-1Obsession

Disclaimer: See Prologue

A/N: Your reviews tell me so much, they let me know if you are still interested in the story and if I've succeeded in the telling of my story. Thank you. I truly appreciate hearing from you.

(Spoiler: "Assassin")

Chapter 29:

The traumatic events of the last ten hours had finally taken it's toll on Charlie, both physically and emotionally. His adrenaline rush from the cat fight had worn off and had taken all of his remaining energy with it and now fatigue was rapidly sweeping through his body to claim him. He didn't want to sleep, it was important that he stay awake. The lions could come back or Bashere might find him. Only two more hours, Charlie just had to stay awake for one hundred and twenty more minutes. He could do this, he told himself.

He splashed water on his face, desperate to stay alert, but the welcome relief only lasted a few seconds. The young professor had suffered too much; he was injured, exhausted and now he was on the verge of collapse. Charlie caught himself just as he was nodding off and realized that he wasn't going to make it. Sighing, he carefully scooted himself backwards until his back was resting firmly against the trunk of the tree. Next, he shifted closer to the side of a small branch that was strong enough for him to lean on. He unbuckled his belt and pulled it free, then wrapped it around his waist and looped it around the small branch. It was a little snug but he buckled it tightly anyway, hissing when it touched his wound. "At least I'll have some warning if I start to fall." he thought tiredly. "It would be just my luck to fall out of the tree and break my neck after surviving everything else." He tucked the broken branch inside the loop as well, he didn't want to risk losing his only weapon.

"Don't forget about defenestration Charles."

Non-pulsed by the appearance of his friend, Charlie yawned widely and blinked at the figure sitting on the branch across from him. Bleary-eyed, he tilted his head to the side and replied. "There aren't any windows here Larry, so I don't believe defenestration applies to this situation."

Larry carefully glanced downward and said. "True, but although no one is throwing you out of a window, falling from a tree can achieve the same results, especially from this height."

Charlie snickered and pointed to the belt around his chest. "I've taken that into consideration Larry, see?"

Larry faded away without answering and for a moment Charlie forgot where he was and why he was even there. He blinked his eyes rapidly and realized that he had been hallucinating, Larry had never been there. It was a fleeting thought however, as all awareness began to fade away.

Now that the predator's had moved out of the area, the forest creatures began to return and as nature's musicians began their melodious symphonies once again, Dr. Charles Edward Eppes lost his struggle to remain awake.

Charlie's head lolled sideways against the tree trunk as his body surrendered to exhaustion. He slumbered peacefully in the protective boughs of the old oak, rocking gently as the tree swayed from side to side, pushed by the swirling winds.

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"Son of a bitch!" Don cursed as he snapped his phone shut and shoved it back into his pocket. Angrily, he whipped around to face his team. "Bashere is Fitzgerald!"

"What did Fisher find at the house?" Colby asked.

"He found an empty house." Don said with a scowl. "Fisher said that it looked as if no one had lived there for weeks. They found indentations in the carpet at all of the windows facing the Craftsman, said it looked like tripods were set up there, probably all holding cameras. Bashere was staying there just to keep an eye on Charlie. He said it didn't look like anyone had actually slept there." Don shrugged angrily as he stormed toward the printer.

"Fisher obtained a copy of Fitzgerald's passport photo and with facial recognition software they confirmed it was a match to the photo taken at the airport." he picked up the photograph and pursed his lips as he studied it. He couldn't believe it, Angus Fitzgerald's face with Bashere's cold brown eyes and hair the exact same shade as Charlie's. Don shook his head in disbelief before handing the picture to David.

"Check this out." he said as he turned away scrubbing his hands through his hair. "Man, I just don't believe this."

"Don, you couldn't have…" David started to say as he passed the picture to Colby.

"I should have done a more thorough search on the man!" Don interrupted the younger agent. "I just did a routine search on him, I …I….should have dug deeper!"

David stuck his hands in his pockets and rolled his shoulders. "You didn't have any reason to check him out Don, you know you can't do a thorough background search without suspicion that a crime has been committed."

Don's face suddenly paled and he sat down hard in a chair, covering his face with his hands. "Oh, my God!" he muttered.

Megan rushed to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don, what is it, are you okay?"

"He cooked dinner for us…..Bashere actually cooked dinner for us!" He rubbed his forehead and then met his team's eyes. "He could have killed us anytime he wanted too."

It was a sobering thought and there was an uncomfortable silence as everyone took a moment to reflect on Don's words. It was a chilling revelation, considering what Bashere was capable of doing.

Finally, Megan squeezed his shoulder. "But he didn't Don, you've got to put that behind you."

"Yeah, well, that's easier said than done." Don said as he forced his emotions aside. He took a deep breath and stood up, becoming the professional agent once again.

