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aleo_70Author:
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aleo_70 Rating: PG 13+
Genre: Gen
Characters: Don, Charlie, Alan, team
Challenge: Clue Challenge #7, January 2010. Prompts: Who? - Don. What? - Drugs. Where? - Warehouse.
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.
Spoilers: Checkmate, Primacy, Two Daughters, The Fifth Man, Backscatter
Warnings: violence, drug references
Word count this chapter: 2554
Word count total: ~24,300
Summary: A criminal's attempt to throw Special Agent Don Eppes off his case threatens to send the agent down a dark path.
CHAPTER EIGHT
-100-1111-1110-
Don knew it was stupid of Yuri to insist on having the agent brought to him. The sensible option would have been to simply drive him somewhere relatively secluded and have one of his men put a bullet or two into his brain. Alone, injured, unarmed and outnumbered four to one they had him and could do as they wished. Not that he was complaining that they weren’t taking the sensible approach. It was all to his favour that Yuri was taking the melodramatic, classic television villain approach. The longer the delay before the inevitable the better, giving his team a greater chance of getting a GPS fix on his father’s cell and come after him.
They went further than he expected, half an hour passing before they pulled up to a gated yard. The front seat passenger got out and opened the gate just wide enough to allow the vehicle through before pulling it closed and getting back into the SUV. They then wove their way between shipping containers before reaching a large warehouse. Driving straight inside they continued a few car lengths before coming to a halt. As they did so Don could hear a rattling noise and noted the light level dimming and deduced that the roller door was being lowered to seal them inside. Being a Sunday there was no activity in the whole area. This was about as secluded a spot as Don could imagine in the city.
The SUV’s doors were opened and all four men quickly climbed out. The man to Don’s left reached back in and getting a firm grip on his upper left arm hauled him out. Barely had his feet touched the ground than he was pulled around and shoved against the side of the vehicle. The body slam against the unyielding surface was something that Don could have done without, the single move jarring wrist, shoulder and ribs causing him to grunt at the sudden pain. He bit that back as quickly as he could as something hard was pressed against his back and held still as he was quickly patted down. The search was cursory, for weapons only and missed the device tucked into his sling, just as he had hoped. A hand at the strap on his sling pulled him off the side of the SUV before shoving him deeper into the warehouse in a clear indication to follow a man that had already started walking that way.
Don stumbled slightly before stopping. He turned and levelled a look at the one that had been manhandling him, the man taking advantage of the rare opportunity to assault a LEO that couldn’t fight back. Whilst that may have been the case he was also a Federal Agent and wasn’t going to take this treatment without some sort of response. As the man’s lip started to curl Don turned and followed the first man, making it clear by the way he moved that he was doing this under his own power, a distinction he had to admit was probably lost on the goons.
His reawakened hurts jarred with each step but he showed no outwards sign, simply following the man as they headed towards what appeared to be a set of offices at the rear of the large building. Again a hand pulled at his sling, forcing him to stop before he could follow the man ahead of him inside. Twisting himself free Don favoured the man with another look before affecting a bored attitude while he waited. Inwardly he was trying to calculate just how much time had elapsed and compare that to a scramble time for the Field Office to put together a rescue team. It was going to be very close.
After a few more minutes the first man returned and nodded. Seeing movement in his peripheral vision Don turned and stopped the Russian reaching for him with a glare before stepping into the office as if this was a civilised business meeting. As he passed through the door jamb he noticed damage around the edge as if the door had been forced.
Yuri was sitting behind a desk in an inner office. Ignoring him for the moment he glanced quickly around the room for exits and potential weapons that could aid him. In the process Don saw nothing that indicated this was a space normally inhabited by the Russian, with the damage to the door he came to the conclusion that they must have appropriated the warehouse for this purpose today. The break-in was unlikely to be discovered until early the next morning, his body some time after that if things went that far.
