Chapter 6
The reassuring beep of Josh’s heart monitor along with the horrible lack of sleep causes
me to doze off over and over, but never for long because of the horrible dreams that
assault me as soon as I drift off.
Sarah Lyman is even more upset than I am, if that’s possible. I don’t think she’s even sat
down since Leo told us…what he told us. I’m honestly not sure that I didn’t hallucinate the
whole thing…except that there are an inordinate amount of Secret Service agents
surrounding us. You’d think Josh was the President.
I’m in the middle of a disturbing dream where I’m in a train headed for a concentration
camp when the sound of voices arguing wakes me up.
“I mean it, Michael, get out of here right this minute.” Sarah is threatening. What the hell?
“I just wanted to see how he was doing, Mrs. L.”
“He’s barely alive is how he’s doing. Are you happy now?”
“Of course I’m not.” Mike Casper shoots back and I sit up to clear the sleep from my eyes.
“I thought we’d covered all the bases.”
“Well you were obviously wrong, weren’t you? So having already failed at the most
important part of your job, Agent Casper, I’d like you to get the hell out of my son’s critical
care unit before you bring more trouble down on his head.”
“That’s not fair.” Mike says quietly.
“Neither is that!” Sarah whisper shouts and points dramatically at Josh’s bed.
“Hold on.” I step between them. “Wait. Mike, what are you doing here?”
“My best friend was shot and nearly killed what do you think I’m --”
“Because of you!” Sarah broke in.
“Please!” I beg them both. “The last thing he needs right now is to listen to the two of you
fighting. Sarah, why don’t you go get something to eat…or drink..? You must be
exhausted.”
“I’m not leaving my son with HIM in the room.” Sarah says obstinately and turns her back
on all of us as if it’s beneath her to even look at Mike.
“Fine, I’ll go.” Mike agrees and with one last look over at Josh, he turns and leaves the
room.
I only hesitate a moment before I follow him. I’ve tried to talk to Sarah about all this but she
has refused to give me any additional information stating it’s for my own good.
“Mike! Wait!” I call after him and every Secret Service agent in the place whips around to
face me. I hold my hands up instinctively. These guys are really freaking me out. “I…I just
need to talk to Agent Casper.” I explain.
Mike has stopped and turned to face me but he doesn’t look happy about it.
“I just wanted to ask you--”
“Not out here, Donna.” Mike shakes his head and takes me by the hand down the hall to
where another two Secret Service agents are standing guard outside another door. Mike
flashes his badge and they let us through. It looks like a conference room of some kind
and there are several men and one woman all checking their computers and speaking in
some kind of code. This is surreal.
“Sarah is just exhausted and worried sick.” I tell him. “I’m sure once she calms down and
Josh wakes up…” Mike gives me a sardonic grin.
“I don’t think it’s quite that simple, Donna, but thanks.” Mike tells me.
“Can you tell me…” I send a nervous look at the other occupants in the room. “Can you
tell me what’s being done to find the people who did this to Josh?”
“The two that fired the shots are dead; Secret Service had them down in seconds. The
guy on the ground, who gave the shooters the signal, is in custody.”
“Oh, that’s incredible!” I let out a sigh. “See? Once I tell Sarah they’re all either dead or in
custody--” I break off as someone laughs behind me and I turn to see who it is.
The guy in question sends me an apologetic shrug.
“Donna…this wasn’t a three person operation.” Mike tells me. “It’s not limited to the West
Virginia White Pride. There is- It’s much bigger than that and much more menacing.” He
explains and pulls me further into a corner for a little more privacy. “The people Josh has
spent years searching for and prosecuting are very rich and powerful people who do not
have any scruples about taking out anyone who is a threat to them and anyone they
might be close to.”
I know I’m very tired, and this gamut of unbelievable information has been thrown at me
over the last 12 hours, but I feel like he’s trying to tell me something and I’m missing it. I
can’t possibly process any more information or be expected to read between the lines
anymore so I just ask him straight out. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“You can’t leave here without a security escort. You can’t leave this FLOOR without a
security escort. You’re too close to Josh and Josh is under fire, literally.”
“But…I need to go to Josh’s place and get some things for him and get some things from
my place too.” I protest.
“Yeah…no, that won’t be happening. Make a list of whatever you think the two of you will
be needing for the next few days and we’ll send someone to get it for you.”
“I understand, sort of, what you’re saying about Josh, and he needs to be protected, but I’
m nothing, nobody. And I don’t want some strangers going through my place, Mike.”
“Donna…” He throws a look over my shoulder at the other agents. “What I’m telling you is
that strangers have already been through your place.’
”Your agents have--”
“No…not our agents…” Mike interrupts me and finally the shoe drops.
“Those…those people have been in my apartment?” I ask incredulously and feel my
knees buckle.
“Our people found listening devices planted there and it’s safe to assume they searched
your place for anything to do with Josh. At the very least, we can assume they’re keeping
a close eye on you. It’s not safe for you to go back there.”
I sit down heavily in the closest chair as all the implications sink in. “Where do I go then?
What do I do?”
“For now you stay put. This is really the safest place to be at the moment.” Mike tells me
as he sits next to me and puts his hand on my shoulder. “We’ve cleared the rooms next to
Josh for you and Mrs. Lyman so have you have some space to sleep and have some
privacy.”
“Sarah! Somebody needs to talk to her about--”
“She understands, Donna, she’s been through this before.” Mike notes.
“What? When?” I ask.
“You should ask her…or Josh…when he wakes up.” Mike looks away. He doesn’t say out
loud what we both fear the most. What if Josh takes a turn for the worst and doesn’t wake
up? The cardiologist said these things can turn on a dime; his heart was severely
damaged. We won’t even go into the post-surgical complications, they made my head spin
and my stomach churn.
Josh is in critical condition and some very dangerous people want to kill him. I can’t go
home and I don’t what to do. The tears come fast and furious. Mike awkwardly puts an
arm around my shoulder and rubs my arm.
“Go back and sit with Josh. If anyone can coax him to open his eyes, it’s you.” He advises
me. “Tell him I’ll be in to see him when I can.”
I wipe my face with my sleeve and stand up to leave. The other agents are looking at me
with this kind of pity on their faces and that makes me angry.
“I’ll leave you to your important work now.” I snark on the way out. “Maybe you can do
better protecting Josh this time.”
<><><><><><><><><><><><>
This feels worse than the last time…way worse than the last time. I recognize the drug
induced haze and moan. The last thing I remember, I was leaving a message for
Donna…then Toby came…there was an ambulance…DONNA! I try to sit up in my panic
and instantly regret it.
“Josh? It’s okay. You’re safe at GW Hospital.” I hear Donna tell me gently. “Can you open
your eyes for me?”
Of course I can. I blink furiously against the bright light.
“The light’s too bright for him. Will you draw the shades, Sarah?”
My mom is here? Of course she is. She is going to be SO pissed at me. Good thing
Donna is here to protect me. The light dims behind my eyelids and I gingerly open them
again.
“Why are you crying?” I ask Donna in my whisper thin, raspy voice.
“Oh, no reason, just hormonal I guess.” She half laughs. She is SO beautiful.
“Joshua Lyman.” That’s really all my mother has to say.
“Later, Mom.” I flick my eyes between her and Donna hoping that she’ll catch my drift.
