FIC: In a Mirror, Darkly: Chapter 6/?
Title: In a Mirror, Darkly: Chapter 6
Author: Valerie Vancollie (valeriev84 [at] hotmail.com)
Characters: Charlie, Don
Pairings: brief canon mentions of Charlie/Amita & Don/Robin
Rating: 15
Summary: There was a certain irony to the situation, that the brother who was a federal agent had been abducted to be used as leverage against the brother who was an applied mathematics professor at a highly respected college. Don Whump, Charlie Angst!
Betas: aleo_70 & fredbassett
Spoilers: Uncertainty Principle, Vector, Man Hunt, Dark Matter, Spree, Two Daughters, Brutus, Finders Keepers, One Hour, The Janus List, Breaking Point, Black Swan, When Worlds Collide, The Decoy Effect, Jack of All Trades, Arrow of Time, The Fifth Man, Greatest Hits, Angels and Devils
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Numb3rs characters, items or situations. I only lay claim to the original aspects of the fic.
Part II: Don: Fugitive Recovery
Chapter 6:
Friday, 22:32
Basement, Unknown Location
Despite the tone, Don almost thought he could detect faint traces of regret in the other man's eyes. It was gone a second later and he couldn't be sure he'd seen it or merely imagined it. Either way, Keane's statement made logical sense; Don was a serious liability to them. Not only had he seen far too much, but he was an investigator, specially trained to take in and retain details ordinary witnesses might miss or forget. The risk he posed to them was simply too great. From a tactical point of view, he could only agree with their strategy. It was the smartest thing to do.
The knowledge did nothing to ease the chill that swept through him or the fear it induced. He was going to die. Don refused to swallow or show any signs of a reaction but, given the way Frazer laughed, he wasn't sure he was successful. If it were to be a simple execution, that would be one thing, but he knew it wouldn't be, not with the fugitive's presence and their history. His eyes moved to Keane, accusingly, and he briefly saw another hint of regret before it was masked once more.
What could the man possibly have to regret? He seemed to be the one in charge, at least on the ground here. If he had operational control, surely he could arrange things as he wished as long as the end goals were accomplished. What difference did his means of execution make to anyone but Frazer? Why would it matter if it happened one way instead of another? Surely that could affect nothing, or could it?
"Let's get you settled for the rest of the night then, shall we?" Keane said.
"What? Already? But we haven't even had any real fun yet," Frazer complained. "Let me play with him a little first."
"No, there'll be time enough for that later. Besides, we don't want there to be too great a deterioration in his condition between the first set of photos Dr. Eppes receives and the second or he might do something rash."
"When are you giving him these?" Frazer questioned, clearly displeased.
"As soon as he starts to get too suspicious."
Don nearly sighed with relief upon hearing that. At least Charlie wouldn't get them just yet. Perhaps he could get himself out of this mess before that happened, then his little brother would never have to see them.
All thoughts of Charlie abruptly left Don as Keane pulled a medium black box out of one of the filing cabinets. When he opened it and pulled out a needle and syringe, Don's muscles tensed and he couldn't help but test the strength of the ropes and knots binding him down.
"What is that?" Don demanded when Keane picked up a bottle and filled the syringe.
"Just a little something to keep you asleep for the night so you don't cause us any trouble."
The statement was delivered in the same calm tone as his death sentence earlier, as if Keane was merely discussing a small matter of everyday business which, for him perhaps, it was. The thought did nothing to calm Don but all he could do was watch and glare as Keane approached him with the filled syringe.
"This will hurt less if you're not tensing your muscles like that," Keane stated.
"It would hurt even less if you don't administer it," Don shot back though he did try to relax the muscles of his left arm somewhat.
"True, but that's not going to happen." Keane had obviously done this before as the drug was administered quickly with no hesitation or failed attempts. "There, you should start to feel the effects pretty quickly."
"I still think I could have come up with a better way to ensure that he didn't cause us any trouble," Frazer insisted stubbornly.
