VENTURES: A Lit Fire

A FEW DAYS AFTER THANKSGIVING -

We were all in Beverly and Nelson's Domicile

''Kayla...Kayla...You hosted an excellent Thanksgiving Day baby.....I am full and I have heard nothing but compliments from everybody.." said Olivia.

"I am sooooo happy....and it was such a good idea to invite everybody's parents and grand parents...They all loved it and they all took enough food that we won't have that many leftovers..."said Cousin Kayla.

"That's so cool...I am so full I can't think about eating anything..."said Beverly, hugging her cousin and kissing her on the cheek....

"I'm full too...We are going to the gym tomorrow, Me and Bev....You are welcome to join us.." said Nelson.

I laughed......but I was planning to go to the gym myself, hit the bags....do a little sparrring...

"Hey where is Bree today?" asked Kayla.

''She and Tony are having lunch at Sam Mothers...Then they're going to a movie afterwords..."said Josie.

"Jo and I are taking in a movie too later on tonight." said Paris.

"That sounds nice.. I haven't been to the movies in a minute...We stream everything...Believe it or not...I'm Hungry....Let's join them for Breakfast."laughed Olivia.

And at Sam Mother's Diner.. Bresha and her husband, Tony, who was off today also were having breakfast...

Tony had an Omelette, Hash browns and Bacon

while Bresha had Louisiana style Shrimp and Cheese Grits and coffee.

"Ummph, you keep eating like that and that butt is going to get bigger and rounder than it already is... and I must say, you won't get any protests from me at all....Ummmmmm ummmph...Lawd Jesus girl.."said Tony, admiring his wife's curvaceous figure.

"Stop it...you are so nasty, always looking at my butt.."laughed Bresha, blushing...

Lt. Tragg walked in... He was quite happy with himself... The night before...

THE NIGHT BEFORE!

A Burning Row House in a Philadelphia Neighborhood...

"The husband here was shot two times.....That's the wife over there....burned so badly, her night gown, panties and bra were singed...She may have been sexually assaulted...Luckily, we got here before they burned completely said a Crime Scene Investigator to an officer at the scene...

''This is so cruel...what kind of monster could do a thing like this?" asked Hazel..

"I knowwww." said Marcy Martin....

"We have a neighbor who said she saw the killer leaving..." said one of the CSI men to Lt. Tragg

"The SUV belonging to the family was stolen..."said an officer on the scene.

"Hmm that seems pretty dumb, why kill two people and then steal their car?" asked Lt. Tragg.

"LIEUTENANT!!! WE GOT AN EYEBALL ON THE SUV!" said an officer...

"Alright.. I'm on it... You girls, get those bodies out of here and get me the Autopsy and Tox reports ASAP!" yelled Lt. Tragg, rushing out of the burning house with three uniformed policemen..

"God, I hate when he's involved in a case.." said Dr Hazel Baylor...Chief Coroner.

"I know what you mean...It means the wrong person is going to be arrested and the case won't be solved." sighed. Marcy..

as both bodies were put in body bags, strapped to a gurney and rolled out of the burnt dwelling..

Minutes later-

With his Glock drawn... Lt. Tragg orders the SUV to stop and orders the driver to get out..

"GET OUT OF THE CAR....GET YOUR HANDS UP WHERE I CAN SEE EM!" he yelled.

The Tactical squad backed him up.....

A frightened young Hispanic male emerged from the SUV-

"What is this about?" he asked.

"You know what this is about...DOUBLE MURDER !" snarled Lt. Tragg.

THIS MORNING!

"Oh Look, It's Olivia , Beverly and the rest of the gang." said Bresha..

We had come in right behind Lt. Tragg and taken a seat at a big table.. right near Bresha and Tony...

"Heyyyyyy guys..."said Tony..

"Ummmmmmmmm that looks good...I think I'll have an Omelette."said Olivia.

"I like what Bresha's eating.." I said.

Bresha laughed... "I thought of you when I ordered it." she said.

