ciara's pov/first person
with terry gone to washington, trying to give her marriage a chance once more, there were the additives of two new officers into the fbi. colby granger and megan reeves. i do enjoy working with them, however, colby has, so far, had some strange techniques in getting the criminals to admit to their own crimes.
like, last week for example. colby and david had gone off to solve a case of a lawyer's wife being shot. colby, however, went with the most unprofessional approach i have ever seen in my life. trying to arrest them right off the bat, then being surprised when they tried to fight back? i don't know how he could be that stupid?
don, however, is telling both david and i that, ''oh, you two were the new guys last year, give him a chance.'' and, as much as i wanted to argue with him, i was hauled away by colby with more intel on the case.
now, i sit in my office with david, jokingly arguing over which method of crime solving is more effective. don barges in, immediately briefing us on our newest case. ''all right, listen up, everybody,'' he started, causing david and i to look away from each other and up to don. ''this is diane rausch, the store owner's wife, and their eight-year-old daughter, julia.'' don explained, pointing at the small picture he was holding.
''now, we're going to play this as a kidnapping, first and foremost. the robbery is secondary. it's just a means to get to the kidnappers. we clear on that?'' don asked, receiving nods from everyone. don walked over to david and i. ''david, ciara, how we doing on the jane doe?'' he asked, hauling over a chair. ''fingerprints weren't in the system. coroner's checking dental records, any kind of medical clue to identify her.'' david explained.
''and the car, we got anything with that? i mean, we find that, we find out who the woman is.'' don said, redirecting his attention to me. ''no. agents canvassed the neighborhood near the store. they didn't find a car to go with her keys.'' i tell don. he groans, dropping his head a little. colby and megan walk over to us, joining in on the conversation. ''we should be looking into other ways that she might have gotten there. bus, car, bicycle...'' don listed, nodding at the two who just walked in.
''she was probably driven by an accomplice. statistically, women rarely commit a crime alone.'' megan reasoned. ''blame the men, huh, megan?'' colby asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice. i suppress from rolling my eyes as colby makes his opinion known. ''the stats blame the men, granger. she's just quoting them.'' i defend my friend. after terry left, that made me the only girl in the main part of the fbi. when megan joined, she and i became really close very fast.
''come on. let's just find this woman. it's our only way we're gonna save this kid and her mother. all right? any questions?'' don asked. upon getting no response, he nodded his head. ''let's do it. after what happened, we have to be worried about their chances. let's just assume they're alive, and then their chances are better, right?''
~~'~~'~~
''don.'' charlie walked over to his brother, holding a folder. ''hey, charlie. what are you doing here?'' don asked, furrowing his eyebrows at his younger brother. david and i trailed a little ways behind the two of them, since don was still talking to them about the case. ''i'm dropping this off for you, man.'' charlie explained, tilting his head a little bit. ''you are? what is it?''
''wow. 'what is it?' I don't know. it's the geographic crime index you pretty much begged me to put together for you. i found some fairly fascinating patterns in here, as well. i mean, you should be thanking me.'' charlie said, holding the folder up away from his brother. ''right. right, well, thank you. I appreciate it.'' don said, reaching for the folder.
''i'm up all night indexing--'' charlie joked, passing the folder to his brother. ''yeah, well, charlie, you know, we just got this kidnapping case. it's a mother and her eight year old daughter, so..'' don trailed off. ''kidnapped by whom?'' charlie asked, deciding to walk along with the three of us, offering a nod of acknowledgment to their presents. i smiled a bit, waving.
''only lead we have is a jane doe.'' i spoke up, sighing. charlie turned his attention to me, slowing his pace so he was side by side with me. ''what do you know about her?'' he asked, curiously. ''well, I mean, she wears sunglasses and drives a saturn, which we can't find.'' i said, rather annoyed at the missing car.
''are these her keys?'' charlie asked, gently taking the car keys out of my hand. ''yeah.'' i nodded. ''we did a search for the car, but it didn't turn up.'' i sigh. charlie runs a hand through his hair before talking. ''keyless entry remote actually poses a fairly interesting mathematical problem.'' he explained. i raise an eyebrow, glancing up at him. ''oh, yeah? and how is that?''
''well, much of the general populace has a remote nowadays, don't they? i mean, i think i read somewhere where 80% of new cars come with a remote.'' charlie explained. ''yeah, well, thanks.'' don said, stopping himself and waiting for charlie and i to catch up to him. ''hold on. every remote has to have a unique, one to one relationship with a single car. otherwise, you walk out into a parking lot, push that button. any number of cars might unlock.''
''so, you're saying each car has its own frequency?'' i asked. charlie shook his head, shifting his weight to the other foot. ''no. that's just it. they're all on the same frequency. every remote has a numerical code that links it to just one car. you see, people don't often think about this stuff, but it's an entirely math-based technology.''
''you know who might be able to help with this?'' i say, realizing the one person that may have the tools for this. ''who?'' charlie and don asked at the same time. ''larry. he was telling me something about some cosmic listening project at kitt peak, which he said involves stacked frequency work.'' i recalled, looking at don. ''well, I got to find this woman's car, so anything you two or larry can do, I mean, I would appreciate it.'' don said before turning and walking off.
