Numb3rs Fic: Hunted, Chapter Two/7
Title: Hunted
Author: ALEO aleo_70
Genre: Gen
Characters: Don Eppes, OMC, Season 6 team with guest appearance by Alan Eppes
Rating: PG 13+
Warning: violence
Spoilers: (if you can call it that) Fifth Man
Summary: When the protected son of a witness takes flight Don finds that he is not the only one after him.
A/N: Written from prompts provided by msgrahamcracker
Status: Chapter 2 of 7
Wordcount: 2755
Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real places and organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however.
CHAPTER TWO
The paperwork arrangements took far longer than normal. The delay was caused by a number of things not the least of which was the fact that there was a certain lack of urgency given that the family was already secure and under guard. It was also a day that was reserved for the monthly section meetings so the bosses that usually signed off on such requests were in meetings for most of the day and without the urgency could not be interrupted. All of which resulted in it being well towards the end of the day when the approvals came down. It was too late to move the family and the unsurprising request came through for the FBI to maintain its guard until the morning when arrangements could be finalised.
Don delivered the news in person along with another item which he knew wouldn’t be well received.
“But I want to be with my husband.” Marissa complained. “I never wanted to come to LA in the first place. Now that we have protection we should be allowed to go back to Albuquerque to be with Joe.”
He held up a placating hand. That had been the bad news, the family would, for the moment at least, remain separated. While he didn’t think that was necessarily the best approach he didn’t have all of the information that the New Mexico agents had, despite the file. “They are still assessing the risks. At this stage they believe you will be safer somewhere outside of Albuquerque. They’re going to look into it further in the morning.”
“You lied.” J accused. “Feds always lie. Come on Mom, we should ditch them and go home.”
“We can’t, Jason.”
“But, Mom,” J stated to argue. “We’re not under arrest, they can’t stop us.”
Don and his team knew when it was best to fade away and give some privacy to the family. It was not uncommon to have arguments flare up amongst those in protective custody due to the pressures and stresses of their situation. Given the news he’d just delivered this argument was to be expected.
Gathered together to the side where they could still watch the possible entrances and keep the family covered they waited for the argument to wind down.
“When are the marshals coming?” Colby asked.
“In the morning.”
“Relief?”
Don pointed across the room. “There’s a perfectly good couch over there, Granger.”
“Uh-huh.” It wouldn’t be the first time.
“Think about it this way,” Don had a carrot to dangle. “Room service is now on WitSec.” With the deal signed off, WitSec was now picking up all the bills.
David and Colby both perked up at that but Nikki didn’t waste the effort, instead she immediately snagged the room service menu and started to run her finger down the prices.
“No caviar, Betancourt.” Don chided.
Nikki’s finger jerked away from the item at the bottom of the page and moved back up a short distance to rest on something Don knew would still be horrendously expensive. It was not an opportunity that came their way often, a chance to eat top quality food at someone else’s expense. If they had to stay for the night after having already spent the whole day on the job they were due some compensation.
“You want I should order something for you too, Boss?”
He shook his head. Being the boss had some perks, including that he got to sleep in his own bed tonight. “I have a frozen dinner waiting for me back at my apartment. See you in the morning.”
It just couldn’t be that simple. After going back to the office for a couple of hours to finish off some paperwork Don had finally headed home late. As he ate his microwaved frozen dinner and caught a recorded college game on TV he tried hard not to think of the five star hotel’s version of rib-eye that he’d passed up. A shower and he hit the sack some time after midnight, getting a whole hour or so of quality shut-eye before his cell rang. The phone was open and at his ear before he’d even fully woken.
“Eppes.” Years of practice had him announcing his name without any sleep induced slurring.
“Boss, we didn’t know he’d try anything. We didn’t slack off, honest.” Nikki started, her words rapid-fire.
“Slow down, Betancourt. You didn’t know who would do what?” At the long silence on the other end of the line Don knew it was going to be bad, especially with the excuses coming before the punch line. Throwing back the covers he started hunting for his clothes. “Spit it out.”
“Jason Santos is gone.”
“What?”
“Sorry Boss. They went to sleep hours ago, I checked in on them just now and Jason is gone.”
“How?”
“He went out on the balcony and climbed across to the next room. They let him in and were going to call hotel security when he just walked out their door and disappeared.”
