Chapter 5

A/N Thanks again for the reviews! Sorry this took me so long.

I poured Adelina a large cup of the punch and was about to hand it to her when I heard that annoying voice again.

"Don't mind if I do, Manny!" Gant exclaimed, taking the cup. He gazed at me for a moment with one of his piercing stares. That stare told me that he knew exactly what I was up to. His countenance changed a second or so after back to his normal goofy self.

Sighing in annoyance, I poured another cup of punch, only to have him drink that too. A few more cups later, I had an encounter with something I've never wanted to see...

A very drunk Damon Gant.

Gant put an arm around my shoulder. "You want to know a secret?"

"No," I replied scornfully, pushing him away.

He put his arm around my shoulder again. "When I was a little boy... I wanted to be..." he leaned closer and whispered into my ear. "Aquaman!"

"Leave," I commanded tersely. "Now." I had little patience to deal with Gant when he was sober, never mind when he was drunk.

"But Manny!" he whined. "We were having such a good time!"

Adelina giggled, and Gant turned his attention to her. He bowed to her. "And how are you doing, my little princess? How about I sweep you off your feet, and later we can-"

I cleared my throat loudly at this point. Gant glanced at me once, then opened his mouth to continue. I decided it was pertinent for me to interrupt this foolishness. "Look, Damon... That Aquaman character is over there signing autographs."

Gant grinned. "Really! Wow!" He turned and winked at Adelina. "Until next time, princess." He dashed off towards a very unfortunate Detective Gumshoe.

I sighed in relief glad to get that pain away from me. "So... How about some punch."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "Do you take me for an idiot, Mr. von Karma?"

"No..." I furrowed my brow, annoyed that my scheme had failed, thanks to that meddlesome Gant. I decided to go back to flattery. "Far from it really."

Adelina rolled her eyes. "Right." She glanced at the clock on the wall as if to see how much more time she had to endure. "You know, you should really try acting more like Mr. Gant."

My eyes widened in surprise for a brief moment, but I regained my composure instantly. Act more like Gant? Why would I possibly want to act like that fool? "Gant? Why?"

"He's much more cordial," Adelina replied with a nod. "And doesn't try to get me drunk."

I frowned for a moment. Why wasn't anything working on this woman? She wasn't behaving like a witness would at all... Of course we're not in court, but still... I should be perfect in all things, my personal life included! "I'm sorry," I replied, I forced the apologetic tone perfectly- I wasn't sorry at all of course. "I should have treated you with more respect..."

"Yes, you should have," she replied tersely. She fiddled with the bracelet I had given her. "A question, Mr. von Karma."

"Yes?"

"Why did you think that I was so perfect?"

I blinked. I had never really been asked to explain anything like this before. I took a moment to think before replying. "Well, you're beautiful for one... And smart... And you were brilliant on the witness stand."

She looked vaguely amused at my last point. "Oh really?"

I nodded. "Of course. The moment you walked into my office, I knew you'd be the perfect witness... You spoke clearly, and you didn't break down when the defense attorney pressed you... You were probably the best witness I've had by far."

Adelina smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome... Would you like to dance again?" I offered her my hand.

She hesitated a moment before taking it. "Sure..."

I pulled her close and we began to dance once again.

"You seem to really love your job," she commented.

"I do," I replied. "There's nothing better than getting a guilty verdict in court."

"What if the person wasn't guilty?"

"If they weren't guilty, I wouldn't take the case." It was a lie of course. I took every case I was offered and proved the client guilty, no matter what. It wasn't up to me to decide their guilt; if the police said they were guilty, then they were guilty.

"You were wrong, Manny. That was Gumshoe, not Aquaman." Gant had come back with another glass of punch. At the moment, he wasn't looking so great. In fact, he was swaying on his feet.

"Mr. Gant!" Adelina exclaimed. "You should sit down..." She pulled away from me and lead him away towards a chair.

I sighed in annoyance. How was it that Gant always got in my way?

Adelina made her way over to me again. "You should take him home, Manfred. He's in no condition to drive himself."

I took note of the fact that she called me by my first name. I decided that now would be a good time to look like a kind caring man... "Of course, I wouldn't want my friend to get hurt, now would I?" In fact, I very much would indeed, but she didn't need to know that. "Come with me, we'll get him home right away..." I gave her my arm and she took it. I made my way over to Gant and prodded him to his feet. "Come on, Gant. I'm taking you home."

"To the Aquamobile!" He exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

Not caring if there was in fact an Aquamobile, I followed him out to the parking lot.