City Without Pity

 COURTROOM B-MONDAY MORNING, 9:00 AM.

''What is it with all of these Federal trials starting at 9:00 in the morning and before?" said Beverly.

"You've been spoiled  working with me Neicey Poo, You remember as Public Defenders we were often in court at 8:00 AM." said Olivia.

"I sure remember it...I'd come in yawning." said Nelson..

"WOWWWWWW!" said Josie.

"Yeah, we are spoiled.." said Bresha.

As a former Homicide Detective, I sure remember days like this..

''Where is the defense? They are late." said William Strong, looking at his watch. One thing he liked about us...We were very punctual, always on time...

Attorney Joanne Starke walked in with her notorious client..

Reputed Russian Mobster Leonid 'Sweetie" Teslin.. He was a huge imposing man...6 ft 4 inches, 400 pounds..He looked imposing and intimidating...

It was 8:15 AM. The Judge hadn't arrived yet...

Defense Attorney Joanne Stark  despised William Strong with a passion..Partly to mess with him and partly to say hello to her one time class mate from High School, College and Law School..She walked over to our table..

"Hello Beverly, it's been a long time hasn't it/" said JoAnne.

"It has been JoAnne.." said Beverly.. "I heard you were a Federal Public Defender." said Beverly.

"I was...I'm with a firm now...Do you ever see Jazzy or your cousin Kayla??" asked JoAnne.

''Every Day...Jazzy and her husband live down the street from me and Kayla and her husband live right across the street from me..This is my husband, Nelson East.." said Beverly..

"Pleased to meet you." said Nelson.

"Your wife and I went to High School together, College and Law School...I couldn't get rid of her.."laughed JoAnne... "Oh well, here comes the Judge....maybe after all of this is over..You,Jazzy, Kayla and I can have lunch together.." said JoAnne.

"That would be nice.. We can exchange numbers after the hearing today." said Beverly.

The Judge walked in....He was quite effeminate... He smiled and greeted everyone.. "Well Hellloooooooo...Good Morning everyone.. I am Judge Reed Reiner...In the words of the great soul singer, Marvin Gaye.. "LET'S GET IT ON...I mean let's begin Voir Dire baby!" he said.

AUSA William Strong was pissed...The Judge was late first of all and he thinks he's a comedian second of all. This was a serious matter.

Beverly, Nelson, Josie and Bresha all smiled and hung their heads low to keep from laughing...At the defense table, Joanne Stark giggled...She found the Judge as hillarious as did our young Attorneys..

Macho Crime Boss Leonid "Sweetie "Teslin didn't find him the least bit funny...He hated effeminate men almost as much as William Strong did.

Voir Dire Began... Nelson had met his match in JoAnne  Starke.. She too had studied Trial Science and was as adept as he was.. She shot down five of his choices and he equally shot down five of her choices.. It took another two days for us to finally seat a jury of 6-6... A tie...

JoAnne  equally battled successfully to keep us from mentioning Active Money Laundering and Drug Conspiracy investigations still pending against Mr. Teslin...we were going to stick to the murder of Boris Rodunsky and that only.. 

She won the wrong battle though...Surprisingly, Olivia, Beverly, Josie and Bresha fought to have accusations of 12 previous murders he was suspected of brought up.... This would be far more damaging than the drug or money laundering investigations...

JoAnne realized she'd been lulled into a very skillful trap...We let her win the battle we knew she was going to fight and we won the one she never expected we really wanted to win..

Bill Strong sat back and laughed quietly.... He liked the way things were going.. He had picked the right attorneys to be on his team.

He called his first witness..

Kayla Rooney..The girl in the coffee shop... When it came to testify, she suddenly couldn't remember a thing.

Bill Strong questioned her relentlessly...

She didn't remember being in the coffee shop and said she had never met Mr. Teslin.

"LET ME REMIND YOU....I HAVE A SIGNED AFFADAVIT , signed by you to the contrary and let me remind you that the penalty for perjury is six years in the federal pen." snarled Bill Strong.

