Tough Cookie

Assistant District Attorney Carmen "Cookie" Upton was in the Judges Chambers combing her hair when she felt a presence behind her....and smelled a great fragrance...

"Ummmmmmmmm I love your cologne.."she said smiling.

"I love your body..." said Assistant District Attorney James "Jumpshot Jim" Taylor.

"I know that...you can't keep your hands off of me..."she giggled...

She had spent the night with him at his loft...

Making crazy love until near daybreak...Celebrating the end of a long trial... 

"The Jury is supposed to come back with a verdict today..." she said.. 

Nicknamed "Tough Cookie" by Lt. Tragg of all people...She had sent 300 criminals to prison...Had worked in the shadows all these years...and had never crossed paths with Olivia Bennett-Alexander and Beverly West, until now...and she had proved why she earned the nickname "Tough Cookie."

"Ummmmmmmmm I know.....you really gave Auntie and Niecey a hard way to go ...That first trial was a hung jury with 10 going your way and only two going their way...Closest they come to losing ever."said Jumpshot Jim as they kissed...

"Ummmmmmmmmmm  but they were better prepared this time around, wayy better prepared...Ummmmmmmm Hmmmmmmmmm! Jimmy, calm yourself down...The Jury could be coming back at any minute...don't get yourself all worked up for nothing...besides...didn't you get enough last night?" she cooed..

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWW....I NEVER GET ENOUGH...OUUUUUUU!" he moaned as he tried to inch her panties down...

"I see...you might need to get some help for that." she said....

"Jimmy....Nooooooo...Noooooo...Now be good!" she cooed as she inched her panties back up and straightened out her clothes...

She took an anti-septic wipe out and wiped the lipstick smudge off of his lapel and the side of his face..

"You are so bad....Look at your trousers...They are sticking out like a circus tent." she giggled.

 

"Yeah, we'd uh better get out there." he said.

"No, you stay in here until you calm down...I'm going out..." she said.

 "COFFFEES!" said Nelson...

"Coffee for everybody." said Beverly... They had gone on a coffee run for us.. 

Olivia took out an anti septic wipe from her purse and wiped Beverly's lipstick smudges off of Nelson's lapel and the side of his face.

"You just can't keep your hands off of my niece can you?" she said smiling.

"The line was long...We had to have something to do while we waited."explained Nelson, smiling sheepishly.

"Yeah, Okay!  I feel good about this case.. That ADA Upton is good.. I've heard about her for years...I finally meet her and get to go up against her....It was a worthy challenge..She's smart and she's tough."said Olivia.

 

"Yeah, but we are smart too!  Smart enough." I said.

"I feel good about this time around too! "said Beverly.

"Last trial..We had a 6-6 jury split..This time...It was 7-5 our way...and this time we were much more aggressive."said Nelson.

"This time we had more evidence...and I believe we created reasonable doubt."said Josie.

"At any rate...We'll find out when we get in the courtroom and the jury comes back with a verdict."said Bresha.

Carmen "Tough Cookie" Upton walked by us..She stopped.

"Olivia, regardless of the verdict...It's been a challenge and somewhat of a pleasure to finally meet you and go up against you and your team in court...You Niece and your other attorneys are well disciplined and well versed...It was my pleasure being in court with you guys." she said.

"And it was a pleasure going up against you as well." said Olivia.

"THE JURY IS BACK WITH A VERDICT!" yelled the bailiff and we all headed into the courtroom..

II-

COURTROOM D- JUDGE JULIE WONG PRESIDING-

"You may be seated." said Judge Julie Wong.

ADA Carmen "Tough Cookie" Upton was confident she had a victory in this case.. She smiled thinking of all of her colleauges who had lost to Olivia, Beverly and company and how she was going to be the first to win a victory over them...This felt almost as good as the multiple orgasms she had last night in Jumpshot Jim's loft..

 We stood with our client, Harrison James, a former Jamaican Drug dealer who had reformed himself  was a legal seller of marijuana...and who was accused of murder...

With two prior convictions...He was a hard sell.. but he really was innocent of this crime.

Olivia was emotionless...First time I had seen her like this.

 

I was glad they had come to a decision and weren't deadlocked like the last jury.

Harrison was nervous... He had been clean for five years and his legal Marijuana business had turned a profit...He had even been spoken about in Business Manuals and had been on HARD BOTTOM to talk about his change in life... he really didn't want to go back to prison, to be back with the riff raff all over again.