“When?”
There was another long pause as Don slipped on his shoes and reached for his gun to slide onto his belt. Her reluctance was understandable when she finally answered. “They said he went through their room up to two hours ago. David and Colby are searching the hotel for him now.”
“Get David to check hotel surveillance.”
“They’re heading there first.”
“I’m on my way. Call me if you get anything and keep the rest of the family locked down.”
“Yes, Boss.” Nikki’s voice sounded relieved at not being chewed out even if she knew it was coming once they’d recovered the missing boy.
Snapping his phone closed with a little more force than normal Don grabbed his keys and headed out. He’d just taken the first turn after leaving his street when his cell rang again.
“Boss,” Nikki started. “I had Mrs Santos check her wallet in case Jason had taken any cash. Her credit card is missing.”
“Call the office, get an emergency trace done on the card. If he uses it I want to know about it before the transaction goes through.” Don snapped. The kid wasn’t sneaking out for hamburger and fries, he was on the run and the agent had a fair idea where he’d be headed.
The much needed information came through just as Don pulled up in front of the hotel fully intending to park in the drop-off, pick-up, strictly-no-parking zone.
“Eppes.”
“Control. The card you ordered traced has been used at the Los Angeles Olympic bus station, East Los Angeles. A one-way fare was purchased to Albuquerque.”
“Get the duty agent to call the bus station and have them hold that bus.” Don pulled straight back out again before the fast approaching doorman could tap on his window. He thumbed the redial and got through to David to tell him where he was headed and why. He’d no sooner hung up from him than his cell rang again.
“This is the Duty Agent, Harbig.” An unfamiliar voice announced. “LA Olympic reports that service left about forty-five minutes ago.”
“What’s the route?”
“It’s an express service, leaving LA via the 10. They say it would be just about on the Mojave Freeway by now.”
That put the bus on the open road while he was stuck in the middle of LA. Lights and sirens seemed called for as there was still plenty of traffic even at this hour. Things still refused to go right as he managed to come cross a snarl of traffic caused by an accident scene. The section of road didn’t allow for him to exit nor could he make a U-turn, trapping him into a slow line of traffic that was unable to get out of his way. The officers at the scene did their best to get the traffic through for him but every delay just gave the bus that much more of a head start on him. Accepting the apologetic wave from the last officer as he passed the man he floored the gas pedal and took off.
Knowing it was never easy to catch a moving target headed in the same direction he called Control again to request the assistance of the California Highway Patrol to intercept the bus and hold the boy until he arrived. Given everything else he should have expected the answer phoned through a few minutes later, CHP were tied up on a job and were unable to cross the path of the bus. He set Control to alerting the next unit along the route as he pushed his SUV to more speed, the miles disappearing quickly beneath the wheels. His cell rang again.
“Agent Eppes, this is Agent Morelli, Albuquerque Office.” The caller identified. “I’ve been advised that you are on protection detail for the Santos family?”
Feeling that a call this late at night was not going to be good he replied with a somewhat hesitant, “Yes?”
“We’ve just received credible word that several gang members not under our surveillance left Albuquerque yesterday evening heading to LA. The word is they are travelling in a pair of red SUV’s and should be well and truly in your neck of the woods by now. Our informant has also told us something else I’m not so sure of.” Morelli paused before continuing. “Have you got all the family members buttoned down?”
The last thing he wanted to do was admit to his team’s, and hence his own, failure but there was nothing for it. “The eldest boy has slipped away. It appears he’s caught an express bus back to you. I’m after it now and hope to intercept it.”
“Better hurry. The informant knows about the bus, that’s what prompted him to call us. He claimed the boy got a message through to the gang, telling them he was on the way to talk his father out of testifying and asked them to lay off.”
“Stupid idiot,” Don started but cut the rest of his rant off. What was done was done.
Morelli continued. “Our understanding is that the gang members have been apprised of this and are heading out after the bus.”
The agent could understand that, the bus would be a far softer target than the rest of the family in a guarded hotel room. Don couldn’t take the risk that the kid hadn’t given that away as well. He called and warned David that the family needed to be moved to another location immediately due to the increased threat. Concerned at the information that the gang were believed to be after the bus David promised to send some help his way.
