Russell Benson wasn’t the most physical person, but he was no slouch either. He was a nice medium sized man, as he wasn’t too thin but not too big either. He was considered a man’s man, but never really cared what anyone thought of him in the first place. Russell was the kind of man who believed that the only respect that truly mattered was self-respect, and everything else was just bullshit. He was sitting on the corner of his desk, going over paper work with one of his interns that morning like he did most days whenever he wasn’t in court. Matthew Shaw was a good kid, but he still had a lot to learn. He was, however, still doing much better since taking residence underneath Russell’s rather impressive wings. What Russell liked the most about Shaw was his hunger; his eagerness to pick up the sword and march out to battle, and fight the good fight on behalf of a worthy client. Shaw was almost ready, Russell thought to himself. Sooner than later he was going to have to push him out of the nest.

“What do you think about Simmons’ chances for bail?” Shaw asked.

“It’s not looking good,” Russell admitted, “Almost not even worth the paperwork or our time, especially considering the judge we’ve been assigned.”

“Shouldn’t we try anyway?” Shaw suggested.

“And why would we do that?” Russell asked, putting down what he was reading.

“Why not?” Shaw said, doubling down. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained. We lose nothing to ask and might even get a positive outcome.”

“We might,” Russell conceded, “But knowing this judge, she’ll probably ask for a number so high that our client will have no chance in hell of paying it.”

“Let her,” Shaw countered, “That way our client be mad at her for setting a high number, rather than at us for not even bothering to ask.”

Russell didn’t reply and simply smiled at his intern, and it didn’t take Shaw long to realize why.

“You’re playing devil’s advocate again,” Shaw said, sighing. “I’ll take care of the paperwork.”

“Sounds good,” Russell said, but stopped talking as he noticed someone approaching his open door out of the corner of his eye. The secretary from the front desk walked over very quickly, and knocked softly on Russell’s door.

“Margaret,” Russell said, greeting her.

“Mr. Benson,” Margaret started, “I’m so sorry for the interruption.”

“What’s going on?” Russell quickly asked.

“There’s someone here to see you,” She replied, unsure how he might respond.

“Does he have an appointment?” Russell asked, “Because I thought I didn’t have anything on the schedule until after lunch.”

“No appointment,” Margaret confirmed, “But he was hoping you’d make an exception and see him anyway.”

“No offense, Margaret,” Russell said, slightly amused. “But I haven’t taken a walk in client in a very, very long time.”

“I think you should this time,” Margaret said, as she reached out and passed him a business card.

Russell took the card and looked at it, and then immediately looked back at Margaret. “Are you serious? Is this a prank?”

“No, Sir.” Margaret said, “He’s still in the main lobby, waiting for us.”

“Who is?” Shaw asked, curious to know.

It was at this moment that one of the other lawyers in this firm, a sleazy little worm that Russell didn’t like named Allister Jamison stuck his head in behind Margaret.

“Hey guys,” Allister started, “Do any of you have any idea why Xander Hopkins is standing in our lobby?”

“Xander Hopkins?” Shaw repeated, stunned to hear that name. “As in the billionaire… that Xander Hopkins?”

“The very same,” Allister confirmed.

“The guy is worth at least fifty billion,” Shaw said, almost drooling at the thought.

“Actually he told me well north of a hundred billion,” Margaret corrected him.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Allister asked.

“He’s here to see me,” Russell said, waving the business card around. Without saying anything else, Russell got up and walked out of his office and into the hallway. As he strolled towards the main lobby, Russell straightened his tie and tried to look as professional as possible before emerging into the lobby. As he did so, he spotted the young man who was wearing a suit but his jacket and tie was missing. The sleeves were rolled up and there was a bit of sweat in the armpits, which told Russell that the young man had been walking around outside for a while. The two men locked eyes as he walked closer, and Russell offered the young man his hand.

“Xander Hopkins,” Russell called out, “I’m Russell Benson.”

Xander met the man half way and shook his hand.

“Pleasure to meet you,” Xander said, “I apologize for showing up unannounced, but I need to speak to you about a very urgent legal matter.”

“Do you now?” Russell said, as he was a little confused. “I was under the impression that you were represented by Starsky, Stanley and Jones. I know this because those bastards never hesitate to brag at the bar about how amazingly rich their clients are.”