Don turned his attention to the desk itself, still ignoring the Russian who was lounging behind it as if he owned the place. Lying in pride of place in a cleared space on the desk was a semi-automatic pistol. Yuri’s hands lay either side of the weapon, the whole set-up seemingly designed to impress the agent. Don couldn’t think of any other reason behind the display and thought it rather tacky, letting his contempt show. The Russian gangs, including Yuri’s had enough of a reputation without needing this. But then, Yuri was young, barely thirty and probably felt the need for props to go along with the television villain approach to this endgame.
“You still don’t get it, do you?” Yuri demanded as his gloat turned to anger at the agent’s response.
“I get it alright. I get a petty crook that can’t solve his own problems without targeting innocents.” Don snapped.
Yuri regained some composure at the agent’s obvious anger. “I hurt you though, even if you didn’t take the lesson to heart.”
Don deliberately misunderstood, lifting his right arm slightly away from his body. “This? A couple of weeks and it’ll be as if this never happened.”
Yuri laughed. “Not that, but it was fun to see your brother beating on you. Another moment and I’m sure he would have shot you. As I’m sure you are too.”
Don couldn’t help the frown at that, Yuri knew too much detail.
“You didn’t see the CCTV cameras?” Yuri smirked. “I’ve enjoyed re-watching it. I may even upload it to YouTube.”
Don shrugged as if it hardly mattered even as he seethed inside, not for himself but for the potential damage to Charlie’s reputation. “Sure, why not?”
Again Yuri’s face darkened in anger as he failed to get the response he wanted. He stood and with deliberate movements picked up the gun from the desk. He made a show of checking it over, pulling back the slide slightly so the agent could see the waiting round. “You are making this even easier.”
Barely glancing at the weapon Don stared Yuri in the face. “Are you sure you want to do this?” He asked reasonably, no trace of fear or apprehension in his voice. It was a fair question, few criminals actively targeted LEOs. For all of their reputation even the Russian gangsters thought twice about direct confrontation. Targeting bank accounts as had happened to him in the past or, as in this case, targeting family members were still a long way from abducting and executing the agent in charge of hunting them down. Privately however, considering Yuri’s actions to date, he could concede that Yuri really was ready to take this step. It was now just a matter of timing.
Yuri laughed. “You think I’m not?”
“I don’t think you’re considering the consequences.”
“What? Feds will hunt me and my men to the ends of the Earth? Put us in jail? Stuff like that?”
“You do this you’ll never see the inside of a jail cell or a court room.” Don promised, allowing some of his anger to show.
“Weak, Fed. Very weak. Your precious rules will keep us all in very good health while you’re rotting away. Assuming anyone is game enough to come after us after we’re done with you.”
It was sheer stupidity if Yuri truly thought killing an agent would prevent others coming after him. It would lead to a minor war the likes of which the Russian gangster clearly couldn’t imagine. “Keep telling yourself that, you may even believe it.”
Yuri moved around the desk and stepped up, pressing the muzzle of the gun hard against the agent’s chest just below the sling. “Tell me, Fed. Do you believe this?”
Don lifted his chin and looked down his nose at the man, refusing to acknowledge the weapon. He kept his silence even as in his thoughts he was urging his team to hurry. With the way things were going he doubted he could stall for much longer.
“Tough guy.”
“So they tell me.”
Yuri shoved him back hard with the gun, nodding at his men in the process. They responded by grabbing at the agent’s upper arms. “Let’s see how you go when you’re on your knees. Take him out.”
He suffered the indignity in silence, resisting at this point would just hasten his already looming end. The jarring to his injuries he also took in silence, even as the pressure against his collar bone felt like enough to undo the healing to date. Given the circumstances though, it was the least of his concerns. He tightened his right arm against his body as best he could to ease the pain and to ensure that the cell phone didn’t become dislodged. If it were discovered it would be all too easy for them to destroy it and move him elsewhere before they continued where they left off. Again he wondered where his team was, the need for them increasing in urgency. Twisting his arm he gained enough movement to see his watch.
“You got somewhere you need to be?” Yuri taunted.
