Numb3rs AU: Poison, chapter 3 (Don, Liz, David, PG-13)
Series: Poison
Chapter 3: Financial Aid
Characters/pairings: Don, Liz, David
Rating: PG-13.
Warnings: Mention of drug use.
Summary: He was done. He’d have to quit and admit that all the years he’d spent as an L.A.P.D. officer had served him for nothing.
Betas: The awesome lillyg and the amazing twins_m0m.
Disclaimer: I do not own Numb3rs or anything related to it.
Previous chapter: 2 - A Matter of Politics
Next chapter: 4 - Uniform beauty
***
3 - Financial Aid
The system is corrupted and I can’t even solve a fucking background investigation.
Don hit the desk with anger, unable to restrain his emotions anymore. The entire day had been pure shit. Five hours of unsuccessful surveillance, files that didn’t hold any relevant information and absolute lack of results were going to mean a very disappointed client that wouldn’t be coming back.
Being a P.I. should be easy in a city like L.A., where law sues required trustworthy data and divorce investigations needed incriminating pictures. Crime was increasing minute after minute, so there should be a lot of work out there. Yet, Don couldn’t even find a single thing to point out a suspect of fraud.
He was done. He’d have to quit and admit that all the years he’d spent as an L.A.P.D. officer had served him for nothing.
Tired, he ran one hand over his face. The laptop made a strange sound, and the desk and the chair seemed unsteady. The door bell suddenly rang, but he didn’t look up. He noticed the chair on the other side of the desk moving and someone sitting down. He’d have to find the right words to tell the client that he hadn’t been able to do the job.
“You won’t say no to this, Eppes,” a deep, male voice said.
Don looked up immediately and frowned. The black man that was in front of him was wearing an Armani and shades, even if it was dark out there. Don was sure he had some backup guy waiting for him outside in case things got ugly.
D.S. Cowboy was right there, but Don knew he couldn’t touch him. No one dared to put a hand on him because of his fucking connections. He was a pimp that pretty much owned an entire street where he got his people trading fine, exotic, even public sex for favors, drugs, money and information.
“You really think that?” Don asked, reading the other man’s intentions.
“Well, I’ve been told you’re… smart.”
They locked eyes. Don licked his lips as he tried to choose a strategy.
“David Sinclair… Publicly known as D.S. Cowboy.”
“I know who you are. What do you want with me?”
D.S. slid a briefcase on the table. He opened it, took out a file and offered it to him. “I might have a job for you, eventually. It should be easy and it shouldn’t cause you any trouble. I’m sure once you get your hands on it, you won’t refuse.”
So he was suggesting Don to get involved in the dark corners of his business. Hell, no. “I don’t think so.”
“Why don’t you take a look?” D.S. muttered, showing Don the content of the briefcase. Inside, there were piles of rolls of U.S. dollars. They were perfectly flattened and arranged so that they wouldn’t fall out by mistake.
Don look at it and leaned back on the chair. “And you’re trying to buy me with dirty money. That’s funny.”
The other man had a crooked smile on his face. “Ah, don’t say it like that. Let’s just call it… ‘financial aid.’ Sounds better, doesn’t it?”
“It doesn’t change the fact of who you are and…”
“Listen,” D.S. said, leaning over the table. “I’m aware of your situation, Eppes. I know that your work ethic wouldn’t let you take this, but you’re also out of luck. This damn place has been empty for days now, except for one lousy client that probably won’t even give you five bucks for the terrible job you’ve done.” He paused for a moment. “You’re going bankrupt, honey.”
It was very uncomfortable and humiliating that D.S. called him “honey” and that his words were all true. Don didn’t respond and let him continue.
“I know about the mortgage on this place, this office you call now ‘home.’ I also know that you haven’t had any real income these last few weeks. Do yourself a favor and take this,” the man demanded, placing his hand on the open briefcase, “and do me a favor in return.”
The speech shouldn’t have been so convincing, but D.S. had raised some issues that Don had avoided to deal with. The mortgage. The future lose of his office. The lack of clients. The end of his career, whatever that meant. He couldn’t let himself fail like this.
