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clwilson2006!!
Feb. 14th, 2010 06:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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zombie_festTitle: Off to See the Wizard
Author:musingdarkly
Written for:clwilson2006
Fandom(s): Numb3rs
Characters/Pairings: Don/David (kinda but not really), Charlie/Colby, past Charlie/Amita
Rating: FRM
Warnings: None...really.
Author's Notes: Thanks to my lovely beta and sorry if this wasn’t what you were expecting!
When he had first met Charlie Epps, Colby had made a few assumptions. The first, and main one, was that Charlie was like the Wizard of Oz. He hid behind a curtain and worked magic with his numbers before using smoke and mirrors to help everyone else understand. Colby had always admired Charlie’s ability to dumb down the complex math to a point where the agents could grasp the concept. Sadly, math was not helping them at this point. Ten months into the “Crisis of our Generation,” as the president had called it, Charlie’s math had not helped them get a single break against the virus. Well, until now, that is.
“DON! I GOT IT!” Charlie looked like a little kid who had decided that Santa Claus was real, no matter what the older kids told him. He was bouncing in place, grin firmly in place as he waves a thick sheaf of paper at them. “I can stop the virus! Well, we can stop the virus! But we have to hurry." The smile dimmed slightly as he caught sight of the oversize clock they had placed on the back of the wall.
“How long do we have Chuck?” Don asked wearily. They’d been up all night protecting a food and aid convoy, and after the numerous false alarms by the thousands of scientists around the nation working to solve the problem, Don was wary of any “break through's.”
“An hour, maybe less.” Charlie’s smile was completely gone. “I know that I’ve been wrong before Don, but this time I’ve got it. I found patient zero, we get there, we stop the spread.” He was trying to sound confident, but the weeks of being cooped up in the FBI office, watching the agents leave and come back, sometimes less a person, was weighing heavy on him.
“Where?” Don’s voice had caught the faintest whiff of hope. The weariness from the long night had disappeared slightly.
“Downtown, an apartment building across from Union Station.” Charlie nodded to himself. “I go with you on this one. You’re an agent down, you need me.” Charlie pre-empted the doubts and protests he knew his brother would throw at him to get him to stop. Don stared at him for a minute before nodding sharply.
“You stay in the middle, wear the bullet proof vest and no gun. If anything goes wrong, you stick like glue to Colby.” Charlie let out a sigh of relief.
“We need to leave now. I don’t think we get a second chance with this one.” Charlie walked purposefully toward the room where they stashed the vests. Don sighed, staring balefully at the empty coffee pot in the break room. It’d been empty for weeks, but the team hadn’t had the choice of slowing down.
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Charlie carefully strapped on the vest, tightening each strap until he could barely breathe. If he was going out into the mess of, for lack of a better term, zombies, he was going to make sure he got the team to the apartment building and stopped the spread. He remembered the look on Don’s face when they’d been told that their father had been infected. The entire team had looked like it was their father that was taken. Charlie knew that doing this wouldn’t bring him back, but he hoped it would keep some child from going through what they’d been through. With the vest secured he looked in the mirrored glass. He looked nothing like he used to, his hair was past his shoulders, the curls were greasy and limp against his body. There were large black circles under his eyes, and lines around the edge that hadn’t been there before. Compared to Don, he looked young. Don had gained grey hair, deep furrows on his brow, lines around his eyes and mouth, and a hunched appearance. Don had taken the weight of the world on his shoulders, and he looked like it. Charlie took a deep breath before he strode out of the room. Colby, David and Don were all still suited up from earlier, Charlie tried to smile encouragingly but felt the mood of the room keep the smile from being anything but sad.
“Ready to go Professor?” Colby asked. Charlie nodded, mentally steeling himself for the horror outside the door. Entering the stairs, he took up the position that Don had indicated, securely hidden between the three agents. As they descended, Charlie noticed the streaks of blood along the wall, handprints on the railings. He fought back the urge to scream at the blood, tell it it wasn’t supposed to be there. The agents it belonged to were supposed to be upstairs working HUMAN crimes, not trying to defend a dying city from the undead. He took a couple deep breaths, almost stumbling as he closed his eyes for a second. Colby steadied him with a hand that disappeared as quickly as it appeared.
