Hey! I'm back with the intriduction to the next Gordon Truth case. I'm trying to tie up some loose ends with the last case while starting a new conflict. And since this is the third so far in the series, you're going to want to read the first two Gordon Truth cases before you read this.

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"That's enough of that."

Ian Vice fell to the floor, beaten and broken. Someone snapped their fingers and the brutes surrounding the gray and black vested man hurriedly scattered to the far sides of the room. Ian lifted his head from the floor, one eye-swollen shut, and blood flowing down from his mouth. He coughed and collapsed onto the floor.

"I told you not to fail me again, didn't I?"

Ian Vice did not or could not respond.

"You are our legal man. You keep my people out of jail, and I keep you alive. But there's a problem, two of my men are behind bars, so if you can't keep your part of the deal…"

In the darkness, Ian heard the sound of a gun cocking. Suddenly, he felt it make contact with his head.

"…should I keep mine?"

Ian flinched, yet the gun remained silent. Instead, he felt the gun slam into the side of his face. The force of the blow made him turn to face the front, and the face of his leader came into view.

He didn't look like a criminal boss. He was unhealthily skinny, but tall, and with casual clothing. He wore a simple purple button-up shirt and jeans. His black hair hung down in neat bangs in front, and stuck almost straight up in the back. But it was his smile that caught Ian's attention. A smarmy but sickly grin the intensity that even Ian Vice himself could not emulate.

"However, I dislike wasting resources, and despite your current failures, you're still not useless. Pick him up."

The goons rushed to the center of the room and held Ian up by his shoulders so his knees were still dragging on the floor.

"This next operation is of the utmost importance. Make sure none of our men are caught in any legal proceedings, these last two mistakes of yours have given our operations unwanted attention and investigations."

He turned and sat back at his chair. "That is all, throw him out."

One of the brutes opened a door. Ian lost conciseness before he hit the ground.

--

I almost forgot why I was here.

"Do you need something else, sir?"

I was still standing at the counter, the man behind me made a gruff noise of annoyance. I shook my head and looked at the receptionist. "No, sorry. Just a bit distracted."

I started making my way toward a chip vending machine when my cell phone rang.

"Good afternoon, this is Gordon Truth, attorney at law speaking."

"When are you coming home?"

I sat on one of the couches in the lobby, "What's wrong Clara?"

There was a pause. "I want you to come home."

I threw my legs lazily over the side of the couch and laid my head down on the armrest "It's my apartment, I can leave whenever I want. And I think you're a bit too old for a babysitter."

I heard a sob. "I woke up and you weren't here… I was worried."

"I'm sorry, I'll leave a note next time, okay?"

"Are you working on a case?"

The receptionist gave me a dirty look and I quickly straightened up on the couch. "No, I'm kind of taking a break for a while. And, y'know, it's the weekend."

Clara made an angry breathing sound, "Just come home soon, okay?"

I nodded. "Just stay inside, watch some TV; help yourself to some popsicles…"

"Yeah, I meant to tell you, I finished all of them yesterday, could you get some more?"

I sighed and stood. "I'll pick some up on my way back. Bye now." I flipped my cell phone and turned to face the elevator. I glanced toward the receptionist on last time. "You sure it's room 280?"

She gave me an annoyed nod and returned to her conversation on the phone. I shrugged and punched the button on the wall. With a small ding, the elevator doors opened and I walked inside, pushing the button for floor two. When the doors opened again, I quietly shambled into the apartment hallway. I was starting to sweat a little, and I was feeling a bit nauseas so I stepped into a nearby restroom. I washed my hands and looked to the mirror, it was really stupid of me to bring this jacket along, it looked like something a hobo would wear.

I shook off some of the water on my hands and, ignoring the towel dispenser, ventured back into the hallway. The door to room 280 was looking more and more frightening, I almost considered turning back. I hesitated as I held the door knocker in my hands. With a gruff breath, I summoned all of my determination and brought the brass knocker down onto the door once, twice, three times.

