Opposing Parties

"WE THE JURY RULE IN FAVOR OF THE PLAINTIFF MR.CONWAY" read the jury foreman...

"YES!" said Beverly..."We did it again Auntay.."She said, high fiving her aunt...

"It was a close one baby...but yes we did it!" said Olivia jubilantly as she looked at me and kissed me softly.

"Thank you baby for your research..." she said to me..

"Thank you for that sweet kiss.."I said..I am Donnie Ray Alexander...Ex-New Orleans Homicide Detective...Now a Philadelphia transplant and Olivia's husband and Investigator for the law firm she runs with her niece Beverly...

'And thank you too Josie for your research and help." said Olivia to Josie Boyd, our para-legal..

"You're welcome..It's why you guys pay me...and put up with me.." said Josie..

"Hope this case was a learning  experience for you too..."said Beverly...

It was the rare civil case the girls had...

"Liv, Beverly, Donnie Ray, Josie...I can't thank the four of you enough.."said the plaintiff..Immigration Attorney, Byron Conway...He was suing a Museum who had a rare painting that had been in his family for decades..

The Museum claimed that his late and estranged wife had willed it to them...But my research proved that she didn't have the right nor legal ownership of the painting..I tracked down family members of the attorney who said as much...plus the original will written in 1936 by his Grandfather, willing the portrait that he painted to the family...

Olivia, Beverly and Josie found several legal precedents that supported Mr. Conway's position....

They presented their points and a six person jury ruled in his favor and not the Museum...

He got his precious portrait back..

"It might not seem like much guys....but this portrait is all I have left of my family's past....You can't put a price on this.." said Byron Conway...

"I perfectly understand...I'm just glad we were able to help you.."said Olivia..

"Yessssssssssss!" said Beverly....

"Liv, Bev, Donnie Ray , Josie I am forever in your debt..I'm an Immigration Attorney I know...but if you ever need a favor, If you can ever use my help in anything, anything...You have my number...Call me..!" said Byron...

He hugged and kissed Olivia ,Beverly and Josie..

and shook my hand..

"Take it easy man..." I said..

"I will, I will..Thank you all again.." he said as he left the court with his portrait,

smiling..and whistling...

Nelson, Beverly's husband and an Attorney himself stood in the doorway...

"Another happy customer huh?" he said..

'Yupper...Heyy baby!"said Beverly,

who kissed him softly...

The five of us headed back to our home/Office..

II-

Where we heard the sound of kissing and soft moaning..upon putting our keys in the door.

 "Ummmmmmmmmmmm Alfreda, you smell so good and your skin is sooo soft...ohhhhhhhhh my goddd!"moaned Rockland..

"Ummmm okay Rockland....Okayyyyy...Calm down...Someone is coming in...Cool it..."said Alfreda...

our office manager...Who wrestled herself out of his embrace.

Hey boyfriend, ADA Rockland Cambridge , a sometime adversary of the girls had been keeping her company while we were out...

"Heyy Alfreda...Heyy Rockland..We are back!" said Olivia..

"Hi Mommy, Hi Rockland.."said Beverly, who took a wet cloth and wiped her mother's lipstick off of Rockland's lapel...she wiped Olivia's lipstick off of mine..

I smiled..

"Heyyy Ms. Jay.."said Nelson, who always hugged his mother in law and kissed her on the cheek...

Josie sat down and took her heels off..

Olivia did the same thing..

"Ouuuu baby, you just  did what I needed to do.."laughed Olivia..

The doorbell rang...

"I'll get it."said Beverly...

A Latino man in a suit and tie ,carrying a briefcase walked in...

''Mrs. Alexander...Mrs. West-East. Hi...I'm Attorney Benjamin Pena...We spoke about a month ago..."he said..

"Oh yes about the class action suit...for the ACLU..." said Olivia..

"I remember you.."said Beverly...

 I remembered him too....He spoke to us shortly after Attorneys Keith Jones and Sofia Garcia

 had argued unsuccessfully before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to end the unfair and unjust Law of Parties..which allows for a person to be criminally held responsible for another’s actions if that person acts with “the intent to promote or assist the commission of the offense and solicits, encourages, directs aids, or attempts to aid the other person to commit the offense… If, in the attempt to carry out a conspiracy to commit one felony, another felony is committed by one of the conspirators, all conspirators are guilty of the felony actually committed. It was a harsh and unfair law..

