" You intend to do what?" Exclaimed a totally shocked Cabe .
" You heard ." Said Paige
" Do you even know how to start doing that ."
"No, but i am sure i can research it with a bit of help from Sly ." Smiled Paige as she answered him . Once Cabe had finished breakfast , Paige cleared things away . " I am going to the garage today . I need to to look into getting Walter his citizenship ." Paige told Cabe .
" Do you want to use your own car or should i give you a lift ?" Asked Cabe .
"No i will drive myself today , you can go and check in with Homeland if you like . By the way when is the sentencing of the three criminals who have caused a lot of our problems ?"
" Should be tomorrow , do you want to go and see them get what they deserve . At least that is what i hope the judge gives them ." Replied Cabe
" I most certainly do and i hope Armstrong and Collins get really long sentences . Said Paige in an angry voice .
"Ok . i will check with Katherine the exact time and place and let you know later today . If you need me i will have my phone with me all day . " Replied Cabe as he prepared to leave .
"Ok see you later , bye Cabe ."
Paige was first to arrive at the garage . After putting on a pot of coffee , she began a primary search of how she may be able to help Walter . She did not have the abilities of Sly in doing research on the internet . By the time Sly had arrived she had made little progress . Sly had made himself comfortable , Paige was getting a little restless with the progress she was making . So she approached Sly's desk a little hesitantly , was she beginning to have second thoughts , would Walter want her to do this . Maybe not but she needed to ,so she could hopefully get him back into her and Ralph's life . As these thoughts went through her mind , her strength to do it came back to her ,and her approach to Sly became much stronger .
"Sly i need your help." Sly looked up at Paige not speaking but nodded his head in agreement. " I need to get Walter back to America . Scorpion needs him ,Ralph needs him and i need to tell him i love him , i have to make sure he knows that and most certainly do not hate him ."
As Paige finished speaking Toby and Happy walked through the door . Both shouted morning and both were acknowledged by Paige and Sly . Toby and Happy went into the kitchen , smelling the coffee that had been brewing . Sly looked a Paige and simply said . "What do you want?"
Paige went on to describe her idea to Sly , who looked a little concerned at what she was suggesting and spoke . " Are you sure Walter will be happy with it if you should succeed to do it . "
"Sly i need Walter in my life and so does Ralph and i am determined to do all i can to make sure he will be ."straight
"If you do not succeed ."
"Should that happen i would have to go over to Ireland and persuade and prove to him how much i do love him and want to marry him . I would even take Irish citizenship and also ask Ralph if he would like to once he reaches the age of eighteen . " Said a very eager Paige .
Sly started work on his research and Paige began to check her E-mails . The first one she saw was a request from one of the companies they had sent bids in for , requesting a meeting as soon as possible to further discuss the work they quoted on . Most of the rest of the E-Mails were either spam or requesting meetings with Walter . Reading these her eyes began to fill with tears and the remorse she had been holding back came flooding back to her . She got up from behind her desk and made her way to the bathroom at the rear of the garage . Once inside the bathroom she broke down completly . After about ten minutes she managed to pull her self together . She splashed water on her face to try and disguise the fact she had been crying , then made her way back to her desk. As she was approaching her desk , a very excited Sly called her over .
" I have checked and as Walter did not hold a green card , while married to Happy , he could not apply for citizenship , but was able to stay and work . His divorce would make him an illegal and he would be expelled from the States ." As Sly stopped to take a break Paige jumped in .
" I already know that Sly , that's why he has already left , i need to to know how to be able to get him back into the States legally ."
" I was just getting to that when you interrupted me ." Answered a narky Sly .
"I'm sorry Sly i am just so anxious to try and find a resolution to the problem of Walter's situation ." Answered a sheepish Paige .
" Right there is possibly a way although it is a little obscure and at the moment i do not really know how we can accomplish it . "
"Well what makes it so complicated ?" Queried Paige .
" Well it is a rather obscure act that we could try and use , unfortunately the last time it was used was when Regan was President in 1981 . It is called the Immigration and control act . The President of the U.S.A. has to put forward a recommendation to a special committee and if they agree the President can grant citizenship to the person ." Explained sly .
" That sounds easy ." Replied Paige with a certain amount of sarcasm in her voice .
" It certainly will not be easy . But do you remember Governor Paul Lane from the first case you did as an actual fully paid up member of Scorpion . "
" Of course , his daughter was dying of some unknown illness and the team found the cure and also saved the Governor's life . "
" Last year he was elected to the House of Represtatives . We could maybe approach him for some help , after all he does owe us a favor or two .