“Too late. Leo told Donna all about it.” Yeah, she’s punishing me already here. I throw a
panicked look at Donna.
“You have to leave here. Right now.” I squeeze Donna’s hand as tight as I can to try to
convey how important this is.
“And miss this sleepover party? Your mom and I are going to do each other’s nails and
talk about all the cute guys posted outside your door, down the hall, and throughout the
hospital.” Donna tells me.
“You can use my account and get a ticket to…Hawaii or something.” I croak.
“I’m not leaving you.” She starts crying again. “I almost lost you once already. I’m not
taking that chance again.”
Mom is sniffing on the other side of me and I can’t look at her; I know the disappointment I’
ll see there and I can’t face it right now. The pain is getting worse, and I didn’t think that
was possible. Some of it must show on my face because Donna picks something up and
places it gently in my hands.
“Morphine. Press the button when you need--”
I start pressing the button before she finishes the sentence. The relief is immediate; like a
warm wave of water spreading through my body and numbing it as it rolls through. I close
my eyes and try to gather my scattered thoughts.
“Mike was here checking on you.” Donna says softly and I hear Mom hurumph. Yeah, I’m
thinking Mike is persona non grata around here with my mother even though she knows
Mike didn’t lead me into this. This was my decision. Still, I’m guessing it’s easier to be
pissed at the guy standing there in one piece than the guy lying in the hospital bed.
“I want…to see him.” I request and see Donna check with my mother who shakes her
head ‘no’. “Mom…”
“You need to recover first.” She insists.
“How bad?” Mom rattles off the list of injuries and possible complications. Good thing I’m
pumped full of morphine or I’d be scared shitless. This does sound bad. Maybe going
after this one last guy wasn’t as brilliant as I originally thought, but here’s the thing: If I’d
known that I might be able to help put this guy away for good and didn’t do it? I wouldn’t
be able to sleep nights.
“Get…Mike.” I instruct Donna and she nods solemnly before leaving me with my mother.
“Josh, how could you?” Mom cries quietly. I muster the courage to meet her eyes.
“It’s Reiger, Mom… How could I not?” I wince at the pain just a few short sentences cause
me.
Mom runs her hand down my cheek and then kisses my forehead. “When you get back on
your feet? I’m going to kick your ass down to Florida.”
“Florida?” I repeat.
“We’re going to move down there, you and I. We’re going to live someplace warm where
nobody knows us and we can forget all the horrible…You can bring Donna if you like. She
loves you so much.” Mom says this slowly to me like I’m cognitively impaired.
“Mom…she’s my…assistant.” I protest weakly. Here’s the downside of Morphine; it makes
you very tired.
“Tell me another one.” Mom drawls. “I was your father’s assistant once, you know.”
“I…know…” I close my eyes for just a minute. Then I hear Mike’s voice.
“Hey…” I open my eyes and see Mike and Donna standing next to me on one side of my
bed. Mom is gone and again Donna reads my mind.
“I talked her into going next door for some sleep.” She assures me with a small smile. “I
think I’ll go lie down too as long as Mike is here with you.”
This is Donna’s way of giving us privacy. She’s so amazing.
“Donna?” I call and she stops her departure to instantly move to my side.
“What do you need?”
“After you sleep…we’ll talk?” I manage and she nods solemnly.
“I’d like that very much.” She admits and after the briefest hesitation, kisses me softly on
the mouth. “Not too long, Mike, he needs his rest.”
“I promise, Donna.” Mike tells her and we both watch as she walks out of the room. “You
lucky bastard.”
“It doesn’t…feel like it…right now.” I reply.
“It feels like it to all of us.” Mike tells me. “If that bullet had been an inch in the other
direction, a single inch--”
“Please.” I try to hold up a hand to ward off this conversational direction. “The
documents?”
“Copied and in three separate locations; one of which is the Director’s safe.” He explains.
“It looks like you were right about a South American connection.”
I twirl my finger in the air in ‘celebration’.
“I knew you’d be pleased. A couple more days and we’ll have enough to file for extradition
and once we have his assistant in custody…” Mike shrugs.
“The key…is the map.” I remind him.
“After all these years, you don’t think I know how to follow the money?”
“Not without…me there…to point the way.”
“Well…let’s see if I can muddle through this one without you for awhile. Just until you’re
back on your feet.” Mike suggests.
“I want in...on the interview…once we have him.”
“I guess that’s going to depend on how fast you recover here.” Mike shrugs again.
“Between the interview and the very lovely Donnatella Moss, I’d say you have ample
incentive to get better fast.” He teases.
“How do you know…Donnatella?” I ask in confusion. I don’t remember ever using Donna’s
full name in front of Mike. That’s something I usually just keep between me and Donna.
“You were waxing on about it once when you were drunk.” Mike tells me but I don’t believe
him; I don’t get drunk. I fake it, sure, but I don’t get drunk. The disbelieving look I give him
relays my doubts without my having to say a word. “All right, I went over her file.”
“Mike!” I protest as loud as I can manage.
“Hey! You’re my best friend and it’s my job so just…shut up.” Mike states forcefully. “Look
what happens when I screw up.”
“This wasn’t…your screw-up.” I tell him simply.
“It sure doesn’t feel that way.” Mike mutters. “Get some sleep. If you need me, let Donna
know.” And my guilt ridden friend leaves me alone in my hospital room. I really don’t like
this feeling of being alone right now. I’m about to buzz for the nurse just to see another
face when Donna peeks in the doorway.
“I can’t sleep.” She pouts. “Can I come stay with you?”
I nod gratefully and within seconds, she’s perched in the chair next to my bed her head
resting on my good arm. Yeah, this is much better…
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
7.
I wake up to Josh’s finger lightly stroking my cheek. I lift my head and stretch out my achy
back. He smiles at me as I yawn and stretch in what I can only assume looks to be very
unladylike. Not like Josh cares.
“Hey.” He smiles.
“What’s the matter?” I ask.
“Nothing. I was awake.” He shrugs. He has his color back and he finally seems pretty
coherent. Took him long enough. I’ve been waiting a week and a half to have our talk.
“Oh, so since you were awake and bored, you figured I should suffer with you?” I arch a
brow at him.
“Isn’t that the way it normally works?” he shoots back and I pounce on my opening.
“I don’t think I really know what normal is.” I say.
The spark leaves his eyes and he cocks his head to the side on the pillow. “You hate me,
don’t you?” he whispers.
“Hate you?” I reply. “Joshua, do I even know you?”
“Yes!”
“I don’t know what’s true about you.”
He presses his palms to his eyes and groans. “Like all of it.”
“Like?”
“Well, some stuff is a cover.”
“Like what?”
“Donna, I don’t…”
“Why don’t I ask some questions and you answer them and we’ll muddle through the
rest?” I suggest.
“Donna, there’s stuff I really can’t tell you.”
“That’s crap, Josh.”
“You could be in danger right now.”
“I am in danger right now; Mike’s tech guys say that my apartment’s been bugged. Half
those eight guys outside this door are for me!”
He drops his head back onto the pillow and closes his eyes. “God dammit.” He whispers.
“So, I think I get to know some stuff.” I say with finality and he nods.
“How long have you been involved in this Nazi hunting?”
“Since college.”
“Your mom says Mike got you all wrapped up in it.”
“My father did and she knows that. My mom likes to believe that it’s Mike who keeps
dragging me back into it, but I’m the one that brought it all to him when he started with the
Bureau.”