"YOUR HONOR....HE IS BADGERING THE WITNESS!" said Joanne Stark.

"THIS IS MY WITNESS!!! I WANT PERMISSION TO CONSIDER HER A HOSTILE WITNESS and ask leading questions."said Bill Strong,

"I would tend to agree, Permission granted." said the Judge, who was turning out to be a very serious and straight forward jurist... No Nonsense.

I saw what the nature of Ms. Rooney's problem was.. The goon I had beaten the snot out of a few weeks before was sitting in the back of the courtroom..

He looked pretty intimidating..He stared at her balefully...She was afraid!

I got up and excused myself as if I was going to the restroom... I came back in and sat next to him in the visitors section.

"Get Up Boris..Let's go outside and take a walk."

He looked at me like I was crazy..

I stuck my .22 in his ribcage quietly...

"I WASN'T ASKIN YOU BORIS!" I said.

He got up and we quietly walked out of the courtroom..

''Don't come in here again..You hear me?..and that young lady better not catch a cold or any other unfortunate unforeseen circumstance....because if she does...You'll be in a hell of a lot of trouble...And I DON'T MEAN THE POLICE...YOU GET ME?" I whispered to him and cocked my gun, putting it to his head.

''Alright, Alright!!!"he said and ran as fast as he could..I had proven to him how tough life could be for him.. He KNEW not to cross me!

With him out of the courtroom... Olivia ,Beverly and Nelson took another ,calmer approach in questioning her...

With the goon gone and being questioned by Olivia, Beverly and Nelson.... Kayla's memory suddenly got clearer.

"I was at the counter waiting for my coffee.. A little short guy came in and was in the booth talking to Mr. Teslin..The short guy was sweating something terrible and he looked frightened to death... I couldn't make out what they were saying but Mr. Teslin looked angry... he motioned for them to go in the basement.. The little man really looked frightened then and then he Mr. Teslin and this other guy who was with them retreated to the basement." said Kayla.

"Just to be clear, you are talking about these three men aren't you? Mr. Leonid ''Sweetie " Teslin..Valarie Yuleg and the dead man...Vladmir Rodusky." said Bresha softly , putting glossies of all three men on the table.

"Yeah that's them.... I had just got my order when Mr. Teslin walked out of the basement...I never saw the other two men again...He bumped into me and knocked my coffee out of my hands.. It was an accident and he apologized profusely." she said.

On Cross JoAnne asked.

"So you saw all three men and you saw them go into the basement...Did you hear a commotion or an argument? she asked.

"No!" she said.

"And you didn't see my client shoot anyone did you?" asked Joanne.

''No Mam.." said Kayla.

"No Further Questions." she said and looked at Bill Strong and smirked.

We all retreated to Yvette's building , The Bridge and their modern cafeteria to eat and discuss the first week of our case.

"She was a horrible witness." snarled Bill Strong.

"Come Onnnn, We knew that she didn't hear or see anything...All she did was place him in the basement at the time of the crime ,which is what we wanted.."said Nelson.

''We have Agent Lanier...His testimony places Testlin and Yuleg at the scene of the crime..His testimony makes our case."said Beverly.

"That's right...We are right where we need to be at this point."said a confident Olivia.

"She's not going to break him on cross..We don't need to worry about that." said Josie.

''We successfully fought to keep his present embezzlement case from being brought up.." said Bresha.

"Especially since the charges were dropped." said Nelson.

"You guys are the real deal." said Bill Strong smiling.

"I don't know what it was...but I felt like the other shoe was about to drop.

II-

We were all back at our Office Duplex..

Olivia sat in my lap and kicked her heels off..

"Feels good to kick these heels off...I might wear flat shoes to court tomorrow." said Olivia.

"Here I made some tea for everybody."said Alfreda.

Pouring us all cups of tea.

''Thanks Mommy." said Beverly..

"Thank You Ms. Jay..." said Nelson.

"Ouuuu just what the doctor ordered." said Josie.

