Chapter Zulu
Zulu
Rich held Donna’s hand during takeoff and landing, not because she needed it, but because he wanted to.
He had this need to touch her, to protect her, to maintain a physical connection with her.
Rogers sat in the window seat beside her, and Wilson sat across the aisle from Burke.
They’d merely swapped Donna’s children’s names for the two men’s names.
Donna had gone through the special TSA screening with the armed agents when they declared themselves upon arrival at O’Hare International Airport.
The flight was uneventful, though Donna would admit that she was nervous about them going after Leo Davis and the head of the drug ring.
When she hugged and kissed her children when leaving them with Rae, the reality of what they were going back to Virginia to do hit her.
The funny part of it was that despite the potential danger, she was determined to help clear her father’s name.
She knew in her heart that it was the right thing to do.
A rental car had been arranged. They picked it up and then went to Donna’s apartment, with only one stop at a big-box hardware store to pick up packing supplies. They would all stay at the apartment. As it was early yet, they ordered pizzas for dinner and got busy packing.
The packing was the easy part. Deciding what to bring out in the U-Haul versus what the movers would bring later was harder for Donna.
They all needed more clothes right away.
She’d pack all their winter clothes. The kids needed their beds and a few more toys.
Sheets and towels were needed. The food in the pantry should go too.
They’d bring the food in the freezer and refrigerator in the vehicles.
Swirling with those decisions was the reality that they might not be moving any items immediately as originally planned.
She decided she needed to pack a large suitcase with clothing and personal items for all four of them that she’d bring back with her on the plane if she had to fly out with her mom before the others wrapped up the case.
She’d only brought five outfits for each of them to Illinois.
If Elijah started school before Rich got back with the U-Haul, that wouldn’t be enough clothes for him.
When the pizza arrived, Burke directed Donna to accept it from the driver.
The three men stayed in the kitchen area and out of view of the front door.
If Leo Davis was nearby, Donna was the only person they wanted him to see inside the house.
Her eyes swept the parking lot as she took the boxes from the delivery guy. The Camaro SS was not in sight.
“I wonder if he came to my door while we were away,” she said as she set the boxes onto the kitchen counter beside the paper plates.
“If he doesn’t show up here tonight, we’ll go looking for him tomorrow. Worst case, Shepherd gets his location from IAB, and we make contact with him,” Wilson said.
“Have you ever done anything like this?” Donna asked.
All three men grinned and nodded.
“Don’t worry, Donna. We’ve got this,” Burke said.
***
When Donna woke the next morning, she was alone in her bed. She and Rich had not made love the prior evening, and she’d slept in her pajamas. She changed into a pair of jeans and a sweater before exiting her bedroom. Rich, Jimmy, and Mike sat at the kitchen table, drinking coffee.
“Good morning,” she greeted them as she entered the kitchen. “Hope you saved me a cup.”
“I just made a fresh pot,” Burke said.
After she got herself a cup, she went to the window and glanced out. The black Camaro SS sat parked at the far end of the lot. “He’s out there,” she said. “The black Camaro SS with the tinted windows.”
“Yes, we ran the plates, and they came back as an unmarked car of the Richmond PD,” Wilson said.
“Have your coffee,” Burke said. “We’ll engage him after you’re done with it.”
“What do you mean, engage?” Donna asked.
“Invite the detective to play,” Wilson said with a grin.
“I hope he comes to the door on his own rather than me having to go out to him,” Burke said. “But we’ll do whatever we have to do to get this going today.”
“If he comes to the door, invite him in and then we need you to go to your room and stay out of sight. And we’ll take it from there,” Wilson said.
“Just remember, like we talked about, whatever we do or say at any point, you have to go along with us. No questions, no arguments, especially in front of Davis,” Burke said.
“I understand,” Donna promised. Her determined stare met Rich’s. “I’m no longer afraid of him. I’m as outraged as Laura Lee that our father was named as possibly covering for a drug ring. He wasn’t. He was a good cop,” she insisted.
Burke wrapped his arms around her. “And that’s what we intend to prove.”
***
A half-hour later, with the three men in the living room area, they had Donna open the curtains on the kitchen window.
The kitchen light was left on so that from the outside, she could easily be seen in the kitchen, where she washed dishes.
