Numb3rs Fic: Shock, Chapter Six/8

[aleo_70]

Title: Shock
Author: aleo_70 
Rating: PG 13+
Genre: Gen
Characters: Don Eppes with cameo by David
Challenge: Clue Challenge #12, June 2010 at hurt_don .  Prompts: Who? Don; What? TASER; Where? Police precinct.
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: (more mention than spoiler) Chinese Box, Rampage, Graphic, Janus List, Trust Metric and Two Daughters.
Warnings: violence
Word count this chapter: 2700
Word count total: ~21,200

Summary: It starts as a bid for freedom from a police precinct but after being taken hostage Don learns things are not quite as they seem.

 

CHAPTER SIX

Crowd took a few paces towards the cluster of men before hesitating and shooting another significant glance over at the agent still lying on the ground.  Don understood the reason behind it, the undercover wasn't sure that the agent would actually back him up.  Pushing down another surge of anger Don shot a quick look over at the gun runners.  Confident that his movement was unlikely to be spotted he jerked his gun towards them, he would back the play.  Reassured the undercover resumed his approach.

The bag man noticed first.  “I thought you were letting us do all the work?”

Now would be a good time for Don to make his move but he didn't, it was his turn to doubt the support Crowd might provide him if he did.  If he moved too soon and things went south sudden paranoia had him wondering if Crowd would back him or remain in character and turn on him in order to save his own skin.  For the moment he was about as safe as he could be, Crowd the only one that knew he was alive, so he would wait before revealing himself until he was sure.

“Everyone get down.”  Crowd ordered, bringing up his gun. 

As Don had expected the men reacted quickly, each drawing and bringing their own weapon to bear, including Suit. 

“A double-cross?”  Suit asked mildly.  He could afford to be confident with his men around him.  “Not a wise move.”

“Back off and we’ll let you live.”  The bag man offered before pointing out the obvious.  “There’s only one of you.”

“LAPD.”  Crowd finally identified himself.  “And I’m not alone.” 

This was his cue.  Rising quickly Don found his legs wobbly but they held as he pushed himself up to a fast walk.  He came in on an angle so the offenders wouldn’t be able to cover both he and Crowd at the same time, forcing the men to split their attention between the two of them.  With the men concentrating on Crowd as the threat he managed to get closer than he’d thought possible before he was finally noticed. 

“But you’re-“ The first goon managed in surprise.

“FBI.  Drop your weapons.”

If the situation had not been so dire the expressions on the men’s faces may have been funny as heads snapped around and they saw the all too alive agent facing them.  They recovered quickly and weapons swung his way.

“LAPD,” Crowd repeated.  “This is a bust.  Down on the ground, now!”

No one moved.

“Stupid.”  Suit responded a few seconds later.  After glancing around at his men he looked back over at Crowd.  “Oh, well.  Two dead cops are no worse than one.”

Don didn’t need any further warning that the men were going to fight it out.  The cover that he’d looked for earlier was virtually non-existent in the open warehouse.  The options were the stolen police car, the flatbed truck, the container and a few support pylons that were less than ideal as secure cover. The only cover on their side was the police car and Don was too far away to take advantage of that, the truck and container were out of the equation for him.  So he did the only thing open to him and dove to one side, rolling quickly as the first shots were sent his way.  He heard Crowd return fire and looked up to see the men start to scatter, seeking their own cover.  From his prone position Don added his own fire, seeing one of the men go down.  Another man dropped as one of Crowd’s rounds hit its mark.  Further bullets ricocheted off the concrete around forcing Don to roll again, holding his answering fire until he was able to stop and aim.  This time he only managed to wing a man before he had to move again.

Rolling on the floor wasn’t making it easy for him to keep track of everything he realised as his next quick count of the men was down by one.  Using Crowd’s fire as cover he got himself up into a low crouch and ran towards a support pylon for the overhead crane.  As cover went it wasn’t the best as it would leave about half of his body exposed but it was better than nothing.  Reaching the steel pylon he caught his breath and checked for the locations of the offenders and Crowd.

Three men lay motionless and splatters of blood radiating outwards showed that others had been injured.  A brief advantage had been held by the two LEOs whilst the men had been mostly grouped together.  That slight advantage was gone now as the men had scattered and obtained cover.  Crowd he found over near the car as he’d expected, sheltering behind the front end where the engine block provided effective protection.  The other man saw Don’s glance and flicked his gun ever so slightly to the right.  It was a suggestion for the agent’s next move. 