While they were talking Toby and Happy returned from the kitchen .
"What are you two up to , it looks like a conspiracy to me ." Asked a smug Toby , causing Happy to slap him across the back of the head and sent his hat flying across the garage .
" Leave them alone ,it is probably none of your business . " stated Happy .
" it's alright Happy , it is not a conspiracy , i want to try and get Walter American citizenship and Sly is helping me . " Paige explained to Toby and Happy .
"Is there anything we can do ?" Asked Happy .
"At the moment no , but thank you . " Replied Paige
"Do you want me to try and find out were we can contact Paul Lane?" Requested Sly .
" That would be a good idea , we cannot do anything at the moment until we can at least speak to him ." Said Paige
" Paul Lane , is that the Governor we helped when his child had an indeterminable illness ? " Questioned Toby .
"Yes and now as been elected to the House of Represtatives . " Answered Sly .
Happy and Toby left Sly alone to do his research . Two hours later Sly called Paige across.
" I have found a number were you may be able to contact Paul . I am not sure it is a current number , but at this moment , this is the best i can give you . While you try it i will carry on and see if i can find anymore information ."
" Thank you Sly , let me just finish this E-mail and i will give it a try . " Answered Paige with a big smile on her face ."
" Hello i am trying to get in touch with Mr Paul Lane , yes , my name is Paige Dineen. I am A member of Scorpion , the team that saved his daughter's life about two years ago . Certainly the phone number is 484 555 2781 . Thank you so much , i will wait for your call ." Paige put the phone down and looked across at Sly.
" That number was for his regional campaign office , at present he his in Washington . The girl i spoke to was called Anne , she is due to phone him at 3.00pm Today Washington time and was going to pass the message on that we want to speak to him ."
" That is good because at the moment i am not getting much more information that is relative to what we want ." Answered Sly .
They were all getting to leave for the night when the phone rang .
" Scorpion , Paige Dineen speaking how can we help you ." Answered Paige . " Mr Lane thank you so much for returning my call
Paul Lane " It is a pleasure , after what your team did for me this is a small change to what i actually owe you . What can i do for you ?"
Paige " Well it is a bit difficult to explain over the phone it concerns Walter and my future ."
Paul " At the moment i am in Washington and will not be back in Los Angeles for about two weeks , could it wait until then ?"
Paige. " I could fly up to Washington and speak to you there , if you could find me an hour to talk to you ."
Paul " Today is Wednesday , so the earliest i could see you would be Tuesday next week ."
Paige " I can arrange to be there ,what time and place ."
Paul " Let me check my schedules and i will E-Mail you when and where , if you give me your E-Mail address ."
Paige gave him her personnel E-Mail address and after thanking him again finished the call . As she put the phone down., her personnel phone rang . On checking she saw the call was from Cabe .
" Hi Cabe , that is alright , great, yes please , ok bye . " She put her phone down and explained to the others that the sentencing hearing would be tomorrow starting at 2.p .m All three wanted to attend with Paige .
The next morning Paige arrived at the garage and before she removed her coat , she switched on her computer and noticed a n E-Mail alert . She opened up her messages to find a message from Paul Lane .
/I will be available 4.00pm Washington time Tuesday afternoon . Would this suit ?/
As she finished reading it , Happy , Toby and Sly entered the garage . All three together wished her good morning which Paige returned to the three of them .
" Guys i have just received an E-Mail from Paul , he has agreed to see me next Tuesday at 4.00pm. Washington time ." Explained Paige .
" Do you want me to sort out some travel details for you Paige ? " Asked a smiling Sly .
" Yes please i am hoping to do the whole trip in a day , i do not fancy staying overnight ."
" You should make a list of all the jobs Walter as been involved in . Especially were lives have been saved ." Suggested Toby . Paige nodded at the suggestion .
" Happy would you like to come with me ? You could probably explain the wedding situation better than anyone else . " Requested Paige .
" I would be happy to and i would be company for you ." Answered Happy .
" I am going to ring Richard to see if i can arrange a meeting . He may at least be able to give Walter some sort of reference with regard to his work and abilities . " Paige spoke as she picked up her phone to speak to Richard . The phone was answered by his secretary , who put her though to Richard .
" Hello Paige how can i help you today ?"
" First thank you for accepting my call Richard ."
