Restoration

Chapter 26

"Lucy, what is so important that you wanted to meet me at 6 a.m.? Are you having flashbacks again or something?" Rachel queries.

Chen takes a sip of her coffee. "No, as long as I keep my mind on what's in front of me. I'm OK — most of the time, anyway. Lopez walked up behind me in the locker room last night, and I nearly jumped out of my skin, but it was only for a second."

"So, what's going on?"

"Tim was telling me about the jerkoff he and Armstrong nailed for domestic violence yesterday. His wife was too scared to do anything. If Tim and Nick hadn't been there, she could be dead now."

"Yeah, Tim told me about it, too. He was pretty upset, but Lucy, the police deal with cases like that all the time. So do social services. The city is full of abusers. We all do the best we can."

Chen shakes her head. "Maybe we don't. I was thinking that the reason those women are terrified to go to the cops or leave the sonsofbitches who beat on them is they're afraid they can't take care of themselves. I know there are jobs programs, but I mean fight back, defend themselves. If they realize they can be stronger physically, they won't be as likely to put up with the abuse."

"It's not that simple, Lucy," Rachel cautions, "those women are damaged. Some of them were beaten by their parents before their boyfriends or husbands went after them. They've never felt safe. They need more than a self-defense class, a lot more."

"I know," Lucy agrees, "but I wouldn't just be teaching them to kick ass. I can share what Caleb did to me and how I'm working on getting past it. At least they'll know they're not alone, and they don't have to give up."

"You'd be taking on a lot, Luce," Rachel warns. "Are you sure you can handle it?"

"I'm sure I need to try," Lucy insists. "So, are you going to help me or not?"

Rachel leans across the table to wrap her friend in a hug. "Sure, I'll do anything I can."


John peers into a cabinet in Grace's kitchen. "Not one of these cereals has sugar in it. Are you going grocery shopping before Oliver comes home or preparing to treat him for withdrawal?"

"I'm not sure which would be worse," Grace confides. "I'm thinking about going around the problem for a while by having him make toast. I'll tell him to put peanut butter on it and sneak in some nutrition."

"Until he discovers adding Marshmallow Fluff to the peanut butter. Still, it's one battle you may win for a while. With Henry, Sarah figured out we could pull a switcheroo with breakfast cookies," John recalls. "She threw in oatmeal and peanut butter and raisins with a few M&Ms as cover. That worked for a good six months until the ad guys introduced a new mascot for some crap that could rot your teeth if you looked at it."

"I'd take six months, and maybe Oliver will try bananas instead of marshmallow goo."

John starts a pot of coffee. "You can always hope."

"You're pretty hopeful yourself, John. What's your next step on your project fixing up houses for the homeless?"

"Councilman Abbot is putting together the details for the first phase, but I should be able to start working with someone in a couple of weeks to fix up the first one."

"That's great, John. I…"

An alert sounds from John's cell. "I gotta go. Grey is calling us in early. It's an all hands on deck."

"What happened?"

"I don't know, but I'll try to call you later."


Spotting Jessica standing upfront, John hesitates for a moment to take his seat in the roll call room. Determined not to be distracted by old pain, he slides into place. Whatever's going on must involve national security, or Jessica wouldn't be there.

John glances toward Lucy, who returns a sympathetic look, as Grey takes the podium. "Since the Del Monte story broke, there's been a steady drumbeat for the release of prisoners who might have been unfairly incarcerated. Some of you already have experience with that. Unfortunately, another group, not associated with a Del Monte conviction, has piggy-backed on that movement. Agent Russo will be giving you the details."

Avoiding John's eyes, Jessica switches places with Grey. "Two years ago, the DHS captured Lyle Starrett, leader of the Freedom Brigade, after he was caught with a van full of bombs and had mailed several of them to news outlets including the Los Angeles Reporter. Starrett was found guilty of four homicides and numerous other counts involving injuries. He's been in Pelican Bay ever since, and his followers have been looking for some excuse to claim he was railroaded. They've jumped on the Del Monte affair as proof that prosecutions are fixed and are demanding Starrett's release. Social media are lighting up with announcements of demonstrations planned for all over California, but concentrated in L.A. We don't expect those gatherings will be peaceful, and from the history of the Freedom Brigade, ordnance will be involved. The Freedom Brigade will be sending times and places to its members and followers for pop up events. That's going to make it difficult and maybe impossible to stay ahead of them. We'll need everyone available in the L.A.P.D. ready to respond at a second's notice. Sergeant?"

Grey reclaims the podium. "Since we have no idea where the Freedom Brigade events will be taking place, I want you all to patrol as normal, but be ready to be redirected. And be careful. One of the deaths and 15 of the injuries attributed to Starrett were to law enforcement officers."

Jessica stares after John as he leaves with Nyla Harper. Breaking up with John was a mistake, a bad one. According to the grapevine, he's with the blond doctor who tried to keep her from talking to an injured undercover agent. Jess remembers the hurt on his face when she told him she was leaving to get pregnant. Sh*t! If only she'd seen her doctor about a late period before she walked out. The clock was ticking faster than she thought. Early menopause sounds too innocuous for the world-shattering reality it is. John had nothing to worry about. The odds were pretty slim of her getting pregnant with him. It's unlikely she'll get pregnant with anyone. John moved on, and right now, Jessica's job is all she has left."


"Is your mind in the game, Five Percent?" Nyla inquires as Nolan loads their gear. "From the look Russo gave you, you two were hot and heavy. Are you going to be able to keep it together?"

"I'll be fine," John assures her. "I'm just hoping that's the last we see of Jessica, um, Agent Russo. Not because of the personal thing, but she lied to me and to the DHS. She might even have endangered my son. Even when I was still with her, I wasn't sure I could trust her. Now that we have some distance, I'm even less sure."

"Listen to your gut, Boot," Nyla instructs. "Realizing when someone can't be trusted has saved my ass — a lot. And you relate to people better than any cop I've ever worked with. If you think something's not straight with Agent Russo, you're probably right."

Nolan shoves the hatch of the shop closed. "I hope she's wrong about expecting trouble today."

Nyla shakes her head. "I wouldn't count on that."