Chapter Two

E TV * Nolan's Bar and Grill *

Surprise at Court

"Good afternoon, I'm Hailey Stewart, and this is the morning edition of E-TV. Today we have when ex-web stars go bad. Yesterday, shockingly, Freddie Benson, ex-web star from the hit internet show iCarly, viciously attacked a reporter and maliciously destroyed his camera. More on this attack later this hour."

A pale, manicured hand touched the mute button while the commercials ran. "Hmmmm...," was all the owner of the hand said.

"Yesterday, Freddie Benson, of iCarly fame, went rampant on a reporter when asked a question. The reporter was treated for a broken nose and some other minor scraps and bruises. Our sources within the Seattle Police Department told E-TV that Freddie Benson has been charged with assault and battery earlier this morning. Our sources also told us that Carly Shaw paid the $10,000 dollar bond for Freddie Benson. Interesting indeed. Because it is such a high profile case, the case itself has been expedited, with the preliminary hearing set for next Wednesday. And you can be sure that E-TV will have a reporter right there to report first-hand observations."

The pale, manicured hand pressed a button on the oak desk. "Erica, cancel all my appointments for the next two weeks. Also, tell the partners that I'll be doing some pro-bono work in Seattle during that time." She thought a bit. "And will you please make my arrangements for the Seattle trip?"

The intercom buzzed back. "Would you like the same arrangements as last time?"

"Yes, please. Thank you Erica... and I'd like to leave later this evening."

Minutes passed and the intercom buzzed again. "Okay Ms Puckett, I have everything arranged just like last time. Have a nice trip..."

Sam stared at the framed picture on her desk for a long while. It was an old picture of the iCarly gang, with a smiling Sam in between her two best friends, her arms flung around them both. A much happier Sam, she thought wryly. Hopefully, I can make up for everything that has happened. Her eyes wandered to the picture throughout the day, paying particular attention to the smiling brown haired tech producer.

0 o 0

Nolan's Bar and Grill was acknowledged as one of the best kept secrets in all of Seattle, and the locals in Ranier Beach preferred to keep it that way. The steaks were top of the line Angus and were always grilled to perfection. And Wednesday night were always hopping, with the Maulers, a popular local band, playing their own brand of reggae to an appreciative crowd.

So every Wednesday, Freddie and Izzy made it a tradition to have dinner at Nolan's. Freddie appreciated the steaks, while Izzy just loved the atmosphere. This Wednesday was no different, with Freddie and Izzy walking in and quickly taking their favorite table in the corner.

"Hiya squirt, Mr Benson," a blonde waitress greeted them as she walked up to the table. "The usual?"

Freddie looked over at Izzy before replying in the affirmative. "Yes please, and I told you to call me Freddie, Tiffany."

The teen blushed and smiled shyly. "I will, whenever you start calling me Tiff."

Freddie grinned back. "Okay, okay Tiff, the usual then." His eyes roamed the dining room. "Good crowd tonight..." Tiffany was soon back with a Sprite for Izzy and a beer for Freddie. He leaned back, watching Izzy colour and just enjoying the good energy coming from the room.

Halfway through their meal, Freddie and Izzy were accosted by two men. One of them spoke, while the other brought out a small digital camera that he had been hiding. "Freddie, how do you feel about the trial? Is it really true about you and Carly? And..."

Before Freddie could even react, both of the men were grabbed by two much larger Nolan employees. Both men were frog-marched to the front door. Arnold, the manager of Nolan's, roughly took the camera away. He then leaned in and whispered something to both men. Freddie watched as both their eyes grew wide as they listened to Arnold, and when it looked like Arnold had finished, they both nodded once. The two men were then not gently pushed out of the door.

A slow smile spread across Arnold's face as he watched the two reporters scramble out of the parking lot. He turned and walked over to where Freddie and Izzy were sitting. "Hiya Freddie, squirt..." He reached out and playfully tussled Izzy's hair. He looked over at Freddie. "Sorry about that. Didn't realize they were reporters. Sneaky little ba... errrr... guys."

Freddie laughed softly to himself. "It's okay. I'm glad you took care of it. Don't want to have to go to court for another trial..."

Arnold gave off a loud laugh. "No, we don't want that to happen..." He looked up and spied an older man walking up. "Freddie, I don't think you've ever met Luke, the owner of Nolan's."

Freddie shook his head and extended his hand to Luke. The man was dressed in faded blue jeans, a white t-shirt, boots, and a vest full of patches. Unbeknownst to both men, this was the start of a great friendship.

0 o 0

Freddie sat nervously in court. His lawyer still hadn't shown up, and court was suppose to begin in thirty minutes. He looked back at where Carly and Izzy were sitting and raised a questioning eye-brow. Carly just knowingly smiled back. He was not reassured. Drumming his fingers along the edge of the table, he looked over at the prosecutor's table. They must have felt his eyes upon them because they all turned, looked at Freddie, and smiled the same predatory smile. He was definitely not reassured.

Another fifteen minutes crawled by, when the doors to the courtroom were thrown open. In swept Samantha Puckett, dressed to the nines in a smart business suit, with her long blonde hair kept in a tight bun. An aura of confidence and menace preceded her down the court aisle, one meant to cause fear in the opposition and to throw them off their game. And fear they did. She sat down next to Freddie and gave him a tight smile.

He stared at her. "Y-y-you?"

"Yes, me. I hope you're a bit more articulate when you take the stand, or you'll ruin my perfect record, and I'm sure you don't want to be around me if you were the cause of that."

The opposing counsel had dropped their predatory smiles and were nervously twittering amongst themselves. Freddie managed to catch snatches of the conversation.

"Thought she was in LA." "... you see what she did to the last lawyer..." "... didn't know SHE'd call in the big guns..."

After the bailiff called the court to order and introduced the judge, the prosecuting lawyers quickly asked to approach the bench. Sam followed the opposing lawyers up to the bench, smiling broadly as they asked for an adjournment of the trial in light of new 'evidence'. The judge sternly looked down upon the opposing team and granted them one until the next Monday, but warned them if they didn't have everything prepared, he was more than willing to throw the case out. Looking visibly relieved, the lawyers assured the judge that they would have everything in order by then, and stumbled quickly to their seats. Sam sashayed back to her seat, grinning broadly. Throwing a wink at Izzy, she clapped Freddie on the back. "No worries, dork. You're in good hands now."

The court all rose and the pronouncement was made that the preliminary hearing would be adjourned until the next Monday. After the dismissal, the noise in the room rose considerably. Sam smirked at the opposing table, then turned to look at Freddie. Izzy and Carly had joined Freddie at the table. "Carly, Freddie." She looked Izzy up and down. "Little one. I expect you have many questions Freddie, and I'll be happy to answer them at dinner tonight. Canlis, seven o'clock." She kissed Carly on the cheek. "I'll see you there also." Sam turned on her heel and walked briskly out of the courtroom, her mere glare parting the crowd to let her pass.

Freddie slumped back into his seat, dazed, while his daughter watched Sam leave. "Wow, who's that?" As Carly grinned down at Izzy, she slowly grinned back, dawning comprehension shown on her young face. Izzy whispered conspiratorially to Carly, "Poppa's so in trouble..."

Thanks for reading. Please tell me what you think in a review, I greatly appreciate them.

~The CABAL~

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A special thanks to Pigwiz, for allowing me to use the characters associated with Nolan's Bar and Grill. Thanks!