nishka//loki (nishka) wrote in paxletalelogs, @ 2017-02-01 09:20:00 |
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Entry tags: | coyote, loki |
sometimes it be like that
Who: Nish and Chris
What: Nish and Chris go talk to Chris's man on the inside.
Where: Nish’s Office; County lockup
When: Following this thread.
Notes: Please take this legal advice with some salt...then again, why are you taking your legal advice from an RP thread?? Badger in this thread is not meant to imply the Native American deity; it's just a nickname/homage to Breaking Bad.
“Nish, this just came in,” Jessica walked into her office and handed her a thin pile of papers. “It’s about that new client, the possession charge?” Nish, distracted by what she was writing, nodded and then looked up at her. “Right, thank you,” she said, taking the papers from her. She glanced at them, brow furrowing in concentration as she read over the police report and formal charges. Twenty minutes later she was on the phone.
“Yes, I’d like to make an appointment to see my client,” she told the officer on the other end. “Today if possible. No, I really think you can get me in to see him today. Thank you, an appointment today would be perfect. His name is Thomas Parrish, he was brought in yesterday for possession with intent to sell. That’s right. No, that doesn’t work for me, how about one o’clock? Yes, one o’clock is good for me too. I’ll be there.”
She grabbed the file and stuffed the new papers into it, grabbing her coat and her purse on the way out of her office.
“Jessica, I’ll be back this afternoon, I’m going to see a client downtown.”
The girl raised her eyebrows. “That was fast.”
Nish smirked, “it was, wasn’t it? See you later. I have my cell if you need me,” she called over her shoulder.
On her way out to her car she pulled out her cell phone. “Hi, Chris? It’s Nishka...want to meet me at the courthouse for one o’clock? I got us an appointment to see him.”
On the other end of the line, Chris's brows climbed his forehead. He wasn't necessarily surprised as much as he was impressed with how quickly the lawyer he'd hired for Badger's defense worked.
"Perfect, I'll meet you out front. Impressive work, Nish. I hope you can keep it up."
She couldn’t help but laugh a little at the surprise in his voice. She liked surprising clients; they pay more when they’re happy. “I’ll see you there,” she said, getting into her car and hanging up.
On the way she stopped at Starbucks for a latte, and got a coffee with stuff on the side for Chris. She waited for him just outside the building, checking her watch a few times before spotting him. She held out the coffee to him; he accepted it graciously, nodding his head in thanks. “I don’t know what you take, but I got some cream and sugar on the side,” she said, leading him into the building. He fell into step alongside her, doing what he could to keep his limp to a minimum.
"Straight black is fine. You promised to get a meeting the same day as payment, and you're as good as your word. Are you sure you're really a lawyer, Nish?" He eyed her from behind the beginnings of a smile. "I guess I'll just have to wait to see your teeth."
She chuckled and sipped her coffee, striding confidently up to the intake desk. “I have an appointment to see my client at one o’clock,” she told the officer behind the bulletproof glass.
“Name?” she said in a bored voice.
“Thomas Parrish.” Nish watched the woman check the visitor list on her computer.
“He’s in room six; who’s that?” she indicated to Chris.
“With me.” The cops didn’t need to know who he was, as far as she was concerned. The woman pursed her lips in an annoyed sort of way but didn’t challenge her. She withdrew two badges from a pile in front of her and slid them through the slot, along with a clipboard.
“Sign here and put these on,” she instructed, waiting to make sure they both logged in before handing over the visitor ID. She pushed a button and a door nearby unlocked with a buzz.
Another officer on the other side nodded to them. “I’m gonna give you both a pat down, and I’ll need to look through your purse for contraband,” he said. Nish leveled her gaze at him, and before she could stop herself from doing it in front of others, she pushed him.
“No you don’t, my friend and I can keep going.” The guard blinked, looking mildly confused, and withdrew his wand as if convinced he’d just finished checking them over.
“All clear; your client is down the hall this way on the left,” he said, indicating the door with his wand and waving them through. Nish nodded to him and swallowed, nervous now that it might have been too obvious, but taking the good fortune all the same.
Chris followed in Nish's wake, saying nothing as she skillfully manipulated everyone within the jail. He took a few sips of his coffee, still steaming hot, as he observed her work, his brows expressing more than his face did. Once they were through security, he finally commented.
"So is this where you tell me you're secretly Wonder Woman or something? Because that was entirely unnatural."
A slight twinge of nervousness fluttered in her stomach, but she forbade it from growing. Instead, she shrugged nonchalantly, directing the push at him this time.