Richard. " It is always a pleasure to talk to you Paige , but i get a feeling from your voice that something is bothering you . "
Paige . " You are very perceptive , could you please spare me some time for a conversation that would be both difficult and personnel a matter concerning Walter ."
Richard . " Let me check my diary , ok i have a window at 3. .today , would that be satisfactory . "
Paige . " I can make that no problem ."
Richard . " Ok i will leave your name at reception and when you arrive i will have my secretary come down to collect you ."
Paige . " That will be fine , look forward to seeing you . Goodbye ."
Paige put the phone down and turned to speak to the other three . " Right i have a meeting at 3.00pm. today with Richard . That will mean i will have to miss the sentencing hearing . So i would like to suggest we meet back at the garage at 4.30pm. Then i can fill you in on the meeting with Richard and you can tell me about what happened at the hearing ."
" You mean you don't want to see those three scum bags put away ." Happy said in an angry voice .
" Of course i do but getting Walter back into my life supersedes anything else . " Answered Paige who herself was beginning to get angry .
" Ok don't lose your head . I can understand how you feel , i miss him myself he was the only real friend i ever had ." Replied Happy , now with a very quiet voice .
" I am sorry Happy , but i am not only missing Walter I'm missing Ralph . I just hope i have not lost them both forever ." Answered Paige who by now had tears running down her cheeks .
At 12.30pm. Cabe arrived carrying a bag full of Kovelsky's food , which he shared amongst then all . Over lunch Paige explained to Cabe all that had gone on during the morning . Cabe understood immediately why she needed to go see Richard rather than the hearing . At 1.15pm. Cabe and the the rest of the team left to go to court . Paige would be leaving around 2.15pm.
Los Angeles County Court House
Cabe and the team arrived outside the Court House at 1.45pm. ,Cabe parked the SUV outside the court building , showing the policeman on duty outside the Court House , his Homeland badge so his car did not get moved .
Cabe checked the board and saw that the hearing was to be held in court 3 and was going ahead on time . They settled down on their seats in the court room . As the clock struck 2.00pm. the judge appeared from his chambers and took his seat. Moments later the three defendants were brought up from the cells below the court room . All three were handcuffed and escorted by three prison officers . They were all made to stand in the defendants box . Once the court was settled down the judge began to speak .
" I have over the past seven days read with great care all the paperwork that was relevant to this case . A case which appears to have been bought about by jealousy , greed and a certain amount of blackmail . It was an obvious plot by a man who thinks so much of himself and so little of others that he was prepared to bully and blackmail other people to achieve a result that would bring down a very important Goverment asset , simply because he had been removed from the company years ago , but still felt he was the only person capable of working with Mr Walter O'Brian . It would appear from what i have read , a man who has a very high I. reading of some of his exploits a very brave man , who on more than one occasion has risked his life to save others . But the man behind the scheme is a person who thinks brain power should only be used working on equations and possibilities . Taking all this into account sentencing of the three of you as been very easy . One of the defendants has had a very good character reference from Katherine Cooper , assistant director of Homeland , which i have taken into account in the sentencing of them . Will all defendants please stand ."
All three defendants stood and faced the judge .
" I will begin with Mr Mark Collins , you will be sentenced to twenty five years with no parole , this sentence will begin , when the sentence you are serving ends . You will continue to serve your sentence at Pelican Bay State Prison . Mr Timothy Armstrong , you will receive a sentence of twenty years and be eligible for parole after fifteen years in a high security prison. Mr Stuart Blackman , you will be sentenced to ten years and eligible for parole after five years , you will be kept in a low security prison , for your sentence you should be extremely grateful to Miss Katherine Cooper , it was her written reference that got you this lighter sentence than the other two . Officers take them down .
All three were marched down the steps to the cells all that could be heard was Collins manically laughing.
Once they had disappeared down the steps , Cabe and the team left the court and returned to the garage . Paige left the garage at 2.15pm. and made her way to meet Richard .
Richard Elia's Office
Paige arrived at the offices of Richard Elia's at 2.45pm. after parking her car she made her way to the Reception area .
" Good afternoon my name is Paige Dineen i have a three o'clock appointment with Mr Elia ."
" Good Afternoon Miss Dineen , you are expected please take a seat over there and i will contact his secretary , who will arrange for someone to show you the way . " The receptionist pointed to the plush chairs by the large panoramic windows which made up one side of the reception area . After about ten minutes a smartly dressed woman who appeared to be in her forties approached Paige .
