FIC: Moderation (Crimin4l Numb3rs)
Title: Moderation
Series: Crimin4l Numb3rs
Author: Valerie Vancollie (valeriev84 [at] hotmail.com)
Characters: Charlie, (Don)
Rating: PG
Summary: Charlie struggles between logic and emotion as he ponders the opportunities of Chicago.
Spoilers: None
Timeline: Set between Future and Possibility/Probability. For a complete listing, see the Master List.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Numb3rs characters, items or situations. I only lay claim to the original aspects of the fic.
Charlie threw the marker down in frustration as he glanced at his list of potential targets. They'd decided yesterday that Chicago would be their next stop on their cross-country trip home and already he had too many options. The city simply had so many opportunities for him and he was loath to eliminate any.
Logically he understood Don's caution; that if they hung around anywhere too long, did too many jobs in one area or attacked certain types of targets, they were more likely to be discovered. It was simple statistics after all.
Yet...
Another part of Charlie screamed in outrage at the very idea of any kind of restraint. He wanted to do it all and do it now, damnit! To prove to everyone that he could successfully penetrate all of those defenses and steal what they protected.
It was a side of him that had been growing, nurtured by each successful job and by the very fact that he'd convinced his elder brother to abandon the Bureau to join him in a life of crime. Strengthened by the knowledge that he'd won.
The fact that it was Don arguing for moderation, however, gave Charlie pause. Not only was Don normally the one to charge fearlessly ahead, but he also knew the system better and knew exactly what to expect. That was why he had already scrubbed a number of possibilities off the list.
The bank, the bank however, he simply couldn't make himself cross off. It wasn't an easy job, either mathematically or tactically, nor was it as big of a payout as some of the other targets, but the temptation was too great. To go up against a system designed by James Herots... he just couldn't leave that.
Which left only one problem:
How to convince Don?