VENTURES: Penitence

PRELUDE-

5 YEARS AGO- COURTROOM D-

"Has the jury come to a decision?" asked Judge James Wilson...

"We have your honor." said the Jury Foreman who passed the decision to the Bailiff.. He passed it to the Judge, who read it and passed it back..

"Read it" he said.

"We The Jury in the aformented case...Commonwealth of Vs. Pennsylvania vs. Jack Stanton find the defendent GUILTY of Murder in the First Degree of Mabel Thornton." said the Bailiff..

"OH MY GOD!!!" said the defendent. Jack Stanton.....

His Attorney, John Ivey hung his head....This was his first loss in close to 80 cases....He just shook his head...

"I did my best Jack....you getting on the stand and being caught in a lie didn't help you out much." said John Ivy.....

Assistant District Attorney Katie Beck looked straight forward....Even she didn't expect a death penalty... but this Judge was notorious for handing them out...

ONE WEEK LATER-

"Mr. Stanton, this was a heinous and despicable crime...I have no choice but to sentence you to Death by Lethal Injection....May God have mercy on your soul." said Judge James Wilson.

TODAY-

In our conference room -

Several boxes of Chinese Take Out was delivered.

"I ordered this for you guys....You really have been working hard, filing away these old cases...We shouldn't have let them get this far backed up... From now on..After each case, we'll do our refiling...Lee, we appreciate your help with this...I wish we had a more juicy case for you to work on with us."said Karen.

"That's okay...I've enjoyed working with everybody here." said Lee Phillips, the young Para-legal who had been working with all of us..

Aftyer working major cases with both Olivia and Yvette's groups....She worked a week with Jazzy, Kayla, Zoey, Lem and Renee's group...

Then spent a week working with Dabnis, Ray, Paris, Tony and Tyrell.

She enjoyed being the only girl amongst all of these handsome men...

Finally she worked with Jessica and Chip at the innocence Project..

They had all written very good recommendations for her...and were quite pleased with her work.. She had learned so much working with all of them that she was a cinch to pass the bar.

"Ummmm this food smells sooo good." said Natalie, grabbing some chop sticks and digging in...

"Yes it does....Hey Brooke is Sean coming over for lunch?" I asked.

"He should be here any minute." said Brooke.

" Eat up...you all deserve it." said Karen....who was so grateful to have three good attorneys like Natalie,Brooke and Me working for her... She had practically run this department by herself for two years before we joined to give her much needed help.

The food was good.....

Just then a young man none of us knew walked in....

"Hello, sorry to disturb your lunch....I'm John Ivey Jr. I'm an Attorney, 2nd year....I met with your District Attorney and he told me I should come talk to you guys..." he said....He looked across the room and to his shock and surprise....There was Lee , Lee Phillips...

"Lee? You work here?" he asked in shock.

Lee looked like she'd seen a ghost...

"You know him Lee?" asked Natalie.

"I sure do...We were in law school together...If not for him, I'd be a second year attorney myself...He got me pregnant and then he abandoned me..." said Lee.

"Oh My God!" said Brooke.

II-

"This is the Wrongful Conviction/Conviction Integrity Unit...I'm Karen Page -Benz- Supervisor..

These are my associate attorneys...

"Mrs.Natalie Charles."

"Mrs. Brooke Marks..."

"Natalie Charles 's husband, Mr.David Charles"

and our para-legal-

"Lee Phillips...Lee is about to graduate from Law School in two weeks..." said Karen...

"I-I uh know Lee...We were in Law school together at Middleton where I graduated... I'm glad to see she uh kept up with her studies.." he said nervously.

"So What brings you here? What can we do for you?" asked Karen..

"I hope you can save a life , help avoid a major miscarriage of Justice." said John Ivey Jr. "My Father, Attorney John Ivey Sr. defended a man named Jack Stanton...He was a small time burglar and safe cracker, accused of robbing and killing an old lady on the main line.. He admitted breaking into the house, but swore he didn't steal anything and swore he didn't kill her... Her had a record, two convictions for breaking and entering and theft...He was a two time loser....but my father never believed he was a killer. Something in his gut told him that he wasn't.... He lost the case...Stanton was sentenced to death. It bothered him...He couldn't sleep at night.. He appealed and won a new trial for him two years later.. He lost that case too and again, Stanton was sentenced to die..

The Judge who sentenced him in both cases was Judge James Smith.." said Jack Ivey Jr.

which is ironic because he himself is now on death row with a number of people he sent there....I understand from Mr. Stanton that his life is a living hell...He gets death threats almost every day."said

John Ivey Jr.

"Imagine that...Death threats on Death Row.hahahahahahahahah."laughed Natalie..

"You want us to reopen this case and try and get Stanton off, am I correct?" said Brooke.