"Ouuuu thank you."said Josie.

"Hey guys.. I knew somebody would check out this phony website and then contact Yuleg....

"I'm getting a hit and my malware just dropped into this guy's computer and his phone and as soon as Yuleg makes contact....I'll have his phone and can track him." said Bonnie Shay , who was also with us..

The Caller was Yuri Magslovokich, the owner of the Bakery....

on the other end was Valary Yuleg, our other man of the hour.

The two men were speaking in Russian...

Both Nelson and Bill Strong spoke fluent Russian...

"He's telling him that their contact in the Federal Courtroom has given them the address of the safehouse where you are keeping Agent Lanier.." said Nelson...

"OH MY GOD!!! YOU'RE RIGHT!!" said Bill Strong..

"I can track his movements.." said Bonnie.

"I can have a team there in minutes..."said Bill Strong..

"Come on Bonnie, Bill... let's go." I said and we rushed for the SUV.

We arrived at the safehouse in Port Richmond in near record time, but not quick enough..

Three bodies were in body bags....one man was on a stretcher being put in an ambulance..

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?" screamed a near manic Bill Strong.

FBI agents had secured the area...

Deputy Special Agent in charge, Sharon Hopkins explained.. There was a security breach somehow.. This safehouse wasn't even listed on the charging document.. Two shooters found it.. There was a massive shootout...Two federal agents were killed.. We got one of theirs..." said Sharon..

Bill Strong opened the body bags and looked at the two slain Federal Agents... He knew them...He wept.

I opened the third body bag...

It was the goon I had busted up in the bar a few weeks ago and the same goon I had run out of the courtroom... I figured he was muscle... He was dead now..

"The second shooter got away, but he dropped his phone.

he left a fingerprint.... 

It belongs to Valary Yuleg, Russian Mobster, rumored to be the number two man to the guy you have in custody, Sweetie Teslin." said Sharon..

"Yeah we were tracking him here.." said William Strong.

'' Former  DEA Agent Lanier is still alive , but he's in bad shape..They rushed him to the hospital..."said Sharon..

"DAMN IT....SOMEBODY IS GOING TO PAY FOR THIS!" snarled William Strong..

At the Federal Building , Natasha Romanov, A Federal Employee was identified as the person who gave sensitive information to Yuri Magslovokich, who forwarded it to Yuleg...

"I want that fat bastard picked up next.."snarled  Bill Strong.

"No don't pick him up yet.....Sit on him...He has no idea we are on to him....we still need him." I said.

"Two Federal Agents were murdered today and a Federal Witness is in a coma... I need that bastard in handcuffs."snarled Bill Strong.

"Look, Yuleg is going to contact him again.. He has to..with another phone...He's going to need money and plane tickets out of here.. He's hot..He knows he dropped his phone and we have it and he's wanted for double murder.  It's the only sure way we can track him and get him."explained Bonnie.

"Look, you get him and then you can have Fat boy...But let's get Yuleg first...We can use him." I said.

"Alright...You haven't been wrong so far...."sighed Bill Strong..

''What did I tell you? He's contacting  Yuri as we speak...I got him...He's in Little Norway at that Bakery..." said Bonnie..

TWENTY MINUTES LATER!

Yuleg looked both ways as he eased out of the bakery with a sack containing 200 Large..

Bonnie Bumped into him...

"Oh Excuse me!" she said..

Before he could recover or even think to run...

FBI Agents and a Tactical Team with automatic weapons drawn surrounded him...He dropped the sack and put both hands up...

They went inside and arrested  Yuri Magslovokich as well..

"I got all of you... I got your contact in the Federal Building.. I got you Mr. Doughnuts and I got You Yuleg on Murder One raps.... and I'm gonna get your boss man too..You Can Make Book on that...You Don't Mess with Bill gotdamnit!" snarled AUSA Bill Strong!

Back at home...

"Ask for a continuance..." said Olivia.

"WHAT?" asked Bill Strong.

