JUSTICE WINS THE DAY...
The stress of all these morning court appearances.., was starting to chip away at his notion of -- "Truth, Justice., and the blah, blah, blah…" Even though the cards had fallen his way, more than not -- he just hated the feeling of putting your destiny in another mans hands.., a stranger no less… He had seen lawyers, lawyers who had become come judges.., the law -- ruin the lives of the innocent, over and over.., just because they were having a bad day.
And although, many people like to romanticize the law -- justice., we have moved a long way from the times of -- "At his best, man is the noblest of all animals." "Separated from law and justice, he is the worst"as the philosopher Aristotle once uttered… No, the law today.., was meant to be -- ducked and slipped, avoided and undermined. That feeling he got in his stomach, walking through the "halls of justice" was, lets just say, not one of pride and honor.
He had been doing the law thing now, for longer than he ever imagined (he actually never imagined he would do it at all).., and he had used every trick and con under the sun, in order for his client to prevail -- to win. It all came down to winning… And nothing was left off the table, anything (I mean anything) was easily justified, because it was your job to win -- the words honor and integrity were nothing more than laughable sentiment.., replaced by insults, lies and spin...
The job of the lawyer.., had nothing to do with justice -- it was about all that book learning you had to do, to pass that bastard of a test (The Bar), just so you could eventually bend, twist, mold and shape that bitch any way you wanted.., that was the job of a lawyer -- a good one, at least. And it was never a job he thought he would hold…
But his whole family were wildly successful lawyers.., there was no doubt he would ever do anything else… Even though everyone knew all he wanted to do was play hockey, travel the world.., and love as many women as he possibly could -- the truth was.., the law was his birthright.., and no silly game like hockey was going to get in the way of generations of tradition.., and all that old money.
And it couldn't have been easier for him… While most budding lawyers have all kinds of obstacles to overcome and can easily crack under the immense, required work load -- it was in his blood. He grew up surrounded by the law.., and some of the best lawyers in the country. His friends (people he called his friends) were lawyers, there parents, brothers and sisters, all lawyers -- everyone he knew was a damn lawyer.
But walking out of the courthouse that morning onto Centre street, left on White St.., like he had done a million times before -- literally a million times, he couldn't shake the feeling.., that once he believed there was more to life than just this bullshit, tugging at his suit coat not giving him a seconds peace… But life has a way of just happening in spite of all those big plans, slowly takes precedence, until all those plans are nothing more than a far off dream…
He didn't head uptown too much these days -- he was a downtown guy… With all the time he spent going back and forth to the courthouse, plus the first thing he bought himself when his very wealthy grandfather died was an old brownstone in Tribeca… The only reason it hadn't been torn down yet, was because it was landmarked -- there was an amazing old bar that had been deserted for years on the pallor floor.., and an infamous VIP room in the basement, that had tons of history… From gangsters being shot down in cold blood, to actual legislation being signed by the power brokers of its day. But the reason it was landmarked -- were the tunnels… There were under ground tunnels that went all the way to the water and various other parts of city.
His grandfather took him there when he was just a boy -- it was the very first day they had ever spent together, alone… Thinking of buying the place because he was drawn to it's history and didn't want to see it torn down, for the sake of some money worshipping real estate developers thirst for yet another high-rise. The old man had represented the owner many times when he was an up and coming superstar young lawyer.., and even considered him one of his oldest real friends. He spent many nights in this bar and it had held a special place in his heart, even after all these years.
This was a special trip though… His grandfather knew the owner did not really want to sell the bar but was sick of fighting with the city all the time over it's status and mega rich investors pressuring local politicians to have the place shut down -- it had became one big headache. So, before taking his, in awe of the place, grandson down to explore the tunnels below, he presented the owner of the bar (his good friend) some very legal looking papers -- "here is your proof of landmark status -- now quit your whining about all the hassles this place causes.., and start enjoying it again, like we used to when we were young and stupid."
The look on the bar owners face -- is priceless!
