Darius sat in silence as he contemplated an plan. He knew that Lance was probably a psychopath and that he had likely kidnapped and raped the girl. But if he could contact Lance and become his defense lawyer he was sure he could get him off the hook. Proving Lance’s innocence would surely earn him Kristina a spot on one of the space shuttles headed to the moon.
“D, I don’t like the look in your eyes,” Kristina said as she watched Darius pondering.
“Kris, you’re probably not going to like this. I am one hundred percent sure that I can get Bitcow off the hook. If I do he will have no choice but to let us on one of the space shuttles”
“Where do you draw the line with lying?”
“This is do or die. We need to think of the baby,” Darius said as he gently touched his wife’s stomach. “The only thing better than having enough money to buy our way onto a space shuttle is to do Lance Bitcow a personal favor,” Darius was speaking very sternly.
“There are probably a million lawyers calling him right now, how do you plan to stand out?”
“I’m going to fly to Orlando right now and find him. I’ll show him my win percentage and pitch him my plan”
“What’s the plan?”
“Well, there are obviously a lot of people who are envious of him. Somebody might even want to frame him for a crime to tarnish his name forever. All I need to do is find somebody with a reason to frame Lance and then blame the crime on them”
“Easier said than done I assume”
“It’s always easy for Darius Downey, honey. I have to go catch a red eye flight. I will call you once I land.”
Chapter 5
Lance Bitcow was sitting in his cell at the police station with his face in his hands. His mind was racing and he knew this might be the end for him. He had already met with four lawyers but he decided that he wanted to fly his personal lawyer out from New York. When he found out that his lawyer was out of town on business and couldn’t come to Florida for another three days, he was beyond frustrated.
As usual, the legal system was going to take forever to get Lance a trial and in a few hours Lance’s financial advisor was scheduled to show up at the police station and bail him out. When one of the police officers told Lance that he had a visitor, he wasn’t expecting to see a tall, bald black man sitting in the visitor’s area.
“Can I help you?” Lance said with a look of confusion on his face. “Hello Mr. Bitcow, my name is Darius Downey and I’m the best defense lawyer in Chicago. I’m here to get you out,”
“Hahaha, I’ve heard that one before. Just another guy looking to make some money off Bitcow the billionaire are you?”
“No sir, please just let me…”
“What are you asking three hundred, four hundred or six hundred an hour? You fucking leeches disgust me.”
With that, Lance left the visitors area and returned to his cell. Darius was furious but he was a persistent man. He spoke with one of the police officers at the main desk and started working his deceptive magic.
“Excuse me, officer?”
“Yeah, what’s up?” An eager cop responded.
“Mr. Bitcow is my client and he assures me that his bail has been paid”
“Um nope, it says it hasn’t been paid yet in my database”
“Listen pal, if Mr. Bitcow says it’s been paid then you had better listen to him unless you want to lose your job”
“No you listen here you prick, it hasn’t been paid, end of story. There’s a note here saying that he’s got a guy coming in a few hours to pay the bail. Now back away from the desk.”
Darius left the building; satisfied with the information he had just learned. He waited in the parking lot of the police station until he saw a white Rolls Royce pull in. He assumed that a car as nice as that must belong to somebody affiliated with Bitcow. The parking lot was packed full of news crews and eager reporters trying to get a few words out of Bitcow after he was released. Darius cut through the thick sea of people and approached the luxury car that he had just watched pull in. A man in a brown suit emerged. He was short and pudgy and the suit seemed to be much too small for him.
“Howdy, you Bitcow’s bail guy?” Darius said to the man.
“I’m his financial advisor, my name’s Ray,” he said with questioning frown.
“Alright Ray, my name’s Darius Downey and I want to work for Mr. Bitcow”
“Many people do”
“No, but I want to work for him for free, out of respect for what he’s doing for the planet. I want to be his defense attorney”
“And you’re telling me this why?”
“Mr. Bitcow doesn’t believe me, so I would like to be in the room with you while you discuss the bail proceedings. This way I can convince Mr. Bitcow that I only want to help him out”
“You seem very sincere Mr. Downey. I’m sure Lance would love to save some money on this case. You have no idea how many lawyers I have calling me, trying to take him for all he’s worth. Come in with me and we’ll speak with him. But if you try anything out of line I want you to understand that Lance has enough money to make people permanently vanish. He’s done it before and he’s not the least bit afraid to do it again”
“Understood Ray, thank you.”
Darius followed Ray into the visitor’s area and after Ray spoke with a police officer, Bitcow was brought into the room.
“Ray! Just the guy I wanted to see. Wait a minute, what’s this asshole doing here?” Bitcow said pointing at Darius angrily.
“Sir, I think you should hear Mr. Downey out. I believe his intentions to be good. He can save you more money than you realize and after donating two thirds of your wealth I think saving money on legal fees is a fantastic idea,” Ray was nervous that Bitcow was about to yell at him.
“Fine, let’s hear it,” Bitcow said impatiently.
