Numb3rs Fic: Crash, Chapter Nine/10
Title: Crash
Author: ALEO
Genre: Gen
Characters: Don, David, Colby, Ian Edgerton and brief appearances by Charlie, Alan and Robin
Rating: PG 13+
Warning: violence
Spoilers: blink and you'll miss it references to Fifth Man and to my fic "Crosshairs" (no need to read first)
Summary: Don discovers that the consequences of helping a car crash victim can be as painful and dangerous as they are unexpected.
Status: Chapter 9 of 10
Wordcount (this chapter): 2509
Total wordcount: ~26,000
A/N: written for Clue Challenge #2, August 2009 athurt_don. Prompts: Who? - Don. What? - Car. Where? - Road. There was also a suggestion frommunchkinofdoomthat I 'beat up Donny'. I think I've covered all of those prompts. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real places and organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however.
CHAPTER NINE
-100-1-10110-1001-100-
“Shh!” Colby suddenly stopped, holding up his hand.
“What?” David hissed as the entire group pulled up short.
They had been following the trail through the forest for nearly an hour. Before leaving the crash site they’d searched wreckage of the SUV finding Don’s phone in the process, they would not be able to track them via the phone. Fortunately Colby and a couple of the deputies seemed well acquainted with following a trail picking out a path for them to follow, swapping the lead to remain fresh. Now as the sky lightened and visibility improved they were making better time. He was still counting down the minutes until daylight and the arrival of the helicopter to make the search a whole lot easier. He had a second use for the helicopter once the fugitives were found, one that daylight was essential for.
Colby held up his hand in an emphatic stop gesture. David noted that at least one of the other deputies was also listening closely to something ahead. Colby and the deputy stared at each other as they listened before finally nodding.
Keeping his voice low Colby clicked off his flashlight. “They’re just ahead.”
Almost as one all the flashlights were turned off. Momentarily blinded by the absence of the bright lights David heard movement as officers automatically adjusted their positions in case they were already being targeted. They’d risked the lights amongst the thickening trees as it enabled them to move quicker and would help to keep the pressure on the fugitives. Now that they’d almost reached their targets the flashlights became a liability. A few seconds later he’d regained his vision, the brightening sky providing more light than he’d expected. They waited as the two sheriffs consulted, finally splitting the group into three, one party to go left, the other right and the last to continue following directly on the trail. Finally moving again they concentrated on making their own approach soundless. David found himself frustrated yet again; they were so close but forced to take their time.
David and Colby were in the middle group tasked to follow the fugitives trail and soon came across a disturbed area of ground that even David could recognise. Colby crouched and ran his hand over the area a few inches above the ground, something David had seen Ian Edgerton do.
“Someone fell here.”
“Don?”
“Can’t tell.” Colby reported. He pointed. “They went this way.”
Following the path David glanced to either side, just able to spot the other two teams parallelling them through the trees. They were positioned ready to move ahead and then come back from the sides once they’d reached the fugitives, instantly surrounding them and cutting them off from any other avenues of escape. Suddenly they reached an unmade roadway, the dirt ribbon cutting across the forest along the top of the wide ridge.
Now Colby was challenged, crouching yet again to inspect the roadway, looking for the barest of scrapes to indicate direction. Finally he found what he was looking for and followed the marks across to the far side. Here the signs were again easier to find, the fugitives making his job a little easier by choosing to move through the forest rather than along the road. On this side of the ridge the trees again thinned, it was just the brush close to the side of the road that remained thick. After brief conference with the entire group back together again they headed off, split into two groups now. Their group was to follow the track, the same makeup as before with the same task, they would follow the trail and commence any negotiation. The other group was to run parallel to them, deeper into the forest ready to fan out and surround the fugitives when they reached them.
David turned to the locals. “Where’s this road go?”
Sheriff Cody’s deputy fielded the question. He looked worried. “Up that way are about a half dozen houses, back that way is the highway. Most of those folks work back in the towns and will be heading through here shortly.”
