Ends and Means II
Part 5, Scene 15
Kermit checked the rearview mirror of the Corvair one last time as he pulled away from the apartment building. The two men in the black van had never moved from the vehicle. They were definitely watching the apartment building. They were keeping an eye on Lula. He could only assume that they would have some way of knowing that he had visited Lula's apartment and informed the woman of her husband's death.
He hadn't enjoyed lying to the woman but this plan, alone, would ensure her safety as well as her husband's. He had learned a long time ago that the end justified the means. And in this case, a simple lie would shift the odds in favor of the good guys. "Mission accomplished," he muttered.
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Part 5 Scene 16
"I'm dead?" Donny exclaimed.
"You are for now," Peter answered.
"But Lula. . ." Donny followed. "She's gonna kill me."
Peter shook his head slowly. "I know this is going to be hard, but we don't have a choice, Donny."
"Don't have a choice? You killed me!"
"It's not permanent. We're only going to do this until we can find the men who are trying to kill you."
"No. . .I can't do this to Lula, Pete."
"It's only for a few days. Besides, Kermit's telling her now, Donny."
Lo Si watched the exchange between the two men. The decision made by Peter and Kermit was a difficult one. . .one with which he was all too familiar.
Peter seemed to catch the errant thought from the elderly master. Turning to the old man, his voice filled with bitterness, he frowned. "It's not the same."
"It is," Lo Si answered, then he turned his back on Peter and left the room.
Peter helped Donny to sit up. "I need to take you to a safe house. A place you can be hidden until this blows over."
"He can stay here. He will be safe. I will assure it," Lo Si offered as he returned to the room.
"No. I won't do this. I won't leave Lula."
"You have no choice," the aged man said as he opened the small leather satchel in his hand. "If you do not do this, Lula will be in danger."
Donny bit his lip and looked with desperation between the two men, hoping against hope that one would change the mind of the other. Peter shook his head. "He's right, Donny. If the men who are after you believe you are still alive, they will use Lula to find you. They've already threatened her once."
"What? Is she hurt?"
"No, she's fine. But they did say that if they found out she knew where you were they would return." Peter sat next to Donny on the couch. "Lula will only be safe if they think you are dead. The only way they will believe you are dead is if Lula believes it herself."
Lo Si took a step forward, holding another cup of tea out to the distraught man. "There is no other way."
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Part 5 Scene 17
Kermit put the finishing touches on his report. The door to his office was pushed open and Karen Simms walked in, unannounced. "What in the hell is going on, Detective?"
"Please, come in, Captain," Kermit responded dryly. "I'm sorry we had to skip lunch, but, you know, duty calls. . ."
"Don't give me that. I just read Nicky Elder's report. Donny's dead?"
"If that's what the report says, then it must be the truth. Nicky's never wrong."
Simms shut the door behind her and approached the man. "Don't play games with me, Griffin."
Kermit shot a wounded look back to the woman. "You liked the games I was playing with you last night."
Karen couldn't help the grin that glimmered in her face. Then the look disappeared as she regained control. "Let's keep our minds on our jobs, Detective."
Kermit leaned back in his chair and smiled. "For some reason I'm finding that to be an almost impossible task."
"What happened to Donny?" Karen ignored the comment.
"You read the report."
"So he's dead."
"Apparently."
"And Peter? Peter was looking for him."
"What makes you think he found him?"
"The explosion took place at Caine's place. That's just a little to coincidental for my taste."
"Then I guess we'll need to find out from him what happened."
Karen narrowed her eyes at the man. "You know, interesting things happen when you grow close to somebody." She leaned forward, arms on Kermit's desk, eyes penetrating through his dark shades. "You can tell when you are being lied to."
Kermit tried to stare the woman down, but found that he flinched first. Karen stood, crossing her arms in front of her in satisfaction. "I want the truth."
Kermit said nothing for a long while, debating the impact of what the truth would do to the situation. Finally he sighed and took a deep breath. "Donny's not dead."
Karen's eyes flashed a quick look of confusion and then understanding. "You're hiding him."
"That's Peter's job."
"Why? What does he know?"
"We aren't sure yet. But what we do know is that someone is after him. And that someone is a dirty cop. And that cop has friends. They caused the explosion at Caine's apartment, which was meant to take Donny out. Lula was threatened by the same men."
"You've seen her?"
Kermit nodded, revealing no emotion. "I told her Donny was dead."
Karen shook her head. "How is she?"
"She was shaken. I left her with her neighbor."
"So you lied to her." Karen felt a twinge of anger at how easily the man had broken the woman's heart.
"I had to." Kermit's voice was coldly rational. "It was better than the alternative."
"The alternative?"
"Having her used as bait at best, being dead at worst."
"So you fake his death to make whoever think that he's out of the picture."
"It keeps him safe and gives us the advantage. Donny can help us identify them without the danger."
Karen nodded. "So why didn't you tell me what was going on?"
"The decision was sudden. Nicky's John Doe came in and we had to act fast. Getting departmental approval was not going to help the situation."
"And Peter agreed to this?"
"Yes."
"And Donny?" Karen asked, voice filled with doubt.
"I assume so. He didn't have much of a choice."
"I guess not." Karen sighed and collapsed into the visitor's chair. "Who else knows?"
"Just Nicky, you, and the Ancient."
"Too many." Karen's tone was filled with concern.
"Yes, but there was no way around it."
"I suppose not." Karen leaned forward toward the detective. "I want to talk to Donny. I want to know who the cop is that has turned and about the attack on the delegation."
"I'll find him," Kermit offered.
"I hope you two know what you are doing," the woman said as she left the office, shutting the door behind her.
Kermit watched her leave. "So do I," he muttered.
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Part 5 Scene 18
"Lula!" Donny shouted, awaking with a start.
"You are all right," Lo Si said calmly, pushing the man back down against the couch.
Donny touched his sore head, winced and then looked around the room in a panic. "Where's Pete? I gotta tell him that I really need to see Lula," Donny whispered.
"You can not," Lo Si insisted.
"I don't mean no disrespect or nothin', but this is my wife we're talkin' about," Donny said in a louder voice.
"I know this is difficult, but Peter has a way to help you. You must let him do the job that is required."
Donny buried his head in his hands. "I can't do this."
"Yes, you can. You can if you remember you are doing this for love."
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Part 5 Scene 19
"So?" Brock said to the four men as they entered the warehouse, slamming the heavy door behind them. The first three men were still dressed in dark clothing. The fourth was wearing the blue uniform of a police officer.
"He's dead," the cop answered.
"There's no doubt?" Brock pressed.
"There's been a positive identification of the body. Apparently it was badly damaged in the explosion. I'm going to try to get past the M.E. and see for myself," the uniformed man volunteered.
Brock nodded and turned to one of the men in dark clothing. "So what else did you find out, Teague?"
The subordinate leaned against the table. "A detective from the 101 informed the wife of the death. At this point I think we can assume he's out of the picture."
The leader turned to the man standing next to him. "Bradford, when I told you we needed a fall guy to nail the bombing on I thought you said you had a sure thing."
"I thought this guy would fall for it. Who knew that a snitch could develop ethics? Besides, if he's dead, it's no problem. You have Mannie to pin it on."
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To Part 6