Don had long since passed through Victorville and was approaching Barstow before a set of taillights up ahead turned into the back of a bus. The name plastered across the back above the advertising matched the company he was after, as did the service number in the window. He pulled to the left but didn’t pass, instead sitting just off the bus’ rear quarter where his lights would be visible to the driver through his mirror. The siren that he’d had switched off on the open road he now turned back on. A few seconds passed before the right indicator started flashing, the driver had seen him and would pull off. As the bus started to slow Don eased back, leaving his lights on but silencing the siren as he waited for the driver to find a spot safe enough to pull the large vehicle off the road. Finally they rolled to a stop on the shoulder.
The door opened at his approach, the driver leaning forward in obvious confusion as to why he’d been stopped. The ‘evening officer’ died on his lips as he took in the lack of uniform and his hand moved back to the door control.
Don stopped and held up his ID. “FBI.”
The driver relaxed and sat back. “How can I help you, sir?”
“Headed to Albuquerque?” He had to be absolutely sure before he wasted any time.
“Sure am.”
“I’m looking for one of your passengers.” The driver tensed again, glancing up into his interior mirror. Don explained further, “A witness.”
“Oh, sure.” The driver reached for a clipboard which would contain his passenger manifest.
Don waved it off as he climbed up. “Thanks, but I know him.”
The watchful eyes of curious passengers followed him as he started moving down the aisle after the driver had switched on the interior lights. Jason Santos wasn’t hard to find, seated about half way along on an aisle seat. He’d ducked his head but it didn’t help.
“Hello, J.”
“Not going anywhere with you, Fed.” The sullen voice stated.
“You don’t get a say in this. You’re a minor and your mother wants you back. So, up.”
Now the kid looked at the agent, his stare challenging. “Make me.”
“You really want to do that? No skin off my nose but it’ll kinda kill the tough-guy image you’re trying to cultivate if I drag you out of here like a two-year-old brat throwing a tantrum.”
Seeing the eyes of the passengers on him J decided he’d go for tough, just as Don had thought he might. He rose and reached into the overhead shelf to pull out a backpack that he slung onto his shoulder.
Smoothly avoiding the deliberate swing of the backpack in his direction Don turned and started back down the aisle, watching the kid follow him via the reflections from the windows. Having J behind him put the agent at a disadvantage if he were to try for more than just tough but on the other hand it was going to make it nearly impossible for the kid to try to bolt once they reached the door. There was nowhere he could run but Don didn’t want to give the kid the option.
J gave it a go anyway, trying to force his way past the agent as they stepped down. Having expected the move Don was easily able to grab one of his arms, spinning the kid around and holding him in place. J tried to shake his arm free as the bus driver called out.
“Need a hand, sir?”
With a firm grip on J’s arm Don turned back briefly. “All good, thanks. Have a safe trip.”
“You too.” The driver responded as he closed the door. A moment later the internal lights flicked off as he prepared to drive away.
Don pushed his charge safely away from the bus as it started to move, pulling out and back onto the road. When the bus was clear he marched the boy back to the passenger side of his SUV.
“I’m not going back to LA.” J insisted.
The agent sighed, this night was just refusing to go well even if he’d successfully located the errant kid. He was definitely not in the mood for more of this, his voice firm as he spoke. “If you think I’m going to stand at the side of the road and argue with you, you have another thing coming. Get in.”
He felt the kid’s body shift as he saw the fist come up, the backpack dumped in the process. Releasing his grip on the arm he caught the wrist and used the momentum to swing the kid around and shove him roughly against the side of the Suburban, his patience evaporating. With the offending arm twisted up behind his back the kid struggled but couldn’t pull free. The attempted assault was sufficient justification for Don to pull out his cuffs and lock them in place around J’s wrists despite the kid’s indignant protests. He opened the passenger door and shoved him in, slamming the door shut. The backpack he collected along the way and tossed into the back seat as he climbed in behind the wheel. Hitting the central locking he turned and regarded the unwilling passenger.
“You done?”
“Take these cuffs off man, they hurt.”
His expression totally lacking in sympathy Don calmly repeated his question. “You done?”
“Alright!” J twisted in the seat to expose his hands.
Don gave it a moment before removing the restraints. He pulled on his seatbelt and with a pointed look insisted the kid do the same. Still without a word he then started the engine and pulled out, turning back towards LA. The kid also remained silent, seemingly realising that he was going back, whether he liked it or not.