Don crouched down, a small hand movement alerting the rest of the group to do the same. He slowly scooted forward until he could open the door. A quick survey of the lobby let him now the once bustling area was completely still. Something was off.
“Colby, get Charlie back upstairs. Drag him if you have to. David, you’re with me.” Don didn’t look back, completely aware of the stubborn annoyed look on his brothers face. He slipped out of the stairwell with David following close behind, confident that Colby would follow the order.
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Charlie debated fighting Colby’s grip as he was led up the stairs, but decided that he was better off just walking on his own power. Colby would follow Don’s order until he was safely ensconced in his little dank office space upstairs.
“Colby, we have to get to Patient Zero! If we don’t then this will never end.” Charlie was begging, he knew it, but this was a desperate moment in need of a desperate plea. “We can use the back exit. Don would never need to know!” Charlie added the puppy dog eyes that had always worked on everyone into the mix. Colby flinched slightly before sighing.
“Charlie, think of it this way. If Don does find out, it’s my ass in a sling, not yours.” Colby shook his head and continued to head up the stairs. “Just wait it out, Don will be back up here in no time and we’ll go find this Patient Zero of yours then.”
“You don’t get it.” Charlie glanced at his watch. “We have a half hour to get there and stop this thing. After that, the city’s gone. There’s no other way to stop the virus.” Charlie pulled his arm from Colby’s grip. “I’ll go by myself if I have to, but I’m not letting what happened to Dad happen to anyone else if I know how to stop it.” Charlie turned and started to sprint down the stairs toward the lobby. He made it to the last flight of stairs before Colby caught up, a smile spreading across his face when the older man just fell in step with him.
“You get to explain this to Don.” Colby muttered before turning down a small hall toward the rear of the building. “Can we get there on foot?”
“Not enough time, is there any gas in any of the cars?” Charlie could feel the seconds slipping past him into oblivion. He knew they’d stopped using the vehicles when the government had announced it was cutting of the city.
“One. A couple might have enough to get us there, but if you’re right we don’t want to chance it.” Colby stepped in front of Charlie, slowly turning around the edge of the door to check the parking garage. “We’re clear, for now. On three, we run to the blue sedan three rows in.” Charlie nodded.
“One…two…three.” Colby took off toward the car, sliding in between it and the truck next to it and aiming his gun at the empty space between them and the exit. Charlie slipped into the driver’s seat, sliding a hand into the visor to check for the keys.
“There aren’t any keys.” Charlie called lightly. He leaned down and started to find the right wires under the dash to hotwire the vehicle when a set of keys landed on his lap. “Nevermind.” He pushed the key into the ignition and started the car. “Get in.” He shouted, already putting the car into reverse. “Twenty-Five minutes.”
@@@@
Don stared at the wall of zombies that had appeared in front of the exit. They all brandished some form of makeshift weapons. “Why couldn’t these have been the brain dead shuffling type of zombies that only wanted to eat our brains?” He asked.
“It wouldn’t be any fun it they were like that.” David replied, moving away from him to try and cover the largest area possible. “How we going to play this, oh fearless leader?” David was already aiming at the closest zombie.
“Ends in. It’s probably the fastest way to…” Don trailed off as he saw a blue sedan speed past. “Son of a… Charlie is so dead.” Don raised his weapon and started the process of ending the tortured lives of the people trapped in this form. Next to him, David followed suit. The horror of blowing innocent people’s heads apart no longer causing them to flinch. If Charlie was right, this might be the last time they had to do this.