They’d stopped at a door that led outside and from what he could see of the overgrown grass it was a place where his body could escape notice for some time. Pushing away his rising anxiety he kept his voice steady. “Just thinking it’s nearly lunch time, getting a bit peckish.”
“Your father’s only going to be cooking for one tonight.” Yuri tossed back as he stepped aside and held the door open so his men could muscle an unresisting agent through.
They moved away from the edge of the building, heading out across the grassy waste area that clearly saw little use. Just as Don was thinking it really was all over, that at any moment now he would be pulled to a stop before being pushed down to his knees, khaki clad figures appeared around the back corner of the warehouse. Somehow his knees continued to hold him up as they went weak in relief. He continued a few steps more in the grip of the two men as the Russians hadn’t spotted the SWAT agents approach. He was in a poor position to do anything for himself but before he could even start to plan any possible actions he could take the SWAT agents made their presence known.
“FBI! Drop your weapons, step away from the agent!”
The two goons holding him dropped his arms to reach for their own weapons, turning as the two other men were to face the threat. Yuri also turned but he was seeking the agent, either to kill him or use him as a shield. Don wasn’t going to wait to find out which option the Russian was angling for. Automatically he dropped to the ground to give the SWAT team as clear a field of fire as he could manage. He’d also started to roll before the sudden flare of pain in his shoulder made it more than clear that the manoeuvre may not have been his best choice. Flattening himself against the rough ground he held still.
A number of shots rang out before an extended period of silence. Looking up to ascertain whether it was all over or if this was merely a pause in proceedings Don saw Yuri on the ground nearby. He looked around further for the rest of the Russians and saw that three were tossing their guns and kneeling in surrender and the fourth was sprawled motionless on the ground. Don started to sit up, glancing back over at Yuri when two things caught his attention at once. Yuri was still alive and conscious despite the bullet wound to his upper right chest and the semi-automatic pistol was only a few inches away from his hand.
The SWAT team were already moving in but again he moved automatically. Getting to his feet he moved the couple of steps needed to crouch carefully and retrieve the weapon, securing it away from the gangster’s reach. Handling the weapon with his non-master hand meant that he had a finger on the magazine release instead of a thumb preparatory to dropping out the magazine when he reconsidered. His thoughts had finally caught up to him as he found himself standing over a helpless Yuri. Abandoning his previous action he adjusted his grip to better settle the fully loaded weapon in his hand as he continued to stare downwards.
This was where he’d wanted to be all week, a position he’d nearly given everything away for that first day after the attack when his anger was at it’s most raw after Charlie’s continuing terror. Flexing his fingers on the unfamiliar grip he saw Yuri looking up at him, fear overruling the pain in his eyes as he considered his life expectancy to be measured in heartbeats. For the moment however Don’s left hand was hanging slackly down by his side, the weapon not yet brought onto target as he tried to push aside the emotion that was clamouring at him to take action, to take revenge. The reasons behind his decision from that first day were just as valid now, this was a line he couldn’t come back from once he crossed it. Working efficiently his mind continued to tick over as he stared downwards, considering all the angles rather than just the emotive.
In the end he was unsure which reason made him take a step back, crossing the line or knowing he’d be tried for murder, but whichever it was he found himself relieved rather than disappointed. Turning away he saw Colby standing silently just a few feet away, his Springfield held in both hands slightly raised but pointed downwards at the ground. Ready but not quite brought to bear as he waited for his boss to decide what he was going to do. Their eyes met for a long moment before Colby holstered his weapon and reached out to take the one Don held. He let it go easily, turning away and picking his way over the rough ground towards the corner of the warehouse where the SWAT team had appeared. He didn’t turn at the cry of pain behind him, knowing it was Colby moving in to secure Yuri, being less than gentle in the process. The Russian’s pain would serve as his revenge and he kept walking with the satisfaction that Yuri had not succeeded in either killing or destroying him.
Besides, tomorrow was the day he could see Charlie. Nothing was going to get in the way of that.
Next Chapter - here
