“A man handed my boss, Orlando, an envelope full of cash, like a thick envelope.” She positioned her fingers, so they were two inches apart. “After Orlando handed him a flash drive.”
“So, your disappearing had nothing to do with the fights with your mom?” Burke said. “Why didn’t you tell your parents about it and ask them for help?”
“You don’t understand,” Zoe moaned. “My dad gave me the flash drive the previous weekend when I was home to give to Orlando. And it wasn’t the first time I brought stuff to Orlando for my dad.”
“What do you think was on the flash drive?” Burke asked her.
“I thought maybe it was porn or something like that, so I spied on Orlando after I gave it to him, but only because he made a huge deal out of me not getting the flash drive to him right away.”
“Was that what it was?” Burke pressed. “Porn?”
Zoe shook her head. “Orlando told him it was the guidance system. My dad works for a defense contractor, weapons systems, top-secret stuff. Orlando gave the flash drive to this Chinese guy who’s been in the salon before after I’ve delivered a flash drive to him from my dad. I’m pretty sure my dad and Orlando at the salon are selling secrets to the Chinese and havebeen for a long time. I wanted to quit my job there over the summer and find another job, and my dad told me I couldn’t, that I had to stay there. He didn’t want me to quit because he was using me to deliver the flash drives to Orlando.”
Burke and Tessman exchanged long stares. “Did you hear all that, Ops?”
“Roger that, Handsome,” Smith’s voice replied. “We’ve notified Big Bear.”
Romeo
Donna stood in front of the luggage carousel, waiting for the last bag. Her mom stood back a few feet, trying to keep the kids corralled. Six of their bags were stacked near her. The last bag was the largest. It contained all the Christmas presents.That would be her luck if it got lost, Donna thought.
“Hey, there you are,” Brad Dupont’s familiar voice said from behind her.
She turned. “Brad, hi.” Her lips formed a big smile. Having his help with the bags would make it much easier to get everyone and everything out to the curb for pickup. She also smiled because she genuinely liked her sister’s boyfriend.
“I thought you could use a hand with your bags.”
Donna pointed behind them, at her mom, the kids, and the other bags. “Only waiting on one still. Did you park?” She hoped not. She was exhausted, and the thought of a long walk with the bags and trying to keep the kids with them was daunting.
“No, a friend drove, and she’s circling until you’ve got all the bags. How was your flight?”
“It wasn’t bad,” Donna said. “The kids were good.”
A few minutes later, the last bag came into sight. She grabbed it from the conveyor belt and dragged it over to where the other bags were. Brad had stepped away from her to greet her mom and the kids. Her mom liked him as much as she liked Rich. They’d celebrated a few holidays with all of them together and it had been nice and very comfortable.
That was when Donna realized that what she and Rich had was very real. He’d been part of her family for over a year. Maybe her mom was right. The emotional closeness they shared, the friendship, was bonding enough for now. They didn’t need to be sleeping together for it to be real. Itwasreal. She was here in Chicago to have Christmas with Rich and her family. That was as real as a relationship got.
“Okay, this is the last one,” Donna said, stepping up to her mom and Brad.
“I’ll call Briana and find out where she is?” Dupont said.
Donna wasn’t sure who Briana was. Given that anyone Rich, her sister, or Brad ever talked about was a coworker, or significant other of a coworker, she assumed Briana fell into the same category. “Get your backpacks on,” Donna told her kids, prompting them to pick them up from the floor where they’d dropped them.
“We have car seats and boosters for the kids. We’ll stop at a car rental place near where you’ll be staying on our way. Cars are cheaper out there than at the airport. Burke has a minivan reserved for you,” Dupont told them as he led them out of the doors to the pickup area. He pushed two of the larger suitcases with one hand, and a third one with the other.
Donna followed him. She had Jeriah sitting on the large suitcase she pushed. Her mom held both of the boys’ hands, and the boys each dragged a smaller suitcase.
A white transit van pulled up beside them. A pretty, young white girl sat behind the wheel. She smiled and waved. Brad slid the side panel door open. “Let’s get you guys inside,” he said to the boys. He helped them in as Donna lifted Jeriah from the suitcase and carried her to the van.
“Hi, you must be Donna,” the driver greeted. “I’m Briana. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Hi,” she said in return. She climbed in and began securing the kids in the two booster seats and one car seat that just barely fit on the banquette that lined the wall immediately behind the driver’s seat and stretched towards the back of the van. It was the only seating in the rear with seatbelts. A bed, complete withcomforter and pillows, spanned the distance across the back of the vehicle. The roof was so high that Donna could easily stand upright.
“It’s empty beneath the bed. You can shove as many suitcases that fit under there and go ahead and pile the backpacks on the bed,” Briana instructed.
“Dorthea, why don’t you take the passenger seat up front?” Dupont said, opening the car door for her. He helped her in. Then he helped Donna load the rest of the suitcases. Once they were in, he hopped in and slid the door shut. He pointed to the bed. “Have a seat there, Donna.” Then he came beside her and took a seat as Briana pulled away from the curb.
Briana introduced herself to Dorthea. “I’m one of their coworkers,” she said. “I just got back from a mission yesterday and am glad I could help pick you up.” Her gaze flickered to Dupont in the rearview mirror. “They’re cleared for some info, aren’t they?”