''We need at least two weeks for him to recover..." said Olivia.

"You want me to lie to the Judge.?" asked Bill Strong..

"It's not a lie..I know we don't know how bad his situation is... but we need time to groom our second eyewitness.." said Beverly,

"And who is that? Valary Yuleg?" asked Bill Strong.

"It sure is...He killed two federal agents and attempted to kill a Federal Witness.. He's facing the death penalty... He talks or he dies...That's the deal."said Josie.

"I'll offer him witness protection...but he will still do some time.. he's got to..For those dead agents."said Bill Strong.

"Okay...I'm with you on that."said Nelson..

"Tomorrow we go see him in prison... You get that continuance." I said.

Olivia sat on the bed in a white lace baby doll with matching lace bikini panties looking over a few briefs...She put them on the night stand...

''This case looked so strong at first and now it's collapsing around our ankles"she said quietly...

"I knew it was too good to be true. I knew the other shoe might drop.." I said.

"Well, we still have options." said  Olivia.

"I think we need some bouncy bouncy time, what do you think?." I said..

"I think that's a very good idea." giggled Olivia..

As I took her in my arms and kissed her passionately... Her butter soft lips, her soft skin, never failed to drive me into near delirium...

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....ohhhh my godddddd Oliviaaaaaaa.."I moaned..

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...ummmmmmmmmmmmmm.." she moaned..

as I slipped her panties down and off and lifted her up..

They were so lacy, I was turned on even more....

She went crazy, when I lifted her up and long stroked her like this...

"OHHHHHHH MYYY GOD!!!!!OHHHHHHHHH MY GODDDDDD! ...OUUUUUUUUUUUU

OHHHHHHHH MYYYY GODDDDD!!!! OUUUUUUUUUUUU HOOOO HOOO HOOOOOO

HOOOOOOUUUU! UMMMMMM DONNIE RAY, YOU ARE ALL UP IN THIS!" she screamed to the top of her lungs...

We wound up on the couch with me going so hard for THREE TO FOUR HOURS that Olivia was nearly tapping out...Both of her legs shaking furiously, her head turning back and fourth and tears just streaming down her face....

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she moaned. slowly......

We fell to the living room floor , where I plowed into her....doggie style..

"OHHHHHHHH MYYYY GODDDD!!! OHHHHHHHHHHHHH MY GODDDDD!!OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she moaned... Tears streaming down her face....

We eventually wound up in our bedroom making slow , tender love...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHH DONNNNIE RAYYYYYYYYY...UMMMMMMM.." she moaned..as another  THREE TO FOUR MORE HOURS slowly went by..

I slowly began to cum and cum hard......Olivia's body was still shaking...

She crawled on top of me and just collapsed...breathing heavily.... I was breathing heavily too..

We continued kissing..

"Ouuuuuuuuuu, one more ride?" she asked me.

"YESSSS ONE MORE RIDE....OHHHHHHHHHHH MYY GOD GIRLLL!" I moaned.

We made love for another FIVE TO SIX HOURS...

"Donnie Rayyyy...what is getting into you???...Ouuuuuuuuuu you never want to stop..OUUUUUUUUUU!" she moaned as I began to cum and cum harder than ever...She was climaxing too, her body trembling, she was holding on to me for dear life...

"MMMMMMMMMMMMMM...I love you Donnie Ray." she cooed.

"I love you too Olivia." I moaned.

She wound up sound asleep on my chest...after awhile...

IN THE JUDGES CHAMBERS, A DAY LATER!

''A Two week continuance???... Your honor this is unfair, it denies my client a fair and speedy trial and there is clearly no basis for it." argued Defense Attorney JoAnne Starke.

"Your Honor our key eyewitness was shot and is in a coma...and we need time to groom a second eyewitness who is in custody... It's no co-incidence that our witness is shot down a day before he was set to testify....This was done on orders from your client..." argued William Strong.

Leonid smiled seemingly in disbelief at the charges.