“What I want you to do is very simple,” D.S. Cowboy explained. “Catch the Vigilante for me. He’s been making trouble in my area and I don’t like that. I want him out of here. I know that your brother’s still L.A.P.D. and that he’s just taken the case, along with the FBI. Help him.”
It wasn’t that bad. What D.S. Cowboy was suggesting wasn’t out of line, especially considering Don’s work and his brother’s. A little help wouldn’t hurt, so his hand reached out and ran over the money. He took out one roll and examined it closely, flipping the bills and smelling their particular scent. He took a breath and carefully left it on the table. Then his eyes met the pimp’s.
“Do we have an arrangement?” the man asked.
It was hard for Don to admit it, but considering the situation, there was nothing Don could do but agree; his job, his entire life was on the line. “We do.”
“Good.” Looking satisfied, D.S. got up, straightened the laps of his suit and smiled. “I’ll see you around. Me or my boys.” He turned around, went towards the door, opened it and left.
Once alone, Don stared at the money inside the briefcase and wondered how much it’d be. He started counting the piles and then he started taking out the rolls of one of them so he could make a final estimate.
The image of his hands touching dirty money nauseated him. He couldn’t do this. This wasn’t Donald Eppes, no matter how desperate he was. His honor was first and he wouldn’t give that up. Between the curtains, he could see the light of a car. He ran outside, telling himself he’d have to reject the job, no matter what the consequences were. Telling himself that he’d just made a terrible mistake.
It was too late. D.S. and his crew were gone. The deal had been closed.
Don closed his jacket and folded his arms. It was a bit cold outside. The street was calm, only a few people were walking by. Don turned to one corner and saw a couple kissing. The idea of finding comfort in his woman’s arms seemed very attractive right now, but when he turned to the left, all his hope turned into darkness.
There came the future unsatisfied client. This woman would complain about the lack of background data on her husband’s fraud and would refuse to pay. He welcomed her quickly and tried to do his best at giving her the bad news.
***
She splashed her face on water again and contemplated herself on the mirror of Don’s little bathroom. She looked like hell and she’d have to pray her boss not to notice.
Liz didn’t know what the hell she was doing. Pretending she was fine didn’t seem like much of an option anymore. If Don didn’t know what was going on with her already, he’d find out very soon. Who could miss the symptoms? Some of them were in front of everyone’s eyes. She barely ate anything all day. Whatever she took, she ended up in the bathroom, throwing up. She couldn’t sleep, so she spent most of the day like a lethargic human trash, not being able to follow a single street map. Sometimes she panicked and screamed for no reason. There were times in which she couldn’t stop sweating.
This was one of those times. Liz grabbed a towel, damped it and passed it over her face; it was still too hot. Trembling, she took off her shirt and grabbed the sink, trying to find her balance. The silence around her managed to calm her down. There were no noises. Don was acting very weird today. Usually, he cursed and talked with money lenders over the phone. If he wanted to keep the business up and running, he needed financial backup.
It was a mystery why he’d been so different lately. Had he given up? Taking one last deep breath, Liz decided that she had to intervene and find out what was going on. She liked Don very much. Maybe she could help him keep the place where they both worked.
After taking out a fresh shirt from her bag and putting it on, she ran the damped towel over her face again, put some make-up on and arranged her hair. Then she opened the bathroom door and walked down the little corridor towards the main office, but once she got there, she stopped in her tracks and tried not to be seen.
There was a man seated at Don’s desk, and he was announcing himself. She immediately recognized his face. D.S. Cowboy. What the hell is that guy doing here? What does he want from the Eppes Private Investigations office?
She listened to the entire conversation between D.S. and her boss. First Don doubted, but when his fingers traced the money, Liz knew that he’d given in to temptation. However, she found herself hypnotized by the green rolls. They were just so beautiful and so full of promises.
Financial Aid, they’d call it. D.S. had used very convincing arguments - the mortgage, the bankrupt, the lack of clients. Considering the circumstances, it didn’t surprise Liz that Don ended up saying that they had a deal. It was a really bad idea to take money from a criminal but catching the Vigilante wasn’t.
