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“Hey, Eppes.”
At his side, Charlie could see Don freeze for just an instant before he slowly turned around to face the woman that had come up behind them. Charlie turned too, curious as to why it felt like Don was trying to angle behind him.
“Mary, hey, I thought you were still in Albuquerque,” Don smiled disarmingly.
Mary stalked forward, head tilted in an insincere smile, “Oh, don’t worry, I am. Just in LA for a couple of days. Thought I’d drop in on the man who set me on my career path while I had a little down time.”
Charlie blinked hard as Don gripped him by the shoulders and shoved him forward. Was Don actually using him as a human shield here? Yes, yes he was.
“Have you met my brother Charlie? Charlie, this is Mary Shannon; Mary, this is my brother, Professor Charles Eppes. We were just headed over to my dad’s house,” Don’s smile wavered briefly before he turned it on full force. It didn’t seem to be having any effect. Also, Charlie was distinctly sure that they had actually been heading to the FBI building before this.
“Nice to meet you,” Charlie said cautiously, wondering exactly what was playing out here.
“You too, teach,” Mary said absently, her face never leaving Don’s.
“You’re ah, still liking it?” Don asked, sounding a little more like he was trying to talk down a suspect than he was talking to an old friend. Also, Charlie was bemused to realize, Don was still half behind him.
Mary barked a laugh, “Oh it’s a hell of a job. You and I should head to the range some time, swap stories.”
“Any time,” Don said, too fast to be sincere, “Well, we’ve got to get going, see you around?” Charlie found himself being steered down the hallway. He wondered how far he should let Don get before he pointed out they’d forgotten his laptop in the reunion.
“What was that all about?” Charlie glanced back to see a tall thin man walk up to Mary.
“Oh, nothing Marshall, just saying hi,” she turned away from them as Don steered him around a corner.
“Friend of yours?” He grinned at Don.
“It’s a long story,” Don peered over his shoulder. Just in case.
“You know I still need my laptop, right?” Charlie grinned harder.
Don groaned, “We’ll just give it a minute.”