The thing about a good revenge plot is that you can't rush
it. Timing is crucial.
You have to let it unfold at it's own pace. Watching the slow
downhill slide is half of the
fun. The other half is knowing just how far down the victim is going
to fall.
Phase I is already underway. Everything is proceeding on schedule.
I've left
Blondie dazed, confused and without a penny to her name. And just as
I had anticipated,
Josh has jumped on his white horse in an effort to save the damsel in
distress. But it isn't
going to work this time. How do I know this? I know it because, quite
simply, I know
Josh. I know him better than he knows himself. I know how he is going
to react in any
situation.
He wants to be Donna's hero. His ego will keep him from asking for
any help. He
thinks he can keep all the plates spinning all by himself. And that
is going to be his
downfall. Eventually, those plates are going to start crashing to the
ground. And he is
going to have to spend the rest of his life remembering the look in
her eyes. The one she's
going to get when she realizes that he can't save her, no matter what
he promised.
Whatever I have to do, I'm going to make sure that I'm there to see
that look. This
feels even better than I thought it would. And it's almost time to
initiate Phase II. You
see, Donna needs to pay for all her financial irresponsibility.
Someone needs to teach her
that she has to be more careful with her finances. This is about to
get really interesting.
I am so glad I came back to DC.
5:50 AM
Josh's Apartment
Josh and Donna sat at the kitchen table drinking their coffee in
silence. Josh looked at his
cup, the wall, the table, the floor, everywhere but directly at Donna.
"Josh?"
"What?"
"Is there something on your mind?"
"Actually, yes."
Josh resumed staring intently into his coffee cup.
"Care to share?"
Josh hesitated for a minute more then began to speak. "OK, here's the
thing. We have no
idea where all this...this "stuff" is coming from. I've thought a lot
about it and I just don't
believe we're looking at a simple computer glitch here. I don't know
what is going on or
who is behind this, but I'm afraid we haven't seen the end of it."
"Gee, Josh. You sure know how to make a girl feel better." Donna
tried to smile but Josh
heard her voice quiver.
"Donna." His voice took on what he hoped was a more reassuring tone
and he
reached across the table and took her hand. "I just think that this
is too big for us to
handle alone. I think we need to talk to Leo today. Tell him what's
going on. CJ, Sam and
Toby too for that matter. We need as many heads working on this as
possible."
"But...."
"No buts, Donna. Let our friends help you. You would certainly be
there for any one of
them if they needed you right?"
"Yes, but....."
"What part of "no buts" are you having trouble with?"
"You all should be spending your time-oh I don't know-running a
country or something"
"We'll do that in our spare time till we get this problem
straightened out." Josh smirked
jumping up from the table with renewed determination. "Let's go or
we're gonna be late."
8:10 AM
Leo's Office
"If there's nothing else, lets get back to work." Leo said as he
moved back behind his
desk, signaling the end of the meeting.
"I have something of a personal nature I'd like to discuss if you can
all spare me a few
minutes."
"What is it, Josh?" CJ asked warily. "Have you made a mess that I'm
going to have to
spend the next week cleaning up?"
"No it's nothing like that."
Suddenly there was a soft tap on the door. Margaret stuck her head in
to say that
Ainsley had arrived.
"I asked her to join us." Josh said. "I'm thinking we may need her
advice."
"Why will we need the legal counsels advice?" Leo asked as he came
back around his
desk, eyes narrowing "What have you done?"
"Thanks for coming, Ainsley."
"No problem, Josh. What did you need to see me about?"
"Well I...we....actually Donna might need your legal advice."
"Every head in the room snapped up to look at Josh.
"What's wrong with Donna?" Sam asked ready to spring into action to
help his friend.
"What have you done Josh?" Toby growled. "So help me I'll......"
"It's nothing like that" Josh countered "Will you just let me tell
you the problem?"
"I suggest you get right to the point." Leo says
"Okay" Josh said nervously running his hand through his hair. "It all
started yesterday
morning...." And the story just tumbled out of Josh's mouth. He tried
not to leave
anything out. But as he heard himself recounting the details, he
knew the story sounded
far-fetched.
