The Cost Of Winning

ASHLEY'S POV :

Standing in Miki and Ryan's living room, along with Fi and our houseguests, I put Bren down on the floor, and Fi hands Miki a bag, saying, "Here are some extra clothes, in case she gets messy before we get back."

"But why me can'ts go wif yous?" Bren asks, clinging to my pantleg. "Me wills be good girl, for weally!"

"Yes, cutie, we know you would," I tell her, crouching down to be at her level. "But Mommy and I have to go somewhere that they don't let little girls and boys go, so you have to stay here. Don't you want to see the babies?"

"Me guess so."

Fi smoothes her hair and says, "This might be really important for you, Smidge. You said you want us to get you a new baby, so if you stay here and help, you can practice being a big sister."

"What that is?" she asks.

"That means that you can learn how to do things for the babies, and when we get ours, you'll know how to help Mommy and me take care of him, or her, and be a really good big sister," I explain.

"So me can's help wif new baby when it come to wive at ours house? Otay, me wills paktiss."

We kiss her goodbye, and all of us go back out to the car, then head downtown. I find a parking slot, then take hold of Fi's hand as we walk to the courthouse. As we approach the doors, I look at her, and ask, "You gonna be okay, love?"

"Absolutely," she responds. "Why wouldn't I be? We've been working on this for months, and even if today doesn't finish it, at least it's a step in the right direction."

The older man walking behind me pats her on the shoulder, and the woman next to him says, "That's absolutely right, dear. After today, this will hopefully all be done, and you can go on with your lives without having it hanging over you anymore."

We walk into the building, and find Web waiting for us in the lobby. He says hello, and then points to a short, chunky man in a black suit, who bears a bit of resemblance to a young Danny DeVito. "That's Charlie Sorenson, he's the public defender that caught the case. Be prepared for just about anything, because his standard MO is to basically just fling things at the wall, and see if anything sticks. He'll bait you, and try to get a rise out of you, to make his client look better, so don't let him."

Almost as if he senses that we're talking about him, the guy looks around at us, then approaches Web. "Morning, Web." he says, then nods to us. "Folks."

"Good morning, Charlie," Web answers. "Where's your client?"

The other guy sort of grimaces, and says, "Still at the jail, or on the way here. She doesn't really have much choice, since nobody would post her bail."

"We're still open to a plea, Charlie. Get your client to cooperate, and we can be done with this right now."

"Not gonna happen, Web. She's already refused that offer, and we're confident that we can prove our case, so you might want to prepare yourself for your second loss. Unless you'd like to just drop the charges."

Web throws back his head and laughs, and Fi mumbles something under her breath that I don't quite catch, but since it has both of our guests turning shocked looks in her direction, I can hazard a basic guess. Then another voice behind me remarks, "Funny, I don't see a stick coming out of your ass, buddy."

The expression on Sorenson's face looks like someone has just slapped him or something. "I beg your pardon?" he sort of sputters.

"I was under the impression that a sucker usually came with a stick," David says. As the lawyer huffs indignantly, he adds, "Nothing personal, I had it there myself once, until I got a reality check."

"And you are?" Sorenson queries.

Fianna links her arm with David's, and says, "This is one of my four former stepfathers, Mr. Sorenson. And if you'd actually done your research on your case, you should know that."

He turns and stomps away as a van pulls up along the side of the building, which Web informs us is the one they use to transport the prisoners from the jail. I shake David's hand, and then Fi turns him back and says, "This is David Carlyle, he was Claudia's third husband, and he's my little brother's dad. David, this is Hank and Lillian Cartwright, they were our neighbors when I was a kid."

They all shake hands, and then we start walking down the hall toward the courtroom. As we do, David turns to Web, and declares, "I'd be willing to bet real money that if he's not actually sleeping with Claudia, she's got him convinced that he has a chance."

Web looks at him curiously, and asks, "What makes you think that, Mr. Carlyle?"

"Because it seems like he's just going along with whatever she's telling him, and ignoring the facts. Like the fact that even if Fi and Ashley were dumb enough to just let her get away with this happy horseshit, she'd still end up being extradited to Colorado for violating her parole for what she did to my son, so it wouldn't do any good anyway. Just watch them when she gets into the courtroom, and I'm pretty sure you'll see what I mean."