" Miss Dineen , my name is Pamela i am Mr Elia's personnel secretary ,would you follow me please ." Paige got up and followed her over to the executive elevator , they travelled up to the tenth floor , Pamela led Paige down the corridor , entered one of the doors , which opened onto a large area which contained a large desk with a computer on it . The one wall had chairs along it . Pamela walked across to another door , knocked once and opened it .
" Miss Dineen is here ."
"Bring her in please ." Said a voice from inside the room . Pamela indicated to Paige to enter and then went and took up her position behind the large desk .
" Good afternoon , Paige it is a pleasure to see you again ." Said Richard as he rose from his chair so he could shake Paige's hand
" Good afternoon Richard and once again thank you for seeing me so quickly . " Replied Paige as she shook Richards hand .
I must admit i am intrigued after our short telephone conversation this morning ,what exactly is the problem ."
" It is a complicated story , i know you have been told part of it as you were instrumental in creating Walter's death . To be honest before i tell my story , could you please tell me how that was arranged . " Asked a curious Paige .
Richard looked at her for a moment , before his face broke into a smile .
" The whole plan was actually conceived by Walter . He came to me not long after Tim joined Scorpion , Walter's suspicion had been triggered by some of Tim's actions and reasoning so he had been investigating him , and had begun to notice some unusual phone calls which he found out Tim was making to Pelican Bay State Prison . He knew that if he had tried to discover what was going on it needed to be done completly free of Scorpion . So he came to me with an idea of me having a fake rocket made , nothing except the valve was actually working all the readings on the equipment Walter had already preloaded . As soon as Happy left the rocket , Walter opened a hatch on the floor of the capsule , which would normally lead to the cargo area , however it now led to a ladder that he climbed down to an escape hatch at the back of the rocket , which he escaped from . He was immediately picked up and taken to a log cabin that belonged to a friend of Cabe's , which is where he stayed .Once i knew he was safe , i was wearing an earpiece on a different frequency to yours , the pyrotechnics began . I hope that satisfies you curiosity Paige ."
Paige had sat through the explanation barely breathing and all she managed to do was to nod her head .
" You look shocked , can i get you something to drink , tea ,coffee or something stronger ?" Asked a concerned Richard .
" I think a glass of water if you do not mind ." Answered Paige in barely a whisper .
Richard walked over to a small fridge and removed a bottle of chilled water and reached a glass from the mini bar next to the fridge , he opened the bottle and poured an amount into the glass and passed it to Paige , who nodded in appreciation at him . He put the bottle on the desk next to Paige .
" Better now ?" Queried Richard .
"Yes , thank you , i was just so shocked at what Walter did although nothing surprises me about what he his capable of ."
" Do you feel up to telling me what you really came for ?" Asked Richard .
" Yes , as i mentioned earlier it is a complicated story , i would appreciate it if you let me finish before asking any questions ."
Richard nodded his head in agreement .
" Ok , to begin with it goes back to before Tim came on the scene . To be honest i have loved Walter since the very first day we met , but as you know Walter's E.Q. is low , but when we first met it was so low he only had love for his sister , Megan . But some how he seemed happy to be around me . It was not until i realized how much he really meant to me , when he crashed your car over the cliff , that i was deeply in love with him . The first case we had once he was almost recovered , we were both in a weather balloon , and we actually able to talk about our feelings . However Walter felt he could not be in a relationship with me in case something went wrong it would destroy Scorpion . When we got back to the garage and alone i suggested we should test the theory that we could work together even if we kissed . I have to admit the kiss is something i had never experienced before it was a firework and electrical feeling and i am sure both of us lied about what we felt after the kiss . We carried on as friends but the more i was around Walter the stronger my feelings were getting . A short time before Tim came on the scene Toby persuaded Walter to go on a speed dating meeting . Basically Walter failed miserably however it turned out the organizer of the session liked him and arranged to go to dinner . Which turned out to be a disaster . However the next day she turned up at the garage with a bomb strapped to her chest , and a computer memory stick which included instructions to be followed . Eventually Walter and the team appeared to have stopped what should have happened the bomb reactivated . Walter saved her and she developed Damsel Syndrome whicn meant she enjoyed going out with Walter . When Tim turned up he offered to take me out for meals always with Ralph . One night we had a cookout on the roof and Tim asked me out on a proper date , i was uncertain , until i saw linda hugging Walter and was jealous , so i accepted Tim's offer , not knowing the hug on Walter was a goodbye hug . I went on various