Soon D.S. was gone and apparently taking off with who he called “his boys.” She wondered who those people would be, his personal bodyguards or his friends. She watched Don run towards the door, leaving the briefcase full of money on the desk and without thinking, she concentrated on them. They were calling her through all her senses, and she couldn’t fight the desire to get closer to them.
Sweat was coming back, but she couldn’t get away from the dollars. She reached out and took out a role, spreading the bills between her palms. Having them in her hands felt so amazing. She could buy so much with it… so many fixes. The money was there and it smelled so very fucking good.
“Liz,” Don’s voice came out behind her, startling her. The bills fell from her hands and onto the table, some of then going to rest on the carpet. “What are you…?” She didn’t move and when he approached her, he placed one hand on her shoulder and whispered into her ear. “We’ve got an unsatisfied client. Take all this away from here.”
Immediately, she nodded and started picking up the bills. In less than a minute, she collected them all and closed the briefcase. Don welcomed the client, a somewhat disturbing woman that had a fake feather boa, and he sat on his desk. “Please, take a seat.”
The client agreed and sat down as Liz displayed her warmest face. “Please, forgive us. We were in a brief analysis of counterfeit. We might have to contact the FBI.” Then she took the money and walked through the corridor, passing by the bathroom and the kitchen and entered the medium-size extra room they kept to store papers and files. Trying to restrain her excitement, she placed the briefcase on the squared table where she used to have dinner with the Eppes brothers back in the old days - the days when she was clean.
Excited, she couldn’t resist the urge to see the bills again. Her dreams would come true, her happiness, life full in Technicolor would be given to her if she grabbed it and use it for greater good. She ran her fingers over the rolls… They were just perfect.
There were yells coming from the main office. Apparently, the client was determined to show Don how unsatisfied with his job she was. The person she thought was committing fraud against her was apparently clean. I guess she’ll have to get used to wearing that fake boa until she finds someone else to get compensation from…
When the yells were gone, her attention went back to the money. She could do so many things… Steps getting closer and her boss coming into the room made her react.
“Should I keep this in the safe?” Liz snapped, pointing at the briefcase.
Don took a step forward and held on to the table. “Yeah, please…” Liz didn’t miss the way he was looking at her. “Hey… What’s going on? You don’t look very well.”
Quick excuse. C’mon, you’ve done it before and you can do it again. She ran one hand through her hair. “I’m tired, that’s all.”
“You’ve been feeling that way lately. These last three months have been strange. I’m worried about you.”
No matter how sweet he was, an evasive maneuver was necessary. “I’m all right. I probably just need a vacation.”
“Maybe you should take a break from this.” He caressed her arm calmly, and she wondered if he could feel her damped skin underneath the shirt.
“Nah,” she said, grabbing the briefcase. “What would you do without me? I have to take care of everything here.”
Her joke was well received. Don smiled at her like he was proud of her commitment to the job, but the only thing Liz could think about was what his reaction would be when he found out what was really going on with her.
“Now, on the other hand,” she continued to change the subject. “I saw you with D.S. Cowboy…”
Don frowned. “You where listening?” When she nodded, he ran a hand over his forehead. “I said yes.”
“I know.”
“I get the feeling I didn’t made the right decision, but I didn’t have much time, and the money was there…”
“It’s a harmless job. Catching the Vigilante. It could be good for our business… I’ll be here to help you,” she assured him. “And you don’t have to explain anything to me, I understand why you accepted the money.”
Don looked broken as he kept his eyes on the briefcase, and Liz had to caress in arm in order to make him relax a bit. He was a man of principles but his professional situation sucked, and desperate situations required desperate choices.
Soon she was entering the big safety box’s code while Don’s silence overwhelmed her. Once the numbers were into the system, there was a beep. The box opened and she placed the briefcase in there, with some other important items that weren’t even close to pay as much as the money D.S. Cowboy has left.
