Page 17 of The Lawyer's Quandary
“Then how are you going to get him? He isn’t going to just perform on demand. You can’t just go up to him and ask himto let someone tape what he’s doing. There is going to have to be someone willing to go in while someone else can see. So I don’t….” He paused, his mouth forming anO. “You put something in his office.”
To his credit, Mark gave away nothing.
“He isn’t going to tell us for our own protection,” Steven said. “And it’s best that we don’t know. But if he did—and I appreciate him doing it—then we need someone to catch, because we can’t just wait. I have this ankle that has been giving me trouble for a while. It’s been a lot better, but he doesn’t know that.”
“It’s not a good idea,” Mark said as he shook his head.
“I agree. Even if what you say might or might not be true, it’s putting yourself at risk, and it’s not worth it. Giving him a chance to get to you is not what you hired me for.”
Steven pushed his plate away. “I just told these guys about standing up for what’s right and that we’re a team. Well, it’s my turn to stand up and do what I know is right. So when he gets back, I’m going to ask Bates to tape my ankle just like before. If he takes the bait, then it will be a hundred percent on him.” He leaned over the table. “And whatever you might or might not have done had better work.”
“Dude…,” Connors said. “I never want to see him again, let alone be in the same room alone with him. So I can’t believe you’re going to do that.”
“We have to stop him. Full stop. There is nothing else that can be done. So just make it count.” He was so sure of himself. Greg did not like this at all. These guys had come to him to try to protect themselves and others from this predator. Not to put themselves on the line.
“No,” Greg said firmly.
Mark leaned closer. “Wait a minute. Either Steven does this and baits him, or the next person he takes advantage of couldbe some freshman kid who has no idea what this guy is doing. I don’t like putting anyone at any risk, but Steven knows what he’s doing and what the ramifications are. If you ask me, it’s his decision.”
Greg ground his teeth and hit Mark with his stoniest stare, but Mark just gave it right back.
“The good of the many outweighs the needs of the few. I’ll be fine,” Steven said. “All I have to do is keep myself from beating the crap out of him.”
Greg still didn’t think this was a good idea. But they seemed determined, and they would probably go ahead with this whether he was involved or not. Still, he couldn’t give his blessing to this. In fact, he really shouldn’t know anything about it.
“Nothing is going to happen unless we have a plan and a damned good exit strategy,” Mark added.
Greg took a deep breath and released it. “I can’t be part of this because I can’t know about anything that might or might not be skirting the law. But if you’re determined to do this, then….” He turned to Mark. “You need to make sure that all of these guys come out of it unscathed.”
“That’s not his job. I know what I’m doing, and I’ll be fine. I have backup this time.” Steven was so confident. Maybe what he really needed was a purpose and a mission. Greg had to admit that Steven had guts by the gallon.
“Would anyone like dessert?” the server asked, interrupting the conversation, but at that moment, there seemed to be very little left to say. They all declined. She gave him the check, and Greg paid the bill. He was not at all comfortable with anyone putting themselves in a position to be groped or assaulted just for the sake of the camera.
All three players shook his hand, their eyes clear and their bodies upright and strong with common purpose. “Thank you for this.”
Greg nodded and smiled as each player said goodbye out in front of the restaurant. He was confused and felt like he was standing on quicksand, which was a whole new experience for him. “What the hell just happened?” he asked Mark, who stood beside him.
“Believe it or not, you just turned them into a team. They have a plan and a common purpose. Look at Connors. He was nervous and unsure of himself, and now he’s walking down the sidewalk with his head high. He isn’t alone—none of them are now. Whatever happens from here on out happens to all three of them together, and that makes them all stronger and able to handle whatever happens.”
Greg was still trying to get a handle on this. “You know I hate the idea of any of them getting themselves alone with that man. I want to wring Bates’s neck and maybe give him triple viral pneumonia with a side of leprosy so that all his parts fall off. I want to make sure he will never be able to hurt any of the players who are supposed to be able to trust him.” He seethed inside and was so full of energy that he didn’t know what to do with it.
“Hold up there, slugger,” Mark told him. “You are going to do all of those things, and you’re going to use the law to do it. That’s your strong suit. And Steven is not going to be going into that training room alone. Connors and Wilson will be there with him in spirit. That’s why he’s able to do this. He knows what will happen this time.”
“But he’ll be defenseless,” Greg said. “Alone with that man in a closed room.”
“Hey.” Mark slipped an arm around his waist. “I’ll make sure Steven has an exit strategy so he can get out of there asfast as possible. But I don’t want you to know about any of this. Okay? I’m not sure how much of this is because you’re a lawyer and how much is because you’re a damned good person. But either way, I know this is a risk, yet it’s one we have to take.”
“But I don’t understand how Steven can put himself on the line like this? When he came to see me, he was scared and unsure of himself, and now he’s willing to walk into the lion’s den.”
“That’s all you,” Mark told him, and Greg had no idea how that was possible. “First thing, you believed him and didn’t doubt what he told you. Second, you developed a plan to put an end to this once and for all. Now you have to let the rest of us do our part.” And maybe that was the most difficult thing for him.
“Just keep them from getting hurt.”
Mark looked deep in his eyes. “I’ll do what I can to keep all of us from harm.”
Greg wondered if that was possible.
ChapterSix
