A/N (1): Takes place mid season 3-ish.

The ringing of Charlie's house phone drew his brother Don's attention away from the hockey game he was watching, making him look around to see if either his dad or Charlie was going to answer it. Unfortunately, Charlie was working on something in the garage and Alan was out with some of his buddies doing something for one of his pet projects, so it was left to Don to silence the insistent ringing. Sighing, Don arose from his recliner and walked over to where the hand-held travelling phone lay and picked it up.

'Eppes residence.'

A woman's voice, flavoured with an Eastern European accent, answered him. 'Hello. May I speak to Professor Charles Eppes, please?' Don blinked at the formality of her speech, a slight grin twitching a corner of his mouth.

'Can I ask who's calling?'

'I'm sorry; I forgot to introduce myself. I am Doctor Sabina Krylová, an associate of Professor Eppes. We met at a conference a few years ago in Las Vegas. May I please speak with him now?' the woman asked, a slight tinge of annoyance colouring her voice. 'It is rather vital.'

'Hang on.' Don made his way to the garage, travelling phone held in his left hand as his right pushed the connecting door open. Charlie was busy at work, equations and graphs stretching across several blackboards. 'Charlie. Hey, Charlie. Phone for you.' Don said, catching his brother's attention. Charlie turned around; his clothes were liberally dusted with chalk. He reached out for the phone, his gaze fixing on Don.

'Thanks. Who is it?' he asked, brushing himself off with one hand as Don gave him the phone.

'I don't know. She said she knew you from some conference in Vegas. When did you ever go there?' Don asked, but Charlie waved him off as he put the phone to his ear.

'Hello?' A rather pleased expression crossed his face, but it soon turned into a much more serious one as he listened to what Krylová had to say. 'Slow down, Sabina; I can't understand you.' Charlie said finally, shooing Don away with his free hand. Don took the hint and left, returning to his hockey game in time to see his team score a goal. Back in the garage, Charlie sighed and rubbed at his left temple as Sabina kept talking; the woman wasn't speaking English, however, but Czech, and Charlie was having a hard time keeping up with her, since his skills with said language were a little rusty.

'Chief, it's serious. Commander Mercury is calling everyone back on duty, especially Mythos Team. We're supposed to be meeting at a hotel downtown at 2040. Will you be able to make it?' Sabina asked her voice grim.

'I should be able to.' Charlie replied. 'Are the others meeting us there?'

'Yes, sir. Chiron is coming from Santa Rosa and Phoenix's coming from San Francisco. You're still here in LA, right?'

'Yes, I am.' Charlie glanced down at his watch, which read 7:30. 'I need to let you go. I've got to pack. See you there.'

'Goodbye, Chief. Stay safe, and I'll see you there. Sphinx out.'

'See you, Sab'.' Charlie turned off the phone, sighing heavily. Damn. He thought he'd left all of this behind four years ago. Running a heavy hand through his hair, Charlie left the garage and went into the main part of the house. Don was on the couch, watching the tail end of a hockey game.

'What was that all about?' Don asked, looking up from the game.

'A reminder about an extensive mathematics conference in Oregon. I'll be gone for a few weeks, and I'm going to flying out tonight at around eight.'

'So soon? You getting an award or something?' Don looked interested, ignoring the game going on behind him.

'No, it just sort of slipped my mind. It's not a big conference, but there's not really good cell reception there, so I may not be able to be reached. It's inconvenient, I know,' Charlie said, shrugging at Don's exasperated look. 'But I really have to get going, so if you could tell Dad...?' With this he turned and disappeared up the staircase. Don could hear him moving around in his bedroom, presumably packing his clothes and other necessities. Charlie came down ten minutes later, a black duffel bag slung over one shoulder and his laptop satchel over the other.

'It's a good thing it's summer break.' Don commented. 'How are you getting to the airport?'

'I've got a ride, don't worry.' He checked through the window at the street. 'And here it is.' A black sedan had pulled up outside the house, flashing its lights once to get Charlie's attention. 'See you.'

'Bye. Call us before you get out of range.' Don said, watching Charlie open the door and leave.

'Will do.' Charlie waved and left, shutting the door behind him. Don watched him through the window as his brother got into the car and was driven away. Wishing him the best of luck, Don turned back to the TV, not knowing whether or not he'd be seeing Charlie for quite some time.

1234567890NUMB3RS1234567890NUMB3RS1234567890NUMB3RS

After passing through downtown LA, the sedan carrying Professor Charlie Eppes pulled to a halt on the asphalt ten feet away from the hotel. Charlie got out of the car, his travelling bags slung once more over his shoulders. Sabina waited for him at the base of the stairs leading up to the hotel's door. She wore a long, flowing skirt, a black blouse, sensible heels, and a grim smile that lightened momentarily when Charlie approached.

'Hey, Cheif. I see you made it after all.' She said, extending a hand. 'Good thing, too. Everyone's already inside.'

Charlie nodded, taking her hand. 'Sphinx, it's good to see you again.' He said, the Czech coming awkwardly off his tongue but getting smoother as he continued to speak. 'Any idea of what we're dealing with?'

'Just that out of all of the Reserve Teams in California, we're the only one being called in. The Commander will debrief us once he gets here.' Sabina led the way up the stairs, entering the hotel in front of the mathematician. Inside the lobby were two others, one a stocky man of Swedish descent and a lithe African-American woman. They rose when they saw Charlie, almost coming to attention as they did so. 'No need for formalities, guys.' He said, switching back to English. 'Has C.M. arrived yet?'

'No, Chief.' The other man said, shaking his head. 'We're supposed to meet him in the Sequoia Conference Room. It's been swept clean.'

'Good work, Chiron.' Charlie said, easily slipping back into his role as team leader, even though it had been almost four years since Team Mythos had been assembled. 'Let's get settled in, and we can fill each other in on what we've been doing for the past four years.'

'Sounds like a plan.' Phoenix said, white teeth flashing in a grin that contrasted with her dark colouring. Chiron led the way, and they were soon settled in the small Sequoia Conference Room, the door shut firmly behind them. A small silver disc was mounted at each corner of said entrance, and Charlie nodded at them. 'Sound field?' he asked, sitting down at the table.

'Yes, sir.' Phoenix replied, confirming his suspicions. 'Should render all speech intelligible to any listening device, be it hidden or not, within a 200 foot radius.'

'Excellent. And now for the waiting.'

A/N (2): Yes, I know there are a plethora of "Secret Agent Charlie" stories out there, but I figured I might as well join in and have some fun with it. Meh. So sue me. By the way, Charlie's code name is "Griffin".