Numb3rs AU: Poison, chapter 2 (Jeff Upchurch, Amita, Charlie, Millie, Gary Walker, PG-13)
Series: Poison
Chapter 2: A Matter of Politics
Characters/pairings: Jeff Upchurch, Amita, Charlie, Millie, Gary Walker
Rating: PG-13.
Warnings: Please remember that this story has gen, het and slash chapters.
Summary:
Betas: The awesome lillyg and the amazing twins_m0m.
Disclaimer: I do not own Numb3rs or anything related to it.
Previous chapter: 1 - Run, Oswald, Run
Next chapter: 3 - Financial Aid
3 - A Matter of Politics
Lt. Jeff Upchurch took a look at the file again. He raised one eyebrow at the person that was seated at the other side of the table in the meeting room but repressed the ironic comment that wanted to escape his lips. He was LAPD, and LAPD was supposed to respond to the Mayor, no matter how strange his demands were.
“We’re already working on this guy.”
Mayor Gary Walker joined his palms and his chair moved slightly. “Not with much success, as we all know.”
Jeff tried to ignore the punch. His people did the best they could. It wasn’t like they were sitting on their asses waiting for this criminal to come out and shout his true identity to the world. “I assume you’re trying to throw in some light,” he said, waving the file the Mayor had given him. “This could give us a hand.”
“Yes. If you know how to handle that information.”
The tone of the Mayor’s voice managed to upset Jeff again. Was he implying that they were idiots? God knew that the lieutenant would stand for his people. This guy, the Vigilante, had earned his title as one of the latest big fishes in L.A. He didn’t kill for money, he didn’t kill for praise. Apparently, he killed for justice.
“I’ve got a plan of action,” the Mayor said.
“I’d like to hear it.” It wasn’t easy for Jeff to pretend he was willing to listen to a man who only had critiques towards the department. “Please, go ahead.”
“I want a collaborative work between two investigation teams. One of them is yours, obviously.”
“Aha…” Curious, Jeff leaned on the back of his chair, resting one hand on his chin.
“Look at the last page in the file.”
Frowning, Jeff did as he’d been told. On the last page, he found two post-it notes with two lists of names. One of them didn’t surprise him, since it made sense for that person to work on the Vigilante’s issue. The other one triggered a question. “I understand one of your choices. Our guy, Charles Eppes, can bring some inspiration to the case. But the other one, Ramanujan? Why is it that you always choose to work with the same FBI team?”
His words didn’t seem to amuse the Mayor. “Ramanujan’s team assisted me during my campaign, providing me data on criminal statistics. Keep your eyes open, lieutenant. There are so many ugly, dirty things out there, in the most unexpected places. This particular FBI team can help you find them, believe me.”
Jeff noticed the meaning in the Mayor’s voice. The choice to call this particular FBI team when a big case came up was a matter of politics, as usual. “I’m going to call an extra team, just in case we…”
“No. You only need this one.” The Mayor cleared his throat. “You understand, of course, that this is not official. This is just a… suggestion.”
Suggestion, his ass. Jeff took a deep breath; he really hated that power positions had the right to arrange other people’s lives the way they wanted.
The Mayor leaned over the desk. “Lieutenant, where have you worked?”
“Afghanistan, Europe,…but mostly, Guadalajara, Mexico.”
“Right. In all those places, you were the one who made the big decisions. Then you came back to L.A. Here… things are slightly different. Am I clear?”
Jeff’s lips tensed. Getting up, he picked up the file with the Vigilante’s newest information and the team members’ names. “You’re the one who calls the shots, sir,” he admitted.
Visibly satisfied, the other man nodded and gestured him goodbye. As he left the meeting room, Jeff got the feeling that something was wrong. There was definitely an intention from the highest powers to shape and guide LAPD’s work on the Vigilante’s case through the FBI team.
He wondered what the politician’s final goal was besides catching the Vigilante, since his strategy was pretty interesting. Always the same reason, politics - and always the same team.
***
They’d been waiting for ten minutes already at this office, and it was well known Lt. Upchurch was never late. Amita checked her BlackBerry and noticed that several messages were coming in, as things at the FBI had become complicated lately. Besides all the relevant cases they were already facing, the Mayor had suggested a collaborative work with LAPD, which wasn’t really a big surprise.
As the officers and investigators worked outside, Charlie kept an eye on Millie’s laptop, She was typing data into the system on her desk beside Upchurch’s as they all waited for the lieutenant to arrive. Detectives Eppes and Finch were very trust-worthy leaders. Amita just hoped things wouldn’t get ugly when the power struggles inevitably started.
