WYWH, Chapter 13: Popsicles

The three men nearly got stuck in the doorway as they all tried to enter at once. Colby popped through first and dropped to the floor next to Don, who had his arms wrapped around Charlie. Colby tried to pry them away. "Hey, Don, let me see him. Come on, I've got him now, it's okay."

Alan was on the floor next. "Oh, God. My sons, my babies – what did they do to you?" He anxiously watched Colby checking Charlie's injuries and flicked his eyes to Don, who didn't seem to be in that great of shape himself.

Oswald loomed over them and interrupted nervously. "Guys, we've only got 45 minutes. They could start arriving anytime!"

Colby flashed Don and Alan a confident smile, thinking that he should have gone into acting. "He's right," he said. "We need to get Charlie got the car, and warm him up. We can't call the local PD, and there's no time to notify area FBI agencies. If we're going to take down these guys, we're going to have to do it ourselves."

Alan reached out a hand to caress Charlie's hair. His youngest son hadn't opened his eyes since they had stormed into the freezer. "I don't care about them. We have to get Charlie to a hospital."

Don shivered as he addressed his father. "D-D-Dad, Colby's right. We can't let Penfield get away with this. He'll just come after Charlie again."

Alan looked stricken, and Oswald kept looking over his shoulder. Colby took charge, letting his days as a soldier in Afghanistan lead his God-given instinct for survival. He shifted Charlie a little and started to stand. "Alan, you and Don carry Charlie out to the car. It's risky, but if you leave the lights off, you might not be noticed. It's close to the end of the building, in the back. You need to lock all the doors, start the engine and turn on the heater full blast." Colby shrugged off his jacket, and Oswald quickly did the same. "Wrap him up in anything you can find," he instructed, gently laying the coats over Charlie. "Don, if you feel up to it, Oswald and I could use your help back in here when you get Charlie settled in the car."

Although he was team leader, Don was more than happy to have Colby's clear head making the orders. He nodded carefully, so as not to set off the fireworks in his own head. "Absolutely," he answered. He was helping take down Penfield if he had to crawl back inside.

Colby stood, and he and Oswald helped Don and Alan to their feet and get a secure grip on Charlie. The four of them actually carried him all the way to the back door, where Don and Alan took over entirely. Colby found something to prop the door open with so that they could get back in, and he and Oswald started walking back toward the freezer. Colby admired the kid. He was obviously and understandably scared shitless, but he was in for the whole ride. "Oswald; you said you hid in an empty computer monitor box? Show me."

Oswald changed his trajectory a little to go to the front part of the warehouse. "They're over here," he affirmed. "They're not all empty. I just got lucky."

They had almost reached the boxes when footsteps echoed in the warehouse. Colby pulled his gun and shoved Oswald down behind the stack of boxes while he rotated in a crouched circle, looking for the source. Finally, a hoarse whisper was heard. "Guys! It's me!", and Don came into sight. Colby and Oswald stood at the boxes and he hurried to join them.

When he had, Colby turned again to Oswald. "Show me which one was empty; then we'll try to find another one."

Oswald laid his hand tentatively on a box and frowned. "What are we doing?"

"I want you two out here," Colby told him. "We only have one weapon between us, and we need the element of surprise working for us." He glanced around, and made a quick decision. "Oswald, help me stack a few of these monitors. We'll slide one of the empties behind, for you. If my plan backfires and somebody heads back out this way, you'll be watching through a crack in the lid. When his position is right -- spring out like a jack-in-the-box, and dump the tower. At the very least, the element of surprise should disarm him."

Don looked at him and frowned. "This is your plan? What plan? And I'm not hiding in an empty computer monitor box while all the action bypasses me. I came back in to help!"

Colby and Oswald were already starting to build their tower. "Too bad the Whiz Kid can't design the perfect trajectory for this," panted Colby.

Don started checking some of the boxes around him. Several were empty. "Look, you'll never get that very high with those heavy monitors. If we're going for the element of surprise, here, put a few empty ones on the top. It will still have the desired affect. And you never answered me."

Colby paused long enough to toss him a grin. "Always knew there was a reason you were lead agent," he teased. "I'm going back in the freezer. They'll come there to get you guys, and I don't want them to be disappointed!"

Don liked that part of the plan, at least. Maybe this part was okay too, since it would keep Oswald safely out of the way. He nodded. "I'm going in with you," he said. "We know the code now, so Oswald can let us out if something goes wrong. Maybe Penfield will decide to let us freeze to death or something."

"Two points!", Colby crowed after tossing an empty box and watching it teeter on the edge of the tower for awhile before settling. He looked back at Don and raised an eyebrow. "No socks, no shirt, no jacket, possible concussion – you will freeze to death, whether that's Penfield's intention or not."

Don cursed silently when his weakened body picked that moment to sway. He tried to cover by opening Oswald's home-away-from home and gesturing for him to climb in. "I am going," he growled. "Oswald, you got a watch?" Half in the box, Oswald stopped to nod, large round eyes staring at Don. "Give it until 12:30," Don ordered. "If nobody shows up by then, we're outta here. Charlie needs a doctor. We should've just sent my Dad ahead."

"Does he know his way around Chicago?", questioned Colby. "Could he get to a hospital, or direct someone back here?"

Don sighed and didn't bother to answer. Oswald finished climbing into the box. Colby carefully closed the lid and told him to hang on. Then he turned the box on its side, so that Oswald could watch out of the cracks. Don and Colby waited until Oswald's muffled voice assured them he was settled, and headed for the freezer.