Disclaimer: I don't own anything Numb3rs, it's all property of CBS and whatnot, so don't sue.

Call of Duty 3

Chapter 1: Origins Remembered With A Dash of Pain Mixed In

It was a blistering hot day in Miami Florida. The city was buzzing with the richly diverse locals and tourists alike.

In a tattoo parlor out near the beachfront, a young man with his chaotically curly hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. His face was graced by a neatly trimmed mustache and connecting beard lay on his frony on one of the tables as one of the best Tattoo artists in the shop set to work on the tribal design, Japanese calligraphy, and five lines of a Buddhist prayer that had been stenciled onto his pale, flawless shoulders and back.

The Tribal design spanned the entire width of his shoulders with space in the centerwhile the Japanese calligraphy fell perfectly beneath a pre-existing tattoo of a Japanese character on the back of his neck. The Characters passed through the space between the Tribal Wings as they looked like, coming to a stop just above the small of his back. The Buddhist prayer lines were gonna be symetrical to the five lines that were already tattoo on the left side of his lower back. It was a design that would take more than one session to complete.

" You ready for this? I mean, it is gonna hurt." Asked the Tattoo artist, Kyle, with a smirk.

Kyle felt the smugness leave him instantly when a pair of bottomless, almost black, brown eyes looked him square in the eye, a flash of something dangerous passing through them as they seemed to look straight into Kyle's soul before the young man returned his gaze to the wall.

" Pain is pain my friend, and this isn't my first time, so... just do your job, please." Said the young man flatly.

And so, with a small swallow, Kyle readied his needle, the steady drone of the needle buzzing filled the air between Kyle and his living canvas.

The young man didn't so much as blink when the needle made contact with his skin and was then dragged across, carefully following the outline of the design.

As Kyle set to work, the young man let his mind drift away the present, slowly drifting away to a fatefull meeting twelve years ago...

On a rainy day... In the wake of a senseless loss...

Joseph was dead.

These words hung in the air of a young man's mind, still not believed, still not accepted for what it was, the truth. The rain was punding everything in it's path mercilessly, drenching everything .

Even the heavens were weeping.

19 year old college senior, Charlie Eppes was just barely keeping himself together as he sat in the dreary darkness of the Princeton Library alone, still in a numb haze after what he'd been the witness of a mere day before.

It all happened so fast, one second, he'd been saying hello to his good friend Joseph Gallager, the next there was a deafening bang at the sound of somthing wet and lumpy splattering on the wall. When people had come running to see what was happening, they'd found him craddling Joseph's lifeless body, not caring that he himself was being stained with the deep crimson blood from the gapping hole in Joseph's head.

The following hours had been a chaotic hell, not evern Margaret Eppes could bring comfort to her son.

Now, here he was, stitting alone in the massive library, with only the sounds of the rain droning outside and his own, hollow breathing to keep him company.

" You seem to be having a very bad day, Mr. Eppes." Came a new voice. Charlie whirled around to see an older man standing a few feet away from where he sat.

" Well, I'd think that was obvious." Said Charlie with a slight tremmer in his voice.

" Who are you?'" He added, curious as to who this man was and what he wanted.

He watched warily as the man came closer, coming to claim the seat next to his.

" My name is Jason Ballard, I'm the Director of the CIA." Answered Ballard. Ballard was in his late fourties to early fifties, his hair had whisps of grey mixed in with the natural chocolate brown. Strength, confidence, and the wisdom of many years were etched into the very lines of his face as he gazed at the young curly haired genius sitting beside him.

" The CIA, what does the CIA have to do with Joseph, I mean he..." Charlie trailed of, still not able to say it.

" He killed himself by blowing his brains out, I heard. You however, had the unfortunate pleasure of witnessing it first hand. Mr. Eppes, I'm not here because of Joseph Gallager, I'm here for you." Said Ballard.

" What!... Why?" Asked and utterly bewildered Charlie.

" As you well know, you have been pegged as one of the future Einstein's of our age. Everyone is interested in you. I myself see potential in you." Said Ballard, his voice deep and calming.

" Potential for what? Why are you here? What do you want?" Asked Charlie in rapid succession.

" Mr. Eppes, I am here to personally recruit you to the CIA, if you are interested in becoming a highly trained field Operative." Said Ballard, making it sound so normal.

