Russell came back to his office straight from the courthouse, and Willy was the first one to greet him off the elevator. The senior partner had a wide grin as he walked over and early shook Russell’s hand. Russell could also tell there was an angst in his voice as he offered congratulations to his peer. He was smart enough to know exactly what was going through the old man’s head. Russell had done such a good job at defending his client that he was missing out on a chance to bill Xander for more hours and now he was afraid that the firm might have to return a large portion of that hefty advance. Willy wasn’t the kind of man who favored refunds, and neither was Russell.

“Don’t worry, Willy,” Russell told the old man, “I have a feeling Xander is going to let us keep that retainer and save it for a rainy day. This experience has rattled the young man and I have a feeling he’s going to want my protection moving forward in case someone tries to take advantage of his position again.”

“And you’re sure about this?” Willy asked.

“He’s a good kid,” Russell reminded him, “I’m pretty sure he’s quite happy with our service right now and will want to keep us on retainer. I’m quite confident we’ll get to keep some of reserved for future business. I wouldn’t be surprised if he let keep some of it as a bonus as well.”

“Fair enough,” Willy said, as he understood, “Just having him remain with us will be good for the firm. We’ll definitely draw in more business for doing him right and winning as efficiently as we did too.”

“You bet your ass we will,” Russell said, slapping Willy on the shoulder before starting to walk away, “I bet we’ll have more than a few big fish calling us all week!”

“From your lips to god’s ears,” Willy called out as he lost sight of him.

Russell strolled back to his office and checked with his secretary who appeared to want to share a word with him.

“Is everything alright?” he asked her.

“It is,” his secretary replied, “I just wanted to give you a heads up; Mac is in your office, and she appears more agitated than usual.”

“Duly noted,” Russell said, as he strolled into his office without a care.

The case was over and he had some ideas on how to smooth things over with his investigator to make sure she didn’t try to slug him again. As he strolled into the office, Mac was sitting or relaxed, but going through papers and still hard at work. This was also another concern for Russell because Mac was the kind of person who didn’t like to leave cases unfinished if she didn’t figure out every single detail. Despite getting the big win in court Mac still looked like she wanted answers, and Russell suddenly knew why his secretary felt the need to warn him.

“Mac,” Russell said, trying to sound chipper as he strolled in. “Great work on finding the girl and her mother at the bus station. I can assure you the judge wasn’t impressed they were running, and that they had several outstanding warrants. Our client was able to dodge a bullet before it was even fired. You have no idea what a great help your efforts were in court today. Thank you very much.”

“It’s not over,” Mac said without looking back.

“It’s not?” Russell asked, trying to act dumb, which he was never that good at.

“Don’t patronize me, Russ.” She chided at him, her voice cracking like a whip.

“Alright, I’ll bite,” Russell said, as he laid his papers down on the desk. “What minute detail has got you whipped all out of shape on the day we should be celebrating victory for our filthy rich client?”

“The paper trail,” Mac said, holding up some specific papers, “I followed the money and it went somewhere very interesting.”

“Hold on,” Russell said, as she now had his attention, “What money?”

“Transfers made to our ringleader,” Mac explained, “The founder of the feast where the assault was staged. He was paid to set this thing up.”

“Son of a bitch,” Russell cussed, “Someone hired that bastard to specifically set Xander up? Tell me you have a name for who made the payment!”

“Oh, I’ve got a name.” Mac said as she handed him a copy of the transfer and pointed at the name of the sender. “Cliff Brown.”

Russell paused for a moment, digesting the new information.

“Why does that name sound familiar to me?” Russell asked.

“He’s a professional fixer,” Mac informed him, “He’s the kind of guy you turn to if you need something fixed, or in this case set up.”

“Have we met this guy before?” Russell said, still trying to recall himself.

“Not you personally,” Mac continued, “But a few members of this firm have retained his services, one of them more than the others.”

“Who?” Russell asked.

Five minutes after being summoned by Russell’s secretary, Allister arrived to the office as quickly as he could to join the powwow with Russell and Mac.

“What’s going on?” Allister asked, “Shouldn’t we be celebrating.”

“We’ve got a problem,” Russell started, “And we need your help with it.”

“Anything,” Allister said, eager to serve.

“Someone paid off the people who set up Xander,” Russell said, “This was a hit on our client’s reputation, and possibly against his company.”

“Shit,” Allister said, “That’s some pretty heavy stuff.”

“Why would someone do this?” Russell asked.

“Several reasons,” Allister said, processing it. “If it was an attack on his company, it could have been a rival company or even someone wanting to take his place as CEO if Xander ever stepped down. Hell, it could have just been for money.”

“How?” Russell asked, sounding quite curious.

“Shorts,” Allister said, “If someone knew the CEO was about to be arrested for whatever bullshit, they could short the stock and make a killing when the numbers took a dive after his very public arrest.”

“Damn,” Russell said, as that could widen the net of suspects infinitely. “We need to speak to the person who made the payment. A middleman that you have experience with named Cliff Brown.”