“Leo and your mom thought you gave it up.”
“I did. But when Mike told me they had a real lead on Reiger, I HAD to take it, Donna. I had
to.”
“Josh, I just…” I start and shake my head. The tears I was praying wouldn’t come finally
show up and he takes my hand.
“Donnatella, all of our moments have been ours. I went to Harvard and Yale. I am a Mets
fan. I do hate everything the Republican party stands for. I am a politician. It’s just this one
other thing that I did…do.”
“Josh! Leo says you’ve caught over 200 of these guys!” I yelp. “How?”
“Well, when it first started, it was just learning to follow the paper trail, but once I got Mike
involved and started working more closely with Justice, I got training and…”
“What kind of training?”
“Training through the FBI and CIA.”
“To do what?”
“Whatever I need to.” He shrugs. “I can shoot. I’m trained in cryptanalysis. I can hack into
secured computers.”
“You can’t work your email!”
“No, I can.” He says sheepishly. “I can actually hold my alcohol extremely well, too.”
“Oh God.” I cover my mouth with my hand and shake my head crying. He sits up a bit and
grabs my other hand.
“Donna, you know everything that’s important.” He says earnestly.
“Yeah? Like this isn’t the first time you’ve been shot?”
“Everything that’s important to ME.” He insists.
“How is the fact that you’ve been shot not important?” I shoot back.
He sighs, finally seeming defeated. “Donna, there’s a lot to tell you, but I can’t do it all in
one conversation. I never wanted any of this to touch you. That’s why I stopped. I stopped
when I met you. They’ve tried to kill me several times and when that wasn’t good enough,
they tried and sometimes succeeded in killing people close to me. I could never forgive
myself if they did anything to you. I’m beating myself up now over you crying about this!
Donna, you mean so much to me, and I thought I could just walk away from it, but I was
stupid. I can’t. I can’t until Reiger is dead or rotting in prison. He’s the reason I started this
and Donna, even if I DID walk away, he’d come for me. At this point, he knows I have
certain things in my possession. Things that he wants, and will stop at nothing to get. I
couldn’t walk away now if I wanted to.”
“Who IS Aribert Reiger?”
“A doctor with the S.S. at Birkenau.”
“Where your grandfather was.” I whisper and he nods.
“Reiger was tried in absentia and my grandfather testified against him.” Josh says. “In
addition to the many, many, many atrocities he committed at Birkenau in the name of
‘medical research,’ he stole millions upon millions of dollars worth of jewels, relics, gold,
art, religious artifacts from the Jewish people. Mike and I think that either Reiger, or his
treasure, is in South America.”
“How?”
“I cracked a cipher that we got our hands on.”
“HOW?”
“`Cuz I can.” He shrugs.
“You can crack a cipher?” I’m stunned. The guy can’t tell you what day of the week it is on
any given day, but he can crack a cipher?
“I can decode many ciphers.” He says.
Interesting.
“Can you teach me?”
“I can…” he starts, but then catches what I said. “Sure.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” He smiles.
“Is it hard?”
“Yes.” He nods.
“Too hard for me?”
“If it’s not too hard for me, it sure as hell isn’t too hard for you.” He smiles. “You’re way
smarter than me anyway.”
“I can’t crack ciphers.”
“You’ll be able to when I’m done with you.”
I blush and look down. That actually sounded kinda dirty. Josh and I have always walked
that fine line, but ever since Rosslyn, I seem to have fallen right into the role of…I don’t
know, not girlfriend, significant other? Partner? I’m not really sure. It seems unspoken, but
very much there.
He sighs and releases one of my hands in favor of lifting it to my cheek. “I’m so sorry,
Donna.” He says softly. I cover his hand with mine and smile. “I never wanted you to get
dragged into this.”
“It was inevitable, Joshua, I belong by your side.” I reply and he smiles. “It’s really your
dumb ass fault for not seeing that sooner.”
He smiles and slides his hand from my face to the back of my neck and gently pulls me
towards him. He’s regaining his strength, but he’s not remotely where he should be. I know
what he wants by the look in his eye though. I feel a tingling in my stomach as my lips
connect with his. Nothing big, the man had a collapsed lung not too long ago, but it’s soft
and sweet.
When he pulls away, he looks incredibly serious. “You promise me you’ll do absolutely
everything those four agents tell you to.”
“What’s wrong?” I ask confused by the sudden change in his demeanor.
“Promise me, Donna.” He says again. “You have no idea how ruthless, creative, cunning,
and downright barbaric these people are. They will stop at nothing. Promise me.”
“Of course.” I nod.
He tugs me down until my head is on his shoulder. His other arm comes across my
shoulders and he rests his cheek on my head. “Thank you.”
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Donna has absolutely no concept of the danger she’s in. When I think about it, I want to
take her and escape to Alaska or Saskatchewan, but they’ll find us there. That’s my
problem. She can’t not be by me now. If she’s not with me, she’s not safe. On the other
hand, she’s also in danger because of me. I’m only making it worse by giving in to my
feelings for her, but I stayed away so she wouldn’t get wrapped up in all this and she did
anyway.
“I need your help with something.” I say when she sits up and I push some hair behind her
ear.
“What?”
“I need the Art and Artistry of Alpine Skiing.”
“What?”
“The Art and Artistry of Alpine Skiing.” I say again. “The book I gave you for Christmas, I
need it.”
“I know what you’re talking about. I just can’t believe you remember the title.” She says
surprised.
“I do.” I say simply. OF COURSE I remember the title. That book has only been in my
family for about 45 years now. But she doesn’t know that and I’m afraid to tell her now.
“Do you know where it is?”
“It’s on my desk at work.”
I blink at her in surprise. “It’s at the White House?”
“Yeah.”
“I thought you brought it home.”
“No. I leave it on my desk so when you’re being insufferable, I can open it up and
remember why it is I still work for you.” She says matter-of-factly.
What on Earth did I do to deserve this woman?
“Okay…well…I need it.”
“Why?”
“It’s got something in there I need.” I reply.
“What?”
“I’ll show you when you get it. It’s a little hard to explain.” I say.
“Josh, I have four armed guards. I don’t think they’re going to let me go wandering
around.”
“You’re not wandering around. You’re going to the White House.”
“What are people at the White House going to say when I show up with four armed
guards? Josh, has it escaped your notice that other than your mother, Leo, me and Mike,
NO ONE has come to see you or called? It’s not because they don’t want to; it’s because
they can’t get through.” I point out.
“Shit.” I say. “You’re right. I’ll figure something else out.”
Dammit.
Of all the crappy ass times for me to be laid up.
I need that book.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Chapter 8
“Leo’s here.” I tell him when I gently shake his shoulder. He fell asleep almost immediately
after he got done with therapy. His strength is improving but he still gets wiped out pretty
easily.
He rouses slowly and I see him blink his eyes into focus. “Leo?”
“He says he needs to talk to us.” I rub his arm as he carefully sits up. “I asked him for a
minute, he’s waiting in the hall. I’ll let him in?”
He nods and reaches for the bottle of water that I keep by the bed for him. I open the door
for Leo and he gives me a brief hug.
“How ya doing kid?” he asks.
“Fine.” I keep it brief. How do you encapsulate all that’s going on around us right now?