“Mr. Bitcow, unlike a lot of the lawyers you’ve probably heard from, I have great respect for you as a person. I understand the donation you are making to preserve the human race and I will work for you at no cost.” Darius knew exactly how to inflate a person’s ego.
“Well thank you for being appreciative, but no cost? Shut up”
“Mr. Bitcow I could not be more serious. When I heard about what happened to you I grabbed the first flight to Florida to see if you would like me to help you out. I already devised a thorough defense strategy on the plane and I am more than willing to start acting as your lawyer today. But first I need to know if you actually did tie up and rape that girl”
“Well, yea. When you’ve got money like me the law tends to not really apply to you. Know what I mean?
“Haha, I’m not accustomed to that type of money, but I sure know there’s nothing wrong with roughing a woman up from time to time” Darius did not believe this, but he had to make Bitcow feel comfortable so that he would open up.
“That’s true, let’s hear what you’ve got”
“Well, there are a lot of people who are very envious of the wealth that you’ve built for yourself. Many people wish they could be the person responsible for saving the planet, but you are the only one who stepped up to the plate. Somebody clearly tried to frame you so that they could ruin your credibility. The question now becomes, who would be a good person that you could accuse of framing you?”
“Well shit I don’t know, I’ve got a lot of enemies”
“Just pick somebody you dislike and I will be able to place the blame on them, trust me”
“Paul Ross”
“And who might that be?”
“Just some asshole at N.A.S.A., He’s really jealous of my wealth and he gets under my skin”
“I will look him up and start digging up some dirt. But is he integral to the mission to destroy the meteor?”
“No, he’s basically just the coffee bitch,” Bitcow lied.
Lance didn’t care about the project, all he wanted was the recognition for trying to save the world. He knew he was going to be in the lunar base, so he w
asn’t really concerned with the outcome of the project. He would rather take down an innocent man who was getting on his nerves than potentially rescue earth from certain disaster.
“Alright, consider it done. Paul Ross is about to become a convicted rapist. Once you’re bailed out all I need you to do is meet with Paul Ross and get a small piece of his hair.” Darius spoke confidently and it put both Bitcow and Ray at ease. Bitcow nodded, showing that he understood what he must do.
Darius left the police station and approached a reporter. As soon as he began to speak he was immediately surrounded by cameras and microphones.
“My name is Darius Downey and I am representing Mr. Bitcow in this case,” He said with a sense of fake pride. The questions quickly flooded in.
“Mr. Downey can you tell us how you plan to get this monster off on this case?” One reporter yelled out.
“Mr Downey, as a defense attorney have you ever encountered a case such as this in your past?” Shouted another reporter.
“No further questions. All I will say at this time is that Mr. Bitcow has been wrongfully accused. He was framed by someone working at N.A.S.A. and I promise to bring this psycho to justice so he doesn’t embarrass this countries great legal system any further.” With that, Darius shoved his way through the crowd, jumped in his rental car and headed back to his hotel.
Chapter 6
The Dark Star was picking up speed. The date of impact had changed from September 16th to September 14th and calculations were predicting that the date would only grow more and more near. The date was currently February 17th and N.A.S.A. had just launched the ship with the massive prism on it that would spread the laser out over the meteor and cause it to disintegrate. The two astronauts piloting the prism ship were Trina Lopez and Martin Scorn. These two experienced astronauts were predicting that on the second day of September, they would be at a perfect distance from the oncoming meteor for the laser to enter the prism and destroy it forever.
Paul Ross continued to manage the project and the L.I.B weapon was coming along great. The plan was to have the weapon in testing by August 15th and ready to fire on the meteor by September 2nd. Darius was nearly ready to go public with his statement involving Paul Ross’s framing of Bitcow.
N.A.S.A. successfully used the media to convince the global population that the meteor was definitely going to be destroyed. They claimed that anybody who wanted to pay money to travel to the lunar base was wasting their time. This was ironic because every employee of N.A.S.A. had tickets to the lunar base. The goal was to keep society functioning normally and not to create a state of panic.
Chapter 7
“I’m making an official statement today honey, it’s time to take this plan to the next level,” Darius said into his cell phone, which was on the bed beside him with the speakerphone feature turned on.
“D that’s great, but I really do feel bad for this Paul guy. How do you plan on proving that he framed Bitcow?”
“A million bucks tends to do all of the work for me”
“What do you mean?”
“I tracked down the girl that Bitcow raped and I promised her one million dollars if she told the judge that Paul set up the framing”
“But you said you were working for Bitcow for free. Where are you going to get that money?”
“Lance Bitcow is a moron. After he does me a favor and gets us tickets for the space shuttle, I’m going to go after him. We signed no contract saying that I would work for him for free, so after I get him off the hook I’m going to sue him and say that he promised me fifty million. Nobody is going to believe that I would work for free and I will easily win the case. At that point, I can pay off the girl Lance raped and we will head to the moon from there”
“God I love you, you’re a genius D”
“Thanks Kris, but don’t get too excited yet. I still have to execute this plan flawlessly”
“Go get em honey”
“Thanks babe, I’ll talk to you once the press conference is over.”