"You have no basis for such incendiary accusations." said Joanne Starke

"Alright , Alright, Play nice children." said the Judge.

Olivia, Beverly and I, Nelson, Josie and Bresha sat in the corner, saying nothing..JoAnne's dislike and contempt of Bill Strong was coming through...She never directed any comments toward us. She had nothing against us. On any other day..We would all be on the same side since we,like her were primarily defense attorneys.

The Judge sighed...."Alright I'm going to allow this..but you're treading a fine line Mr. Strong." he said.

III-

There was going to be no deals for the other two , they were charged with Conspiracy, Obstruction of Justice and outright Murder... Valary Yuleg on the other hand was another story...

He smiled as he sat down... Today he was facing only Nelson and I.  William Strong and the girls were at home.

''Valary...You're not who we want.... We want your boss... He makes the dirt happen..I'm prepared to offer you a one time deal of five years in Federal Prison ,in protective custody and then witness protection.  I need your testimony." said Nelson.

''What testimony? I don't know anything." laughed Yuleg.

"Look we have the murder weapon in the deaths of the two federal agents ,taken off of you with your fingerprints all over them..You dropped your phone at the scene..with your fingerprints on it..and we have you on tape speaking in Russian, getting instructions on where to find Agent Lanier.. I'm a defense attorney primarily and I gotta tell you...I wouldn't want to be defending you with those odds."said Nelson.

"I can't help you... I know Leonid "Sweetie" Teslin. He's a sweetie guy, he wouldn't hurt a soul.. Maybe your agent Lanier was so frightened..he shot himself and those agents...No?" laughed Yuleg.

I had heard enough...... "Look you big dummy... They got you cold for the murders of two federal agents and the attempted murder of a federal witness.. That's the death penalty stupid.. This is your only escape from that...You wanna deal?  You get locked up for five years.... You don't deserve to ever see the light of day again.. Then they place you in witness protection.. If I was you...I'd take the deal." I said.

"But you're not me American Soul Man!"laughed Yuleg.

''Come on Nelson....I've had enough of this crap..Let's go... It's your funeral tough guy." I said.

"Tell me.. Lethal Injection or Gas Chamber?  I hear they give you a choice now." said Nelson, smiling as he got up and followed me out.

And back at our Office Duplex..

''He wouldn't take any deal...He laughed in our faces.. Told us that Sweetie wouldn't harm a soul and that even though we found the murder weapon on him.. Agent Lanier was so afraid of Sweetie that he shot himself and the agents."said Nelson.

"He laughed in our faces." I said.

"That means he fears Sweetie more than he fears American Justice." said Olivia.

"Wow!" said Beverly.

"Our perfect case just collapsed around our ankles.. This guy might just walk." said Josie.

"Judge Reiner just called..He wants to see us in his chambers.. ASAP!" said Bresha.

Bill Strong put his face in his hands.. He looked sick This damn city was bad luck to him...He just couldn't win, he thought.

In the Judge's Chambers,

Defense Attorney JoAnne Stark passed Bill Strong an affadavit...

"Your uh witness, Nick Lanier, Died early this morning..You said in two weeks he'd recover, I think you were just playing for time..We have no need to hold this trial up another day. Do you have another witness?? If Not ,I'm going to ask the Judge to drop all charges against my client for lack of evidence.."said JoAnne.

"I'm afraid I'm inclined to do just that... Tomorrow 10:00 AM , I'll hear final arguments..Courtroom B..

Be on time and be ready for trial." said the Judge..

JoAnne smirked as we all left the court.. That was more so aimed at Bill Strong.. She had nothing against us.

Bresha, Josie and Nelson looked defeated, dejected..

But Beverly had the one ray of light..

"We aren't down yet... We have Nick Lanier's testimony!!!... On Film, complete with your questions. A Dying Declaration!"said Beverly..

"Yes, but will the Judge allow that? he's dead.. He can't be cross examined."said William Strong.