Mike is over a couple times a day with updates. Our ‘security’ pre-plans every move we
make and although they’re keeping it a little more low key now and while other people
might not realize that the orderlies in the hallway are agents, I know it and it makes me
nervous. Josh is getting better but I can tell he’s frustrated with the slow progress of his
recovery. The only real silver lining has been the alone time we’ve been able to share.
Sarah made good on her threat to go to Florida, but she too, only went with security
watching her back.
“Sorry to wake you, Josh, but I just have a little time before I need to be back in the West
Wing and I need to talk to you both first.” Leo sit next to the hospital bed, I join Josh on
the bed so we’re both facing Leo.
“You don’t have your happy face on, Leo.” Josh notes.
“We’ve been revisiting the rehab facility issues.” Leo begins. “We’ve decided to move you
to a facility in Virginia instead. Your security detail feels more comfortable with the set up
there since it’s part of the Farm.” The Farm? Security is better on a farm than in a D.C.
hospital?
“Isn’t that going to be problematic in terms of keeping up on my workload in Operations?”
Josh asks.
“Yeah, that’s the other issue. You’re going to take a leave of absence. Both of you are.”
Leo announces.
“We are?” I ask. What now?
“You’re going back to Wisconsin to spend time with family after this difficult time and Josh
is going to head to Florida to join his mother and think about whether he wants to return
to the White House.” Leo continues.
“Wait a second, I am NOT going to Wisconsin, Leo, I --” Josh puts a hand on my leg to
silence me.
“What’s the team thinking, Leo?” Josh asks.
“We’re thinking that for now, your German friends think that their cover story is holding;
that we believe this was simply white supremacists taking shots at the black boyfriend of
the white First Daughter. As long as they believe that we believe that, you’re in less
danger from them. We’d like to keep it that way.” My head is spinning. Who’s on first?
“If we move you out of here with the security we think you’re going to need to keep you
safe, it’s going to raise red flags all over the place. The press is going to want to know
why so many resources are protecting you when you were only collateral damage in the
shooting. Your colleagues are going to want to know why access to you is so limited and
why Donna is still with you. They’ll want to know why she isn’t back at her place once you
leave the hospital.” Leo explains. “We can’t afford those kinds of questions and frankly,
neither can either of you.”
“Hence the farm.” Josh adds.
“I’m not going to Wisconsin, but I’m going to a farm in Virginia?” I ask trying desperately to
catch up.
“The Farm is a nickname for a CIA training facility in Virginia.” Josh tells me. “It’s like its
own little city; completely self contained. It has living quarters, stores, and most
importantly…medical facilities.”
“So you could get the therapy and treatment you need there without anyone knowing you’
re there and still have heavy security?” Josh nods at my summary. Hmmmm. Keeping Josh
safe has topped my priority list of late.
“Sending you both on leaves of absence makes for a perfect explanation for your
disappearance from Washington. Who wouldn’t understand that both of you need some
time away after all you’ve been through?” Leo suggests. Okay, I get the logic of this but…
“What does that mean in the long term? At what point do we come back from our leave of
absence?” I ask.
Josh and Leo share a look before Josh answers. “Whether or not we go back to the White
House is going to depend a lot on how things play out with Reiger.” Leo nods. Oh.
“Is Donna’s cover story going to put anyone in Wisconsin in harm’s way?” Josh asks. I
hadn’t even thought of that!
“We don’t think so, but just to be safe, she can take a trip away with some friends after
her double arrives in Madison.” Leo shares.
“My double?”
“They’re watching you, Donna. Someone looking very much like you is going to have to fly
to Wisconsin to throw them off. Our strong belief is that once you’re there, they’re going to
lose interest in you pretty fast. Your only value to them right now lies in your proximity to
Josh.”
“Slow down, Leo, you’re freaking her out.” Josh mutters.
“I think that horse has left the barn, Josh.” I mention and roll my eyes.
“I’m going to keep you safe, I promise.” The look he gives me is so intense. I feel
protected just sitting next to him. I give him a smile to relay confidence that I am not close
to feeling.
“Being from Wisconsin, I’ll totally fit in on a farm.” I tease.
“Condo.” Is Josh’s one word reply. We visited my family when the campaign went through
Wisconsin. He was a little surprised to find that my tales of growing up on a farm might
have been…overstating things a bit. When we got to my parents’ condo, even though
they explained I grew up in a more rural area, all his farm girl fantasies hit the skids. Poor
Josh.
“Right.” Leo responds even though it’s very clear that he doesn’t understand what the last
exchange was about. “Then it’s settled. Tomorrow, when you’re discharged from here, you’
ll head to the farm.”
“Yeah, that seems to be our best option.” Josh agreed and then belatedly remembered to
ask me. “You’re okay with this plan? If you’re not, this would be the time to split up.”
“I’m sticking with you.” I agree and he smirks. He’ll be giving me shit about this later, I can
tell.
Leo gets up to leave. “One more thing…Charlie’s outside.” Josh groans. He’s done
everything include fake sleeping to avoid talking to Charlie. Josh understands that they
have to stick with the story that Charlie was the target of the attacks, but he knows very
well what this storyline is doing to Charlie in terms of guilt. He doesn’t want to face that
head on, and I understand that. But by avoiding Charlie, I believe it’s only increased the
guilt Charlie must be feeling because now Charlie thinks Josh doesn’t even want to look at
him. We’ve ‘discussed’ this issue a lot in the last few days. It’s time to face the music.
From the expression on Josh’s face he knows it too.
“The kid needs some closure Josh. He looks up to you, for some unfathomable reason. I’
m sending him in now, okay?” Leo asks, but it’s really a statement.
“Yeah.” Josh nods and I take his hand in mine. We’ll deal with this together. Leo gives
Josh an awkward and careful hug and kisses my cheek before he leaves to send Charlie
in.
“Hey, Charlie.” Josh beams a smile at him. I think he figures that relieving some of Charlie’
s guilt is the least he can do.
“Look at you, up and around.” Charlie smiles back a bit and seems relieved that Josh
looks better than he’d expected. “You look good.”
“I’m feeling better every day.” Josh says honestly. “Donna keeps cracking the whip on the
physical therapy.”
“She’s the only one who can keep you in line, I’m thinking,” Charlie answers, as I give him
a smile.
“It’s been tough. You know how stubborn he is.” I point out. “We’ve really tried to keep the
visitors down so he can rest between sessions.” I explain.
“I understand.” Charlie says, but I’m not sure that he does. “I brought over some of your
fan mail.” He holds up a bag that looks to be laden with letters and more than a few
stuffed animals.
“Thanks. I’ll have plenty of time to sort through it while I’m on leave.” Josh throws out. He’s
already laying the ground work. He’s good at this.
“You’re taking a leave of absence?” Charlie repeats.
“I’m going to need some more time before I’m physically ready for work and I promised
mom I’d spend some time with her.” Josh explains.
“Sure, that makes sense.” Charlie hesitates. “Listen, man, I just wanted to say…you
know…I’m really sorry about what happened to you. Who knew standing near me would
be more dangerous than standing by the President?” He tries to pass it off as a joke, but I
can hear the pain in his voice.
“Don’t you EVER apologize for those racist bigots again. Do you hear me, Charlie?”
Charlie’s head snaps up to meet Josh’s eyes when he hears the steel in Josh’s tone.