"Hold on! Just a minute!"

The door flung open and she had a sudden look of surprise.

"Oh, Gordon!" She looked off to the side awkwardly. "What are you doing here?" she added with a nervous chuckle.

My brain froze, what was I supposed to say? We stood staring at each other for a while. I coughed. "J-just… checking on you… I guess." I clamped my left hand onto the back of my neck and smiled awkwardly.

"Well, come in, I suppose."

Her apartment was surprising plain. Most of the walls were bare and the furniture was unorganized at best. I took a seat on the couch.

"Want some water? Or some… I don't know, milk?"

"No thanks…" I suddenly realized that I was thirsty. "No, wait… water. If you please."

She came back to the couch and handed me a small glass with ice water. I sipped and put it on the table.

"So…" she began. "What brings you here?"

Okay Gordon. Do you blow this off as some professional thing or make some smarmy joke? Tell her she's pretty. No! Umm… sip the water some more, make her think you're cool somehow.

I crossed my legs and took a swig of water. "Well… umm…" Be honest, "To be honest I was worried about you. Y'know, Ken being in jail and all."

"Oh," she held a confused expression. "Well… I'm guessing we're not together anymore?" I could almost hear thanks to you in my head, but it thankfully didn't surface.

"Well, if you two were serious or anything… I kind of feel guilty." I drank more, some of it spilled on my pants.

"We were serious until that trial." She wasn't looking at me anymore. "I don't know what he did to make that tramp Holly Wreath fall in love with him, and I don't think I want to know."

She held her hand in front of her eyes and I heard a small sob. "Excuse me… I… I'm sorry."

"No, don't be!" I leaned forward. "He… er, well, we kind of patched things up."

She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and continued looking at the wall.

I bit my lip. We weren't going anywhere fast. "Look, I just felt like coming to visit you. We used to be together, y'know. And then, well, you know what happened. But then you were in the hospital and…"

"You never saw me again, is that it?" She looked at me. "I was in there. Re-learning basic motor skills, and you never came to visit me. You were too busy being… being a coward!"

"I was eighteen! I was afraid for my safety! Wouldn't you be? I wanted to enter law school, I wanted to get on with my life! And you should of-." I bit my tongue and squinted.

"Should have what? Gotten on with my life too?" She bit her fist. "Sorry, I was busy being a human vegetable! And guess who was there to support me? Not you, Ken Cline, and he loved me like you never did!"

She leapt up and opened the door. Her eyes were red and watery. "Maybe you should go."

I stood, but didn't move. "It's my fault that they did that to you. They were trying to kill me, but then…"

She didn't say anything. Tears found their way to my eyes. "I still love you! I've loved you since the tenth grade and I've never stopped loving you. I couldn't bring myself to face you, when it was me that put you in danger in the first place. I never forgave myself, and when you suddenly appeared in the forensics department a month ago… I thought, I thought we could start again..."

She cleared her throat. "Maybe you should go."

I put one last drink from the cup. As I passed the door, I whispered. "Can I still use the forensics room?"

She nodded stiffly, and closed the door behind me.

I pulled off my jacket. "That went well."

My phone buzzed. I flipped it open and held it to my ear. "Good afternoon, Gordon Truth speaking."

"Hello? This is Gordon Truth?"

I sighed. No matter how many times I say it when I answer the phone, they always ask if it's me anyway. "Yes, this is Gordon Truth, how can I help you?"

"I'm in a bit of trouble with the authorities. I'd rather not go to jail, so I hope you will be able to take my request?"

The voice was feminine, but bitter and vain. "I don't mind. As long as you're innocent, then we'll get to work on your defense. Are you at the detention center?"

"Yes, cell 3B."

"I'll be there within the hour."

I pushed the elevator button again and waited for it to bump its way down. "This is going to be an interesting day."