"Yes.....It was one of my dad's last cases...It bothered him...The entire time I was in law school, he talked about it....I promised him I'd look into it....He died two weeks ago... He had Cancer, Lung Cancer......I owe him that much..." said Jack Ivey Jr.

"I was raised Catholic Mr. Ivey...I believe that is called Penitence..." said Karen

"Yes, you're absolutely right...Here are the case files and the transcripts from both trials" he said

and unloaded them on the table.

Sean walked in just then...

"Hey guys, did you leave some for me?" he asked ,eyeing the chinese take out...

"We left a little." I laughed.....

"Hi Baby!" said Brooke.

"Heyyyy babes!" Sean..

They kissed...

very passionately....

"This is U.S. Attorney, Sean Marks, He works a few blocks from here,..,.He is Brooke's husband."said Karen.

"Oh!" he said. He had initially found Brooke very attractive and was a little disappointed that she was

married and to a Black man..

He walked over to Lee..

"Lee can I uh talak to you in uh private for a moment?" he asked.

Lee stepped into the hallway...

''What do you want?" she asked.

"Don't be like that....I thought about you often....I wondered what had happened to you." said John...

"Did you? You got me pregnant...I begged you to use a condom, but you refused....I got pregnant and had to drop out when I started showing and having morning sickness...Your father wrote to me and offered to pay for an abortion...if I would promise not to see you again... I refused.....I lost the baby anyhow...I never heard a word from you...You never called, you never looked me up, nothing....After I had my miscarriage, I got myself together...I had all of my credits transferred to Drexel's Thomas Kline School of Law and I've finished my courses....I've been interning with several attorneys and I graduate in two weeks."said Lee..

"Outstanding, I'm glad you didn't give up...I went by your old apartment in Bayside...I see you moved...I suppose you're back in Philly now...Where are you living?...I thought maybe you and I could uh reconcile, get back together.." said John.

"HA! That ship has sailed...I don't think my boyfriend would like that."said Lee.

"You have a boyfriend now huh?" he asked.

"You didn't think I spent these past two years mooning over you did you? I got my transcripts transferred, I entered law school and I got a new apartment...even bought a car...I've done quite fine without you. I supported myself by working as a law clerk at the Women's Law Center down the street and interning with different law firms who've been paying me stipends."said Lee, who then walked back inside our conference room...

Where we all were still eating...

"Come On Lee, Sit down...We still have plenty of food left." said Karen.

"For the time being."Im laughed.

"Yeah come on and get some more of this before my greedy husband eats it all up."laughed Natalie.

"That is if mine doesn't eat it up before he does."Joke Brooke, who was sitting on Sean's lap...

"Naw it's plenty of food here."laughed Sean.

"Everything Okay Lee?" asked Natalie.

"Everything is just fine!"said Lee with a weak smile as she helped us finish off the food.

III-

Lee Phillips was home....In her comfortable apartment..

She got undressed and got comfortable....The doorbell rang..

She smiled...She knew who it was..

"Heyyyy lover....I brought you a Fish Sandwich from the fish store down the street." said Matthew Akes..

"Wrap it up and put it on the table...I can't eat another thing today....I ate enough at work."laughed Lee.

"At work huh? You're starting to feel like a lawyer already...huh? That's good...You graduate in two weeks... I'm gonna be there with bells on."laughed Matthew.

"You'd better...and thank you for thinking about me...with the Fish Sandwich and all." said Lee..

"I always think about you..." said Matthew...

She walked to her door..

She put a Do Not Disturb Sign on her door.. It had an illustration of a couple having sex on the bottom.

Matthew laughed ......"Ouuuuu you naughty girl."

''We are both going to be naughty in a minute." she laughed and passed him a condom..

"Next Month you won't need this...I have a new OBGYN and will have proper birth control in place." she said.

They began kissing...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU I COULDN'T WAIT!" said Matthew.

"YOU CAN NEVER WAIT....YOU'RE ALWAYS HORNY!" she said...

"I CAN'T ARGUE THAT!! YOU MAKE ME THAT WAY!" said Matthew..

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM I'M NOT DOING ANYTHING DIFFERENT!" she moaned.

"YOU JUST EXISTING DRIVES ME CRAZY!" said Matthew...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUU YOU REALLY WANT SOME, DON'T YOU?"laughed Lee...

He slipped her panties down.....

He spread her legs and entered her slowly....She was very wet and very aroused...Her head turned from side to side, sweat and tears flowed from her face....her body began to tremble...She had two straight intense orgasms.... She cried like a baby!

"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....

"WOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she cried out!.

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he moaned...

"WOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! OHHHHHHHHHH MATTHEW...UMMMMM" she cried out!.

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! LEE...OUUUUUUUUU" he moaned..

"OH MY GODDDDDDD!" she yelled out..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUU SWEET GIRRRRRRRRRL!" he moaned as the bed squeaked something fierce!

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...

John Ivey Jr. was in the hallway...He had found out where Lee Lived and found her apartment..he bought a bouquet of roses and headed towards the door.