“That was true,” Xander confirmed, “But only until a few hours ago.”

“Is that so,” Russell said, as curiosity was getting the best of him. “What the hell happened?”

“I fired them,” Xander answered, “I’m seeking new representation, and you were actually recommended.”

“I see,” Russell said, “If this is an urgent matter, can I assume this is also a matter that requires the upmost secrecy?”

“You would be correct,” Xander confirmed.

“Then we should continue this discussion in my office,” Russell said, as he turned to walk back to his office. “Follow me.”

As Russell led Xander to his office, he couldn’t help but notice every intern and lawyer had stopped doing their work, and watched in awe as the two men walked past them. Margaret, Allister and Shaw were still standing at the door to Russell’s office and watching at the two men approached. Russell made a gesture to them all.

“Shuffle off,” Russell said to confirm his gesture, “I’ll let you in on what’s going on after I find out myself.”

The three said nothing, and got out of their way as Xander walked into the office. Russell didn’t hesitate to shut the door behind him, and close the blinds to the large windows to make sure they had the upmost privacy. Xander took a look around found the things around the room to be rather fascinating. There was a handmade marble chess set in the middle of the coffee table, and his desk had rare baseballs encased in glass. Both were games that required strategic thinking and high intelligence, which Xander took as a good sign. There was also a rather impressive book shelf that took up the entire back wall but only half of it was filled with books, as the other half was a enormous LP collection. Russell went back to his desk and leaned on it while waiting for his client to stop looking around.

“As much as I’d love to brag about how cool my office is,” the lawyer started, “You did mention that situation was very urgent. It this a criminal or civil matter?”

“At the moment, it’s both.” Xander answered as he stopped looking around.

“That’s an interesting answer,” Russell said, “I haven’t heard anything about this so you guys have been keeping this really hush hush. What the hell is going on, Xander?”

Xander suddenly became quiet, afraid to even mention it out loud.

Russell sighed, “That bad, eh? Did you kill someone?”

“No, it wasn’t that bad.” Xander answered, “But I think it’s just as despicable.”

Russell stood up from his desk as he figured it out rather quickly, “Son-of-a-bitch, you’re being accused of rape?”

“Bingo,” Xander said, “I’m being told that a grand jury might be convened as early as next week, and then it will all be public.”

“Do you know which D.A. is handling the case?” Russell asked, he knew most of them on a first name basis and was curious to know who had been assigned.

“I’m afraid not,” Xander confessed, “Until now we’ve only been speaking to the people who are representing the victim.”

“That’s where the civil matter comes in,” Russell said, as his mind was moving a mile a minute. “Did your lawyers get any offers from the opposition?”

“They got one yesterday,” Xander answered, “And they presented it to me earlier this morning. They even recommended that I accept it.”

“And then you fired them,” Russell said.

“That’s correct,” Xander confirmed.

“Okay, and that’s why you’re here.” Russell said as he started to pace the room. “Doesn’t take a genius to figure out that you didn’t like their recommendation.”

“I did not,” Xander said, “But it was also very personal.”

Russell stopped pacing. “How so?”

“Jefferson Jones is my father’s attorney,” Xander explained, “He’s known me my entire life. I asked outright what he thought about the case, and he refused to answer, and when he did it felt like someone had stabbed me in the back.”

“That’s also a conflict of interest,” Russell added.

“It is?” Xander said, surprised to hear it. “How so?”

“Think about it this way,” Russell said, “Whose best interests are being served by you coming to a deal before this goes to a grand jury, you or your father?”

“I had never thought of it that way,” Xander confessed, as he took a seat on the couch. “Now I don’t feel bad at all for firing that gutless bastard.”

“What exactly is being said about you?” Russell asked. “What details do you have about the accusation?”

“I read the entire allegation this morning when going over the settlement offer.” Xander answered, “And it was disgusting what she claims I did.”

“Treat it like a band-aid,” Russell said, “Just rip the damn thing off.”

“We were both at the same party a few months ago,” Xander explained, “I usually don’t attend but it was my friend’s birthday and I agreed to make an appearance, and so I did. According to this woman, I trapped her in the master bathroom and repeatedly violated her.”

“Repeatedly?” Russell said, “How long does she claim this assault lasted?”

