John ran up to Stef as soon as he saw her in the terminal. She held out her arms when he got close and pulled him into a hug.
"A grand jury?" John asked, sounding shocked. The three-and-a-half hour plane ride had seemed interminable to him after he saw Stef's text.
"I know," Stef replied as they broke apart. "It's horrible. I don't know how he can call a grand jury like this. Mike didn't do anything wrong."
"Kelbert will do whatever he can to make sure that it can't get much further, I know it."
Stef nodded, but she didn't feel reassured.
John lightly knocked on John and Jesus' bedroom door, doing his best to avoid waking his brothers.
"Come in, John," Jude said quietly.
John opened the door and walked into the bedroom. Jesus was fast asleep on his bed, while Jude and Connor were lying next to each other on Jude's bed, staying as quiet as they could. John walked over to Jude's bed and hugged both of them before he sat down next to them.
"It's good to see you, Connor," he said, smiling.
"I missed you when you were in jail," said Connor. "Was it bad in there?"
"Not so bad. I had a good guard with me. Plus, I had the cell all to myself when I was there, so it wasn't too bad at all. Did you guys get to see News Night earlier?"
"You were great," said Jude. "Was it scary, being on live TV when you were on?"
John shook his head. "It was just like Will and I were having a conversation. I expected to be way more scared than I was, but once I started talking, I felt totally fine." He hesitated before he continued. "Did Moms tell you about the grand jury Bates is convening against Mike?"
"Yeah, she told us," Jude said quietly. "Do you think Mike will go to court?"
"I hope not," John said, sighing. "I know Kelbert will do everything in his power to make sure it doesn't happen, but I don't know if that will be enough. I mean, I still got carted off to jail, even with Kelbert defending me."
"Maybe this time will be different," said Connor.
John nodded. "I sure hope so."
As he got into bed, John heard his phone ding with a notification of a new email. He turned off his bedroom light, crawled into his bed and unlocked his phone. He saw a new email from Maggie Jordan with ACN.
John,
I'm sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. I got busy with the show and didn't look at my phone until just now.
I'm really sorry to hear about Mike. I definitely can help you investigate this Scott Bates person, but I can't promise anything. I'll let you know if I find anything.
Thanks again for coming tonight. I really appreciate it.
Best,
Maggie
After reading the email, John hit the reply button and thanked her for looking into Scott Bates for him. Once the email was sent, John put his phone down and quickly fell asleep.
"Yes, I can confirm that Bates went before the grand jury today to present his case," Kelbert said, sitting at the dining table with Stef, Lena, Mike and John. "No, I can't tell you what happened during it because I honestly have no idea. Even had I been there, I would not have been able to tell you what happened, since those proceedings are closed, and me being there would have been borderline illegal anyway."
"OK, so what can we do to make sure this ends quickly?" Stef asked.
"Bates called me after he left the grand jury hearing," Kelbert said. "He offered a deal."
"Oh, that's just great," Mike said. "What does he want me to plead guilty to?"
"He says if you plead guilty to third degree assault, all of this goes away. No police brutality charges, no jail time. And he says he can guarantee Mike can retire now with full benefits."
"And a destroyed reputation," interrupted John. "Please tell me you didn't decide to take this deal."
"I can't do that unless Mike says I can," Kelbert said.
A knock came from the front door. John stood up to go and answer it while the others kept talking.
"Mike?" asked Lena. "What do you think?"
"I don't want to lose my job, Lena," he said. "But if I can avoid jail time by pleading guilty, maybe it's for the best."
"Don think like that, Mike," said Stef. "There is no way a grand jury can indict you based on the facts of the case."
At that, John reentered the kitchen, followed by a blonde woman.
"Uh, Moms, Mike, Alex," John said as he led Maggie into the kitchen. "This is Maggie Jordan from ACN. She's the one who invited me to the show."
"Hi everyone," Maggie said, taking a seat. "John emailed me last night to see if I could help you all with this case." Everyone looked at John in shock. Maggie noticed this. "Don't worry about it, I was happy to help in any way I could. I took a leave for a few days to come here and see if I could meet with Scott Bates to try and figure out a way to make sure this case gets thrown out. I just got out of a private meeting with him. I recorded our conversation." She pulled out a voice recorder and slid it across the table to Kelbert. "You'll want to hear this."