“What are you talking about? It’s just procedure to check all visitors over,” she said, keeping her voice steady and unconcerned, hoping he’d believe the lie that they had actually been searched. It worked on the guard, it ought to work on him.
"It is, though I've always been checked over far more thoroughly than that," he replied, his voice giving no hint regarding his opinion of her apparent skill. Rather than continue the discussion, he followed after her down the hall.
They got to room six and she nodded to the guard halfway down the hall monitoring the closed doors as she opened theirs. There was two chairs, one of which was occupied by Thomas; he was dressed in a typical brown jumpsuit, though his hands and feet were left untethered to the table. He watched the lawyer and his "friend" enter the room with no small amount of trepidation, his fingers anxiously drumming on the tabletop. She strode forward and extended a hand to him, introducing herself and sitting across from without even bothering to offer the chair to Chris. Thomas looked from her hand to Chris and back again, slowly taking it in a loose grip.
“Thomas? My name is Nishka Barris, Chris hired me as your attorney.” She pulled out a legal pad and pen, so she could write down anything useful or noteworthy. “I hear you ran into some trouble yesterday; wanna tell me about it?” she asked.
Thomas looked to Chris, obviously waiting for permission to speak.
"Go ahead, Badger. We're in good hands here." Apparently soothed, Thomas looked back to Nish.
"I, uh, I was out near Griffith, you know, just...just taking in the nice weather, you know? Walking, Jesus it's a fucking crime to walk around these days," he started, his voice similar to rock on sandpaper. When Chris frowned at him, he hurried his story along. "This guy came up to me, and said I looked like someone who'd be able to sell him something he was looking for. Turns out he was a cop, right, that's...that's like luring or something, isn't it? He should've been wearing a uniform, that's totally not fucking fair that they can just walk around in civilian stuff. Right? That's fucked up." Chris shook his head, and Thomas rolled it in, his mouth snapping shut audibly.
She wasn’t surprised at Thomas’ reaction to her questions, but waited patiently until he silently sorted things out with Chris. She resisted the urge to smile or comment while he spoke, instead gleaning a few important details from what he said and making a few notes for herself. Over the years of dealing with clients, she’d learned to have a slightly different messier handwriting when writing when other people could see what she was doing, making it harder for them to read, or at least make it more obvious if they were trying to figure it out. When he finished talking she sat forward on her elbows, looking at him with her ‘now you shut up and listen’ look.
“Look, Thomas, let’s be honest. I don’t give a shit about what you were doing. I know what you were doing out there, and it wasn’t going for a walk. Chris knows what you were doing, ‘cause he probably sent you there. The cops know what you were doing, that’s why you’re sitting here in that ugly-assed jumpsuit. The important thing is, can anybody prove that that’s what you were doing?” She glanced at her notes and chewed on her lip, thinking about her next move. Possible defences.
“Now, you said the plainclothes officer approached you. Did you give him anything? Did an actual exchange take place?”
If Thomas had had dog ears, they would have been lying flat against his scalp. He glanced at Chris, who gave him only a cool, impassive look, and then slowly nodded at Nish.
"I mean, maybe. I might've given him something, but it was a setup! That has to not fucking count!"
She couldn’t help but sigh and rub her forehead a little with one hand. Of course he fucking did. “What were you selling, and how much did you give him?” Class 1 substances were very different from Class 3, that definitely mattered.
Thomas quieted down again, and this time his words were contrite. "Just a dime bag of LSD." Chris crossed his arms over his chest, glancing from his dealer to his lawyer, waiting to see what she'd make of this scenario -- and how she'd solve it.
’Well, shit,’ she thought. She wondered what he’d say if she said ‘that’s okay, that’s just seven years in prison if you’re indicted.’
“Were you carrying more than that?” she asked calmly, carefully. Of course he was, and of course he’d been searched and it had been seized. She glanced surreptitiously over at Chris and gave him a very subtle eye-roll. What was this, amateur hour? She thought these guys were trained to sniff out cops.
"No!" Thomas blurted out as though offended. "It was just the one thing, look, this guy, he called me, this whole thing was a bait and switch! That has to be illegal!"
"Is there something there that you can work with, Nish?" Chris leaned forward to catch the woman's eye. "If they lured him out somewhere, is that information you can work with?"
She listened patiently to Thomas’ outburst, glancing between him and Chris. At his question she sighed, sat back a little in her chair and crossed her arms. “I could argue entrapment, but that will only work if you don’t already have a record.” She again glanced at Chris with a silent question. Did he? She didn’t have that in her file. “Your other option is a plea bargain. You were trying to move a Class 1 controlled substance. Even though it was just a small amount, that’s still a minimum of one year in prison. I could argue it down to a fine.” She couldn’t get him off with nothing, that would raise too many red flags. The fact was, he did it. She knew it, and the State knew it. Her job was just damage control.