“Amita,” Charlie muttered,” beckoning Millie’s laptop so she would get closer to them and see what they were analyzing. He pointed at traces of data in the screen and muttered suggestions to Millie, who nodded and entered new commands into the search database. “Aha… I see. Of course, that’s an interesting progression,” he said, going towards the map that was on the wall near them. It was marked with dots, which were next to pictures and names. Lines in red, white and blue explained different types of links between the involved subjects.
“A link map. We have one at the FBI, too. I’m glad we’re on the same page,” Amita said, remembering that she and Charlie shared a strange love for structure. “How much do you have on this guy?”
She was about to get her explanation when Lt. Upchurch came towards them and shook her hand. He nodded at Charlie and Millie and said, “All right…As you know, the Mayor has suggested that we work together on the Vigilante’s case. We gotta move fast. This guy doesn’t take any vacation.”
As she got up, Millie explained, “The amount of murders has increased heavily in the last two weeks. We’ve finally detected a very active area and we are just making the final arrangements to see the results.”
Amita followed her gaze and started analyzing the link map more deeply. There was a zone that had the most important amount of dots and lines in different colors. “There’s a hot sport near Leather Street.”
“Doesn’t surprise me,” Upchurch commented, getting closer to the map so he could take a better look at the references. “He’s been in proximate streets, so it was only matter of time for this guy to go around the corner.”
“We thought about that, too. According to our analysis, About 68% of the most wanted criminals in the city visit the street for sex, drugs and business. I can see the temptation of taking down several skunks... Any visuals?”
“None,” Millie responded, as she was carefully following the conversation from the side as she kept checking her laptop from time to time.
“Always dressed in black,” Charlie added, looking a bit frustrated. Amita knew that expression well. “He doesn’t make much of a mess, he’s very clean. He does what he’s come to do and disappears, that’s his M.O. He’s been reported to wear a dark cap and a scarf. That’s all we’ve got.”
“A Justice Paladin that kills to push some order into the chaos of the L.A. streets. How poetic,” Millie said, shaking her head.
Upchurch went to check her computer, too. He didn’t say anything about what he saw; he probably didn’t understand, as math wasn’t his area. “The son of a bitch is meticulous and focused. All of his victims are instigators of criminal activities. He doesn’t kill for fun.”
The obvious conclusion clicked in Amita’s mind. “So it’s possible that he’s going for the head of someone who’s related to Leather Street.” There were many names coming to her at the moment, but one seemed to be the most important target. “D.S. Cowboy. Who wouldn’t go after the leader, the owner of that sinful territory?” she asked, following Millie’s irony on the case.
The lieutenant was about to respond when his cell phone vibrated and he picked up the call. “Upchurch…” He frowned. “Okay. We’ll be there in ten.” He immediately closed his phone and explained, “New murder.”
Amita’s phone started to ring right away, and when she answered, the same news was given to her. “Dwayne, what is it?”
Dwayne Carter’s voice sounded confident and calm. Just like when he was at the crime scenes, talking to Forensics about missing body parts during the most horrifying cases. Amita’s partner was really good at his job. “We’ve got a murder in Chinatown. I’m at the crime scene. Preliminary analysis suggests it was the Vigilante.”
“All right. I’ll be there with LAPD,” she responded and hung up.
In the meantime, Millie was mentioning a particular address. Charlie immediately grabbed a red pin and posted it on the link map. It matched the other ones in the board perfectly. It was in Chinatown, like Dwayne had said, only a few blocks away from Leather Street. The Vigilante was slowly moving towards that direction so he could get his hands on the famous pimp D.S. Cowboy, who no one dared to touch due to his multiple political connections.
“I’ve already sent my people to the crime scene,” Upchurch announced.
“We have, too,” Amita responded.
Charlie went to grab his jacket. “Millie, are you coming?” When Millie shook her head and went to sit down at her desk with her laptop again, he took one last look at the link map. “Let’s go.” He turned around but Upchurch placed a hand on his shoulder, inviting him to stay behind for a moment to talk about something private.
To give them some space, Amita decided to go towards the door and wait for them there. But as she went out, something caught her attention. Lt. Upchurch was whispering something into the detective’s ear and for a moment, Charlie’s eyes had landed on her.
Amita read Upchurch’s lips to figure out his last words. “Eppes… don’t let me down.” She saw determination in Charlie’s eyes as they passed her by. And when the lieutenant glanced at her too, she was sure he had something against her.