"Colby, let's get some more pictures of Bashere to hand out and then we should be ready to begin the briefing. Megan , I want you to talk to them first and then we'll move on to the assault."

She tucked a hair behind her ear. "Right, I'll be ready."

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At four-forty five the small ranger station was packed to the limit with FBI agents, local police and park rangers. The LAPD cruisers had stayed at the Projecting Point site while the local police had barricaded the entrances to the park. Don had decided on an air assault on the cliff top with a ground assault team in place on the mountain to catch anyone that might make it down the trails. Don and his team, along with Jeff Cromwell and Ian Edgerton, stood in front of the wall map of the park.

"Listen up everyone. This is Agent Reeves, she's a profiler and she's going to tell us about the men on the plane." The SAC nodded to Megan and she began by pointing to the photographs that were spread out on the table.

She held up the photo of the two pilots. "Martin Thompson and Todd Humphrey have a history of drug-trafficking and gun-running in Afghanistan. There are no murder warrants against them but that doesn't mean that they won't fight back, so approach them with caution.'

'The same holds true for this man." This time she held up a picture of Adam Harkin. "He doesn't have a violent history, his warrants have been limited to prostitution. It is unlikely that he would resist arrest but in many cases like this, the least likely person will pull a trigger, so proceed with care. One more thing, from a distance Harkin could be confused with the hostage, so study his face closely so that you don't mistake him for Dr. Eppes." She paused and gathered up the pictures of Picarry and Krill.

"Alexis Krill and James Picarry are both hard-core mercenaries out of South Africa. There are murder warrants out on both of them in at least six countries so approach them with extreme caution….they will fight back." She placed the pictures back on the table and picked up another one.

Megan walked around the room slowly, holding the last picture up high so that everyone could see it.

"Compared to this man, the other men that I have told you about are angels." she paused, giving the agents time to absorb her words.

"Henri Bashere is a certified psychopath . He is incapable of feeling guilt, remorse or empathy for his actions. He is cunning and manipulative and he will kill you in the blink of an eye if you get in his way." she said as she briefly caught Don's eye before continuing on.

"This man is obsessed with Dr. Eppes and if he is cornered I believe that he will kill the professor before he will let us rescue him." she paused to swallow. " If you do find him, notify Agent Eppes immediately, do not force a confrontation unless you think he is going to harm DR. Eppes."

Megan removed her glasses and lowered the picture. "We don't know how many of these people actually survived the crash but we do know that some of the hostiles did."

She glanced around the room. "Are there any questions?" When no one responded she walked back to the table and put the picture down before joining her team in front of the wall map.

Don pushed what she had said to the back of his mind and turned to face the ranger.

"You said there were two trails down from the Boney Mountain Ridge. Which one do you think they would take?

Cromwell shook his head and pointed at a spot on the map. "It won't matter which one because both trails intersect with this fire road. Anyone coming down the mountain has to pass this point. If you station your men here and here." he said pointing to two different locations on the map. "You'll stop everyone that comes down those trails."

Don studied the map. "Your sure that no one could have gotten past that point already?."

"Not enough time. The trails from the Point to the fire road are hazardous in the dark and even if they had traveled an hour, they would still need at least two hours this morning to reach the road."

"We'll need one of your rangers to take a squad up the mountain to this point. How long will it take them to get to this area."

"At least an hour and forty-five minutes. If they start now, they can reach that section before seven." Cromwell looked up and waved a ranger over and introduced him to Don. "This is Ed Porter, he knows that section of the trail best."

Don nodded and called a SWAT team leader over. "Martin, take your squad and follow Ranger Porter up to this area and watch your back." He said pointing to the location on the map. "These men have already killed a number of people and as Agent Reeves pointed out, they won't hesitate to kill again."

"Understood." Martin said as he turned to leave.

"Oh, and …ah…watch out for lions." Don added, stopping Martin in his tracks.

The agent turned in surprise, not sure if he had heard correctly. "Sir?"

"Trust me, just keep an eye out for them."

"Ah…yeah, right sir." Martin spared a puzzled glance with one of his men before joining his team.

As the group headed out of the door, Don turned to Cromwell again. "I'll need you to accompany us up to the cliff. We'll need two trackers if they've split up."

"I'll collect my gear." The ranger said as he hurried away to gather his things.

The SAT watched as the agents familiarized themselves with the photographs and his eyes automatically drifted to the one of his brother. Megan's words haunted him, "he will kill the professor before he let's us rescue him." If Charlie had survived and was still with Bashere, how in the hell was he going to get him away from that mad man.

"Are you okay Eppes?"

Don glanced sideways at Edgerton. The sniper had changed into his camouflage attire. An M-4 assault rifle was slung over one shoulder and the barrel of his .308 caliber sniper's rifle was sticking out of his backpack.

