Two-Way Street

Chapter 1:

Before the phone had even finished its first ring, the receiver was in Donna's hand, the dull sound cut off, leaving only an echo buzzing over her head. She held the receiver to her ear, simultaneously flipping through some papers in front of her after expertly completing a game of Minesweeper on her computer.

"Pearson Harden. Donna speaking. If you want to speak with Mr. Spector, you'll have to call back later as he is…"

"Harvard."

Donna's sentence faded as her focus shifted away from her multi-tasking to give her full attention to the speaker on the other end of the phone. Her usual calm and composed demeanor flickered slightly as her eyes cast furtively about, as if searching for spying eyes or eavesdropping ears. Seeing none, she drew closer to the front of her desk to appear engrossed in her work, bowing slightly to hide her face except to peek over the tip of her cubicle wall. She gripped the receiver with both hands, keeping eyes sharp and searching.

"What is it?"

"Police. 3 o'clock."

Donna instantly swiveled her head to the right, locking her eyes on the front door that opened up to the Pearson Harden firm that Jessica controlled. The moment she did, two police officers entered.

Donna's heart jumped into her throat. She swallowed uneasily and forced her voice to remain calm and quiet.

"Good. Thank you, Kathy. You know what to do."

A word of confirmation replied dutifully and then the line went dead. Donna hung her phone up slowly, keeping her eyes locked on the two police officers that walked up to the front desk where Kathy the receptionist was pretending to be immersed in the file on her desk. Donna shifted in her chair, waiting to be summoned to take care of the threat.

She had created this plan a few days after the need for said creation trailed behind her boss into Pearson Harden.

She had created this plan in order to protect the newest addition to the Person Harden team; the new associate of her boss.

Mike Ross.

The moment the non-Harvard graduate stepped into the firm on the coattails of the great Harvey Spector, Donna had put some safeguards around the office in case Mike and Harvey's secret was threatened to be compromised.

Mike was a good kid. Though Donna wasn't quite ready to openly admit she had a soft spot for him (it was more like the attraction towards a kicked puppy with big, pleading eyes anyway), she did feel a sort of obligation to watch the back of the few people in Harvey's life who tolerated him. Harvey didn't have many people whom he interacted with in a healthy fashion. (Note: this was the closest definition of what can be considered a friend to Harvey.) And Donna thought that the people he did have deserved to be preserved.

Plus, since she spent much of her energy defending, assisting, and protecting Harvey, it only stood to reason that her endeavors would extend to Mike.

While Donna didn't feel directly responsible for protecting Mike, she did feel obligated to give him a chance to protect himself on Harvey's behalf. Because she had a bit of a soft spot for Harvey too. She was, after all, his wife, was she not?

So, she had made a safety net to catch a threat before it could affect Mike, and, by extension, Harvey.

If anyone came snooping around; looking for Mike's background in search of proof that he wasn't actually a Harvard graduate or a graduate from any law school, the safety net would set off an alarm to give Mike and Harvey a head-start to deal with or run from the threat in order to keep their secret safe.

The alarm that had just been triggered came from the safety net that was Kathy.

Kathy Simmons was a sweet, mousy woman who had a certain admiration towards the strong Donna who took any and all abuse from the men of the firm and shot it right back twofold. Donna had instructed the receptionist (who had accepted her role willingly without question, bless her) to alert her first with the code-word "Harvard" if anyone suspicious or dangerous came in. Even if it would turn out to be a false alarm and they weren't looking for Mike, Donna wanted to intercept them first in case they were.

And someone had.

The two police men had now attracted Kathy's attention and Donna could see the larger of the two officers conversing with Kathy although she couldn't hear what could be said. She was able to see the exaggerated frantic gestures of Kathy as she feigned helplessness and the increasing frustration of the officers as Kathy was proving useless to helping them achieve what they had come to do.

This too, was part of the plan. When the threat came to Kathy looking for Mike, she was to appear like a novice; a new employee to the firm who didn't know the other employees and still hadn't quite grasped the use of the phone system. Kathy had picked up a few of Donna's acting tricks through the years and was doing a fantastic job of being clueless and easily intimidated.

Step three of the plan came into action the moment Donna's phone rang once more.

Donna waited for the phone to ring twice in order to dispel any suspicions that she was grappling with anxiety before finally picking up the receiver. "This is Donna," she answered nonchalantly.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you, Donna," Kathy's quivering voice sounded from the other end and Donna beamed with pride, "but there are some officers here looking for a Michael Ross."

"What's the problem, then?" Donna asked, glancing at the officers but resuming her nonchalance.

A distressed squeak sounded from Kathy. "I don't know who Michael Ross is and I don't know his number," she sniveled and Donna could picture the tears glistening at the corners of the younger woman's eyes. Give the girl an Emmy. "Can you come here and help me, please?"

"All right," Donna sighed with feigned exasperation. "One moment."

"Thank you," Kathy whimpered and then she hung up.