Looking to the right Don saw that he was closer to the container and truck than he was the car.  If he was able to reach the container which was nearest him, he could possibly come around behind the sheltering offenders and turn the tables.  He would need a distraction.  Turning back to Crowd Don peeled one hand off his gun and twisted his wrist against the restraint of the cuffs.  Holding up three fingers he waited until Crowd flashed three fingers in reply.  He would go on the count of three.  Closing one finger at a time he picked out his route, unable to see any of the offenders at the moment.  A head suddenly popped out of cover around the front of the truck as his last finger closed.  Before the man could fire a carefully placed shot from Crowd forced him back. 

Using the distraction Don moved quickly, covering the distance from the pylon to the end of the container in very short order.  Now it became even more dangerous, some of the gun runners were hiding on the other side only a few yards away.  Thinking on his strategy he looked back over at the undercover.  Receiving a nod Don inched his way around the container, his goal to flush those hiding behind it out to where Crowd could cover them and hopefully get them to surrender.  With three of their number already lying dead or close to it, the chances of that were better now than before.  He made it around the first corner without incident.  The second however was a different story and he had to duck back in a hurry as he was spotted.

“FBI!”  Don tried.  “Drop your weapons and step out.”

His reply was a volley of shots indicating that surrender was still some time off.  In order to apply more pressure in the hope of getting the men to change their minds he crouched and peeked around the corner again to get a count and an idea of their exact locations.  By keeping low, below where he’d been moments ago he made the quick move without incident.  Two.  That left the other two hiding somewhere behind the truck, well out of his reach for now.  Two was workable.  Almost on cue Crowd provided the distraction he needed.

“LAPD.  Come out with your hands up.”  His order was accompanied by another shot. 

Don gave it a beat and then moved out, still in a low crouch, weapon up and ready.  Both men were turned away which was something he’d not expected.  Given that they were dealing in weapons and were prepared to shoot their way out of trouble he’d assumed they’d had some sort of military training.  He’d expected to find one still facing his way and had been ready to put the man down if it came to it.  Perhaps, as with Crowd’s crew, only some were ex-military.  Whatever the reason was, with both of the men giving him their backs he had the best advantage he’d had all day. 

“Drop them.”  He ordered, rising to his full height.

The two twitched as they realised their mistake.  One started to turn but Don’s repeated command had him changing his mind.  After looking at each other for guidance the men slowly placed their weapons on the ground and raised their hands.

“Out.  Move.”

The men slowly rose and started forward, stepping out from their shelter and into Crowd’s range.  Don saw the undercover watching and followed the men as far as he dared, keeping in mind the other two hiding somewhere behind the truck.  Stopping where he felt safe he kept his gun up and aimed at his two prisoners, waiting for them to reach a spot far enough out in the open that Crowd could keep them covered while he worked at trying the same manoeuvre on the remaining two offenders.

“On the ground.”  Crowd ordered when they were far enough out.

Once the men were down with their hands clasped on the backs of their heads Don indicated he was going to move on.  With the change in angle making his responses visible to the others Crowd acknowledged the agent’s intentions only by shifting his aim so that he could cover both the prisoners and the truck.  Aware that what had worked once may not work again Don still kept with his plan unable to come up with anything better given his lack of resources and back-up.  Reaching a point where he would have to cross from behind the container to behind the truck he stopped and crouched again.  Leaning down he looked along floor level and found a pair of feet about where he’d expected them.  With less cover behind the truck he wasn’t going to be able to move slowly to get close to the man.  He had to move as quickly and quietly as he could in the hope that his luck would hold and he would be on the man before detected.

It worked exactly as planned.  Moving quickly along the tray body of the truck he rounded the cab and got his gun pressed behind Suit’s ear.  Repeating his orders from before had Suit dropping his weapon and walking forwards before lying flat on his face beside his companions.  Knowing something was very wrong Don started to back away when he was the one that had a gun pressed up against the back of his head.  The final man, the bag man whom he’d lost track of earlier had turned his trick against him.

“You drop your gun.”  The man hissed.

“No.  Drop yours.”

“Real funny.”  The bag man said.  He pressed up against the agent’s back and reached around with his left hand to wrest away the gun.  “Now, we get your friend to drop his.”