David was also concerned that the path they were following was leading up towards the houses. They needed to stop the fugitives before they could either reach a house where they would be able to barricade themselves in and take more hostages or flag down as car as the deputy was suspecting. Glancing upwards once again he still had no sign of the promised helicopter. The noise of an approaching car had them all moving out towards the edge of the road. This could bring things to a head.
Looking up along the road they saw three figures suddenly step out from the concealing brush. Almost at the same time a speeding car appeared at the bend, rapidly approaching the three who were facing away from them. There was plenty enough light now for David to recognise Don and see that his hands were restrained behind him. Colby glanced over at him and he nodded to show he’d recognised their boss. The two agents also recognised the matching dark sleeveless jackets worn by the fugitives as ballistic vests. Moving quickly they drew their weapons before starting to openly approach the group even if they didn’t yet attempt to attract the fugitives’ attention. That would best wait until they were a little closer.
They then froze and looked on in horror as the three stood their ground in front of the car before seeing the vehicle swerve as a resisting Don was pushed in front of its new path. There was a horrible thud and Don went spinning, falling hard to the road. The stricken agent seemed to curl up and convulse before he stopped moving altogether.
“Don!” David and Colby shouted simultaneously as the car flashed by without stopping.
They started running, determined to reach their boss and see how badly injured he’d been. Sheriff Grealy was a little more controlled, calling out to their backup as he and the deputy followed the two agents. The second group had remained in the trees and now started moving quickly forwards, remaining concealed until ready to reveal themselves.
“Sheriff’s Department, drop your weapons!” Grealy shouted.
They saw the two standing fugitives react, spinning to see the approaching agents and officers. One reached down and tried to pull Don up. The other joined in and an instant later the wounded agent was kneeling seemingly barely conscious between the two men, a rifle barrel resting against one shoulder, a Glock pistol against the other side of his head.
Brought up short by the obvious threat David and Colby stopped, joined moments later by Grealy and the deputy. They kept their weapons aimed at the fugitives. There was a brief silent standoff as David watched their second group come out onto the roadway behind the fugitives, cutting them off. A single man was sent running back to the corner, obviously to flag down and stop any other approaching vehicles before it could plough into the lot of them. Reminded of the danger of conducting this on a road, Grealy sent their deputy back to do the same thing behind them.
The two fugitives looked around as they were surrounded, their grips on both their weapons and their hostage firming. Don seemed to recover slightly, raising his head and also starting to look around.
About to make a move David suddenly heard a welcome sound, a helicopter coming from the direction of the highway behind them. Reminded of the bigger picture he got his thoughts in order. The second use for the helicopter was about to become its primary use. He dug into his pocket and pulled out his notebook where he’d written the contact number for the pilot.
“Colby, call the helo, get them up here.” David ordered as he shoved his notebook at his partner. He squared his shoulders and slowly started moving forward, intending to recommence the failed negotiation.
“Back off!” The older fugitive with the rifle ordered as David closed in.
David recognised the voice as Troy’s as he slowed but maintained his approach. “I’m Special Agent David Sinclair, Troy. We’ve spoken on the phone.” David started.
“I mean it!” Troy pressed his rifle firmly against Don’s shoulder, shoving the injured agent in the process.
David stopped as he heard Don gasp in pain and saw his face pale before his head dropped. Holding up his right hand he found that the Glock in his left was still aimed automatically centre mass at Troy’s body. He adjusted his aim to a trajectory that would be more effective, his gun now pointing at Troy’s head. That the two men were wearing the vests would make things a lot trickier and explained why they hadn’t forced Don to his feet to hold in front of them, they were already shielded.
Taking his time David looked his boss over. Don’s head was still down and he was leaning to one side as he’d noted earlier, his breath coming in shallow gasps audible to David from ten yards away. That probably meant injured ribs at the very least from being hit by the car. His clothes were dusty and covered in more dirt than the tumble to the roadway would account for. David already knew he’d been beaten in the car at the roadblock, but this suggested there’d been more earlier, probably when they’d first taken him. Added to that was the crash of the SUV and David could only conclude that Don was seriously hurt. He needed to wrap this up quickly, for Don’s sake.
“Don?” David queried, ignoring Troy for the moment. He needed to get a read on just how bad Don really was.
