WYWH, Chapter 7: Suspicion is Contagious

Oswald shook his head morosely. "It's all my fault. Dammit, Don, it's all my fault. I am such an idiot!" He glanced at Don, hoping the older man didn't hurt him too badly, even though he probably deserved it. One of the first things he had learned about the Brothers Eppes was that no-one had better endanger one in the presence of the other.

Don stood over him. He rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache and sighed. Then he sat in a chair facing Oswald and spoke quietly. "Unless you're going to tell me this was all a joke Charlie cooked up, or you're the one hiding him somewhere, I fail to see how this could possibly be your fault."

Oswald swallowed. Don being nice to him was worse than Don trying to kill him. Maybe the explanation would morph him into The Brother Hulk. "Because," Oswald finally admitted. "This guy talked to me yesterday, after the first half of Charlie's presentation. Who knew these math things had intermissions?" Don started tapping one foot, and Oswald continued nervously. "Anyway. He knew who I was, and that I was here with Charlie. He said he and Charlie went to Princeton together, and they had talked earlier yesterday morning. He took me aside, back away from everybody, and he said he knew Charlie's habits. He knew after the presentation, I would end up with his laptop. He offered me a lot of money, to burn a copy of all of Charlie's cognitive emergence work to DVD, and then implant a phagocytic code into it. I would get the DVD to this guy, Charlie's data would self-destruct and this dude would be able to publish before Charlie could redo everything."

Don interrupted him. "Wait, wait…implant a what?"

"Phagocytic code," Oswald repeated. "It boils down to a series of instructions to the data to self-destruct. You can program it to take affect at the stroke of a certain key, or the next time the computer is booted, or anything." His voice took on a note of disdain. "I thought the guy was crazy. I really didn't think he was serious – I mean, come on, if you know Charlie's habits, you've got to know he has this stuff backed up in at least three different places. Plus, the guy was a full-on nerd, glasses and everything. When I laughed and said he'd have to find some other way to pull one over on Charlie, he tried to threaten me, and it was ridiculous. He said that when he did find another way, both Charlie and I would be sorry. It was like one of those old, stupid, black-and-white movies, or something." Oswald looked at Don sadly. "Honest, man, I really didn't take him seriously."

Don tried to be understanding and not scare his best chance at finding Charlie into silence. "Look, I know, all right? I see people doing crazy shit all the time, and it's usually over something like love, or money – it's hardly ever over math. It's not something you'd necessarily expect, that kind of cut-throat competition." He leaned forward in the chair. "Do you remember the guy's name?"

Oswald smiled, happy that Don was so patient and understanding, and thrilled with his own memory for names. "Yes!", he answered excitedly. "I remember, because Charlie told me this story about Princeton on the way out here on the plane, and this guy didn't exactly shine, if you know what I mean…so I knew Charlie didn't really like him…"

Don leaned forward a little further. "Name?" he barked, a little impatiently this time.

Oswald pushed himself farther back in his own chair and blanched. "Oh. Oh, yeah. It was Marshall. Marshall Penfield."

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Alan hurried from the shelter after helping to serve lunch and stopped at a bakery halfway between the shelter and the FBI offices. On the one hand, he felt badly that he hadn't taken the time to make Megan a homemade cake for her birthday. On the other, he knew this bakery well, so he was sure the cake would be excellent. He was settling the cake on the floor of the passenger side of the car when he thought about checking his cell phone. He sat up and took if from his pocket, unaccountably proud. Both sons were always telling him he would never get the hang of this cell phone thing.

One missed call, one voice mail. He saw that it was from Don, and smiled, then frowned. He hoped Don wasn't calling to tell him not to bring the cake, that they had all had to leave the office, or something. As he listened to the voice mail, his frown grew deeper.

This was worse than he thought. Don said they were going out of town.

He listened to the message again, staring at the cake. What was he going to do with this cake? Charlie was already out of town, and the last thing Alan needed in the house was a quarter-sheet birthday cake… "I'm". Don was definitely saying "I'm going to be out of town for a few days", not "we", or "the team". Strange.

Alan punched in the number for Don's office and negotiated the automated system until he could enter Megan's extension. He was a little surprised when she picked up.

"M..Megan!", he stuttered. "Happy birthday, dear. It's Alan."

He could hear the smile in her voice. "Thank-you, Alan. You're sweet to remember."