@@@@
“Turn here.” Colby was half out of the window, eyes searching for the walking dead in every shadow. They were almost there, only a few more blocks and they could finish the psycho who started this off and get back to their lives before all of this happened. Maybe he’d finally work up the courage to ask Charlie what exactly he and Amita had and if maybe Colby could take him out to dinner sometime. Colby snorted lightly. “Next right.” He called. A zombie poked its head out of a window and Colby shot it. Charlie took the turn fast, almost knocking Colby back into his lap. Only one more block, Charlie pulled in front of the apartment building, checking his watch.
“It’s apartment 651, back of the building. We have five minutes to get there before the virus can’t be contained.” Charlie rattled off, not wanting to let Colby go alone, but not sure if he wanted to be the one to go with him. Colby reached back and gripped Charlie’s shoulder.
“Here’s my back-up. Don’t shoot unless you have no other choice.” Colby pulled out a .22 from an ankle holster, handing it Charlie. “Stay behind me, and keep low.” Colby slipped out of the car, motioning for Charlie to exit from the same door before slowly inching across the sidewalk to the apartment buildings door.
Charlie remembered his brothers advice, stick to Colby like glue. He scooted as close as he could get without actually impeding the other mans’ movement. They only had four minutes, and Colby seemed to be moving so slow that they would never make it there in time. Colby opened the door to the apartment building and held it open long enough for Charlie to run through only to abruptly stop so he didn’t hit Colby. They headed toward the stairs, walking as fast as they could without running.
@@@@
David pushed Don back toward the stairs as the zombies continued to pour in through the doors. They made it up three flights of stairs before the creatures figured out where their prey had disappeared. “David, just go. I can hold them off.” Don muttered, the arrow, spear, thing sticking out of his shoulder.
“Yeah right, no need to let the boss get killed. They can barely figure out a door. They won’t find us.” David snarked back. It took him less than a minute to get them back into their offices. The door clicked shut, and locked behind them. “Now, you get to sit still and bit down on something while I fix you up.” Don was mostly out of it, head lolling to the side as David guided him to a chair.
“Where’s Charlie?” Don slurred, head dropping back as he sat.
“Colby took him to find Patient Zero, remember. You said he’s dead when he gets back.” Don nodded dazedly. “Just take deep breaths, they’ll get back here and be all good news and sparkles.”
@@@@
“Three minutes.” Charlie murmured. They were on the second floor, so far no zombies had interrupted their progress, but Charlie was still praying to whatever version of a higher being there was that their luck would hold. They passed the third floor, the scent of death hitting them like a wall. Charlie reached up to cover his nose to find the gun he’d been holding. Taking a deep breath and holding it they managed to get to the fourth floor where something overpowered the stench. It was like roses on top of rotting fish, not pleasant but better than the alternative. A rotting corpse lay on the landing, but the missing head confirmed it as one of the “real” dead. The fifth floor was quiet, the smell still there, only fainter. Charlie took a breath when they got to the landing, his lungs about to burst from the effort to not breathe in any of the horrendous odor. “Two minutes.” He felt his heart start to pound with anticipation and fear, with only one more flight of stairs he could feel the end.
“Stop counting.” Colby growled, his fingers touching the door for the sixth floor. “We’re here, we have time.” He tried to reassure Charlie, pulling the door wide. There wasn’t anything between them and the apartment, except the trip wires every few inches. “We’re going to have to run fast and don’t look back. They’ll know we’re coming.” Charlie nodded, shifting his grip on the gun for the hundredth time. “On one.” Colby paused to take a deep breath. “One.” They both ran down the hall, their feet stomping down on trip wires that created loud explosions behind them. Charlie almost turned to watch but a quick glimpse of Colby’s retreating figure reminded him of the danger. They got to the door of apartment 651, Colby charging with his shoulder to knock it open.
“Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!” A high-pitched nasal voice resounded from the interior of the apartment. “I’m unarmed.” Colby snorted and Charlie looked perplexed.
“Hands up, walk out backwards…slowly.” Colby ordered, putting himself between this “Patient Zero” and Charlie. “Put your hands on the top of your head and spread your legs.” The thin man followed Colby’s instructions, his frame shaking but not showing any signs of trauma. Colby quickly searched him for weapons before retreating to where Charlie stood. “Turn around.” The man turned, his nasal voice fitting perfectly with his receding hairline, yellow teeth, thin beak-like nose, and barely-there lips. “Tell us your name.”
