Fic: Target, Chapter 7 (Numb3rs, Colby, Don / Martin, Megan)
Title: Target, Chapter 7
Pair: Charlie Eppes / Colby Granger,
Don Eppes / Martin Fridegord,
David Sinclair / Ian Edgerton / Bobby
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine, etc.
Feedback: Always Welcome
NUMB3RS Main List
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6
“What’s going on?” Megan left her bag on her desk and accosted Colby, cornering him to his own workstation. “When I came in people were talking, I heard something about a car bomb and Don. What happened and why am I the last to know?”
“You were in training and…” Colby tried to come up with a plausible excuse, but failed. “Sorry, it didn’t even cross my mind. Everything was so chaotic for a while.”
“So what’s the real story?”
“There was a car bomb in the hotel where Don, Martin, David and Bobby were in.”
“Why were they in a hotel?”
“I keep forgetting you weren’t here… Bobby’s apartment was torched last night. Then in the morning someone tried to run over Martin, thinking he Bobby.”
“Are they okay?”
“They…” He run his fingers nervously through his hair. “They were placed in the hotel for their own safety. Then Wilson got a call to bring Bobby here to wait for relocation and-”
“Who’s Wilson?”
“One of ours. Not from L.A. office, but you know what I mean. Their car was the one that got blown up.”
Megan gasped. She tilted her head down and draw deep breaths to calm down.
“Are they dead?”
“That’s what Don said. He was there when it happened.”
“But he wasn’t…?”
“No. He was walking away from the vehicle when the bomb went off.” Colby glanced around the bullpen. People had gathered into small groups, sending curious glances at them. He lowered his voice and leaned closer to talk to Megan. “Between us, I think the whole thing is fishy. Starting from the bomb, the whole blast pattern and debris… I can’t explain it well, but I know it’s not the way it should be. Trust me on this.”
“Okay..." She nodded. "I believe you.”
“And they ordered a full block-out on the explosion. I don’t mean just press, the guys who investigated the scene weren’t from our normal bomb squad.”
“Then where were they from?”
“The special task force. Why would they call those guys for a single car bomb, that didn’t cause a danger to the building or other people? Those guys are specialists, they don’t get called in unless it’s a high profile case or when they don’t want any info on the case to leak.”
“That sounds suspicious, but… We know Bobby was a witness against several men, who wouldn’t mind ordering a hit to solve the problem. Maybe that’s why this gets the special treatment.”
“If they get a re-trial. And without anyone to testify against them, it’s a lot more likely.”
“This can’t be good…” Megan glanced over Colby’s shoulder. “Full block-out and a new face.”
“Where?”
“Just got out the elevator. He has a badge, but he has to ask for directions. Just transferred or from another field office.”
Colby twisted his neck to see the man in question. He was talking to one of the technicians, who was clearly giving him directions. The man was in his mid-thirties, average height and currently turning to look at their direction. He gave the tech a little nod and started walking across the bullpen, keeping his eyes firmly on his goal.
“Agent Granger?”
“Yeah.”
“And… agent Reeves?”
“Right again.” Megan confirmed. “Can we help you?”
“I’m agent Garrity, I was looking for agent Don Eppes.”
“He’s not here right now, but he should be back soon.”
“Where is he now?”
“He was close to an explosion-”
“I know about that, and I know he wasn’t seriously injured.”
“Yeah." Colby stated. "His partner insisted on dragging him to a doctor so they can check his hearing.”
“I see. What about the rest of his team?”
“Agent Sinclair is handling some personal issues…” Colby said carefully. He wasn’t sure how to describe the arrangement between David, Bobby and Ian, and he certainly didn’t want to explain it to this man.
“Is that one of yours, too?” Agent Garrity pointed at the war room, where Charlie scribbling furiously on the whiteboards.
“He’s our consult.” Megan explained. “Doctor Eppes is Don Eppes`s brother, so this whole situation was nerve-wracking for him.”
