Mark got up from the poolside and quickly headed toward the gatehouse, knowing that he was about to be grilled by Hardcase.

"Freeze, McCormick, do not move a hair," came the gruff order. Mark stopped in mid stride. He knew no matter what he did or where he went there was no way to avoid the inevitable. He grimaced then slowly turned to face Hardcase, who came striding like a raging bull.

Oh now he's ticked off, how am I going to talk myself out of this one? Well technically I didn't really lie, I just omitted and misappropriated some facts, and really, that fed deserved it.

"Now you want to tell me what the hell is going on, and don't you dare lie to me any further," came the stern warning as he stormed right up in McCormick's face and watched him for any type of reaction.

"Judge, please let it go for now, I didn't really lie, trust me," pleaded Mark. I wonder if I can stall him until he calms down, cause right now he's just not gonna listen.

"Trust you? How much of this has been a lie? And why are you lying to me? McCormick, don't screw up now that you have gotten this far," screamed Hardcastle.

"Judge, remember when I started this crazy indefinite custody arrangement. I told you to trust me; that I would never lie to you or steal from you. Please give me a break, and when you've calmed down I'll tell you everything."

"I am calm, so why not now?" came the growling response.

"Yeah, you look calm, and because you would have a sworn duty, an obligation to do what is necessary and I just can't have you doing that right now. I gave my word, please just trust me with this one and I will explain, but not to that guy," Mark continued to plead his case, pointing to the driveway indicating the FBI agent.

"But you failed to notice one thing, McCormick, you have already lied to me!" he yelled.

"No, Judge, I haven't, maybe some omissions, I haven't told you everything, but I have not lied to you," Mark clarified.

"But you did lie to the FBI, didn't you, McCormick?"

"Well, not technically, okay you got me there; some small white lies due to some omissions. I just let them assume certain things, and come on, they locked me up for God's sake, what did I do to deserve that?"

"That's exactly what I'm worried about McCormick!" he continued yelling.

"Okay, get into the truck right now, we are going downtown," Hardcastle ordered.

"But, Judge . . ." Mark began.

"I said now, in the truck, or I will throw you into a cell myself," Milt ordered.

Mark allowed his head to drop down in submission and slowly, reluctantly started towards the truck. Great. I'm gonna end up in another cell, well, the good news is that I can tell Hardcastle and get this off my chest; this thing is really starting to snowball into something huge, and Pat is safe. Of course, my admission to knowing his plan and not informing the feds, can they get me for obstruction of justice as I knew he was leaving the country to avoid prosecution, but hey I was locked in a bedroom, but they are gonna ask why I didn't tell them this morning. How am I gonna explain that it was the way they asked me? It sounds like the old ex-con shit all over again, not the lawyer I'm supposed to be. And with my record, great! Can they keep me from being allowed to sit for the bar exam and never be able to become an attorney? Why didn't I think of all this shit earlier? Great! Just great, Mark, you've done it again.

Hey, I could say that he's my client, hired me, and that's privileged information then, I really don't need to tell them anything, but I didn't officially pass the bar yet, can I do that?

He reached the truck, opened the passenger door, and slid onto the seat, looking down at his hands he waited for Hardcastle.

Milt watched McCormick resign himself to defeat and slowly and obediently go to the truck like he was ordered to do. Damn kid why would he risk everything he worked so hard for? What is so damned important that he's hiding, he is asking you to trust him, after seven years doesn't he deserve the trust? He slowly made his way to the truck and pulled himself into the driver's seat. Looking over at McCormick, he gave a long sigh.

"Okay, now tell me the story and don't leave anything out."

Mark glanced over at Hardcastle and held his eyes. "Can I ask a question first?" he tentatively asked.

"This had better be a good one."

"Well, if someone hires an attorney, who may not be a full fledged attorney yet . . . is that still privileged communication?" he asked quietly.

Wasn't expecting that one, okay how do I answer that?

"WellI guess there are actually some loop-holes and questions here. First, did the person who hired the attorney realize that said attorney had not taken his bar exam yet? Second, can a graduate attorney work as an attorney before taking and passing their bar exam? Thirdly, with the answer to the previous question, at what capacity can a graduate attorney work before they cross the line into being an actual attorney? Fourthly, did this person who hired the said attorney actually give said attorney some type of monetary compensation or enter into a contract promising compensation, thus making this a formal contract of attorney client privilege? Just to name a few," Hardcastle put forth.

Mark began to grin, "Well, he did give me twenty bucks, and gee, he's currently out of the country, so how can anyone ask him if he knew that 'said attorney' hadn't yet taken and passed his bar exam yet." Oh man, I knew Hardcastle would help me out here, although it's probably gonna cost me big time.

Hardcastle contemplated this for a moment, "Well then I would say that said attorney is pretty damn lucky to have a real judge for a mentor. And that said attorney who is currently indebted to that judge already, is definitely gonna owe said judge big time for this one. In other words, it's gonna cost you, kiddo. And now, with all that said, let's get out of this damn truck and you had better start telling a very interesting story without leaving out any minute detail, and said judge had better believe this one. And oh, by the way, I ever . . . ever catch you lying to me; I'm gonna skin you alive!" Hardcastle growled through clenched teeth.

"Okay, okay, I'm really sorry, but I didn't really lie to you, see it all started like this . . ."

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Wow, this part of the ride finally came to an end. Many, many, very special thanks to Cheri for not only having the patience to beta this twice, but also the tenacity to talk me into posting it (Thank you for your honesty). I truly hope I haven't bored anyone to tears. Many thanks to all of you who have reviewed, your words mean more to me than you can imagine, to everyone at GullsWay for all the support and always keeping me informed, and last but not least: I feel I have made a few new friends through this experience. Please feel free to email me your critiques and constructive criticisms.

Although, now a monster has been created; I have already started the sequel to 'Lessons My Family & the FBI Taught Me'. As I realized that I hadn't answered a lot of the questions in my own mind, that the first part of the story brought out, maybe that is why my title has not yet been fulfilled. Patience, please.

Again thank you,

Lyn

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