TROUBLING NEWS
Loralei awoke to the indignant wail of her daughter. She sat up immediately and noticed that Donovan wasn't in bed beside her. She figured he had gone to tend to Rachel. However, Rachel's cries weren't getting any softer, they were getting louder. If he was in with Rachel already, then why was she still raising such a fuss? Was she sick? Loralei climbed out of bed and slipped into her robe. She went to Rachel's bedroom, expecting to find her husband trying to calm the infant. He wasn't in the room at all. She took the baby into her arms and began soothing her. She didn't need changing, but something had awakened her. It was still dark outside, and she wondered if Donovan had been called out. She shook her head. If he had gotten a call, he would have told her before leaving. It was just something he did. It took about fifteen minutes to coax Rachel back to sleep. Carefully, Loralei laid her back down and then left the bedroom. She went downstairs and noticed that Donovan's key ring was missing. She popped on the porch light and saw that his car was gone. He had left at this hour without telling her? It wasn't like him; it wasn't like him at all. She went back up to the bedroom and dialed his cell phone. It rang three times before his voice mail kicked on. She hung up without leaving a message. What in the hell was going on? She thought that after the confusion with the bitch had gone away, she wouldn't have had to feel so confused and unsettled. Sighing, she went back to bed and fell into a fitful sleep.
"Goddamn," a voice said stiffly. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow."
She came awake slowly, wondering if the voice she heard was in her dream. The sun had finally risen, and she could plainly see her husband standing in the bedroom bathroom. It appeared as if he were doctoring his hand. She sat up in confusion and watched as he put a gauze pad over his knuckles, hissing in pain as he did it. What the hell? She slipped out of bed and approached the bathroom. She leaned in the doorway and watched him curiously. He had yet to notice her, he seemed totally distracted by his injured hand. Only when he glanced up into the mirror did he see her standing at the door. The dark circles under his eyes stood out like accusatory fingers. Had he slept at all last night?
"Are you okay," he asked as he gazed at her through the mirror.
She nodded. "Fine, for now. The morning sickness thing usually starts a bit later. I should be asking you if you're okay. What did you do to your hand?"
He shook his head. "Nothing, just something stupid."
Loralei approached him from behind and placed her hand on his back. "Baby, did you sleep last night?"
"A little," he lied. He actually hadn't slept at all, but he wouldn't tell her. She didn't need any undue worry. "I'll be okay. I'll have Cody make the coffee today," he said with a smile. She stepped back as he turned toward her. He hugged her and placed a gentle kiss on her ear. "I love you," he said.
* * *
Ennui Principio was due at UC headquarters at nine, but she wasn't certain she could go in. She stood in her hotel suite examining the damage done to her face and body. The cruel fucker had nearly broken her cheekbone with his fist. It was bruised and very sore to the touch. If a puff of air hit it, she winced. She examined the bites that were scattered here and there on her body. There were three on her ass, one on her left shoulder, and another just under her right breast. That one had really hurt, and she had been afraid the bleeding would never stop. However, it did, it finally did after a scary thirty minutes. While she bled, he continued to beat her mercilessly. She had tried to be a more than willing bed partner, but he didn't like willing. He liked to fight and rape. He had taken her with force three or four times. She was probably bruised between her thighs as well. The one spot on her cheek was the only visible damage. Her clothing would cover everything else. She knew she must go to the Nest to fulfill her desires, but she had never gone anywhere when she couldn't look her best. If they saw her, they would know she had been beaten. Perhaps they should know. Perhaps her protector in the other room should know as well. As soon as she heard him stir, she would present herself. As if reading her mind, she heard faint movement from the other room. She opened the door, peeked out, and was met by his startled gasp.
* * *
Donovan was running late. He had lain down for what he intended to be a short nap, but he had actually fallen deeply asleep. He had set the alarm, but Loralei had purposely shut it off. He couldn't be angry with her, because she was simply looking out for him, taking care of him. As he made his way toward the office, he noticed a couple of police cruisers parked on the side of the street. He didn't give them a second glance. Police cruisers were commonplace in this crowded area of town. He made his way inside, intent on getting the show on the road. Before he entered the belly of the Nest, he heard several voices he didn't recognize mingled with his group of agents. Amongst all the heated talking was the voice of the bitch. He could hear her sobbing miserably, speaking incoherently. What the fuck had happened now? It wasn't that he gave a shit one way or another, but he didn't appreciate the distraction from the job at hand. When he finally came in plain view of the crowd gathered around the conference table, he was a little stunned in spite of himself. From the looks of it, someone had beaten up the bitch. She was sobbing uncontrollably, declaring that she had been bitten, beaten, and raped repeatedly. She looked toward Donovan and began to scream, to shrink away from his presence. She begged the police officers to protect her from 'that maniac.' She had pointed an accusatory finger at him. What the fuck? At the same time, he felt the eyes of his agents studying him, curiously at first, but then suspiciously, as they noticed his injured hand.
