Sorry for not posting a new chapter in so long…my life has been really crazy lately. Enjoy this next installment!

Chapter 13

The following week, Alicia walked into Florrick/Agos holding a grande-size coffee. She had had to attend two political events to keep up with her and Peter's image, and she had suddenly gotten tired of trying to save face. "Morning, Alicia," Robyn said as she walked by. "Morning, Robyn," Alicia said as she sat down at her desk. There was a new manila file in the middle of her desk, with a yellow sticky note on top.

Thought you might like this one – big divorce case. Deposition at 1pm at LG. –Cary.

Alicia smiled, and then realized that it was already 8 am. She only had four hours to prepare, if she factored in driving and lunch. Great, Alicia thought. Thanks Cary.

"Robyn?" Alicia called out. Robyn peered round the corner, and Alicia asked, "Where's Cary?"

"Called in sick. Why?"

"Why didn't he tell me that he was calling in sick?"

"Don't know. He called about half an hour before you walked in."

"Weird," Alicia replied.

"What's weird?" Robyn asked, coming into Alicia's office area.

"He left me this divorce case with a deposition today. With a sticky note," Alicia replied, pausing between each sentence. "How old is this ink?"

"Let me see," Robyn said, holding out her right hand. Alicia passed the file over her desk. "Hmm," Robyn said, looking closer at the sticky note. "Not wet. And it's faded a tiny bit." Robyn looked up for a second, then gave the file back to Alicia. "He must have written that on Friday. Kendra – what time did Cary clock out on Friday?" she asked.

"Five thirty. Last to leave," Kendra replied.

"There you have it," Robyn said, shrugging.

"So he planned to call in sick," Alicia concluded. "Why?"

"He didn't say anything to me," Robyn said. "You?"

"Nope," Alicia thought. "Weird."

Alicia managed to read just enough about the divorce case and wolf down a quick lunch before speeding over the LG for the deposition. She took the elevator to the 28th floor like she had done every day for over four years. She walked into the reception area, and before she approached the desk, she saw Diane in the big meeting room on the other side of the glass wall. There was also a man and a woman standing on opposite sides of the room. The woman was standing by herself, on her cell phone in the far corner. The man, presumably her husband, was conversing on the other side of the meeting table with Diane.

And Will.

What? Alicia thought to herself. Before she could think more, Diane looked up and saw her. She smiled with a slightly confused look on her face, and waved Alicia in. Alicia proceeded to walk into the room, and introduce herself to the woman. "Hi, I'm Alicia Florrick," she said. "Hi," the woman replied, "I'm Lacie Karinsky. Thank you for coming but, I thought Cary Agos was."

"So did I," Alicia replied, motioning for Lacie to sit down as she sat down herself. "He called in sick."

"Oh well," Lacie replied. "I'm sure you'll do just as great a job as he would have."

"I will try my best," Alicia replied, hoping that her work would live up to Lacie's expectations. "Afternoon, Alicia," Diane said as she, Will, and her client sat down. "Lacie," she said. "Ms. Lockhart," Lacie replied with a hint of pessimism. Interesting, Alicia noted.

"Hi Alicia," Will said with a smile, from across the table. "Hi Will," Alicia replied with a smile. "I'm happy to see you," Will continued, "But I thought Cary was covering this case."

After sighing, Alicia replied, "As I just told my client, Cary called in sick."

"What?" Diane asked, almost dropping the pens she was taking notes with on a yellow notepad.

"Sorry," Will said, "What are you talking about?" Alicia went back to examining some case notes when she heard Diane reply, "Kalinda called in sick too."

Now it was Alicia's turn to be surprised. "What?' she echoed.

Will, Alicia, and Diane all exchanged surprised looks, and after a few seconds, Diane and Will's client broke in. "Excuse me," he said, "Are we having a weird moment here or something, or can we hash this out?"

"I don't believe we've been introduced," Alicia replied. "I'm Alicia Florrick."

"I know," the man replied. "You're the first Lady of Illinois. I'm Frank Karinsky."

"Nice to meet you, Frank," Alicia replied. "Now let's get started."

After a few minutes, the discussions were going very smoothly, but Alicia noticed that Lacie was acting very submissive and being very quiet. "Lacie?" she asked in the middle of a discussion over splitting of investments. "Are you alright?"

Lacie immediately sat up. "Oh, nothing. I'm fine," she replied, smiling with a sort-of fake smile. "Okay," Alicia replied, going along with Lacie's reply. But her senses were telling her that something was up. "Why do you want this divorce, Mr. Karinsky?" Alicia asked out of the blue.

"I thought that was made clear in my paperwork," Frank replied.

"You stated unresolvable differences, so I was wondering if you both would elaborate. I only just got this case today, you see," Alicia said. Diane and Will nodded in agreement, but neither Frank nor Lasie rose to speak. "Ten minute break?" Diane suggested. "Will, Alicia, my office."

"There's something going on in there," Diane said after Will shut the door.

"I agree," Alicia said. "It's like they don't want to talk about why they're getting a divorce."

"It's very strange," Will commented. He turned to Alicia and said, "You talk to your client, we'll talk to ours. Sound good?"

Will interrupted before Alicia could reply. "Where's Kalinda when we need her?" he chuckled.

"Speaking of Kalinda," Diane continued. "Where is she?"

"Do you think it's at all weird that both Kalinda and Cary both called in sick? On the same day?" Alicia asked her two previous colleagues.

"I have to admit," Diane replied suspiciously, "It is suspicious."

"Can you reach Cary?" Will asked Alicia. "I haven't tried," Alicia said, turning to Will, "I spent the entire morning preparing for this deposition.

"Robyn also found out that Cary was the last to clock out on Friday. It seems like he planned to be sick, but didn't tell anyone about it, which made it look like he was really sick."

Diane put her phone to her ear. Will and Alicia waited until she hung up, and Diane said, "No answer. It seems her phone's off."

"Great. I'll talk to my client and try to reach Cary," Alicia agreed. "Shall we continue?"

"I think we'll call it a day," Diane suggested. "Will?"

"I'm good with that," Will agreed. Alicia nodded in reply, and Alicia exited the office to try and get ahold of Cary.

Cary leaned over on the sofa to look at his phone. The caller ID read Alicia Florrick. He was about to hit answer when someone else said, "Don't, Cary."

"Oh, come on," Cary suggested, "It won't take them long to put their heads together."

"You were the one who said that you wanted to get away. That's why you handed over the case, right?"

"And I'm glad I got away. To be here, with you. But I don't want to leave Alicia hanging forever."

"She'll understand."

"Are you sure about that, Kalinda?"