"He doesn't have to be. It has something to do with what Yuleg said.  he said that Lanier was so afraid, he killed those two federal agents himself...Well that leads to an enviroment of fear created by the defendent.. There is something called a Forfeiture of Wrongdoing rule.. That's what my niecy poo is getting at." said Olivia.

"Yeah...We've used it before  Liv,  It could be harm, threat of harm, really anything intended to discourage the witness from testifying. Why?  In this case, the witness was either killed or so scared he might have done harm to himself because of the aura of violence around the defendent."said Nelson.

''We say..Now, we believe Mr.Testlin's wrongdoing in this instance is creating an atmosphere of paranoia and fear, with the sole purpose of wrongfully scaring Agent Lanier or anyone else into harming himself. Testin's own number two man said just that."said Bresha.

In the Judges Chambers ,two hours before trial the next day.

"Now, we believe Mr. Testin's wrongdoing in this instance is creating an atmosphere of paranoia and fear, with the sole purpose of wrongfully scaring Agent Lanier into harming himself. "said Olivia

"Objection. I-I can't even state a precise basis for this objection because I've never heard such a wild argument in open court before. Your Honor, may we approach?" said JoAnne Starke.

"Oh, why the hell not? "said an exasperated Judge.

"Your Honor, you asked for a showing of wrongdoing, something to hang your hat on in order to enter into evidence Agent Lanier's truthful and extremely relevant testimony." said Beverly.

 "Testimony he would otherwise have given himself, if it were not for the defendant. If it were not for the fact that he was murdered and just one day before  he was set to testify. But here it is. A wrongdoing. Hang your hat. We have his testimony on film and a signed affadavit by him witnessed by Judge Stevens who was in attendance. "said Nelson.

"Alright..Alright.. I'll allow it.. Let's get this over with." said the Judge.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Strong smiled. He had been on the other end of one of Olivia and her crews exasperating but legally sound arguments.. He was glad they were on his side this time.

IV-

>

From beyond the grave, The Jury saw on a 70 inch Monitor Agent Nick Lanier. He was right out of central casting.

Agent Lanier was very articulate and very dramatic and he told the jury, just as he had told us in full detail just what went down that day.

"This was the culmination of a year long investigation ." he said. He was a great story teller.

 

The Bakery -Coffee Shop known as "Sweeties" sat in the " Little Norway." section of Philadelphia...It was beautiful....Lots of people sat outside and drank coffees and teas from around the globe and ate an assortment of Bagels and Pastries and Doughnuts... It did brisk business....It had been purchased years ago by Ahab Nidal...an Arab -American...He was a gangster and his Coffee Shop- Bakery -"Sweeties" was also a front for a money laundering operation...

He was dead, killed years ago...

A Russian man known as Yuri Magslovokich now owned it.. To the casual viewer.. The shop did boffo legitimate business.  The coffee there was said to be the best in the area if not the city and the Pastries, Doughnuts and Bagels were all baked on the premises.. Yuri ran the Bakery Business..

 

This place did boffo business on it's own, legitimately...

buttttttt.. It was also a place where dirty money was made clean...The Money Laundering continued..and  Russian Gangster,Leonid Teslin.

A silent partner in the business, known on the streets as "Sweetie" raked in the dough...No pun intended.. He got a percentage of the Bakery's legitimate business and he raked in millions in his money laundering operation.. He even had a little money invested in a hot package on the streets (Heroin), though he never was anywhere near any drugs or guns.. If you watched him.. He came in everyday, took his same seat (People knew not to sit in his seat.) Had Coffee, Doughnuts, Bagels and Pastries put in front of him which he devoured..

And spoke on several burner phones.. Phones in which he removed the sim cards at the end of the day and had them replaced..

His number two man,Val  Yuleg usually stood guard by his table.. You didn't talk to ''Sweetie" about anything..You talked to Yuleg...Unless Sweetie wanted to talk to you as he did today!

Today however was different... Yuleg had come in with a man, a suspected Bag man...

The man was frightened...

''Sweetie.. Sweetie...You know me...I did not steal from you..I brought you what was given to me.. I swear." said the man..

