Numb3rs: "Not exactly game theory"
Numb3rs100 entry: N100 Rewind Prompt: Baseball, Sidekick, Data, Bug.
Title: Not exactly game theory.
Author: Keenir.
Word count: 161-150-255-161.
Summary: If Don had become a baseball player instead…
Author's note: I’ve never seen them together…but when the plot bunny showed me that closing scene, I became a Terry/Colby shipper.
Pairing/Characters: Terry, Charlie, Don, Amita, Colby.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: 1.01-1.06 & 1.08
Disclaimer: I own none of this.
~~~~~~~~
“Think you’re up for this?” Terry asked Charlie as they walked down the airport concourse. Even at its slowest time of day, JFK’s corridors could never be described as empty.
“I’ll be fine,” Charlie said. “But thanks.”
“You want to break the news to him? If you don’t want to, I can.”
“I appreciate that, but I think it would be best if I were to be the one to inform him.” To tell my brother that all the evidence on this case points to him being the top of the pyramid, the man calling all the shots - literally, in this case. “I’m just glad he’s got this game right now against the Orioles.” It dropped the odds of Don running - not that Don would, but the DC branch needed a better reason than “I know my brother” to avoid picking him up by now - to microscopic levels.
Terry rested one hand on Charlie’s shoulder, lending him what support she could.
part 2: Sidekick
“I’m rather glad, actually,” Charlie said, once they were alone in the VIP room that was being used to conduct interviews, “that you didn’t bring your sidekick with you.”
“Oh?” Don asked.
“Well, he has followed you around for every other part of this investigation.”
“Let’s get something straight here, Charlie. He’s my lawyer, not my sidekick. And the only reason he isn’t in this room right now, is because I figure I can trust you not to try pulling anything slick.”
“I just want the facts, Don. That’s all I ever want.”
“Most days, sure. But you sure that’s all it is here?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, maybe you figure, hey, if you can expose me as a cheat or whatever, maybe you might win Amita back.”
Charlie stiffened. “You have my word, Don, that Amita isn’t a factor in my analysis.”
“I sure hope not, Chuck.”
part 3: Data
“I’ll confess, Charlie,” Amita said, computer glare reflecting off her reading glasses, “there’s actually a semblance of evidence pointing in Don’s general direction.” By unspoken agreement, neither of them used the F word: Fiancé.
Most of the local FBI agents had been against Amita having any access to the evidence. But, with the implacable determination of Agent Lake behind him, Charlie had gotten Amita in to take a look-see at it.
“That was what worried me,” Charlie said. The two of them were alone in the room - not counting the lady cop standing by the door, keeping an eye on them. “So I went over it again and again.”
Amita knew that those weren’t idle words from Charlie. “Thank you,” and looked at the bits of dross that Charlie’s analysises hadn’t been able to square away: words. No, not words…names. “Mercury, juno, genii…” Amita read, trailing off. “All gods or spirits in Roman belief, and, unless I’m misremembering those mythology courses I took, all united by their association with Janus.”
“The god of doorways? Well I suppose that makes sense, since we’re looking for a key to unlock this electronic black box.”
A doorway can’t be a key, but a god can - and a doorway can be a keyhole of sorts, I guess. and hoped the case was closed and Don exonerated by two days from now - when her parents had promised to arrive. An exquisite dinner after Don beat Cal Ripkin’s record…and even if the record didn’t get broken, it wouldn’t matter.
part 4: Bug
After that look-see and chat, Charlie met up with Terry by the outer railing.
“It seems one of the searches you ran for this case,” Terry said, “raised some red flags down at the DoD. So they’re sending over a team to assist us with everything here.”
“They’re too kind,” Charlie said.
Terry quirked up the corner of her mouth. “It gets better. They’re sending a decorated officer, a sterling example of discipline.”
“Wow. Probability suggests its either a Petty Officer, a Lieutenant, or a General.”
“Nope,” they were told. “Just me. And before you say anything too, I just got off the plane from Afghanistan.”
Turning sharply to hide her surprise at - well, being taken by surprise - “And you must be -”
“Colby Granger,” he said, saluting her, then extending his hand.
“Terry Lake,” she said, giving a firm handshake.