Unable to help the snort at that he got himself under control as he was pushed forwards, a hand at his collar whilst the gun remained rammed against the back of his head.  They stopped at the edge of the truck, Don exposed to Crowd’s view whilst the bag man remained shielded.  “Not my friend.  He’d as soon shoot me as you.”

“Yeah, right.”  The bag man commented, clearly not believing the agent.  He raised his voice, “Hey, LAPD, got your FBI buddy here.  You want me not to kill him you’re going to drop your gun and come out where I can see you.”

On hearing the apparent change in the balance of power the three men lying on the ground in the no-man’s land between the two sides started to sit up drawing an immediate response from Crowd even as the threat to the agent hadn’t. 

“Stay down.”  Crowd ordered. 

“LAPD, I’m waiting.”

“You can keep waiting.  I got three of yours here, including your boss.”

“You think I won’t kill him?”  The bag man demanded, incredulous.  In emphasis he pushed the agent out a pace or two before kicking him in the back of the knee.  As the agent steadied himself on his knees he raised his gun and took aim at the back of his head.  “Remember this?  I won’t miss.”

Being forced to his knees with a gun at his head twice in short succession Don’s mind threatened to shut down.  He had no reason to doubt the bag man would kill him, just as he’d not doubted Crowd.  Struggling against his body’s defences he drew a deep breath and managed to pull himself back together.  Getting his eyes open again he was in time to see everything happen as if in slow motion.  Crowd rose up from behind the car with his gun swinging up in a steady, two handed grip.  Sighting along the top of the weapon the undercover fired twice, a double-tap.

“Neither will I.” 

Don felt the press of the gun drop away before he heard it fall to the ground followed an instant later by the bag man’s body.  By moving forward and forcing his hostage down he’d lost his shield and opened himself up to being shot, an opportunity Crowd made good use of.  Breathing heavily Don realised that his eyes were closed again and he once again had to pull himself together.  The repeated close calls were taking their toll.  Calling on his reserves he gave himself a hard mental shake and snapped out of it. 

Getting back to his feet he staggered slightly as his knee sent a sharp spike of pain up his leg, it had been the same knee that had been kicked out from under him back at the precinct.  Putting his weight back on the leg he was satisfied it would support him so he ignored the discomfort.  He recovered the weapon that had been taken from him from the dead man’s belt.  This time he dropped out the magazine and confirmed he still had a few rounds left.  Sliding it back in he got back to work, approaching their prisoners.

“You’re welcome.”  Crowd snapped sarcastically as he also approached.

Treating that with the contempt it deserved Don stopped in a position where he could safely cover the three men.  “Search them.  I’ll cover you.” 

Shifting as necessary as Crowd worked Don kept his aim at the gun runners.  Within a minute or two the undercover had finished, tossing the contents of the men’s pockets into a pile well out of their reach.  With the agent continuing to stand guard Crowd also quickly went over the dead men, knocking their weapons aside. 

Don strained his ears, his head unconsciously cocked to one side but he still couldn’t hear anything.  Surely enough time had passed by now? 

“Where is your back-up?”  Don demanded. 

Crowd held up the cell phone he’d snagged from Suit.  “Calling them now.”

“What?”  He’d been sure the undercover had called for back-up on the way to the warehouse.  Whilst they wouldn’t have arrived in time for the take down he was banking on them at least being on the way and being due any moment.

“Remember that little tussle we had back at the precinct?  Well you made me lose my cell, and broke my watch.”  Crowd complained.  “This is all your fault.”

“My fault?” Don heard his voice rising and realised he was close to losing it.  As he worked to regain control Crowd’s call went through. 

“Captain?  It’s me.”  There was a longish pause as he pulled the phone slightly away from his ear.  From his position a few yards away Don could hear the angry woman’s voice even if he couldn’t make out the words.  “That’s not important right now.  I’ve made the bust.  Send some troops and the coroner.” 

Crowd then gave the address and directions to the warehouse and hung up, not allowing the woman to get another word in edgewise.  Satisfied the agent still had their prisoners covered he quickly went to the roller and opened it before returning.

Don limped to a spot where he could watch their prisoners, the newly opened doorway and Crowd as he waited.  The job was not done yet but he could do nothing further until the back-up arrived.

 

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