"That's what I think I'll have." said Beverly...

"Pancakes for me." said Nelson..

"Me too!"said Josie...

"Yeah me too!" said Paris, Josie's husband.

"I think I'll have two eggs, over hard." said Kayla as we gave he waitress our orders...

Standing behind the waitress was Lt. Tragg who couldn't resist engaging us....

''Welllllll hail hail, the gang is all here.. You probably saw me on Television this morning...I captured a sick double murderer last night" he boasted..

Beverly clapped....

"Good for youuuuu!" she said sarcastically...

''Actually we didn't see it.. but good for you...I hope you got the right suspect this time."said Olivia,

"The Best part about this case is that you and your uh associates are not involved and don't get involved...." he snarled.

''We wouldn't know about your bust of the century if you hadn't of told us...Trust me, the last thing we want to do is have anything to do with a case of yours."said Beverly...

"Olivia, I've told you to muzzle your Junior Partners." said Lt. Tragg.

"My wife isn't a dog....Why don't you muzzle yourself and get away from our table??"said Nelson..

"You heard him...GET AWAY FROM OUR TABLE!"said Olivia.

Naturally he stood there with that blank expression on his face.,

"ARTIE...ORDER SOMETHING OR GET THE HELL OUT!!" screamed Sam Mother.

He smirked and walked away from our tables...

We didn't know it right then, but fate was about to draw us into his orbit once again!

II-

THE NEXT DAY-

The "Fishbowl" , the nickname the detectives gave to the interrogation room was hot and smelled foul..

It smelled like sweat socks, underarm odor and hot garbage....

The young suspect , Pedro Valdez, sat alone in the room...

Lt. Tragg walked in...

"I've got you cold buddy, you're in a lot of trouble... They are going to ask for the Death Penalty...You raped that woman, killed her and her husband and burned their house down..My god... Arson, Rape and Murder....Myyyy godddd....What do you have to say for yourself.?" he asked.

"Look you got it all wrong...I didn't kill anybody or rape anybody....and I certainly didn't burn anything down...You got the wrong guy."said Pedro...

"Loooook, we arrested you driving the stolen SUV, belonging to the victims...That's Auto Theft added to Arson, Rape and two counts of First degree murder."said Lt. Tragg...

"I bought this car...just hours before you ran up on me.. A guy drove up to the corner, offered to give me the car for $600.00 dallars...The car is one years old.. I thought he was on drugs...but I bought the car,I gave him $600..00 and he handed me the keys... He was a white guy about five foot nine,maybe shorter, with a limp..a noticeable limp and he had a class ring.." said Pedro.

"You expect me to believe a cock and bull story like that?" snarled Lt. Tragg...

"Not another word Pedro." said Attorney David Charles.

''And who are you?" asked Lt. Tragg...

"I'm David Charles, Public Defender... Can I have the room?" he asked.

"Why certainly!" said Lt. Tragg with a smile.. tickled pink that his nemesis's Olivia Bennet- Alexander and her crew and Yvette Jones-Lockwood and her crew were not the defending attorneys..

How many times had these attorneys outwitted prosecutors up against them, using every legal loophole in the book to humiliate them and in affect him?? How many times had they made him look like a fool? Well not this time.. This jamolk, this Public Defender was no match for the ADA's that were lining up to put this guy in the little green room...

He was exuberant.....

He gave a press conference-

"Last night a heinious crime was committed...A man went on a one man crime wave...Murder, Rape, Arson and Auto Theft .....but I captured him I looked into his cold, cold murderous eyes and stared him down and put the cuffs on him...The streets are safe now because of my vigilant eyes and great detective work.." he said.

And at our house....

"I never in my life seen a guy who likes to hear himself talk as much as this guy..."said Beverly, turning the television off.

"He does seem to be full of hot air." I said.

"Hot Air???....I could think of another expletive." said Olivia...

"Yeah ,me too Livy." laughed Alfreda...

"Nelson cracked up laughing.

