OK Fine. I know that I may have made a slight tactical error by
approaching the little
witch in the park. But I just couldn't resist. You know what I mean?
I just wanted to see
the look in her eyes. Up close. The panic and the disappointment. And
I did see that, for a
few minutes. But then everything changed. A whole different look
cropped up and I have
to say that I can't exactly put my finger on what it was. But,
whatever it was, it won't
last. I didn't get into this battle to lose it. I still have a lot of
fight in me. So if Blondie
thinks she's in the clear, she's sadly mistaken. I just need to drop
back a little and rethink
my strategy. But I'm not worried, I still have the upper hand.
CJ looked at her watch as she hurried towards the door of Josh's
apartment. She had
promised to meet everyone there as soon as possible but a press
briefing, which ran long,
had held her up. As she rounded the corner and looked down the hall,
she saw Ainsley
about to knock.
"Hey, what's up?" she asked.
"Not much. I've just been going over all of the information you gave
me about Mandy."
"Find anything interesting?"
"Not yet, but I know it's there. I can feel it." Ainsley said as she
knocked on the door.
"You can feel it?" CJ asked with a smile. "I thought lawyers needed
something more
concrete than feelings to go on."
"Ok." Ainsley chuckled "Let's chalk it up to women's intuition."
As Josh opened the door he heard them say in unison "Long live the
sisterhood". He just
rolled his eyes and motioned for them to come in.
The scene in the living room brought a smile to both of the women's
faces. Sam and
Toby were sitting, relaxed and comfortable, over a slew of Chinese
takeout containers.
Josh returned immediately to his place on the couch next to Donna,
who was eating an
egg roll, which she was managing to hold on to despite the splints on
her fingers. It was
good to see everyone so relaxed for a change.
Ainsley grabbed a plate and a fork and dug into the Kung Pao chicken.
"Hungry?" Sam asked with a smile
"Bite me, Sam." Ainsley shot back.
"Hey!! You've been spending too much time with CJ!!"
"Long live the sisterhood." Ainsley laughed
"Amen." Donna added.
Donna leaned back against Josh, as he placed his arm lightly around
her shoulders. The
noise level in the apartment was rising but she kept reminding
herself to breathe and to
remember that these were her friends. The feelings of panic, while
still present, were no
longer threatening to overwhelm her.
As soon as everyone had settled in, she recounted her meeting with
Mandy in the park.
"She really didn't say that much. It was more the look in her eyes.
They were empty and
ice cold. I've never seen pure hatred before but I have now. I've
never seen anything like
it. It was quite scary, really." she said as her voice broke,
remembering the way she had
felt in the park, talking to Mandy. Josh squeezed her forearm
reassuringly.
"Did she admit anything to you about what she had done?" Toby asked.
"Not directly." Donna said. "All she really said was that I had taken
her job away from
her. She said the President was her big chance to be a major player
and that I had taken
that away from her by forcing her out. It really didn't make any
sense."
"Well, what she's doing certainly doesn't make any sense so I'm not
sure we should be
looking for logic in her actions." Sam said
"She didn't threaten you, did she?" Josh asked worriedly.
"No." Donna said, smiling at the concern in his voice.
"Regardless," Toby said "I still think it's best if you observe extra
caution until Mandy
gets what she has coming to her. Don't go anywhere alone etc...."
"Okay, I'll be careful." Donna promised
"So..." Sam spoke up "Speaking of getting what she deserves, where do
we stand on
that?"
"I have a meeting with Chad tomorrow to go over what he has found so
far." Toby said,
"Then we will make a decision as how to proceed from there. It's only
a matter of time
but I just want to make sure we do this right every step of the way.
No way I'm letting
her slip through our fingers."
Sam glanced at CJ and Ainsley who were both staring intently at their
plates. "Does the
sisterhood have anything to report?" he asked with a barely concealed
grin.
"Not yet but we're working on it." Ainsley said. "We need a good
codename though. You
know..Operation.....??"
"Why do you need a codename?" Toby asked derisively.
"All good operations have a codename." Ainsley countered. "We need a
good one. I'll
think about it and let you know what I come up with."
"We'll be waiting with baited breath." Toby growled as everyone else
in the room
chuckled.
Sam gathered up a few dirty dishes and carried them to the kitchen.
Donna excused
herself and followed him.
"Sam?" she said as he stood at the sink with his back to her.
"What?" he said turning around.
"I wanted to say again how sorry I am for...well for...my behavior the
other night." She
said pointing to the bruise on his forehead as tears sprung to her
eyes. "I really don't
know what came over me."
"It's okay, Donna. Don't worry about it. I know that you were under a
lot of stress. I
should have been more sensitive to that. I'm the one who should be
sorry."
"No." she said. "It wasn't your fault. I just couldn't get past the
anger and the pain. I took
it out on you when it wasn't your fault at all."
"That's ok." he said, "I'll tell you what, I'll make you a deal".
"What?"
