FIC: In a Mirror, Darkly: Chapter 13/?
Title: In a Mirror, Darkly: Chapter 13
Author: Valerie Vancollie (valeriev84 [at] hotmail.com)
Characters: Don, Charlie, Alan, David, Colby, Nikki, (surprise)
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, Protest, 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 IV: Alan: FBI
Chapter 13:
Friday, 20:47
Eppes Residence, 874 Hunter Street
Alan muttered darkly to himself as he put the leftover brisket, more than he'd been able to eat, into a Tupperware container. He'd specially made enough for three, expecting his eldest and hoping his youngest might also turn up for dinner as well. It had been more wishful thinking than anything else, he knew, as Charlie had started working on some new problem only yesterday and he knew the signs well enough to know it would be one of those which would be the focus of his youngest's attention for the next little while. The way Charlie had hardly been aware of his presence when he'd stopped by his office this morning proved that.
Still, a father could hope.
Don, Don however, had no such excuse. His oldest had promised to stop by and join him for dinner tonight when he'd seen him earlier in the week. He'd understand, on some level, if his son had a case to deal with, he wouldn't per se approve as there were more than enough agents at the office to allow Don to take a dinner break once in a while, but that simply wasn't his son's way. The thing was that he normally called if he was busy to let Alan know he wouldn't be able to make it. Today he hadn't and when he'd tried his son's cell it had gone straight to voicemail, which meant he was either on a raid or he'd turned it off, as was his wont on occasion when he was off duty.
Perhaps Don had simply forgotten his promise? It rarely happened, but everyone forgot something once in a while. Maybe he'd gotten off work at a decent time and was now spending quality time with Robin. Alan found he liked that thought and it cheered him a little even as he grumbled about the lack of a phone call. It would have been nice if Don had let him know that he'd accidentally double booked and wouldn't be coming by. Surely his eldest knew he'd have no problem with either of his sons spending time with their girlfriends?
He'd have to make sure he told Don that the next time he saw him, simply so he wouldn't wait in vain for a son who wouldn't show or so he'd know not to cook as much. It was just good manners and they'd taught Donny better than that.
/
Monday, 10:21
Eppes Residence, 874 Hunter Street
The kitchen counters shone satisfactorily as Alan stood back to admire his work. Although he generally tended to keep things tidy, it had been high time for the kitchen to get a good scrubbing and this morning he'd finally run out of excuses to put it off any longer. He'd considered making his youngest do it, as owner of the house, but had soon discarded the idea as he shuddered to think what Charlie's definition of a good clean might be. Besides, he'd be the one to suffer if it was poorly done as Don was too busy to cook and Charlie didn't. Oh, his youngest tried on occasion, but he couldn't really make anything that required any kind of intuitive alterations to the recipe. Give him step-by-step instructions that never needed changing and he was fine, but most dishes simply didn't work like that.
It was much like Charlie's musical talents. He could play the notes as they were written and know the mathematical harmony of it all, but he lacked any and all feel for the music itself. His playing was mechanical.
Alan smiled at the memories that line of thought invoked and turned towards the phone as it started to ring. His hand froze in the air above the wireless receiver as he caught sight of the number on the display. It was one of the numbers from Donny's office. The smile instantly vanished from his face to be replaced with a displeased frown. His annoyance with his eldest had grown over the course of the weekend as the expected apology for having forgotten about dinner on Friday night never materialized. He'd decided not to pursue his son and instead let him come to him for once and had gotten nothing, not one word of what had happened or why.
As the phone continued to ring, Alan was half tempted to not pick it up at all. See what Don thought about being ignored, but then he caved and answered it.
"Hello."
"Mr. Eppes- Alan, it's David here."
"Oh, hello David," Alan said, caught off-guard.
Was Don really going to try and use his agent as a go between? Where had he and Margaret gone wrong? He was sure that Don knew better than this.
"Look, David, I don't know what Don's told you, but I want to speak with him, now," Alan stated, not at all pleased.
"Uh... M- Alan, Don's not here."
"Don't give me that, look, tell him it's not fair of him to put you in the middle of this. Either he comes on the phone now and apologizes for Friday evening or he comes by the house and does it in person as I won't ta-"
"You saw Don Friday evening?" David interrupted.
"No, that's just it, he said he would come by for dinner and then never showed up!" Alan declared, so much on a roll that it took a few moments for the urgency of the agent's question to register, but when it did, it stopped him dead in his tracks.
A wave of dread rolled over Alan as the events of the past weekend suddenly took on a far darker meaning in light of David's concern. Don almost never forgot something once he gave his word. He might not always be able to keep it due to developments at work, but he always remembered having said he'd be somewhere and did his best to alert the person in question to his inability to make his commitment. At first he'd simply assumed that this was one of those few times where it had simply slipped Don's mind, he was only human after all, despite all his own thoughts to the contrary. The thought that his son might be spending time with his girlfriend was such a pleasant one that he'd not initially been too miffed or concerned.
The lack of a phone call the following two days had irritated him more than anything else, though now Alan realized that had been more a subconscious masking of the worry he'd started to feel. Worry that something was wrong and that was why Donny hadn't contacted him as he normally would have done. His hands were shaking and he gripped the kitchen counter to steady himself as the dread deepened to horror as he just knew something terrible had happened to his eldest.
Again.