"Josh." Leo said calmly. "Unfortunately these things happen sometimes
in a computer
dependant world. One wrong keystroke and you spend a month trying to
sort through the
debris."
"I know Leo. When Donna first told me all of this, I thought the
exact same thing. And
then I saw these." Josh waved the papers he had been nervously
rolling and unrolling in
his hands as he told Donna's story.
"What are those?" Toby demanded as Josh handed the papers to Ainsley.
"Those are the papers the bank manager gave Donna yesterday. They
show hundreds of
thousands of dollars moving through Donna's bank account in the last
few months."
"What?" CJ screamed. "That's ridiculous."
"I know. I know. But this is what makes me think that---whatever this
is---it isn't over
yet. In fact, it may be just beginning."
All of the sudden Ainsley, who has barely spoken a word since she
entered the room,
looked up from the bank records."Well all I can say is that it looks
like someone is fixin
to take Donna down hard. Whether this is directed at her, or whether
someone is trying to
get to the administration through her, the bottom line is that Donna
is in deep-probably
over her head."
"Well then, what do we do?" Sam asked.
"We fight back" Toby said forcefully, rising from his chair. "We find
out who is behind
this and we take them out."
Josh couldn't help but smile to himself. Toby would never admit it
but a had a deep and
abiding affection for Donna. They had developed a special bond since
the night in the
waiting room after the Newseum. He was not about to allow anything
bad to happen to
her.
All of the sudden, Toby began barking orders. "Ainsley, I'd like you
to prepare me a
memo outlining the possible ramifications of the information in those
bank records
including any and all possible legal fallout. CJ-keep your ears open
in the pressroom and
see if any of the reporters are starting to sniff around this story.
Josh, you cover the
landlords angle. Find out everything you can about them. Sam-you
handle all of the credit
cards. Find out where all these phantom charges came from. I'll
handle the banking end
of this. I want you all to get back to me by early afternoon with
your preliminary
findings." He paused to glance at Leo. " Don't worry, we are all
accomplished multi-
taskers and we won't let this interfere with government business."
"Just keep me informed. I don't want to be blindsided by anything."
Leo warned.
"Will do."
Toby then turned to Josh. "Where is Donna now?"
"Waiting in my office."
"I need to talk to her. Let's go."
"I'm going back downstairs to do a little research." Ainsley said
distractedly "I'll have the
memo to you ASAP"
Sam, Toby, CJ and Josh all headed back towards Josh's office. They
entered and found
Donna trying to make some order out of the clutter of files on the
desk.
"Donna, Josh has filled us in on your situation." Toby said, getting
right to the point. "I
need you to listen to me very carefully. From this moment forward,
you do not leave the
building unescorted. You let one of us know where you are at all
times. You let Bonnie
and Ginger handle all incoming telephone calls. You don't sign for
anything-even
deliveries. And if anything at all out the ordinary happens, you call
me immediately. Do
you understand?"
"Yes, but........."
"No buts, Donna" Toby growled
"See, I told you so." Josh smirked
"We're gonna take care of this, Donna. Don't worry." Toby said in a
much gentler tone of
voice.
"Thanks." Donna replied trying to choke back her tears.
After everyone went back to their respective offices to start doing
their research, Josh
watched Donna through his open office door. He knew that she was
embarrassed by the
fact that everyone knew what was going on. But he was glad that he
was able to sell her
on the idea of confiding in their friends. He had made the mistake
before of thinking that
he could handle things on his own, and it had almost destroyed him.
He wasn't about to
let that happen to Donna. Her safety and well-being were too
important to him. He was
gonna spare her as much pain and suffering as he possibly could.
Toby managed to touch base with everyone at some point during the
afternoon but it was
difficult for him to get a coherent picture of what was going on
without being able to talk
to everyone together. He decided that the best course of action would
be for everyone to
get together for a debriefing later in the night. They all decided to
meet at Josh's
apartment after work.
9:45 PM
Josh's Apartment
Josh and Donna were the first to arrive. There had been no major
incidents over the
course of the day and Donna had managed to relax a little. She
changed out of her work
clothes and into a pair of Josh's sweat pants and an old worn Harvard
t-shirt. They were
sitting on the couch sharing a beer and waiting for the others to
arrive.