"I'll volunteer to be the target of your anger anytime if it helps
you to feel better. If you
need to get some things off your chest-I'm your guy. You can yell at
me, you can
scream at me-----just stay away from the full soda cans ok? Empties
only!!"
"Deal." Donna said with a smile.
"It's good to see you smile again." Sam said sincerely dropping an
arm around her
shoulders.
"It's good to smile again," Donna said as they returned to the living
room to join the
others.
After everyone left for home, Josh carried the dishes and the empty
takeout containers to
the kitchen and sat them on the counter.
"I'll take care of this stuff tomorrow." he said with a yawn
"Tired?" Donna asked.
"A little." he shrugged "I think everything is just finally catching
up with me".
"You need to get a good nights sleep."
"We both do."
"Josh..." she said hesitantly. "I feel like I had a real breakthrough
this afternoon in the
park, but I'm still not ready to...."
"I understand." he said, "Don't worry about it. I'm just gonna tuck
you in and then I'll
sleep on the couch."
"I could sleep on the couch." she said "I feel bad kicking you out of
your own bed."
"It's not a problem, Donnatella."
"Thanks."
Donna went into the bathroom and slipped into Josh's worn Yale t-
shirt and a pair of
boxers. Even though she had washed all of her own pajamas, she still
enjoyed sleeping in
Josh's clothes.
"Are you sure you don't want me to take the couch tonight?" she asked
as she reentered
the bedroom.
"Positive".
"Thank you Josh," she said looking deeply into his eyes. "Not just
for sleeping on the
couch but for understanding, for being there, for everything."
"You're welcome," he said wrapping his arms around her
waist. "Anytime."
Josh was so relieved to see the light back in Donna's eyes. There
were moments
over the last few weeks when he was worried that he would never see
it again. He found
himself completely hypnotized. He leaned forward and placed a gentle
kiss on her
lips. He closed his eyes, reveling in the feel of her lips on his and
thought how he could
stay right here, in this moment, forever. Donna wrapped her arms
around his neck. The
kiss quickly deepened. After a few minutes, Josh reluctantly pulled
away. He knew that
Donna wasn't ready, either physically or emotionally, to escalate
their relationship. The
last thing he wanted to do was rush her into something she wasn't
ready for. He was
willing to take it as slowly as she needed to.
"I love you.," he said placing his forehead against hers but not
removing his arms from
her waist
"I love you too." She sighed.
"Now let's get some sleep" he said turning to pull back the covers on
the bed.
Donna climbed in and Josh pulled the comforter over her. He leaned in
and gave her a
kiss on the forehead.
"I'll be in the living room if you need anything." Josh said as he
turned out the lamp on
the bedside table.
"Okay." she said.
Within 10 minutes, they were both sound asleep.
6:30 AM
Josh's Apartment
"What time is your appointment with Stanley?" Josh asked for the
tenth time.
"9:45."
"And you're sure you don't want me to go with you?"
"Positive."
"Ok, but you'll call me as soon as you're done right?"
"I promise."
"Be careful. Remember what Toby said about taking extra precautions."
"I'll call a cab, Josh and I wont leave the building till I see it
out front."
"Ok-I'm not trying to be a nag but...."
"I understand. Now get to work before you're late for the staff
meeting."
"Slave driver."
"That's right."
"I love you," he said leaning in and kissing her on the lips.
"I love you too. Now go." Donna said literally pushing Josh out the
door. He stood in the
hallway for a few minutes until he heard Donna latch the locks and
then he walked down
the hallway towards the elevator, happier than he had been in weeks.
6:45 AM
Sam's office
Sam's head jerked up at the sound of a knock on his door. He thought
he was the only
one in this early on his end of the building.
"Come in." he said eyeing the door curiously.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Larry asked hesitantly
"Sure, Larry. What's up?"
"Well-it's about everything that's been going on lately...with Donna."
Sam suddenly sensed the edge in Larry's voice and asked, "Do you know
something
about what's been going on?"
"Yes" Larry said in a voice barely above a whisper. "In fact, I'm
pretty sure I contributed
to it. But I certainly never knew it was going to go this far when
she contacted me."
"When you say "she" I assume you mean Mandy?"
"Yes." Larry said sheepishly
Sam listened as Larry spilled out the details of his initial meeting
with Mandy. How he
thought it had been a coincidence when he had run into her the night
that they had tried to
fix the speech for the correspondents dinner. How she had invited him
to breakfast at an
all night diner across town. How they had spent the night gossiping
about what had
happened in the White House since her departure. How she had asked
nonchalantly about
many people including Josh and Donna and how he had recounted the
story of their
argument earlier in the night over the flowers."
"Did she tell you what she was planning?" Sam asked unable to hide
the anger in his
words.
"Not exactly." Larry said staring at the floor.
"She said that she wanted to have a little fun, to pay Donna back,
she didn't really say
what for. She asked me if I could get her some information from
Donna's personnel file
like her social security number and her date of birth."
"And you did?"
"I never guessed that she was gonna do something this serious. I
swear."
"But why?" Sam asked, "Why would you even do anything like that?"