The head lifted and now David could see the damage there, a developing black left eye, a bruised cheekbone and a large lump on his forehead. Don’s eyes cleared and recognised his agent. “David.”
“Just a little longer, Don.” David tried to reassure him as the sound of the helicopter drew nearer.
“Not … too long.”
David was relieved slightly by his boss’ response. Don’s voice was not as strong as usual but his boss was aware and helping to keep himself upright. He had a little time up his sleeve; the time had not yet come for desperate action based on Don’s medical condition alone. But Don was clearly in pain and he couldn’t let this drag out too long.
“Uh-uh, Fed.” Troy interrupted, giving Don another jab with the rifle. He stared at David. “He’s going nowhere unless you give us a way out of here.”
The sound of the helicopter was suddenly loud as it made a low pass over the road to assess the situation. David heard it move away before starting to climb and circle back. His cell rang and he answered it to hear Colby deliver a surprising piece of news, the call a private way to get the necessary tactical information across. There’d been a last minute substitution. He looked up at the approaching machine, brightly lit by the yellow early morning sunlight that had yet to reach the road. He could make out a man leaning out the door, the sunlight glinting off the barrel of a rifle. He could also see a glint of sunlight on glass, the binoculars of a spotter. The helicopter stopped and hovered far enough away that the noise was not an impediment to the negotiation. The distance would be no difficulty for the sniper.
David returned his attention to the fugitives, his job easier now. “I’ll give you two. Surrender now and live.”
Troy gaped at him for a moment not having expected that. He frowned. “You said two.”
“Push this further and die.” David pointed back at the helicopter with his right hand, careful how he did so. “That’s Special Agent Edgerton up there with a rifle. One of the best snipers in the country. He’s also a good friend of Agent Eppes and not too happy about what you’ve done to him.” He saw Don relax slightly at the news. Troy and the second younger man suddenly looked very nervous, exactly what David had intended with his blunt speech.
Looking down at his hostage briefly Troy was even more worried at the way the injured fed had reacted to Sinclair’s words. “I don’t like that.”
David could have almost laughed at the absurdity of that. “That’s all you’re getting.”
“We’re getting a car or I’ll kill him.” Troy threatened, meaning every word. He was supposed to be the one in control, he had the hostage.
“No, you won’t. Him breathing is the only thing keeping you alive right now.”
“Then get us a car.” Troy repeated. He jerked his head upwards before staring back at the agent facing him. “Or the chopper, I don’t care which.”
David shook his head, readying himself to give the signal Colby had described for Edgerton to take the shot. Based on the way the last negotiation had gone and the way things were going now he feared he was going to have to take that option. The realisation of how close he was standing to the sniper’s target struck him but with the sniper being Edgerton he wasn’t as worried as he otherwise may have been.
Remembering that Colby had said the sniper would go for the man with the rifle first, he slowly swung his one handed aim towards the second man. The sheriff had earlier provided the man’s name as Mitchell someone-or-other. Mitchell’s gun hand dropped slightly at the threat, his stolen weapon no longer pointing directly at Don’s head. His nervous gaze shifted rapidly between David and Troy. It seemed he was less adamant about the standoff than his partner was.
“Not going to happen. I’ve given you your choices. That’s it.”
“That’s against the rules.” Troy complained at David’s stubborn refusal, his hand shifting on the rifle. “You’re supposed to negotiate, give us what we want. If you don’t I’ve got nothing left to lose.”
David had almost given the signal; the movement of the man’s fingers so near the trigger had almost forced his hand. It had been close but he had to give the man one last chance. “You’ve shown no regard for Agent Eppes, assaulting him and just now getting him hit by that car. You’ve blocked any other option we might have had. This ends here, now. One way or the other.”
“Then this ends with him dead!” Troy suddenly shouted.
David’s hand flashed out but Troy was already falling back, long before the sound of the shot reached his ears. The reaction was far too quick for the spotter to have communicated David’s signal to Edgerton. The experienced sniper must have seen Troy’s face contort in rage down his scope and known what was about to happen. Recovering quickly David firmed his aim at Mitchell, finger curling on the trigger as he prepared to fire.