"Are you ok sweetheart? You seem a little quiet."
"I'm fine. Just thinking."
"About what?"
"About who could hate me enough to go to all this trouble. I mean
what must I have done
to them to make them want to hurt me this bad?"
"Shush, Donna. You didn't do anything to deserve this. Don't even
think that."
Josh and Donna stared intently into each others eyes, both seeing a
depth of feeling that
they hadn't noticed, or hadn't allowed themselves to notice before.
Before either one
actually knew what was happening, they leaned in and found themselves
embroiled in a
passionate kiss. A kiss that spoke volumes of words they had never
allowed themselves
to say out loud. They were interrupted by a knock on the door.
"We'll finish this later?" Josh asked hopefully
"Definitely" Donna whispered.
Josh opened the door to find Sam and Ainsley juggling boxes of
papers. CJ and Toby
were just exiting the elevator after parking the car. They all came
in, grabbed a beer and
settled down to work. Everyone listened intently as Ainsley discussed
possible legal
ramifications.
"The way I see it, there are four possible legal ramifications
involved here. First, you
could be sued by your rental company for non-payment of rent and
possible breach-of-
contract for failing to fulfill your lease. That would be a fairly
easy one to take care of
though because the lessor can't demand anything more than the amount
that the contract
would have brought in."
"Meaning?" Donna asked
"Meaning they can't sue you for anything more than the back rent plus
the rent for any
remaining months left on the lease."
"Well, being as I have NO money, that could be a problem."
"Don't worry about it, Donna" Josh said "I told you before I'll lend
you the money till we
get this straightened out. Continue please Ainsley"
"Secondly, we have the matter of the credit cards. Each company will
deal with this
according to their own policy. This actually puts you in very little
legal jeopardy as most
companies won't actually take you to court for an unpaid balance. The
effect it will have
your credit rating, however, could be devastating. But I would say
that this is one of your
smaller problems right now and can definitely be put on the back
burner."
"That's comforting."
"Thirdly, we have the matter of the checks that were returned by your
bank for non-
sufficient funds. Those are something that we will need to take care
of right away. You
could face charges on those ranging from theft-by-deception to fraud
depending on the
size of the check. There is some good news here though also. By law,
the people who you
bounced the check on must notify you by registered mail and give you
a chance to make
the check good. As soon as you get any notifications, we will take
care of them
immediately."
"I have to go to my old apartment to check my mail." Donna suddenly
remembered.
"Go to the post office first thing in the morning and fill out a
change of address form."
Toby suggested. "Have all of your mail delivered here. Is that all
right Josh?"
"Absolutely." Josh said looking at Donna. "We'll stop by your
apartment tomorrow
morning, pick up some more stuff for you, grab the mail, then stop at
the post office and
take care of having everything forwarded here."
Ainsley shuffled her feet a bit before she continued. "The last
possibility is by far the
most serious."
All the blood drained from Donna's face and Josh grabbed her hand. It
was ice cold.
"The problem is all of the money that bank records show has passed
through Donna's
account in the last 3 months. 948,118 dollars to be exact. All of the
money came in
through large cash deposits and went out the next day to offshore
accounts."
"But that never happened." Donna said, trying hard not to let any
tears fall.
"I know that Donna" Ainsley assured her. "We all know that, but the
problem is what is
written on these papers. I have to be honest with you, it looks bad.
If the police can trace
those offshore accounts, they can use this paper trail to connect you
to whatever illegal
activities the owners of those accounts may be involved in. This is
by far worst area of
potential legal trouble."
"Ok" CJ said emphatically. "Then this is the area we concentrate on.
First rule of being a
good press secretary is-put out the biggest fire first. So what do we
do?"
"We try to trace these deposits ourselves. If we can prove that they
either never existed-
or that Donna could not have possibly had any knowledge..."
Ainsley is interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Leo must have decided to stop by after all." Toby said getting up.
But when he opened
the door, what he saw instead of Leo was 5 uniformed DCPD officers.
"Mr Lyman?" the officer asked
"No, my name is Toby Ziegler."
"I'm Lieutenant Stoebner from the DCPD. I have a search warrant. May
I come in?"