Beverly and Nelson held hands..

Josie and Bresha who had grown sisterly close ,held each other.

''Has the Jury come to a decision?" asked Judge Wong.

"WE HAVE YOUR HONOR!" said the Jury Forewoman....One of Nelson's picks...

She passed her decision to the Bailiff , who passed it to Judge Wong.  She read it and was just as unemotional as Olivia had been..

"Read it!" she said.

"COUNT ONE, People of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. Harrison James, USE OF AN INSTRUMENT OF CRIME- NOT GUILTY!!!

COUNT TWO, People of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. Harrison James, CONSPIRACY TO COMITT MURDER , NOT GUILTY!!"

COUNT THREE, People of The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. Harrison James, MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE, NOT GUILTY!"

The Jury was polled and all 12 said "NOT GUILTY!"

"I wish to thank this jury for their extreme patience....You are all dismissed."said Judge Wong.

"I applaud you all." she said.

"OH MY GOD!!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!" said Harrison, hugging Olivia and rocking her back and forth... 

"You are sooo welcome Harrison...Now, don't get in any more trouble..."said Olivia.

"Oh I won't...I won't." he assured us.

 

I had believed he was guilty at first....Coming from my years as a cop in New Orleans...but after I started digging and really looking into his case, and finding all of the loose ends and discrepancies.. I was convinced he was innocent.

Beverly and her Auntie leaped into the air, high fived and yelled "WHOOOOOOOOOWEEEEEEEE!"

as they tuypically did when they had a victory...

Nelson smiled and clapped his hands..

Josie and Bresha hugged each other and laughed happily.....

Assistant District Attorney Carmen "Tough Cookie"Upton wasn't used to losing...She hadn't lost in a long while...Years....Getting a Hung jury against us , where two jurors made the difference and then losing outright stung...

"Tough Break Kid...Let's go grab a few drinks ....I know a place....." said Jumpshot Jim... 

"Oh My Godd! Is that Jumpshot Jim?? with another girl?/" exclaimed Olivia.

 

"Yeah that's him." I said,Laughing.

"Oh My God, Gina is going to be heart broken."said Beverly....

"Not to mention Amy Riddick..."laughed Nelson...

"He's a walking erection."said Josie.

"I wonder how he juggles all these girls and never gets caught.?" asked Bresha.

"Philly is a much larger city than my native New Orleans...If guys did it in New Orleans...They can certainly do it here." I said.,

As the boat carrying Lt. Tragg docked for lunch.. He was once again met by Private Investigator Bert Vandenberg.

"Hello Bert..How's everything.?" asked Lt. Tragg.

"If you wanted to blackmail this guy you'd have him by the short and curleys...I've got everything in surround sound...Undeniable footage of his sexcapades on two very detailed Zip Drives..." said Bert Vandenberg.

"Good.... This afternoon, Overnight the first envelope with the zip drive and photos of our boy and Attorney Gina Sanchez to Amy Riddick.... and then tomorrow, overnight the photos and Zip drive of our boy and Assistant District Attorney Amy Riddick to Attorney Gina Sanchez... Then we sit back and watch the feathers fly in the chicken coup...Oh and make a copy of our boy and Gina Sanchez and send it to D.A. Gil Garcetti...Ho Ho that ought to be fun..."laughed Lt. Tragg.

"Artie this is cruel...you are ruining this guy's life!"laughed Bert Vandenberg....

"He's had a comeuppance  due him for a long while now....So Sit back Bert and watch the world burn down...His...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"laughed Lt. Tragg.

III-

At this very moment at the Bridge Building

In their tony and ultra-modern cafeteria...Attorney Gina Sanchez was having lunch with some of our friends..

''And in the past two weeks he's just ghosted me...After sniffing around me for about a year...I finally give him some and he's gone..He called once and assured me he had a big case load..but his case load never stopped him before..."said Gina.

''Forget him Gina...He just wanted to get in your panties...and once he did...It's on to the next one."said Jazzy.
 

"A pretty girl like you can have your pick of the litter."said Dabnis.

"I saw all of those guys in Josie's slipping you their numbers the other week."said Kayla ,smiling.

"Yeah...His loss..."said Ray.

"His loss...you don't have to put up with his shenanigans..."said Jessica.

"Go find yourself someone else." said Chip...