Mike, Kelbert and Bates all stood before Judge Henry Miller in his chambers.
"So, Mr. Kelbert," Miller. "I understand you have something you wish to tell me in front of Mr. Bates."
"That's correct, Your Honor," Kelbert said. "And I think you will find what I am about to reveal will cause you to throw out the case against my client without any prejudice."
"This should be good," Bates whispered, smiling to himself.
"Yesterday evening, Your Honor, Mr. Bates met with a producer for Atlantis Cable News named Maggie Jordan," said Kelbert. At that, Bates looked over at Kelbert in shock.
"How the hell could you know that!?" Bates demanded.
"Because Maggie Jordan came to the home of my client's ex-wife last night and she gave us a recording of the meeting she had with Mr. Bates," Kelbert said as he pulled out the voice recorder.
"Your Honor, you can't possibly admit this."
"Nothing to admit, Counselor. We're not in session right now. I'd like to hear what's on that voice recorder, Mr. Kelbert."
"I think this is all you need to hear, judge," Kelbert said, pressing a button.
"Why are you pursuing a grand jury against Mike Foster?" Maggie asked.
"Are we still off-the-record?" asked Bates.
"Yes."
There was a pause before Bates answered on the recording. "It's my way of exacting revenge against him. He got me kicked out of the police academy years ago. Now, I'm going to get him kicked out of the police force."
"And how do you intend to do that, legally?"
"I'm going to tell the grand jury that Mike committed the shooting without due cause. And then I'm going to watch as his career is taken away."
Kelbert clicked a button on the recorder again and set it down on the judge's desk.
"Everything else is right there, Your Honor," Kelbert said.
"Your Honor, you can't possibly think that I knew this was being recorded," Bates said, starting to stumble over his words. "If I had, there's no way I would have said any of that."
"And yet you did, Mr. Bates," Miller said. "In 30 years on the bench, I've never seen such a case of gross prosecutorial misconduct. While I don't agree with this person recording this conversation, I cannot ignore what was said on it. Therefore, I am ordering the charges against Mr. Foster to be dropped immediately. The investigation is henceforth closed and ruled a justified shooting by law enforcement. As for you, Mr. Bates, I am reporting you to the disciplinary committee at once. Thank you for coming in, gentlemen. You're dismissed."
Mike and Kelbert shook hands while Bates stood in place, shocked. Mike turned to Bates.
"I guess some things never change," he said.
The Adams Foster family, joined by Mike and Connor, finished up dinner early and gathered in the living room to watch a movie together. Stef and Lena sat in their recliners, with wine in their hands. Brandon, Callie, Mike and Mariana crowded the couch, while Jesus took another recliner. Jude, Connor and John sat together on a blanket, closer to the TV than the rest.
"Hey, before we start," Mike said. "I just want to thank all of you for standing by me during all of this. I know it mustn't have been easy to stand by me."
"We're family, Mike," Stef said. "We stick by each other, no matter what."
Mike nodded while Lena turned on the TV and Blu Ray player to get the movie ready to watch. As she did, there was a knock on the door.
"Jude, honey, can you get that?" Lena asked.
Jude stood up and walked to the front door. When he opened it, he let out a small gasp. He thought he was staring at John in the doorway. Within a few seconds, he realized it couldn't possibly be John, but someone who looked remarkably like him.
"Hi," the boy said nervously. "Does John Adams Foster live here?"
"Who wants to know?" Jude asked, feeling uncomfortable.
"Can you get him for me, please?" the boy asked.
Jude nodded and returned to the living room. "Hey John," he said. John looked up at him. "There's someone here at the door you looks a lot like you. He said he wants to talk to you."
"Does he seem dangerous?" Stef asked, standing up at the same time as Mike.
"I don't think so," Jude said.
"I'll see what's up," John said, standing up. He and Stef followed Jude back to the front door.
John looked at the boy. He had the same hair and eye color as him, and he was wearing glasses like he did. He had to admit, this boy looked exactly like him.
"I'm John Adams Foster," John said. The boy's face seemed to light up. "What can I do for you?"
The boy hesitated before he answered. "My name is Jack Olson," he said. "But that's not my birth name. My birth name is Jack Foster. I'm your twin brother, John."