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Though maybe...
I stand up. "Your Honor? May we request a short recess?"
Mandez blinks. "Whatever for, counselor?"
"Lunch?" I offer weakly. Mandez shakes his head and my stomach plummets.
"No can do, McCoy; this trial's behind schedule already."
"Great," I mumble, then say, "Then may we have ten minutes to reorganize this afternoon's appointments?"
Mandez raises an eyebrow. "What are you, McCoy, a whole law firm rolled into one person? Secretary, assistant, and lawyer?"
I keep my mouth shut. Mandez sighs. "Fine. You have five minutes."
"If I'm not back, cover for me," I say to Serena, before striding out into the hallway and heading for the payphones. I pull the phone off the hook and dial the precinct.
"Green's phone," Briscoe says, and my stomach takes another dive to the floor.
"Lennie? It's McCoy. I need to talk to E--Detective Green."
"He's not here."
Shit! He's probably already left for the restaurant, and now I'll have to leave him hanging because some incompetent attorney doesn't know how to trim a witness list. That'll sit well with him, I'm sure. "Wonderful," I mumble. "Can you do me a favor?"
"What?"
"Call his cell phone and tell him I won't be able to make it. The Lascalli case is running behind and Mandez won't let us out for lunch, and I've got a voir dire afterwards."
"Want his cell number?"
"Sure." Lennie rattles it off. "Thanks, Detective." I hang up without waiting for a reply and glance at my watch--two minutes left. I dial.
"Green."
"Ed! Oh, thank God."
"Jack?" He sounds concerned. "Is everything okay?"
"Not quite. The Lascalli case is running over because the defense is pulling the bore-the-jury-to-death trick and they're using four witnesses instead of one. I thought the judge would throw out the other three but he hasn't. So…"
"You won't be able to make it today," he says heavily, a statement. "I get it, McCoy."
"You do?" What was there to get? I couldn't show for lunch; it wasn't as if…"Ed, no, c'mon. I really do want have lunch with you, it's just--"
Ed sighs. "Look, let's give this one more try. I like you. A lot. I'd like to trust you, but I'm also sick of being yanked around on an emotional chain. One more chance, McCoy."
"Dinner?"
"At the Highwayman, on 8th."
"I know it. Thanks for being--"
"Can it, McCoy," he says. "See you at seven." There's a click and a buzz and I hang up my phone.
One more chance. I don't deserve it--I don't deserve him. But if I'm lucky enough to get it, I'll take it.
God --ten minutes over time! I head back to the courtroom, fighting to keep my grin from showing on the outside.
On to Part XIII, Lennie's POV, by Cirocco
Rating: PG-13
Summary: McCoy
Copyright June, 2003, Tobias Charity
This trial is never going to end. I'm supposed to meet Ed for lunch in half an hour and we still have four more witnesses to get through before we can think about a recess.