"I want to be like them." said Gina ,pointing to Lee and Matthew...  Matthew had come to eat with them today..

As usual, when they were together ,they were all over each other..

Kissing passionately.....They now lived together...We could only imagine what it was like in their apartment when they were alone.

At another table, ironically enough...Assistant District Attorney Amy Riddick, who knew Karen Page was also having lunch and talking about the same man, unknown to everybody at the other table.

''And in the past  week he's just ghosted me...Why two weeks ago he was screwing my brains out almost every night.... and he's gone..He called once and assured me he had a big case load..but his case load never stopped him before..."said Amy Riddick..."I have a big case load too, but I've always made time for him." she complained..

"He's not worth it Amy...When I was an ADA and worked with hium, he always had a roving eye.."said Karen.

"Any girl that crosses his path, he feels it's his duty to liberate her from her bra and panties."said Natalie.

"They're right..He's a lothario." said David.

"He tried to romance me hard on that case that Natalie and I had with him..I was engaged at the time.. That was the only thing that saved me." said Brooke.

"You can do better than him Amy..." said Sean..

"You certainly can't do worse." said Zoey..

Lem, who didn't know Jumpshot, but knew his type just laughed without commenting..

"It's almost like we are still in High School..."sighed Renee.

"I know right?" said her husband Tyrell, rubbing her leg...

"Look, it's the girls."said Paris.

"They look happy, that means they got an acquittal."laughed Tony.... 

"Heyyy Everybody...We got an acquittal!" said Olivia.

 

I looked and then I did a double take.

"Oh My God...Both of them..Both of them are here..."said Beverly , spying Gina Sanchez and Amy Riddick, both of Jumpshot Jim's girls. 

"They don't know about each other ...At least not Yet."said Nelson.

"I'll bet this has been an interesting lunch."said Josie.

"Not really....They're at different tables, They don't know each other and they aren't privy to the other's conversation."said Paris.

"I am yempted to pull them both together and tell them what's been going on..but I won't."said Bresha.

"I was shocked when I saw them in here too!"said Tony. 

 "Girrrrl, I almost dropped my platter when I realized that both of them were in here."laughed Yvette.

"They don't know each other..."said Keith Jones.

"It's a good thing they don't." said Bee Bee.

"Boyyyyyyyyyyy what a mess he's created."said Sofia.

"He's nowhere to be found...Not his mess." said Kahlil.

"He's probably with another girl as we speak."said Jade.

"Oh he was...We saw him at the courtroom today...He left with the woman who prosecuted the case against us..Carmen "Tough Cookie"Upton." said Olivia.

"He's something isn't he?  How he keeps all of his women apart is beyond me."laughed Beverly.

"It's going to catch up with him eventually...I can feel it..."said Virginia.

"I can feel it too!"said her husband, Jetty, whose hand was up her skirt, rubbing her legs, hip and butt.

" I don't know what you're feeling, horny toad."laughed Virginia.

At this very moment in Jumpshot Jim's loft....

"Thank you for dinner and drinks Jimmy....I'm alright...Nobody can win all the time, I realize that.."said Carmen Upton...

She kissed him passionately.....

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM YOU HAVE SOFT LIPS!"she cooed.

"SO DO YOU!" said Jumpshot Jim as they kissed passionately....

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...AWWWWWWWWW LAWWWD!" he moaned..

He slipped her panties down.....

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she moaned as Jumpshot Jim entered Carmen's warm and wet center...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH JIMMY!" she moaned.

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW....OHHHHHHHHHHH COOKIE!!!" he cried out..

"OHHHHHHHHHHH I FEEL GUILTY, BUT THIS FEELS SO GOOOD!! UMMMMMMMMPH!"she moaned.

"DON'T FIGHT THE FEELIN BABY!" he moaned..

They made sweet love for the next EIGHT TO NINE HOURS..... falling asleep in each others 

arms afterword..

Not realizing that his world was beginning to fall apart at the seams....

IV-

At Gina Sanchez's apartment-

Attorney Gina Sanchez returned to her apartment that night.... She had mail..

Electric Bill, Phone Bill, Water Bill, Cable Bill...Car Insurance.. and one large envelope that had been mailed to her from Deleware of all places..

She undressed first..

She sat in her panties and bra and opened the big envelope....

The photos were bad enough, but the zip drive showed Jumpshot Jim having sex in his loft with Amy Riddick and it was time stamped..