''to larry's?'' i asked, pointing over to the way out of the building we were in. charlie nodded.
~''~~''~~''~
''that's a different number.'' larry pointed out, leaning over my shoulder. i nodded, sighing. ''because it is a rolling code. every time I hit the key, it sends out a different signal to the car.'' i explained, looking over my shoulder to larry. don walked in, asking what we had don so far. after charlie caught him up, he came over looking at the screen.
''well.. it's like a pitcher. if he throws the same fastball every single throw, what would happen?'' i asked, knowing don was a baseball player as a kid. ''lots of hits. he'd get pulled.'' don explained as if it was obvious. charlie nodded, ''it's the same with a radio code. if this key sent out the same signal every time, well then, it would be easy for someone else to intercept it. with a rolling code, the pitcher needs to mix it up.''
''okay, he's throwing curveballs, he's throwing sliders. so if the remote's sending a different signal, then how does the car understand it?'' don asked, confused. ''the change is predictable, as long as you know the algorithm that generates it.'' charlie started, standing up from his chair and beginning to pace the floor, something i've learned he does when he is about to go into a whole rant-explanation.
''it could be as simple as adding plus one, like the catcher adding a single finger every time he signals the next pitch. so, then it doesn't matter if the combination's different, as long as the remote and the car know it. however, with this remote, the algorithm's considerably more complicated. we're looking at a sequence, like, 32 hexadecimal digits long. I mean, that- that's long. it's a matter of finding the algorithm that changes the sequence. the more data I collect, the easier it'll be for me to deduce that algorithm. hence, my preference for classic automobiles. standard lock and key technology.'' he finished, taking a second to breathe.
''charlie, as much as i respect you and the work you do, do you ever take a second to consider dumbing this down for others?'' i joke, turning around to look at him. ''i- i mean, if it isn't understandable i'm- i'm able to break it dow--''
''guys! we're working on a kidnapping case right now! any wasted time is time that we could be working on saving the mother and 8 year old.'' don said, walking out, rather annoyed. ''we're doing everything that we can, donny!'' i shouted back, walking over to charlie, looking at his chalkboard.
''how you doin' over here, char? you seem to have a lot written down.'' i say, sitting on the desk across from charlie's chalkboard. he nodded, ''although, um, right now, i'm not really seeing a solution.'' he said, putting the chalk down. i tilt my head. ''can I try and help?'' i requested, looking at charlie and pushing myself off the desk. ''please do. i'm trying to determine a generating algorithm from a series of coded data streams.''
''you're working this as a straight rolling code. yeah... well, for the first half, definitely... i mean, you've proved it. but for the second half... i don't know. Have you tried, uh... what was it called.. 1-D cellular automaton?'' i asked, looking through the notes charlie had written down on paper. ''what, like... wolfram's discrete computability theories?''
''yeah. it's just a thought.'' i said, laughing awkwardly as charlie just stared at me. ''that's a great thought.'' he said, absentmindedly smiling. ''what? what are you smiling about?'' i asked, furrowing my eyebrows and stopping in my tracks. ''would you want to... do something with me after we're done here?'' charlie asked quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.
''charlie, are you actually asking me out on a date?'' i asked, trying to prevent my smile from breaking out on my face, in case that wasn't what was going on here. charlie nodded lightly. ''you and me, talking about anything except work.'' he said, moving off the table and walking closer to me. ''what do you say?'' he asked, smiling softly and standing in front of me.
''yes.''
~~''~~''~~
after charlie and i arrived at the outdoor restaurant, we were quickly seated and given our menus. soft jazz music played in the background and charlie and i conversed. ''so, by the way, I wanted to, uh, thank you so much for earlier, for helping me. honestly, I think I would have stared at those boards all day if you hadn't come up with the cellular automaton angle, so... you rock.'' charlie praised, slightly chuckling.
''it was one of those weird inspiration things, you know? coming at it with fresh eyes. It's funny, 'cause my first thought was the... uh.. i think it was called the universal conductor approach, but then I realized...'' i sighed, hanging my head slightly. charlie leaned forwards, looking at me. ''then you what?''
''we're doing it again, charlie. we're talking about work. we said we weren't gonna talk about work, remember?'' i said, pulling my hands into my lap. charlie's lips parted, sighing before he spoke. ''yeah... I remember...'' after we sat in silence for a second, i shook my head. ''this is ridiculous.''
''it's ridiculous.'' charlie agreed. ''we have to be able to talk about something not work related. we can have a normal conversation, right?'' i asked, laughing slightly. ''we can have a conversation.'' after more silence, i burst out into a quiet laughter. ''what's wrong with us?'' i asked, looking at charlie. he smiled sadly. ''i don't know. pressure...'' he suggested. i nodded. ''pressure, maybe. yeah. maybe it's pressure.''
the waiter came with our food, saving us from the awkward conversation we were having. ''thanks.'' i smiled at him as he placed down my food. ''okay, thanks, thanks a lot... whoa.'' charlie's eyes widened, picking up something off his plate. ''look at this.'' he requested. i lean forward in my seat, breathing out lightly.