"Everybody is talking about this case... It was a cruel crime... He raped the wife and strangled her..The Husband walked in on him and he shot him, killed him, then he set the house on fire and stole the SUV belonging to the husband... The car was two years old, but they had just purchased it.." said Josie.

"That was stupid...Why steal the car belonging to the victims? That was easy to track down."said Bresha.

"Crime makes you stupid." I said.

Olivia laughed....

III-

COURTROOM C- THE NEXT DAY!

Like a lot of Public Defenders, David Charles found himself saddled with a case way over his head..he was defending the most hated man in Philadelphia in a Capital Case in which the Death Penalty was going to be asked for.. He had never tried a death penalty case before in his life.. He needed help and he knew it.. He had won 50 of 52 cases he had tried..None of them had been Capital Cases..And now here he was with the biggest case of his life on the biggest stage of his life.

His client refused any deal that was sent his way...He insisted that he was innocent and he wanted to plead not guilty..He wasn't pleading out anything...

James "Jumpshot Jim" Taylor was the lead prosecutor....and teaming up with him were our friends,

Assistant District Attorney Brooke Kennedy..

and Assistant District Attorney Natalie Tennison...

They both were rising stars in the District Attorneys office, having won many trials and having gone toe to toe with us and with Yvette's group in the past... Their only two losses being to our two teams..

This was a very controversial case and D.A. . Garcetti was stacking the deck... He wanted a conviction..

Lt. Tragg was still quite smitten with Brooke Kennedy.... He was still running his hands up her skirt...

She was busy removing his hands....and trying to move away from him....

James "Jumpshot Jim" Taylor, former All American College basketball Player, turned Attorney fashioned himself as a ladies man...had been coming on to Brooke the entire time they were waiting for the Judge to show up.....

Natalie seemed to be off into another world... She was staring at the Public Defender, David Charles..

And he was staring at her.....She was the last person he expected to see... They had first met at Aqua Bar...TWO WEEKS BEFORE-

Natalie was there with her friends.. He recognized them all, Beverly West, Olivia's niece and partner...Her husband, Nelson East...Both legendary attorneys who were once Public defenders, Jasmine Coley, Once a Public defender and an Assistant District Attorney, her husband, Dabnis Coley..a brilliant litigator, Kayla Bennett-St. Jacques, Olivia and Beverly's cousin,also a great attorney and her husband, Ray St. Jacques, another good attorney.. Former Public Defenders, Jessica Sanchez-Burrows and her Husband, Charles "Chip" Burrows...Olivia's other attorneys , Josie Boyd and her husband, Paris and Bresha Billips and her husband, Tony Billips...All fine attorneys... The other four attorneys, Keith Jones, his wife, Beatrice Evans-Jones ,Sofia Garcia-Ahmed and her husband, Kahlil Ahmed were all attorneys who worked with Yvette Jones.. All what he hoped to be one day...Successful and out of the Public Defenders office with a nice firm...

Natalie was as usual the life of the party...She had them all laughing so hard they were crying...He remembered when she was a Public Defender, he had had the biggest crush on her, but had never said anything...Now she was an Assistant District Attorney and he noticed...She was the only one that wasn't coupled up...

All of the other attorneys were with their significant others...If he was going to shoot his shot..Now was the time to do it.

"Girrrrrl you are so crazy, you haven't changed a bit since high school..."laughed Beverly....

"That was a funny story."laughed Nelson...

"She's got a plenty..."said Jazzy, laughing so hard, tears were coming out of her eyes..

"Oh My God...You guys were trips.."said her husband, Dabnis..

"I knowwwwww...You had to be there ." said Kayla...like Jazzy, laughing so hard, tears were coming out of her eyes.

"I wish I had of been there..." said her husband, Ray...

Jessica was laughing hard also.... "Aye Mios Dios.." she laughed.

"Oh My God,,,,You got anymore stories?" laughed Chip....

"I don't think you can stand anymore."said Natalie..

"I know I can't "said Josie, still laughing....

"Are you this funny in court?" asked her husband, Paris..

