Restoration
Chapter 58
As Nolan unlocks his house, he's looking forward to a shower and a beer, but he's not sure in which order. Either one will help with his stiffness from sitting in front of a computer all day, but the beer would be a celebration of accomplishing something while doing so.
He wishes he could share that triumph, meager as it is, with someone outside his team, but Heifer will be keeping the lid on until he pulls in Ruben Derian. Hopefully, that will be soon. The three separate mentions John found of Ruben's connections to Serj's activities should be enough for Heifer to put together some impressive conspiracy charges. With that framework, Heifer can probably flip members of the Derian organization to implicate Ruben further.
Grace niggles at his thoughts, but the person John finds himself most wanting to call, is Janet Jepson. He wishes he could talk to her about taking down the whole Derian organization. Unfortunately, for all he knows, she could end up defending more Derian thugs. But conversation unrelated to the job would be invigorating. And another game of darts wouldn't be bad either.
A text from Grey flashes on Nyla's screen while she's stopped at another of L.A.'s numerous traffic signals. "What's your E.T.A., Harper?"
She rapidly enters "3 min," before gunning her engine. This isn't Grey's usual laid-back style. He's obviously expecting trouble at Nolan's place.
John's cell dings with a text from Harper. "Watch yourself, Boot. On my way."
What the hell is she talking about? John uses his phone to bring up the feed from an outdoor camera installed as part of his security upgrade. A car pulls into his driveway, and he easily recognizes the driver hurriedly leaving the vehicle. He's seen enough of Commander West lately, but it's always been as part of an official inquiry. And the head of I. A. has never shown up at John's home. Adding that to Harper's warning, John hears warning bells clanging in his head.
West checks his access to his weapon before ringing Nolan's doorbell. John acknowledges him, using his phone to connect to an outside speaker. "What can I do for you, Commander?"
The I.A. Chief curses under his breath at being surveilled but struggles to achieve a casual tone. "I just ran across a couple of minor details about your case, Officer Nolan. I thought if we could settle them now, it wouldn't cut into your training time."
John's stomach twists. Both West and Grey had assured him that the file on the planted contraband was closed. He can't see why there would be outstanding details, let alone something that would bring West to his home. And why would Harper be inbound? The best thing he can figure out to do is stall, at least until his T.O. arrives. "Commander, I just stepped out of the shower. Give me a minute to get some clothes on."
From down the block, Nyla spots Commander West standing in front of Nolan's door, with his hand poised above his weapon's grip. She's seen that body language before, on junkies desperate for a fix. West is on the edge of doing something stupid and dangerous, and her rookie will be on the wrong end of it. Parking at the curb, she taps on her horn, causing West to pivot toward her. Ready to grab her own weapon, she exits her vehicle. "Commander, I was just coming to pick up a drawing board Officer Nolan made for my daughter. Is there any way I can help you?"
Percy's fingers migrate closer to his gun as Grey pulls in behind Harper. This isn't how he expected things to go at all. He forces a smile. I just wanted to wind up a few odds and ends with Officer Nolan."
Grey joins Harper. "Commander, if this is I.A. business, Nolan is entitled to counsel and his union rep. And it should be conducted in an official venue, not here."
Percy wishes he could rub the moisture from his palms, but both Harper and Grey would immediately pick up on such an obvious sign of nervousness. Hell, a rookie like Nolan would recognize it. "You know, you're right. These details aren't essential to Nolan's record. We've all had a long day. I should just take off." Cutting short the conversation, Percy heads for his vehicle.
Grey mouths, "Follow him," to Harper. He raises his voice only enough to penetrate John's door. "You OK in there, Nolan?"
John sticks his head out as West drives away, and Harper prepares to get on the I.A. chief's tail. "I'm good, Sir, but confused. What just happened?"
"I'm not sure yet," Grey admits, "but I believe Commander West wanted something from you that you should not have been willing to provide. I know you can't reveal any details, but is there anything about your assignment today that would have concerned him?"
"Not unless the Commander is dirty. But Sir, how could a man who brought his son up to regard serving in the L.A.P.D. as a sacred duty be dirty? That makes no sense."
"You've been out on the street long enough to know that a lot of things make no sense, Nolan. The L.A.P.D. still has problems, but it's a lot cleaner now than when Percy West started out. Cops did things to get the bad guys, whatever it took. Sometimes, back then, ignoring the rules seemed like the right thing to do."
"Are you saying Commander West is dirty, Sir?" Nolan presses.
"I'm not saying that at all, Nolan. I'm saying that making assumptions about people, good or bad, can bite you in the ass. And no matter how noble someone seems, you can't take it for granted. I hope you've learned that."
John understands what Grey is saying all too well. Jessica may have been officially cleared, but John can still close his eyes and see her shooting a suspect in cold blood. And Grace, Grace, lied and kept on lying to him. It's no wonder Harper is suspicious of anyone and everyone. For the best of reasons, she spent years living a lie and rarely expects anyone to act above-board. "Yes, Sir, I have."
"Good. Then, unless I hear otherwise, I want to see you at roll call tomorrow morning, ready to hit the streets with your eyes wide open."
"Yes, Sir."
Driving at random, Percy tries to think. There's no way he can go back to Nolan's place now. He has no idea what Grey told the rookie, but it can't be good. Only three other people know what happened in the Cherry Room at the Vanderlyn: Tim Bradford, Angela Lopez, and Lucy Chen. There's no way he's going to pull anything out of hardened cops like Bradford and Lopez, not in the rapidly closing window he has. But if Jackson is at the apartment he shares with Chen, a second meeting of the day will be worse than awkward.
It's possible that Percy will find Chen alone. Then what? He doesn't know. He only knows that if he doesn't come through with what Ruben Derian wants tonight, he may not have a life tomorrow. And what's worse, Ruben could come after his family as well. Percy's almost reconciled himself to paying for his mistakes, but he has to keep his family safe. Chen could be the key to doing that.
To Harper, West seems to have finally settled on a route. She'll call Grey as soon as West reaches a destination. She has no idea what will happen after that, but she's always ready to improvise.