Another goon told the man to sit down and then shoved him down in the seat across from 'Sweetie."

"I'll see you guys later..." he laughed and headed toward the counter.

''Hey Zelda, a half dozen bagels baby." he said.

She put a half dozen warm bagels and some spreads in a bag and passed it over the counter to him...She knew better than to ask him for payment...He was one of "Sweetie's Lieutenants. He took the bagels and quietly left the bakery.

"Shut Up...Shut Up.. We don't discuss this here..We talk in the basement.. Yuleg, bring him with me."said Sweetie.

"Sweetie, I swear..You have it all wrong." said the man, who was sweating profusely and scared to death. "I swearrrrrr!" he cried out for mercy!

"Shut up...Shut your damn mouth! We are going in the basement, gotdamnit." said Yuleg..

The three men walked down into the basement.. The people who were buying coffee and pastries could care less..

Unknown to them, I had been observing the whole thing . I was speaking into a small microphone..

"Subjects, Leonid ''Sweetie"Testin and his boy, Valerie Yuleg just went in the basement with the Bagman." I said.

From  a surveillance van just a block away.. Regional DEA Special Agent in charge, Carol Cantrell speaks to me,,

''Okay...Hold your position.. We are coming in with back up.." she said.

''No time Boss Lady, gotta go in right now!" I said as I quietly cocked my gun and slipped down into the basement..

"This is three times you steal from me, three times I come up short.. I didn't say anything the other two times..I don't know.. Maybe I'm getting soft with my old age..huh?""said Sweetie.

''Sweetie, I swear....I had a few gambling debts...I can replace every penny...I swear, give me until next week.. PLEASE!!!" begged. the man..

"Goodbye!" said Sweetie coldly... He pulled out a gun and fired one shot into the man's head, killing him instantly..

The man's body slumped to the ground...

"I was shocked at witnessing an actual murder by the mob boss.. I high tailed it back up the stairs.."

''SHHHHH, Somebody was down here." said Sweetie, who took a cloth and wiped the gun clean...He passed it to Yuleg... " Go out the back door. Lose this gun." he said.

Yuleg did as he was told, he slipped out the back door and ran down the driveway and deposited the gun in the dumpster three blocks away and slipped into the teaming mid  morning pedestrian traffic.,

"Sweetie" calmly walked up the stairs back into the Bakery He accidentally bumped into a young lady and she accidentally spilled her coffee....

"OHHHHH, I am sooo sorry.."he said.

"Ouuuuuuuuu!" she said.

He looked in front of her...where he received the shock of his life..

It looked like one hundred DEA Agents had their guns drawn...

"You better take a bag of Doughnuts and Bagels  with you Sweetie...I hear Prison food really sucks" I said..It was the take down of a lifetime.."said Nick.

"Leonid Teslin fired the fatal shot and he gave Yuleg, the other eyewitness ,the gun to get rid of correct?" asked AUSA William Strong..

"That's correct." said Agent Lanier.

(CUT AND PRINT)

THREE DAYS LATER-

"Has the jury come to a decision? ( I certainly hope so. I've got  a hair appointment at noon!)"he said under his breath.

''Yes your honor we have." said the Jury Foreman.

The Bailiff brought him the verdict.  He read it and without showing any emotion, he read it.

"UNITED STATES OF AMERICA VS LEONID TESLIN, WE FIND THE DEFENDENT GUILTY AS CHARGED OF MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE!

AUSA William Strong sunk down in his chair.. He couldn't believe it.. He won.. He Won in Philadelphia. He put one of the biggest, most lethal  Russian Mobsters behind bars...On a Murder charge at that. He got him!  And he put two of his murderous henchman , Valarie Yuleg and Yuri Magslovokich on the spot as well. It was a great day!

He hugged both Olivia and Beverly for a long while, as tears of joy streamed down his face.

"This was a close one...but we pulled it out!" said Olivia.

"Only time I don't mind a guilty verdict."laughed Beverly.

