FIC: In a Mirror, Darkly: Chapter 19/?
Title: In a Mirror, Darkly: Chapter 19
Author: Valerie Vancollie (valeriev84 [at] hotmail.com)
Characters: Don, Charlie, Alan, David, Colby, Nikki, (surprise)
Pairings: brief canon mentions of Charlie/Amita & Don/Robin
Rating: 15
Summary: There was a certain irony to the situation, that the brother who was a federal agent had been abducted to be used as leverage against the brother who was an applied mathematics professor at a highly respected college. Don Whump, Charlie Angst!
Betas: aleo_70 & fredbassett
Spoilers: Uncertainty Principle, Vector, Man Hunt, Protest, Dark Matter, Spree, Two Daughters, Brutus, Finders Keepers, One Hour, The Janus List, Breaking Point, Black Swan, When Worlds Collide, The Decoy Effect, Jack of All Trades, Arrow of Time, The Fifth Man, Greatest Hits, Angels and Devils
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Numb3rs characters, items or situations. I only lay claim to the original aspects of the fic.
Part V: Don: Basement
Chapter 19:
Tuesday, 13:35
Basement, Unknown Location
As he drifted in a haze of agony, Don wondered vaguely how George Frazer had been able to put up with his brother's barbaric nature. The two seemed so completely different, one highly educated and able to charm most electronics, nearly breaking into the Pentagon itself, while the other was a certifiable sociopath who-
Don's thought cut off instantly as realization hit him. The Pentagon. George Frazer had almost successfully stolen information from the Pentagon, only getting caught through the sheer dumb luck of a technician. The thing was, neither brother had said one word to the authorities, leaving them unable to pin either the hacking or the shooting of the cop on either of them individually and so they'd both gone down for everything. Therefore Darien Frazer's file listed him as having committed high-end computer crimes. The Pentagon. How much different was the Pentagon security from that of the NSA? If someone had successfully hacked one, would it be a large stretch to say that they'd know how to go about hacking the other? No, probably not.
With his mind still muddled by both pain and drugs, Don could all but see the light bulb that went on above his head. That was why Keane and Blakely had brought Frazer onboard despite how poorly suited he seemed to be for the job. He was a fall guy, a scapegoat. It took a few more moments, but he finally realized that Banner was one too. At no point had Keane's presence on the crew been revealed to an outsider who was supposed to survive the encounter. Banner was the one who kept going to see Charlie and who'd helped Lawson smuggle the necessary information out of the NSA. He'd probably also be the one to help Lawson use whatever Charlie devised to steal the information Keane and Blakely were after.
Therefore Banner and Lawson's involvement in the whole affair would be blatantly obvious when all was said and done. By adding Frazer to the crew, they were adding someone who'd believably want to kill him, not to mention be able to kill Lawson as well, and who had a history of exactly this type of crime. Even though the theft of the information would come out, either when the hack was discovered or when Charlie finally realized something had gone horribly wrong with the deal he'd made with Banner, an investigation into it could well miss the true masterminds behind it all.
Don felt a chill race down his spine and found the haze around his mind clearing as he understood the full implications of what he'd just figured out. Not only were he and Lawson going to end up dead, but Banner and Frazer were too, once they'd outlived their usefulness. Oh, he was sure one of them would probably seem to have a convenient accident of some sort, something to make the investigators think that luck had been on their side, but dead nonetheless. While he couldn't care less about what happened to either man after what they had done, the opportunity it presented couldn't be ignored.
In fact, it just might be his ticket out of here if he played his cards right.
/
Tuesday, 18:02
Basement, Unknown Location
The sound of the door opening drew Don from the light doze he'd fallen into, just in time to hear cursing. He lifted his head to see Banner standing by the open door, staring at him in horror. When it became apparent that the NSA agent was alone, Don let his head drop sideways to rest on his shoulder, trying to ignore the tray Banner carried by closing his eyes. He would not beg for the food and water on it, no matter how much his body needed them. Frazer might have thought he'd broken him, but he hadn't.
It was another minute or two before Don finally heard movement and he opened his eyes once more as Banner neared him. The look in the man's eyes was one he recognized well from those crime scenes that made even experienced LEOs wonder how one person could do something like that to another. Funny, he'd earlier pegged Lawson as the one who'd gotten in over his head, thinking he knew what he'd signed on for until confronted with a living, breathing person able to both feel and vocalize pain as well as bleed as the thing to be brutalized and killed, not Banner. Or hadn't he known that Blakely and Keane intended to allow Frazer quite such free rein? That was entirely possible given what he'd realized. As far as Banner was probably concerned, there was no reason for Don's execution to be anything other than swift and merciful; a quick bullet to the head or heart, killing him instantly.