Toby stood back and let the officers pass. Josh stepped forward and
said "I'm Josh
Lyman. Can I see the search warrant please?"
The officer handed the warrant to Josh who glanced at it and handed
it off to Sam. Sam
and Ainsley quickly scanned the document looking for any glaring
legal mistakes that
would declare in null and void. There were none.
"I have a warrant for the arrest of a Miss Donna Moss."
"What are the charges?" Toby demanded
"Right now the charges are racketeering and money laundering.
However, the complaint
has been left open and other charges can be added later. Are you
Donna Moss ma'am?"
the Lt asked directing his attention to Donna.
Josh quickly moved to stand between the officers and Donna who was
still rooted to the
same spot in the living room, frozen in terror. "There has been a
huge mistake here" he
began. "You can't arrest her. You don't understand what's going on
here."
Toby stepped forward and grabbed Josh's arm. "Please, Josh" he
begged. "Don't make
this any worse than it already is."
"Mr Lyman, I can have you arrested also if you interfere with the
execution of either one
of these warrants." Lt Stoebner said.
That threat snapped Donna out of her trance like state. "No don't
arrest him" she said
"I'm Donna Moss. I'll go with you."
Two of the officers moved towards Donna. "Put your hands against the
wall please, Miss
Moss and spread your legs shoulder width apart." As Donna complied,
the female officer
began a none-to-gentle pat down search. Donna cringed. She prayed for
the floor to open
up and swallow her. This couldn't be happening to her. Not in front
of these people
who's respect she had fought so hard to gain. She wondered in her
heart if they would
ever be able to look at her the same way again.
Toby's firm grip on Josh's arm was all that was kept him from
launching himself across
the living room and tearing the female officer away from Donna. He
could see her
shoulders shaking and he knew that she was trying very hard not to
cry. A dull ache
began in his heart because he was sure that she was trying to make
this easier on him. She
didn't want him getting upset, or worse yet, saying the wrong thing
and getting arrested
himself. He closed his eyes and said a silent prayer that she would
be alright, that she
could manage to hold on until he could figure out a way to get her
back home with
him.
Sam looked slowly around the room, taking in the entire scene. It all
seemed too surreal.
He could see the wheels turning in Ainsley's head. He knew that she,
much like himself,
was already trying to formulate a legal strategy to help Donna. CJ
was already in the
press room in her mind, dealing with the reporters, trying not to let
Donna become just
another sordid tabloid story. It was going to take a lot of effort,
but she was determined to
help her friend in any way possible. Toby's eyes were burning with
rage. Sam knew that
he desperately wanted to do or say something to make this situation
more bearable. But
right now he couldn't, because right now he had all of concentration
focused on Josh,
determined to keep him from doing something stupid. Sam could barely
force himself to
look at Josh. He had never seen his friend look so utterly and
completely helpless. That
look tugged at Sam's heart and he knew that Josh would trade places
with Donna in a
second if he could.
"Are those handcuffs really necessary?" CJ asked
"Department policy ma'am. Let's go Miss Moss."
"Wait" Josh said turning to Donna "Don't say anything angel. We are
gonna take care of
this ok? I promise. Just wait for your lawyer to get there okay? And
we'll have you out of
there ASAP. I love you Donna. I'm gonna fix this ok?"
"OK, Josh. I love you too."
Those words rang in Josh's ears as he stood watching Donna and the
officers disappear
into the elevator. CJ grabbed the phone and called Leo immediately.
Sam and Ainsley
were discussing who the best lawyer to call would be. Toby stepped
forward and stood
beside Josh.
"Are you ok?" he asked
"Why is this happening, Toby? Why Donna?"
"I don't know Josh. But I'm damn sure going to find out. And when I
do, whoever it is is
gonna pay."
"Exactly, but right now, we need to find a way to get Donna out of
jail"
"Agreed."
Across town Mandy was smirking while she talked on the phone.
"Yes Mandy, I'm sure. Donna has been taken onto custody."
"And Josh was there right? I mean he was right there when she got
arrested? And there
was nothing he could do about it."
"Exactly"
"Perfect Jim. Thanks a million. And keep me posted ok?"
"Sure thing"
Mandy disconnected the phone and sank back into the couch saying to
no one in
particular---"God I love this plan."
it. Timing is crucial.