"I don't know. I asked Donna out a few times when we first got to the
White House. She
turned me down. I guess I still hold a little grudge. But I swear Sam
I never thought it
would go this far. I'm really sorry."
"Well it's a little late for that now isn't it?" Sam said angrily as
he realized that he needed
time to think. "I think you need to take a few days off Larry."
"I'm fired, aren't I?"
"Right now, I can't even think about that. I'm going to have to talk
to Toby. I just need
you not to be here today, ok? I'll call you when I decide what I'm
going to do."
"Ok." Larry said heading for the door. As he reached it he turned and
said " Sam?"
"Yeah?"
"I am really sorry Donna got hurt."
"I believe you, but it doesn't change the fact that she did. And not
only Donna, but a lot
of other people as well."
"I know" Larry said as he turned and left the office.
Sam pounded his fist on the desk. Larry!! One of his own employees.
He tried to decide
how and when would be the best time to tell Toby about this.
8:00 AM
The Capital Diner
Toby spotted Chad as soon as he entered the diner. He was sitting in
a booth in the back
nibbling on a bagel. Toby crossed the room and took the seat directly
across from him.
"Just coffee please" he told the waitress as she approached with a
menu.
"What have you found out?" Toby asked getting right down to business.
"Well, we're getting much closer." Chad said not disturbed at all by
Toby's brusque
manner. "We have managed to track about 50 percent of the transaction
so far back to
their source. But it isn't Simmons and West like we thought. They
only served as a
clearinghouse. The transactions seem to have originated with a
company out of New
York called Foster Group Ltd. As far as I can tell, they are pretty
much of a shell
company."
"Any idea who owns them?"
"Some big time marketing and PR firm called Lennox Chase."
Toby laughed out loud.
"Are you sure?" he asked
"About 90 %" Chad said "Is there something funny about that?"
"Just that I can't believe that Mandy was stupid enough to try to
hide this stuff behind
Lennox Chase. She used to work for them so she must have a working
knowledge of their
computer system, which helps explain how she managed to do it. But
somehow I don't
think the brass over there is going to relish the idea of being drawn
into this scandal.
Something tells me I wont have much trouble convincing them to
cooperate" Toby said
with a smile. "Do you have copies of everything you've found?"
"Yep. Here they are" Chad said handing Toby a thick stack of computer
printouts. "I'll
get the rest to you as they come in."
"Thanks a million, Chad" Toby said as he got up and through some
money on the table.
"Breakfast is on me."
"Thanks." Chad laughed "I'll get more info to you soon."
Toby smiled to himself as he walked out of the diner. This was going
to be even more fun
than he had anticipated. He was looking forward to calling the folks
at Lennox Chase.
'You've made a major tactical error, Mandy' he thought to himself,
and I'm going to take
full advantage of it.
11:50 AM
White House
Josh was surprised when he looked up and saw Donna standing in the
doorway of his
office.
"Hey," he said, "What the heck are you doing here?"
"Gee, Josh. That's the kind of greeting every girl dreams of
hearing." she said
sarcastically
"I just meant..."
"I know what you meant," she said with a laugh as she dropped into
the visitor's chair.
"So how was you meeting with Stanley?"
"Good. Really. I'm glad I went."
"So you're going back?"
"Yep."
"Wanna talk about it?"
"Not right now."
"But if you do?"
"I know where you are."
"OK" Josh smiled. He knew that dealing with what had happened to her
in prison would
be tough for Donna, but he could see that her old spirit had
returned. She was ready now
to fight the demons. He marveled at how strong she was. He was just
about to tell her
how impressive he thought she was when CJ came through the door.
"I thought I saw you come in here." She said as she crossed the room
and gave Donna a
hug. "How are you today?"
"Good thanks. I had an appointment with Stanley this morning. I still
have a long way to
go but it definitely helped."
"Great." CJ said with a smile. She was glad to see Donna taking
control of her
life again.
She suddenly remembered what she had come in for in the first place
and turned her
attention to Josh. "I just wanted to drop off this information for
you before you went over
to the hill to have lunch with Matt Skinner. I thought you might be
able to use it to
convince him."
"Thanks, CJ"
"So I guess that means you can't have lunch with me?" Donna pouted
"No, sorry I can't. I really need to try to get Matt's support on
this."
"That's ok."
"Hey" CJ piped up "I'm meeting Ainsley over at Houlihan's for lunch.
Why don't you
join us?"
"Maybe I will." Donna said actually relishing the thought of a nice
leisurely lunch out.
"Is this a meeting about Operation whatever?" Josh asked with a
smirk. "Has Ainsley
come up with a name yet?"
"Not yet" CJ said shooting Josh a warning glance "But don't jest,
Josh".
"I'm not. I swear."
"I'll see you later" Donna said moving around the desk and leaning
over to brush a quick
kiss across Josh's cheek.
"OK have fun-and be careful"
"We will."
"Good luck with Matt Skinner." CJ called over her shoulder.
"Good luck with Operation whatever." Josh called back.