"Nahhhhhh she's not funny in court...She's cut-throat..."said Bresha smiling, remembering our four courtroom battles with her and her partner, Brooke..

"You strike me as that type..Get em laughing and then hit em with the punch line." said her husband Tony...

"She's definitely an acquired taste."laughed Keith Jones..

''Awwwww was I that bad Bee Bee?" asked Natalie, smiling..

''Not once we got to know you..Out of court." said Bee Bee.

"Yeah, then we were friends..."said Sofia.

"You're all right with me.." said Kahlil..

''Awww thank you Kahlil...See...He gets me!"laughed Natalie..

They began dancing.. Line dancing......Everybody took part...but then slow songs began playing and couples began slow dragging..

Natalie didn't have a husband, or even a boyfriend.. So she sat down and watched her friends and their spouses...She never slow dragged with random guys she didn't know.

A Watermelon Martini was given to her...

"I didn't order this." said Natalie..

"The Gentleman over there sent it to you."said the Bartender.

David Charles slid over...

"Hi Natalie...Uh I know this is someone's seat...when they come back...I'll move..." he said..."Do you uh remember me?" he asked.

"Of course I do...David Charles from The Public Defenders Office...How have you been?" she asked.

"You know how it is..A coronary a minute...Over worked, Under budgeted, under staffed...All the great attorneys either get burned out or they do like you and Brooke and countless others do..They get out!

I see your friends here...Some of em were Public Defenders...They know the deal." he laughed.

"So when are you gettin out? You've been there awhile.."asked Natalie..

"I don't know...One of these days..." he said.

They continued talking... They eventually moved to a seperate table and continued talking...and drinking for the next THREE HOURS!

"Ouuu Natalie has an admirer." observed Beverly...

"I know that guy, well slightly...He's a Public Defender...I met him when I uh recently lectured there."said Nelson.

"That's right...You and Liv do go there and Lecture sometimes...I remember." said Josie.

''That's pretty cool ,inspiring the next generation of Attorneys."said Paris.

"Right now I think he's inspiring Natalie's Libido." joked Bresha, Noticing that the young man's hand were on Natalie's legs and had slowly inched up her skirt a few times..

"Hah Ha...that's funny."said her husband, Tony....

"Ole girl has attracted a beau.." said Keith Jones.

"Good for her...I imagine it must feel lonely for her sometimes..Hanging out with all of us and we are all coupled up."said Bee Bee.

''Yeah, even her partner, Brookie is in a relationship now."said Sofia.

"Relationship? She's engaged...She's getting married next week."said Kahlil.

"That's right.....She is..and we all are invited... Bee Bee, Sofia, we gotta go shopping for our dresses."said Jazzy...

"Yeah we got two weddings next month...Brooke and Sean and Ms. Virginia and Jetty."said Dabnis.

"This group does sooo much...and to think , I used to be bored for lengths of time when I wasn't in court.."said Kayla.

"Me too! Glad we got married and moved around here."said her husband, Ray.

"I feel the same way...I have girlfriends to shop with now, Friends to Party with , the whole nine.."said Jessica.

''We are something aren't we?" said Chip.

Everyone eventually left and they were still talking at closing time..

"I never knew you had a crush on me..Why didn't you say something?" said Natalie

"I thought you were out of my league..I didn't think I had a shot."said David Charles.

"So What's changed now? How come you're shooting your shot tonight.?"asked Natalie.

"Life is short..." said Davis Charles..

"It is.. It is indeed....Ouuuuuuuuuuu you are fresh..." laughed Natalie.. His hand had snaked up her dress and caressed her butt...

"Your friends left." said David Charles.

"It's a quarter to two....most of the patrons have left....I can't believe I've been sitting here ,drinking with you and talking with you this long..practically all night...When we all worked at the Public Defender's Office, you hardly said two words to me.."laughed Natalie.

"I did buy you coffee a few times...Hey look it's last call...You need a ride home?" he asked.