You have to let it unfold at it's own pace. Watching the slow
downhill slide is half of the
fun. The other half is knowing just how far down the victim is going
to fall.
Phase I is already underway. Everything is proceeding on schedule.
I've left
Blondie dazed, confused and without a penny to her name. And just as
I had anticipated,
Josh has jumped on his white horse in an effort to save the damsel in
distress. But it isn't
going to work this time. How do I know this? I know it because, quite
simply, I know
Josh. I know him better than he knows himself. I know how he is going
to react in any
situation.
He wants to be Donna's hero. His ego will keep him from asking for
any help. He
thinks he can keep all the plates spinning all by himself. And that
is going to be his
downfall. Eventually, those plates are going to start crashing to the
ground. And he is
going to have to spend the rest of his life remembering the look in
her eyes. The one she's
going to get when she realizes that he can't save her, no matter what
he promised.
Whatever I have to do, I'm going to make sure that I'm there to see
that look. This
feels even better than I thought it would. And it's almost time to
initiate Phase II. You
see, Donna needs to pay for all her financial irresponsibility.
Someone needs to teach her
that she has to be more careful with her finances. This is about to
get really interesting.
I am so glad I came back to DC.
5:50 AM
Josh's Apartment
Josh and Donna sat at the kitchen table drinking their coffee in
silence. Josh looked at his
cup, the wall, the table, the floor, everywhere but directly at Donna.
"Josh?"
"What?"
"Is there something on your mind?"
"Actually, yes."
Josh resumed staring intently into his coffee cup.
"Care to share?"
Josh hesitated for a minute more then began to speak. "OK, here's the
thing. We have no
idea where all this...this "stuff" is coming from. I've thought a lot
about it and I just don't
believe we're looking at a simple computer glitch here. I don't know
what is going on or
who is behind this, but I'm afraid we haven't seen the end of it."
"Gee, Josh. You sure know how to make a girl feel better." Donna
tried to smile but Josh
heard her voice quiver.
"Donna." His voice took on what he hoped was a more reassuring tone
and he
reached across the table and took her hand. "I just think that this
is too big for us to
handle alone. I think we need to talk to Leo today. Tell him what's
going on. CJ, Sam and
Toby too for that matter. We need as many heads working on this as
possible."
"But...."
"No buts, Donna. Let our friends help you. You would certainly be
there for any one of
them if they needed you right?"
"Yes, but....."
"What part of "no buts" are you having trouble with?"
"You all should be spending your time-oh I don't know-running a
country or something"
"We'll do that in our spare time till we get this problem
straightened out." Josh smirked
jumping up from the table with renewed determination. "Let's go or
we're gonna be late."
8:10 AM
Leo's Office
"If there's nothing else, lets get back to work." Leo said as he
moved back behind his
desk, signaling the end of the meeting.
"I have something of a personal nature I'd like to discuss if you can
all spare me a few
minutes."
"What is it, Josh?" CJ asked warily. "Have you made a mess that I'm
going to have to
spend the next week cleaning up?"
"No it's nothing like that."
Suddenly there was a soft tap on the door. Margaret stuck her head in
to say that
Ainsley had arrived.
"I asked her to join us." Josh said. "I'm thinking we may need her
advice."
"Why will we need the legal counsels advice?" Leo asked as he came
back around his
desk, eyes narrowing "What have you done?"
"Thanks for coming, Ainsley."
"No problem, Josh. What did you need to see me about?"
"Well I...we....actually Donna might need your legal advice."
"Every head in the room snapped up to look at Josh.
"What's wrong with Donna?" Sam asked ready to spring into action to
help his friend.
"What have you done Josh?" Toby growled. "So help me I'll......"
"It's nothing like that" Josh countered "Will you just let me tell
you the problem?"
"I suggest you get right to the point." Leo says
"Okay" Josh said nervously running his hand through his hair. "It all
started yesterday
morning...." And the story just tumbled out of Josh's mouth. He tried
not to leave
anything out. But as he heard himself recounting the details, he
knew the story sounded
far-fetched.
"Josh." Leo said calmly. "Unfortunately these things happen sometimes
in a computer
dependant world. One wrong keystroke and you spend a month trying to
sort through the
debris."
