Notes: Thanks for reviewing. I'm out of town for the weekend, so hopefully I can pick this up again next week.
"Excuse me, sir?" Danny replied in a confused tone.
"Yesterday, I got a call from my boss…on a Sunday no less. He received a complaint from someone about you, and asked me to look into it. From what I've gathered so far, things aren't looking so good for you."
"A complaint?" he asked. "Who from?"
"Does Karen Washington ring a bell?"
Danny swallowed hard as his heart started to pound. "What...what did she say?"
"If you don't mind, I'm going to ask the questions, Agent Taylor. Where were you Friday night?"
Danny shook his head as he rubbed his chin. "Um…I….where's Jack? Why isn't Jack here?"
"Jack can't help you, Agent Taylor. I spoke to him early this morning. He agreed that I should conduct this inquiry. OPR is giving us 48 hours. If we can't get this straightened out before then—"
"Inquiry? What are you talking about? I want to know what Mrs. Washington said before I answer any of your questions."
"Fair enough. She said that you met her at the bar at the Ritz Carlton. She says that after having a few drinks, you went up to a hotel room and had intercourse with her."
"She's lying, sir," he responded as he rubbed his eyes.
"She's lying?"
"Yes, sir."
"So you weren't at that bar?"
"No sir, I was there."
"Oh, you were there?"
"Yes sir, but I met my girlfriend there. I didn't go there to meet Mrs. Washington."
"Your girlfriend? Mrs. Washington mentions her as well. She says that you and she hooked up after your girlfriend left. She says you instructed her to wait until the girlfriend left."
"That's not what happened, sir. I didn't know she was there. I swear I didn't know. Anna left, and then Mrs. Washington just showed up out of nowhere."
"So you do admit to seeing her at the bar?"
"Yes sir, I saw her."
"What did you say to her?"
"I told her that it wasn't appropriate—"
"You didn't tell her that you would help her find her daughter if she performed a sexual act on you?"
"What? Are you crazy? No—"
"No? No? According to Karen Washington, you told her that you could find her daughter if you had a little more motivation. She says that you then instructed her to check into a hotel room. After finishing your drink at the bar, she says you met her in a hotel room and had sex with her. She's not saying you forced her. She admits to being willing, but she then says that you laughed at her after you finished, and told her that her daughter was as good as dead and there was nothing you could do for her."
Danny sighed and almost laughed at the absurdity of the accusation.
As Olczyk continued to grill Danny, Jack returned to the office. He hadn't been there more than a minute, however, when Viv walked in.
"Welcome back," she said.
"Hey. Anything hot this morning?" he asked referring to a possible new case.
"No, but do you have any idea why Olczyk would want to see Danny? He called him up there twenty minutes ago."
Jack sighed heavily and sat in his chair. "I was hoping that it would blow over."
"What?" Viv asked curiously as she took a seat across from him.
"Olczyk called me before I got on the plane this morning. Karen Washington has accused Danny of inappropriate behavior. I don't really know the details. Olczyk was supposed to speak to her this morning. I was hoping it was some kind of misunderstanding."
"I don't think it's a misunderstanding. Danny's been up there for almost a half hour. What the hell are you doing down here, Jack? Why aren't you up there with Danny?" she asked incredulously.
"Olczyk instructed me to stay out it. And I don't think I'm in a position to really support Danny, considering my history with OPR," he answered warily.
"This isn't about you, Jack—or your history. This is about Danny, and he needs you. If you don't go up there, then I will. You and I both know he isn't capable of inappropriate behavior, whatever that means."
"I know that, which is why I think it will blow over."
Viv stood up and started for the door. "I'm going up there. He shouldn't have to face Olczyk alone. I know you have a lot going on in your life, Jack, but you have an obligation to your agents. If you can't be there for them, then I will."
Jack stood up. "Wait, just wait a minute. I'll go. Olczyk will be pissed, but I'll go up there."
"Good," Viv said in an agitated tone as she continued to walk out the door.
Jack trudged his way upstairs and then knocked on Olczyk's door before entering. The first thing he noticed was that Danny's usually calm, cool demeanor was replaced by utter panic.
"Jack, I told you I was handling this," Olczyk said as Jack entered.
"I know you're handling it, but I want to know exactly what is going on. I find it very hard to believe that Danny is involved with Mrs. Washington at all, let alone in an inappropriate way."
"I'm not involved with her at all," Danny interjected as he looked up at Jack.
"Well, that's not completely true. Is it, Danny? You had a drink with her at that bar, didn't' you?" Olczyk asked.
Jack gave Danny a sidelong, confused glance.
"No, sir," Danny answered emphatically.
"She didn't order you a scotch? It says so on her bar tab. 1 cosmopolitan and 1 scotch."
