wasn't about to admit to anyone that it had been Charlie. Still, it was pretty hard to believe that the CIA or FBI was responsible for shooting up Charlie's house just to search his things. Don wasn't quite willing to believe that. He wasn't quite willing to believe anything Jimmy Dean said.
"So how do we fix it?" Colby asked. "How do we convince them that Charlie had nothing to do with it and to leave him – and us, alone? I mean, someone's following Marjolie around everywhere, is that the CIA too?"
"It's possible, but we don't know this for certain yet," Kate said. "Our head office is looking into getting Charlie cleared. We have contacts who will get in contact with some of the… people in charge?" Kate shrugged and smiled. "Because our organization operates outside of the government, we sometimes do run into problems like this. It just needs to go through channels, that's all."
"That's all?" Alan scoffed. "Really? And who exactly is going to clean up my house?"
Kate shrugged and looked over at Jimmy Dean. "I'm sure the FBI would be more than willing, once we get through with them."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Don asked.
Kate shrugged. "Nothing at all. They haven't been very polite though, wouldn't you say? Shooting at your family and friends. We'll have to repay that favour."
"Whatever it is you're planning, let's just be sure they were the ones who did this in the first place," Don said. "Which is something I'm not entirely convinced of. It's not how the FBI that I know operates. And I'd rather not know of any impending illegal activities."
"Who said it'd be illegal?" Jimmy Dean asked. "It's just going to be strongly-worded, is all. And yes, we're making sure first."