He was happy about the cake, again. "Listen, dear, I want to bring a cake by the office this afternoon. I had hoped you could join us for dinner, but I know you're probably seeing Larry tonight. Plus, with both Don and Charlie out of town…"

"Alan, that's so thoughtful. But you don't need to…"

"No, no, Megan, I already have it and everything. I've been planning on it, and I would have surprised you, but I just got Don's voice mail about leaving town and I got a little worried the whole team had been sent."

A few seconds of silence. Then Megan's voice again, somewhat confused. "Well, no, Alan…we just showed up this morning and he wasn't here. The Officer of the Day left a message on my phone that he had approved indefinite leave time for a family emergency."

Alan clutched the phone a little harder. "What? There's no family emergency that I know about…but I couldn't reach Charlie this morning, either."

He was getting worried, and Megan could hear it in his voice. She spoke comfortingly. "Alan, why don't I go talk to the OD and see what else I can get out of him. I'll call you back?"

He shook his head even though she could not see him. "No. I'm almost there with the cake, anyway. I have my Visitor's Badge with me, I'll just come up."

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Alan was familiar with the break room, and he went directly there when he got off the elevator. Worried or not, he had a small birthday celebration to coordinate. He placed the cake on the table and went to the cupboard where he knew the paper plates and napkins were kept. He placed them on the table, stopping to grab a handful of plastic forks and one plastic knife from a drawer. He stepped back and looked at the arrangement, then stepped forward and lifted the clear plastic cover from the cake. Nodding, he went to the bullpen to gather Megan and her coworkers.

They were gathered in a standing semi-circle at Megan's desk, and Alan heard her talking as he approached. "…definitely said he was on the way to the airport, and had to leave town on a family emergency. The OD thought he may have mentioned Chicago. Do you remember where Charlie went for his symposium?"

Alan answered for them, dully. "Chicago."

David and Colby turned to look at him and Megan pushed past them to embrace Alan. "I'm sure everything is fine. Don't worry. We'll find out what's going on."

Alan smiled faintly as he hugged her in return. "Of course. Happy Birthday, Megan." He stepped back and eyed Colby over her shoulder. "There's some cake in the breakroom – you wait and let Megan cut the first piece!"

Colby choked out a "Hey!", and Megan laughed.

"I just hope it's chocolate, or carrot," she admitted. "I love Larry to death, but I am so tired of white food…"

Alan's jacket pocket began playing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame", and he reached quickly for his cell. "Thank God," he said, obviously relieved. "That's Donnie returning my call, finally." He extricated the phone and flipped it open. "Where are you? What's going on? Are you all right? Where's Charlie?" The three agents grinned at each other as they listened to Alan's immediate assault on their boss.

As they heard a sudden intake of breath and saw him pale, however, their grins faded. Megan put a hand protectively on his back and watched his face. "Missing? What do you mean, he's missing? Since when? Where's Oswald? What's going on?" David and Colby exchanged a glance, and Alan listened quietly for a few minutes. When he spoke again, it was in the "I Am The Father" tone they were all familiar with. "I'm coming. I will not stay here while both of my sons are who knows where, facing who knows what….Don't interrupt me, young man. Do not tell me what I am going to do." He was shaking his head. "No. Just get used to the idea. I. Am. Coming. I'll call you later with flight details." Alan flipped the phone shut, hanging up on Don. Colby arched an eyebrow and wandered toward his own desk.

Alan's cell started singing out Don's ringtone again almost immediately. Alan looked at it briefly and then shoved it in his pocket without answering it. He looked at Megan. "I suppose you heard that. He says Oswald called him early this morning and said that Charlie is missing. By the time he got there, Chicago's finest were grilling the poor boy as if he was a suspect himself, wasting time and resources, and doing nothing to actually find my son."

Megan's hand was still on Alan's back, and she patted it twice. "Alan, I'm so sorry. I know this is supremely frustrating, but Don is on the case, now. You know he'll move heaven and earth to find Charlie."

Colby rejoined the circle, shrugging into his jacket. He interrupted Megan. "Alan, you and I need to go. I've got us booked on a flight that leaves in two hours."

Alan stared at him, stunned speechless for a moment. "Wha?", he finally managed.

Colby shrugged, looking from one pair of eyes to the other until he had covered all his bases. "Listen. I've got some time coming, myself. I owe Don. He could have had my badge over that thing with my Army buddy. He was tough on me, but I asked for it, and he was also more than fair. He's been a good friend to me, and so has the Whiz Kid. The least I can do for both of them is make sure that their father doesn't do something stupid like fly off to Chicago." He grinned at Alan. "Alone, anyway."