Allister’s eyes went as wide as saucers when that name was dropped.

“Cliff is involved in this!?” Allister said, as he looked like he was literally about to crap his pants over it.

“We need to speak with Cliff,” Russell said, “We need him in here ASAP, and I mean yesterday.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Allister said, trying to sound like he was okay with it.

“I don’t think you get it,” Russell said, walking closer to Allister. “I know you’ve done a shit ton of business with the same man that paid people to set up our client. If he finds out about this conflict, we could be sued or even brought before the god damn bar association. Get this piece of shit in here so we can nip this in the bud… now!”

“I’ll make the call,” Allister said, “There’s no guarantee he’ll want to come in.”

“Tell the man that Russell Benson has work for him,” Russell said, putting a hand on Allister’s shoulder. “And let him know that if he does this solid for me, he’ll have an I.O.U. from yours truly that he can cash in any time he friggin’ wants.”

“That could work,” Allister said, nodding in agreement. “I’ll make the call.”

Allister made the call, and Brown seemed very interested in what Russell wanted so he showed up in less than an hour. He looked like an old school thug, the kind of guy that worked as a bouncer whenever he wasn’t busy. When he arrived to the office, Russell had both Mac and Allister vacate the room to give him and Brown some privacy.

“Am I in trouble?” Brown asked, curious why he waned the room alone.

“You could be,” Russell said, gesturing to his pocket. “Give me ten dollars.”

“Excuse me?” Brown asked.

“You heard me,” Russell cracked back, “Give me a ten or whatever is the smallest bill in your wallet is and hand it over right now.”

Brown sighed and then dug into his wallet, pulled out a crisp twenty, and then handed it over to Russell.

“As of right now, I’m your lawyer.” Russell said, putting the bill into his pocket. “So, now everything you tell me is covered by client attorney privilege.”

“That sounds good to me,” Brown said, as he got the man’s drift. “What do you want to know?”

“We have a transfer receipt here,” Russell said, handing it over to Brown. “It’s a transfer you made to a lowlife that set my client up for an assault he never committed.

“Oh, that job.” Brown said, as he recalled it easily. “I remembered that one because I don’t get asked to do dirty work like that very much. I’m the guy who usually cleans up these messes, not the shit disturber causing them.”

“Interesting point,” Russell said, as he believed the man. “But the person you set up is a billionaire that can make your life very ugly with just the snap of his fingers.”

“I see,” Brown said, as he didn’t like that idea. “Any way I can wiggle my way out of the dude’s crosshairs?”

“There is,” Russell said, crossing his arms to look a little more stern. “Give me everything you know about this, and I’ll tell the billionaire you co-operated and that you’ll make him a priority if he ever has a mess that needs cleaning.”

“Tell him that it was just business,” Brown said, as he could see where the wind was blowing. “Not only will I owe him a solid, but I’ll give him anything he needs to clear his name and even sue the people who did this to him. I have evidence like recordings and even video.”

Russell couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Video? Of who?”

Brown smiled as he knew the fish was hooked, “The dude who hired me and sent me out to set up your client. It’s on my phone, would you like to see it?”

“Yes,” Russell replied, “Show it to me.”

Brown took out his cell phone, and turn on a specific video that he had stored on the cellular device. Both men stood there and Russell watched the small screen as the lawyer was glued to the screen and couldn’t believe what he was watching. Once it was over, Russell turned to Brown with a face that looked like someone had slapped him.

“I want a copy of that,” Russell said, “Better yet, I’m willing to pay for it.”

“As much as I enjoy a good payday, that would not be ethical.” Brown said, despite being a total turd who was already breaking laws. “Give me your email and I’ll send it to you right now. Just promise me that your firm will not blacklist me cause you lawyers make up a fair chunk of my income.”

“As far as I’m concerned, this will remain between us.” Russell said, sighing deeply as he removed his tie. “Just make sure no one else sees that without my knowing about it. Understood?”

“Understood,” Brown repeated, “It’s done. You have the video.”

“Speak of this to no one,” Russell said, as he walked Brown to the door, “And I’ll make sure my client hears that you co-operated.”

“Sounds good,” Brown said, as he stopped just at the cusp of the doorway. “And you’ll have my back if I need it too?”

“I owe you a favor and I’ll come through as long as your requests are reasonable,” Russell confirmed, “But speak of this to no one.”

Once Brown left the room, both Allister and Mac came back into the room as they were waiting outside hoping to get the skinny once they were done. Mac was eager to get in there and she didn’t hesitate to break the ice.

“What did he say?” Mac asked, eager to get answers.

“He was the middleman as we suspected,” Russell said, taking a deep breath as he couldn’t believe it himself.

“How bad are we talking here?” Allister asked, “Who is he accusing?”

“We have more than an accusation,” Russell said, as he gestured to Mac. “Close the door, because I have a video to show you.”

Mac closed the door and for her and Allister, all was suddenly revealed.