Alright, so I know I am only, almost, halfway done with my "ABC" story, but this one would just NOT leave me ALONE! (which I guess is good for you guys, since it gives you more to read.)

Anyway, as i said in the summarry, this is post-series, starting the day Charlie returns from England.

Also, this is the first time i have posted a Numb3rs story where they are adults, so I REALLY hope you like it. (Especially since I got about a half dozen more plot ideas if this one goes well.)

DISCLAIMER/INTRO: I hope you enjoy this story that I created, using the characters that are the property of the Scott brothers and their collaborators at CBS, which I do not own nor make money off of. Thank you for reading.

Chapter 1

Don ducked under the crime scene tape and gave the room a grim look. The once cluttered office was now a certified mess of papers and blood, with it's owner laying in the middle of it. It looked like a dozen more murders that he had seen over the years, but he knew this one was different. Someone pretty high up on the food chain wanted this solved immediately, otherwise Colby would have handled it and Don would be in bed enjoying the company of his fiancee. Being special agent in charge had it's advantages, such as being able to delegate work more often then not, and disadvantages, such as being called in with the DOD calls your boss who can still delegate when you can't.

"What do we got?" He asked, pulling on a pair of latex gloves.

"Dr. Albert Twersky, PhD's in both electrical engineering and applied physics." Liz answered from her crouched positio nextr to the body. "Night janitor found him like this. Three shots to the chest. No witnesses."

"Any idea what he was working on?"

"No." Colby answered, stepping away from the dismantled computer on the desk. "The hard drive is missing."

"He worked alone, never even let people in his office," Nikki added, "but according to the department head, he had been doing an assignment for the DOD."

That explains the phone call the the assistant director, Don thought to himself, scanning the room for anything that might help them. The papers on the floor looked like nothing more then a years worth of office supply invoices. Squatting down for a better look, the senior agent caught sight of a blood trail leading away from the body. Following it a couple of feet, the blood drops ended a a small cupboard with a red smear on the edge of the door.

"You guys see this?" he called out, opening the door to reveal an empty shelf.

"Yes sir." One of the forensic guys answered. "We are not sure what was in there yet but-"

Don held up his hand, cutting the man off mid sentence. It may have been his imagination, but he could have sworn he heard something.

"Don?" Colby questioned.

"Quiet." Don ordered. "Everyone be quiet."

The room feel silent while Don listened for the sound, and there it was. A soft sound, like someone breathing too fast. He leaned closer to the cupboard and the quiet noise grew louder. He leaned down, sticking his head inside, and came face to face with a small boy.

"Hey buddy." He said gently. "What are you doing in here?"

The shadows of the cupboard made it nearly impossible to see much detail, but those wide eyes shown bright with fear. He was so close that Don could reach out and touch him, but instead he pulled back, gently coaxing the boy toward the opening.

"Come on out, no one is going to hurt you."

Ever so slowly, the boy inched his way to the edge and peered out into the office. His eyes darted from agent to agent as each stayed perfectly still waiting for the boy's next move.

"It's alright." Don assured him. "You can come out."

Sliding to the floor, the boy stood, awkwardly shifting his gaze away from the body. Sensing his discomfort, Don moved so that the kid didn't have to look at the dead man. This also gave him a better angle to look the boy over. He appeared to be around seven or eight years old, with messy, sand colored, hair and bright green eyes. He was dressed in a red and blue stripped shirt, gray tennis shoes, and jeans, all three smeared with blood.

"Hey, my name is Don. What's your name?"

The boy didn't move, but the agent could tell that he had heard him.

"Do you know what happened here?"

This time, the boy looked up to give him a blank stare, fear and sadness filling his emerald eyes. Looks like they had a witness. The sound of movement caught the kid's attention and his gaze drifted over Don's shoulder to where the ME was zipping up the body bag. Walking around the agent, the boy walked over the the black bag, resting his head where the man's chest was. Tears ran down his cheeks as he murmured something to quiet to hear. Pulling back, he took a deep breath and turned away. Don rubbed his hand over his chin and moved closer to the boy.

"Come on, let's go outside."

Reaching out, he gently placed his arm over the kid's shoulders, half expecting him to pull away. Thankfully, that was not the case and he was able to lead him down to where their SUVs were parked, motioning for one of the forensic guys to come with him.

"That was your dad, huh?" He guessed as soon as they were out of ear shot of the other agents.

The boy nodded, scrubbing his eyes with his palm.

"I know how you feel." Don said, pulling open the back door of his SUV and grabbing his gym bag. "My mom died a while back."

He didn't get much of a response, just a brief look of understanding before the kid's attention was pulled to the departing coroner's van.

"Listen," he started, pulled a t-shirt and a pair of draw string shorts from his bag, "I know this is really hard, but I'm gonna need your help to find the people who did this. Okay?"