"I know Leo. When Donna first told me all of this, I thought the
exact same thing. And
then I saw these." Josh waved the papers he had been nervously
rolling and unrolling in
his hands as he told Donna's story.
"What are those?" Toby demanded as Josh handed the papers to Ainsley.
"Those are the papers the bank manager gave Donna yesterday. They
show hundreds of
thousands of dollars moving through Donna's bank account in the last
few months."
"What?" CJ screamed. "That's ridiculous."
"I know. I know. But this is what makes me think that---whatever this
is---it isn't over
yet. In fact, it may be just beginning."
All of the sudden Ainsley, who has barely spoken a word since she
entered the room,
looked up from the bank records."Well all I can say is that it looks
like someone is fixin
to take Donna down hard. Whether this is directed at her, or whether
someone is trying to
get to the administration through her, the bottom line is that Donna
is in deep-probably
over her head."
"Well then, what do we do?" Sam asked.
"We fight back" Toby said forcefully, rising from his chair. "We find
out who is behind
this and we take them out."
Josh couldn't help but smile to himself. Toby would never admit it
but a had a deep and
abiding affection for Donna. They had developed a special bond since
the night in the
waiting room after the Newseum. He was not about to allow anything
bad to happen to
her.
All of the sudden, Toby began barking orders. "Ainsley, I'd like you
to prepare me a
memo outlining the possible ramifications of the information in those
bank records
including any and all possible legal fallout. CJ-keep your ears open
in the pressroom and
see if any of the reporters are starting to sniff around this story.
Josh, you cover the
landlords angle. Find out everything you can about them. Sam-you
handle all of the credit
cards. Find out where all these phantom charges came from. I'll
handle the banking end
of this. I want you all to get back to me by early afternoon with
your preliminary
findings." He paused to glance at Leo. " Don't worry, we are all
accomplished multi-
taskers and we won't let this interfere with government business."
"Just keep me informed. I don't want to be blindsided by anything."
Leo warned.
"Will do."
Toby then turned to Josh. "Where is Donna now?"
"Waiting in my office."
"I need to talk to her. Let's go."
"I'm going back downstairs to do a little research." Ainsley said
distractedly "I'll have the
memo to you ASAP"
Sam, Toby, CJ and Josh all headed back towards Josh's office. They
entered and found
Donna trying to make some order out of the clutter of files on the
desk.
"Donna, Josh has filled us in on your situation." Toby said, getting
right to the point. "I
need you to listen to me very carefully. From this moment forward,
you do not leave the
building unescorted. You let one of us know where you are at all
times. You let Bonnie
and Ginger handle all incoming telephone calls. You don't sign for
anything-even
deliveries. And if anything at all out the ordinary happens, you call
me immediately. Do
you understand?"
"Yes, but........."
"No buts, Donna" Toby growled
"See, I told you so." Josh smirked
"We're gonna take care of this, Donna. Don't worry." Toby said in a
much gentler tone of
voice.
"Thanks." Donna replied trying to choke back her tears.
After everyone went back to their respective offices to start doing
their research, Josh
watched Donna through his open office door. He knew that she was
embarrassed by the
fact that everyone knew what was going on. But he was glad that he
was able to sell her
on the idea of confiding in their friends. He had made the mistake
before of thinking that
he could handle things on his own, and it had almost destroyed him.
He wasn't about to
let that happen to Donna. Her safety and well-being were too
important to him. He was
gonna spare her as much pain and suffering as he possibly could.
Toby managed to touch base with everyone at some point during the
afternoon but it was
difficult for him to get a coherent picture of what was going on
without being able to talk
to everyone together. He decided that the best course of action would
be for everyone to
get together for a debriefing later in the night. They all decided to
meet at Josh's
apartment after work.
9:45 PM
Josh's Apartment
Josh and Donna were the first to arrive. There had been no major
incidents over the
course of the day and Donna had managed to relax a little. She
changed out of her work
clothes and into a pair of Josh's sweat pants and an old worn Harvard
t-shirt. They were
sitting on the couch sharing a beer and waiting for the others to
arrive.
"Are you ok sweetheart? You seem a little quiet."
