A/N: Another chapter, from co-author, Jellybeanchichi. I have another chapter ready to post, too. But that will be next weekend probably. As always, we both appreciate all the patience you have given us, during the long wait between chapters. Also the reviews are awesome.

CHAPTER 73

Ladd Sayers walked the hallways of the DA's office large and in charge. He chatted with a few people here and there, while nodding or gesturing towards others.

When he saw one of his interns he was quick to call the young woman fresh out of law school over. With his arm draped across her shoulder, he practically purred into her ear some instructions. She rolled her eyes and smiled and then retreated back to her cubicle to retrieve something.

Reaching the reception desk before his office, he spoke demandingly toward the woman in her 60s behind the desk, "Nicole. Office. Schedule." Without even batting an eye at his rude attitude, Nicole grabbed the schedule, which was at the ready on the left-hand side of the desk, and entered the office.

"Good morning, Mr. Sayers."

Not looking from the mail on his desk, Sayers replied. "Morning. Who's meeting with me today?"

"You have a 9 o'clock with ADA Russell concerning the Meyers case. You have a 10:30 with Dana Osorio. Then is an 11:15 with Bascomb Rotterdam, followed by a 12:30 lunch with Lester Hayes at FOX News 12. Last appointment is the biweekly 3 p.m. phone meeting with the sheriff."

Sayers looked up at Nicole, his mouth twisted a bit. "You think I'm cutting it close between lunch and the phone meeting?"

"It's 2 and a half hours, sir. The restaurant is about a 10 minute drive with traffic."

"Still, I want to make sure Hayes doesn't feel rushed. Gets all he needs from me."

Nicole pursed her lips but still offered a smile. "The sheriff seems to be understanding of your schedule on these weekly phone calls…" There were more than enough times that she had to call Sheriff Ecklie about Sayers' tardiness, to the point that Ecklie doesn't expect the call to begin until 3:30.

"You're right. Conrad knows I call the shots." Full of bluster from his last comment and seeing the young woman enter the office with three freshly dry cleaned suits, Sayers smiled wide. "Bring them over, here, darling." He took the three heavy suits off her hands but grabbed her arm before she could turn to leave. "Wait a minute. I might need your excellent taste to tell me which is best to wear for lunch."

The pursed smile on the young woman's face matched the one Nicole gave a moment before.

"Nicole, go ahead and cancel the appointment with Osorio. And… I don't know about Bascomb. It can be hard to get him out of my office," Sayers said, thinking critically. "I've been waiting for the mayor to call to meet me about a formal endorsement for my U.S. House campaign. He hasn't called has he?"

"No, sir. The mayor hasn't called or emailed."

"Damn. What the hell is he waiting for?" Sayers said, throwing up his arms. "OK, I don't want to get bogged down in case the mayor does call. I'll give Bascomb 20 minutes and then you call in about my dog dying."

"Sir, you did that last month during your meeting with Mr. Rotterdam."

"Oh," Sayers said, a blank look on his face. "You think he'd remember?"

"He sent a bouquet of flowers along with a card stating he made a contribution to the SPCA in 'Chompies' name."

The memory disappointed Sayers. "That's right. What a waste of a contribution. OK, just say another dog died. A rescue. But give him a better name than Chompies. What the hell was that, Nicole?"

"It was on the spot. I apologize," Nicole said, although not at all sorry for the embarrassing name.

"You always have to beat these guys at the punch, Nicole. You're no lamb in the woods, not like lovely, young Avery here." He paused to wink at the young lady. "Let's get the name out of the way… Fierce. No… too much." He snapped his fingers. "Hawkeye. Everyone loves superheroes. Poor Hawkeye was hit by a car."

How does a dog named Hawkeye not see a car coming? Nicole took a deep breath. "Yes sir. But, also as a reminder, this is the fifth time you have cancelled a meeting with Ms. Osorio."

"So?"

"She'll only want another meeting."

"And I'll probably cancel that meeting the day of, too. It's not my fault she can't take a hint," Sayers said, taking the first of three suits out of dry cleaning bag. "Just make sure you call Osorio right now. I don't want to cut it close and have her skulking around here trying to get a few minutes from me. And close the door behind you."

Doing as Sayers said, Nicole caught a glimpse of the young woman making a silent plea to her. Going back to her desk, Nicole thought it was best to grab a letter that needed his signature and go back in the office immediately.

But before that, she made a phone call she didn't want to have to make. "Hi, Dana. It's Nicole. Bad news…."

Sayers sat in his office daydreaming while feigning interest in the one-sided conversation being monopolized by Bascomb Rotterdam. But a knock on his office door brought him back to life. Has it been 20 minutes already? He thought to himself. "Apologies, Bascomb."

"No worries," the 60ish man of obvious wealth replied as he leaned back into his chair.

"Come in."

Nicole opened the door halfway. "I apologize for the intrusion gentlemen, but Mr. Sayers, I have the mayor's office on the line and he is requesting you meeting him in his office at this time."

A triumphant smile beamed on the lawyer's face, one that Rotterdam immediately noticed. "I'm guessing that isn't the look of a man who is in trouble with the principal."

Sayers let out a chuckle. "Not in the least, Bascomb. While I am sad that the meeting cuts ours short, I believe I have an endorsement I need to pick up."

Rotterdam stood up and clasped Sayers' outstretched hand firmly. "Congratulations, Ladd."

