Chapter Seven

At the time, it had felt good. Good to talk to her the way they used to, as if they were friends and colleagues, even if it had been forced. But as soon as he got home, Will realised what he had done. This was a woman who had kissed him one night and left him for broke the next. She chose another man and then stole a host of his clients, top priority clients at that, along with some of his best and talented lawyers. That included herself. Lockhart/Gardner had been struggling to heal their wounds ever since; they still walked with a limp, while Alicia and Cary's firm stood tall like a rampant lion.

Walking through the door, Will walked straight for his bottle of whiskey, downed a glass and then threw it across the wall. He let her do this to him, soften him up with kind words, make him think that what she had done wasn't so bad.

He didn't know what to do. Luckily, Kalinda did.

"So your client, Sean Groves" she said one morning, walking into his office without so much as a knock. Kalinda had earned that privilege. "I have something that may clear his name, but it involves some – un-sportsman like behaviour."

"I'm listening" Will remarked moodily, not bothering to look up from his desk.

When Kalinda told him her plan, he took a moment to think about it. If he agreed to it, Alicia would be made to look bad. Really bad. And Will thought it was about time she had a taste of what it was like to feel kicked while you were down.

"Okay" he said, lifting his chin confidently. "Let's do this."


Kalinda found her link to the State's Attorney's office through Laura. Of course, if Laura knew what she and Will were up to, she'd be furious. So Kalinda didn't mention that the work was for Will, or precisely what she was doing there.

When she saw Robyn walking through the door, Kalinda smiled, taking out the piece of paper she needed.

"Oh no" she said, feigning disappointment. "This is bad."

"What is it?" Laura asked, having no idea that she was helping Kalinda to bait Robyn.

"Well, this GPS record is from Jimmy's car. It shows that he wasn't near the crime scene at twelve o' three am, the time of the murders. But it doesn't account for Sean."

"Well, you know the deal, whichever one of them comes forward first to testify against the other will be better off."

"Yeah, thanks" Kalinda said.

"Who's the lawyer in charge?" Laura asked curiously.

"I think they're shuffling people around, most likely it'll be Will."

"Well, it's not like I haven't faced him in court before. Thanks Kalinda."

"No worries."

Kalinda left, being sure not to make eye contact with Robyn, who was trying to make herself look inconspicuous in a corner.

Too easy.


"Objection" Laura snapped, standing up from the prosecution table.

"Your honour" Alicia spoke in a loud, clear voice, "the police's own investigation reflects that Jimmy's GPS was active and shows that he was five miles from the crime scene at the time of the murder."

"Yes, Jimmy's GPS did reflect that your honour" Laura acknowledged. "But that does not mean that Jimmy was driving."

"Jimmy" Alicia said, looking at him where he stood on the witness stand. "Were you driving your car at twelve o' three on that Friday morning, after you left the party?"

"Yes" Jimmy stammered. "Yes, I was."

"And was Sean Groves with you at this time?"

"No."

"When was the last time you'd seen Sean?"

"Back at the party, around twelve thirty."

"No further questions."

"Mr. Collins" Laura said, moving forward to question the witness. "Do you know what perjury is?"

"Ye – yes?"

"So, I'm going to ask you again. Were you driving your car at twelve o' three am, the time of the murder?"

"Yes."

"Hmm" Laura said, moving over to her desk and picking up a piece of paper. "Your honour, I would like to admit this piece of evidence into the record. It is the surveillance footage from an ATM, five miles from the crime scene, with a picture of Sean Groves withdrawing money at twelve o' two am. Behind him is the picture of a car, Jimmy Collins car in fact. The number plate is partially visible, and is of the same make and model as Jimmy's."

Alicia turned to see the wide grins on Will and Kalinda's faces, immediately feeling sick and requested a recess.


"This has Kalinda written all over it" Cary said, pacing in front of Alicia's desk. "You realise this was the same trick I played on you back in the State's Attorney's office? The Simon Greenberg murder, I had your client Jamal admit that he was driving the car seen speeding away from the crime scene?"

"Yes, thank you so much for reminding me" Alicia fumed from her desk chair. "I may as well not even call myself a lawyer."

"This wasn't your fault, they played it well" Cary said, stroking his chin.

"You think Will was in on it?"

"Of course he was, come on."

"You're right. I just thought, that we had gotten past this a little. He was so pleasant when I saw him in the police station."

"He was playing you."

"Yeah" Alicia sighed, rubbing her forehead. Her headache was getting worse. "Well, we know their client didn't do it."

"That isn't the point. The point is we lost Richard Collins business, and you know who's representing him and his company now?"

"No, don't tell me –"

"Lockhart/Gardner. Say goodbye to eighteen million a year."

"His son did it."

"Well, he's spending the next forty five years in jail with no parole, so it had better of been him. Damn, they made us look like idiots."

"They made me look like an idiot, not you."

"I mean the firm. I think I'd better have a talk with Robyn."

"We can't fire her Cary, she made a mistake."

"A pretty crucial mistake. I won't fire her, I'll just talk to her."

"Okay. Don't be too hard."

When Cary left, Alicia picked up her phone and dialled.


Will poured two glasses of whiskey, one for him and one for Kalinda.

"Good job" he said, clinking her glass. "You've taken a liking to whiskey I see."

"So long as it's your whiskey, yeah" Kalinda replied, downing it in one go. "The only spirit I spend my money on is tequila."

The phone on Will's desk rang and Kalinda waved goodbye.

"Hello?"

"Will, it's Alicia. I'm glad I still caught you, office hours and all."

"Yeah it's still office hours. Tough break in court today."

"Oh, don't give me that. You set this up."

"Set what up?" Will responded, as nonchalant as he could muster.

"The GPS, you made sure Kalinda was there to point it out to Robyn."

"Is that what she did? Just point it out?"

Alicia sighed on the other end of the line. "Is this how it's going to be?" she asked. "Playing these games?"

"The law is a game Alicia. You either play, or you don't. It's up to you. But you don't whinge and whine."

"Is that what I'm doing?"

"It is actually, do you hear yourself? Why did you call Alicia, what's the real reason? To get me to admit that I played you?"

"No, I – I guess." She was silent for a moment, gathering her thoughts. "I wanted to say congratulations. You played this smart."

"Thank you" Will replied, a little surprised.

"Well, until next time."

"Until next time."

Will hung up, the joy of his victory dissipating and leaving him feeling hollow and alone.


Authors Note: As always, thank you for the kind reviews :)

Disclaimer:

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from The Good Wife television show, which is trademarked by Robert and Michelle King and CBS. Alicia Florrick, Will Gardner, Diane Lockhart, Cary Agos, Kalinda Sharma, Kurt McVeigh, Laura Hellinger and Peter Florrick are all characters created and owned by Robert and Michelle King and CBS. I do not claim any ownership over them or the world of The Good Wife. The story I tell here about The Good Wife characters is of my own invention, and it is not purported or believed to be part of the King's story canon. This story is for entertainment only and is not part of the official story line. I am not profiting financially from the creation and publication of this story. I am grateful to Robert and Michelle King, and all the other writers for The Good Wife, for their wonderful show, as without it, my story would not exist.