"I'm fine. Just thinking."
"About what?"
"About who could hate me enough to go to all this trouble. I mean
what must I have done
to them to make them want to hurt me this bad?"
"Shush, Donna. You didn't do anything to deserve this. Don't even
think that."
Josh and Donna stared intently into each others eyes, both seeing a
depth of feeling that
they hadn't noticed, or hadn't allowed themselves to notice before.
Before either one
actually knew what was happening, they leaned in and found themselves
embroiled in a
passionate kiss. A kiss that spoke volumes of words they had never
allowed themselves
to say out loud. They were interrupted by a knock on the door.
"We'll finish this later?" Josh asked hopefully
"Definitely" Donna whispered.
Josh opened the door to find Sam and Ainsley juggling boxes of
papers. CJ and Toby
were just exiting the elevator after parking the car. They all came
in, grabbed a beer and
settled down to work. Everyone listened intently as Ainsley discussed
possible legal
ramifications.
"The way I see it, there are four possible legal ramifications
involved here. First, you
could be sued by your rental company for non-payment of rent and
possible breach-of-
contract for failing to fulfill your lease. That would be a fairly
easy one to take care of
though because the lessor can't demand anything more than the amount
that the contract
would have brought in."
"Meaning?" Donna asked
"Meaning they can't sue you for anything more than the back rent plus
the rent for any
remaining months left on the lease."
"Well, being as I have NO money, that could be a problem."
"Don't worry about it, Donna" Josh said "I told you before I'll lend
you the money till we
get this straightened out. Continue please Ainsley"
"Secondly, we have the matter of the credit cards. Each company will
deal with this
according to their own policy. This actually puts you in very little
legal jeopardy as most
companies won't actually take you to court for an unpaid balance. The
effect it will have
your credit rating, however, could be devastating. But I would say
that this is one of your
smaller problems right now and can definitely be put on the back
burner."
"That's comforting."
"Thirdly, we have the matter of the checks that were returned by your
bank for non-
sufficient funds. Those are something that we will need to take care
of right away. You
could face charges on those ranging from theft-by-deception to fraud
depending on the
size of the check. There is some good news here though also. By law,
the people who you
bounced the check on must notify you by registered mail and give you
a chance to make
the check good. As soon as you get any notifications, we will take
care of them
immediately."
"I have to go to my old apartment to check my mail." Donna suddenly
remembered.
"Go to the post office first thing in the morning and fill out a
change of address form."
Toby suggested. "Have all of your mail delivered here. Is that all
right Josh?"
"Absolutely." Josh said looking at Donna. "We'll stop by your
apartment tomorrow
morning, pick up some more stuff for you, grab the mail, then stop at
the post office and
take care of having everything forwarded here."
Ainsley shuffled her feet a bit before she continued. "The last
possibility is by far the
most serious."
All the blood drained from Donna's face and Josh grabbed her hand. It
was ice cold.
"The problem is all of the money that bank records show has passed
through Donna's
account in the last 3 months. 948,118 dollars to be exact. All of the
money came in
through large cash deposits and went out the next day to offshore
accounts."
"But that never happened." Donna said, trying hard not to let any
tears fall.
"I know that Donna" Ainsley assured her. "We all know that, but the
problem is what is
written on these papers. I have to be honest with you, it looks bad.
If the police can trace
those offshore accounts, they can use this paper trail to connect you
to whatever illegal
activities the owners of those accounts may be involved in. This is
by far worst area of
potential legal trouble."
"Ok" CJ said emphatically. "Then this is the area we concentrate on.
First rule of being a
good press secretary is-put out the biggest fire first. So what do we
do?"
"We try to trace these deposits ourselves. If we can prove that they
either never existed-
or that Donna could not have possibly had any knowledge..."
Ainsley is interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Leo must have decided to stop by after all." Toby said getting up.
But when he opened
the door, what he saw instead of Leo was 5 uniformed DCPD officers.
"Mr Lyman?" the officer asked
"No, my name is Toby Ziegler."
"I'm Lieutenant Stoebner from the DCPD. I have a search warrant. May
I come in?"
Toby stood back and let the officers pass. Josh stepped forward and
said "I'm Josh
Lyman. Can I see the search warrant please?"