First, Donna wiped the smile from her face. Then, she stood from her desk. She calmly sauntered to the front of the office towards the receptionist's desk where Kathy was cringing under the hard stare of the larger officer while a considerably younger and slightly shorter one rubbed at his neck, shooting apologetic glances at Kathy for his partner's roughness.

"Good morning, gentlemen," Donna enthused, gaining both officers' attention. "I'm sorry about the delay. Ms. Simmons is a new employee here. My name is Donna. How can I help you?"

Donna retained her smile despite the simmering eyes of the larger officer that had now turned on her. He looked like someone who had been just about ready to retire after a long night of work but had been denied a trip home and ordered to respond to a call instead. Someone was surely going to pay for that later. His uniform was wrinkled, his face unshaven, and his eyes red-rimmed. All he needed was a briefcase and he could have posed as a lawyer of the firm.

"Good morning," the younger officer replied politely, smiling tiredly despite the matching appearance he had with his partner.

"Can I interest you gentlemen in a cup of coffee?" Donna asked with genuine helpfulness. She saw similar appearances all the time and could sympathize with the officers.

The younger officer's eyes lit up as if he had just been given the winning numbers of the lottery but sobered as his partner firmly shook his head.

"We're here to see Michael Ross," he said in a gruff, no-nonsense voice.

Donna looked from one officer to the other, forcing her smile to remain in place. Her heart sank with the undeniable proof that the police had come for Mike. Someone had learned the truth of his lie and had sent the police to remove him.

"I'll call his desk and see if he's here," Donna said, keeping her voice level as she took the chair offered by Kathy and picked up the phone. "Kathy, would you get us some coffee?" she asked, earning a gracious smile from the younger officer and a resigned huff from the older one. Kathy nodded and left as Donna punched in Mike's number.

This was the last step of her plan: the warning. She had hoped she would never have to resort to the last step. Maybe Mike would be out. Maybe he would be with Harvey with a client. It was a long shot but she hoped with all her might that Mike wouldn't answer.

Her heart hit rock-bottom at the sound of Mike's voice when he picked up.

"Hello," she greeted, keeping her composed smile, "is Michael Ross there?"

"Speaking," Mike answered almost distractedly, and she could picture him looking over his files, highlighter in hand.

"Oh, hello Rachel. Do you know where Mike went?"

There was a pause. Then, "I'm right here."

"No? Well, do you know when he'll get back?"

"Donna," the voice was thoroughly confused now and she could tell his attention was no longer divided between her and the file, "Donna, this is Mike. What's going on?" There was another pause and then a sharp inhale as Mike made the connection. His voice lowered. "What's wrong?"

"Okay, well, when you see him can you tell him to come to the front desk? Officers-" Donna paused and leaned forward to read the officers' badges, "-Stewart and Douglass are here to see him. Thank you."

Donna hung up the phone and smiled apologetically at the two men. "I'm sorry, but Mike's not here at the moment. Would you like to leave a message?"

The officers glanced at each other and Donna bade them to just give up. She could see the allure of returning home strengthening in Officer Stewart's eyes. Officer Douglass shrugged, ready to go along with whatever his partner wanted to do.

"Ah, gentlemen," a new voice interrupted.

Both Donna and the two officers looked up to see the owner of the voice approach. Donna's stomach joined her heart and she was unable to maintain her smile.

"Louis Litt. Junior partner. A pleasure I'm sure."

"The one who called?" the Officer Stewart asked as he folded hefty arms over his chest.

Louis smiled greasily. "Yes. Mike's right over here." He gestured towards the cubicles.

"We've been informed he's not here," Officer Stewart replied stonily, unaffected by Louis' sickening charm.

"Well then we can just wait for him at his desk," Louis answered and again gestured towards the cubicle, feigning patience.

Officer Stewart sighed heavily but nodded and followed Louis, Officer Douglass close behind with a crestfallen expression at being unable to receive his coffee. Donna watched them go and lost her composure the moment their backs were turned.

She breathlessly dialed Harvey's number. It rang and was not answered. Fretting at her finger, Donna glanced behind her at the cubicles and the offices trailing along them.

She had relayed the warning. She had done all that she could. Hopefully Mike would be able to escape from the police again. Because if he were to get caught this time, they'd surely take him, and Harvey, away.

._._._._._.

Another Suits fic. Yay! This is a long one too. I wrote it a while ago as a passing thought, and then decided to fix it up and post it.

A few things to mention. I do kind of picture Donna as someone who will sneak in a game of Minesweeper of Solitaire when no one is looking. She also strikes me as the kind of person who can finish the game like a pro. I also firmly believe her to be very protective of Harvey, and consequently, Mike. She's always looking out for Harvey and refuses to work for anyone else. Plus, we saw how she looks out for Mike when she volunteered to help him in the mock trial. She dotes upon them both.

I also don't know the layout of the office very well but I made my best guesses after examining what is shown of the firm in the episodes. I think it's ok.

So, the police are after Mike and Louis is leading the way. What's going to happen next? Ah, cliffies, how I love and abhor thee.

Until next time,
Hobey-Ho