We go into the courtroom and take our seats at the front table, next to Web, with David and the Cartwrights sitting behind us. Sorenson is already in his seat at the other table when one of the officers brings Claudia in through a side door and walks her to the table. It's obvious that he, or someone, has made an effort to make her look presentable to the judge, but it hasn't totally worked. Her blouse doesn't show any cleavage, but it still stretches dangerously across the mountains of silicone on her chest, and I'm actually a bit concerned for the officer standing near the bench, because he's right in the line of fire if one of the buttons lets go.

I lean over to Fi, and whisper, "If her buttons pop, that guy over there is in serious danger of losing an eye. D'ya think that would count as assault with a deadly weapon?"

She lets out a small snort, and then covers her mouth. "Don't make me laugh in here, Ash," she says through her fingers.

"Well, I wasn't entirely joking, but okay, I'll behave."

Web turns his head and gives me sort of a stern look, but I can see that he has his lips clamped together, so I assume he heard me, too.

Claudia glances in our direction and smirks, then turns in her chair to take in the entire room. I know instantly when she sees David and the Cartwrights, because she turns pale and spins back around so fast that she knocks some of Sorenson's papers off of the table. He bends down to get them, then whispers something to her. She whispers back, clutching his sleeve and widening her eyes, and he nods as she's talking, then takes hold of her hand and says something else, that seems to relax her a bit.

Web watches the entire exchange, then turns his head toward David, and raises his eyebrows, while giving him a slight nod. Then he turns back and motions for his assistant, who is standing near the door. He says something to her under his breath, and she rushes back out to the hallway.

Just a few seconds later, the officer pokes his head in the door behind him, then says, "All rise! Court is now in session, the Honorable Russell Horvath presiding." The judge goes up and takes his seat, and then we all sit back down.

He picks up the paper in front of him, and says, "We are here today to hear the charges of harrassment and slander which have been brought against Ms. Claudia Nguyen by Mr. Ashley Purdy and Ms. Fianna Chandler. I have also before me a petition by Ms. Nguyen's counsel to deny a petition for extradition filed by the state of Colorado on a charge of violation of the terms of parole. I will consider this after we have dealt with the other charges. Mr. Bradshaw, are you prepared to make your opening statement?"

"Yes I am, Your Honor." He stands up, and starts going over everything that's happened the last few months, starting with the barrage of emails to Blasko and the other guys, and to our personal accounts, noting how they could be considered disturbing, considering the problems that I've had with my stalker. He then moves on to the day that Duarte climbed the fence and wandered the yard, taking pictures of the house while we were wondering exactly what he was up to, and how concerned we were for our safety, and even more importantly, Bren's.

As he says that, Sorenson jumps up and interrupts, shouting, "Objection, Your Honor!"

The judge looks mildly confused, and says, "Could you perhaps be a bit clearer as to what your objection is, Mr. Sorenson?"

"Lack of access to witnesses, Your Honor. My client has the right to have all witnesses cross examined, and that opportunity has been denied to us by opposing counsel. Your Honor, I respectfully request that you order Mr. Bradshaw to make Miss Brenna Chandler available to us for questioning."

I hear a sound like ripping paper coming from my left, and as Web's hand shoots out to land on Fi's shoulder, I realize that it's the sound of her actually snarling at Sorenson, almost the sound you hear from a dog confronting an intruder. Apparently, I've made some sort of move myself, because I feel both David and Hank placing their hands on my shoulders,reaching over the rail to hold me in my chair.

He and Claudia sit at the table smirking at each other, as the judge, seemingly speechless, stares at them with an expression similar to a dog listening to a high-pitched noise, while out of the corner of my eye, I see both the baliff and the court recorder face-palm. Judge Horvath blinks at them a few more times, and finally, in a completely incredulous tone, says, "Mr. Sorenson, did I hear you correctly? Are you seriously asking me to allow you to interrogate a toddler?!"

Still smirking, he nods and says, "I am, Your Honor."

Notes