“What happened there had NOTHING to do with you and EVERYTHING to do with ignorant
assholes who think they can eliminate their problems by shooting people.” Wow. “If I ever
hear you saying something like that again, I’m going to be pissed and you know what
happens to people I get pissed at.”
Charlie blinks and he clearly doesn’t know how to respond.
“Nobody blames you, Charlie. Nobody.” I add. I can see the tears gather in Charlie’s eyes
and I know from growing up with three brothers that guys don’t like to cry in front of other
guys; especially not their professional mentors and personal friends.
“I do.” Charlie admits. “I blame me.”
“Then you’re not nearly as smart as I took you for.” Josh continues with the tough love.
Why can’t he just give the poor guy a hug? “And you’re playing into their narrative; that
the black guy’s to blame for them doing something evil and stupid. You gonna let them
play that card?”
“No.” Charlie replies instantly and loudly.
“Then we’re done talking about this, okay? I’m going to be fine and before long, I’ll be
back on the basketball court kicking your ass again.” Josh states and Charlie laughs.
“Man, you have never kicked my ass on the basketball court.” He objects.
“Maybe not, but after all this physical therapy, I’m going to be in primo shape.”
“Maybe, but you’re still going to be very old. Therapy can’t do anything about that.”
Charlie scoffs. Okay, they’re into a pissing match about basketball; crisis averted.
By the time Charlie leaves, everyone is in better spirits.
“You did good with him.” I tell Josh while I give him a hug as a reward.
“Be honest. You wanted me to hug him and have an Oprah moment or something.” He
laughs in my ear.
“Maybe for a minute there, but you pulled it off with room to spare.” I acknowledge and his
hands on my back move a little differently…slower and more purposeful.
“You know PT alone isn’t going to get me ready to kick ass in basketball.” He notes.
Where the hell is he going with this? “Cardiovascular exercise is a vital part of training.”
“You are NOT using a line about cardiovascular exercise to proposition me for sex, are
you?” I give him a disapproving look, but his damn dimples have popped out, and I’m lost
and he knows it.
“Not sex. Making love.” He corrects me and kisses me so thoroughly that it’s the guy who’s
recovering from major surgery who’s holding me up. Damn.
“Unfortunately for you, your doctors haven’t cleared you for either sex or making love.” I
point out, but actually, I’m thinking its unfortunate for me. He’s good at this too. We’ve
been dancing on this line all week. Okay, we’ve been dancing on it a lot longer than a
week, but we’ve been dancing on it PHSYICALLY for a week. The kisses and the touches
have become bolder and bolder with each passing day and we’ve both been secure in the
knowledge that it can’t go further than that right now, so we’ve just been exploring this,
playfully.
I’m a big proponent of exploration.
“You’re a killjoy, Donna.” He moans.
“Not me, the doctors.” I correct him. “If you think I like the cold showers…”
He pulls back from me a second and looks into my eyes. “Soon.” He promises and it
makes me shiver.
“Soon.” I agree.
<><><><><><><><>
“Why can’t you just substitute one letter for another letter in the code?” Donna asks me. I’
m attempting to relieve the boredom we’re both feeling in the rehab facility by teaching
her how to crack codes.
“Because they’re too easy to crack.” I explain. “We know that the most frequently
occurring letters in the English language are E, then T, then A and O. Then anyone who
wants to break the code finds the most frequent letter and assumes it’s E, the second
most frequent letter and assumes it’s T. Then you start playing around with the rest of the
alphabet until you hit something that makes words when you finish the substitutions.”
“So it’s simply a matter of running the letters until you find the ones that work.”
“Right, and with 26 letters, the combinations are hardly infinite. Using the Caesar
substitute method takes it up a notch.”
“And that’s what this is?”
“Yep.” I agree. “See how long it takes you.”
She’s faster than I anticipated and within the hour she shouts, “The Mets win the world
series? This is what I’ve been slaving over for the past hour?”
“It’s just for practice. Were you expecting some classified material?”
“A girl can hope.” Donna pouts. “Give me another one.”
“Let’s take it up another notch. This is called the bifid cipher. We make five rows and five
columns with the letters and then we have a two number combination that represents
each letter.” I demonstrate while Donna soaks it all up like a sponge. We try a couple
examples together before I come up with another message for Donna to decode. This
time it’s less than 45 minutes before she had it decoded. Granted it wasn’t agent level
decoding, but I’m proud of how quickly she’s picking it up.
“You look beautiful in green?” She asks holding up the paper to verify the message.
“You do.” I maintain and run my eyes down her body again. The green blouse she’s
wearing shows off every curve and makes her blue eyes even brighter; I didn’t know that
was possible. I’m not the only one who thinks so either. The number of male CIA
operatives who’ve ‘dropped by’ to check on my recovery since we arrived at the Farm is
disgusting.
“You haven’t seen another female besides me since we got here.” Donna protests. “You
have no basis for comparison.”
“I see women on TV.” Josh countered. “I like looking at you better. I love watching you
while you’re trying to puzzle these codes out. I can see the wheels spin in your head.”
“And that’s good?” She asks.
“It makes me hot.” I admit and she smirks. She sets down her pencil and papers and
saunters over to me.
“Your reading glasses make me hot.” She tells me and flips them down from their perch
on my head so they’re in front of my eyes. “You look all smart and professorial.”
“We’re going to have to talk about this thing you have for professors.” I tell her.
“Do we have to…talk?” She asks just before her lips touch mine.
“Talking can be overrated.” I acknowledge and slip my tongue into her mouth rendering
speech impossible. I slip my hands under her blouse just as there’s a quick knock at our
door. Sometimes, the choice to come here and live in a compound with a bunch of
testosterone saturated guys seems like a big mistake.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
9.
Josh rolls his eyes as the door closes behind this round of agents. He’s unamused at how
many CIA agents have drifted in to “see to our welfare.” Josh thinks they’re coming to talk
to me. While they all HAVE taken an interest in me, I think they’re trying to figure out what
the hell exactly the President’s Deputy Chief of Staff is doing at Camp Peary.
I haven’t seen too much of Josh and Leo’s “Farm.” I’m not allowed. It seems that it’s a CIA
training base and Josh spent a lot of time here training. They all seem to know him and he
pretty much gets to come and go as he pleases. I have to have an escort and I’m only
allowed to go to specific places.
From what I’ve gathered though, it’s a really, really big place. There’s, like, an entire town
here and a runway for planes and fields and all kinds of stuff. What I’ve seen, which again
hasn’t been much, has been pretty wild. Josh says that a lot of international prisoners are
funneled through here and aren’t considered to have stepped on American soil. I’m not
sure how that works because we’re in Virginia, but that’s what I’m told.
“Josh?” I ask.
“Hmmm? Yeah?” he replies looking up from this “map” of his and Mike’s. It’s actually got a
lot of writing in German on it and a bunch of ciphers that Josh and Mike think are
addresses and other information that will explain either Reiger’s whereabouts or what I’ve
taken to calling his “plunder.”
“Why are they calling you Brick?”
“It’s my codename.”
“Your codename is Harvard.”
“That’s my secret service codename. The CIA and the FBI call me something else.” He
says.
“Why Brick?”
“Hmmm?” he was looking right at me that time.
“Why do they call you Brick? How’d you get that particular name?”
“Well…” he starts like he’s trying to figure out what to say. “Back when I did all this
training, this was like 15 years ago, and I was built like a brick wall.”