Even the boy could tell something very special had just happened… I mean getting "landmarked" was virtually impossible in that neighborhood, with so much money leading the way to rebuilding it all -- "How is this possible, how did you -- " the boys grandfather cuts him off, not being heavy on all the sentiment -- "Lets just say, when you know as much about people as I do, the power people.., every now and then you gotta call in a favor, to keep them on their toes -- keep 'em honest."
It was the first time the boy really understood how much power his grandfather yielded -- but still couldn't wait to go see the tunnels… "Okay my friend, pour us a couple of beers -- a short one for the boy, his mother will kill me if I get him drunk." Holy Cow! Not only was he going to see secret underground tunnels, that were used to hide and rescue slaves, transport all illegal goods by gangsters and fisherman, especially alcohol during prohibition -- he was going to have his first beer!
It was probably his favorite childhood memory -- and now he owned it… When Joe (short for Giuseppe) passed away, he used his families clout to buy the whole brownstone and revive the old place, which had been shuttered for many years… It was the only thing that bought him any joy these days -- no lawyers allowed… And even though he lived directly upstairs, he didn't spend as time as he wanted to in the place.
As he sat on a stoop not far from the entrance to the subway, all these things he hadn't thought of in a while, swirled to the front of his mind. It was nice out and he was in no rush to get uptown, he lit up another cigarette and let his thoughts wander, while soaking up some rays… It was probably the sunniest day of the year, you could definitely feel that the weather had definitely changed -- and people were out enjoying it. As he sat there indulging in the moment of peace he finally allowed himself.., some guy in a ski jacket (nice new ski jacket) asked him for a light with some kind of eastern european accent and then returned to the back of, what looked like a rented van and 3 other guys in new ski jackets.
He barely let the weirdness of the whole ski jacket thing, on such a nice sunny day, interrupt his alone time… He tossed his smoke and headed down the subway, as the guy thanked him again for the light as he passed… He hopped right on the last car of the uptown A train.., and as the doors were closing he could see how crowded the downtown side of the platform was -- and then he saw the guys with the ski jackets, now with masks, carrying huge automatic rifles.., and running down the platform firing randomly at the unsuspecting crowds just waiting for their train.
All of a sudden, the loud speakers on the train yelled out -- Everybody get down.., GET DOWN! and the train pulled out of the station at a much faster rate than normal -- he floors it. As the train blows past it's usual spots, we can see more people getting mowed down, by men with weapons -- the conductor is freaking out, just like everybody on the train… He informs us the next stop will be Times Square because of the normally huge police presence…
The City was under attack, more specifically its subway system and the tens of thousands of people that ride it everyday… When the train pulled into the Times Square station -- it looked like a war zone, military everywhere! As they were rushed off the train, all they were told, by giant bullhorns was to -- Stay Off The Subway Until Further Notice -- as he walked up into the middle of Times Square in the midst of all this craziness, staring at him on the huge Jumbotron screen is -- his grandfather…
His day was only getting weirder… His grandfather had been dead for, coming up on 10 years.., and he had done a lot for the city in his day and they were displaying a larger than life headshot of this man he loved so deeply, with his date of birth and death.., and then it just said -- Thank You For Everything!
And in that moment, that moment of insanity all around him, people being massacred in the subway, staring up at his deceased grandfather -- he knew he had to do more with his life. Something had changed from the second he stepped out of the courthouse earlier that morning, he tried to ignore it but it was obvious to him now, something had changed -- good or bad he had no idea. The world was spinning out of control on a daily basis all around him.., and like most of us just trying to get through the day, he had his blinders on… But just as sure as he was, his days of law were done for good -- those blinders were coming off too.
Stay Tuned For PART 2 -- As the City is under its latest terrorist attack.., he decides to do something about it. He could be the only person to have seen one of these guys (the guy that asked for a light) -- he knows his grandfather would not be waiting around for any of these clowns that supposedly run the city to handle it. It was time to start calling in all those favors...
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