Stacey- As per your request... Damian returns in this chapter. Okay, no, it
wasn't because you asked, but he did just happen to show up after you
missed him. Fancy that. Everything is slowly coming to a head, and you
shall see how everything gets wrapped up really soon. As for the brothers...
they're not entirely done with everything that they're going to be going
through, but for them to just start holding hands and hugging... well, that'd
be too much, wouldn't it? Hopefully I can develop something, if not, it was
just not meant to be.
Story-
Port Charles Police Department-
Lucky and Mac were both at the station at the same time. Not unusual given that Mac was the Commissioner and Lucky was one of his officers, but they had spent more than a sizable amount of time being apart from one another, not that being apart was unusual either. They also weren't alone, there were many of the other on and off duty officers that roamed about. The important thing about being together, however, was that Scott Baldwin had retired for the night. They could talk, somewhat more freely, about their alliance without the looming eyes and ears of Baldwin.
But, even with that safety net, there was something else on their minds. Lucky took a sip from his coffee, "You know Maxie came to see him today, right?"
"I had an idea," Mac said. He knew that his daughter struggled almost daily to see her boyfriend. It was painful for him to think about it, because he wanted her to be happy, but she wasn't. That was partly his fault, because he couldn't protect his daughter's happiness. He was doing everything he could to make up for that mistake, though. "She wanted me to stay away from the station for the afternoon, it was a pretty big hint."
"I'm surprised you listened."
"What?"
Lucky elaborated, "You were always in their relationship before. I wouldn't think that it was something you could just turn off at her request."
"I wouldn't, if I thought he was a threat," Mac said. "But I don't think that anymore."
"Hard to believe we ever did..."
Mac gave his agreement with a slight nod, "We spent so much time attributing Sonny's lifestyle and choices to his son that we blinded ourselves to seeing who he really was. At least he doesn't hold it against us."
"Not like he didn't do the same with his father when he first got here," Lucky said.
"Where's he at, anyway?" Mac asked, the obvious hint was that he was asking about Damian.
Lucky understood who Mac was talking about, "In Room 1 with Justus Ward."
Interrogation Room 1-
Damian, for yet another time in such a short span, was sitting in the chair across from someone. However, this person held very little personal interest with him. It wasn't like he disliked Justus, he just hadn't met Justus before his time in jail and when Justus was in the room with Damian he was all business. It was easy to see how he and Jason were related, even though they were entirely different in terms of ethnicity, or at least half- different. Damian had no problem being around such people, Los Angeles had plenty of mixed ethnicities. Damian himself was of mixed blood. He never thought he was full Hispanic, but since he met his father and more specifically his grandfather he knew otherwise. "Did my dad send you to check up on me again, Mr. Ward?"
"Sonny doesn't like it when people disobey his orders. Besides, I charge him enough to make it so that my time is worth it," Justus gave a wry smile. It was the first time Damian had seen Justus act like something more than an attorney. Hopefully Justus was a damned good one. Of course, if his father hired someone then that person had to be one of the best.
"Well, as you can see, I'm perfectly healthy," Damian put his arms out. "Nobody's been harassing me or making my stay here very uncomfortable."
"You should consider yourself fortunate," Justus said. "The prisoners here don't take kindly to people of your age being around them, and since your relation to Sonny isn't exactly something that is deeply hidden it only makes you a bigger target."
"I think I can handle it."
"I do as well," Justus admitted. "But, neither of us are your father."
"So I constantly have to remind myself," Damian sighed. "Do you think that you can get me out?"
"I do."
"What are the odds?"
Justus, without missing a beat, gave his answer, "Considerable."
"You're not just saying that, are you?" Damian inquired. He knew, as did most people who had lived through the OJ trial, that lawyers could be quite the liars. Damian, much like his father, did not tolerate lying very much. It didn't make much sense on Sonny's part, since he lived his life on several lies, especially when it came to being the father of his children. Damian wasn't in any position to call him on it, though. Being in jail really does cripple a person's credibility. Martin Luther King Jr. managed to get away with it, but he wasn't exactly a regular person, he was something far more, far better.