She hated secrets during cases like these.
Chapter 2: A Matter of Politics
Characters/pairings: Jeff Upchurch, Amita, Charlie, Millie, Gary Walker
Rating: PG-13.
Warnings: Please remember that this story has gen, het and slash chapters.
Summary:
Betas: The awesome lillyg and the amazing twins_m0m.
Disclaimer: I do not own Numb3rs or anything related to it.
Previous chapter: 1 - Run, Oswald, Run
Next chapter: 3 - Financial Aid
3 - A Matter of Politics
Lt. Jeff Upchurch took a look at the file again. He raised one eyebrow at the person that was seated at the other side of the table in the meeting room but repressed the ironic comment that wanted to escape his lips. He was LAPD, and LAPD was supposed to respond to the Mayor, no matter how strange his demands were.
“We’re already working on this guy.”
Mayor Gary Walker joined his palms and his chair moved slightly. “Not with much success, as we all know.”
Jeff tried to ignore the punch. His people did the best they could. It wasn’t like they were sitting on their asses waiting for this criminal to come out and shout his true identity to the world. “I assume you’re trying to throw in some light,” he said, waving the file the Mayor had given him. “This could give us a hand.”
“Yes. If you know how to handle that information.”
The tone of the Mayor’s voice managed to upset Jeff again. Was he implying that they were idiots? God knew that the lieutenant would stand for his people. This guy, the Vigilante, had earned his title as one of the latest big fishes in L.A. He didn’t kill for money, he didn’t kill for praise. Apparently, he killed for justice.
“I’ve got a plan of action,” the Mayor said.
“I’d like to hear it.” It wasn’t easy for Jeff to pretend he was willing to listen to a man who only had critiques towards the department. “Please, go ahead.”
“I want a collaborative work between two investigation teams. One of them is yours, obviously.”
“Aha…” Curious, Jeff leaned on the back of his chair, resting one hand on his chin.
“Look at the last page in the file.”
Frowning, Jeff did as he’d been told. On the last page, he found two post-it notes with two lists of names. One of them didn’t surprise him, since it made sense for that person to work on the Vigilante’s issue. The other one triggered a question. “I understand one of your choices. Our guy, Charles Eppes, can bring some inspiration to the case. But the other one, Ramanujan? Why is it that you always choose to work with the same FBI team?”
His words didn’t seem to amuse the Mayor. “Ramanujan’s team assisted me during my campaign, providing me data on criminal statistics. Keep your eyes open, lieutenant. There are so many ugly, dirty things out there, in the most unexpected places. This particular FBI team can help you find them, believe me.”
Jeff noticed the meaning in the Mayor’s voice. The choice to call this particular FBI team when a big case came up was a matter of politics, as usual. “I’m going to call an extra team, just in case we…”
“No. You only need this one.” The Mayor cleared his throat. “You understand, of course, that this is not official. This is just a… suggestion.”
Suggestion, his ass. Jeff took a deep breath; he really hated that power positions had the right to arrange other people’s lives the way they wanted.
The Mayor leaned over the desk. “Lieutenant, where have you worked?”
“Afghanistan, Europe,…but mostly, Guadalajara, Mexico.”
“Right. In all those places, you were the one who made the big decisions. Then you came back to L.A. Here… things are slightly different. Am I clear?”
Jeff’s lips tensed. Getting up, he picked up the file with the Vigilante’s newest information and the team members’ names. “You’re the one who calls the shots, sir,” he admitted.
Visibly satisfied, the other man nodded and gestured him goodbye. As he left the meeting room, Jeff got the feeling that something was wrong. There was definitely an intention from the highest powers to shape and guide LAPD’s work on the Vigilante’s case through the FBI team.
He wondered what the politician’s final goal was besides catching the Vigilante, since his strategy was pretty interesting. Always the same reason, politics - and always the same team.
***
They’d been waiting for ten minutes already at this office, and it was well known Lt. Upchurch was never late. Amita checked her BlackBerry and noticed that several messages were coming in, as things at the FBI had become complicated lately. Besides all the relevant cases they were already facing, the Mayor had suggested a collaborative work with LAPD, which wasn’t really a big surprise.
As the officers and investigators worked outside, Charlie kept an eye on Millie’s laptop, She was typing data into the system on her desk beside Upchurch’s as they all waited for the lieutenant to arrive. Detectives Eppes and Finch were very trust-worthy leaders. Amita just hoped things wouldn’t get ugly when the power struggles inevitably started.