dates with Tim but was not really into him . On our return from a case Walter approached me with two tickets for a festival at Tahoe , i was over the moon when i thought he was going to ask me to go with him . But in Walters blundering way he told me to take Tim . I was so angry i decided to make him jealous . When i found out he had purposely changed things at Tahoe , which was after we had escaped from a missel strike . I lost my temper with him and took my comms out . It appears he did tell me why he had come to Tahoe , but i did not hear him , the rest of the team did , but no one had the nerve to tell me , in fact Cabe and Toby told Walter he was not good enough for me and he should let me carry on with Tim . It was however a one sided relationship , Tim seemed a lot keener than me , of course i now know it was the $250.000 not me he was interested in . What i did however was to show Tim a lot of affection around Walter . Once Walter "died" i could not bring myself to carry on with Tim . So the day after Walter's Memorial i dumped Tim . When Walter turned up at the garage alive and well , i was so shocked i could not speak . Walter explained everything that had happened and told me why he had gone to Tahoe , that he loved me , but realized i did not return the love but actually he thought i hated him . He also told Happy to file for divorce and send the papers to him in Ireland . This is the crux of the matter , he had married Happy about six years ago so he could stay in the States. If he did not remain married for eight years he would lose all legal rights to stay in the States and would not be able to return to the U.S A anytime . Sly has been doing some checking up and has found a possible solution . Unfortunately it would involve the President convening a special committee . To get to the reason i wanted to meet you was to ask if you could provide a reference for Walter with regard to his character and work ethic and anything else you could think of ."
" Of course i can do a reference , but i can not see what good that will do ." Replied Richard .
" Oh no i am aware of that , it is just one small part of of the jigsaw . I have a meeting on Tuesday , in Washington with Paul Lane . "
" The guy who was elected to the House of Representatives last year ." Asked Richard .
" Yes before being elected he was Governor of California , who Walter and the team help safe his daughter's life as well as his . Another in Scorpion's long line of successes of saving people . Which is why we need to get Walter back into the States and running Scorpion . Which we certainly need if the first case without him is anything to go by ." Said Paige .
" What do you think Paul will be able to do to help ?" Queried Richard .
" I am hoping i can persuade him to put our case before the President ."
" Well good luck with that . By the way have you booked your flight yet ?" Asked Richard .
" Not yet i was hoping Happy and I could do it in one day , but due to the schedules it will not be possible . "
" Ok what time is your meeting with Paul . " Queried Richard .
"It's at 4.00pm. on Tuesday , that was the quickest time he could see me ."
" leave all the transport to me , i will make one of my private jets available to you . If you leave me the details of your meeting , time and place . I can then get my pilot to work out a flight plan and arrange cars to pick you up and bring you back from LAX and also transport in Washington from the plane to and from the meeting . Can i call you tomorrow with the details . " Suggested Richard .
" My God Richard that is to much . Are you sure?"
" Of course this is for Walter , i owe so much to him and Scorpion , this would not even take care of any interest on the help would incur . " Richard replied back .
Paige finally left Richard's office at 4. as if she was floating on a cloud . She arrived back at the garage just after 5.00pm. All the team members were waiting with some impatience to find out what had happened . Paige requested they told her about the sentencing hearing first . Cabe filled her in on all the details . Even though she thought the sentences were hard , she felt Armstrong should have received the same sentence as Collins . She then filled them in on the meeting with Richard . As soon as she mentioned Richard was going to provide his private jet for transport , Toby insisted he should go as well , but Paige put him down immediately by saying his normal approach was not and would not be necessary at this meeting . Her intention was to get help from Paul and not antagonize him . After about a hour they all left for home .
Friday Richard phoned Paige with all the details . The rest of the day passed quietly and without problems .
Paige spent the weekend going over in her mind how to approach Paul for the help they needed , It was so important so as to get Walter back in her life , hopefully as a lover but at least as a friend .
Monday Paige , Sly and Happy attended a meeting with the company interested in one of their quotes . After a hour they walked away with a signed contract . The job was only for coding , but it was work . The rest of the day was uneventful and at 5.00pm. they all left the garage . Toby took Happy's pick up as Paige was taking Happy to her condo to await the car to arrive to take them to the airport . Pick up was due at 11.00pm for a flight due to leave at midnight .
By midnight the plane took off with two V.I.P. passengers , destination Washington D.C.