“Do you need my name, or just the knowledge that I’m patient zero.” The man teased. His eyes had narrowed when he spotted Charlie. “Well done Professor Epps, you caught me. Now what? Catching me doesn’t stop the spread of the virus.”
“Yes it does.” Charlie ground out. “Catching you stops you from releasing anymore into the air. Without a ready dispersal system, the virus dies. You didn’t create it to last long. Those people with recover and you will live in nameless oblivion.” He spat. Colby half turned, his arm coming up to comfort the younger man when Patient Zero sprang into action. He rushed across the room toward a computer. Charlie didn’t hesitate, shooting the man in the head. Colby flinched at the look of cold anger across the normally gentle professors’ face.
“Charlie? You okay buddy?” Colby wrapped an arm around Charlie’s shoulders, taking the gun out of his hand. “It’s okay, you did the right thing. He would have killed more people by proxy, that man is responsible for everything bad that’s happened in the last few months.” Colby wasn’t completely aware of what he was saying, only that the words seemed to be bringing Charlie back to reality. Colby smiled slightly, glad the nightmare was almost over. He started to release Charlie’s shoulders, content in the knowledge that Charlie would be fine, when Charlie surged upward and kissed him roughly on the lips.
“Sorry.” Charlie mumbled as he pulled away. “I just, don’t know.” Colby blinked for a second before pulling Charlie in for another kiss.
“Hey, I’m not complaining.” He teased, his mouth only inches from Charlie. “However, we should probably go make sure that your brother isn’t going to kill either of us for this little adventure. Then we’ll talk.” Charlie nodded, leaning up to steal a kiss before spitting on the evil madman’s body.
“I don’t think Don will mind now that we know that everything will go back to normal.” Charlie grinned, leading the way back down the demolished hallway to the stairs, whistling Off to See the Wizard as he went.
Author:
musingdarklyWritten for:
clwilson2006Fandom(s): Numb3rs
Characters/Pairings: Don/David (kinda but not really), Charlie/Colby, past Charlie/Amita
Rating: FRM
Warnings: None...really.
Author's Notes: Thanks to my lovely beta and sorry if this wasn’t what you were expecting!
When he had first met Charlie Epps, Colby had made a few assumptions. The first, and main one, was that Charlie was like the Wizard of Oz. He hid behind a curtain and worked magic with his numbers before using smoke and mirrors to help everyone else understand. Colby had always admired Charlie’s ability to dumb down the complex math to a point where the agents could grasp the concept. Sadly, math was not helping them at this point. Ten months into the “Crisis of our Generation,” as the president had called it, Charlie’s math had not helped them get a single break against the virus. Well, until now, that is.
“DON! I GOT IT!” Charlie looked like a little kid who had decided that Santa Claus was real, no matter what the older kids told him. He was bouncing in place, grin firmly in place as he waves a thick sheaf of paper at them. “I can stop the virus! Well, we can stop the virus! But we have to hurry." The smile dimmed slightly as he caught sight of the oversize clock they had placed on the back of the wall.
“How long do we have Chuck?” Don asked wearily. They’d been up all night protecting a food and aid convoy, and after the numerous false alarms by the thousands of scientists around the nation working to solve the problem, Don was wary of any “break through's.”
“An hour, maybe less.” Charlie’s smile was completely gone. “I know that I’ve been wrong before Don, but this time I’ve got it. I found patient zero, we get there, we stop the spread.” He was trying to sound confident, but the weeks of being cooped up in the FBI office, watching the agents leave and come back, sometimes less a person, was weighing heavy on him.
“Where?” Don’s voice had caught the faintest whiff of hope. The weariness from the long night had disappeared slightly.