“Really?” I ask sizing him up. It’s not that he was out of shape or anything, I mean his arms
are cut, I’m just trying to imagine him better toned than he is now.
“Why would I make that up?” he asks quickly.
“Um…I didn’t think you made it up.” I say.
“Oh, sorry.” He says and returns to his map. “Okay. Look. I can’t do this without the book.”
“What?”
“The Art and Artistry of Alpine Skiing. I need it.” He says again.
“How am I going to get it? I’m supposed to be on a leave of absence. Can someone bring
it over?”
“I’m supposed to be in Florida.” He says as Mike comes in.
“What’s going on?”
“I need the Art and Artistry of Alpine Skiing.” Josh says to Mike and he pauses.
“Is it at Donna’s?” Mike asks Josh. How does Mike know about that book?
“No. Donna’s got it on her desk at work.” Josh supplies and Mike’s eyes go real wide.
“Well, I guess that was certainly a safe place for it.”
“I also want my watch.”
“Okay, well, I have that in my purse, but why you want it back, I have no clue. Your watch
sucks Josh.” I say.
“Yeah.” Josh says and holds his hand out. “Can I have it?”
Odd. I pick up my purse, dig through and hand him his crappy watch when I retrieve it. He
just puts it on his wrist.
“How are we going to get to the book?” Josh asks Mike.
“Well, I could talk to the Director and see if he’ll let Donna go get it.” Mike suggests. “We
could say that she’s just picking up some personal stuff to keep at home while she’s out.
That’s normal.”
“Can you call him?” Josh asks.
“Yeah.” Mike nods and leaves the room.
Josh pushes the map aside and comes over to where I’m sitting on the couch. We’ve got
something of a suite. It’s got two bedrooms in it, but we’re…um…pretty much using one.
Of course, Josh still hasn’t been cleared for…making love… but we’re having a lot of fun
doing other stuff!
“You’re still trying to figure out that cipher?” He smiles, pulling the notebook I had in my
hand away and dropping it on the floor as he moves above me.
“Well, I WAS.” I reply, shimmying underneath him.
“I want to do this now.” He whispers kissing my neck.
“What about Mike? He’s going to be coming back.”
“I’ll put a sock on the door.”
“Jos --” My protest dies in my throat as he kisses me deeply. His hands waste no time in
slipping under my shirt. I still have a hard time believing any of this is happening. I can’t
even call my parents from here, though I’m told the President has called them. And the
physical side of things with Josh…well, I never really thought it would happen. It’s strange
to go from nothing but friendship and a professional relationship to near death to living
together. We sort of skipped, you know, the whole dating thing. But the living together
thing wasn’t my idea.
The door swings open and Josh groans and pushes himself off of me. I sigh and sit up.
“Is that all you two do?” Mike asks scrunching up his face.
“Well it’s not like there’s a happening night life around here.” I mutter getting more
comfortable on the couch.
“Though there’s also not lack of potential dates.” Josh mutters. There’s the Josh I know!
“Good news.” Mike says. “The Director approved Donna’s trip over to the White House.
He said she can just say she’s leaving for Wisconsin in a few days. Nobody was given a
departure date for her.”
“Fantastic!” Josh says with a clap of his hands.
Looks like I’m going on a road trip.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
“Hi, Donna!”
“Hey, Donna! How are you?”
“Donna! It’s great to see you!”
I smile noncommittally as I pass all these well wishers in the corridors. It feels very strange
to be here without Josh. In fact, if feels eerie. He’s one of 1300 people that work in this
building, but he is such a huge part of day to day life here that his lack of presence is
glaring.
I’m also not in the mood to talk to anyone either because it took about two hours to get
here.
I head to my desk where I’m greeted again by half the bullpen and I toss a glance over to
Josh’s office. The door is closed, and from what I’ve been told, locked. Nobody finds that
weird?
I pull out various things from my drawers and toss them into my tote bag. It’s not like I
need any of this, but it looks good. I finally pick up the Art and Artistry of Alpine Skiing. I
smile gently as I open the book and read the inscription I have memorized. Josh still hasn’t
said exactly what he needs this for, but I hope I get it back in one piece. It may be a ratty
old book to some, but it’s worth its weight in gold as far as I’m concerned.
“Hi, Donna.”
I jump a little bit when I hear Toby’s voice.
“Oh, Toby! Hi.” I smile putting my hand over my heart. Toby can do stealthy pretty well.
“I thought you were in Wisconsin?”
“Oh, not yet.” I rattle off my line. “Day after tomorrow. I’m just picking up some personal
stuff.”
“How’s Josh?”
“I’m told he’s doing well.” I lie. “Making his mom nuts.”
“Everything okay with you?” Toby asks cocking his head to the side and studying me. I
love Toby to death. His prickly demeanor has always been a little more blunted with me.
But he’s always so damn perceptive! He’s the one person I was hoping I wouldn’t bump
into.
“Yeah.” I nod. “I just…I don’t know. I have to rethink things, you know?”
“You’re thinking of staying with Josh?”
“I’m sorry?”
“If Josh doesn’t come back, are you thinking of leaving with him?”
“Oh.” I say. Interesting question. “We haven’t really talked about that. It wasn’t really… I
mean, I don’t think the decision was dependent on…” Dammit!
“What’s that there?” he asks gesturing to my book.
“Oh, Josh gave this to me last year for Christmas.” I smile looking down at the book. “It’s
kind of an inside joke, but he wrote something real nice to me in it and so it’s kinda
sentimental to me. I didn’t want anything to happen to it while I was out.” Thank God for
small truths.
I look down at the book and spin through the pages with my thumb. Something on the
back inside cover catches my attention and I open it up.
I’ll be damned.
There’s a bunch of seemingly nonsensical letters filling the back jacket.
It’s a cipher.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
I pace the sitting room of mine and Donna’s suite restlessly. I hate that she’s, like, out
there right now, but I need that book. I can’t go on with this without it. The book and the
watch are nothing without each other.
As soon as she was out of my sight, I got nervous. Why couldn’t we just have Leo nick the
book at night? Why didn’t I think of that? Leo comes and goes here and he comes and
goes at the White House. He could have just walked down the hall and picked up the
book. But everyone agreed it would look better if it were Donna. Let everyone see her in a
familiar setting, keep the red flags down to a minimum. It seemed like a good course of
action at the time, but now I’m unable to stop pacing, which is bad because I’m going to
have no strength left for therapy.
This is ridiculous. I don’t need to stay in here. I’ve got free reign of this place. I’m going to
go out for a walk to burn off some of this nervous energy.
I open my door and step out into the hall. “Hi, Brick.” A CIA agent says as I pass.
“Hi.” I reply absently. I don’t know that guy but they all know me. Apparently, I’m some kind
of legend now after that...brick thing.
I head out of the building and down the front steps and look around. I know this place like
the back of my hand, but it’s enormous and I don’t want to get too far out and not be able
to get back because I’m too tired.
When I finally decide on a short course, I get all of one step when a town car squeals to a
stop in front of me and Mike hops out.
“Josh!” he says quickly striding up to me. “We have a problem.”
Oh God. I don’t like how he said that.
“What the hell happened?” I ask. I can feel the blood leave my head and the familiar
anxious feeling gather in my chest and stomach.
“It’s Donna…” he starts and takes a deep breath.
“What. Happened?”
“They got her.”