Xander took a deep breath. “She claims I kept her locked in that bathroom for well over two hours. She’s also claiming that I forced her to take a shower before I let her go.”

“Oh good gaud,” Russell said, as he was putting this all together in his head. “That is one hell of an accusation.”

“There’s just one problem,” Xander added.

“And what’s that?” Russell asked.

“It never happened,” Xander declared, “I never talked to that woman, never shared a drink, and never spent a single minute with her in any bathroom. Everything she’s claiming it complete bullshit.”

“Not one finger?” Russell asked.

“Not one,” Xander answered without hesitation.

“No chance you just hooked up and it was just consensual and she’s just changing her story now?” Russell asked.

“No!” Xander roared back at the attorney. His tone and posture informed Russell that the mere suggestion was extremely insulting.

“Any chance you just got wasted, and can’t remember what happened?” Russell said as he was again playing devil’s advocate.

“I didn’t have anything to drink,” Xander informed him, “And I didn’t even stay there that long to have been in the bathroom for two hours.”

“This is ugly,” Russell said, as he was still pacing the room.

“How ugly?” Xander asked.

“Bowling shoe ugly,” Russell answered, “I can think of at least five charges any decent D.A. could pursue.”

“Five?” Xander repeated, “What other charges?”

“Well,” Russell said, “She claims you kept her in the bathroom against her will, that’s unlawful confinement. Depending on where she claims you violated her, we could add sodimy to the charges. The forced shower could also be considered destroying evidence and obstruction of justice.”

“Holy shit,” Xander said, “This is worse than I thought.”

“Are you reconsidering that deal?” Russell asked.

“No, Never.” Xander said, “I don’t give a fuck what she asks for, I am not going to make a deal because I didn’t do it!”

“All of this is going on while the grand jury is hanging over your head,” Russell said, thinking it over. “Talk about being between a rock and a hard place. Why do you think she’s lying?”

“I could give you billions of reasons,” Xander replied.

“Over a hundred billion from what I’ve heard,” Russell said, repeating something Margaret said earlier. “This is a shake down. They’re hoping you’ll take the deal and run. Most people wouldn’t hesitate to just buy their way out of criminal court.”

“So, you believe me?” Xander asked.

“I believe you,” Russell said without hesitation. The vibe he was getting from the young man, and the fact that he fired some very good lawyers earlier that day for even suggesting that he might be guilty were also good points to consider. “People have done worse things for less money, and this wouldn’t be the first time someone tried to use bogus allegations to cash in behind closed doors. But what is it that has you willing to risk it all to fight this? Are you worried about what your Dad might think when this goes public?”

“Fuck that asshole,” Xander said, with his arms crossed in defiance. “The person I really don’t want to disappoint would be my mother, and my sisters. The thought of any of them thinking that I could do this just infuriates me.”

“Isn’t that a good reason to take the deal?” Russell suggested, “So they’d never find out about it?”

“Until someone leaks to the media,” Xander added, “And then they’d really think that I was guilty because I paid her off. I would never be able to look any of them in the eyes ever again. I wasn’t raised this way; I would never harm a woman! Never!”

“You’re not just looking for a lawyer,” Russell said, “This is like game of thrones. You want a trial by combat, and someone to stand up for you. You want a champion.”

“I wouldn’t have put it that way,” Xander confessed, “But yes, that’s about right. Let’s not forget that I am filthy rich, and am willing to spare no expense to clear my name of these malicious charges.”

“Spare no expense,” Russell repeated, as those were his favorite three words in the English language especially when used in that order.

Xander stood up and was face to face when he delivered his next condition.

“I want to make myself perfectly clear,” Xander started, “I have no intention of making any deals with anyone. I would rather run my company into the ground or spend decades in jail than willingly give that lying bitch a single penny. I don’t just want to fight, Mr. Benson, I want to go to war. Do you want to lead the charge?”

Russell could see the intensity in Xander’s eyes and could tell that he wasn’t kidding about sacrificing everything. He wasn’t willing to bend or give up a single inch of ground to his enemy. He respected that, and would expect nothing less from a man who was claiming his innocence. For Russell, this was an easy question to answer.

“You’re fucking right, I do.” Russell replied, “Let’s go to war.”