When after fifteen minutes Davis had not approached the apartment, they sent Donna out to her car to get something, so she’d be clearly seen.
She grabbed her keys and put on her bravest face before she exited into the cool morning air.
She walked with purpose, keeping her eyes focused on her minivan, resisting the urge to glance around the area.
She leaned into the vehicle to grab a bag she knew was in there.
Upon pulling herself back to a standing position, she bumped into someone.
She let out a startled scream, seeing Leo Davis right beside her.
“Jeez! Where’d you come from?” she gasped, taking a step back from him.
He chuckled. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Oh my God! Well, you did,” she stammered. For a second, she forgot that the three men waited inside her apartment for him.
Then she remembered.
Surely, if she looked as though she was in trouble, they would come out and get him, but she knew that was not what they wanted. She had to get him into her apartment. She took a step around him and wrapped her arms in front of herself. “It’s cold out here. Come inside with me.”
She led him back to the door of her apartment.
“You were away for Christmas,” Davis said.
“Yes,” she answered without elaborating. She wasn’t surprised that he knew, but she was a little creeped out that he mentioned it.
“Are your children home?”
“No, they spent the night at my mother’s house,” she said as she cracked open the door. She paused there for a moment to allow the men to get into position to grab Leo Davis if they weren’t. Her back was still turned to him. She didn’t see the smile spread over his lips to hear she was alone.
“Are we going in?” he asked when she hadn’t opened the door wider or entered.
“Yes, I guess so. You’re safe.” Though she knew he was not. And she’d never invited him in previously. She wondered if he suspected anything that she was now.
She hoped Rich, and the others were in position. She opened the door and went in, catching sight of Rich. His back was pressed against the wall next to the door. Jimmy was along the wall on the far side of Rich. Leo Davis followed her in.
With his back flat against the wall, Burke watched Donna come into the house.
As Detective Leo Davis entered, his gaze met Burke’s, but Davis didn’t have time to react.
Burke grabbed his arm and pulled him inside.
As soon as Davis cleared the door, Rogers closed it, and Wilson sprung on Davis, his SIG in his right hand, his DEA badge and creds in his left. “DEA! Hands in the air!”
Davis complied. “You’re making a mistake. I’m RPD.”
“We know who you are,” Burke said. “Where’s your piece?”
“Right hip,” Davis said.
Donna glanced back to see they had Davis surrounded. She kept walking and went to her bedroom, closing the door behind herself.
Burke patted him down, removing his standard-issue Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 from his right hip. “You got any other weapons on you?”
“No,” Davis replied. “What’s this about?”
Burke continued the search. He found a SIG Sauer P320 strapped to his ankle. “What’s this?” he held it up. “Forgot about it, huh?”
Davis didn’t answer.
Rogers pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed Saxton. “We’ve got Davis,” he said. He went into the kitchen and closed the curtains.
“Are you on comms?” Laura Lee asked.
“Yes,” Rogers said. He didn’t state it, but Smith at HQ was on comms as well, and it was being recorded.
“On our way now,” Laura Lee said. Both she and Dupont inserted their comms so they would hear what transpired until they arrived.
“Hands behind your back,” Burke said. After Davis’s hands were in zip ties, he pulled Davis to the couch and helped him to sit.
“You’re making a big mistake,” Davis warned.
“You get one chance to either prove to us you’re one of the good guys or to take a deal if you’re not,” Burke said.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and brought up the picture of the dead DEA agent whom Davis had killed, turning it so Davis could see the man lying on the slab in the coroner’s office.
“Did you know he was a Fed? Did you kill him on La Vonn Jefferson’s orders?
Or did you kill him for some other reason? We know you killed him.”
Davis shook his head. “I knew she saw. So, she was the tip for the IAB investigation.”
The three men were surprised to hear that he knew about it. “Who’s your source inside IAB?” Burke asked.
“It’s not what you think,” Davis said.
“Oh, we’re thinking of a lot of different scenarios. I’m sure one of them has to be pretty close to being right,” Wilson said.
“He was a Fed?” Davis asked, acting surprised and sounding remorseful.
“Yeah, a DEA agent,” Wilson said.
“Fuck,” Davis swore. “I swear I didn’t know. I thought he was onto me.”
“Onto what?” Burke asked.