“What the fuck does that mean, they GOT her?” I demand. I can feel myself flying into a
rage. Why didn’t I pull out my cell phone and call her fucking escorts and tell them to turn
the hell around!? “Is she dead?!”
“We don’t think so, but we don’t have her anymore.”
“She had FOUR fucking agents with her!” I shout.
“Yeah, well, it turns out one of them wasn’t ours.”
My eyes widen and my knees give out and I sit down on the wall along the steps.
“God, they’ve got her?”
“And the book.”
“I DON’T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THE BOOK; I GIVE A SHIT ABOUT HER!” I explode.
“Yeah, I know that, but later you’re going to care that they got the book, too.” He says.
“Her other three agents are dead.”
“This happened at the White House?”
“On the way back.” Mike said.
This is it. This is my nightmare. These fuckers finally got Donna. And I have no idea where
in the world they’re going to take her and if she’ll be alive when they get there.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Chapter 10
“Mr. President, we’ve got a situation.” I begin. “Donna Moss was abducted on her way
back to the Farm. Three of the agents with her have been found dead.”
“Leo, I was assured by no less than the CIA Director and the FBI Director that she and
Josh would be safe in their custody.” Jed Bartlet rants.
“They’ll be here shortly for your briefing.” I tell him. “Sir, I think it’s time to move to our
contingency plan now and bring Sarah Lyman to the White House.”
Jed closes his eyes and shakes his head. “Do it now.” He orders. “If she wants to speak to
me personally, I’m available.”
“I don’t think she’s going to be interested in that, sir.” I reply. “I’ll get right on it.”
“They still have my Deputy Chief of Staff, right? They haven’t lost him, too?”
“No, sir, but with Donna taken, I don’t imagine he’d be any good to you…or anybody else
for that matter.”
“No. I’m going to want to talk to him, too.”
“Yes, sir.” I reply. I do not want to be part of that call.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Josh is pacing like a caged tiger. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him like this. The thing about
Josh is that he’s always the cool one in a crisis. His ability to evaluate a situation and
come up with the appropriate strategy while juggling ten other items is what has made him
so successful in politics…and this avocation of his. I’m seeing none of that now.
“This is fucking ridiculous!” He’s been on a tear for the past 20 minutes ever since I
brought him the news about Jacobs being the double agent. It’s been nearly eight hours
since we lost Donna. “Right under our Goddamn noses? This guy was here all along?”
“Jacobs’ been a solid agent for over ten years. You know what kind of testing and
background checks go into getting someone onto this property.” McNulty reminds him.
Big. Mistake.
“Really? Then explain how we’ve got three men down and a valuable asset taken
hostage? Spell it out for me, McNulty!” Josh turns his rage on the man who’s been on our
extraction team for years. It jars me to hear Josh refer to Donna as an asset but I think he’
s trying to put some emotional distance on this…it doesn’t seem to be working.
“Agents do turn on occasion, Josh, and when you’re looking at something of this
magnitude and involves this amount of treasure…this much raw wealth…” McNulty is
trying to reel Josh in and we exchange a look of, ‘what do we do now’?
“I know what’s involved here.” Josh barks.
“So. Do. I.” This is McNulty calling Josh out; telling him he realizes that this case is
personal for Josh in every conceivable way. Josh deflates a bit and then looks over at me
with desperation.
“There’s nothing you found in your South American travels that would lead you to believe
he’d take her there?”
I shake my head slowly. “I showed you what I got for my trouble there. More hints, more
rumors, and many people afraid to talk, but even when I greased the wheels there wasn’t
much they could tell me. It was an old lead and it went cold. He’s not there anymore. My
best guess is he went back to Europe. We’ve always believed the loot was there
somewhere. He’d want to see it for himself and I think he’d be feeling secure enough to
attempt a return trip.”
“Or he was…until I started digging around again.” Josh slammed his palm against the wall.
“Damn it!”
“Mike!” Kieffer comes running in. “We’ve got a lead!”
“Convince me and you’re my new best friend.” I offer.
“One of Jacobs’ back up ID’s was used to secure a private plane out of Maryland.” Kieffer
reports. “Their time of departure was less than 30 minutes from the time of the abduction.”
“And for the big money…where was their plane headed?” Josh asked.
“Their flight plan turned out to be bogus, but through some creative investigative skills
and serious interrogation efforts-“
“KIEFFER!” Josh and I shout together.
“France. They just landed in France. Orly airport.” Josh grabs him by the shoulders. “If I
weren’t a committed heterosexual, I’d kiss you right on the mouth.” Keiffer looks scared.
“McNulty, we’re going to need an extraction team.” Josh turns to the man in question.
“I’m on it.”
“I think you’re forgetting an important piece of the operation.” I remind them. “We need
permission.”
“We’ll ask after we get back. It works out better that way.” Josh notes.
“It…really doesn’t.” Kieffer counters.
“And I thought we had bonded here, Kieffer.” Josh scoffs. “How soon can we head out?”
“Two hours.” McNulty offers.
“One. They’ve already got eight hours on us.” Josh moves to get whatever he thinks he
might need for this trip.
“Josh…we’ve been given a lot of latitude in the past since you’re, you know, you, but we
have to run this through channels.”
“We don’t have time for channels.” Josh shoots back. “Donna doesn’t have time for
channels. Eight hours they’ve had her already!”
“That was flight time Josh. They’re not going to touch her on the flight.”
“And now we’ve got flight time. Though if we take the Concord we can cut that in half.”
Josh muses out loud.
“Do you know what it costs to get five guys tickets on the Concord?” I ask more out of
form than for a real answer. Money isn’t going to get in Josh Lyman’s way at this point.
“I’m thinking six guys and I’m bringing my Gold card.” Josh answers.
“You can’t.” I object and want to throw up.
“Yes, I can.” Josh counters. I seriously can’t believe this guy is a master debater
sometimes.
“No, I mean, you could, but you can’t. Any card with your name on it is going to get WAY
more attention from friends and foes alike than we can safely manage.” I point out.
“Shit.” Josh grins. “I guess we’ll have to use your card then.” How did I not see that
coming? “I’ll use one of my alternate passports. Pack it up, Michael, we’re out of here in
57 minutes.” And to think I used to worry about Josh’s rule bound nature…
***Flashback***
“Are you kidding me?” I ask him. “Everything we need is right on the other side of this
door. What the hell do we care about warrants at this point?”
“It has to be a clean search, or we lose the evidence and the guy walks.” Josh insists. “It
won’t be long now. I’ll get the call on the warrant any minute.”
“And if the guy rabbits while we’re waiting oh so politely for our warrant?”
“He won’t go far.” Josh assures me. “Everything HE needs is right on the other side of this
door too. We can’t take our eyes off the prize now, Mike. Didn’t they teach you this stuff in
F.B.I. school?”
“This guy, he’s a war criminal.” I state.
“Yes.” Josh agrees.
“He committed horrible atrocities against hundreds, maybe thousands of people.”
“Yes.”
“And the last pieces of evidence we need to nail him for said crimes, lie on the other side
of this door.”
“Yes.” Josh sighs.
“Let’s go get it.” I suggest. “One solid kick and we are in!”
“No.”
“Why not?!” Okay, maybe seeing the evidence of what this animal did to innocent people,
children, has pushed me over the edge a bit. But this injustice…it’s worse than any other
injustice I have ever seen or heard of and I don’t care anymore about how we get the guy
I just want to take him out.
