"Your next witness, Mr. Fusselman," Judge Hayes started.

"No more witnesses at this time, your honor."

"Mr. Flynn, call your first witness."

"The defense calls Alexander Cage to the stand," Mr. Flynn said as he stood and adjusted his suit jacket.

With his usual smooth, cat-like movement, Xander slid to his feet and walked to the front of the courtroom. After swearing in, he sat down, folded his hands in his lap, leaned back and fixed Mr. Flynn with a stern stare.

"State your full name for the court."

"Alexander Dominic Cage," he answered in his deep voice.

"Mr. Cage, what is the nature of your relationship with Miss Blackwell?"

"She's a friend."

"Has she always been just your friend?"

"She used to be my girlfriend."

"Uh-huh. How long did the two of you date?"

"About two years."

"Two years is a long time," Mr. Flynn said. "I suppose you got to know her pretty well during that time?"

"You could say that."

"How would you describe Miss Blackwell?"

Xander continued to stare at Mr. Flynn, keeping his expression stern but his mind racing, trying to figure out the angle the attorney was working.

"She's a good girl. She's got a big heart and she lets it carry her away at times. She'd do anything to help you out."

"How did she conduct herself in the bedroom?"

"Cranky. She's impossible to wake up."

Gohan couldn't help but snicker slightly. He knew that was true.

"Let me rephrase. Mr. Cage, was she ever violent with you?"

"She beat me with a pillow, once, when I woke her up to help me find my cell phone." Xander could hardly keep the amusement out of his voice. "And she can be downright vicious when she's hungry."

Mr. Flynn was getting agitated again. "When you were engaged in sexual intercourse with Miss Blackwell, Mr. Cage, how was her demeanor?"

Xander looked at his hands in his lap and ran his tongue between his teeth and bottom lip. His expression was serious when he looked up again. "She was shy. She wouldn't even let me turn the lights on."

"When you say she was shy, do you mean she was playing hard to get?"

"No."

"What exactly do you mean, Mr. Cage?"

"She was unsure of herself. She liked me in control." Xander cocked his head to the side, "I was her first."

"So she enjoyed being dominated?"

"I didn't dominate her," Xander retorted. "Your honor, is this appropriate?" He turned in his seat to face the judge.

"The alleged victim's sexual history is pertinent to the case, your honor," Mr. Flynn stated.

The judge nodded to Mr. Flynn without speaking to Xander.

"Did Miss Blackwell ever ask you to role-play with her? Perhaps tie her up or restrain her in any way?"

Xander narrowed his eyes. "No. Hell no. We didn't do anything like that."

"Was she ever aggressive with you?"

"Are you stupid, man? I just told you how shy she was."

Mr. Flynn ignored the insult. "So she never bit you, scratched you?"

Xander smirked. "If a girl ain't scratchin' your back, you ain't doin' her right."

"So she was aggressive?"

"I wouldn't exactly call that aggressive," Xander said.

"What would you call it, Mr. Cage?"

"Enthusiastic."

Gohan's dislike for Xander was bubbling up inside his chest again.

"So you deny that you ever engaged in any type of bondage with the alleged victim?"

"I said we didn't do anything like that."

"May I remind you, Mr. Cage, that you are under oath?"

"I'm aware of that."

"Explain, then, Mr. Cage, the incident where you escorted Miss Blackwell to the Emergency room wherein she had to have medical assistance with a piece of bondage equipment."

Xander sat there for a moment, his head reeling. What was he… oh god. Realization dawned on his face. It had been funny at the time, but now…

"Objection, your honor," Mr. Fusselman protested. "Patient confidentiality."

Mr. Flynn fixed the prosecutor with a haughty smirk. "Facebook never fails us, does it, Mr. Fusselman?" and he pulled a sheet of paper from his notes and handed it to the bailiff, who in turn passed it to the judge.

"Answer the question, Mr. Cage," Judge Hayes said.

Xander shook his head, staring at the table Lindsey was sitting at, without looking at her. "It was a joke."

"Mr. Cage, did Miss Blackwell require medical assistance after an accident with a piece of bondage equipment?"

Gohan was feeling sick again. Bondage? What in the hell was going on here?

Jenny leaned forward in her seat, grabbing the back of the bench in front of her. No! They were twisting the story. Sabriena sat bolt upright, her mouth gaping like a fish out of water.

Xander licked his teeth and said, "Kolya bought a ball-gag as a joke after he went to the Olde Un Theatre in Columbia. He brought back a bunch of stuff as prank gifts. He told Lindsey to try it because she talks too much. She didn't realize how hard the rubber on it was. It got stuck behind her front teeth."

"How many people were present for this incident?"

"I dunno, man, it was a Christmas party. There was a bunch of people there."

"Men and women?"

"Yeah."

"So Miss Blackwell had no problem demonstrating the use of a piece of bondage equipment in the presence of several men? It was funny to her?"

Xander pressed his lips together in a straight line and drew a long breath through his nose.

"Mr. Cage?"

"This is bullshit," Xander spat. "You're taking it out of context."

"Watch your language, Mr. Cage, or I'll hold you in contempt of court," Judge Hayes warned.