"Don't mock the sisterhood, Josh" Donna warned.
Josh just rolled his eyes and watched them walk across the bullpen.
12:20 PM
Houlihan's Tavern
Ainsley was already halfway through an order of potato skins when
Donna and CJ
arrived.
"Donna!!" she said obviously happy to see her friend. "I wasn't
expecting you. How are
you?"
"Good thanks. Very good as a matter of fact."
The waitress came to the table to take CJ and Donnas drink order and
Ainsley said, "You
better bring us more potato skins."
CJ and Donna exchanged amused smiles.
"So," CJ said getting down to business "You have a very enigmatic
smile on your face
Miss Hayes. Could it be that you have discovered something?"
"Why yes, Ms Cregg. I believe I have."
"Do tell."
"Ok. But first, I've decided on a name."
"A name?"
"For the operation."
"Ok what is it?"
"Operation Porter." Ainsley said with a flourish that indicated she
had put quite a bit of
thought into the selection of just the right moniker.
"Operation Porter?" CJ and Donna said simultaneously.
"Yes. Porter. You know....that's the name of the guy Mel Gibson played
in that movie."
"What movie?"
"Payback."
"Aha. Now I get the connection."
"But that was a terrible movie." Donna said
"But Mel looked good." Ainsley offered
"True," they all agreed, "Nice eyes...nice ass...Operation Porter it is."
"Ok." CJ said, "Now that that's settled, tell us what you found out."
"Well I've been doing a little digging into Mandy's bank records."
"Really? Where did you get a hold of her bank records?" Donna asked
"I have some powerful connections of my own." Ainsley answered
"You had Mel's twinkle right there." Donna observed
"What?"
"In your eyes. When you talked about having connections. You had that
Mel Gibson
twinkle. I think Operation Porter is the perfect name."
"Why thank you." Ainsley beamed.
"You're quite welcome."
"So," Ainsley continued. "Would you be surprised if I told you that
Mandy Hampton has
an off shore bank account in the Cayman Islands?"
"Really?" CJ said, "That's very interesting."
"Oh, that isn't even the interesting part of it." Ainsley said
positively bursting with news.
"Do tell." CJ said.
"It's a joint account. And would you like to know the other name on
the account?"
"Yes"
"Senator Lloyd Russell" Ainsley said unable to hide her glee any
longer.
"Are you kidding me?" CJ and Donna asked in unison as they both
stared at Ainsley
trying to absorb this new information.
"And there's more." Ainsley continued "Would you like to know how
much money is in
it?"
"How much?"
"7.5 million dollars!!"
"No" CJ said smiling as she considered all of the possible
implications of this news.
"Yes." Ainsley replied happily.
"Kind of makes you wonder where all that money came from doesn't it?"
Donna asked
"It certainly does." CJ said
"And more to the point, why they need to hide it offshore." Ainsley
wondered.
"I think we have a little more digging to do." CJ said. "And I think
I know just where to
start. Do you have the name of the offshore bank involved?"
"Right here." Ainsley said passing her a slip of paper. "And that's
the account number."
"Great. I have a friend at justice who should be able to help us get
some more
information."
"In the meantime, Donna, can you go through the financial disclosures
from the last few
years and find out if there is any explanation for how all Senator
Russell came into all
this money."
"Sure thing." Donna said. "As soon as I talk to Leo and make sure I
still have a job."
"You do." CJ said "Don't worry. Leo was just concerned about you. Now
that he knows
you're seeing Stanley, everything will be fine."
"I hope so." Donna said
"I guarantee it." CJ said
"Well good. Then as soon as I talk to him, I'll get right on this."
"And I am going to do a little digging in Mandy's tax records."
Ainsley said. "Something
tells me she may just have forgotten to mention any of this money to
the IRS."
"Something tells me, there may be a lot of things about this story
that Mandy has
conveniently forgotten to mention." CJ said. "And I intend to find
out every single one of
them."
"Let's toast" Ainsley said "To Operation Porter"
They all laughed as they clinked their glasses together.
Josh returned from his meeting with Matt Skinner and found that CJ
and Donna weren't
back from lunch yet. He glanced at his schedule and saw that, aside
from a few phone
calls that needed to be made, his afternoon was basically free. He
made a quick decision.
He reached his destination fairly quickly through surprisingly light
afternoon traffic. As
he approached the receptionist, he tried to think of the best way to
handle the situation.
"I'd like to see Ms. Hampton." he said
"Is she expecting you?"
"No"
"Can I tell her your name?"
"Actually" Josh said leaning in and flashing the receptionist a full
dimpled smile, "It's
kind of a surprise. I'm an old friend of hers. I'd like to just pop
back unannounced if I
can."
After hesitating for a moment, the receptionist said, "Well, I'm sure
it will be ok. It's
down that hallway, the last office on the right."
"Thanks." Josh said as he walked away.
"Come in." Mandy said in an irritated voice as she heard the knock.
She hated
unannounced visitors. Suddenly the door flung open.
