A Visit and a Lecture

Chapter 5

Max's concerns about the killer had been unfounded. Despite Kate, Daniel and Max's best efforts, they found no other clues as to shooter Yuss's whereabouts. A few SWAT members had stayed behind to protect the CSU people who now arrived on the site.

After dropping Max off, Kate and Daniel next arrived at Chicago Memorial to check up on the progress of Donnie. He had been stabilized and was now strong enough to talk, howbeit, for only a few minutes. He had been placed in a private room with an officer guarding the front.

When they walked in, they had already been informed that Donnie had been shot twice; a grazed wound to the right shoulder, and a more severe one to the abdomen. Upon hearing the news and seeing an exhausted Donnie sitting up in the hospital bed, Kate practically sprinted over to a recovering Donnie while Daniel stayed in the background.

After placing a bright bouquet of flowers on his nightstand, Kate turned a very worried look over to Donnie, who tried to reassure her he was alright.

"Kate, don't look at me like that," Donnie said, though his face had lost color and his voice was faint, "it's not as bad as it looks."

She gingerly reached over and touched his cheek, "It was my fault, Donnie, ordering you to come home at a specific time every night, which forced you to go into work early. If I hadn't insisted..."

"Stop, DON'T," he said, "It's not your fault. I always go in the office early, no matter what...you know that."

"Nice try," Kate said, giving him a grateful look.

"Yeah, well," Donnie grinned, "just don't expect me at home at six tonight. Kinda preoccupied, Katie pie."

Kate smiled sweetly at him, "Stay here and rest all you want, Donnie."

Then Donnie looked behind him and at last noticed Daniel.

"Daniel. Heeey, thanks for coming!"

Daniel walked up to him and nodded, "You look good, Donnie."

Donnie shrugged, "He can actually say that with a straight face," he grinned, "maybe he should be a lawyer."

Kate smiled, "I'm glad you can joke around. That's a good sign to recovery."

That thought made Donnie's grin suddenly disappeared as another thought entered his mind, "What happened to the other two workers at Building B..." he suddenly looked haggard, "Larry and Mary Ann...they..." he took a big gulp, "...they didn't make it, did they?"

He didn't need to be told; he could see it in Kate and Daniel's expression.

"I'm sorry, Donnie," Kate said gently, "I know you considered them more than just co-workers."

Donnie looked away, his eyes slightly moist, "We operated that office like a well-oiled team, Kate, but more than that, they were my friends."

"So it's important we find out what happened," Kate told him, "may we ask you some questions? Are you up to it?"

Donnie half-smiled, "Sure, anything for you."

Kate reached into her pocket, "Well, just be sure you only have to say everything one time, I have this recorder on. So no mushy stuff, alright?" she then pressed the 'start' button.

Donnie pretended to look solemn, "I'll try."

"Mr. Ryan," she officially questioned, with the recorder on, "do you have any idea why Mr. Yuss brought a gun into the office to kill his co-workers? Had there been trouble at work? Did you have any clue that he was unstable?"

Donnie was just shaking his head back and forth, as if he wanted to wipe away all of the morning's images away. It seemed like forever before he answered.

"Gene Yuss was our chief accountant for the past three months," his voice sounded raspy, "he was also our office manager, in charge of ordering office supplies and making sure the place ran smoothly. He wasn't the friendliest in the office, but he always completed his work. No one really knew him, but he was brilliant with numbers."

"Can you tell us what happened the morning of the shootings?" Kate continued.

"I was out in the main area making copies of a disposition on the copy machine," Donnie explained, "It was early but there was enough sunlight so that he was backlit when I looked over. All I could see was his silhouette, but I knew it was him from his built, so I went back to my work. Without saying a word, he evidently pulls out a gun, because next thing I hear, was Mary Ann screaming and then I heard a loud bang and she crumbles to the ground. I run over there and Larry's running to his office, yelling into the cellphone. Yuss fires at me, misses and then he goes after Larry. I yell out to warn Larry that Yuss has got a gun, but it's too late because I hear two gun shots. Mary Ann is dead, so I take off running. I hide in the snack room and that's when I begin texting you. Unfortunately he finds me, I hear two more shots and intense pain goes throughout my body and then, nothing."

Donnie took a breather; his detailed narrative had really tired him out. When he paused, Kate held a plastic cup of water with a bendy straw to Donnie's lips. Meanwhile Daniel nervously adjusted his collar at witnessing the scene before him, which felt like such an intimate moment.

"He must have really wanted you dead," Daniel commented, being frank with his analysis.

The blunt statement surprised Donnie, "What?"

"Daniel!" Kate looked at him disapprovingly, as she turned off the recorder.

"It's only logical, isn't it?" Daniel continued, "After the two shootings of the office-mates, Yuss must have known the police, the FBI or SWAT team would be on their way. He could have easily slipped out before they arrived. Yet he took the time to run up and down the hallway in search of you, Donnie. Why would he do that?"

"I never thought of it like that," Donnie accepted the reasoning, and then sent a rueful look over to Daniel, "Do you really think I was the target?"

"Perhaps not the main target," Daniel said, "because Yuss would have not left you for the last if you were."

Kate could not believe that Daniel was practically blaming the shootings on Donnie with no proof.

"Daniel, let's not jump to any hasty conclusions," said Kate dismissively, "in the meantime, I think you're tiring Donnie unnecessarily. Why don't I just drive you back to work?"

By now Daniel had caught onto Kate's curtness, although he still didn't understand why.

"Alright, I do have some papers to correct," he admitted.

He turned away as Kate reached over and tenderly kiss Donnie on the forehead.

"You get a good rest, okay?" she advised him.

"I love you, Kate," Donnie said.

"Me, too," she responded.

Daniel felt even more awkward.