“That’s understandable. I think I once heard doctor Eppes lecturing, when I was still in the NTAC. Is he actually working on something or just blowing off steam?”
“He’s… unwinding. We let him scribble for a while until he calms down.”
“Interesting.”
“Well, he’s an interesting man.”
“No, I meant it’s interesting how you phrased it. And how you excluded the fact that doctor Eppes is also agent Granger’s domestic partner, and that both agent Sinclair and his partner have been personally involved with Mr. Desmond.”
“Excuse me, but what department are you working in?”
“Wherever there’s problems.” Garrity grinned and his eyes took an almost predatory expression. “Unusual problems are my speciality.”
“And this problem is unusual enough?”
Garrity gave her a little grin and pulled his ringing cellphone from his belt. He turned around and took few steps away from them before answering the call. Colby and Megan shared a conspiratory look and leaned closer to listen.
“Garrity. Yeah, he’s not here. When? Did you get it all? Good job, I’m on my way. Take them to the lock-up, and I’ll meet you there.” He shoved the phone back to the belt clip, and turned to face them again. “I have to go, but I’ll come back later.” He was already marching across the bullpen when he got to the end of the sentence.
“We can hardly wait…” Colby frowned. “Something`s definitely going on.”
“First the bomb specialists from the special task force, now an agent, who used to work for the NTAC. Whatever it is, it has to be something bigger than just a paid hit.”
“This may sound like a dumb question…”
“… but what’s NTAC?” Megan shot him a knowing look. “You work for the government, you should know their acronyms by now. NTAC is the National Threat Assessment Command. It’s a division of Homeland Security.”
----------------------------------
“Thanks again for doing this.”
“It’s fine, who needs a break after a twelve hour shift?” Doctor Lee responded. “I’ll have to agreed with the paramedic’s assessment. The hearing already coming back.” He turned to Don, who shivering on examination table. “I’ll write you a note for your infirmary doctor. I’ve treated feds before, and they don’t care what civilian doctors say. You’ll need another assessment from your department physician for the time off.”
“I don’t need time off.” Don protested and tried not to grimace. He could hear noises faintly, but loud noises near him didn’t sound loud, they just made his head throb. “You just said I’m getting back to normal.”
“But before you’re fully recuperated, you’ll be on desk duty only. You can’t get into a potentially dangerous situations with one sense gone.”
“How long?”
“Maybe a week.”
“He’ll take it.” Martin interrupted and ignored Don’s glare. “Don’t even try that look.”
“I’ll leave you two alone for a minute. The nurse will bring you the descriptions for the eardrops.” Doctor Lee left and Don hopped of the table.
“Martin-”
“We’re not even going to discuss about this. I know how you are about being confined to the office. You get frustrated, you find some excuse to go out and you’ll get yourself in trouble.”
“I won’t-”
“Think about the situations you come by at your work. If you’re not completely healthy you can get hurt, or someone else will get hurt.”
“But I-”
“Please.” Martin sighed and handed Don his coat from the hanger. “Just take the week off, for my peace of mind.”
“Okay.” Don nodded. “But you’ll come early from work to keep me entertained.”
“You got a deal.” Martin paused to listen. “Was that yours?”
“What?”
“You didn’t hear that?”
“No.”
“Your phone, I think you got a message.”
Don pulled his phone from the coat pocket and flipped it open.
“They want me in Tactical Operations.”
“Your team’s not even on case.” Martin wondered. “It’s about the explosion.”
“Yeah, but I have no idea what T.O. has to do with it.”
“We’ll you` go there, and I’ll deliver your medical papers, then we’ll go home. Or can we go home?” He froze and everything that had happened seemed to flash before his eyes. “Two people are dead and all I can think about is going home. How selfish is that?”
“I wanna go home too, but I gotta handle this first.”
“I can’t even think about it.” Martin stated slowly, as if he was processing his own reaction as he spoke. “Bobby. It doesn’t feel real. I know it’s true and he’s gone, but I just don’t believe it.”
Chapter 8