They were trying to spare the life of an escaped convict, who along with three others held up a sporting goods store...While in the commission of this crime , a rookie police officer was killed..

One of the men , not the shooter..committed suicide ,rather than face a trial and an almost certain death penalty.. The Actual shooter was convicted and executed...Their client though not actually guilty of killing the cop was executed anyway because he was part of the trio that robbed the store...despite his protests that he had no idea his partner was going to kill anyone..

Micheal Pena wanted to attack the law and get it struck down...

"Are you still interested in helping me?  I told Attorneys Jones and Garcia that I was going to attack the law and they're on board as well as their supervisor, Ms. Yvette Jones.

Ms. Beatrice Evans

and Mr. Khalil Ahmed.."

He said..

"Yes I am..but Mr. Pena..We just got finished with a trial today..."said Olivia..

"Oh I know...So take some days off...Let's see...It's Wednesday..How bout you guys meet me at my office in Bayside on Monday Morning? " he said...

"Monday sounds good! How bout everybody else?" asked Beverly..

 "It's fine with me...My docket is clear.."said Nelson.

"Me too!"said Josie..

"Well There you have it...We are in.."said Olivia..

"Fantastic....I uh heard about the sweet deal you guys had with the feds....Uh this won't be like that....I've provided a nice space for you guys to work in ,

but there won't be any shuttle bus coming to get you..You'll have to drive on your own... And we don't have a cafeteria...but there are two  nice restaurants near by

and a bar.." he said.

Which sounded good to me!

"Hard sell huh?" I laughed...

"It is what it is.." he laughed..

III-

In Yvette's office across town...

"Well ,it looks like we are going to be doing another class action suit  with Olivia and Beverly..."said Yvette..

"I love it when our two teams work together.."said Bee Bee.

"I do too..I sometimes wished they worked here or we all worked for some independent firm.." mused Sofia.

"That would be nice...but we are going to be working for the ACLU this time.."said Yvette..

"Mr. Pena..The guy who was in Harrisburg when we appeared before the Supreme Court....He said he wanted to pick up where we left off with that......I'm more than ready to face those Supremes.."said Keith Jones..

"This time it won't be just the two of you...You'll have back up..." said Kahlil..."Hey when will Ms. Jade be back from London?" asked Khalil..

 Investigator Jade Lee had been in London for two weeks on some business for Yvette that the other four attorneys did not know about...

"Tomorrow...I've already talked to her today..Told her where we are going to be on Monday.."said Yvette..

IV-

That night in Bayside...Attorney Ben Pena sat with his girlfriend, Luna Velez..

He had met Luna Velez six months before..In Philadelphia ,where she lived, He knew very little about her ,except that she was from Nicaragua...and was here on a student Visa..

"So, did you get your team together?" she asked..

''Yeah...Attorneys Olivia Bennett-Alexander, her niece Beverly West-East...her husband, Nelson East and Olivia's husband..Donnie Ray Alexander...He's a pretty sharp Investigator I hear...and they have a para-legal who is pretty sharp too..named Josie Boyd...She's in law school..

He said...

''Awww, I won't have anything to do.."said Luna..

''You'll always have something to do.."laughed Ben Pena..

"You are sooo nasty papi...I don't mean just in bed.." laughed Luna.. who had been working as a para-legal at the ACLU office,

"I have more Attorneys working on this case too...I have Keith Jones and Sofia Garcia..

The two Attorneys who argued brilliantly before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court last month that I told you about, but couldn't save their client from execution...and their associates..

"Their supervisor, Attorney Yvette Jones, a pretty good litigator herself.

Beatrice Evans,

Kahlil Ahmed  and their investigator...

Jade Lee..." he said..

"Nice , you have put together quite a team...Let's see..8 Attorneys,1 Para-legal and 2 Investigators...Nice.."said Luna..

''And you will be there to assist them, Same way you have assisted me..."said Ben.. "You and the other para-legal will have your work cut out for you as we get this thing together.." he said..