“We’re not above the law.” Josh says simply. “That’s what happened to these guys.
Suddenly, rules and laws, moral and constitutional, didn’t apply to them anymore. We’re
better than that. In fact, we’re so good that we can take them down with the very laws they
treated with such disdain.” Josh’s pager goes off and he looks down to read it. When he
looks back up, he has a wicked grin on his face and both dimples pop out.
“We got it. Show me how you fancy F.B.I. guys kick down a door, Agent Casper.”
I oblige and within minutes we’re gathering the last pieces of the puzzle we need to get a
conviction and when the asshole comes back to his apartment, just as Josh predicted he
would, it’s a clean bust with not a scratch on anyone.
*** Present***
That’s when I realized this guy was a force to be reckoned with….and decided to hitch my
wagon to his star.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
“I just need a thing.” I explain to the agent on duty. “Why can’t you open the door for one
damn minute?!”
“Mr. Ziegler, while Mr. Lyman is on leave, we’ve been asked to keep his office locked at all
times.”
“He’s got information in there that I need to get Wyman on board for 802.” I am desperate
now. Josh always makes this look so easy…and fun. It’s miserable and these members of
Congress are nothing but self-centered babies that need their hand held and their egos
coddled. I know Josh needs time to recover, but if he doesn’t get back soon, I will not be
responsible for my actions. “One little file, probably right where he left it in the middle of
his desk. It will take me 30 seconds to get in and out.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Ziegler--”
“Don’t be sorry. Don’t be stupid. Just open the damn door!”
“Can I help you Mr. Ziegler?” I hear Ron Butterfield’s voice behind me.
“I need Josh’s file on 802, it’s in his office and nobody seems to be able to unlock it.”
“I can help you with that Mr. Ziegler.” Ron takes out his ring of keys and after a moment of
study, finds a red key and uses it to unlock the door. Then he stands there while I rifle
through Josh’s desk to find the file on 802. I see it in the middle drawer and pull it out in
triumph. I open it to check to make sure everything is there that I need; it is. Thank God
for Donna. That’s when I notice a piece of paper flutter to the floor. I pick it up to shove it
back in the desk when I notice the name and it rings a bell: Reiger. Where the hell do I
know that name from? I absently return the paper to the desk drawer, but now it’s really
bugging me. Ron is still standing sentry at the door; he is on paranoid guy, but after
Rosslyn, I promised myself I wouldn’t question what he did or why anymore.
“Thanks Ron. This is going to save my ass.” I tell him.
“Glad I could help Mr. Ziegler. You’ll let me know if you need anything else?”
“Yeah…” I wave him off and see him re-lock the door out of my peripheral vision. What the
hell?
<><><><><><><><><><><>
Mike looks upset, which is puzzling to me since he didn’t have to break out his American
Express card. I’m not sure what McNulty did, but I owe him several dozen favors for getting
a green light on an extraction team and the plane he’s currently flying to France. They
might not be very comfortable, and there’s no in-flight movie, but I love military transports
for one reason; no damn flight attendants telling you to sit down, put on your seat belt, or
put your tray in the upright position. I get to stand up and pace.
I can’t remember ever being this anxious before, so to relieve some of my anxiety I decide
to pick on Mike. It’s okay. He understands me.
“Maybe you should have given up your seat for someone who has some decent
interrogation techniques.” I poke.
“Maybe you should have given up yours for someone who wasn’t on medical leave,
BRICK.” See? He totally understands me.
“It’s taking too long.”
“It’s taking the exact amount of time it takes to cross an ocean.” He moans.
“No, I mean for them to contact me.” I contradict him. “They should have contacted me by
now.”
“Maybe.” He allows. “I think they want to get comfortably settled in their new hole first.
Make sure they’ve covered their tracks.”
“What if that’s not it? What if they think Donna knows something?” I speak my biggest fear
out loud. If they’re just holding her to get me out in the open, she should be okay. She’s
no good to them wounded or…But if they think they can get what they need from her then
we’re screwed.
“Unlikely.” Mike tells me and damn it, I can’t tell if he’s telling the truth or trying to reassure
me. “Reiger wants you as badly as you want him. If he thinks Donna will bring that about,
he’ll take very good care of her. And who knows, besides a very few, that Donna is
anything more than your assistant?”
“Our people on the ground there are tracking them?”
“They’re following leads on the transportation from the airport.” Mike confirms.
“Brick! They’re patching a call through to you.” Kieffer yells to me and I hustle up front to
the communications area. “It went through the White House and then they had to route it
to Florida.”
“What?” Mike shouts.
“Everyone thinks I’m in Florida.” I fill in.
“Right. You’re on a beach.” Kieffer confirms and hands me a phone.
“Josh Lyman.” I answer.
“How is your tan?” A voice muffled by a voice changer asks me.
“Who the hell is this?”
“Someone who wants to help you get your assistant back.”
“Back? She’s in Wisconsin. Who IS this?”
“No, not Wisconsin. Luckily, she had her passport with her when we…bumped into her.
We understand that she’s very valuable to you.” I take a deep breath.
“You’ve made a big mistake. The President is going to bring the power of the United
States Government down on your head. Where is she?”
“She is safe, for the moment. But the minute you bring your boss into this, she is so very
dead.”
“What do you want?”
“We want the item your father gave you and the cipher that contains the directions.” The
voice explained. “You’ll bring them to my colleague in D.C. Once he confirms delivery,
Miss Moss will be released.”
Fucking bastard isn’t going to tell me she’ll be released on another continent. As if…
“No, I don’t think so.” I argue. “Any exchange will be made in person and I’ll need proof of
life.”
“That’s not possible.”
“Then this conversation is over.” I bluff.
“Wait. She is no longer in the US. If you require an in person, exchange you’ll have to
come to us.”
“Come to you where?” I play dumb.
“Get on a plane to Paris. But you’d better have the items with you or Miss Moss will never
live to see the City of Lights. You have ten hours. We’ll contact you on your cell once you
arrive.”
“I can’t get there in ten hours. I have to get the items in D.C. first.” I tell him. “I’ll need more
time.”
“You want us to believe you don’t keep these items close at all times?”
“For what? In case I happen upon a Nazi code that needs deciphering? I need to get the
items in D.C.” I insist.
“The items are not in D.C.” He says in a tone that’s all too confident. They must have
trashed my place looking for it. “Miss Moss has ten hours for you to get to Paris. Take the
Concord. I’m sure you can afford it.”
“I want to talk to Donna first.” I demand.
“When you arrive here.”
“Screw you. I talk to her now or I torch the cipher.” What the hell. In for a penny, in for a
pound. There’s what might possibly be the longest pause in my life, and then I hear her.
“Josh?” She sounds like she’s been crying. Son of a bitch.
“I’m coming, Donna. Are you okay?”
“A little sick. They gave me a shot of something when they grabbed me but--”
“Donna?!” I shout into the phone but her voice is gone.
“Ten Hours.” And the line goes dead. I look over at Mike who along with the rest of our
team had been listening in on the conversation. I can feel my hands shaking. He puts a
hand on my shoulder.
“We have a couple advantages.” Kieffer breaks the silence. “They don’t know we’re
already on our way there, and they don’t know we’re tracking them.” I nod.
“Three advantages.” Mike chimes in. “They have no idea how smart Donna Moss is.”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath and try to hang on to that thought.