Next chapter - here
Author: ALEO aleo_70
Genre: Gen
Characters: Don Eppes, OMC, Season 6 team with guest appearance by Alan Eppes
Rating: PG 13+
Warning: violence
Spoilers: (if you can call it that) Fifth Man
Summary: When the protected son of a witness takes flight Don finds that he is not the only one after him.
A/N: Written from prompts provided by msgrahamcracker
Status: Chapter 2 of 7
Wordcount: 2755
Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real places and organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however.
CHAPTER TWO
The paperwork arrangements took far longer than normal. The delay was caused by a number of things not the least of which was the fact that there was a certain lack of urgency given that the family was already secure and under guard. It was also a day that was reserved for the monthly section meetings so the bosses that usually signed off on such requests were in meetings for most of the day and without the urgency could not be interrupted. All of which resulted in it being well towards the end of the day when the approvals came down. It was too late to move the family and the unsurprising request came through for the FBI to maintain its guard until the morning when arrangements could be finalised.
Don delivered the news in person along with another item which he knew wouldn’t be well received.
“But I want to be with my husband.” Marissa complained. “I never wanted to come to LA in the first place. Now that we have protection we should be allowed to go back to Albuquerque to be with Joe.”
He held up a placating hand. That had been the bad news, the family would, for the moment at least, remain separated. While he didn’t think that was necessarily the best approach he didn’t have all of the information that the New Mexico agents had, despite the file. “They are still assessing the risks. At this stage they believe you will be safer somewhere outside of Albuquerque. They’re going to look into it further in the morning.”
“You lied.” J accused. “Feds always lie. Come on Mom, we should ditch them and go home.”
“We can’t, Jason.”
“But, Mom,” J stated to argue. “We’re not under arrest, they can’t stop us.”
Don and his team knew when it was best to fade away and give some privacy to the family. It was not uncommon to have arguments flare up amongst those in protective custody due to the pressures and stresses of their situation. Given the news he’d just delivered this argument was to be expected.
Gathered together to the side where they could still watch the possible entrances and keep the family covered they waited for the argument to wind down.
“When are the marshals coming?” Colby asked.
“In the morning.”
“Relief?”
Don pointed across the room. “There’s a perfectly good couch over there, Granger.”
“Uh-huh.” It wouldn’t be the first time.
“Think about it this way,” Don had a carrot to dangle. “Room service is now on WitSec.” With the deal signed off, WitSec was now picking up all the bills.
David and Colby both perked up at that but Nikki didn’t waste the effort, instead she immediately snagged the room service menu and started to run her finger down the prices.
“No caviar, Betancourt.” Don chided.
Nikki’s finger jerked away from the item at the bottom of the page and moved back up a short distance to rest on something Don knew would still be horrendously expensive. It was not an opportunity that came their way often, a chance to eat top quality food at someone else’s expense. If they had to stay for the night after having already spent the whole day on the job they were due some compensation.
“You want I should order something for you too, Boss?”
He shook his head. Being the boss had some perks, including that he got to sleep in his own bed tonight. “I have a frozen dinner waiting for me back at my apartment. See you in the morning.”
It just couldn’t be that simple. After going back to the office for a couple of hours to finish off some paperwork Don had finally headed home late. As he ate his microwaved frozen dinner and caught a recorded college game on TV he tried hard not to think of the five star hotel’s version of rib-eye that he’d passed up. A shower and he hit the sack some time after midnight, getting a whole hour or so of quality shut-eye before his cell rang. The phone was open and at his ear before he’d even fully woken.
“Eppes.” Years of practice had him announcing his name without any sleep induced slurring.
“Boss, we didn’t know he’d try anything. We didn’t slack off, honest.” Nikki started, her words rapid-fire.
“Slow down, Betancourt. You didn’t know who would do what?” At the long silence on the other end of the line Don knew it was going to be bad, especially with the excuses coming before the punch line. Throwing back the covers he started hunting for his clothes. “Spit it out.”
“Jason Santos is gone.”
“What?”
“Sorry Boss. They went to sleep hours ago, I checked in on them just now and Jason is gone.”
“How?”
“He went out on the balcony and climbed across to the next room. They let him in and were going to call hotel security when he just walked out their door and disappeared.”
“When?”