The officer handed the warrant to Josh who glanced at it and handed
it off to Sam. Sam
and Ainsley quickly scanned the document looking for any glaring
legal mistakes that
would declare in null and void. There were none.
"I have a warrant for the arrest of a Miss Donna Moss."
"What are the charges?" Toby demanded
"Right now the charges are racketeering and money laundering.
However, the complaint
has been left open and other charges can be added later. Are you
Donna Moss ma'am?"
the Lt asked directing his attention to Donna.
Josh quickly moved to stand between the officers and Donna who was
still rooted to the
same spot in the living room, frozen in terror. "There has been a
huge mistake here" he
began. "You can't arrest her. You don't understand what's going on
here."
Toby stepped forward and grabbed Josh's arm. "Please, Josh" he
begged. "Don't make
this any worse than it already is."
"Mr Lyman, I can have you arrested also if you interfere with the
execution of either one
of these warrants." Lt Stoebner said.
That threat snapped Donna out of her trance like state. "No don't
arrest him" she said
"I'm Donna Moss. I'll go with you."
Two of the officers moved towards Donna. "Put your hands against the
wall please, Miss
Moss and spread your legs shoulder width apart." As Donna complied,
the female officer
began a none-to-gentle pat down search. Donna cringed. She prayed for
the floor to open
up and swallow her. This couldn't be happening to her. Not in front
of these people
who's respect she had fought so hard to gain. She wondered in her
heart if they would
ever be able to look at her the same way again.
Toby's firm grip on Josh's arm was all that was kept him from
launching himself across
the living room and tearing the female officer away from Donna. He
could see her
shoulders shaking and he knew that she was trying very hard not to
cry. A dull ache
began in his heart because he was sure that she was trying to make
this easier on him. She
didn't want him getting upset, or worse yet, saying the wrong thing
and getting arrested
himself. He closed his eyes and said a silent prayer that she would
be alright, that she
could manage to hold on until he could figure out a way to get her
back home with
him.
Sam looked slowly around the room, taking in the entire scene. It all
seemed too surreal.
He could see the wheels turning in Ainsley's head. He knew that she,
much like himself,
was already trying to formulate a legal strategy to help Donna. CJ
was already in the
press room in her mind, dealing with the reporters, trying not to let
Donna become just
another sordid tabloid story. It was going to take a lot of effort,
but she was determined to
help her friend in any way possible. Toby's eyes were burning with
rage. Sam knew that
he desperately wanted to do or say something to make this situation
more bearable. But
right now he couldn't, because right now he had all of concentration
focused on Josh,
determined to keep him from doing something stupid. Sam could barely
force himself to
look at Josh. He had never seen his friend look so utterly and
completely helpless. That
look tugged at Sam's heart and he knew that Josh would trade places
with Donna in a
second if he could.
"Are those handcuffs really necessary?" CJ asked
"Department policy ma'am. Let's go Miss Moss."
"Wait" Josh said turning to Donna "Don't say anything angel. We are
gonna take care of
this ok? I promise. Just wait for your lawyer to get there okay? And
we'll have you out of
there ASAP. I love you Donna. I'm gonna fix this ok?"
"OK, Josh. I love you too."
Those words rang in Josh's ears as he stood watching Donna and the
officers disappear
into the elevator. CJ grabbed the phone and called Leo immediately.
Sam and Ainsley
were discussing who the best lawyer to call would be. Toby stepped
forward and stood
beside Josh.
"Are you ok?" he asked
"Why is this happening, Toby? Why Donna?"
"I don't know Josh. But I'm damn sure going to find out. And when I
do, whoever it is is
gonna pay."
"Exactly, but right now, we need to find a way to get Donna out of
jail"
"Agreed."
Across town Mandy was smirking while she talked on the phone.
"Yes Mandy, I'm sure. Donna has been taken onto custody."
"And Josh was there right? I mean he was right there when she got
arrested? And there
was nothing he could do about it."
"Exactly"
"Perfect Jim. Thanks a million. And keep me posted ok?"
"Sure thing"
Mandy disconnected the phone and sank back into the couch saying to
no one in
particular---"God I love this plan."