“Amita,” Charlie muttered,” beckoning Millie’s laptop so she would get closer to them and see what they were analyzing. He pointed at traces of data in the screen and muttered suggestions to Millie, who nodded and entered new commands into the search database. “Aha… I see. Of course, that’s an interesting progression,” he said, going towards the map that was on the wall near them. It was marked with dots, which were next to pictures and names. Lines in red, white and blue explained different types of links between the involved subjects.
“A link map. We have one at the FBI, too. I’m glad we’re on the same page,” Amita said, remembering that she and Charlie shared a strange love for structure. “How much do you have on this guy?”
She was about to get her explanation when Lt. Upchurch came towards them and shook her hand. He nodded at Charlie and Millie and said, “All right…As you know, the Mayor has suggested that we work together on the Vigilante’s case. We gotta move fast. This guy doesn’t take any vacation.”
As she got up, Millie explained, “The amount of murders has increased heavily in the last two weeks. We’ve finally detected a very active area and we are just making the final arrangements to see the results.”
Amita followed her gaze and started analyzing the link map more deeply. There was a zone that had the most important amount of dots and lines in different colors. “There’s a hot sport near Leather Street.”
“Doesn’t surprise me,” Upchurch commented, getting closer to the map so he could take a better look at the references. “He’s been in proximate streets, so it was only matter of time for this guy to go around the corner.”
“We thought about that, too. According to our analysis, About 68% of the most wanted criminals in the city visit the street for sex, drugs and business. I can see the temptation of taking down several skunks... Any visuals?”
“None,” Millie responded, as she was carefully following the conversation from the side as she kept checking her laptop from time to time.
“Always dressed in black,” Charlie added, looking a bit frustrated. Amita knew that expression well. “He doesn’t make much of a mess, he’s very clean. He does what he’s come to do and disappears, that’s his M.O. He’s been reported to wear a dark cap and a scarf. That’s all we’ve got.”
“A Justice Paladin that kills to push some order into the chaos of the L.A. streets. How poetic,” Millie said, shaking her head.
Upchurch went to check her computer, too. He didn’t say anything about what he saw; he probably didn’t understand, as math wasn’t his area. “The son of a bitch is meticulous and focused. All of his victims are instigators of criminal activities. He doesn’t kill for fun.”
The obvious conclusion clicked in Amita’s mind. “So it’s possible that he’s going for the head of someone who’s related to Leather Street.” There were many names coming to her at the moment, but one seemed to be the most important target. “D.S. Cowboy. Who wouldn’t go after the leader, the owner of that sinful territory?” she asked, following Millie’s irony on the case.
The lieutenant was about to respond when his cell phone vibrated and he picked up the call. “Upchurch…” He frowned. “Okay. We’ll be there in ten.” He immediately closed his phone and explained, “New murder.”
Amita’s phone started to ring right away, and when she answered, the same news was given to her. “Dwayne, what is it?”
Dwayne Carter’s voice sounded confident and calm. Just like when he was at the crime scenes, talking to Forensics about missing body parts during the most horrifying cases. Amita’s partner was really good at his job. “We’ve got a murder in Chinatown. I’m at the crime scene. Preliminary analysis suggests it was the Vigilante.”
“All right. I’ll be there with LAPD,” she responded and hung up.
In the meantime, Millie was mentioning a particular address. Charlie immediately grabbed a red pin and posted it on the link map. It matched the other ones in the board perfectly. It was in Chinatown, like Dwayne had said, only a few blocks away from Leather Street. The Vigilante was slowly moving towards that direction so he could get his hands on the famous pimp D.S. Cowboy, who no one dared to touch due to his multiple political connections.
“I’ve already sent my people to the crime scene,” Upchurch announced.
“We have, too,” Amita responded.
Charlie went to grab his jacket. “Millie, are you coming?” When Millie shook her head and went to sit down at her desk with her laptop again, he took one last look at the link map. “Let’s go.” He turned around but Upchurch placed a hand on his shoulder, inviting him to stay behind for a moment to talk about something private.
To give them some space, Amita decided to go towards the door and wait for them there. But as she went out, something caught her attention. Lt. Upchurch was whispering something into the detective’s ear and for a moment, Charlie’s eyes had landed on her.
Amita read Upchurch’s lips to figure out his last words. “Eppes… don’t let me down.” She saw determination in Charlie’s eyes as they passed her by. And when the lieutenant glanced at her too, she was sure he had something against her.
She hated secrets during cases like these.