He saw the sign....She used to put that sign on her apartment door when they were having sex...

He listened at the door..

"OUUUUUUUUUUU YES...YESSSSSSSSSS..AWWWWW YESSSSS...OUUUUUUUU!" he heard...That was definitely Lee.

"AWWWWWWWWWWW...AWWWWWWWWWWW...OHHHHHHHHH..AWWWW LAWDD!" came a deep baritone male voice..

The bed was squeaking loudly and the headboard was slamming against the wall..

Her squeals were coming out in the hallway....It was good her apartment was near the stairs..

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

Lee had obviously moved on....

She was sleeping peacefully on top of Matthew....His arms around the small of her back...

He tossed the roses in the trash can and walked away...

The next morning....Jack drove up just as Lee was entering the building..

He saw Matthew for the first time...He was Black as he suspected...

He scooped Lee in his arms and kissed her..

"I'll see you tonight baby." said Matthew..

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm I'm looking forward to it." cooed Lee dreamily!

Our cafeteria was huge...More Akin to a five star restaurant....So much food...Hot food!! Good Food.

He saw that most of Lee's lawyer friends were Black , Latino or people of color..

"These Banana Nut Waffles are delish." said Jazzy.

"They are....Wonder what they'll come up with tomorrow?" asked her husband, Dabnis...

"I swear....Eating here every day of the week is spoiling me..."said Kayla.

"Me too! I was used to slipping off to Sam Mothers Diner only a few days a week...It was so far from my old law firm."said her husband,Ray.

"It is nice having a place like this where all of us can eat every day." said Jessica.

"And together....Very rarely did we all eat together like this and in peace." said Chip.

Lee fit in well with her Wrongful Conviction colleagues... She had worked with practically every attorney she was seated with..

"Good Morning Lee....Will you be able to go with us to Greene State Prison?" asked Karen.

"Yes....I'm no longer taking classes...I'm just waiting to graduate...I'm gonna love going on a road trip with you guys." said Lee, smiling.

"Hopefully we find a nice place where we can all hang out at night...See if Matthew can come with us."said Natalie.

"Yeah...the more the merrier." I said.

"I know you're coming."said Brooke.

''A night without you? No way! Yes I'm coming."said Sean.

"This was a good meal."said Zoey...

"Sure was." said her husband, Lem.

"We have this place and across the street at NO ID on Weekends...We eat well."said Renee.

"We sure do..This building has us all spoiled."said Tyrell.

"And a Gym and spa upstairs to work off all that weight.."laughed Paris.

"Yeah how about that?" said Tony.

"Lee, this is it for you...Your last assignment.. huh?"said Yvette.

"I'm going to miss you guys,,,Miss this building...Maybe I'll wind up somewhere close."said Lee.

"We'll give you a building pass, so you can always come in here and eat." said Keith Jones.

"Yeah, you'll always be a part of us." said Bee Bee.

"We've really enjoyed you being here working with us."said Sofia.

"Heyyyy, Heyyyy let's not be sad...Lee isn't leaving us...We know where she lives...She's still going to be a part of us."said Kahlil.

Jade hugged her.....She thought of her as a little sister..

Lee smiled.

"I've got to buy a dress to wear to your graduation." said Virginia.

"I can't wait to swear you in when you pass the bar." said Jetty.

They seemed like nice enough people and Lee seemed to blend in well with them...He watched them and ate by himself quietly...

And then followed us back to our conference room..

"We are going to take the case,,,,,We'll be going up to the prison the day after tomorrow to meet with him and we are going to meet with an appellate court judge and float an appeal."said Karen.

"Good...I failed to mention...He's scheduled to be executed in 30 days." said John Ivey Jr.

"Well, thanks for telling us in time." said Brooke sarcastically, but smiling sweetly...

John Ivey Jr. really liked Brooke, was really attracted to her...but alas, she was married.

"I hope we find a better Motel this time." I said.

"We will."said Natalie, softly rubbing my hands... "You okay Lee?" asked Natalie.

"Oh yes... Matthew spent the night with me...I feel great." said Lee smiling... She felt about Natalie, the way she felt about Jazzy and Beverly...like they were her big sisters...

Natalie squeezed her hand and smiled..

"Good Girl!" she said.

IV-

At the Cemetary

John Ivey Jr. kneeled at the grave of his father...

"Dad....I'm keeping my word...I'm doing something about the Stratton case...I'm using more experienced attorneys to work on the case...Perhaps I'll learn something from them...You'd be all about that...You always said "FRESH EYES"...Well I'm using fresh eyes pop....You were proud of me when I graduated law school and when I passed the bar...but you never came to court to see me practice....Now you can't, but I'm going to be going at this case...Yes I am pops.....and wherever you are...I hope you can see me...I'm going to be at my best." he said, tears streaming down the side of his face.