A couple of weeks later, Nick had his arms elbow deep in the engine of a Bell 205. Almost exactly the same bird he'd flown in 'Nam, this old girl was a good friend he enjoyed spending time with. And he could take her apart and put her back together by touch alone.

He was still having some discomfort from his ribs, but the bruising had faded and his nose looked okay so he would be flying again in a few days. The boss wouldn't let anyone take up customers when he looked like a punching bag. Might scare away business.

And everything had turned out okay with Mickey the Gorilla who ended up in jail when he got into it with a police lieutenant named Quinlan down at the beach. Turned out there'd been a couple of warrants out on him. Guess the lawyer had been right about calling the cops after all.

Speaking of the boss, Jerry Pitts walked up as Nick uncoupled two of the reduction gears and pulled them out.

"Hey, Ryder? What are you doing tomorrow?"

"Putting this lady back together."

"Hand this off to Lou. You've got a flight."

Nick wiped at some sweat with his forearm; his hands were filthy with grease and dirt. "I thought I was grounded for another couple days?"

"Special request for your services."

Nick squinted at him in confusion. "Me?"

"Yeah, shocked the hell outta me, too. But she repeated your name twice even and spelled it, just to make sure I understood. It ain't a mistake."

And suddenly, Nick thought back to the night he'd gotten the beating that had him grounded. "Thayer, Sargent, and Winslow?"

"Got it in one. You must have made a big impression on that fraidy-cat lawyer. I like repeat business, Nick. Keep up the good work." Jerry grinned and glanced around, "And clean up this mess."

The following morning, Nick climbed out of the 'Vette and grabbed the dry-cleaning bag. As he walked into the office, he heard a couple of wolf whistles from the assembled pilots and mechanics.

"Hey, Ryder, hot date tonight?"

Nick didn't even spare them a glance. "None of your business."

"Maybe he'll take her to The Tailwind."

"I don't know; The Cockpit has that ambiance, you know."

They trailed him as Nick slid his paperwork into Jerry's inbox. "I'm not leaving my good jacket here in the office where some accident might happen to it. I know how you guys operate."

"Aw, c'mon, Nick. Would we do something like that?"

"In a heartbeat."

Nick pushed out the door of the office and ambled over to the Bell 206 Jerry had assigned him for the day's flight. He opened the pilot's door and hung the bag containing his good jacket on the bulkhead behind the seat. Then he grabbed the clipboard and began the pre-flight checklist.

Today, Cody knew exactly where he was going. He even saw the multiple signs directing him to Mugu Charter Service. He pulled the Volvo into the parking area and got out, locking the doors. He glanced around briefly for light fixtures, remembering what'd happened the last time they got back late.

He stepped into the office. "Morning."

The guy at the desk looked up and smiled, "Mr. Allen, right?"

Cody grinned, "That's right. How are you, Mr. Pitts?"

"I'm just Jerry."

"And I'm Cody."

"Yes, but you're a client."

"Just a guy, man."

"Just a guy…who wants Nick Ryder to fly him up to Stockton? You sure about that? Feeling okay?"

Just as he said that, Nick walked in from outside. "Don't be bad-mouthing me, Jerry; I got enough trouble with my reputation already. Don't need anybody else running me down." He stopped beside Cody, "Hey. You ready?"

Cody smiled, only a little worried about the flight. "Yeah. Whenever you are."

"Then let's trip the light fantastic, big guy."

Jerry held up a warning finger, "That's my chopper you're tripping with. Be safe."

Nick nodded, and he led Cody out to the same white helicopter they'd used the last time. At least Cody thought it was the same. It was white and had four doors; other than that…?

Without asking, he climbed into the front seat beside Nick. "How you feeling? About healed up?"

Nick slipped on his Ray-bans and started flipping switches. "Pretty much. Ribs still a bit iffy, but I'm fine other than that."

"Good."

"How are things at our firm?"

Cody smiled at the joke, "Okay. Partners were pretty happy with that slam dunk on the Tyler deposition. Upped my profile a bit."

Nick nodded approvingly and turned a blinding grin on Cody. "Terrific. You deserve it."

"Not so sure about that. But they're sending me out on another field trip."

"That's too bad." Nick tried to frown and sound sorry, but he didn't do a very good job.

Cody's laugh was low and slow. "Yeah. Isn't it."

"You didn't volunteer, did you?"

"Not by Webster's official definition, per se."

Nick fought a grin, but once again, it seemed to get the best of him.

And so, the two of them settled into a bit of routine. Cody and Nick would fly somewhere to take a deposition every week or two, landing all over the state during the next few months. And Nick always happened to have a good jacket on the days he flew with Cody. Just in case.

At Thayer, Sargent, and Winslow, Cody developed a reputation, and he quickly became the go-to-guy for long distance depositions—not just for his supervising partner, but for the other partners as well. Which was fine with Cody as it not only gave him a better reputation at the firm but also a whole day to spend with Nick. And time away from the shark tank at his office. Once he got an assignment, his first step was to have his assistant call Mugu Charters. By now, she knew without asking that Mr. Allen preferred Nick Ryder to be his pilot. After that was arranged, he went to whichever lawyer was handling the case and asked about relevant issues regarding the client, the case, and the opposing attorneys.

Once he and Nick were in the air, he would discuss everything with Nick who had sworn on his mother's grave to be the best pretend lawyer in California. Which meant he would never mention a word to another soul about what they were doing. During the flight, the two of them would come up with a plan of approach.

In Nick, Cody found a guy without any kind of hidden agenda who would give it to him straight without pulling punches. If he thought Cody had things figured wrong, he said so. But if Cody still disagreed, Nick would concede that Cody was the real lawyer and shut up without any hurt feelings. And he was kind enough not to say, 'I told you so,' on the occasions when he was right and Cody was wrong. Most of the time anyway.

Surprisingly enough, for a guy who tended to pretty damn plain spoken, Nick was excellent at stepping into any type of role. Depending on the opposing counsel and clients, Nick and Cody developed several different guises.

As Nick was only a pretend lawyer, he never interacted directly with other attorneys or witnesses, but he played his part as Cody's sidekick to the hilt. Sometimes he was the overbearing, pain-the-ass tyrant to Cody's long-suffering, struggling new-kid-in-the-office. Other times, the situation called for him to be the sniveling sycophant to Cody's put-upon professional. On one particularly memorable occasion, Nick played the demanding T-crossing, I-dotting bureaucrat while Cody was the overwhelmed, are-you-serious associate who just needed to finish the deposition so the day would be over.

While the results weren't always as spectacular as their first effort, Cody figured out one day that the depositions he and Nick brought back produced positive results for the clients of Thayer, Sargent, and Winslow about eighty percent of the time. Which wasn't bad for a job he still didn't really like. About the only enjoyable parts of his work were the good results for the clients, the accolades he received from the partners and jealous associates of the firm…and the time he got to spend with Nick which now extended to having dinner a couple nights a week and usually something fun on the weekend as well.