“Don’t shoot!”
Next chapter - here
Author: ALEO
Genre: Gen
Characters: Don, David, Colby, Ian Edgerton and brief appearances by Charlie, Alan and Robin
Rating: PG 13+
Warning: violence
Spoilers: blink and you'll miss it references to Fifth Man and to my fic "Crosshairs" (no need to read first)
Summary: Don discovers that the consequences of helping a car crash victim can be as painful and dangerous as they are unexpected.
Status: Chapter 9 of 10
Wordcount (this chapter): 2509
Total wordcount: ~26,000
A/N: written for Clue Challenge #2, August 2009 athurt_don. Prompts: Who? - Don. What? - Car. Where? - Road. There was also a suggestion frommunchkinofdoomthat I 'beat up Donny'. I think I've covered all of those prompts. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real places and organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however.
CHAPTER NINE
-100-1-10110-1001-100-
“Shh!” Colby suddenly stopped, holding up his hand.
“What?” David hissed as the entire group pulled up short.
They had been following the trail through the forest for nearly an hour. Before leaving the crash site they’d searched wreckage of the SUV finding Don’s phone in the process, they would not be able to track them via the phone. Fortunately Colby and a couple of the deputies seemed well acquainted with following a trail picking out a path for them to follow, swapping the lead to remain fresh. Now as the sky lightened and visibility improved they were making better time. He was still counting down the minutes until daylight and the arrival of the helicopter to make the search a whole lot easier. He had a second use for the helicopter once the fugitives were found, one that daylight was essential for.
Colby held up his hand in an emphatic stop gesture. David noted that at least one of the other deputies was also listening closely to something ahead. Colby and the deputy stared at each other as they listened before finally nodding.
Keeping his voice low Colby clicked off his flashlight. “They’re just ahead.”
Almost as one all the flashlights were turned off. Momentarily blinded by the absence of the bright lights David heard movement as officers automatically adjusted their positions in case they were already being targeted. They’d risked the lights amongst the thickening trees as it enabled them to move quicker and would help to keep the pressure on the fugitives. Now that they’d almost reached their targets the flashlights became a liability. A few seconds later he’d regained his vision, the brightening sky providing more light than he’d expected. They waited as the two sheriffs consulted, finally splitting the group into three, one party to go left, the other right and the last to continue following directly on the trail. Finally moving again they concentrated on making their own approach soundless. David found himself frustrated yet again; they were so close but forced to take their time.
David and Colby were in the middle group tasked to follow the fugitives trail and soon came across a disturbed area of ground that even David could recognise. Colby crouched and ran his hand over the area a few inches above the ground, something David had seen Ian Edgerton do.
“Someone fell here.”
“Don?”
“Can’t tell.” Colby reported. He pointed. “They went this way.”
Following the path David glanced to either side, just able to spot the other two teams parallelling them through the trees. They were positioned ready to move ahead and then come back from the sides once they’d reached the fugitives, instantly surrounding them and cutting them off from any other avenues of escape. Suddenly they reached an unmade roadway, the dirt ribbon cutting across the forest along the top of the wide ridge.
Now Colby was challenged, crouching yet again to inspect the roadway, looking for the barest of scrapes to indicate direction. Finally he found what he was looking for and followed the marks across to the far side. Here the signs were again easier to find, the fugitives making his job a little easier by choosing to move through the forest rather than along the road. On this side of the ridge the trees again thinned, it was just the brush close to the side of the road that remained thick. After brief conference with the entire group back together again they headed off, split into two groups now. Their group was to follow the track, the same makeup as before with the same task, they would follow the trail and commence any negotiation. The other group was to run parallel to them, deeper into the forest ready to fan out and surround the fugitives when they reached them.
David turned to the locals. “Where’s this road go?”
Sheriff Cody’s deputy fielded the question. He looked worried. “Up that way are about a half dozen houses, back that way is the highway. Most of those folks work back in the towns and will be heading through here shortly.”
David was also concerned that the path they were following was leading up towards the houses. They needed to stop the fugitives before they could either reach a house where they would be able to barricade themselves in and take more hostages or flag down as car as the deputy was suspecting. Glancing upwards once again he still had no sign of the promised helicopter. The noise of an approaching car had them all moving out towards the edge of the road. This could bring things to a head.