''see that? it's romanesque broccoli. I've actually only ever seen pictures of it, and there's... there's a fractal pattern in here that's... amazing.. how cool is it there's a vegetable that grows in the ground that has fractals, and at the same time, we're discovering their importance in astrophysics?'' charlie asked me, smiling as he put the broccoli back on his plate. i nodded, smiling at him. ''it really makes you wonder... yeah.'' charlie cleared his throat, realizing that the work conversation had come back.
''bon appétit.'' he said, picking up his fork.
~~''~~~''~~
*third person pov*
''oh, come on, charlie, it couldn't have been that bad.'' alan tried to comfort his son. his date with ciara had quickly ended after they finished their food. although they did have small talk on the drive home, it was mainly work related. again. ''actually, I truly can't explain how awful it was.'' charlie groaned, putting his forehead in his palms.
''oh, I don't understand it. you and ciara.. you always got along so well.'' alan said, sitting next to his son. charlie shook his head, sighing. ''i'm just as confused as you are.'' charlie admitted, looking at his father through his hands. ''yeah, well, maybe it'll be better next time, hmm?'' alan said, patting his son on the shoulder.
''yeah, I don't think there's going to be a "next time" in my future.'' charlie said defeated. alan quickly sat up, shaking his head. ''no, no, you do not give up. you never give up.'' alan complained as don walked through the door. ''who's giving up what?'' he asked.
''charlie. he blew his first date with ciara.'' alan informed don. charlie sighed. ''you didn't tell me that you and ciara had a date? neither did ciara tell me.. i thought you two came to me with everything! why didn't i know about this?'' don complained. ''i don't know.. ciara told me that she went to david and terry for help!'' charlie admitted. ''what did she go to david for??'' don asked, hanging up his coat. charlie shrugged.
ciara, while complaining to her friends herself, she was still rather glad that her and charlie went out. she had called megan to her apartment, and facetimed terry. ''how did it go?'' terry asked as ciara sat down with a mug of hot chocolate.
''i mean, it was really nice to be out with him.. i've liked him for a while now, you know? we just.. don't really have much to talk about outside of work.. it was really weird, we're usually so talkative when we're with each other, but we were so silent together tonight.. it was really strange.'' ciara ranted.
''i mean, maybe work is your common interest, you know? i mean, charlie is a math professor, and you're an fbi agent who also took an art course in university. you've known each other for almost a year now, if you haven't found anything else to talk about outside of work, maybe work is what brought you two together.'' terry reasoned.
''work is what brought us together, though! we wouldn't be as close as we are, we probably wouldn't even know each other if we didn't work in the same area.. or, me work, charlie consult, but you know what i mean!''
''i mean, maybe.. like terry said, if work brought you two closer, that is clearly what you're bonding over.. so if work talk is what strengthens your bond, you do still learn more about each other during that, too. you get to learn more of how charlie's brain... brains. and then you give him more of your methods and he can better his equations to fit your styles easier and make it easier for you to catch your criminals.'' megan said, wrapping her arm around ciara.
~~''~~''~~
''everything's going to be all right. oh, martin, thank god.''
the gang had finally gotten the mom and her daughter back, arresting the criminal. now, the mother sits in a room with her husband, unaware of the news she was about to receive. ''wh- what... what's going on?'' she asked, looking over at ciara. she looked at the woman, sympathy in her eyes. ''you can tell them or I can.'' she said, glaring at martin. ''tell me what? martin?''
''julia, why don't we go get some food and let mommy and daddy talk..'' ciara offered, leading the little girl out of the room. ciara knew that she didn't need to be there when the news of the husband cheating was delivered.
''the morose and pensive expression of the romantically confounded.'' larry said, walking into the room with charlie. ''you know, it wasn't like I was thrilled when our date bombed out, you know, and I can accept the fact that we're not compatible. you experiment, it doesn't work, you move on.'' charlie said, reasoning. ''yeah, a cornerstone of scientific inquiry.'' larry agreed.
''right, but... thing is is, like... when we're working together, we talk and we laugh. and there's an energy. tension. and I don't understand why that doesn't work outside the office. why don't we have anything else to talk about?'' charlie complained.
''you know, you're making an underlying assumption here that I question.'' larry said, walking to the opposite side of the air hockey table. ''what's that?'' charlie asked, looking for any advice he could get at this point. ''that there's something else you have to talk about. see, where you see two people unable to talk about politics or movies...'' larry listed off.
''hey, movies. I can... I can talk about... i just saw the penguin movie.'' charlie thought out loud. larry shook his head. ''i see two extraordinary minds that can communicate on the purest level a man and woman can interface on. okay, second purest. geek love...'' larry teased, knowing that charlie and ciara shared some small ''geeky'' interests. maybe larry should've told charlie some more of ciara's interests when he came to him...
''hey, no better kind. first one to ten points?'' larry asked. ''larry, man, i... i play this game a lot.'' charlie warned, smiling. ''hey, I'm no stranger to the student union. come on- my physics versus your geometry.''