"Did she think demonstrating a piece of sex equipment in front of a group of men was funny?"

"Yes, because it was a…"

"No further questions, your honor," Mr. Flynn said, pleased with himself.

"IT WAS A JOKE," Xander roared, getting to his feet.

"You may step down, Mr. Cage," Judge Hayes said.

"Your honor," Xander said in a pleading sort of way without sounding pathetic like most people would. "Honestly, it…"

"STEP DOWN, Mr. Cage," the judge said with finality in his voice.

Xander huffed and stormed off the podium, through the swinging half-doors and out of the courtroom.

Lindsey had slunk so low in her seat, she could barely see over the table. This was a million times worse than she thought it would be. She understood now why Xander and Gohan were being called as witnesses. The defense was trying to portray her as a masochistic whore.

"Next witness," the judge called.

"The defense calls Son Gohan to the stand."

Gohan was so shook up; it took him a moment to realize they meant him. He got to his feet and made his way to the stand.

"State your full name for the court."

"Son Gohan," he answered.

"No middle name?"

"Japanese don't have middle names," Gohan answered.

"Mr. Son, what is the nature of your relationship with Miss Blackwell?"

"She's my fiancée."

"And how long have you known her?"

"Almost a year."

"Mr. Son, how would you describe Miss Blackwell's behavior since the alleged assault?"

Gohan considered for a moment. "Scared. She's jumpy. She's withdrawn a lot of the time."

"Would you say she acts guilty?"

"Not really. I know she feels bad about what happened."

"What has she told you about that day?" Mr. Flynn asked.

"She hasn't said anything, really. We don't talk about it."

"But you're her fiancé, Mr. Son. Surely, she would confide in you if she didn't have anything to hide?"

"She's not hiding anything," Gohan said, anger rising in his voice. "It was devastating to her and to me. We try not to dwell on it."

"You don't think it's suspicious that she never discusses it?"

"No. It was probably the most traumatic thing we've ever gone though. Would you want to relive that?"

"So she just acts like nothing happened?"

"The opposite," Gohan said. "She's nothing like her old self. She used to be happy and outgoing. Now, she rarely even smiles. A perfect stranger could see something tragic has happened to her."

"Perhaps the guilt of betraying you is eating at her."

Gohan felt like hitting the defense attorney with a Kamehameha wave. "She isn't guilty of anything."

"How can you be sure if you haven't spoken to her about it?"

"I just know!" Gohan shouted.

"You just know," Mr. Flynn said in a mocking tone. "Mr. Son, how does Miss Blackwell spend her time? Has she changed her habits at all?"

"She spends most of her time with me," Gohan answered.

"Just you?"

"I know she hangs out with Kolya a lot," Gohan said absently.

"You mean Nikolai Ovcharova, correct?"

"If that's his full name, yes," Gohan said. "I only know him as Kolya."

Kolya and Yorgi exchanged a worried glance. Where was he going with this? That was twice now that the defense attorney had tried to pull them into the conversation, both times using their full names.

Mr. Flynn nodded, a light in his eyes. He returned to his table and looked through some papers for a moment as silence filled the courtroom, every person wondering what new information may be revealed by this admission.

"Your honor, the defense requests a continuance at this time," Mr. Flynn stated.

"Mr. Flynn, there have been many continuances throughout the duration of this trial," Judge Hayes sighed.

"New information has just been brought to my attention. Information I believe pertinent to the trial."

"Any objections to this motion, Mr. Fusselman?" the judge asked.

"No, your honor."

The judge looked at his desk, then folded his hands atop it, and leaned forward. "Continuance granted. We shall reconvene on September sixteenth at nine a.m. Court is now adjourned."

Bewildered, Gohan stood up and walked to the prosecutor's table. "What's going on?"

Mr. Fusselman shook his head. "I don't know what Flynn is up to." He turned to Lindsey. "You're free to go."

Lindsey looked up at Gohan from her sunken position in her chair. He looked apologetic and she returned the same. She stood and headed for the aisle between the rows of benches. Unfortunately, she came dangerously close to Jonah as he was standing and talking to Mr. Flynn.

"I was the best you ever had," he hissed at her in a low voice.

She froze, staring at him in fear.

"Knock it off," Mr. Flynn warned his client.

Gohan, who hadn't heard Jonah, pulled on her arm. She fell into step beside him as Yorgi stepped next to her on her right side. Kirill and Viktor marched out in front of them, with Kolya bringing up the rear, looking guilty and confused.

As they exited the courthouse, they were accosted by a swarm of reporters, who flashed cameras at them and shouted questions, shoving microphones their direction.

"Lindsey! Lindsey! Is it true you work for the infamous group known as Anarchy 99?"

"Did you make up the accusations to frame the Johnsons?"

"Are you afraid you may be arrested on grounds of perjury?"

Lindsey kept her eyes on the pavement as she took extra long steps to keep up with the men escorting her to the car. She slid onto the leather seat and leaned her head back in the blissful quiet as Gohan sat next to her.

She felt a bump against her right leg and looked up to see Xander sitting beside her.

Yorgi and Yelena slid into the front seats and Yelena started the SUV.

No one spoke a word the entire way home.