Then the safe was closed. No one would touch the money until Don said so, not even her. No matter how good it smelled.
Chapter 3: Financial Aid
Characters/pairings: Don, Liz, David
Rating: PG-13.
Warnings: Mention of drug use.
Summary: He was done. He’d have to quit and admit that all the years he’d spent as an L.A.P.D. officer had served him for nothing.
Betas: The awesome lillyg and the amazing twins_m0m.
Disclaimer: I do not own Numb3rs or anything related to it.
Previous chapter: 2 - A Matter of Politics
Next chapter: 4 - Uniform beauty
***
3 - Financial Aid
The system is corrupted and I can’t even solve a fucking background investigation.
Don hit the desk with anger, unable to restrain his emotions anymore. The entire day had been pure shit. Five hours of unsuccessful surveillance, files that didn’t hold any relevant information and absolute lack of results were going to mean a very disappointed client that wouldn’t be coming back.
Being a P.I. should be easy in a city like L.A., where law sues required trustworthy data and divorce investigations needed incriminating pictures. Crime was increasing minute after minute, so there should be a lot of work out there. Yet, Don couldn’t even find a single thing to point out a suspect of fraud.
He was done. He’d have to quit and admit that all the years he’d spent as an L.A.P.D. officer had served him for nothing.
Tired, he ran one hand over his face. The laptop made a strange sound, and the desk and the chair seemed unsteady. The door bell suddenly rang, but he didn’t look up. He noticed the chair on the other side of the desk moving and someone sitting down. He’d have to find the right words to tell the client that he hadn’t been able to do the job.
“You won’t say no to this, Eppes,” a deep, male voice said.
Don looked up immediately and frowned. The black man that was in front of him was wearing an Armani and shades, even if it was dark out there. Don was sure he had some backup guy waiting for him outside in case things got ugly.
D.S. Cowboy was right there, but Don knew he couldn’t touch him. No one dared to put a hand on him because of his fucking connections. He was a pimp that pretty much owned an entire street where he got his people trading fine, exotic, even public sex for favors, drugs, money and information.
“You really think that?” Don asked, reading the other man’s intentions.
“Well, I’ve been told you’re… smart.”
They locked eyes. Don licked his lips as he tried to choose a strategy.
“David Sinclair… Publicly known as D.S. Cowboy.”
“I know who you are. What do you want with me?”
D.S. slid a briefcase on the table. He opened it, took out a file and offered it to him. “I might have a job for you, eventually. It should be easy and it shouldn’t cause you any trouble. I’m sure once you get your hands on it, you won’t refuse.”
So he was suggesting Don to get involved in the dark corners of his business. Hell, no. “I don’t think so.”
“Why don’t you take a look?” D.S. muttered, showing Don the content of the briefcase. Inside, there were piles of rolls of U.S. dollars. They were perfectly flattened and arranged so that they wouldn’t fall out by mistake.
Don look at it and leaned back on the chair. “And you’re trying to buy me with dirty money. That’s funny.”
The other man had a crooked smile on his face. “Ah, don’t say it like that. Let’s just call it… ‘financial aid.’ Sounds better, doesn’t it?”
“It doesn’t change the fact of who you are and…”
“Listen,” D.S. said, leaning over the table. “I’m aware of your situation, Eppes. I know that your work ethic wouldn’t let you take this, but you’re also out of luck. This damn place has been empty for days now, except for one lousy client that probably won’t even give you five bucks for the terrible job you’ve done.” He paused for a moment. “You’re going bankrupt, honey.”
It was very uncomfortable and humiliating that D.S. called him “honey” and that his words were all true. Don didn’t respond and let him continue.
“I know about the mortgage on this place, this office you call now ‘home.’ I also know that you haven’t had any real income these last few weeks. Do yourself a favor and take this,” the man demanded, placing his hand on the open briefcase, “and do me a favor in return.”
The speech shouldn’t have been so convincing, but D.S. had raised some issues that Don had avoided to deal with. The mortgage. The future lose of his office. The lack of clients. The end of his career, whatever that meant. He couldn’t let himself fail like this.
