Authors: Vivienne Harris-Scott
He repeated forcefully,
“
Please step out and stand still.
”
She complied silently, still smiling.
Once out he asked if she could walk but as
she did her first steps, her legs seemed to give out and she ended up sitting
on the asphalt as laughter erupted from her lungs.
He went to his patrol car took out a
breathalyzer
to administer a PBT and a pair of cuffs.
He was certain the test would show she was drunk, therefore bound for arrest.
Helping her stand up, he asked her to
breathe into the device. She did, and of course, the screening test showed she
was close to 3 times the legal limit.
He informed her she was under arrest and
saw her smile broaden wider, as if he had given her pleasing news.
Sick
wacko
, was his thought as he was looking at her. But suddenly, she hit him
lurching toward his body and hammering him with violent kicks with her bare
hands. Sheer surprise knocked him backwards but he quickly recovered and tried
to restrain her with a strong hold of one hand while he was pulling the cuffs
with the other.
Yet, as suddenly as she started, she
stopped attacking him, and handed both hands for him to slap the cuffs on.
Officer Wilson was now mad as hell. This
is not how he envisaged his nightshift ending!
Cuffs on, he yanked her at the back of the
patrol car. He used the radio and informed the dispatcher of his position and
details of the arrest he just made asking for a tow truck to come retrieve the
car of the woman he
’
d momentarily bring to the station.
He went to her car to retrieve her bag so he
could ID her, drove it to the side of the road and locked it.
Back in the patrol car he sighed and said
as calmly as he could looking at the driving licence in his hand,
“
So, Ms Carmichael, I hope you have a good
lawyer because you assaulted me and I
’
m in no mood to let it slide! And with the
DUI, a PD will land you in jail!
”
“
I have an excellent lawyer. Let
’
s just hope your DA is up to par and can
get me 7 days in. That
’
s all I need.
”
she said with a cool and steady voice,
her eyes cold as ice as they met officer
’
s Wilson in the rear-view mirror.
He felt a chill along his spine and
wondered if he hadn
’
t greatly underestimated the situation.
The woman watching him with the odd smile
didn
’
t look drunk at all anymore, but as sober
and calculating as a cold-cut killer.
((~~!~~)
“
DIU with
…
huh...triple, huh, triple the legal limit
according to the PBT. Resisting arrest. Assaulting a police officer
…
and your client wants 7 days in jail for
it instead of a few nights at the county
…
or better yet, her day in court to contest
the charges?
”
The assistant DA looked at Marty Lawton,
very puzzled,
“
Isn
’
t that what she
’
s paying you for?
”
“
Yes,
”
confirmed the $1500/hour attorney,
nodding.
“
Is this a joke, Marty? You are
punking
me, right?
”
asked Christa Bennett shaking her
head and looking past him to check for cameras. It was incomprehensible that
this specific attorney, who had a winning record of 99.9%, would come to her,
ask to dispose of this matter through a plea with a jail sentence for his
client when he could fight the charges in court, and probably win without
breaking a sweat.
“
Ok.
”
She smiled,
“
What am I missing here? Surely this plea
isn
’
t why your client is paying your
exorbitant fees?
”
she asked placing an emphasis on how
expensive he was to cut a deal that any one year public defender would be hard
pressed to even contemplate.
“
Christa, the difference between me and the
said PD is that I get what my clients want. 7 days Christa. Starting today at
the Women
’
s penitentiary, tomorrow at the most if
you have paperwork delays. She
’
s out next week and everyone is happy, including the
tax payers and the mayor, all spared the expense of seeing me win in court
…”
He had a point. He could decide to go to trial
and fight and it would cost money and she
’
d probably lose anyway
…
evidence notwithstanding. It was Marty
Lawton, after all
…
“
Sure Marty,
”
she caved in,
“
Your client wants 7 days in prison. Who am
I not to oblige her
…”
she
laughed, shaking her head at this odd twist of fate.
What a way to start a Monday morning!
((~~!~~))
She crossed the lawn, passing several inmates,
assembled in small groups, sustaining whistles while she continued,
unperturbed.
As she reached a table, where a dark
haired woman was sitting while two other were standing on her side, almost like
dog fences protecting their master, she sat right across the woman.
“
Scram!
”
said one of the standing ones, coming
forward.