Charlie simply stared at Ballard like he was from another planet for what seemed an eternity before he blew his top.

" SAY WHAT! ARE YOU F-ING KIDDING ME!" Screamed Charlie as he leapt to his feet.

" Mr. Eppes, please keep your voice down, we're in a library." Said Ballard, calm as ever.

Charlie stood frozen with his mouth hanging open at this statement.

" What do you want from me?" Asked Charlie, his voice shaking slightly.

" I'd like for you to join us at the CIA, I personally have seen that you have a brilliant mind, but what good is a brilliant mind when the rest of you is so frail, so weak. Can I ask, how many times have you found yourself backed into a corner with someone else always having to bail you out?" Asked Ballard, watching with secret satisfaction as Charlie's angry visage flickered for a moment.

" Mr. Eppes, you have caught our attention with your brilliance but, we at the CIA want the whole package. At the CIA, you'll be subject to the most elite training in the word with the top instructors, all in secret." Said Ballard as he stood and took a step towards the frail young genius before him.

" Will I have to kill anyone?" Asked Charlie, looking both scared and defiant at the same time.

" That unfortunately, comes with the territory of the job. But, isn't your brother training to become and FBI Agent? Hasn't he accepted the responsiblities of what that kind of job entails?" Asked Ballard.

Charlie felt his mind racing as he pondered these words.

" Mr. Eppes, I'm asking you to be the adult here because that is what you are, legally an adult. I can assume that most of your young life, your parents catered to your every need, sheltered you from the real world because they thought it was too harsh, too... dangerous for you." At this, Ballard paused as he saw the pained look in Charlie's eyes, knowing that each word he'd spoken was striking a cord within the young man's soul.

" Charlie, I'm giving you the oppertunity to be the grown up, for once in your life. Make this decision for youself. Here, take my card, call only, and I mean only if you are absolutely sure." Said Ballard as he handed Charlie a small, rectangular piece of paper with a name and a number.

Before Ballard turned to leave, he let his gaze fall on the clearly shaken young man before him one last time.

" I'm sorry about your friend Joseph." Said Ballard, meaning these words.

After a pause, Charlie looked up from the card in his hand and spoke.

" Thanks." He said but, he'd said it to air. Ballard had simply vanished, leaving him to contemplate over their conversation.

Now Charlie sat, gawking at the piece of paper in his hand. After countless minutes, Charlie paused in his gawking when he noticed the sunlight pouring in through the library windows.

It had stopped raining.

" Hey, Hey dude, wake up, we're done for the day." Came a voice from somewhere off in the distance, snapping Charlie out of his stroll down memory lane.

Charlie looked up to gaze and who had spoken, it was Kyle the tattoo artist.

Charlie quickly realized he was no longer in the library at Princeton, he was in a tattoo shop in Miami Florida.

With a small groan, Charlie sat up and rubbed his eyes, slowly getting them back into focus. Kyle had already bandaged his back up and was now handing him the black button up shirt he'd been wearing when he'd first walked into the shop.

" Man, you are like the first and only person I know of who fell asleep while being tattooed." Said Kyle, still slightly nervous after the way Charlie had stared at him a good two hours ago.

Charlie bestowed upon him and tiny little smile as he carefully buttoned up his shirt.

" Yeah, I'm a one of those oddballs." Said Charlie with a friendly voice that made Kyle fell warm and at ease.

Charlie got off the tattoo table and stood. With a final smile to Kyle, Charlie headed for the door.

" I'll see you later so I can finish the Tat." Said Kyle, receiving a wave from Charlie before the young man disappeared out the door.

The hot, Miami sun greeted Charlie, who pulled out a pair of sunglasses as he headed to his ride.

There, parked infront of the tattoo shop was a powerful looking black and silver Honda Interceptor Motorcycle.

Oh yes, Charlie Eppes had gotten an upgrade in his means of transportation.

With a smirk, Charlie fished out the keys from the back pocket of his jeans. With the stares of several female passerbys, Charlie climbed onto the bike and put the key in the ignition.

The bike came to life with a low growl and Charlie revved the engine before he nudged the powerful vehicle into motion.

Within seconds, Charlie was tearing up the Miami asphalt.

With the salt lace air filling his nostrils as he drove past the beautiful beachfront, Charlie felt almost free of all the burdens and past events that still plagued his soul.

Almost.