"Noooooooo, I drove...David! How would you like to take this conversation a little further? Like to uh my place? It is Friday night, we aren't working tomorrow?" said Natalie.. Under the table,She slowly and descretely ran her hands down his leg, felt his now massive erection and squeezed it a little bit....Her eyes grew wide and she looked at him...He was packing, she thought...She was glad!!!

"How bout if I made your dreams come true tonight?" she whispered.

His eyes grew as wide as saucers...

"CHECK PLEASE!" he said..

It was a brisk fall night.. he followed her in his car to her apartment. She stared at his trousers which were standing out like a circus tent...

"You sure you gonna be able to drive with all that?" she jokingly asked..staring at the huge bulge in his trousers.

"I'll be just fine." he said.

They drove to her apartment complex....

"I want you to know I don't always do this.. I'm not gonna lie and say you're my first one night stand..but I don't always do this."said Natalie..

"I'm not judgemental baby." said David Charles.

"Oh I'm baby now huh? Look at you...You took your courage in one hand tonight." she laughed..

He kissed her passionately....

"Okay, let me get my key in the door first."she giggled.

Once inside, she put her keys and her purse on the kitchen table and they fell up against the wall, kissing passionately... Her lifted her top and began unhooking her bra..

She unzippered his trousers and took his shirt tie and suit jacket off... he helped her out of her skirt..

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm DAVID!!!! " she moaned as they kissed passionately....

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH OHHHHHH MYYYY GODDD!" he cried out.

He helped her out of her dress...

He gasped upon seeing her in her panties..

She laughed..

He bent her over the sink....

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU.......OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH GODDDDDDDDD!" she moaned. She was having an intense orgasm already! Her body trembling/

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.LAWWWWWWWWWWD!!!" he moaned.

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she moaned.. She was passionate enough when sober, but drunk she was even more horny and more passionate..he mused.. Thing was, she wasn't drunk, just slightly buzzed.

They were on her kitchen floor really going at it...She couldn't believe she was doing this and with him!

She did have a spontaneous spirit..She always had...She was prone to do things she had never done before...They sat on the side of her living room couch and she moved up and down on him and kissed him passionately....

"OHHHHH LAWDDD! OHHHH YEAH! OHH YEAHHHHHHH!" she screamed to the top of her lungs.

He lifted her up...and was long stroking her...She was surprised....He was always so quiet ,so mannerly around the office..He had probably fantasized about doing things like this to her for god knows how long..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!! WOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she cooed.

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! LAWDDDDDDDDDDD!" he moaned...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MYYYYYYY GODDDDDD!!OUUUUUUUUUUU
WOUUUUUUUUU!" she screamed. Tears flowed down her cheeks!

Her body trembled and she had a quick almost embarrassing orgasm....

He placed her on the bathroom sink, spread her legs and entered her slowly...She had another intense orgasm and was now holding him for dear life..

"OHHHHHHH I'VE NEEDED THIS SOOO LONG!!!! OUUUUUUUUUU...I COULDN'T IMAGINE IT WOULD BE YOU!!! OUUUUUUUU SO GLAD IT IS." she cooed..

By the time they made it to the bed...she had had another intense orgasm...

They made sweet, sweet love for the next NINE TO TEN HOURS.

She admired his stamina. He admired hers...She was driving him to near delirium...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU.......OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH GODDDDDDDDD!" she moaned. She was having another intense orgasm! Her body trembling...This was four, in one night!!

He had lit a fire under her!!

She ended the night, sleeping on his chest....her most peaceful satisfying sleep in months..

When they woke up, She fixed him breakfast in the morning.. Blueberry Pancakes, Hash Browns, sausage and coffee. She was a good cook...

After Breakfast, they met at the door.

"LAST NIGHT WAS INCREDIBLE...THANK YOUUUU!" he said.

"LET'S KEEP IN TOUCH!" she said.

They both pulled out their phones and exchanged information..

and kissed one last time at the door..

He did call her at least four times afterwords and he sent her fresh flowers at least three times since that night, though she hadn't seen him..