The two seated women just stared at each
other, until the dark haired one looked up to her guards and said in an icy
voice,
“
Girls, you two need to scram
…
it seems the cat brought me a very special
gift today
…”
Once they took their leave, the stare down
continued until Belinda said with a small smile,
“
Hello Gaby.
”
The dark haired woman, broke a flashing
smile of her own, and replied,
“
Hello Lindy. It seems we both are on the wrong side of
the track now
…”
and
chuckling, she added,
“
To what do I owe such a privilege? We are
a long way from Chicago
bella
…”
Belinda leaned over the table, so their
eyes and faces were only mere inches apart, and murmured in an emotional voice,
“
I need help Gaby, and you are the only
person on the planet who can help me with this.
”
Gabriella Conti
’
s eyes took on an onyx shade, as they
steadied themselves on the clear grey ones of her interlocutor, as she asked,
with a voice cold as steel,
“
Care to tell me what
this
is about?
”
One simple word was answered,
“
Revenge.
”
“
Well, well, well, Lindy. This is precisely
what landed me here
…”
Gaby replied,
her eyes now sparkling.
“
Precisely.
”
Belinda smiled, adding,
“
You better than anyone know that when
everything you love has been stolen from you, the only thing you have left is
revenge.
”
The two women shared a silence until
Gabriella said,
“
How about forgiveness? It will avoid you
jail time, take it from me
…”
A full laugh escaped Belinda
’
s throat,
“
This story doesn
’
t end with me forgiving and moving on. It
will only end one way
…”
“
And, what
’
s that?
”
Gaby asked, intrigued as to what happened
to sweet beautiful Belinda to lead her here.
“
Mortal vindication.
”
she concluded.
“
Hmm, I just so happen to know a little bit
about that
…
it seems you came to the right person
after all.
”
Gaby retorted mischievously.
The two women burst out in heartily
laughter.
((~~!~~))
They embraced, holding each other tightly. They knew
this was the last time they saw each other, as Belinda had explained her seven
days stint in the prison so she could spend time with her friend and put the
final touches of her plan without visiting records arousing unwarranted
suspicion if that time came.
“
Are you sure?
”
asked Gabriella Conti, holding her
childhood friend
’
s gaze.
“
Yes. I am. There
’
s nothing else Gaby.
”
“
Someone else could do it, you know. We
’
ve been over this. It doesn
’
t have to be you
…”
“
Yes, it does, and you know why.
”
“
You want him to see you. But, Lindy, you
’
re not cut for prison. The end result
would be the same, if not even better, if one of my guys
…”
“
No,
”
she was interrupted,
“
I
’
ll never thank you enough for providing me
with the contacts and material I need, but that
’
s where your involvement has to stop.
”
Belinda stated in a voice of steel.
The woman sighed, and then smiled.
“
Well, break a leg! Literally! He
’
ll never see this coming!
”
she chuckled.
“
I
’
m counting on it! That is until he does
when our eyes meet, and it
’
s too late for him
…”
she said coolly as the scene was already
playing in her mind.
“
I
’
m just glad it isn
’
t me you
’
re mad at. I really never imagined in this
world Belinda Carmichael, sweet and proper Lindy would come up with such a
nefarious plan!
”
“
Assassin is the word Gaby.
Assassin
.
”
Belinda replied.
“
I guess, when someone is pushed to the
limit, some of us go back to our basic instincts
…”
“
He pushed me Gabs, it
’
s only fair, I push back.
”
Belinda asserted with a serious
voice.
“
You always had a way with words,
”
the woman said knowingly.
“
Indeed.
”
“
Indeed.
”
A tight embrace was their final goodbye
before Belinda was released.
((~~!~~))
“
Hello Frances!
”
she said sliding into the passenger seat
of the ordinary car. She was grateful the woman did follow her instructions and
didn
’
t turn up with a chauffeured limousine,
which would attract unwanted attention.
“
Belinda,
”
was curtly replied.
Frances wasn
’
t used to playing driver for anyone, and she
wondered what in the hell had possessed her to come all the way down to Arizona
to pick this woman up after her release from jail.
Almost as if reading her mind, Belinda
smiled and said with a small voice,
“
Frances, how would you like to see Julian pay
for all he
’
s done to you? To us?
”
“
I mean, it couldn
’
t have been easy for you to step aside
only to see him get a new fiancée, and a baby within what
…
one or two months, was it?
”
Belinda asked innocently.