Abruptly he had a flash of the call from David that had so nearly ripped his world out from under him only a few short months ago. Why? Why was this happening again so soon after that? Why them? Why Donny? His son deserved better than this. After all of the sacrifices he had made in his life, both for his family and for virtual strangers, Don deserved better than this. Was that why he'd so easily accepted the fantasy that Don had been too busy with Robin to remember about their dinner plans? Had he wanted to believe it so much or deny that something else could have befallen his firstborn yet again?
"David," Alan whispered, unable to say anything else but knowing he'd not have to as that one word was so loaded with fear and desperation that the agent would know exactly what he was asking.
"Alan, I -" David began and Alan could hear the hesitation and indecision in his voice.
It was so strikingly different from Don that it hurt. If it were his son on the line, Alan knew he'd probably not even know that something was wrong, his eldest would try to keep it under wraps so as not to worry him any sooner than necessary. His Donny would try to protect him, no matter the cost to himself in denying the emotional support his family could provide. David, however, had always been much more straightforward, both in following the letter of the law and in his interactions with the Eppes family patriarch. He hoped now would be no different.
"He's not shown up for work yet," David finally admitted.
Alan's eyes flew to the clock and the fear he felt solidified into a ball of ice in his stomach. Donny was hardly ever late and this was well beyond getting stuck in traffic or running into something unexpected. Add to that the fact that he'd missed dinner on Friday and hadn't been reachable all weekend...
The realization that his son could have been missing for several days hit Alan with the force of a physical blow and he gasped, staggering backwards until he hit the kitchen wall and his legs gave way beneath him and he slid to the floor.
"Alan? Alan, are you alright?" David demanded, obviously worried. "Mr. Eppes?"
"Donny," Alan finally managed to force out. "He was supposed to be here Friday for dinner, brisket."
"But he didn't show?" David prodded gently.
"No, he didn't. I - God, I thought he'd forgotten or been caught up in something at work."
"That's understandable."
"No, yes, but I... I was angry. Upset that he didn't call to tell me he wouldn't be able to make it. I - I never thought that..."
"It's a normal reaction, Alan," David soothed. "There's not many people who'd immediately jump to the worst possible scenario."
"Not even when he remained unreachable for the rest of the weekend?"
"You tried to contact him the whole time?"
"No," Alan admitted guiltily. If only he had! Surely he'd have known something was wrong sooner if he kept trying to call Don and the calls all went straight to voicemail, wouldn't he? "But my calls went straight to voicemail all of Friday evening and I haven't heard from him since."
"Yeah, neither has Robin."
"Robin?" Alan queried, sensing more. "Did they have plans?"
"Don did, apparently he'd organized a short weekend trip out of town, but he kept her in the dark about it so she wasn't concerned when she didn't hear from him."
"He wanted to surprise her."
"So it would seem."
"What about Charlie, have you called him? Maybe he knows something more?"
"I tried Charlie first, he saw Don Friday evening."
"He did?"
"Yes, apparently he stopped by to drop off a file for Charlie."
"When was that?"
"Around seven."
"Which would have made him right on time for dinner," Alan realized, swallowing at the knowledge that Donny hadn't forgotten about their plans after all.
This whole time, he'd been blaming his son and it was all for nothing. Don had remembered and had clearly been on his way home to join him when something had happened to him. The question was what and, though he tried to push the thought aside it still intruded, was he still alive now?
"Do you know if Don had anything else planned for this weekend?" David asked quietly.
"No, just that he was coming here for dinner Friday."
"I know this next is a long shot, but I must ask. Did Don seem nervous in any way the last time you saw him? Like he was worried about something or someone?"
"No, not that I think he'd tell me if he was, he does so try not to worry me," Alan replied tiredly. "Why? Do you think he knew something wasn't right?"
"No, but we must investigate all possible options until we find something more concrete to work with."
"You will inform me the instant you find something, right?" Alan demanded, clutching the phone tightly.
"I'll let you know how things are going," David promised.
It wasn't lost on Alan that it wasn't quite what he'd asked for, but he couldn't make himself ask for more. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to handle knowing all the details of what they found, not after how he'd failed to realize something had happened to his son. If he had, then David and the others could have started looking for Don Friday evening. Perhaps Don would have been found by now and be recuperating on the couch from whatever had happened to him. Instead, the search was only just starting now, late Monday morning. This meant Donny had been missing for over two full days already.
Alan closed his eyes as he thought about that. How could his eldest have been missing for that long without anyone being the wiser? Why did Don have to be so damn secretive about everything? If only he'd told someone else about his plans for the weekend, then they'd have known that something had happened to him and raised the alarm sooner.
"Alan? Are you still there?" David questioned, the concern indicating it hadn't been the first time he'd said his name.
"Yeah, sorry," Alan replied, forcing himself to focus.
"I'm going to send a few agents by the house with some equipment that I want installed on the phones."
"Huh?"
"It's in the unlikely event that someone contacts you about Don."
"You don't think they will?"
"No. At present it looks like whatever happened to Don took place at some point Friday evening between when he left CalSci and when he was supposed to arrive at your place," David explained. "If it had been a simple kidnapping, or if whoever is responsible intended to contact you or the Bureau, then I think they would already have done so."
"But you want to cover all the bases."
"Yes, exactly."
"Okay, send them over."
On some level, Alan couldn't believe that he was going to let unknown FBI agents into his house knowing that they intended to install eavesdropping and tracing equipment on his phones. The protestor in him rebelled at the mere idea, pointing out that he only had their word that it would be removed and not used against him in the future. The father in him snarled at the protestor, determined to do anything and everything it took to get his son back. If that meant letting FBI agents run roughshod across the house and his personal life, then so be it.
Chapter 14