"Not what you signed on for?" Don taunted, voice hoarse.
"I... Jesus," Banner replied, coming to a stop before him and getting a really good look at the injuries.
Don could merely guess at what he looked like, only able to see what had been done to his arms and torso. Given the way Banner's eyes seemed glued to his face, though, following patterns he knew were burned into his memory forevermore, he could safely assume that it looked worse than the rest of him. He supposed his face was probably a mask of dried blood.
With a shake of his head, Banner looked away, clearly trying to shift gears. Working for the NSA, the man probably didn't see as many crime scenes as other federal agents did and thus wouldn't be accustomed to seeing something like this, well, as accustomed as one could get to such things. Whatever Banner tried to tell himself seemed to work as he was able to step forwards further and set the tray on Don's lap. Instead of toast it was just plain bread today, two slices of it with some water.
"What? No oatmeal anymore?" Don demanded acidly even as his stomach growled loudly. "Or does Keane no longer feel it necessary to drug me into submission?"
The uncomfortable look in Banner's eyes told Don all he needed to know. Great, so now he was considered so little of a threat that Keane finally felt it safe to simply leave him tied up. While it would make things easier and allow him to have a clear head, Don couldn't help but feel somewhat insulted. He'd just have to prove to Keane exactly how dangerous he could be, preferably as he was escaping and ensuring Keane went to prison for the rest of his miserable life.
All rational thought abruptly fled Don's mind as Banner pulled out a pocketknife.
Oh God, not again.
Impossibly, Don felt yet more adrenaline swamp his system. Hadn't he used up all of it already with Frazer? It surged through his blood, tensing abused muscles, taxing them to the limit even as it hit his stomach with the force of a physical blow, forcing him to fight to keep down what little Lawson had managed to smuggle him earlier in the day. He flinched back as far as he could, the knowledge that his secret was long since out preventing any sort of moderation of the reaction.
"No! God, Jesus, no!" Banner exclaimed, eyes wide as he backpedaled several steps. "God, I'd never-"
The words washed over Don, barely registering as he fought off the mindless terror that threatened to overwhelm him and drag him under. He couldn't afford that right now. His eyes remained glued on the still closed pocketknife, determined not to loose track of it this time. It wasn't until the knife was hastily thrust back into the pocket from which it had emerged that he was able to quell some of the panic and collect himself enough to turn his attention to Banner and what he was saying.
The man's eyes were shocked, clearly caught off-guard that Don would expect the same behavior from him as from Frazer. Don thought briefly, viciously, about pointing out all of the reasons he had to expect the same lack of consideration from him as the fugitive, but then squashed the thought. If he was right about what Keane had planned for Banner and Frazer, then it was in his best interests to not alienate the man as he could be his and Lawson's ticket out of here. He just had to play his cards right.
"I don't do that," Banner declared firmly, once more in control of himself. "I was just going to free your arm so you could eat."
What he said made sense, but Don didn't think it would help if Banner were to draw the knife again. Not so long as he was here, in this basement, tied down and helpless to prevent the NSA agent from doing anything he pleased. Banner must have reached the same conclusion as he stepped closer again without drawing the knife, moving to work the knots with his fingers instead.
"Have you thought about why he allows it? Keane, I mean," Don questioned softly, ensuring that his voice wouldn't carry through the open door and up the stairs.
"What are you talking about?" Banner demanded.
"Frazer and the... torture."
It was difficult to say the word, but it wasn't like either of them was under any illusions about what was going on here. Don had already confronted the fact that he was a victim, and a nearly helpless one at that, he could face the reality of what Frazer was doing to him. It was merely a word after all, a label. He'd already survived the real thing, he wasn't going to let himself be defeated by a mere name, no matter how much his mind wanted to shy away from it.
"No?" Don pressed on when his inquiry was met with silence as Banner struggled with the rope. "Then how about why Keane felt it necessary to bring Frazer in on this operation."
"He has his tasks," Banner replied, eyes flickering upwards briefly to look at him, but avoiding eye contact.
"What? To kill me? Like you or Keane couldn't have done that yourselves, and much quicker and cleaner than Frazer is bound to."