Charlie felt like the bug on the back of - no, it’s a third wheel. That’s the right phrase.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The End
Title: Not exactly game theory.
Author: Keenir.
Word count: 161-150-255-161.
Summary: If Don had become a baseball player instead…
Author's note: I’ve never seen them together…but when the plot bunny showed me that closing scene, I became a Terry/Colby shipper.
Pairing/Characters: Terry, Charlie, Don, Amita, Colby.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: 1.01-1.06 & 1.08
Disclaimer: I own none of this.
~~~~~~~~
“Think you’re up for this?” Terry asked Charlie as they walked down the airport concourse. Even at its slowest time of day, JFK’s corridors could never be described as empty.
“I’ll be fine,” Charlie said. “But thanks.”
“You want to break the news to him? If you don’t want to, I can.”
“I appreciate that, but I think it would be best if I were to be the one to inform him.” To tell my brother that all the evidence on this case points to him being the top of the pyramid, the man calling all the shots - literally, in this case. “I’m just glad he’s got this game right now against the Orioles.” It dropped the odds of Don running - not that Don would, but the DC branch needed a better reason than “I know my brother” to avoid picking him up by now - to microscopic levels.
Terry rested one hand on Charlie’s shoulder, lending him what support she could.
part 2: Sidekick
“I’m rather glad, actually,” Charlie said, once they were alone in the VIP room that was being used to conduct interviews, “that you didn’t bring your sidekick with you.”
“Oh?” Don asked.
“Well, he has followed you around for every other part of this investigation.”
“Let’s get something straight here, Charlie. He’s my lawyer, not my sidekick. And the only reason he isn’t in this room right now, is because I figure I can trust you not to try pulling anything slick.”
“I just want the facts, Don. That’s all I ever want.”
“Most days, sure. But you sure that’s all it is here?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, maybe you figure, hey, if you can expose me as a cheat or whatever, maybe you might win Amita back.”
Charlie stiffened. “You have my word, Don, that Amita isn’t a factor in my analysis.”
“I sure hope not, Chuck.”
part 3: Data
“I’ll confess, Charlie,” Amita said, computer glare reflecting off her reading glasses, “there’s actually a semblance of evidence pointing in Don’s general direction.” By unspoken agreement, neither of them used the F word: Fiancé.
Most of the local FBI agents had been against Amita having any access to the evidence. But, with the implacable determination of Agent Lake behind him, Charlie had gotten Amita in to take a look-see at it.
“That was what worried me,” Charlie said. The two of them were alone in the room - not counting the lady cop standing by the door, keeping an eye on them. “So I went over it again and again.”
Amita knew that those weren’t idle words from Charlie. “Thank you,” and looked at the bits of dross that Charlie’s analysises hadn’t been able to square away: words. No, not words…names. “Mercury, juno, genii…” Amita read, trailing off. “All gods or spirits in Roman belief, and, unless I’m misremembering those mythology courses I took, all united by their association with Janus.”
“The god of doorways? Well I suppose that makes sense, since we’re looking for a key to unlock this electronic black box.”
A doorway can’t be a key, but a god can - and a doorway can be a keyhole of sorts, I guess. and hoped the case was closed and Don exonerated by two days from now - when her parents had promised to arrive. An exquisite dinner after Don beat Cal Ripkin’s record…and even if the record didn’t get broken, it wouldn’t matter.
part 4: Bug
After that look-see and chat, Charlie met up with Terry by the outer railing.
“It seems one of the searches you ran for this case,” Terry said, “raised some red flags down at the DoD. So they’re sending over a team to assist us with everything here.”
“They’re too kind,” Charlie said.
Terry quirked up the corner of her mouth. “It gets better. They’re sending a decorated officer, a sterling example of discipline.”
“Wow. Probability suggests its either a Petty Officer, a Lieutenant, or a General.”
“Nope,” they were told. “Just me. And before you say anything too, I just got off the plane from Afghanistan.”
Turning sharply to hide her surprise at - well, being taken by surprise - “And you must be -”
“Colby Granger,” he said, saluting her, then extending his hand.
“Terry Lake,” she said, giving a firm handshake.
Charlie felt like the bug on the back of - no, it’s a third wheel. That’s the right phrase.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The End