"Yeah, Ian,...I'm just fine." He sighed as he turned to follow his team out of the door to the tactical van waiting in the parking lot. The agents were silent as they suited up for the assault. They put on their Kevlar vests and somberly loaded their rifles and pistols.

Don adjusted his ear-piece radio and had each agent check in with him to verify that it was working properly and then with flashlights in hand, they walked in single file to a large vacant field behind the ranger's station.

Two FBI aerial assault helicopters sat quietly in the darkened field. Don and his team, which now included Edgerton, meandered their way toward one of the helicopters. The grass was wet from dew, and occasionally you would hear a curse echo around the field as someone slipped on the wet grass. The second assault team separated from them and veered off toward the other chopper.

Don glanced at his watch and looked toward the skies. Daybreak was at five-fifty a.m and he fully intended to be in the air by that time.

Jeff Cromwell was wearing a protective FBI vest as well and stood near the SAC.

"The SWAT team will land first, then our team." Don informed the ranger, speaking in a calm and clear tone of voice, every inch the professional agent. He kept his face impassive, but his insides were roiling from anxiety over the fate of is brother.

"The medical helicopter will land after we take off. You'll come up with them after the area's been cleared."

Jeff nodded in understanding and added. "Don, I don't know what we are going to find up there, but I sincerely hope that we find your brother alive."

Don flushed and looked away. "Yeah, me too. Thanks."

Megan nudged Don and pointed at the horizon. "It's almost time."

A mixture of dark and light grays were beginning to cover the night sky as daylight approached. The pilots turned on the helicopters and the agents began to board them as the sound of the turning rotors broke through the silence.

Don absently popped a piece of gum into his mouth and lifted his eyes up to the mountains silhouette, visible now with the approaching dawn. He steeled his heart, careful to cradle that little bubble of hope that he was protecting there. Don set his jaw and stubbornly told himself that Charlie would be alive when he got up there, the alternative was just too terrible to even consider.

Don lowered his gaze and turned around to meet his teammates eyes. Solemnly, he nodded and boarded the helicopter with his team following closely behind him.

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Alan parked the car and turned off the ignition, but he didn't move, he just sat there staring at the doorway of the emergency entrance of the Malibu Memorial Hospital. All was quiet at the moment. He could see a few personnel walking around inside getting prepared for the coming day.

Larry had fallen asleep during the ride and his head was bent slightly forward. Alan glanced in the rear view mirror but couldn't see Amita, he knew she wasn't sleeping though, because he could catch an occasional sob; she had been crying for the past ten minutes.

His eyes drifted to the door window when he heard a tap on the glass. The young officer was back again. Alan sighed and opened the window. "Yes, son?" he asked quietly.

The patrolman leaned forward and spoke softly. "Mr. Eppes, I've been in touch with Lt. Walker and he says it will be at least another half hour before the FBI take the point. It might be a little longer, apparently there's a heavy coastal fog to contend with."

Numbly Alan just nodded his head. "Of course, fog….why not? Was anything ever going to go right?" he thought bitterly to himself. The officer pulled him away from his dark thoughts.

"Sir, there's an all-night diner on the corner." he said, pointing across the parking lot at the restaurant. "This is only a suggestion but you might be a little more comfortable if you wait over there."

"Thank you officer, that's a good idea."

"Mr. Eppes, my partner and I are going to stay here for a while, so if you need anything, just ask. " The young officer hesitated a moment and then added. "The lieutenant is going to let me know when the FBI take the Point. I'll notify you as soon as I hear from him."

"I'd appreciate that son. Thank you." Alan watched as the patrolman returned to his car and then gently shook Larry's arm to wake him. He glanced over his shoulder when he felt movement in the back seat and met Amita's red-rimmed eyes before she turned to open her door.

The older professor woke up and sputtered. "What…are we there yet?" he looked around anxiously, taking in the hospital entrance. "Did they arrive?"

"Were too early Larry. " Alan said as he removed the keys from the ignition and opened his door. "Let's go get some coffee at that diner while we wait."

The older man climbed out, stretching and massaging his lower back. The aches and pains just got worse with age, and today he felt a lot older than his years.

Larry and Amita joined him and with slumped shoulders, he trudged along with them to the diner.

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Bashere opened his eyes and stretched his long frame. He stood up and stepped out of his little cave. There was a heavy fog all around him, but he could see the night sky beginning to lighten up and he could hear the birds stirring in the trees that surrounded him. He smiled grimly to himself and checked his watch. Five-thirty, it wouldn't be long until daylight. The fog just might work in his favor and give him the extra time that he needed to find Charlie before Don Eppes came charging through the woods looking for his brother.

Between the early light and his flashlight he could clearly see the path so he quickly gathered his things and headed down the mountainside to pick up the professor's trail.

TBC

A/N: Thank you for your patience. I know everyone was hoping to be on the cliff top in this chapter, but I felt that we needed this one to take us there.