That drew a reaction, a quick tightening of the muscles of Banner's face and hands. It wasn't much, but it was there and Don caught it, having been watching closely. Seeing him like this had clearly shaken the NSA agent deeply and it had lowered his normal defenses significantly. That was good, it was very good. It meant he might be more open to listening to what Don had to say without rejecting it out of hand as Frazer would surely do. Or not, the fugitive was probably more likely to not even listen to him in the first place.
"Or perhaps you mean these escape plans he's taking care of," Don continued relentlessly, seeing another muscle jump. "Oh, yes, Frazer told me about that just before he started- well, playing, I believe his word is."
"What's your point?" Banner demanded harshly as he got the last knot undone and pulled the rope free.
"I'm just asking if you know why Keane and Blakely felt it necessary to recruit Frazer. You, I understand, the same for Lawson. The two of you play pivotal roles that neither of them can fulfill, but Frazer? I mean, do you honestly think that Keane can't make the arrangements to get out of here himself? Do you really trust Frazer to take care of something so vitally important? After you've stolen from the NSA?"
Though he didn't say anything, Don caught a flicker in Banner's eyes that told him he was right in suspecting that the NSA agent might well have a problem with Frazer handling the details for their getaway once they'd achieved their goals. He'd probably argued the point with Keane and either lost or been brushed off. Either way, it meant there was already some friction within the group, which made what he was trying to do that much easier.
"Surely, you of all people know what type of response that's likely to provoke," Don continued, layering on the pressure for all he was worth. "Haven't you wondered why someone like Keane would leave something that important to Frazer?"
"And you think you know the answer to that?"
"Sure, Keane's not planning on utilizing whatever Frazer arranges, he just needs it to be in place, so it'll look like an escape plan was thought out and arranged," Don replied before pausing to drink the water, his abused throat screaming its protests at him. "It's a setup so he can get away with stealing the information and leaving you and Frazer holding the blame."
"No," Banner denied instantly, too quickly in a voice that wasn't nearly as firm as it could have been. "You're lying."
"Oh for Heaven's sake, you're a federal agent, an NSA agent, surely you know all about double and triple cross," Don stated, exasperated. "Look at the damn facts! Who has gotten the necessary information out of the NSA? You and Lawson. Who has approached my brother and not only gotten him to work on the problem but revealed the truth of the situation to him? You. Who moved my car and is likely to have left trace evidence of himself behind in it? You. Who saw Keane help Frazer assault and abduct me? You and no one else. Who saw Keane control Frazer and run the operation from here? You, Lawson, Frazer and me. Notice a pattern here? The only people who have seen or know of Keane's involvement are already slated to die before this whole thing ends except for yourself and Frazer. Do you really think the two of you are so special to Keane and Blakely that you'll be spared the same fate as myself and Lawson?
"If you even consider entertaining that thought for even a moment, then think about this. Frazer has a known history with me. We've crossed paths before and he has threatened to kill me, often and vocally, that's a well documented fact. He and his brother also used to commit high-end computer crimes, nearly hacking the Pentagon successfully, which makes him the perfect candidate to picture as being involved in this type of crime. By letting Frazer torture me, Keane is setting things up to look like there was no one else involved in this whole scenario but Frazer, Lawson and yourself. Then, once Lawson and I are disposed of, you or Frazer is next, most likely you, with Frazer having a convenient accident somehow.
"Tidies things up quite nicely, doesn't it? Hence allowing Keane to slip away through the cracks, back to Blakely and the client with the information they were after. Not a hint of their involvement in the whole mess at all, causing the authorities to think they've managed to contain the situation and prevented the leakage of sensitive information."
His throat was now really screaming at him, so Don finished off the glass of water as he waited for Banner's reaction. The fact that the man hadn't interrupted him or cut him off was promising and indicated that he may have had some doubts of his own which Don had voiced for him.
"Eat your food," Banner finally stated tonelessly.
"Didn't you hear a word I just said?"
"Keane will be down shortly to allow you a bathroom break."
Which meant he could either eat the bread now, or risk loosing it if Keane felt he should have consumed it faster. Not wanting to miss the opportunity to maintain what little strength he had left, Don picked up the first slice and took a big bite. He was going to say something else when he noticed that Banner wasn't really paying much attention to him. If only he had his other hand or legs free, he'd be able to take advantage of the situation, but they weren't and he could do nothing. At least it indicated that he'd gotten through to the traitor on some level as he appeared deep in thought, a disturbed expression on his face.
Chapter 20