"Hello, Josh" she said "I've been expecting you."
approaching the little
witch in the park. But I just couldn't resist. You know what I mean?
I just wanted to see
the look in her eyes. Up close. The panic and the disappointment. And
I did see that, for a
few minutes. But then everything changed. A whole different look
cropped up and I have
to say that I can't exactly put my finger on what it was. But,
whatever it was, it won't
last. I didn't get into this battle to lose it. I still have a lot of
fight in me. So if Blondie
thinks she's in the clear, she's sadly mistaken. I just need to drop
back a little and rethink
my strategy. But I'm not worried, I still have the upper hand.
CJ looked at her watch as she hurried towards the door of Josh's
apartment. She had
promised to meet everyone there as soon as possible but a press
briefing, which ran long,
had held her up. As she rounded the corner and looked down the hall,
she saw Ainsley
about to knock.
"Hey, what's up?" she asked.
"Not much. I've just been going over all of the information you gave
me about Mandy."
"Find anything interesting?"
"Not yet, but I know it's there. I can feel it." Ainsley said as she
knocked on the door.
"You can feel it?" CJ asked with a smile. "I thought lawyers needed
something more
concrete than feelings to go on."
"Ok." Ainsley chuckled "Let's chalk it up to women's intuition."
As Josh opened the door he heard them say in unison "Long live the
sisterhood". He just
rolled his eyes and motioned for them to come in.
The scene in the living room brought a smile to both of the women's
faces. Sam and
Toby were sitting, relaxed and comfortable, over a slew of Chinese
takeout containers.
Josh returned immediately to his place on the couch next to Donna,
who was eating an
egg roll, which she was managing to hold on to despite the splints on
her fingers. It was
good to see everyone so relaxed for a change.
Ainsley grabbed a plate and a fork and dug into the Kung Pao chicken.
"Hungry?" Sam asked with a smile
"Bite me, Sam." Ainsley shot back.
"Hey!! You've been spending too much time with CJ!!"
"Long live the sisterhood." Ainsley laughed
"Amen." Donna added.
Donna leaned back against Josh, as he placed his arm lightly around
her shoulders. The
noise level in the apartment was rising but she kept reminding
herself to breathe and to
remember that these were her friends. The feelings of panic, while
still present, were no
longer threatening to overwhelm her.
As soon as everyone had settled in, she recounted her meeting with
Mandy in the park.
"She really didn't say that much. It was more the look in her eyes.
They were empty and
ice cold. I've never seen pure hatred before but I have now. I've
never seen anything like
it. It was quite scary, really." she said as her voice broke,
remembering the way she had
felt in the park, talking to Mandy. Josh squeezed her forearm
reassuringly.
"Did she admit anything to you about what she had done?" Toby asked.
"Not directly." Donna said. "All she really said was that I had taken
her job away from
her. She said the President was her big chance to be a major player
and that I had taken
that away from her by forcing her out. It really didn't make any
sense."
"Well, what she's doing certainly doesn't make any sense so I'm not
sure we should be
looking for logic in her actions." Sam said
"She didn't threaten you, did she?" Josh asked worriedly.
"No." Donna said, smiling at the concern in his voice.
"Regardless," Toby said "I still think it's best if you observe extra
caution until Mandy
gets what she has coming to her. Don't go anywhere alone etc...."
"Okay, I'll be careful." Donna promised
"So..." Sam spoke up "Speaking of getting what she deserves, where do
we stand on
that?"
"I have a meeting with Chad tomorrow to go over what he has found so
far." Toby said,
"Then we will make a decision as how to proceed from there. It's only
a matter of time
but I just want to make sure we do this right every step of the way.
No way I'm letting
her slip through our fingers."
Sam glanced at CJ and Ainsley who were both staring intently at their
plates. "Does the
sisterhood have anything to report?" he asked with a barely concealed
grin.
"Not yet but we're working on it." Ainsley said. "We need a good
codename though. You
know..Operation.....??"
"Why do you need a codename?" Toby asked derisively.
"All good operations have a codename." Ainsley countered. "We need a
good one. I'll
think about it and let you know what I come up with."
"We'll be waiting with baited breath." Toby growled as everyone else
in the room
chuckled.
Sam gathered up a few dirty dishes and carried them to the kitchen.
Donna excused
herself and followed him.
"Sam?" she said as he stood at the sink with his back to her.
"What?" he said turning around.
"I wanted to say again how sorry I am for...well for...my behavior the
other night." She
said pointing to the bruise on his forehead as tears sprung to her
eyes. "I really don't
know what came over me."
"It's okay, Donna. Don't worry about it. I know that you were under a
lot of stress. I
should have been more sensitive to that. I'm the one who should be
sorry."
"No." she said. "It wasn't your fault. I just couldn't get past the
anger and the pain. I took
it out on you when it wasn't your fault at all."
"That's ok." he said, "I'll tell you what, I'll make you a deal".
"What?"