Her best friend, ADA Brooke Kennedy smiled.

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU MORE FLOWERS FROM David Charles..Ouuuuuuuuuu,

He wants to get in your panties"....He wants to get in your pannnnnnnnnnties!" she teased..Paying her back for how she teased her about Lt. Tragg.

"Girl you're late! He's done that already...Boyyyyyyyyyyyy has he!" said Natalie, blushing.

"WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTT? You and David Charles did the Hibbity Bibbity?? OUUUUUUUUUUU

GIRL!" laughed Brooke.

Which brings us to today..

It was the first time Natalie and David Charles had seen each other since their night together two weeks ago...Both had had court cases and now here they were sitting across the courtroom from each other as opposing counsel in one of the biggest cases of the year......

"Natalie that's David Charles...Ohhhh wowww, he's the defense on this case?Awwwwwww I'm sorry baby."said Brooke.

''We're Attorneys , this is the life we chose...We've got a job to do and he's got a job to do...We don't take these cases personal...Win, Lose and then on to the next one.He knows that."said Natalie coldly.

The Judge came in , Judge Ronald Coughlin...a very tough no nonsense Judge..

''Alright let the hearing begin!" he said.

III-

We were two courtrooms away....Olivia and Beverly had filed briefs in another case..

They were walking down the hallway towards me.

I was waiting for them when they came out of the courtroom with Nelson, Josie and Bresha.

"Here they come now." I said.

"Heyy that double murder case is two courtrooms down." said Josie.

"Ouuu let's look in."said Bresha.

"It's just the arraignment."said Nelson.

"Let's go in anyway and give Lt. Tragg a heart attack!"laughed Beverly..

''Yes, let's do that!" said Olivia, smiling.

It was at moments like this, that I could imagine what the two of them were like as little girls and as young women. More like sisters than Aunt and Niece.

COURTROOM C-

"PEDRO VALDEZ, you are accused of two counts of First Degree Murder, 1 count of Arson ,1 count of Auto Theft ,and 1 count of Rape...How do you plead?" asked Judge Coughlin...a tough and fair Judge who had been around a long time.

David Charles and his client, Pedro Valdez stood up.. Pedro looked scared to death...

"WE PLEAD NOT GUILTY TO ALL CHARGES YOUR HONOR!"said David Charges

James "Jumpshot " Taylor was up...He was at the center stage of the biggest trial of his career...and he knew it. A Hollywood Producer had already pitched his life story to a movie studio and he was asked to be a technical advisor on a new Television drama set in Philadelphia..

"Your honor, the defendent is accused of one of the most heinious crimes in the city's history... He is accused of raping and murdering Mrs. Veronica Cutter and shooting and killing her husband, Ronald Cutter then setting their house on fire and stealing their SUV...This crime, these crimes are heinious beyond belief.. Your Honor...I don't ...I-I won't feel safe with this man on the streets...I am asking that he be held without bail."said an over dramatic Jumpshot Jim, enjoying the spotlight.

The Judge , Brooke and Natalie all sighed at his over dramatic presentation.

Lt. Tragg looked over into the visitor's section and to his shock he saw, Olivia and Me, Beverly and Nelson, Josie and Bresha.

Olivia smiled.

I sat stoned faced.

Beverly waved.

Nelson smirked.

So Did Josie.

Bresha was like me, stone faced.

Attorney David Charles, Public Defender was out to prove he was no slouch..

"Your honor. My client has no priors...None at all, Not even a juvenile record...He has never been in trouble with the law before. I assume we are acting on the presumption of Innocence until PROVEN GUILTY....He has not been proven guilty... He is a productive citizen who holds down a job in construction, a tax payer..He should be given a fair bail."he said.

"Excellent Opening Statement."said Olivia.

"He's got spunk."said Beverly ,smiling.

David Charles called 27 charactor witnesses, Charactor Witnesses that he had prepped well..

They attested to Pedro Valdez's charactor and good and gentle nature.