"You'll have your chance soon enough," Keane repeated, not looking away from Don whom he was monitoring closely. "Once it fits the plan, not any earlier."
"Then let's show the professor the photos now, light a fire under him."
The suggestion angered Don and he wanted to open his mouth to protest, but found he couldn't. The lethargy which had started creeping over him immediately after the injection had strengthened and he had to fight to keep his eyes open, let alone speak.
"No, we stick to the plan. Just be thankful we brought you on board."
Keane's eyes were the last thing Don saw as he finally lost the battle against the drug and slumped forwards into the chair, unconscious.
/
Saturday, 08:19
Basement, Unknown Location
Don was able to contain his groan of discomfort as he woke this time despite the veritable assault of unpleasant and painful stimuli that bombarded his senses. Of the most immediate concern to him was the fuzziness of his mind. He hated not being able to trust his own judgment and couldn't afford to be anything less than a hundred percent alert at the present if he was to have any hope of making it out of here alive. A daunting task given how little he knew of where he was being held or what was going on. Although Keane had been very forthcoming about some details, he'd wisely kept silent about others.
Of the other stimuli, his next biggest concern was the uncomfortable sensation of a full bladder. It was probably something that could be used to his advantage, Don mused. Given the proximity of what was clearly a workstation, he doubted Keane would want a mess, which meant untying him so that he could use a restroom. Not only would it mean he'd be free to move about, but he'd learn more about the layout of the building he was in. He'd have to be docile the first few times they allowed him out of the chair, learn what he could of the building and lull his captors into a false sense of security. Well, as much as he could anyway as he doubted they'd give him much leeway even if he became completely cooperative.
A quick assessment of the various pains he felt led Don to the conclusion that Keane had been able to keep Frazer away from him while he'd been under the drug's influence as he didn't seem to have acquired any new injuries. Some of his old injuries seemed to have gotten worse, though, as his left eye throbbed with every beat of his heart and he wasn't sure if it would open when he tried to do so. The cut along his ribs also seemed to burn more than it had last night and he couldn't help but wonder if it had gotten infected when he'd lain on the ground. Besides, who knew what he'd lain on for the journey here? He assumed he'd probably been dumped into the back of a van or large car of some sort, probably not the cleanest of surfaces either.
The soft almost rhythmic tapping of keys drew Don's attention to his surroundings. There was obviously someone else in the room using the computer, the question was, would there be anyone else present as well? Carefully, Don opened his eyes just enough so that he could see through his lashes, keeping his head perfectly still. As he'd feared, his left eye complained at the command, but he was able to open it and see. Not able to detect anyone nearby, he tilted his head slightly to the right and back so he could see the desk with all of its electronics. Someone was sitting in the chair, male from the looks of it, with long brown hair pulled into a ponytail.
A quick glance about the rest of the room proved it to be empty and Don allowed himself to open his eyes fully. Or at least he tried to, his left eye only making it about halfway before it refused to open any further. Leaving it for now, he studied what he could see on the screens before giving it up as a lost cause as everything appeared to be written in some type of computer code he couldn't make heads or tails of. With nothing else to observe and his bladder growing more uncomfortable, he figured it was time to make his consciousness known.
"What are you working on?"
The man froze, his shoulders stiffening. He remained that way long enough that Don nearly said something else before the man slowly turned the chair around and Don blinked in surprise. He was young, far younger than he'd expected, younger than Charlie and hardly older than a boy. Geek was the next thing that came to mind due to his clothes and the thick glasses he wore from behind which he looked at him with a slightly terrified expression. Don wasn't sure why the boy was afraid, given how well restrained he was.
"You're awake."
"Yeah," Don replied slowly.
What was with this guy? The boy's nervous manner and way in which he refused to make eye contact had Don's heart sinking. The behavior, the clothes, the computer equipment, classified documents and code.... was this one of the NSA's cryptographers or computer experts? He seemed to fit the profile. What on Earth was going on here? The NSA headquarters was supposed to be one of the most secure locations in the country. Could they really have this many traitors? First Banner and now this guy. What were Keane and this Blakely offering?