“Downtown, an apartment building across from Union Station.” Charlie nodded to himself. “I go with you on this one. You’re an agent down, you need me.” Charlie pre-empted the doubts and protests he knew his brother would throw at him to get him to stop. Don stared at him for a minute before nodding sharply.
“You stay in the middle, wear the bullet proof vest and no gun. If anything goes wrong, you stick like glue to Colby.” Charlie let out a sigh of relief.
“We need to leave now. I don’t think we get a second chance with this one.” Charlie walked purposefully toward the room where they stashed the vests. Don sighed, staring balefully at the empty coffee pot in the break room. It’d been empty for weeks, but the team hadn’t had the choice of slowing down.
@@@@
Charlie carefully strapped on the vest, tightening each strap until he could barely breathe. If he was going out into the mess of, for lack of a better term, zombies, he was going to make sure he got the team to the apartment building and stopped the spread. He remembered the look on Don’s face when they’d been told that their father had been infected. The entire team had looked like it was their father that was taken. Charlie knew that doing this wouldn’t bring him back, but he hoped it would keep some child from going through what they’d been through. With the vest secured he looked in the mirrored glass. He looked nothing like he used to, his hair was past his shoulders, the curls were greasy and limp against his body. There were large black circles under his eyes, and lines around the edge that hadn’t been there before. Compared to Don, he looked young. Don had gained grey hair, deep furrows on his brow, lines around his eyes and mouth, and a hunched appearance. Don had taken the weight of the world on his shoulders, and he looked like it. Charlie took a deep breath before he strode out of the room. Colby, David and Don were all still suited up from earlier, Charlie tried to smile encouragingly but felt the mood of the room keep the smile from being anything but sad.
“Ready to go Professor?” Colby asked. Charlie nodded, mentally steeling himself for the horror outside the door. Entering the stairs, he took up the position that Don had indicated, securely hidden between the three agents. As they descended, Charlie noticed the streaks of blood along the wall, handprints on the railings. He fought back the urge to scream at the blood, tell it it wasn’t supposed to be there. The agents it belonged to were supposed to be upstairs working HUMAN crimes, not trying to defend a dying city from the undead. He took a couple deep breaths, almost stumbling as he closed his eyes for a second. Colby steadied him with a hand that disappeared as quickly as it appeared.
Don crouched down, a small hand movement alerting the rest of the group to do the same. He slowly scooted forward until he could open the door. A quick survey of the lobby let him now the once bustling area was completely still. Something was off.
“Colby, get Charlie back upstairs. Drag him if you have to. David, you’re with me.” Don didn’t look back, completely aware of the stubborn annoyed look on his brothers face. He slipped out of the stairwell with David following close behind, confident that Colby would follow the order.
@@@@
Charlie debated fighting Colby’s grip as he was led up the stairs, but decided that he was better off just walking on his own power. Colby would follow Don’s order until he was safely ensconced in his little dank office space upstairs.
“Colby, we have to get to Patient Zero! If we don’t then this will never end.” Charlie was begging, he knew it, but this was a desperate moment in need of a desperate plea. “We can use the back exit. Don would never need to know!” Charlie added the puppy dog eyes that had always worked on everyone into the mix. Colby flinched slightly before sighing.
“Charlie, think of it this way. If Don does find out, it’s my ass in a sling, not yours.” Colby shook his head and continued to head up the stairs. “Just wait it out, Don will be back up here in no time and we’ll go find this Patient Zero of yours then.”
“You don’t get it.” Charlie glanced at his watch. “We have a half hour to get there and stop this thing. After that, the city’s gone. There’s no other way to stop the virus.” Charlie pulled his arm from Colby’s grip. “I’ll go by myself if I have to, but I’m not letting what happened to Dad happen to anyone else if I know how to stop it.” Charlie turned and started to sprint down the stairs toward the lobby. He made it to the last flight of stairs before Colby caught up, a smile spreading across his face when the older man just fell in step with him.
“You get to explain this to Don.” Colby muttered before turning down a small hall toward the rear of the building. “Can we get there on foot?”