"I couldn't have done this without you two... Just when it looked lost.. You came up with the last minute save." he said.

"Nelson, Donnie Ray, you guys were right there in the clutch the whole time...Thank You so much." he said.

''You're Welcome..This was a close one...Whooo!"

"Sure was...I was glad to be on the winning team. He needed to go to jail." I said.

He hugged Josie and Bresha.

"Thank you two also.. We made a great team..Thank You so much." he said.

"You're quite welcome."said Josie.

"I know you're relieved." said Josie.

JoAnne Starke walked over to us.. She didn't give William Strong any eye contact. She directed  her comments to us.

"Congratulations! You lawyered the hell out of that damn case.." she said. "Beverly, tell Jazzy and Kayla I said what's up and set up a lunch date for us. I'm serious.. I really want to hang out with you guys..It's been awhile." she said as she left the courtroom.

''I will." said Beverly. The two women exchanged Phone Numbers, E-Mail adresses and home addresses on their phones and then waved goodbye to each other.

"She took that rather well." said Olivia.

"I think so." said Beverly. 

Apparently there were no hard feelings. At least not towards us.

Bailiffs brought Leonid Teslin by us in handcuffs , He looked at William Strong ..He said something to him in Russian.

Bill Strong , who's family is from Ukraine answered him back in Russian.

I looked at Nelson, since he was the only one of us who spoke Russian.. So did Josie, Bresha, Beverly and Olivia.

Nelson blushed.. "Maybe it would be better if I don't repeat that." He said and smiled sheepishly.

EPILOUGE-

Leonid "Sweetie" Teslin was sentenced to die by Lethal Injection for the murder of Rodunsky.

Valary Yuleg was also sentenced to die by Lethal Injection for the murders of two federal agents and a federal witness.

Both are in the Federal Prison in Terre Haute, Indiana awaiting  execution. Between them they are responsible for 25 Murders that they were never charged or convicted of.. Those families were now getting a modicum of justice.

Yuri Magslovokich became a Co-operating witness which led to the arrest and conviction of 39 of Leonid Testin's associates on a variety of charges. He would serve one year in federal prison and be placed in witness protection.

It was indeed a career defining case. William Strong became a Federal Judge as a reward for his good work.

ONE MONTH LATER-

We were all chilling in our conference room.

"So what do we have going on for the weekend? I'll be at Josie's tonight... My Baby will be sitting in with the band." gushed Olivia.

"I know all of you guys are going to Stoleys and Aqua Bar... but come in and catch my last set..before the D.J.'s take over." I said.

''We Always Do." said Beverly.

"Yeah we'll be by to check you out...Tonight is Rib Night."said Nelson.

"That's his real draw...Him and My Husband." said Josie.

"Someone's at the door." said Bresha.

"I got it" said Alfreda. "Look who's here guys." she said.

It was Bill Strong and a a guest, a female.

"Hi everyone. We were in town and I just had to stop by and pay you a visit.  I was appointed a Federal Judgeship recently, so you all have the pleasure of knowing you will never be trying a case against me again.. If I am in Philly, You'll more than likely be trying a case in my courtroom, which is better for both of us. Thank you guys again for helping me take down those Russian Mobsters...It was a career defining case.  I uh also got married  a few weeks ago... This is Kelly, an attorney from my hometown in Tulsa, we were engaged a long time ago...We broke up ,but we found our way back to each other."said Bill Strong.

"Pleased to meet You. Bill talks about you guys all the time..." said Kelly Strong.

"I hope most of it is flattering." joked Olivia.

"Congratulations on your wedding." I said.

"Nice to meet you Kelly..."Congratulations on your wedding."said Beverly.

"Nice to meet you Kelly..."Congratulations on your wedding."said Nelson.

"Hi Kelly, Congratulations to you Both." said Josie.

"Congratulations Bill and Kelly." said Bresha.

Philadelphia had been good to Bill Strong after all...It was no longer the City Without Pity.

FOR SLC