When Max left Hugh's place a few hours later, it was just about the usual time he would take off from work to pick Janet up. He drove over to the school where his wife worked, and students had left about a half hour prior to his arrival. He could tell from the look on her face that Janet had a long day, which only convinced him further that going out for dinner was the right decision because neither of them were in the mood to cook anything. After she slipped into the front passenger seat, Max leaned over and gave her a quick kiss, to make her feel better.

     "Hey you," Janet said.

     "Hey yourself," Max said, as he watched her close the door. "Looks like you had a long day."

     "It was pretty much the same old, same old." Janet answered, sighing as she put her seat belt on. "How about you?"

     "It was a fucking shit show." Max said, not really wanting to talk about it for various reasons.

     "Define shit show, Max." Janey inquired.

     "I was given a new case," Max said, sighing deeply. "And it has the potential to be huge. It could end tomorrow or last a few years."

     "What?!" Janet said, as she sat up now that he had her attention. "Did you remind Dave about our pending vacation?"

     "I sure did," Max said, as he pulled back onto the road. "He didn't seem to care, and when I got the courthouse I could tell why."

     "What kind of case are we talking about?" Janet asked.

     "I'm not allowed to tell you." Max answered.

     "What?" Janet said, rather surprised. "Are you telling me that there's already a gag order in place?"

     "Affirmative," Max answered. "Only myself and select team members are allowed to even discuss it. I spoke with Hugh about it this afternoon after I got our new client to sign off on him."

     "Well, I'll say this much," Janet started, "If there's anyone who knows how to handle a shit storm, it would be Hugh."

     "I know, right?" Max said, as she knew what he was thinking.

     "What did he say?" Janet asked. She was well aware of how rarely he turned to the old man for help, which told her how serious this case probably was.

     "There's a deal on the table," Max answered, "Hugh thinks we should take it and run before anyone changes their minds."

     "So, that's why it could end tomorrow." Janet said, as it all started to make sense to her.

     "I can't tell you anymore than that." Max said as he suddenly became tight lipped.

     Neither of them said a word to one another until Max pulled the car into the parking lot in front of Wally's Diner. It wasn't a very classy place, but it was where Max and Janet had their first date, so the place was nostalgic for them.

     "You still okay coming here tonight?" Max asked.

     "Yes, I think we both need it." Janet said as she gave her husband a big hug. "Are you alright?"

     "Yeah, I'll be okay," Max said as he stepped out of the car. He walked over and opened Janet's door for her.

     While the food was fantastic, but the conversation was disturbingly quiet. Both of them had a rough day, to the point where neither wanted to discuss it that much and just enjoy a little peace and quiet at the table with some decent grub. Yet Janet could tell by how Max ate his meal that he was very distracted, which caused her to break the silence.

     "You know," Janet said between bites, "I can tell when you're upset about something."

     "How so?" Max asked.

     "First of all, you're so damn quiet." Janet answered. "Usually when things are fine, you could talk the head off of four inch nails. When something is bothering you, silence is all we get from someone who is pretty much paid to talk."

     "I'm sorry," Max said, as he didn't mean to be like that. "I just have a lot on my mind. I promise to make a better effort to..."

     Before he could say anything else, his cell phone started to ring. He looked down it and answered it.

     "Hello?" he said into the small device.

     Janet was going getting ready to lecture him on how answering the phone at the table was bad manners, but suddenly her husband's eyes opened as wide a saucers and she knew something bad was happening.

     "Remove him from the room. I'll be right there." Max turned off his phone and looked up at Janet. "I'm sorry, this is an emergency."

     "What's going on?" Janet asked.

     "I can't tell you," Max said as he fished into his pocket and tossed four twenties on the table. "We got to leave, now!"

     Max followed as many traffic laws as possible but it still took him about twenty minutes to drive over to the hospital he had visited earlier that day. He parked and didn't even open the door for Janet as he went into mad dash into the hospital. Janet locked up and followed as quickly as she could. As she entered into the hallway she could hear people screaming and swearing at each other at the top of their lungs. She was stunned to see her husband, nose to nose with the countySheriff, ripping him a new asshole.

     "I don't know who the fuck you think you are, Counselor." The big, burly Sheriff yelled. "But I have every right to question this man! I don't give a fuck what you think!"

     "You stupid, ignorant, red necked piece of shit!" Max roared back, as he pushed the Sheriff against the wall. "This man has retained council, which means you cannot even ask him what he wants in his fucking coffee without having me present!"

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     The Sheriff eyes bulged so much you thought they were going to pot out of his face. "How dare you talk to me like that!"

     The Sheriff tried to shove Max but the security guards got between them and wrestled the two apart.

     "I want this man out of here, right now!" Max screamed at the two guards.

     "I'm the Sheriff of this town!" the big man yelled back. "You can't tell me where I can or can't be in this fucking town!"

     "Oh yeah?" Max said as he continued to stand up to the big man. "How about I file a restraining order to keep you away from my client? How does 200 feet in all directions sound? Given the sensitivity of the situation, I had no doubt the judge will grant it."

     "How about I tip the press to who we have in there?" the Sheriff then cussed back. "What do you think of those apples?"

     "There's a reason why this case is gagged, you stubborn son of a bitch!" Max screamed back at him, "If this goes public, every person in the state, possibly the entire country will see it. My client will be on every news channel, twenty-four hours a day for the next two to five months. How the hell are we going to find an impartial jury of his peers after that? Do really you want to watch this guy walk on a technicality, as free as a fucking bird?"

     The Sheriff could tell his bluff had been called. "Of course not."