"Your father doesn't pay me to give you false hope, Damian. He pays me to get results."
"Which you can do."
"If I can make it proof that the evidence that is being used to hold you in here is fabricated, yes, I can get results."
"But if you can't?" Damian asked. "I mean, is that the only thing that you can do to clear me?"
"There are other avenues... but I'd rather not take them since they require a bit more preparation and work."
"They're all legal, I hope."
Justus snickered, "I work for the legal system, would I ever break that?" He would, but Damian didn't know about that dark episode of Justus's past, the part that involved someone who just happened to share Sonny's oldest child's name. It was hard at first, thinking about the name and not making the connection between the two. But, after a brief period of time it was obvious that Damian Smith and Damian Zuniga were two completely different people. He could defend Damian Zuniga. He would defend Damian Zuniga.
"I just find the lines of my father's... associates blurred very easily," Damian's voice was as apologetic as he could make it. "I'm sorry, Mr. Ward."
Justus didn't see anything that Damian said that was offensive to him, "Don't call me 'Mr. Ward,' Damian. You can call me Justus."
"Again..."
"Don't apologize," Justus cut him off. "You're too apologetic when you don't need to be. I'm sure that it's an enduring quality to some, but in this town it's only going to get you hurt and used. Trust me, the nice ones are always the ones that get swallowed up the fastest."
"Are you trying to scare me?" Damian knew that there were many perils of Port Charles. He'd have to contend with evil blondes who followed him across the country to kill him or kidnap him.
"Merely make you aware of the facts that you may not be ready to accept."
"I've been here long enough to see how this place works, Justus. I'm aware that there is an underlining life that I have no choice but to be involved with. It scares me, but nothing scares me as much as being stuck in a prison cell for the rest of my life without a chance to see the people that I care about and live my life."
"I won't stand idly by and let you get thrown in prison for something that you didn't do." Justus went for the door, "I'm working as hard as I can."
"I don't doubt that you're doing everything in your power, Justus, and I appreciate it more than you could imagine."
"I only wish that people like you didn't need to have people like me around," Justus said softly. "The world is never going to be kind to those of you who try and make it a better place by being as honest as possible."
"I know," Damian tossed his head back. "I was always aware of it, but never more than now."
"Stay as positive as you can, we're going to get you out of this." Justus walked out, not giving Damian time to say another word.
Mac and Lucky were still outside, they saw Justus. The lawyer walked over to the two. Lucky tossed his cup in the garbage, "They always hire the best."
"With the prices that I charge, I can't help but be the best," Justus coyly countered. "Have there been any leads on your side?" He had been made aware of the work that Lucky, Mac and Ric were doing. Much like everyone else, Justus wasn't entirely sure how much he could trust Ric's attempts at helping someone, especially a family member, but he wasn't going to take any action unless he knew that the ADA wasn't doing something beneficial.
Mac knew that there was nothing worth reporting, but he wouldn't lie to Justus, "We're still coming up with nothing. We're also running out of time."
"I can get him off if this goes to court, but we're trying to prevent that. The damage it could do to his image... Sonny doesn't want his son's career put into any more danger than it already is with the arrest." Justus looked around, "Where's Lansing?"
"He walked past us, probably went to his office for something," Mac said.
Scott Baldwin's Office-
Ric wasn't going into his office. On the contrary, he was going to check on the office of the man that had orchestrated everything that had happened to Damian. He had to do some work to get the door open, but he managed to make it look like it was never forced open. Ric had plenty of skills outside of the practice of law. He checked under Scott's desk and found a small recording device that he had implanted. It was set up to have a days worth of time on it, a full 24 hour day so that every night Ric could check and replace the tape. Scott wasn't aware of the plan, at least to his knowledge.
Ric picked up the recorder and fast-forwarded through the downtime. Since the tape was a full day tape, there was a huge amount of downtime. However, if there was something, anything that could be used to help Damian, it was worth it. As he listened to Scott talk about the banal things that he always did talk about he finally found something that he could use. The name. Alcazar.