Darius hung up the phone, made some lunch and then headed down to the hotel lobby where the news crews were eagerly awaiting his arrival. Microphones were immediately thrust in his face and then the questions rolled in.
“Mr. Downey, what is your defense for the animal known as Lance Bitcow?” One beady eyed female reporter asked.
“Mr. Bitcow is innocent. When somebody acquires the wealth that my client has it tends to make people envious. It is this envy that causes people to want to sabotage the character of people like my client. A man named Paul Ross framed my client out of spite and jealousy. Mr. Ross is the project manager for The Dark Star termination project. I plan to have this man prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” Darius was way too good at lying.
“Mr. Downey, what proof do you have that Mr. Ross framed your client?” Another reporter shouted.
“The young woman that my client has been accused of raping has come to me and revealed the truth. This woman’s identity will be protected as the case proceeds, but I assure you that her bravery to expose Mr. Ross as the monster that he is will be the primary reason that this man is locked in a cage for the rest of his life”
“What about the safety of the planet? If Mr. Ross is the project manager isn’t he an integral part of the team?” The beady-eyed woman was back for more action.
“Whether or not Mr. Ross is an integral part of the team is up for debate. If it is found that Mr. Ross is dispensable then he will be replaced and locked up once he is found guilty. If Mr. Ross is found to be irreplaceable then he will be offered a reduced sentence to continue working on L.I.B weapon until it is totally operational. No further questions please, I have to go meet with my client now.” Darius promptly left the lobby, pushing past the annoying reporters.
Chapter 8
Ray bailed Lance Bitcow out of jail (using Lance’s money) and Lance was now staying back at the Hilton Hotel. He was relaxing on his bed when there was a knock at the door. Lance hopped up and pulled on a shirt, he answered the door and Darius was standing there with a delighted look on his face. Bitcow ushered him inside and they sat together at the small hotel room table.
“Mr. Bitcow, the plan is underway and things are about to get messy for Paul Ross”
“Great news. I’m happy to hear that. By the way, you can call me Lance” This made Darius happy as he knew Lance was starting to warm up to him.
“Alright Lance, what I need you to do now is keep yourself quiet. Do not answer any questions under any circumstances. Do you understand me?”
“I understand”
“You need to stay away from the media at all costs. Do not talk about this case to anyone, especially not online or on the phone”
“I won’t Darius, trust me. I can’t go down for this bullshit. I’m too important to be defeated by some cunt who can’t handle a little kinky sex”
“Good, just stay isolated and let me handle the heat”
“Don’t fuck this up Darius. You’re my only hope here”
“I’m the best in the business, there’s no need to worry”
Darius stood up and left the room. As he walked to the elevator he smiled to himself, everything was coming together.
Chapter 9
After the woman who Bitcow raped was promised $1 million by Darius, she changed her story and blamed the entire ordeal on Paul Ross. Ross was immediately arrested and three days later there was a pretrial for the case. Darius presented false evidence that made it look as though Ross had successfully framed Bitcow due to his pure jealousy of the billionaire. Bitcow had gotten a piece of Paul’s hair during a final meeting at the Kennedy Space Center. Lance pretended to see a bug on Paul’s head and he swatted the imaginary insect, simultaneously grabbing a tiny amount of hair from the little bit that he had left on his balding head. Darius was able to plant this hair sample in the hotel room where the woman was found and this shifted the case against Paul Ross.
Things were looking great for Lance
Bitcow as far as getting an innocent verdict went. Paul’s lawyer didn’t expect any hard evidence against his client, so he had very little to say during the hearing. The judge scheduled the final trial for August 29th and banged his mallet, dismissing the courtroom. On their way out of the courthouse, Lance thanked Darius.
“Darius Downey, you’re one of a kind my friend. Thank you for your hard work, I don’t see any way that I can lose this trial”
“Lance, if you lose this trial I will cry myself to sleep, not because you’ll be going to jail, but because it will stain my near perfect record,” Darius chuckled, which prompted Lance to laugh as well.
“Darius, I know you told me that you would do this job for free…” Bitcow paused, seemingly trying to build up the anticipation.
Darius’ heart was pounding; he wanted a spot on the space shuttle more than anything in the world. Bitcow continued.
“But I’ve decided that it wouldn’t be right of me to not give you anything. Ray and I have decided to pay you one hundred thousand dollars for your amazing work. I know the trial isn’t over yet, but I’m confident that we will win and I figured that this money will be an incentive for you to work hard.”
Darius swallowed and began sweating profusely. He wasn’t after the money, he needed tickets.
“Lance that’s very nice of you, I am very thankful. But is there any way I could exchange that money for two tickets on one of the space shuttles?”
The Last Sunset (Preppers Fiction): The Dark Star is Coming and Death Lingers in its Shadow (Preppers Fiction, Meteor Fiction, Apocalyptic Fiction, Survival Book 1) Page 2