Nodding, the boy immediately took off his shirt and handed it over to the forensic guy who stood nearby. That was easy, Don thought to himself as he pulled an FBI shirt over his head. The new shirt went halfway to his knees, but the boy didn't seem to mind as he kicked of his shoes and shimmied out of his jeans. Don helped him into the shorts, synching up the drawstring as far as it would go, before sitting him on the back seat of his car.

"You're doing great." He praised. Pulling out swab to get samples of the blood on the boys hands and arms. "Just a few more minutes and we can get you all cleaned up."

He was nearly done scrubbing the rest of the blood off the kid's arms when a small voice surprised him.

"Ari."

"What?" Don looked up.

"My name." The boy said quietly. "It's Ari."

"Okay Ari, did you see what happened?"

"Kinda."

"Can you tell me?"

Ari bit his lower lip, dropping his eyes to the ground. He was scared, a blind man could tell that. What confused Don was that he seemed more afraid of talking then of what happened. But before he could push any farther, he caught sight of the rest of his team waiting for him near the entrance of the building.

"Hey Liz," he motioned her over, "I want you to meet someone. This is Ari."

"Hi Ari." She smiled, squatting down in front of the boy.

"Are you going to get the men who shot my dad." Ari asked, without looking at the agents.

"We're gonna do our best," Don promised for her, "but first I have to go talk to my team. Do you think you can go with Liz and tell her what happened here tonight?"

Again, he saw the flash of apprehension cross the boys face. Ari knew something, something big ... something that he didn't think he could share.

"Maybe …" Ari started slowly, fiddling with the hem of his oversized shirt. "I-I might be able to help … a little."

"That's great buddy." Don encouraged. "Anything you remember will be a big help."

Quietly telling Liz to take Ari back to the office to get his statement, Don turned to meet up with his other agents who were waiting nearby, but stopped when he felt someone grab the back of his jacket. He looked down to see Ari staring up at him.

"What's wrong?"

"Um … I know that … well … they took a piece of Dad's computer, right?"

"Yeah." Don answered, wondering where he going with this.

"Well … what if they went to my house?"

"We'll check there, don't worry about it." Don assured him.

"But what if they wreck our stuff?" Ari questioned, tears forming in his eyes. "What if they wreck my poster or my books? My Dad gave them to me. They are all I have left. I don't want to loose them too."

Don crouched down and looked him in the eye.

"Hey, hey, it's okay." He soothed, rubbing the boy's shoulder in the same way that he used to calm Charlie when they were kids. "I'll make sure that all your things are okay."

"Okay." Ari said softly, turning back to Liz.

"Take care of him." Don ordered, even though he knew he didn't have to.

There was just something about this kid. He had an almost … well, Charlie like quality. It set off the big brother in him and he was more determined then ever to find the people responsible for Ari's pain. One look at his team, who were close enough to hear the boys fears, and he knew he was not the only one who felt that way.

Leaving Nikki to manage the scene, Don and Colby headed to the victim's home address. Luckily. They arrived before anyone else could, not that it was surprising since Dr. Twersky's hole in the wall dwelling was almost literally a hole in the wall. They would have walked right past the front door if an ally cat hadn't tripped Colby. The inside, however, was a far different story. Despite the poor setting, the small apartment had top of the line everything. Flat screen tv, leather furniture, crystal light fixtures, it was obvious this research scientist lived off of more then just his paycheck.

"What do you think?" Colby asked, looking at one of the numerous family photos that were scattered around. "You think the good doctor was up to something dirty?"

"Could be." Don shrugged. "We'll have to get a look at his financials."

The other agent nodded in agreement and walked into one of the two bedrooms.

"Get anything out of the kid?" He called through the open door.

"Nothing yet. I'm hoping Liz might get through to him." Don replied. "He's definitely hiding something."

"Maybe he just needs to talk to someone he knows he can trust. Check this out."

Stepping into the room, Don first thought was that this belonged to Dr. Twersky, but something was off. Alongside of books on physics, math, and geometry were model planes and space shuttles. A solar system hung from the ceiling beside a map of the milky way and a telescope stood in the corner while a stuffed lion sat on the bed.

"You think I should have Larry talk to him?" Don asked, motioning to the area of the room that seemed to be devoted to space.

"Actually," Colby pushed the door closed to reveal a large poster on the back, "I was thinking of someone else."

Jaw dropped, Don stared at the image smiling back at him.

"Charlie?"

So ... anyone see that coming?

Now, I may not update this one as frequently as my "ABC" story. However, I have been known to be influenced by reviews. The more feedback/requests I get, the sooner I post the next chapter.

Just a reminder, this is my first adult Numb3rs story, so please excuse any minor flaws.