Ric walked out, closed the door, and trotted outside to where the others were meeting. "You need to listen to this... all of you." Ric held out the recorder.
Story-
Port Charles Police Department-
Lucky and Mac were both at the station at the same time. Not unusual given that Mac was the Commissioner and Lucky was one of his officers, but they had spent more than a sizable amount of time being apart from one another, not that being apart was unusual either. They also weren't alone, there were many of the other on and off duty officers that roamed about. The important thing about being together, however, was that Scott Baldwin had retired for the night. They could talk, somewhat more freely, about their alliance without the looming eyes and ears of Baldwin.
But, even with that safety net, there was something else on their minds. Lucky took a sip from his coffee, "You know Maxie came to see him today, right?"
"I had an idea," Mac said. He knew that his daughter struggled almost daily to see her boyfriend. It was painful for him to think about it, because he wanted her to be happy, but she wasn't. That was partly his fault, because he couldn't protect his daughter's happiness. He was doing everything he could to make up for that mistake, though. "She wanted me to stay away from the station for the afternoon, it was a pretty big hint."
"I'm surprised you listened."
"What?"
Lucky elaborated, "You were always in their relationship before. I wouldn't think that it was something you could just turn off at her request."
"I wouldn't, if I thought he was a threat," Mac said. "But I don't think that anymore."
"Hard to believe we ever did..."
Mac gave his agreement with a slight nod, "We spent so much time attributing Sonny's lifestyle and choices to his son that we blinded ourselves to seeing who he really was. At least he doesn't hold it against us."
"Not like he didn't do the same with his father when he first got here," Lucky said.
"Where's he at, anyway?" Mac asked, the obvious hint was that he was asking about Damian.
Lucky understood who Mac was talking about, "In Room 1 with Justus Ward."
Interrogation Room 1-
Damian, for yet another time in such a short span, was sitting in the chair across from someone. However, this person held very little personal interest with him. It wasn't like he disliked Justus, he just hadn't met Justus before his time in jail and when Justus was in the room with Damian he was all business. It was easy to see how he and Jason were related, even though they were entirely different in terms of ethnicity, or at least half- different. Damian had no problem being around such people, Los Angeles had plenty of mixed ethnicities. Damian himself was of mixed blood. He never thought he was full Hispanic, but since he met his father and more specifically his grandfather he knew otherwise. "Did my dad send you to check up on me again, Mr. Ward?"
"Sonny doesn't like it when people disobey his orders. Besides, I charge him enough to make it so that my time is worth it," Justus gave a wry smile. It was the first time Damian had seen Justus act like something more than an attorney. Hopefully Justus was a damned good one. Of course, if his father hired someone then that person had to be one of the best.
"Well, as you can see, I'm perfectly healthy," Damian put his arms out. "Nobody's been harassing me or making my stay here very uncomfortable."
"You should consider yourself fortunate," Justus said. "The prisoners here don't take kindly to people of your age being around them, and since your relation to Sonny isn't exactly something that is deeply hidden it only makes you a bigger target."
"I think I can handle it."
"I do as well," Justus admitted. "But, neither of us are your father."
"So I constantly have to remind myself," Damian sighed. "Do you think that you can get me out?"
"I do."
"What are the odds?"
Justus, without missing a beat, gave his answer, "Considerable."
"You're not just saying that, are you?" Damian inquired. He knew, as did most people who had lived through the OJ trial, that lawyers could be quite the liars. Damian, much like his father, did not tolerate lying very much. It didn't make much sense on Sonny's part, since he lived his life on several lies, especially when it came to being the father of his children. Damian wasn't in any position to call him on it, though. Being in jail really does cripple a person's credibility. Martin Luther King Jr. managed to get away with it, but he wasn't exactly a regular person, he was something far more, far better.
"Your father doesn't pay me to give you false hope, Damian. He pays me to get results."
"Which you can do."