She realized the photos and the video was all filmed that weekend she was with us at Josie's.

"OH MY GOD!" she screamed in horror.

And in Cherry Hill...

Assistant District Attorney Amy Riddick was just getting home.. She had a big envelope that was sent from Philadelphia PA.

The envelope contained lurid photos of Jumpshot Jim and Attorney Gina Sanchez having sex in his loft..  She was stunned... She almost wanted to cry...

The photos were bad enough, but the zip drive showed Jumpshot Jim having sex in his loft with Gina Sanchez  and it was time stamped..

She realized the photos and the video was all filmed just one week before she was sleeping with him!

"OH MY GOD!" she screamed in horror.

Her whole body shook with anger and tears streamed down her face!

SAM MOTHER'S DINER-THE NEXT MORNING!

"Artie, you're back huh?" said Sam Mother as Lt. Tragg returned.

"Yup, I'm back on the streets Sammy...I'll have my regular..." he said ....He was wearing a new suit ,had his hair perfectly cut and styled and some very expensive Italian shoes...

He ordered Fried Eggs, Hash Browns and Breakfast Sausages and hot coffee.

Jumpshot Jim, still feeling good from his night last night with Carmen Upton ate alone this morning..

He was surprised when Cherry Hill's Assistant District Attorney Amy Riddick walked in and sat down with him...  She had a Laptop with her.

"Good Morning James....You creep!" she said angrilly...

She showed him the zip drive she received in the mail...she showed him the lurid photos of him having sex with Gina Sanchez just a week before...

and then she showed him video in surround sound of him and Gina having sex at his loft.....

"You told me you had a heavy case load ." she said as she packed her laptop up and put the photos in her briefcase....

she poured his hot coffee over his head....

"LOSE MY NUMBER YOU CREEP!" she said angrilly as she got up and walked out...

"EEEEEEEEEEEEYOWWWWWWWWW!" he screamed in pain from the hot coffee.....

Lt. Tragg laughed so loud , he couldn't be ignored.....

Jumpshot Jim stared at him balefully and then left the diner, embarrassed and humiliated as well as wet!

A Night Later-

We all were out at a trendy new Asian Cuisine Restaurant that opened up in our neighborhood..... 

"WOWWWWW! This is really nice." said Olivia.

 

"This was an old empty warehouse...I heard Chris and Chess bought it...gutted it out and then sold it to a Chinese investor." I said.

"And look what it yeilded....The City's most talked about new Asian fusion Bistro...." said Beverly...

"WOW!! I have to say...this place is great." said Nelson.

"Mmmmmmmm and it smells great too!" said Josie.

"I'm hungry, so I hope the food is good." said Paris.

"Oh I'm sure it will be." said Bresha.

"Well let's not just sit here...let's get up..."said Tony.

"Look who's here...Our favorite detectyive, Lt. Tragg and Judge Kelly Ann."said Alfreda.

"I guess he's off the Marine Boat." said Rockland.

"Nice joint...a bit pricey for my tastes...but if you like it...I love it." said Lt. Tragg.

"Ouuuu I love this place and it's ambience...." said Judge Kelly Ann...

 "Mmmmmmmmmm everything looks good." said Yvette.

"Sushi isn't exactly my thing, but I'm sure I can find other things in here that I can eat." said Gary.

''Sure...I'm looking at a few other things too!"said Keith Jones

''Well I love Sushi....This is right up my alley."said Bee Bee.

"Mine too!  Everything looks delish."said Sofia.

"It does."said Kahlil, who liked Sushi himself.

"Oh I love this....I used to eat like this all the time in Japan."said Ms. Jade.

"I knew you'd appreciate this."said her husband, Danny Ho.

"WOWWWWW! This is really nice." said Virginia.

"This was an old empty warehouse...I heard Chris and Chess bought it...gutted it out and then sold it to a Chinese investor."said Jetty.

''Wow!  Well that was a great investment." said Nina Rios.

"I'll say." said Carlos.

"This is very nice...I love it.."said Lee Phillips.

"I'm not a big sushi eater myself..but I'm sure I can find some things I like to eat." said Matthew.

Jumpshot Jim wallked in with Assistant D.A. Carmen "Tough Cookie" Upton..

"Wow, I rarely if ever venture into this part of the city...but it's very nice...New Homes, New restaurants, clubs, Shopping Centers...Lofts, Condos, the works...And I see a lot of my adversaries live up here..Olivia and Beverly, Yvette Jones and crew...heh heh heh."said Jumpshot  Jim...