While they ate, they didn't notice the white man sitting in the back staring attentively at them...

His name was Shawn Columbsy...He was an ICE agent...and he was definitely bad news....

If I, Liv,Beverly or Yvette and her team were here, we could have told him that....but we weren't..

They continued to eat and he continued to watch....

V-

We all enjoyed our four days off...We met in front of our duplex Monday Morning, rested and relaxed and ready to go to work..

Yvette,

who lived down the street from us walked over to our place...She would ride with us..

Olivia and I sat up front with Yvette and Josie, Beverly and Nelson sat in the back...

Alfreda waved as we pulled off..

A few blocks away from us..

Keith Jones, Beatrice "Bee Bee" Evans, Ms. Jade back from her trip to London,Sofia and Kahlil boarded a

Mini bus he rented from the firm and they followed us to the ACLU Office in Bayside, a suburb of Philadelphia..

Like the feds...We had a nice large space to do our work in.....

''WOWWWW, this is nice" exclaimed Keith Jones..

"Just like what we had at the Federal Building.."said Beverly, looking around..

"Let's you and I get us a space to start working in said Olivia..

"Mind if we sit with you guys? You practically helped us rewrite our appeal.."asked Sofia..

''Why of course not baby."said Olivia.

"Come on Nelson...Let's follow Liv and Bev" I said..

"Right behind you.."said Nelson..

Josie, Bee Bee,Kahlil,Yvette and Jade followed and staked out space...

Ben Pena walked in...

''Good Morning...Glad you're all here..This is my assistant, Luna Velez..

She's our para legal...Ms. Boyd...You and Luna will be assisting the Attorneys.." he said...But something about the way he looked at her ,told us there was something more...She was more than just his Para-Legal...

"Olivia, Beverly, Nelson ,Keith Jones and Sofia Garcia...You will make up team A...You'll be working with me on strengthening that original appeal... We will be looking for precedents...

 "Good ..We picked the right table."said Olivia with a smile....

 "Yup."said Beverly...

 "I feel like we've been over this before.."said Nelson..

 "Because we have.."said Keith Jones..

"But this time , we won't be alone.."said Sofia..

"That's right...You'll have ample back up...Team B...will be Ms. Yvette Jones, Beatrice Evans,

 ''Always Team B.."giggled Yvette

"That's alright..We'll shine."said Bee Bee..

and Kahlil Ahmed..

"That's me, bringin up the rear.."said Kahlil..

"You're going to find me some cases....We need what we call a "Face case.."  But it has to be someone more sympathetic than the Late Mr.Olipedo, who Mr. Jones and Ms. Garcia unsuccessfully defended..Though we are going to use him also...Luna will be assisting you.."said Ben..

Luna, a very busty, shapely and attractive  Latina woman smiled.. Ben looked at her lustfully, like he wanted to jump her bones immediately..I could certainly understand that...but he looked at her with more than lust....With almost...Love!

"Josie ,you'll be assisting Olivia, Beverly,Nelson, Keith and Sofia.."said Ben..

"That leaves you Donnie Ray and Ms. Jade.." he said..

"Ahhhh ,I take it we are team C?" I said..

Jade laughed..

''Well uh ruh, yes...Right now you two can hang loose..but as soon as we get some face cases..Your job will be to do a thorough investigation..Make sure we aren't surprised.."said Ben...

I liked him...He seemed to know his business....He knew what he wanted and how to attack it...

What I liked was that we would be going home everyday...Despite this location...

What we didn't know was that ICE Agent Shawn Columbsy was right outside...What did he want and what did Immigration have to do with this case?

We would soon find out soon enough..

 Ben Pena held Luna's hand as they walked toward the parking lot...

"You Hungry baby?" he asked..

"Just a little...I could use a drink though.." she said.

"Me too!" he said.

"I like them...All of the Attorneys you brought on board...Olivia, Yvette and their teams..."said Luna looking at Ben adoringly..

"They're good people...I like em too! They're going to help us win this case.." he said..

They kissed passionately by the elevator door in the indoor parking garage...

Unaware they were being photographed..

(TO BE CONTINUED)