In an aghast sort of horror, he watched as the cops slowly left the bitch's side and began approaching him. What did they think they were doing? He hadn't laid one finger on her. He heard the absurd words that he would have to accompany the police back to the precinct for questioning. Dazed, he listened as he was read his rights. All the while, the bitch kept wailing and screaming, calling him a rapist. Surely, this was a mistake; this was some type of horrible mistake. The cops approached him carefully. They were aware of his status and training, and Donovan appeared ready to fight, and he was. It took both of them to subdue him enough where they could handcuff him. This had to be some type of nightmare. Yes. That's what it was. He would wake up soon, wake up and not have to face this, not have to see the suspicious looks on the faces of the team.
* * *
Frank Donovan was losing his patience. He had been sitting in an interrogation room for what seemed like forever, telling the same story over and over again. He hadn't touched the bitch. Yes, he was angry with her. Yes, he hated her. No, he didn't rape her. No, he didn't beat her. No, it wasn't his teeth that made those bite marks. Yes, he had an alibi. Yes, he had hurt his hand. No, he hadn't hurt it beating the bitch. At one point, he had demanded they either arrest him or release him. Apparently, the bitch had told her FBI bodyguard that she had snuck out in the night to meet him at an undisclosed location. She claimed that once she arrived, he had assaulted her after she refused to sleep with him. It was completely preposterous. He had been at home with his wife the whole time. Yet, that wasn't exactly true, was it? There was a space of time that he hadn't been home. However, he had gone nowhere near the bitch. Could he prove it? Absolutely not, but he would never, could never assault her neither physically nor sexually.
Although innocent of this hideous crime, he had no trouble submitting to blood and DNA tests. He gave them the contact information of his dentist so they could secure his dental records. He also volunteered to take a lie detector test and passed with flying colors. The Chicago police didn't put much credence into it. After all, Frank Donovan was a very controlled man, and might be able to trip up a lie detector. He had nothing to fear, nothing to hide. Just when he thought the police were finished with him, they began the interrogation again. When would they allow him to leave? He thought of his wife, and wondered if she knew about this yet. What would she think? What would she do? Dear God, he wanted out of here. Fifteen minutes into the fresh round of questioning, bad news had been passed down to him. He was suspended without further notice until the charges were settled.
* * *
Loralei was surprised to see Alex in the middle of the day. At first, she had been pleasantly surprised to see her friend, but the instant she noticed the somber look on her face, her smile died quickly. The first thought that entered her mind was that something had happened to Donovan. Was he hurt? Dead? What? What? What?
"You'd better sit down," Alex told her.
"No," she spat. "I will not." She stood back with her arms crossed over her chest. "What is it? Is something wrong? Did something happen to Frank? Goddamn it, tell me!"
Alex sighed. She hated breaking this to her, because she didn't even understand what was going on. "Ennui Principio showed up at the Nest today. She was beaten and bruised up. She said Donovan did it. The police took him for questioning. I don't know if he's been charged or not, but Shoemaker suspended him indefinitely."
"That's the most fucking stupid bunch of shit I've ever heard," she yelled.
She placed her hand on Loralei's shoulder. "Was he with you all night?"
Loralei almost shouted out a petulant 'yes,' but he hadn't been with her all night, had he? She had seen him in the bathroom earlier that morning wrapping up his hand. He hadn't really explained how he had hurt it. She wasn't certain how long he had been gone. She shook her head. No. This couldn't be true. He couldn't have done this, he couldn't have. Screw them. Screw them all. She refused to believe it until she saw some definite, solid proof in front of her. She wasn't ready to take the word of some scummy whore over that of her husband. She said nothing further to Alex. Instead, she ran upstairs, secured a sitter for Rachel, and flew out the door.
* * *
The police made it clear that they would release Donovan today, but that he needn't make any travel plans. As soon as the DNA tests came back, they would then decide if they would charge him. The bitch hadn't wanted to press charges, but it wouldn't stop the prosecuting attorney to do it on her behalf. Enraged to the point of nearly screaming at the top of his lungs, he allowed a beefy police officer to lead him out with little fuss. He noticed Loralei immediately. How the hell did she find out about this? She didn't need the stress or the shock. It was a deadly mix for a pregnant woman. She had already been crying and he could see her wringing her hands nervously. Without a word, he took her by the arm and led her out of the crowded precinct. Once both of them were inside the car, he went into her comforting embrace. Goddamn. When would the craziness end? When would it be over? He drew away from her after a very long time. Rage was clearly painted on his face. She wanted to talk about it, but he had no desire to go into it parked in front of the precinct.
Once at home, Donovan went to the kitchen and took a stiff shot of bourbon. It was the only thing he could find that would settle his nerves. She went to him and held him again. "You don't believe I did this, do you," he asked.
She drew away. "No," she spat incredulously. "No, Frank. I don't believe you did this. How could I?"
He gazed at her helplessly, wondering why she was the only person who hadn't looked upon him suspiciously. She was the person closest to him, and if anyone had a right to be suspicious, it was she. "Don't you care to know where I was? How I hurt my hand?"
She shook her head. "Only if you choose to tell me, Frank. I can't say I don't care to know the answers to either of those questions. But whatever your answers are, I will believe it, because I know who you are. You didn't do this."