"I'll volunteer to be the target of your anger anytime if it helps
you to feel better. If you
need to get some things off your chest-I'm your guy. You can yell at
me, you can
scream at me-----just stay away from the full soda cans ok? Empties
only!!"
"Deal." Donna said with a smile.
"It's good to see you smile again." Sam said sincerely dropping an
arm around her
shoulders.
"It's good to smile again," Donna said as they returned to the living
room to join the
others.
After everyone left for home, Josh carried the dishes and the empty
takeout containers to
the kitchen and sat them on the counter.
"I'll take care of this stuff tomorrow." he said with a yawn
"Tired?" Donna asked.
"A little." he shrugged "I think everything is just finally catching
up with me".
"You need to get a good nights sleep."
"We both do."
"Josh..." she said hesitantly. "I feel like I had a real breakthrough
this afternoon in the
park, but I'm still not ready to...."
"I understand." he said, "Don't worry about it. I'm just gonna tuck
you in and then I'll
sleep on the couch."
"I could sleep on the couch." she said "I feel bad kicking you out of
your own bed."
"It's not a problem, Donnatella."
"Thanks."
Donna went into the bathroom and slipped into Josh's worn Yale t-
shirt and a pair of
boxers. Even though she had washed all of her own pajamas, she still
enjoyed sleeping in
Josh's clothes.
"Are you sure you don't want me to take the couch tonight?" she asked
as she reentered
the bedroom.
"Positive".
"Thank you Josh," she said looking deeply into his eyes. "Not just
for sleeping on the
couch but for understanding, for being there, for everything."
"You're welcome," he said wrapping his arms around her
waist. "Anytime."
Josh was so relieved to see the light back in Donna's eyes. There
were moments
over the last few weeks when he was worried that he would never see
it again. He found
himself completely hypnotized. He leaned forward and placed a gentle
kiss on her
lips. He closed his eyes, reveling in the feel of her lips on his and
thought how he could
stay right here, in this moment, forever. Donna wrapped her arms
around his neck. The
kiss quickly deepened. After a few minutes, Josh reluctantly pulled
away. He knew that
Donna wasn't ready, either physically or emotionally, to escalate
their relationship. The
last thing he wanted to do was rush her into something she wasn't
ready for. He was
willing to take it as slowly as she needed to.
"I love you.," he said placing his forehead against hers but not
removing his arms from
her waist
"I love you too." She sighed.
"Now let's get some sleep" he said turning to pull back the covers on
the bed.
Donna climbed in and Josh pulled the comforter over her. He leaned in
and gave her a
kiss on the forehead.
"I'll be in the living room if you need anything." Josh said as he
turned out the lamp on
the bedside table.
"Okay." she said.
Within 10 minutes, they were both sound asleep.
6:30 AM
Josh's Apartment
"What time is your appointment with Stanley?" Josh asked for the
tenth time.
"9:45."
"And you're sure you don't want me to go with you?"
"Positive."
"Ok, but you'll call me as soon as you're done right?"
"I promise."
"Be careful. Remember what Toby said about taking extra precautions."
"I'll call a cab, Josh and I wont leave the building till I see it
out front."
"Ok-I'm not trying to be a nag but...."
"I understand. Now get to work before you're late for the staff
meeting."
"Slave driver."
"That's right."
"I love you," he said leaning in and kissing her on the lips.
"I love you too. Now go." Donna said literally pushing Josh out the
door. He stood in the
hallway for a few minutes until he heard Donna latch the locks and
then he walked down
the hallway towards the elevator, happier than he had been in weeks.
6:45 AM
Sam's office
Sam's head jerked up at the sound of a knock on his door. He thought
he was the only
one in this early on his end of the building.
"Come in." he said eyeing the door curiously.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Larry asked hesitantly
"Sure, Larry. What's up?"
"Well-it's about everything that's been going on lately...with Donna."
Sam suddenly sensed the edge in Larry's voice and asked, "Do you know
something
about what's been going on?"
"Yes" Larry said in a voice barely above a whisper. "In fact, I'm
pretty sure I contributed
to it. But I certainly never knew it was going to go this far when
she contacted me."
"When you say "she" I assume you mean Mandy?"
"Yes." Larry said sheepishly
Sam listened as Larry spilled out the details of his initial meeting
with Mandy. How he
thought it had been a coincidence when he had run into her the night
that they had tried to
fix the speech for the correspondents dinner. How she had invited him
to breakfast at an
all night diner across town. How they had spent the night gossiping
about what had
happened in the White House since her departure. How she had asked
nonchalantly about
many people including Josh and Donna and how he had recounted the
story of their
argument earlier in the night over the flowers."
"Did she tell you what she was planning?" Sam asked unable to hide
the anger in his
words.
"Not exactly." Larry said staring at the floor.
"She said that she wanted to have a little fun, to pay Donna back,
she didn't really say
what for. She asked me if I could get her some information from
Donna's personnel file
like her social security number and her date of birth."
"And you did?"
"I never guessed that she was gonna do something this serious. I
swear."
"But why?" Sam asked, "Why would you even do anything like that?"