Natalie hated doing this..but she had to.. She viciously went hard on cross examination, really giving it to his witnesses..but he had prepped them well and he had studied recent trials

To Her surprise... David Charles was prepared..More Prepared than she thought he would be.. He had compelling counter arguments...Arguments that made his case stronger... He was not caught by surprise..

She had no idea how well He had prepared. For the second time, she was impressed.

"WOWWWW! HE DID GOOD!" said Olivia, smiling from ear to ear.

"YES HE DID!! HE'S GOING PLACES!"said an equally impressed Beverly.

"The Kid's got spunk...I like him."said Nelson.

"He's Fearless..He's up against seasoned Attorneys in an unwinnable case and he didn't fold,He put up a good battle."said Josie.

"Yes he did."said Bresha, smiling.

I smiled.

Lt. Tragg felt very uneasy seeing us in the visitors section observing the trial..He didn't like us anywhere near this trial.

"You make a very compelling argument Mr. Charles and if these multiple offenses were not so heinious..I would give him bail...but because they are, I find that I have to rule in favor of the prosecution and state that the defendent ,Pedro Valdez, be held without bail." said the Judge.

Pedro looked scared to death as he was handcuffed and led away.

"Don't worry Pedro, I'm going to get you out of this...I promise."said David Charles.

"Your Boyfriend was better than you thought eh Nat?" whispered Brooke to her friend.

"Sure Was...Girrrrl, you don't know how aroused I was, just hearing his voice."said Natalie.

Both women laughed as the courtroom cleared.

IV-

Of course there was the big press conference...

Naturally Lt. Tragg took center stage declaring this was a "Slam Dunk "case and that the client was 99% guilty and that he saw a future for him on Pennsylvania's Death Row. He hugged Brooke tightly..

Brooke did not address the press, but she forcefully removed his arms from around her waist.

"Jumpshot Jim" Taylor addressed the press...

"I have no doubt , no doubt that this heinious crime will be punished..the defendent is accused of one of the most heinious crimes in the city's history... He is accused of raping and murdering Mrs. Veronica Cutter and shooting and killing her husband, Ronald Cutter then setting their house on fire and stealing their SUV...This crime, these crimes are heinious beyond belief.. Your Honor...I don't ...I-I won't feel safe with this man on the streets.and I'm going to make sure of it." he said to loud claps and cheers.

Brooke forcibly removed his hands from around her waist..

"Look before you take this much further..Let me tell you.. I'm engaged.. I'm getting married in a week." she said.

"ENGAGED?? MARRIED??????" he asked incredulously.

"ENGAGED?" said Lt. Tragg. Neither man believed her.

Lost in all of this was that nobody had invited Natalie to the podium. Wasn't she part of the team?

"Oh uh Natalie...Thank you uh for your time and your effort...but uh your services will no longer be needed on this team." said Jumpshot Jim.

"WHAT? I'M BEING FIRED? FOR WHAT? I WENT HARD FOR YALL!!!!" said Natalie.

"Lt. Tragg and I just don't feel you're a uh good fit for this team..Nothing personal, you're a fine attorney...I'm sure there will be other cases."said Jumpshot.

"Save it. I'm kind of relieved. If he investigates this case like he does his others , you're going to lose it anyway..you'll see." said Natalie

"Oh now there is no need to get bitter like that...See that is what I mean." said Jumpshot Jim.

"If she goes..I go... Oh and here he is...My Fiance..Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Marks." said Brooke, Blushing.

"Hello,pleased to meet you all."said Sean Marks as they both walked off,

Lt. Tragg was livid..

Natalie walked over to David Charles...

"Hi..guess what?" she said.

"Well Helloooo....What?" he asked,.looking Natalie up and down like a hungry wolf....

"I just got fired from the prosecution team and Brooke just quit...but take my advice.. You're a little in over your head.. May I suggest you go talk to these people, just talk to them, They were in court today and they were very impressed by you...Go see them...Then pack an overnight bag, you're staying with me for a few nights."said Natalie.