“Not enough time, is there any gas in any of the cars?” Charlie could feel the seconds slipping past him into oblivion. He knew they’d stopped using the vehicles when the government had announced it was cutting of the city.
“One. A couple might have enough to get us there, but if you’re right we don’t want to chance it.” Colby stepped in front of Charlie, slowly turning around the edge of the door to check the parking garage. “We’re clear, for now. On three, we run to the blue sedan three rows in.” Charlie nodded.
“One…two…three.” Colby took off toward the car, sliding in between it and the truck next to it and aiming his gun at the empty space between them and the exit. Charlie slipped into the driver’s seat, sliding a hand into the visor to check for the keys.
“There aren’t any keys.” Charlie called lightly. He leaned down and started to find the right wires under the dash to hotwire the vehicle when a set of keys landed on his lap. “Nevermind.” He pushed the key into the ignition and started the car. “Get in.” He shouted, already putting the car into reverse. “Twenty-Five minutes.”
@@@@
Don stared at the wall of zombies that had appeared in front of the exit. They all brandished some form of makeshift weapons. “Why couldn’t these have been the brain dead shuffling type of zombies that only wanted to eat our brains?” He asked.
“It wouldn’t be any fun it they were like that.” David replied, moving away from him to try and cover the largest area possible. “How we going to play this, oh fearless leader?” David was already aiming at the closest zombie.
“Ends in. It’s probably the fastest way to…” Don trailed off as he saw a blue sedan speed past. “Son of a… Charlie is so dead.” Don raised his weapon and started the process of ending the tortured lives of the people trapped in this form. Next to him, David followed suit. The horror of blowing innocent people’s heads apart no longer causing them to flinch. If Charlie was right, this might be the last time they had to do this.
@@@@
“Turn here.” Colby was half out of the window, eyes searching for the walking dead in every shadow. They were almost there, only a few more blocks and they could finish the psycho who started this off and get back to their lives before all of this happened. Maybe he’d finally work up the courage to ask Charlie what exactly he and Amita had and if maybe Colby could take him out to dinner sometime. Colby snorted lightly. “Next right.” He called. A zombie poked its head out of a window and Colby shot it. Charlie took the turn fast, almost knocking Colby back into his lap. Only one more block, Charlie pulled in front of the apartment building, checking his watch.
“It’s apartment 651, back of the building. We have five minutes to get there before the virus can’t be contained.” Charlie rattled off, not wanting to let Colby go alone, but not sure if he wanted to be the one to go with him. Colby reached back and gripped Charlie’s shoulder.
“Here’s my back-up. Don’t shoot unless you have no other choice.” Colby pulled out a .22 from an ankle holster, handing it Charlie. “Stay behind me, and keep low.” Colby slipped out of the car, motioning for Charlie to exit from the same door before slowly inching across the sidewalk to the apartment buildings door.
Charlie remembered his brothers advice, stick to Colby like glue. He scooted as close as he could get without actually impeding the other mans’ movement. They only had four minutes, and Colby seemed to be moving so slow that they would never make it there in time. Colby opened the door to the apartment building and held it open long enough for Charlie to run through only to abruptly stop so he didn’t hit Colby. They headed toward the stairs, walking as fast as they could without running.
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David pushed Don back toward the stairs as the zombies continued to pour in through the doors. They made it up three flights of stairs before the creatures figured out where their prey had disappeared. “David, just go. I can hold them off.” Don muttered, the arrow, spear, thing sticking out of his shoulder.
“Yeah right, no need to let the boss get killed. They can barely figure out a door. They won’t find us.” David snarked back. It took him less than a minute to get them back into their offices. The door clicked shut, and locked behind them. “Now, you get to sit still and bit down on something while I fix you up.” Don was mostly out of it, head lolling to the side as David guided him to a chair.
“Where’s Charlie?” Don slurred, head dropping back as he sat.
“Colby took him to find Patient Zero, remember. You said he’s dead when he gets back.” Don nodded dazedly. “Just take deep breaths, they’ll get back here and be all good news and sparkles.”
