don't know chapter seven
"I'm thinking of getting away for awhile. Maybe riding my bike up the coast, taking some time to myself."
Alan, scrambling eggs for breakfast, paused, "Do you think that's wise?"
His eyes probed his firstborn. True, Don was moving (and sitting) much easier, but he was still too thin, and dark shadows ringed his eyes.
Don concentrated on pouring the juice for breakfast, "Just for a few days Dad. Probably a week at most."
"Are you sure you can ride your bike? It won't be painful?"
Don struggled to keep from smiling, his father had given him the perfect opening.
"Good point. I think I'll take a test run today for a few hours to see how I do."
"Well, it is good to see you interested in your old hobbies."
"Riding my bike was a hobby? Yeah, I guess it is. Anyway, I just need some quiet time to think things through."
"Donnie, if you want to talk..."
"Yeah, I know, your ear is always open. Thanks Dad, really. I appreciate it. And I promise I'll keep that in mind."
Don took a deep breath, and decided he might as well go for broke. "I also appreciate all the help you, Charlie and Amita have given me, but it's time for me to go back to my home. I need to try and get on with my life."
"You're doing this all at once?"
"Well, the trial bike ride first. After that, we'll see."
The ride did feel good. Well, okay, it hurt his rear end, but it was nice to be away from the suffocating concern of his father and brother.
He didn't ride up the coast as he had told his father (it wasn't the first time he had lied to his dad), but instead to the Valley.
After the wedding, he and Robin had rented an apartment they found together, agreeing they would do better with a third, neutral site as opposed to living in her house or his apartment. Don had it easy, he just didn't renew his lease.
Robin owned her house outright, and had put it up for sale; then the real estate market went belly-up. Shortly before she died, Robin had taken the house off the market, and she and Don had meant to discuss just living there since they couldn't seem to sell it.
Don pulled his bike into the garage, hesitated, then entered the house. He wasn't so much afraid of Robin's ghost, as painful memories. But the house was empty of all furniture, and the walls had been painted an off-white that had been recommended by the real estate agent.
The house had been stripped of all signs of Robin, it was just an empty, fairly pretty house. Looking around, Don realized with a shock that he owned it. He cocked his head, could he live here?
Before he could really think about it, he heard a car horn in the driveway. Looking out the window, he saw a black SUV in the driveway and went out to greet the driver.
"Hey! It's good to see you! Did you have any trouble finding the place?"
"I wasn't the one always getting lost, Eppes. That was you."
"Ha ha. Come on in, not that there's any place to sit."
"Floor's fine," replied Coop. The two of them sprawled on the floor, Billy leaning against the wall, long legs stretched out in front of him. Don laid on his stomach (he sometimes wondered if he would ever sleep on his back again), propped up on his elbows. Cooper examined his former partner.
"How are you doing Donnie?"
"Don't ask."
"That good, huh?"
"Yeah, well," Don shrugged, hesitated, then plowed on.
"Coop, I have a favor to ask, but it's , well," deep breath, "I really don't have any right to ask this..."
Coop interupted him, "When do we leave for Mexico?"
Don felt relief flood him, but he felt obliged to point out, "You know we have no jurisdiction there? Not only would we be on our own, with no back-up, but we'll be in really deep shit if we're caught."
"Well then, we'll just have to make damn sure we don't get caught, won't we?"
Don grinned, "Coop, I seriously love you."
"Try to kiss me and you'll be eating your teeth," warned Coop.
"There is one thing though," Coop said, then stopped. He looked askance at Don.
Sounding more calm than he felt, Don said, "Go ahead, say it."
"I don't get it! Why kill Robin! It doesn't make any sense! " argued Billy. "She had already withdrawn from the trial. She had to, when she suspected the defendant's brother had kidnapped her husband.
"And the trial had been postponed! Everyone was freaking out! The judge, the lawyers, the witnesses, all of them were scared spitless because of the YouTube," here, Coop stumbled over his words.
"Because of the YouTube videos of me," said Don steadily. " Trust me, I know. I've already thought all of this."
"So, you come to any conclusions you care to share?"
Don shrugged, "The only thing that makes sense is Ramirez thinks he can do to the US what's he done to Mexico, make everyone too terrified to move against him."
"So humilating you and killing Robin was just Ramirez trying to scare everybody. Yeah, that makes sense. Bastard."
Don took a deep breath, "There's more. I talked to the math guy, Penfield, who helped find me, and it wasn't that hard to find me. "
Billy's eyebrows rose, "You mean your brother, the math whiz, didn't help?"
Don tried hard to make his voice sound noncommital, "He was incommunicado in Langley."
There was a moment of silence while Cooper digested this, "Ouch."
"Yeah, well, the point is, they meant for me to be found. And it was a pretty safe bet which hospital I'd be rushed to. Nobody thought Robin needed protection, because she was already off the case."
"You were the bait, they were gunning for her all along."
"It's a favorite technique of Ramirez. He targets the prosecutors so they're reluctant to bring charges against his cartel. Or at best, only put up a token trial."
"And without the lawyers filing charges against the criminals, why should the cops even bother to make an arrest," agreed Coop. "Makes sense."
"And lawyers are easy targets, they don't shoot back."
There was a minute's silence, then Coop asked, "So, what's the plan?"
"We can't take ANYTHING that's government issue. Our guns, vehicles, cell phones, nothing. I'm still on medical leave. You have any problem getting off?"
"Are you kidding? The Bureau owes me so much vacation time I could take the next decade off."
"So why don't you?" inquired Don.
"Same reason you don't, I'd get bored. Anyway, don't worry about it, I've already put in for my time off."
"You were that sure of me gunning for Ramirez? Damn, I hope no one else figures it out."
"They won't, no one else knows you like I do. Oh, I'm not saying I know you better than like your dad or brother, but they see you different and know you different.
"I know you as my loco ex-partner who in Louisiana jumped across a six foot alligator to catch an escaped felon. Myself, I was rooting for that damned 'gator to munch the guy."
Don laughed, "Yeah, I'd just as soon my dad and brother never hear THAT story. They would try to have the men in the little white jackets take me away!"
"So," continued Coop, "untracable guns, throw away phones, and an old beater. Anything else?"
"Fake ID's and passports," answered Don.
Cooper slanted him a look, "We're going through customs? You do know the Mexican border is a joke, right?"
"Yeah, but if we get stopped by the authorities, I want the right papers. I really don't want to cool my heals in a Mexican prison, and I can't shoot it out with local cops."
"Fair enough. Okay, let's divide up who does what, and pick a time to pack and leave. We better pick some place to practice with our new guns though."
"Som place in Arizona or New Mexico will do," answered Don, checking his watch.
He sighed, "I better get back. My dad and brother are probably pacing and worrying. So let's decide who does what and meet back here in two days, agreed?"
"Agreed."