"Yes sir, she ordered it, but I didn't drink it," Danny replied as he looked at Jack with a pleading expression.
"So you did meet her outside this office?" Jack asked in a surprised tone.
"That's right, Jack. Agent Taylor has already admitted that he and Mrs. Washington had a liaison at the Ritz Carlton bar."
Danny rolled his eyes and shook his head. "It wasn't a liaison, Jack. She just showed up there. I was there with Anna. I wasn't there to meet Karen."
"What does Mrs. Washington say happened?" Jack asked as he looked from Danny to Olczyk.
"She says that she and Danny had a drink after his girlfriend left the bar. She also says he told her he would work harder to find her daughter if she had sex with him. According to her, he met her in a hotel room and they had sex. The hotel registry shows that she checked into a room Friday night."
"It's not true, Jack," Danny said desperately.
"See but that's where I get confused because it seems like part of the story is true--so why wouldn't the rest of it be true," Olczyk countered. "Maybe you figured it wasn't a big deal--because she didn't fight you. You didn't force her. She's a lonely, attractive older woman, and you figured she was ripe for the picking."
Danny shook his head and rubbed his eyes. He couldn't understand why Jack was so silent. "I did not have sex with Karen Washington. I didn't go up to that hotel room. She wanted me to. She bought me the drink. She gave me the hotel room key. But I didn't drink it and I didn't go up to that room. I went home to my girlfriend."
"So Anna was there before Mrs. Washington showed up?" Jack asked.
"Yes."
"Why did she leave and why did you stay at the bar?" Jack asked.
Danny looked down. He didn't like being interrogated by Jack. "She wanted me to go to dinner with her father, and I didn't feel like going. So she left to meet him. Believe me—I wish I'd just gone now. I sat there for like ten minutes. I was getting up to leave, and then Mrs. Washington showed up."
"We'll need to talk to her," Olczyk interject.
"Who?" Danny asked.
"Your girlfriend. We'll need to find out if her timeline agrees with your timeline. Can you set that up Jack?"
"No sir, he can't. I don't want her involved in this," Danny said emphatically realizing that if Anna found out about this she would surely leave him forever. The accusation was bad enough considering what he'd done to her in college, but he'd also kept this from her when he'd promised to be more open with her.
"You don't have a choice, if you want to keep your job. She's the closest thing you have to an alibi, although you still would have had time to go to Mrs. Washington's hotel room and get back to your girlfriend. We have two days to sweep this under the rug, otherwise OPR takes over, and we will be subject to a lawsuit."
Danny stood up. "Should I get an attorney?"
"That's definitely your prerogative, Agent Taylor. You'll be on desk duty until this is resolved," Olczyk answered. And then addressed Jack again. "Set up that meeting, Jack. And Danny, don't try to prepare your girlfriend so she can lie for you."
"He wouldn't do that," Jack said in a tired tone.
Danny just glared at both of them before walking out of the office.
Jack then turned to follow him, but Olczyk stopped him.
"One more thing, Jack."
"What is it?" Jack asked in an annoyed tone.
"Agent Taylor told me before you got here that he confided his concerns about Mrs. Washington to Agent Spade. He said that Mrs. Washington has been pursuing him for quite a while and Agent Spade is aware of it. Talk to her, will you? See if she can help us at all."
"Fine," Jack responded icily.
"If we can't clear Agent Taylor, then I will be forced todemand his dismissal. You know that, right?"
"I know. I'll let you know about Agent Spade, and I'll set up the interview with Anna Ridley," Jack repliedwarilybefore walking out the door.
Jack hurried to catch up with Danny at the door to the stairwell.
"Danny…Danny…wait up," Jack called up.
Danny stopped and turned to face him. He had a steely, cold look on his face. "What?"
"This will all work out. Just be patient."
"Thanks for your support," Danny responded sarcastically before turning away.
Jack grabbed his arm to stop him. "What does that mean?"
Danny shrugged out of his grasp. "Where the hell were you, Jack?" he asked trying to mask the hurt in his voice.
"I was late getting back from Chicago."
"That's not what I mean. Why didn't say more in there? Do you believe what he is saying?" Danny asked as his voice hitched with emotion.
"No, I don't. But I also don't understand why you allowed yourself to be alone in a bar with her, Danny. That worries me. And why you didn't tell me that she's been pursuing you prior to this. If it was important enough to confide into Samantha, then you should have told me as well."
Danny laughed incredulously and shook his head. "I didn't think it was a big deal. And me being in a bar worries you? Thanks for the confidence, Jack," he said as he turned away and went into the stairwell.
Jack rubbed his temples. The Danny he knew wasn't capable of taking advantage of anyone, but he didn't know what Danny would be capable of if he was drinking. He headed down to his office to contact Anna Ridley to see if she could shed more light on the situation.