"I don't know. I asked Donna out a few times when we first got to the
White House. She
turned me down. I guess I still hold a little grudge. But I swear Sam
I never thought it
would go this far. I'm really sorry."
"Well it's a little late for that now isn't it?" Sam said angrily as
he realized that he needed
time to think. "I think you need to take a few days off Larry."
"I'm fired, aren't I?"
"Right now, I can't even think about that. I'm going to have to talk
to Toby. I just need
you not to be here today, ok? I'll call you when I decide what I'm
going to do."
"Ok." Larry said heading for the door. As he reached it he turned and
said " Sam?"
"Yeah?"
"I am really sorry Donna got hurt."
"I believe you, but it doesn't change the fact that she did. And not
only Donna, but a lot
of other people as well."
"I know" Larry said as he turned and left the office.
Sam pounded his fist on the desk. Larry!! One of his own employees.
He tried to decide
how and when would be the best time to tell Toby about this.
8:00 AM
The Capital Diner
Toby spotted Chad as soon as he entered the diner. He was sitting in
a booth in the back
nibbling on a bagel. Toby crossed the room and took the seat directly
across from him.
"Just coffee please" he told the waitress as she approached with a
menu.
"What have you found out?" Toby asked getting right down to business.
"Well, we're getting much closer." Chad said not disturbed at all by
Toby's brusque
manner. "We have managed to track about 50 percent of the transaction
so far back to
their source. But it isn't Simmons and West like we thought. They
only served as a
clearinghouse. The transactions seem to have originated with a
company out of New
York called Foster Group Ltd. As far as I can tell, they are pretty
much of a shell
company."
"Any idea who owns them?"
"Some big time marketing and PR firm called Lennox Chase."
Toby laughed out loud.
"Are you sure?" he asked
"About 90 %" Chad said "Is there something funny about that?"
"Just that I can't believe that Mandy was stupid enough to try to
hide this stuff behind
Lennox Chase. She used to work for them so she must have a working
knowledge of their
computer system, which helps explain how she managed to do it. But
somehow I don't
think the brass over there is going to relish the idea of being drawn
into this scandal.
Something tells me I wont have much trouble convincing them to
cooperate" Toby said
with a smile. "Do you have copies of everything you've found?"
"Yep. Here they are" Chad said handing Toby a thick stack of computer
printouts. "I'll
get the rest to you as they come in."
"Thanks a million, Chad" Toby said as he got up and through some
money on the table.
"Breakfast is on me."
"Thanks." Chad laughed "I'll get more info to you soon."
Toby smiled to himself as he walked out of the diner. This was going
to be even more fun
than he had anticipated. He was looking forward to calling the folks
at Lennox Chase.
'You've made a major tactical error, Mandy' he thought to himself,
and I'm going to take
full advantage of it.
11:50 AM
White House
Josh was surprised when he looked up and saw Donna standing in the
doorway of his
office.
"Hey," he said, "What the heck are you doing here?"
"Gee, Josh. That's the kind of greeting every girl dreams of
hearing." she said
sarcastically
"I just meant..."
"I know what you meant," she said with a laugh as she dropped into
the visitor's chair.
"So how was you meeting with Stanley?"
"Good. Really. I'm glad I went."
"So you're going back?"
"Yep."
"Wanna talk about it?"
"Not right now."
"But if you do?"
"I know where you are."
"OK" Josh smiled. He knew that dealing with what had happened to her
in prison would
be tough for Donna, but he could see that her old spirit had
returned. She was ready now
to fight the demons. He marveled at how strong she was. He was just
about to tell her
how impressive he thought she was when CJ came through the door.
"I thought I saw you come in here." She said as she crossed the room
and gave Donna a
hug. "How are you today?"
"Good thanks. I had an appointment with Stanley this morning. I still
have a long way to
go but it definitely helped."
"Great." CJ said with a smile. She was glad to see Donna taking
control of her
life again.
She suddenly remembered what she had come in for in the first place
and turned her
attention to Josh. "I just wanted to drop off this information for
you before you went over
to the hill to have lunch with Matt Skinner. I thought you might be
able to use it to
convince him."
"Thanks, CJ"
"So I guess that means you can't have lunch with me?" Donna pouted
"No, sorry I can't. I really need to try to get Matt's support on
this."
"That's ok."
"Hey" CJ piped up "I'm meeting Ainsley over at Houlihan's for lunch.
Why don't you
join us?"
"Maybe I will." Donna said actually relishing the thought of a nice
leisurely lunch out.
"Is this a meeting about Operation whatever?" Josh asked with a
smirk. "Has Ainsley
come up with a name yet?"
"Not yet" CJ said shooting Josh a warning glance "But don't jest,
Josh".
"I'm not. I swear."
"I'll see you later" Donna said moving around the desk and leaning
over to brush a quick
kiss across Josh's cheek.
"OK have fun-and be careful"
"We will."
"Good luck with Matt Skinner." CJ called over her shoulder.
"Good luck with Operation whatever." Josh called back.