@@@@
“Three minutes.” Charlie murmured. They were on the second floor, so far no zombies had interrupted their progress, but Charlie was still praying to whatever version of a higher being there was that their luck would hold. They passed the third floor, the scent of death hitting them like a wall. Charlie reached up to cover his nose to find the gun he’d been holding. Taking a deep breath and holding it they managed to get to the fourth floor where something overpowered the stench. It was like roses on top of rotting fish, not pleasant but better than the alternative. A rotting corpse lay on the landing, but the missing head confirmed it as one of the “real” dead. The fifth floor was quiet, the smell still there, only fainter. Charlie took a breath when they got to the landing, his lungs about to burst from the effort to not breathe in any of the horrendous odor. “Two minutes.” He felt his heart start to pound with anticipation and fear, with only one more flight of stairs he could feel the end.
“Stop counting.” Colby growled, his fingers touching the door for the sixth floor. “We’re here, we have time.” He tried to reassure Charlie, pulling the door wide. There wasn’t anything between them and the apartment, except the trip wires every few inches. “We’re going to have to run fast and don’t look back. They’ll know we’re coming.” Charlie nodded, shifting his grip on the gun for the hundredth time. “On one.” Colby paused to take a deep breath. “One.” They both ran down the hall, their feet stomping down on trip wires that created loud explosions behind them. Charlie almost turned to watch but a quick glimpse of Colby’s retreating figure reminded him of the danger. They got to the door of apartment 651, Colby charging with his shoulder to knock it open.
“Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!” A high-pitched nasal voice resounded from the interior of the apartment. “I’m unarmed.” Colby snorted and Charlie looked perplexed.
“Hands up, walk out backwards…slowly.” Colby ordered, putting himself between this “Patient Zero” and Charlie. “Put your hands on the top of your head and spread your legs.” The thin man followed Colby’s instructions, his frame shaking but not showing any signs of trauma. Colby quickly searched him for weapons before retreating to where Charlie stood. “Turn around.” The man turned, his nasal voice fitting perfectly with his receding hairline, yellow teeth, thin beak-like nose, and barely-there lips. “Tell us your name.”
“Do you need my name, or just the knowledge that I’m patient zero.” The man teased. His eyes had narrowed when he spotted Charlie. “Well done Professor Epps, you caught me. Now what? Catching me doesn’t stop the spread of the virus.”
“Yes it does.” Charlie ground out. “Catching you stops you from releasing anymore into the air. Without a ready dispersal system, the virus dies. You didn’t create it to last long. Those people with recover and you will live in nameless oblivion.” He spat. Colby half turned, his arm coming up to comfort the younger man when Patient Zero sprang into action. He rushed across the room toward a computer. Charlie didn’t hesitate, shooting the man in the head. Colby flinched at the look of cold anger across the normally gentle professors’ face.
“Charlie? You okay buddy?” Colby wrapped an arm around Charlie’s shoulders, taking the gun out of his hand. “It’s okay, you did the right thing. He would have killed more people by proxy, that man is responsible for everything bad that’s happened in the last few months.” Colby wasn’t completely aware of what he was saying, only that the words seemed to be bringing Charlie back to reality. Colby smiled slightly, glad the nightmare was almost over. He started to release Charlie’s shoulders, content in the knowledge that Charlie would be fine, when Charlie surged upward and kissed him roughly on the lips.
“Sorry.” Charlie mumbled as he pulled away. “I just, don’t know.” Colby blinked for a second before pulling Charlie in for another kiss.
“Hey, I’m not complaining.” He teased, his mouth only inches from Charlie. “However, we should probably go make sure that your brother isn’t going to kill either of us for this little adventure. Then we’ll talk.” Charlie nodded, leaning up to steal a kiss before spitting on the evil madman’s body.
“I don’t think Don will mind now that we know that everything will go back to normal.” Charlie grinned, leading the way back down the demolished hallway to the stairs, whistling Off to See the Wizard as he went.
