Well, here is the start of the sequel I promised.
If you haven't read No Common Allegiance: The Red Line Blues, you might want to read that first.
Red Line can stand alone. This one does not.
I hope chapter one grabs your attention….AS always; I revel in your comments.
Thanks again to thebondgirl for being my sounding board.
Life is crazy, so it may take a little longer than usual to update….but I'm gonna try to keep the chapters coming.
Oh yeah...Once again, just to clarify, I don't own Numb3rs or the characters herein.
No Common Allegiance: Death in the Key of G
By dHALL
Chapter One: I didn't see that coming
The silence in the room was louder than any amount of yelling could have been.
Special Agent Don Eppes stood in the doorway of the office break room and watched the two young men squirm.
"Sorry Sir. We just figured…….."
The other one spoke up.
"We assumed no one was coming back and…….."
Don kept his facial expression neutral as he evaluated the unsatisfactory level of fear on the faces of the two newest members of the Los Angeles FBI office. If they left this room without having to change their pants; he would be terribly disappointed in himself.
Don narrowed his eyes and plastered a grim expression on his face.
"Let me tell you something, newbie."
He kept his voice low and threatening.
"Assumptions are a really good way to lose a limb."
Don addressed the first young man.
"Spell assume for me."
"What?"
"WHAT, SIR!"
The senior agent loomed over the stunned young man and he quickly corrected himself.
"Yes, Sir."
"I said spell assume!"
The young agent stumbled over the letters….
"A"
"S"
"S"
"U"
"M"
"E?"
"That right. That's exactly right. And do you know what that tells us?"
The two young men remained silent, and he continued.
"Assumptions are dangerous things, tenderfoot. They make an A S S out of U and sometimes M E."
One of them grinned and opened his mouth to respond, but Don cut him off.
"I think you've made enough of an ass out of yourself, newbie. And making an ass out of Agent Granger is a good way to get sent home in a crate."
He lifted the lid on the empty box sitting on the break room table.
"If you are not the one who left it here, it does not belong to you! Didn't your mother teach you anything?"
"Yes Sir."
"Well, you must not have been listening when she went over this part."
He leaned over the two, now adequately frightened, young trainees.
"Why don't I remind you? And try not to forget it this time."
He picked up the box and slung it violently across the room making both young men jump out of their chairs.
"NEVER….ever, eat a pizza that belongs to a man who can kill you with nothing more than his thumbs and still make it look like an accident! Now get the hell out of here. You don't want to be sitting in this room when Agent Sinclair turns him loose."
"YES SIR!"
Watching the two fresh faced agents turn pale and flee, Special Agent Megan Reeves crossed the hall and smiling, entered the break room behind her boss.
"That never gets old does it?"
"Not yet…"
Don shook his head, a grin spreading over his face.
"With the GPA's and IQ's I see listed on these applications, you'd think they'd be a little smarter than that, but the unguarded pizza gets them every time."
Megan laughed.
"Poor kids. They were already scared shitless of Granger anyway."
"Speaking of which?"
"David took him around the corner. He figured he should at least hold onto him until they get out of the bull pen."
Don walked across the room and picked up the empty pizza box, depositing it on top of the garbage can in the corner.
Smiling at Megan, he shrugged his shoulders.
"I think the deli down the street has some pretty decent lunch specials."
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Forty minutes later, Don threw his napkin on the table and leaned back in his chair.
"All in all, that wasn't so bad."
Colby looked sullenly at the empty pizza box in the corner.
"It wasn't pepperoni and cheese, but it'll do in a pinch."
The sound of Don's phone ringing prompted the agent to rise.
"I guess this means lunch is over."
He flipped his phone open.
"Eppes?"
Confusion developed on Don's face as he listened to caller.
"Dad? Are you………Slow down. What happened?"
"Charlie? What do you…….What do you mean they took him?"
The other three agents jerked their heads up and stared, no longer caring that they were eavesdropping on a private conversation.
Don looked more and more confused.
"Dad……
Dad…..
ALAN!"
"You're going to have to calm down, Dad."
"It was the LAPD?"
"Of course you looked at their badges."
David and Colby exchanged disbelieving expressions and Megan stood up and put her hands on the table as Don continued speaking.
"Did they say why?"
"No….
No….
Dad….
You just stay home. If they didn't read him his rights……….
NO!
I'll go get him. Trust me Dad, I know how this works."
Don slammed his cell phone shut.
"Those sons of bitches."
Megan leaned over the table.
"Don. Did I hear that right?"
Colby stood up next to Megan.
"Did you just say they arrested Charlie?"
Don shook his head in disbelief.
"Well, they came to the house, said they were with the gang task force and needed to ask Charlie some questions. Dad said he didn't seem to know what they were talking about, but they insisted he did. They ended up taking him in, said they were holding him as a material witness."
"A witness to what?"
"I don't know. But I'm sure as hell gonna find out."
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Coming soon...Chapter Two:Say it ain't so