Disclaimer:

Remington Steele and its characters are owned by MTM. No copyright infringement intended. For entertainment purposes only.

Set after Season 4. Bonds of Steele and Season 5 are not in my universe.

Chapter 1

The silence in the courtroom was astounding. Everybody was holding their breath.

The jury finds the accused not guilty…

The room exploded in applause, and Janice Weisz, defense attorney, joined in an embrace with her client.

"I told you we were going to do it!" Dr. Weisz told Paula, once emotion was over. "You are free now. Your family is waiting for you."

Janice Weisz was a criminal lawyer. She was considered one of the most brilliant attorneys in LA. Instead of being the leader of her own firm, she was trying to find her path taking difficult cases from people not able to affront the payment of an experimented attorney defense. She had wanted to be a lawyer since she was a schoolgirl when her best friend Carol was unfairly accused of stealing a bracelet, and after following her innate instincts elaborating a defense tactic, she proved her girlfriend's innocence showing a natural talent. A lot of years had passed by since then; a brilliant performance in high school and college with a scholarship after that. She found herself as a Yale graduated at the age of 22, and got a job as a junior assistant at one of the most prominent attorney's firms in Chicago. After four years of hard work she was a partner; and after ten years she was considered one of the best lawyers in the city. But Janice was in need of a change. At the age of 31, her assets were strong enough to offer her the freedom to do what she'd dreamed since she discovered she wanted to be a lawyer. Her personal life deserved a chance after years of tough work as well. She left Chicago and moved to the West Coast. Her firm started as one of the most promising new ones in LA. She created a team able to deal with some of the most profitable cases in the city. But her favorite goal was with no doubt, to litigate the unwanted cases. They were the opportunity to return something to the community. Difficult cases nobody wanted because they were a secure fail. Difficult cases nobody wanted because usually, there was no payment involved. Those ones meant the real challenge for her. The challenge to get a defended declared innocent pretending nothing in exchange.

Janice left the court building, and once in her car, she headed to the office. There was some paperwork waiting for her there before picking up the twins at school. It was Thursday, but it felt like Friday. It had been two frantic months since the Rueland case started stealing a lot of her appreciated family time from her. She was ready to correct that, eager to start an early weekend with the kids.

The highway was stopped because of an accident, and she got stuck in the middle of the traffic for almost an hour. Driving in LA was always a lottery. It was not usual you were lucky enough to arrive at your destination on time. Noticing it was getting late; she decided to skip the office, take a U-turn and go straight to school. Paperwork could be done at her home office later, after the kid's bedtime. Sometimes being the boss was a relief.

"Hi sweeties!" said Janice opening her arms to her sons.

"Hi mummy," said both kids in unison.

They were five years old, both redhead and freckled; their eyes were deep green with slight strands of grey. Matthew was the dynamic and mischievous leader, and Lucas was the quiet one always ready to follow his brother. Both of them were extremely affectionate with her mother, as she was with them; but Lucas always had a special hug or kiss reserved just for her, ready to be offered at the right moment. He exuded an extra dose of sweetness, while his brother had more adventurous tendencies. The twins shared a bear hug at the classroom door with their mother. After saying goodbye to their teacher, Janice held their hands in hers, and they headed together to the parking lot making her a retelling about the school day highlights. Matthew was in charge of the speech as always. Lucas's turn would arrive in the car when his mother asked him the correct questions to add the story some sweet details, making him feel as important as his brother.

They were right on the way to Pasadena when something in the rearview mirror took Janice's attention. There was a Chevrolet two cars behind them, a blue one; with a lone driver hiding his face behind glasses and a cap. Nothing out of usual, but she had noticed the same car behind a white Ford in the Highway when she was stopped by the transit. She tried to lose him, making a certain number of maneuvers. Once she made the fourth turn, the car disappeared. She made a stop at the market to grab some groceries and finally arrived home with no tail at sight.

After sharing a nice dinner with the kids and having them already asleep, Janice was ready to start with the paperwork. But when she was closing the window's drapes beside the front door, before heading to the study, she noticed the blue car again, parked in front of her house. It was getting clear that it wasn't a coincidence. She had the sensation of being followed several times since the last month. It looked like someone was spying on her.