Or, his stomach dropped at the thought, exactly how much was this mystery client willing to pay for the information they were after? Given all that he'd seen so far and all of the risks they were taking, he could only imagine it was an insane amount of money. If that were true, then the information had to be really valuable.
"Eh..." the boy began, clearly not sure what to do.
"I need the bathroom," Don stated, hoping he could perhaps push him into making a mistake.
"Oh, yeah, sure."
Instead of getting up, coming over and untying him as Don had hoped, the boy turned back to his desk and grabbed a cell phone which he flipped open and pressed a speed dial on. It had been worth a shot, he reasoned and tried not to feel too disappointed.
"He's awake and needs the toilet," Geek said before listening to the reply and closing the phone. "They'll be right down."
"Kidnapping a federal agent is a very serious felony," Don stated, trying a different tactic.
The boy wasn't as hardened as Keane or Frazer and seemed like he might have something to loose if this all went South on them.
"I... I wasn't involved in that!" his voice rose into a high, fearful pitch.
"No, but by being here now, while they're holding me against my will, means you're an accessory after the fact. Before as well, if you had any prior knowledge of what they planned to do and did nothing," Don continued, pushing hard. There was fear in his eyes now. "Not to mention the fact that stealing from the NSA itself is another felony all on its own."
"I... I..."
The fear seemed to be bordering on the verge of panic and Don frowned. This was not what he'd been expecting. Yes, he'd thought the boy might not have fully realized what he'd been getting himself into, that his greed had gotten the better of him, but the reactions didn't fit. He was reacting like a cornered animal, his eyes darting about nervously as if desperately seeking a way out he knew didn't exist.
The door with the locks opened before Don could think about it any further and Frazer entered the room followed by the man Keane had identified as NSA Special Agent Banner. The sight of the man awoke his anger and he couldn't help but glare at him, wondering exactly how much he was getting for selling out his country. How much had it taken to buy his loyalties?
"Agent Eppes," Banner greeted as he approached, seeing he had the man's attention.
"Banner," Don spat out, refusing to use the title the man had so clearly forsaken and no longer deserved.
"I see someone has mentioned me already. I must admit to being somewhat surprised by you, you're not at all what I expected. Though, to be fair, I never would have pictured Charles to have a fed for a sibling."
"You. You're the one who's been in contact with Charlie."
"Of course, didn't Keane tell you? We know each other from before, back when he actually did some consulting work for the NSA."
So that's how they'd gotten his brother to believe that what he was working on was legit, Don realized. Charlie wouldn't have thought twice about it if he knew the agent who'd come to him. Despite his work for the NSA and the FBI, Charlie was still naïve in a lot of ways about the things that went on behind the scenes at federal agencies and the international politics that influenced them. His reaction to Colby and the whole Janus situation had more than proved that. Not that it would have made much difference if Charlie was more aware of all of that in this case. It seemed like Banner still worked for the NSA, that he hadn't been uncovered as a traitor yet, so he'd have had his badge, ID and anything else necessary to back up his story just in case Charlie had demanded more proof.
Keane struck him as the type who'd be ready for all possible eventualities.
"Speaking of Dr. Eppes, how's he doing?" Banner demanded, turning towards the computer geek.
"He's still working on the problem."
A few quick keystrokes and the image on the monitors changed to show the inside of Charlie's office. Don's heart lurched as he watched his little brother on the screens. He was absently nibbling what appeared to be some toast as he paged through a folder with his free hand. His face was set in a very familiar mask of concentration.
"Good. Continue to monitor him closely and let me know when he starts to act differently."
"You don't have to do this," Don tried, not wanting to plead, but not wanting Charlie confronted with the photos Keane had taken either.
"No," Banner agreed pleasantly. "But there are a lot of reasons why I want to, about a million to be exact."