Looking up along the road they saw three figures suddenly step out from the concealing brush. Almost at the same time a speeding car appeared at the bend, rapidly approaching the three who were facing away from them. There was plenty enough light now for David to recognise Don and see that his hands were restrained behind him. Colby glanced over at him and he nodded to show he’d recognised their boss. The two agents also recognised the matching dark sleeveless jackets worn by the fugitives as ballistic vests. Moving quickly they drew their weapons before starting to openly approach the group even if they didn’t yet attempt to attract the fugitives’ attention. That would best wait until they were a little closer.
They then froze and looked on in horror as the three stood their ground in front of the car before seeing the vehicle swerve as a resisting Don was pushed in front of its new path. There was a horrible thud and Don went spinning, falling hard to the road. The stricken agent seemed to curl up and convulse before he stopped moving altogether.
“Don!” David and Colby shouted simultaneously as the car flashed by without stopping.
They started running, determined to reach their boss and see how badly injured he’d been. Sheriff Grealy was a little more controlled, calling out to their backup as he and the deputy followed the two agents. The second group had remained in the trees and now started moving quickly forwards, remaining concealed until ready to reveal themselves.
“Sheriff’s Department, drop your weapons!” Grealy shouted.
They saw the two standing fugitives react, spinning to see the approaching agents and officers. One reached down and tried to pull Don up. The other joined in and an instant later the wounded agent was kneeling seemingly barely conscious between the two men, a rifle barrel resting against one shoulder, a Glock pistol against the other side of his head.
Brought up short by the obvious threat David and Colby stopped, joined moments later by Grealy and the deputy. They kept their weapons aimed at the fugitives. There was a brief silent standoff as David watched their second group come out onto the roadway behind the fugitives, cutting them off. A single man was sent running back to the corner, obviously to flag down and stop any other approaching vehicles before it could plough into the lot of them. Reminded of the danger of conducting this on a road, Grealy sent their deputy back to do the same thing behind them.
The two fugitives looked around as they were surrounded, their grips on both their weapons and their hostage firming. Don seemed to recover slightly, raising his head and also starting to look around.
About to make a move David suddenly heard a welcome sound, a helicopter coming from the direction of the highway behind them. Reminded of the bigger picture he got his thoughts in order. The second use for the helicopter was about to become its primary use. He dug into his pocket and pulled out his notebook where he’d written the contact number for the pilot.
“Colby, call the helo, get them up here.” David ordered as he shoved his notebook at his partner. He squared his shoulders and slowly started moving forward, intending to recommence the failed negotiation.
“Back off!” The older fugitive with the rifle ordered as David closed in.
David recognised the voice as Troy’s as he slowed but maintained his approach. “I’m Special Agent David Sinclair, Troy. We’ve spoken on the phone.” David started.
“I mean it!” Troy pressed his rifle firmly against Don’s shoulder, shoving the injured agent in the process.
David stopped as he heard Don gasp in pain and saw his face pale before his head dropped. Holding up his right hand he found that the Glock in his left was still aimed automatically centre mass at Troy’s body. He adjusted his aim to a trajectory that would be more effective, his gun now pointing at Troy’s head. That the two men were wearing the vests would make things a lot trickier and explained why they hadn’t forced Don to his feet to hold in front of them, they were already shielded.
Taking his time David looked his boss over. Don’s head was still down and he was leaning to one side as he’d noted earlier, his breath coming in shallow gasps audible to David from ten yards away. That probably meant injured ribs at the very least from being hit by the car. His clothes were dusty and covered in more dirt than the tumble to the roadway would account for. David already knew he’d been beaten in the car at the roadblock, but this suggested there’d been more earlier, probably when they’d first taken him. Added to that was the crash of the SUV and David could only conclude that Don was seriously hurt. He needed to wrap this up quickly, for Don’s sake.
“Don?” David queried, ignoring Troy for the moment. He needed to get a read on just how bad Don really was.