“What I want you to do is very simple,” D.S. Cowboy explained. “Catch the Vigilante for me. He’s been making trouble in my area and I don’t like that. I want him out of here. I know that your brother’s still L.A.P.D. and that he’s just taken the case, along with the FBI. Help him.”
It wasn’t that bad. What D.S. Cowboy was suggesting wasn’t out of line, especially considering Don’s work and his brother’s. A little help wouldn’t hurt, so his hand reached out and ran over the money. He took out one roll and examined it closely, flipping the bills and smelling their particular scent. He took a breath and carefully left it on the table. Then his eyes met the pimp’s.
“Do we have an arrangement?” the man asked.
It was hard for Don to admit it, but considering the situation, there was nothing Don could do but agree; his job, his entire life was on the line. “We do.”
“Good.” Looking satisfied, D.S. got up, straightened the laps of his suit and smiled. “I’ll see you around. Me or my boys.” He turned around, went towards the door, opened it and left.
Once alone, Don stared at the money inside the briefcase and wondered how much it’d be. He started counting the piles and then he started taking out the rolls of one of them so he could make a final estimate.
The image of his hands touching dirty money nauseated him. He couldn’t do this. This wasn’t Donald Eppes, no matter how desperate he was. His honor was first and he wouldn’t give that up. Between the curtains, he could see the light of a car. He ran outside, telling himself he’d have to reject the job, no matter what the consequences were. Telling himself that he’d just made a terrible mistake.
It was too late. D.S. and his crew were gone. The deal had been closed.
Don closed his jacket and folded his arms. It was a bit cold outside. The street was calm, only a few people were walking by. Don turned to one corner and saw a couple kissing. The idea of finding comfort in his woman’s arms seemed very attractive right now, but when he turned to the left, all his hope turned into darkness.
There came the future unsatisfied client. This woman would complain about the lack of background data on her husband’s fraud and would refuse to pay. He welcomed her quickly and tried to do his best at giving her the bad news.
***
She splashed her face on water again and contemplated herself on the mirror of Don’s little bathroom. She looked like hell and she’d have to pray her boss not to notice.
Liz didn’t know what the hell she was doing. Pretending she was fine didn’t seem like much of an option anymore. If Don didn’t know what was going on with her already, he’d find out very soon. Who could miss the symptoms? Some of them were in front of everyone’s eyes. She barely ate anything all day. Whatever she took, she ended up in the bathroom, throwing up. She couldn’t sleep, so she spent most of the day like a lethargic human trash, not being able to follow a single street map. Sometimes she panicked and screamed for no reason. There were times in which she couldn’t stop sweating.
This was one of those times. Liz grabbed a towel, damped it and passed it over her face; it was still too hot. Trembling, she took off her shirt and grabbed the sink, trying to find her balance. The silence around her managed to calm her down. There were no noises. Don was acting very weird today. Usually, he cursed and talked with money lenders over the phone. If he wanted to keep the business up and running, he needed financial backup.
It was a mystery why he’d been so different lately. Had he given up? Taking one last deep breath, Liz decided that she had to intervene and find out what was going on. She liked Don very much. Maybe she could help him keep the place where they both worked.
After taking out a fresh shirt from her bag and putting it on, she ran the damped towel over her face again, put some make-up on and arranged her hair. Then she opened the bathroom door and walked down the little corridor towards the main office, but once she got there, she stopped in her tracks and tried not to be seen.
There was a man seated at Don’s desk, and he was announcing himself. She immediately recognized his face. D.S. Cowboy. What the hell is that guy doing here? What does he want from the Eppes Private Investigations office?
She listened to the entire conversation between D.S. and her boss. First Don doubted, but when his fingers traced the money, Liz knew that he’d given in to temptation. However, she found herself hypnotized by the green rolls. They were just so beautiful and so full of promises.
Financial Aid, they’d call it. D.S. had used very convincing arguments - the mortgage, the bankrupt, the lack of clients. Considering the circumstances, it didn’t surprise Liz that Don ended up saying that they had a deal. It was a really bad idea to take money from a criminal but catching the Vigilante wasn’t.