Don's breath caught at the number. A million. Surely the man had to be lying, Keane's client couldn't really be paying them so much that each was getting such a large payoff. If the client was, then the information they were after went beyond merely being valuable to being vital in some part to the country's defenses or other critical aspect. His eyes darted to Frazer, desperately seeking some sort of sign that Banner was lying but he was only met with an anticipatory look and bloodthirsty eyes.
"I, on the other hand, am really here for just one reason," Frazer declared. "As soon as Keane said I'd be allowed to kill you, I was on board, the rest, well the rest's just a bonus."
Don did his best not to show how the threat affected him, though it was difficult with the way his body reacted. The automatic fight or flight response left him with a lot of adrenaline floating about uselessly in his system, wearing him out as he fought against the tremors it wanted to generate.
"Who would have thought you'd end up giving me so much?"
"Let's get this over and done with, you have arrangements to see too," Banner interrupted.
"Yeah," Frazer replied reluctantly.
Not wanting to focus more of the fugitive's attention on him, Don decided it was better not to ask what that meant. No, now was the time to focus on how they were going to go about letting him out of the chair. The fact that both of them had come down for it was not promising and meant they were taking the threat his training and experience were very seriously. He couldn't bring himself to hate them for it, though, if those precautions were part of what had made them decide they could risk taking him instead of Dad. Even if it ultimately led to his death, anything that had helped keep his father far away from this basement was a good thing.
As he watched, Banner drew his gun and Frazer pulled a pair of handcuffs from his jeans pocket. Don fought back a sigh as he realized how little they were giving him to work with. Being both handcuffed and held at gunpoint meant he'd have practically no opportunities to escape or try anything at all. Which was most likely the point. Frazer snapped the first cuff tightly into place around his left wrist before pulling out his knife and cutting the rope that bound him to the chair. Going with his earlier decision to simply try and assess his surroundings this time around, Don didn't resist as the man moved his arm towards the other side of the chair and cuffed his right wrist. Once restrained in the metal bracelets, Frazer cut the ropes tying his remaining arm and legs to the chair.
"Up," Banner ordered, gesturing with his gun, a Glock, Don noted.
Carefully, Don complied, his muscles complaining not only from having been in one position for so long and because he'd essentially slept upright, but also because of the abuse they'd received yesterday. With his arms restrained in front of him, it was difficult to maintain his balance and he stumbled forwards a few steps before he managed to steady himself. Frazer laughed before he shoved him forwards, causing Don to fall to his knees.
"Not so tough now, are you Eppes? And I haven't even begun playing with you yet."
"Uncuff me and we'll see who comes out on top in a fair fight," Don retorted.
Unbalanced, cuffed and on his knees, Don was unable to avoid the knee to his gut and fell to the floor, breathless. He drew his own knees up to protect his stomach and hands, but Frazer went for his back, kicking him in the kidneys and causing him to arch his back as he cried out in pain despite his attempt not to.
"A fair fight?" Frazer hissed, furious, twisting his hand in Don's hair and pulling him up off the floor. "You didn't give my brother a fair fight!"
"He was armed," Don countered, trying to get his legs under him to support his weight. "And he was about to shoot my partner. I had no choice."
"Bet they called it a good shoot too," Frazer sneered. "Your partner deserved what was coming to him just as you'll get yours soon now. Once I'm done with you, perhaps I'll go pay your old partner a little visit as well, maybe take him a souvenir. Something to remember you by before I kill him. Bet he'd like that."
Horror, rage and fear clawed at Don, making the pain of being dropped back to the hard concrete floor barely noticeable. Coop! The concern for his friend made him scramble to his feet but he froze as Banner brought his gun up in warning. He settled for glaring at Frazer instead, swearing to himself that he'd stop the man before he had a chance to go after Billy. Focusing on that helped him keep his mind off of exactly what the man could mean about a 'souvenir.'
Chapter 7