"Don't mock the sisterhood, Josh" Donna warned.
Josh just rolled his eyes and watched them walk across the bullpen.
12:20 PM
Houlihan's Tavern
Ainsley was already halfway through an order of potato skins when
Donna and CJ
arrived.
"Donna!!" she said obviously happy to see her friend. "I wasn't
expecting you. How are
you?"
"Good thanks. Very good as a matter of fact."
The waitress came to the table to take CJ and Donnas drink order and
Ainsley said, "You
better bring us more potato skins."
CJ and Donna exchanged amused smiles.
"So," CJ said getting down to business "You have a very enigmatic
smile on your face
Miss Hayes. Could it be that you have discovered something?"
"Why yes, Ms Cregg. I believe I have."
"Do tell."
"Ok. But first, I've decided on a name."
"A name?"
"For the operation."
"Ok what is it?"
"Operation Porter." Ainsley said with a flourish that indicated she
had put quite a bit of
thought into the selection of just the right moniker.
"Operation Porter?" CJ and Donna said simultaneously.
"Yes. Porter. You know....that's the name of the guy Mel Gibson played
in that movie."
"What movie?"
"Payback."
"Aha. Now I get the connection."
"But that was a terrible movie." Donna said
"But Mel looked good." Ainsley offered
"True," they all agreed, "Nice eyes...nice ass...Operation Porter it is."
"Ok." CJ said, "Now that that's settled, tell us what you found out."
"Well I've been doing a little digging into Mandy's bank records."
"Really? Where did you get a hold of her bank records?" Donna asked
"I have some powerful connections of my own." Ainsley answered
"You had Mel's twinkle right there." Donna observed
"What?"
"In your eyes. When you talked about having connections. You had that
Mel Gibson
twinkle. I think Operation Porter is the perfect name."
"Why thank you." Ainsley beamed.
"You're quite welcome."
"So," Ainsley continued. "Would you be surprised if I told you that
Mandy Hampton has
an off shore bank account in the Cayman Islands?"
"Really?" CJ said, "That's very interesting."
"Oh, that isn't even the interesting part of it." Ainsley said
positively bursting with news.
"Do tell." CJ said.
"It's a joint account. And would you like to know the other name on
the account?"
"Yes"
"Senator Lloyd Russell" Ainsley said unable to hide her glee any
longer.
"Are you kidding me?" CJ and Donna asked in unison as they both
stared at Ainsley
trying to absorb this new information.
"And there's more." Ainsley continued "Would you like to know how
much money is in
it?"
"How much?"
"7.5 million dollars!!"
"No" CJ said smiling as she considered all of the possible
implications of this news.
"Yes." Ainsley replied happily.
"Kind of makes you wonder where all that money came from doesn't it?"
Donna asked
"It certainly does." CJ said
"And more to the point, why they need to hide it offshore." Ainsley
wondered.
"I think we have a little more digging to do." CJ said. "And I think
I know just where to
start. Do you have the name of the offshore bank involved?"
"Right here." Ainsley said passing her a slip of paper. "And that's
the account number."
"Great. I have a friend at justice who should be able to help us get
some more
information."
"In the meantime, Donna, can you go through the financial disclosures
from the last few
years and find out if there is any explanation for how all Senator
Russell came into all
this money."
"Sure thing." Donna said. "As soon as I talk to Leo and make sure I
still have a job."
"You do." CJ said "Don't worry. Leo was just concerned about you. Now
that he knows
you're seeing Stanley, everything will be fine."
"I hope so." Donna said
"I guarantee it." CJ said
"Well good. Then as soon as I talk to him, I'll get right on this."
"And I am going to do a little digging in Mandy's tax records."
Ainsley said. "Something
tells me she may just have forgotten to mention any of this money to
the IRS."
"Something tells me, there may be a lot of things about this story
that Mandy has
conveniently forgotten to mention." CJ said. "And I intend to find
out every single one of
them."
"Let's toast" Ainsley said "To Operation Porter"
They all laughed as they clinked their glasses together.
Josh returned from his meeting with Matt Skinner and found that CJ
and Donna weren't
back from lunch yet. He glanced at his schedule and saw that, aside
from a few phone
calls that needed to be made, his afternoon was basically free. He
made a quick decision.
He reached his destination fairly quickly through surprisingly light
afternoon traffic. As
he approached the receptionist, he tried to think of the best way to
handle the situation.
"I'd like to see Ms. Hampton." he said
"Is she expecting you?"
"No"
"Can I tell her your name?"
"Actually" Josh said leaning in and flashing the receptionist a full
dimpled smile, "It's
kind of a surprise. I'm an old friend of hers. I'd like to just pop
back unannounced if I
can."
After hesitating for a moment, the receptionist said, "Well, I'm sure
it will be ok. It's
down that hallway, the last office on the right."
"Thanks." Josh said as he walked away.
"Come in." Mandy said in an irritated voice as she heard the knock.
She hated
unannounced visitors. Suddenly the door flung open.
"Hello, Josh" she said "I've been expecting you."