"I want you to know," he said. "I don't want to hide anything from you. I couldn't sleep and I thought if I took a drive, it might help relax me. I had a flat and had one hell of a time loosening the lug nuts. The tool slipped and I scraped up my knuckles. I didn't ruin them on that bitch."
She wrapped her arms around him yet again. "You didn't have to do that. You don't have to prove anything to me. I love you, Frank. We'll figure this out, we'll get through this, I promise you."
* * *
Ennui stood before Alca Huete. She had endured a night with Torcido. He had hurt her badly, but she hadn't died. Huete would now have to come through on his end of the bargain. She had succeeded in temporarily disabling Donovan, but as soon as the DNA tests came back, his name and reputation would be cleared. Since that was the case, Huete would have to help her ruin him on a more permanent basis. Of course, she would not return to the UC agents. They would discover the truth soon enough, and she didn't want to be around for that. She had created doubt in the minds of his own agents, and she found herself wondering what the news had done to his wife. Would she stay with a rapist? No woman would. Without their leader, the team would still carry out their plan tonight. Regardless of what Donovan had done, there was a job to be done. They had made that clear to her before she left them. She wasn't sure if they believed her, or their fearless leader, but it didn't matter. The seed had been planted, and that would be enough for now.
"What is going to happen," Huete asked.
She sighed and took a seat. "Tonight, they send the one called Alex to the seedy side of town where the girls are selected. I do not know what she'll look like, because she will be in disguise, and from what I understand, she's good. She isn't very young, probably early thirties, and I don't think she can pass for a teenager. Her one distinct feature is her eyes. They're a strange blue color, like ice, perhaps. You can't miss that. Of course, she could wear contacts, but I don't know. I have brought you pictures of these agents, and you should have no difficulty picking them off one by one. Since Donovan won't be present, I can take care of him at home. After he's gone, take his wife."
Huete said nothing. He sat before her and stared at the ugly bruise marring her beautiful face. Torcido had been so very cruel to her last night. She was a strong woman, and he had always been attracted to strong women. He stood and approached her from behind. His hands went into her hair. He felt her body shiver a bit and he smiled. She wasn't shivering, she was actually shuddering. Huete disgusted her, he always had. She had fucked him for his cocaine and no other reason. His hands moved from her hair down to her throat before progressing lower. The areas he touched made her wince. He kept hitting the inflamed bite marks. Did he think he would seduce her in the condition she was in? His hands cupped her breasts and he squeezed them. She winced again. She didn't want to protest for fear of offending him. If she did that, he might make her go to Torcido again, and she couldn't withstand another night of torture.
"Take off your clothes," he commanded. "Take them all off, Primera. I want to see you. I want to see all of you. Don't worry about what Fermo did to you, I don't care. Your pussy is still perfect, no? Your mouth wasn't affected in the least bit, either. Come on, Primera; show me what I've missed all this time. I'd like to look at you." When she didn't immediately move, he gripped the breast that had the bite mark under it. "Do it!"
She began unbuttoning her blouse. "Anything you say, Alca," she said. She would do anything he asked as long as he gave her what she wanted, and she knew he would.
* * *
Cody, Monica, Jake, and Alex sat together grimly at the conference table. No one was saying much of anything. In fact, none of them had felt like speaking since they watched their fearless leader dragged away in cuffs. They all had wanted to question Ennui themselves, but she was shuttled away by the police on a trip to the hospital. They knew Donovan's hatred of her; saw the damage and his injured hand. However, they couldn't quite buy it. Rogue he had been. Enraged he was often. Stiff and impersonal was his credo. Yet, they had never known him to be a cruel rapist, a batterer. Both Alex and Monica had wanted to accompany Ennui to the hospital to question her further, but she had left before they could find out which hospital. Of course, the police wouldn't give them any information, confidentiality and shit.
"So, is anybody gonna ask or not," Cody asked suddenly. He was totally and completely serious; he had never been so serious in his life. Out of all the agents, he was the one who had the hardest time coming to terms with what happened this morning. For all of Donovan's grumbling, pushing, and demanding, Cody was quite fond of him. "All right. I'll ask. Do any of you believe this? Do you think he attacked that woman?"
Jake shook his head. "Hell no. The hand thing messed me up, but that could have happened a thousand different ways. If he had hit her as hard as he would have needed to cause those injuries, wouldn't you think his hand would be swollen? What about defense wounds? Did you see any on his face? Wouldn't she have gone for his eyes at least? I think it's all bullshit, and Shoemaker shouldn't have suspended him. I hate that fuck."
Alex sighed. "You have spoken for us all, Jake. For a woman to be attacked to the degree she was, Donovan was fairly clean, wasn't he?"
"Yes, too clean," Monica said thoughtfully. "His reaction alone spoke volumes to me. I realize he is usually levelheaded and calm, but something such as this shouldn't have sent him off as it did if he was guilty. How well does he hide it when something is going on that he did do?"
"You have a point," Jake said. "So, are you guys in the same mindset as me? We all may be pounding the pavement in the morning after Shoemaker finds out. I have to tell you, I don't want to do this without Donovan. Fuck the upper brass. We need him."