"If I can make it proof that the evidence that is being used to hold you in here is fabricated, yes, I can get results."
"But if you can't?" Damian asked. "I mean, is that the only thing that you can do to clear me?"
"There are other avenues... but I'd rather not take them since they require a bit more preparation and work."
"They're all legal, I hope."
Justus snickered, "I work for the legal system, would I ever break that?" He would, but Damian didn't know about that dark episode of Justus's past, the part that involved someone who just happened to share Sonny's oldest child's name. It was hard at first, thinking about the name and not making the connection between the two. But, after a brief period of time it was obvious that Damian Smith and Damian Zuniga were two completely different people. He could defend Damian Zuniga. He would defend Damian Zuniga.
"I just find the lines of my father's... associates blurred very easily," Damian's voice was as apologetic as he could make it. "I'm sorry, Mr. Ward."
Justus didn't see anything that Damian said that was offensive to him, "Don't call me 'Mr. Ward,' Damian. You can call me Justus."
"Again..."
"Don't apologize," Justus cut him off. "You're too apologetic when you don't need to be. I'm sure that it's an enduring quality to some, but in this town it's only going to get you hurt and used. Trust me, the nice ones are always the ones that get swallowed up the fastest."
"Are you trying to scare me?" Damian knew that there were many perils of Port Charles. He'd have to contend with evil blondes who followed him across the country to kill him or kidnap him.
"Merely make you aware of the facts that you may not be ready to accept."
"I've been here long enough to see how this place works, Justus. I'm aware that there is an underlining life that I have no choice but to be involved with. It scares me, but nothing scares me as much as being stuck in a prison cell for the rest of my life without a chance to see the people that I care about and live my life."
"I won't stand idly by and let you get thrown in prison for something that you didn't do." Justus went for the door, "I'm working as hard as I can."
"I don't doubt that you're doing everything in your power, Justus, and I appreciate it more than you could imagine."
"I only wish that people like you didn't need to have people like me around," Justus said softly. "The world is never going to be kind to those of you who try and make it a better place by being as honest as possible."
"I know," Damian tossed his head back. "I was always aware of it, but never more than now."
"Stay as positive as you can, we're going to get you out of this." Justus walked out, not giving Damian time to say another word.
Mac and Lucky were still outside, they saw Justus. The lawyer walked over to the two. Lucky tossed his cup in the garbage, "They always hire the best."
"With the prices that I charge, I can't help but be the best," Justus coyly countered. "Have there been any leads on your side?" He had been made aware of the work that Lucky, Mac and Ric were doing. Much like everyone else, Justus wasn't entirely sure how much he could trust Ric's attempts at helping someone, especially a family member, but he wasn't going to take any action unless he knew that the ADA wasn't doing something beneficial.
Mac knew that there was nothing worth reporting, but he wouldn't lie to Justus, "We're still coming up with nothing. We're also running out of time."
"I can get him off if this goes to court, but we're trying to prevent that. The damage it could do to his image... Sonny doesn't want his son's career put into any more danger than it already is with the arrest." Justus looked around, "Where's Lansing?"
"He walked past us, probably went to his office for something," Mac said.
Scott Baldwin's Office-
Ric wasn't going into his office. On the contrary, he was going to check on the office of the man that had orchestrated everything that had happened to Damian. He had to do some work to get the door open, but he managed to make it look like it was never forced open. Ric had plenty of skills outside of the practice of law. He checked under Scott's desk and found a small recording device that he had implanted. It was set up to have a days worth of time on it, a full 24 hour day so that every night Ric could check and replace the tape. Scott wasn't aware of the plan, at least to his knowledge.
Ric picked up the recorder and fast-forwarded through the downtime. Since the tape was a full day tape, there was a huge amount of downtime. However, if there was something, anything that could be used to help Damian, it was worth it. As he listened to Scott talk about the banal things that he always did talk about he finally found something that he could use. The name. Alcazar.
Ric walked out, closed the door, and trotted outside to where the others were meeting. "You need to listen to this... all of you." Ric held out the recorder.