"I can't do time, man!" Thomas whined, his eyes immediately looking to Chris, who only frowned in reply.
"He's got a small record, don't you, Badger?" Thomas shut up, his fingers sliding across the table as he retracted them toward his chest. Chris looked back to Nish. "But what you did before, out there? With, you know, your security friends. That's not something you could do again?" Thomas's brow furrowed at Chris's question, obvious in his reaction that he was missing some key explanation between the two of them.
She glanced up at Chris as he addressed Badger almost like he was a four year old, resisting the urge to smirk. That desire faded as soon as she heard what came out of his mouth next. In fact, her features hardened, just slightly.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said evenly, holding his eyes meaningfully. She wouldn’t talk about it, not in front of the kid. She didn’t even really know what ‘it’ was, but denial seemed to work pretty well for her so far. Her face switched back to her usual pleasant expression. “I’ll talk to the DA,” she said, closing the kid’s file after making a few more notes on it. “I’ll try,” she glanced quickly at Chris and then back at Badger, “to negotiate a plea deal. If they take it you could be out tomorrow.” That, and if Chris kept his mouth shut.
Chris could take a hint, and he said nothing more about Nish's strange ability. Instead he nodded, Thomas looking resigned between the two of them.
"Good," was his only reply. "Is there anything else that you need from us?" Chris kept his gaze on Nish, though his words were for the both of them. Thomas -- Badger -- looked as though he were walking on eggshells, just waiting to be told he was going to be thrown in the trash. "Ah, come on, Badger, I told you I was going to get help. Can you at least not look like I just kicked your puppy?"
Thomas nodded, licking his lips, attempting a smile for the first time throughout their entire conversation. "Yeah, yeah man, you were right, you said you'd come through and you did. Is there... I mean, man, I hope it is tomorrow, this place sucks, the food is awful..."
"Yeah, well, it's not like you were eating so great when you weren't caught," Chris interjected. "And I hope you actually fucking learn something this time." Thomas nodded, rightfully humbled.
Nish, leaning back in her chair, arms crossed, glanced between the two guys. “He’s right, you know,” she said, drawing Badger’s attention. “You need to be more careful; this time it’s gonna be a slap on the wrist; next time will be worse, and even I’m not that good when the DEA is involved.” There was only so much she could manipulate. Much of her job was skill, and using legal loopholes. But even she couldn’t ‘push’ everyone without causing trouble. That episode in the hall had been a mistake, one that she’d kick herself about later.
With a sigh she gathered the file and stood, slipping her purse back on her shoulder; Chris rose with her, his hand steadying himself on the table enough to allow his legs to catch with the brace. “I’ll get in touch with them as soon as I can; I’m gonna have to offer them something, you’re good with that?” she asked Chris. As in, are you able to pay a fine, because that’s the minimum they’ll allow. He nodded, a good enough actor to play along even when he didn't know his lines.
As an afterthought, almost at the door, she caught Badger’s eye. “And for gods’ sakes, keep your mouth shut while you’re in here or you’ll lose your deal.” The last thing they needed was him blabbing about this to another detainee and pulling down their house of cards.
Thomas's head bobbed faster than a bobble head, even as he stood to meet the correctional officers who approached him to lead him back to his cell. His concentration on Nish snapped, though, the moment he saw one pull a pair of handcuffs out.
Chris followed Nish back into the hallway and in the direction from which they'd come. His hands hung freely by his pockets, the blue jeans loose enough to not fully expose his walking issue.
"So, can I take you out for drinks? I don't think it's too early to celebrate." The guards near the front held open the door to the waiting room slash lobby, where a few other visitors were awaiting their turn. Chris realized he couldn't wait to be free of this dark, windowless place. It brought to mind too many fears.
She saw the handcuffs, but there wasn't anything she could do about that. They were perfectly within their rights to keep him restrained.
As they left the visitors area she held out a hand for Chris’ ID badge and then dropped them off at the front counter on their way out. “Sure,” she replied nonchalantly as they exited the building, “then you can tell me about what happened to your leg.” She hadn't acknowledged it earlier, her mind on the case, but now that the meeting was over she was able to address it.
She led them to her car, which she opened, tossing Badger’s file on the passenger seat and turning back to look at Chris. “Sure; why don't you come by my office in a few hours, I have a few things to finish up first.” It wasn't a date; he was a client, and she wouldn't cross that line. But she wanted to know more about him. And he, it seemed, wanted to grill her. ’Not if I can help it,’ she mused.