There was another long pause as Don slipped on his shoes and reached for his gun to slide onto his belt. Her reluctance was understandable when she finally answered. “They said he went through their room up to two hours ago. David and Colby are searching the hotel for him now.”
“Get David to check hotel surveillance.”
“They’re heading there first.”
“I’m on my way. Call me if you get anything and keep the rest of the family locked down.”
“Yes, Boss.” Nikki’s voice sounded relieved at not being chewed out even if she knew it was coming once they’d recovered the missing boy.
Snapping his phone closed with a little more force than normal Don grabbed his keys and headed out. He’d just taken the first turn after leaving his street when his cell rang again.
“Boss,” Nikki started. “I had Mrs Santos check her wallet in case Jason had taken any cash. Her credit card is missing.”
“Call the office, get an emergency trace done on the card. If he uses it I want to know about it before the transaction goes through.” Don snapped. The kid wasn’t sneaking out for hamburger and fries, he was on the run and the agent had a fair idea where he’d be headed.
The much needed information came through just as Don pulled up in front of the hotel fully intending to park in the drop-off, pick-up, strictly-no-parking zone.
“Eppes.”
“Control. The card you ordered traced has been used at the Los Angeles Olympic bus station, East Los Angeles. A one-way fare was purchased to Albuquerque.”
“Get the duty agent to call the bus station and have them hold that bus.” Don pulled straight back out again before the fast approaching doorman could tap on his window. He thumbed the redial and got through to David to tell him where he was headed and why. He’d no sooner hung up from him than his cell rang again.
“This is the Duty Agent, Harbig.” An unfamiliar voice announced. “LA Olympic reports that service left about forty-five minutes ago.”
“What’s the route?”
“It’s an express service, leaving LA via the 10. They say it would be just about on the Mojave Freeway by now.”
That put the bus on the open road while he was stuck in the middle of LA. Lights and sirens seemed called for as there was still plenty of traffic even at this hour. Things still refused to go right as he managed to come cross a snarl of traffic caused by an accident scene. The section of road didn’t allow for him to exit nor could he make a U-turn, trapping him into a slow line of traffic that was unable to get out of his way. The officers at the scene did their best to get the traffic through for him but every delay just gave the bus that much more of a head start on him. Accepting the apologetic wave from the last officer as he passed the man he floored the gas pedal and took off.
Knowing it was never easy to catch a moving target headed in the same direction he called Control again to request the assistance of the California Highway Patrol to intercept the bus and hold the boy until he arrived. Given everything else he should have expected the answer phoned through a few minutes later, CHP were tied up on a job and were unable to cross the path of the bus. He set Control to alerting the next unit along the route as he pushed his SUV to more speed, the miles disappearing quickly beneath the wheels. His cell rang again.
“Agent Eppes, this is Agent Morelli, Albuquerque Office.” The caller identified. “I’ve been advised that you are on protection detail for the Santos family?”
Feeling that a call this late at night was not going to be good he replied with a somewhat hesitant, “Yes?”
“We’ve just received credible word that several gang members not under our surveillance left Albuquerque yesterday evening heading to LA. The word is they are travelling in a pair of red SUV’s and should be well and truly in your neck of the woods by now. Our informant has also told us something else I’m not so sure of.” Morelli paused before continuing. “Have you got all the family members buttoned down?”
The last thing he wanted to do was admit to his team’s, and hence his own, failure but there was nothing for it. “The eldest boy has slipped away. It appears he’s caught an express bus back to you. I’m after it now and hope to intercept it.”
“Better hurry. The informant knows about the bus, that’s what prompted him to call us. He claimed the boy got a message through to the gang, telling them he was on the way to talk his father out of testifying and asked them to lay off.”
“Stupid idiot,” Don started but cut the rest of his rant off. What was done was done.
Morelli continued. “Our understanding is that the gang members have been apprised of this and are heading out after the bus.”
The agent could understand that, the bus would be a far softer target than the rest of the family in a guarded hotel room. Don couldn’t take the risk that the kid hadn’t given that away as well. He called and warned David that the family needed to be moved to another location immediately due to the increased threat. Concerned at the information that the gang were believed to be after the bus David promised to send some help his way.