     "For a man who enforces it, you don't have a damn clue how the law works!" Max said, pointing an accusing finger at the big man. "Regardless of what goes through your pea sized brain, this man is innocent until proven guilty. You will show in the same respect that everyone else who's come through this county receives. Are we clear on that, Sheriff?"

     The Sheriff didn't like what he was hearing, but nodded. "We are."

     "Then shut your god damn mouth!" Max said as he looked angry enough to slap him across the face. "And get the fuck out of here!" the Sheriff paused for a moment but Max stamped his foot into the floor and pointed to the door. "Now!!"

     "Please, Sir." The guard asked the sheriff as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "He's right. You have to go."

     The Sheriff took a deep breath and slowly began to walk down the hall with the guard.

     "What now?" the other guard asked as he and Max watched the Sheriff leave the hospital.

     "You watch this door." Max ordered as he peeked through the door leading to John's room. "No one comes in here unless they're hospital staff. Absolutely no one; we clear?"

     "Yes, Sir." The guard answered.

     Janet walked up to Max after the Sheriff had left and put a hand on his shoulder.

     "Are you alright, hun?" she asked.

     "I'll be fine." Max said as he turned to face her. "I need you to stay outside. You can't come in right now."

     Janet nodded. "Alright, I'll be over there in the waiting room."

     "Thank you," Max said, as he opened the door and walked inside.

     Max looked around the room and could tell that John's bed was empty. There were two tubes lying on the bed and there was some blood on the bed as well. It was obvious that the catheter had been forcibly removed, likely when John decided to run. Max looked around and could tell that John wasn't anywhere in the room. He paused for a moment and then walked over to the bathroom door, which was closed and likely locked from the inside. Max softly knocked on the bathroom door.

     "John, are you in there?" Max called out. He waited for a moment, but there was no response. "John, it's Max. You're going to be alright."

     "Is he gone?" John's voice called from inside.

     "Yes, I made sure that dumb ass Sheriff was tossed out." Max answered, "Open the door so the staff can check you over."

      "Will you stay with me?" John asked.

     "I'm not going anywhere," Max replied, "I promise."

     Max waited for a few moments and then the lock clicked and the door began to slowly open. John was bleeding a bit from ripping his catheter out, but other than that he seemed to be all right. He could barely stay on his feet and almost fell over, but Max caught him in time. A few nurses came into the room and helped Max carry John back to his bed after they did a quick change of his bed sheets. Max put the new sheets over his legs once he was back in bed.

     "You alright, John?" he asked.

     "I am now," John said, "What the hell is wrong with him?"

     "I'm not sure," Max answered, "But he's not going to be a problem anymore."

     "How can you be that sure?" John asked.

     "The guards know he's not allowed in here," Max added, "I will be calling the judge first thing in the morning to make sure he gives the Sheriff a good telling off about it. I'll probably also ask for a restraining order from his honor as well."

     "I could hear screaming in the hallway." John said as he tried to get comfortable. "I couldn't make out what was being said. Was that you out there?"

     "It was," Max said as he pulled a chair over and took a seat. "When I told you I was a vigorous defender, I wasn't kidding."

     "I can see that," John said as he couldn't help but smile. "Remind me to never to piss you off."

     "Nice to see you learned something today," Max said, as he returned the smile and managed to relax. "Can you tell me what happened before I got here?"

     "Well, that Sheriff came storming in and starting pushing me around." John said. "He didn't believe that I had no memory and kept insisting that I tell him the truth."

     "Then what happened?" Max asked.

     "That's when the guard came in and dragged the Sheriff into the hallway." John replied. "The Sheriff came back in one more time and after two guards dragged him out, I removed the tubes and hid in the bathroom until you got here."

     "Alright," Max said as he patted John's good leg. "You did good here, John. I'm very sorry you had to go through that."

     "Thanks for coming over." John said as he kept shuffling to get comfortable.

     "Well, you settle down here." Max said as he stood up. "I need to speak to someone outside. I'll be right back."

     Max left the room and walked down the hall to the waiting room where Janet was patiently waiting for him.

     "Hey," Janet called out, getting off the couch. "Are you okay?"

     Max smiled back at her, "I was going to ask the same thing."

     "What the hell was that about?" Janet asked.

     "I'm sorry you had to see that," Max said as he felt a little embarrassed by how he conducted himself. "The Sheriff has a habit of thinking he can do anything he wants. I hate it when self-righteous pricks like him think that the law doesn't apply to them."

     "I can tell," Janet said as she understood. "Now what?"

     Max replied by handing her the car keys. "You're going to head home and get some sleep. I'm going to stay here."

     "Are you sure about that?" his wife asked.

     "My client is a little rattled," Max replied, "I think it would be best to make sure someone is around to make sure things don't get any worse than they already have."

     "I'm a little scared," Janet said as she took the keys from him. "Who exactly do you have in there?"

     "What do you mean?" Max asked her.

     "You said that if the Sheriff leaked this case to the press that every network would cover it for months." Janet recalled. "What kind of person would warrant that kind of coverage?"

     "I can't tell you," Max said as he was clearly frustrated. "What I can tell you is that this guy is just like everyone else. He's an American, which means he has rights. If I don't defend him, the system breaks down and that would impinge upon everyone."

     Janet smiled. "I think it's very sexy when you get all hot and bothered about people's constitutional rights."

     "I know," Max said as he finally was able to laugh. "We'll talk about it later when there isn't a threat of jail time or disbarment hanging over my head. In the meantime, I need you to go home."

     "Okay." Janet said, hugging her husband. "Please be careful."

     "I will, promise." Max said as he hugged her back. He watched his wife walk out of the hospital and a bad feeling in his gut that it was going to be a very long night.