The head lifted and now David could see the damage there, a developing black left eye, a bruised cheekbone and a large lump on his forehead. Don’s eyes cleared and recognised his agent. “David.”
“Just a little longer, Don.” David tried to reassure him as the sound of the helicopter drew nearer.
“Not … too long.”
David was relieved slightly by his boss’ response. Don’s voice was not as strong as usual but his boss was aware and helping to keep himself upright. He had a little time up his sleeve; the time had not yet come for desperate action based on Don’s medical condition alone. But Don was clearly in pain and he couldn’t let this drag out too long.
“Uh-uh, Fed.” Troy interrupted, giving Don another jab with the rifle. He stared at David. “He’s going nowhere unless you give us a way out of here.”
The sound of the helicopter was suddenly loud as it made a low pass over the road to assess the situation. David heard it move away before starting to climb and circle back. His cell rang and he answered it to hear Colby deliver a surprising piece of news, the call a private way to get the necessary tactical information across. There’d been a last minute substitution. He looked up at the approaching machine, brightly lit by the yellow early morning sunlight that had yet to reach the road. He could make out a man leaning out the door, the sunlight glinting off the barrel of a rifle. He could also see a glint of sunlight on glass, the binoculars of a spotter. The helicopter stopped and hovered far enough away that the noise was not an impediment to the negotiation. The distance would be no difficulty for the sniper.
David returned his attention to the fugitives, his job easier now. “I’ll give you two. Surrender now and live.”
Troy gaped at him for a moment not having expected that. He frowned. “You said two.”
“Push this further and die.” David pointed back at the helicopter with his right hand, careful how he did so. “That’s Special Agent Edgerton up there with a rifle. One of the best snipers in the country. He’s also a good friend of Agent Eppes and not too happy about what you’ve done to him.” He saw Don relax slightly at the news. Troy and the second younger man suddenly looked very nervous, exactly what David had intended with his blunt speech.
Looking down at his hostage briefly Troy was even more worried at the way the injured fed had reacted to Sinclair’s words. “I don’t like that.”
David could have almost laughed at the absurdity of that. “That’s all you’re getting.”
“We’re getting a car or I’ll kill him.” Troy threatened, meaning every word. He was supposed to be the one in control, he had the hostage.
“No, you won’t. Him breathing is the only thing keeping you alive right now.”
“Then get us a car.” Troy repeated. He jerked his head upwards before staring back at the agent facing him. “Or the chopper, I don’t care which.”
David shook his head, readying himself to give the signal Colby had described for Edgerton to take the shot. Based on the way the last negotiation had gone and the way things were going now he feared he was going to have to take that option. The realisation of how close he was standing to the sniper’s target struck him but with the sniper being Edgerton he wasn’t as worried as he otherwise may have been.
Remembering that Colby had said the sniper would go for the man with the rifle first, he slowly swung his one handed aim towards the second man. The sheriff had earlier provided the man’s name as Mitchell someone-or-other. Mitchell’s gun hand dropped slightly at the threat, his stolen weapon no longer pointing directly at Don’s head. His nervous gaze shifted rapidly between David and Troy. It seemed he was less adamant about the standoff than his partner was.
“Not going to happen. I’ve given you your choices. That’s it.”
“That’s against the rules.” Troy complained at David’s stubborn refusal, his hand shifting on the rifle. “You’re supposed to negotiate, give us what we want. If you don’t I’ve got nothing left to lose.”
David had almost given the signal; the movement of the man’s fingers so near the trigger had almost forced his hand. It had been close but he had to give the man one last chance. “You’ve shown no regard for Agent Eppes, assaulting him and just now getting him hit by that car. You’ve blocked any other option we might have had. This ends here, now. One way or the other.”
“Then this ends with him dead!” Troy suddenly shouted.
David’s hand flashed out but Troy was already falling back, long before the sound of the shot reached his ears. The reaction was far too quick for the spotter to have communicated David’s signal to Edgerton. The experienced sniper must have seen Troy’s face contort in rage down his scope and known what was about to happen. Recovering quickly David firmed his aim at Mitchell, finger curling on the trigger as he prepared to fire.
“Don’t shoot!”
Next chapter - here