Soon D.S. was gone and apparently taking off with who he called “his boys.” She wondered who those people would be, his personal bodyguards or his friends. She watched Don run towards the door, leaving the briefcase full of money on the desk and without thinking, she concentrated on them. They were calling her through all her senses, and she couldn’t fight the desire to get closer to them.
Sweat was coming back, but she couldn’t get away from the dollars. She reached out and took out a role, spreading the bills between her palms. Having them in her hands felt so amazing. She could buy so much with it… so many fixes. The money was there and it smelled so very fucking good.
“Liz,” Don’s voice came out behind her, startling her. The bills fell from her hands and onto the table, some of then going to rest on the carpet. “What are you…?” She didn’t move and when he approached her, he placed one hand on her shoulder and whispered into her ear. “We’ve got an unsatisfied client. Take all this away from here.”
Immediately, she nodded and started picking up the bills. In less than a minute, she collected them all and closed the briefcase. Don welcomed the client, a somewhat disturbing woman that had a fake feather boa, and he sat on his desk. “Please, take a seat.”
The client agreed and sat down as Liz displayed her warmest face. “Please, forgive us. We were in a brief analysis of counterfeit. We might have to contact the FBI.” Then she took the money and walked through the corridor, passing by the bathroom and the kitchen and entered the medium-size extra room they kept to store papers and files. Trying to restrain her excitement, she placed the briefcase on the squared table where she used to have dinner with the Eppes brothers back in the old days - the days when she was clean.
Excited, she couldn’t resist the urge to see the bills again. Her dreams would come true, her happiness, life full in Technicolor would be given to her if she grabbed it and use it for greater good. She ran her fingers over the rolls… They were just perfect.
There were yells coming from the main office. Apparently, the client was determined to show Don how unsatisfied with his job she was. The person she thought was committing fraud against her was apparently clean. I guess she’ll have to get used to wearing that fake boa until she finds someone else to get compensation from…
When the yells were gone, her attention went back to the money. She could do so many things… Steps getting closer and her boss coming into the room made her react.
“Should I keep this in the safe?” Liz snapped, pointing at the briefcase.
Don took a step forward and held on to the table. “Yeah, please…” Liz didn’t miss the way he was looking at her. “Hey… What’s going on? You don’t look very well.”
Quick excuse. C’mon, you’ve done it before and you can do it again. She ran one hand through her hair. “I’m tired, that’s all.”
“You’ve been feeling that way lately. These last three months have been strange. I’m worried about you.”
No matter how sweet he was, an evasive maneuver was necessary. “I’m all right. I probably just need a vacation.”
“Maybe you should take a break from this.” He caressed her arm calmly, and she wondered if he could feel her damped skin underneath the shirt.
“Nah,” she said, grabbing the briefcase. “What would you do without me? I have to take care of everything here.”
Her joke was well received. Don smiled at her like he was proud of her commitment to the job, but the only thing Liz could think about was what his reaction would be when he found out what was really going on with her.
“Now, on the other hand,” she continued to change the subject. “I saw you with D.S. Cowboy…”
Don frowned. “You where listening?” When she nodded, he ran a hand over his forehead. “I said yes.”
“I know.”
“I get the feeling I didn’t made the right decision, but I didn’t have much time, and the money was there…”
“It’s a harmless job. Catching the Vigilante. It could be good for our business… I’ll be here to help you,” she assured him. “And you don’t have to explain anything to me, I understand why you accepted the money.”
Don looked broken as he kept his eyes on the briefcase, and Liz had to caress in arm in order to make him relax a bit. He was a man of principles but his professional situation sucked, and desperate situations required desperate choices.
Soon she was entering the big safety box’s code while Don’s silence overwhelmed her. Once the numbers were into the system, there was a beep. The box opened and she placed the briefcase in there, with some other important items that weren’t even close to pay as much as the money D.S. Cowboy has left.
Then the safe was closed. No one would touch the money until Don said so, not even her. No matter how good it smelled.