"They're not adversaries...They're attorneys just like we are, trying to make a living..Tonight they are diners just like us." said Carmen....

"That's Jumpshot Jim and he's with another babe....I tell you that guy is a magician..." said Lt. Tragg, who was upset that Jumpshot had rebounded from the loss of one of his girls.

"Arthur....concentrate on your business...Leave him alone.."chided Kelly Ann...

 

"I don't believe it...Jumpshot Jim is in here with Carmen Upton!!!" said Olivia.

 

"I gotta hand it to him...No grass grows under his feet." I laughed.

"It sure doesn't..."said Beverly....

"Now Now...The man is single...He dates a lot."laughed Nelson.

"He sleeps around a lot...One day it's going to catch up with him."said Josie.

"Yesterday it did...I was in Sam Mothers and he was in there too and Amy Riddick came in with her laptop and some photos and she poured a cup of coffee on his head and told him to lose her number."said Paris.

"Ohhhhhhhh WOWWWWW!!! I'd of paid money to see that." said Bresha.

"You should have heard how I howled when he came back and told me that." said Tony.

"Ole Low down nasty dog...Serves him right." said Alfreda.

Rockland chuckled...

"Jumpshot Jim is in here with another woman!! I don't believe it!!" said Jazzy.
 

"That makes three that he's jostling.."laughed Dabnis.

"His Penis is going to fall off eventually."said Kayla.

"I doubt it.......He must be doing something right....To bag all of those ladies.."laughed her husband, Ray.

"One day...he'll get his.."said Jessica.

"Yeah but until then..."said her husband, Chip,laughing.

"The Guys think it's funny..I think it's sad and disgusting."said Karen.

"Welllll he may one day get tired of jostling so many women and want to settle down, turn in his players cards."laughed her husband, B.L.

"Hope Springs Eternal." said Natalie.

"It's his life...I don't care what he does...Frankly, I don't care for him at all." said David.

"He's pathetic...He can't be happy."said Brooke.

"Oh he doesn't look unhappy to me.."laughed her husband, Sean.

Zoey just laughed.

So did her husband, Lem...

"Just once I'd love to see him get his just desserts..."said Renee.

"You may just get your wish..." laughed her husband, Tyrell, who spotted Gina Sanchez entering the restaurant..

She spotted Jumpshot Jim and Carmen and walked over to their table and sat down...

Jumpshot Jim was stunned...

"Gina please look...I-I can explain..." he said.

She too had a zip drive with lurid film footage in surround sound of him having sex with Amy Riddick on two seperate nights as well as lurid well taken photos of him and Amy..

"Oh My God!!! You are such a liar, such a doggg!  Ouuu!" said Carmen, who slapped his face hard!  She got up and left......

Gina poured an entire pitcher of guava punch over his head...

"LOSE MY NUMBER CREEP!" she said and stormed out!

"ARRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" he screamed as the cold punch splashed all over his suit and ice fell out of his hair....

Lt. Tragg was laughing so hard, he fell out of his chair..

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! OH MY GOD!! I MUST BE LIVING RIGHT! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" he howled with laughter...

Jumpshot Jim stood up... A waiter arrived with a towel, while another waiter arrived with a mop...

His suit was ruined and his hair, a mess...He was embarrassed and humiliated... Someone clearly had it in for him..They had planted bugs in his house and recorded him having sex with both women and had mailed them photos and zip drives with the unrefutable evidence..but who could have done this and why?  Wouldn't it have been better to blackmail him he thought..??

He looked around...We had all seen what happened...Some of us were laughing, though not as hard as Lt. Tragg...Others of us were stunned..

This was truly a night none of us were going to forget!

In ADA Carmen Upton's highrise condo...

Jumpshot Jim went to Carmen's highrise condo...

"CARMEN...I CAN EXPLAIN!!! SOMEBODY IS TRYING TO SET ME UP!! CARMEN PLEASE OPEN THE DOOR!" he bellowed.

He knocked on her door and found it open... He walked in..

"Carmen? Carmen?" he said...

And there was Carmen Upton lying on the floor, deceased!!!

He looked at the body in total shock...He was getting ready to call the police when he was hit with a sap from behind and knocked unconscious!!!

(DEFINITELY TO BE CONTINUED)