"Thank you, my friend. And don't leave your checkbook here. I'm hoping you might pry that book open for a contribution or two to a certain election campaign?"

"Oh, I'm sure I can do that," Rotterdam said, gathering his things to leave. "I always appreciate a friend in Congress."

It was the mayor's chief of staff who met Sayers as he arrived at City Hall. Taking quick, long strides the two men didn't speak as they went to the 15th floor to Mayor Rafael Godinez's office.

As they approached the door, Sayers pressed down the freshly dry cleaned suit he had changed into before driving to City Hall.

The chief of staff offered a quick succession of knocks before opening the door. Sayers saw the mayor sitting behind his desk and speaking with a woman seated across from him, who Sayers assumed was his press secretary.

Godinez finished his thought before giving his attention to his visitor. "Ladd. Have a seat. I presume you know Ms. …"

The women stood and quickly interjected. "Actually we've not met in person." She proffered her hand. "Dana Osorio."

The smile didn't fall from Ladd's face; it stumbled off a cliff.

"Well, well," Sayers said, making sure he had a strong grip for the handshake. "I wasn't expecting company during this meeting."

"I'm sure you didn't," Godinez said. He saw his chief of staff gesturing towards him. "If you two don't mind waiting just a moment. Let me clear something up."

The mayor and his subordinate left the office and closed the door, leaving inside a calm, labor attorney and an irate DA.

"What the hell do you think you're playing at here, missy? This kind of tactic will do no good for your client."

"First of all, you can address me as Ms. Osorio. Second, this situation is not a tactic."

"Don't give me that bullshit," Sayers said, clearly not tapering his anger well. "I cancelled our meeting and you ran to the mayor like a petulant child."

"Mr. Sayers, I had this appointment scheduled for more than a week, and you would have known that if you didn't cancel our appointment for the fifth time," Dana said. "Am I here discussing my client's situation? Yes, and again you would have been privy to this conversation this morning. But after speaking with the mayor about concerning issues, it was he, not I, who asked you to join us. And if I were you, I would revisit your own petulant attitude."

The duo sat in silence for another minute until the mayor returned to the office. He sat down and internally gauged his visitors.

But before he could speak, Ladd started off. "Ralph, what the hell is going on here? I don't have time for any nonsense that Ms. Osorio…" he said with emphasis, "... is trying to sell as the truth. I thought I was coming here for a very different reason and not a character assassination attempt From a second-rate lawyer."

Dana's face was one of quiet, calm reserve. She was not going to take the bait. Like her father always said: Prosecutors… so predictable.

Seeing Dana's lack of reaction only solidified in the mayor's mind that she was looking for the best interest of her client who was wronged by too many former and current members of law enforcement.

"Ladd, calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down, Ralph. This is ludicrous!"

Godinez was a patient person who knew how to play politics, but it truly irked him when someone like Sayers takes liberty and "Americanizes" his first name. "Let's just try to discuss what's going on. Otherwise, this will be a complete waste of time for all involved, including me. And that is not going to get you any points, Ladd. Especially since I am guessing you were looking for an endorsement for your campaign."

"What else should I think?"

"Counselor, this is still my office…"

Ladd got the hint to stop. So he did.

For now.

"So what is there exactly to discuss?"

Godinez nodded at Dana. "The mayor was kind enough to let me speak about my client Gilbert Grissom. I explained his hardships that he has suffered not just for the past few months but for the better part of a year, in terms of Michael Garrett, Rory Dunbar, David Fromansky, Patrick Davies, and, unfortunately, I have to add you to that list, counselor."

"As a prosecutor — and a successful one, I might add — I view my role as making sure criminal activity is punished, without bias. That would mean, unlike some former law enforcement, like Gil Grissom, who play games with the law in murderous ways, I respect the rule of law and protect the public from wolves in sheep's' clothing, like… well, Gil Grissom."

"Gil Grissom was sent to prison … not jail, but prison… while awaiting trial for a crime he not only did not commit, but a crime that has had long-lasting implications on his physical, mental, familial, financial and vocational health," Dana countered. "I'm not going to rehash what I have already outlined for the mayor, because I know you know the story too because you've had a hand in the malfeasance."

"Easy, Osorio," Sayers said. "Don't you dare make that implication without some hard proof."

"Then tell me, why are you still holding Gil's pension hostage?"

Sayer shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Do you not understand bureaucracy? With all due respect to our mayor here, sometimes things that are stopped on a city level take some time to gear up again. It hasn't been that long."

"You go without your paycheck for almost four months," Dana said. "But you cannot say the wheels are going so slow when you continue to put a stop to the pension going through."

Sayers went to open his mouth again, but Godinez stopped him. "Before you got here, we had just gotten off the phone with the head of human resources, who told us, in no uncertain terms, that you personally stopped payments from being reinstated."

"That is simply a miscommunication…"

"In no uncertain terms, Ladd. And she added your office has refused to give the go ahead despite numerous attempts."

"Again, Mr. Mayor," Sayers said, calming and almost congenially. "I think this is just a miscommunication with my staffers. They probably forgot to give the go ahead."

Dana knew that to be false thanks to her conversations with Nicole, but she didn't want to voice that. "If that is true, then you should contact HR immediately about reinstatement."

"I will do that when I return to the office."

"It's probably best to do that before you leave here," Godinez interjected

Sayers waited a beat, then smiled. "Good idea. So if that is it…"

"I've shown the mayor your commercial and that is something that definitely needs to be discussed."