Don had long since passed through Victorville and was approaching Barstow before a set of taillights up ahead turned into the back of a bus. The name plastered across the back above the advertising matched the company he was after, as did the service number in the window. He pulled to the left but didn’t pass, instead sitting just off the bus’ rear quarter where his lights would be visible to the driver through his mirror. The siren that he’d had switched off on the open road he now turned back on. A few seconds passed before the right indicator started flashing, the driver had seen him and would pull off. As the bus started to slow Don eased back, leaving his lights on but silencing the siren as he waited for the driver to find a spot safe enough to pull the large vehicle off the road. Finally they rolled to a stop on the shoulder.
The door opened at his approach, the driver leaning forward in obvious confusion as to why he’d been stopped. The ‘evening officer’ died on his lips as he took in the lack of uniform and his hand moved back to the door control.
Don stopped and held up his ID. “FBI.”
The driver relaxed and sat back. “How can I help you, sir?”
“Headed to Albuquerque?” He had to be absolutely sure before he wasted any time.
“Sure am.”
“I’m looking for one of your passengers.” The driver tensed again, glancing up into his interior mirror. Don explained further, “A witness.”
“Oh, sure.” The driver reached for a clipboard which would contain his passenger manifest.
Don waved it off as he climbed up. “Thanks, but I know him.”
The watchful eyes of curious passengers followed him as he started moving down the aisle after the driver had switched on the interior lights. Jason Santos wasn’t hard to find, seated about half way along on an aisle seat. He’d ducked his head but it didn’t help.
“Hello, J.”
“Not going anywhere with you, Fed.” The sullen voice stated.
“You don’t get a say in this. You’re a minor and your mother wants you back. So, up.”
Now the kid looked at the agent, his stare challenging. “Make me.”
“You really want to do that? No skin off my nose but it’ll kinda kill the tough-guy image you’re trying to cultivate if I drag you out of here like a two-year-old brat throwing a tantrum.”
Seeing the eyes of the passengers on him J decided he’d go for tough, just as Don had thought he might. He rose and reached into the overhead shelf to pull out a backpack that he slung onto his shoulder.
Smoothly avoiding the deliberate swing of the backpack in his direction Don turned and started back down the aisle, watching the kid follow him via the reflections from the windows. Having J behind him put the agent at a disadvantage if he were to try for more than just tough but on the other hand it was going to make it nearly impossible for the kid to try to bolt once they reached the door. There was nowhere he could run but Don didn’t want to give the kid the option.
J gave it a go anyway, trying to force his way past the agent as they stepped down. Having expected the move Don was easily able to grab one of his arms, spinning the kid around and holding him in place. J tried to shake his arm free as the bus driver called out.
“Need a hand, sir?”
With a firm grip on J’s arm Don turned back briefly. “All good, thanks. Have a safe trip.”
“You too.” The driver responded as he closed the door. A moment later the internal lights flicked off as he prepared to drive away.
Don pushed his charge safely away from the bus as it started to move, pulling out and back onto the road. When the bus was clear he marched the boy back to the passenger side of his SUV.
“I’m not going back to LA.” J insisted.
The agent sighed, this night was just refusing to go well even if he’d successfully located the errant kid. He was definitely not in the mood for more of this, his voice firm as he spoke. “If you think I’m going to stand at the side of the road and argue with you, you have another thing coming. Get in.”
He felt the kid’s body shift as he saw the fist come up, the backpack dumped in the process. Releasing his grip on the arm he caught the wrist and used the momentum to swing the kid around and shove him roughly against the side of the Suburban, his patience evaporating. With the offending arm twisted up behind his back the kid struggled but couldn’t pull free. The attempted assault was sufficient justification for Don to pull out his cuffs and lock them in place around J’s wrists despite the kid’s indignant protests. He opened the passenger door and shoved him in, slamming the door shut. The backpack he collected along the way and tossed into the back seat as he climbed in behind the wheel. Hitting the central locking he turned and regarded the unwilling passenger.
“You done?”
“Take these cuffs off man, they hurt.”
His expression totally lacking in sympathy Don calmly repeated his question. “You done?”
“Alright!” J twisted in the seat to expose his hands.
Don gave it a moment before removing the restraints. He pulled on his seatbelt and with a pointed look insisted the kid do the same. Still without a word he then started the engine and pulled out, turning back towards LA. The kid also remained silent, seemingly realising that he was going back, whether he liked it or not.
Next chapter - here