However, when he turned back to the couple, he witnessed something very strange.

As Kate began straightening Donnie's bedcovers, he noticed Donnie staring straight ahead, with the weirdest expression on his face.

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As Kate drove Daniel back both could feel the tension in the air, yet neither wanted to bring it up so they sat in silence. Kate was still annoyed with Daniel as he sat on the passenger side of her car.

"You didn't have to be so blunt with Donnie, you know."

Daniel looked puzzled, "Was I?"

Kate let out a frustrated sigh. He really did not know, so she would patiently have to explain. For a college professor, Daniel could be rather obtuse at times.

"Yes, you were, Daniel. Donnie is still trying to recover from two gunshot wounds, and all you could comment on is that the killer could be targeting him!" Kate sounded exasperated as she made a turn.

"Not just targeting him," Daniel stated logically, unaware he was making Kate even more upset, "it seems as if Yuss needed all three of the office workers dead. He attacked in the early morning hours when no one else but the three of them would be present. I was going to point that out, but then you interrupted me."

Kate had initially thought it would be wonderful working with Daniel for one last time, but now she wasn't so sure.

"You could have been more sensitive with Donnie, considering his condition," Kate noted as she stopped at the light.

Daniel looked out the window, not really sure how to respond.

He just didn't get it.

Here he was trying to help her and instead, he was criticized; his mind was a jumbled mess.

Where was Natalie when he needed her?

Maybe he should change the subject.

"Kate, it's great that you're heading up this investigation, but do you really think that's wise?" he questioned.

One of her eyebrows lifted, "What is THAT suppose to mean?"

Again, Daniel was not picking up the cues.

"Donnie was almost killed," Daniel mentioned, : and he's your fiance...isn't that a conflict of interest? Could you truly be objective with this investigation?"

From her offended expression, he immediately realized it was the wrong thing to say.

"Of course I can remain objective, Daniel! Above all else, I am a professional agent!" the light turned green and she proceeded forward, "but it's fine if you've changed your mind and don't want to help. I understand."

She sounded so dismissive.

Daniel thinned his lips; he had only stated what was common sense; he hadn't meant to upset her.

"If that's how you feel," he said, now thinking he was tired of feeling like the third wheel.

For a split second, Kate looked taken aback, but she quickly recovered.

"It's seems as if you've decided for the both of us," she stated miserably.

Daniel turned to look at her profile. Her expression was unreadable as she turned into the driveway of his house.

Sometimes, he didn't understand women at all.

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Daniel had a late lecture that afternoon.

"Today we are going to discuss, in very simplistic terms, the difference between men and women's brains," Daniel stated. On his lectern, he had a white square box and a ball wrapped of wires, both approximately the same size. He held up both items.

"One item represents the men's brain and the other the women's brain. Anyone want to guess which is which?"

Troy spoke out, "the BALL of wires represents men, for obvious reasons, and the box represents a woman's brain because it has sharp edges."

There were heard a few chuckles.

Katherine raised her hand and took a guess, "The box is the men's brain because it's simple, whereas the ball of wire is more complex, thus the women's representation."

"I believe the lady is a winner! She's correct as far as which item symbolizes which gender, but not correct regarding the explanation," Daniel told the class, "you see, a man's brain is made up of many, many boxes, just like the one we have here," he said, tapping the box lightly, "we have a box for everything in our lives. We have a box for money. One for our car. Another for our job. We've got a box for our mother and a different one for our girlfriends. And there's only one rule for men and all their boxes. Anyone know what that one rule is?"

He paused.

"That we can't rid of our boxes?" Max guessed.

The class laughed.

"No," Daniel said, looking around the room, "the one rule is that we don't ever want our boxes to touch. That's right. If we are asked a question or we want to discuss a subject, we only want to go to that particular box and open it. Then afterwards, we want to close that box and very carefully put that box away without it touching the other boxes. Unlike a woman's brain."

He then held up the ball of cables.

"Inside a woman's brain, ALL things are connected," he said, showing the entire class the wired ball, "The money is connected to the car which is connected to the job which is connected to the mother which is connected to you. And this whole ball is connected by an energy called emotions. That's why they remember everything. It's burned in their memory by this emotion."

Daniel knew this was why he sometimes didn't understand Kate. For her, it was FBI procedures were connected to a case which permeates into her being subjective instead of objective, which is connected to her feelings and how she deals with people. It was all so emotionally draining for him.

Lorena raised her hand.

"So you're saying men don't have the ability to remember situations?"

"Oh they certainly do, they have a box for that, too," Daniel answered, with a slight smile, "but the truth of the matter is, they just don't care."

The class laughed again.

"And I didn't even get to tell you about the very special box that men possess," Daniel said mysteriously.

The class seemed to lean forward in unison to hear the answer.

"You see," he explained, as he picked up the box again, "men have one extra box exactly like this one. And inside..." he opened the lid and showed the class the contents inside, "...it is empty."

"Figures," Faith shouted out as everyone laughed.

"It's called the nothing box," Daniel said, when the laughter died down, "and it's is men's favorite box. It is here that they can sit and have their minds go blank. Studies have shown that men can think of nothing and breathe at the same time. This same nothingness drives women crazy."

A male raised his hand, "Why don't we talk about women and their complex wires?"

"It's actually one wire, Mr. Geheim, and it a very long wire," Daniel explained, holding up the ball of wire, "it's a wire which 'uses energy for accomplishment,'" Daniel stated, "and that is the reason why they created activities such as 'pilates' and 'Zumba'."

The entire room erupted with laughter.

Kelly called out, "And what activity do men do with their empty boxes?"

Daniel smiled, for he already had an answer.

"I thought it was obvious," Daniel smiled, "it's an activity called fishing."

The class was thoroughly entertained.

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