Shape of Things to come

Shape of Things to Come

Part 3:Seeds of Time

Chapter 42

‘All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts'
...William Shakespeare. As You Like It

Leslie had had a long couple of weeks, spending considerable time in court helping several of DJ’s ex-clients. In that, she had been relatively successful, mostly because she resorted to some of the dirtiest tricks Cole had taught her, to the extreme anger of some of the prosecuting lawyers. DJ even though he was already employed by the District Attorney could obviously not prosecute his ex-clients, although given the way the prosecutors focused on some of the more obvious loopholes that had been planned for the cases, Leslie strongly suspected he was advising his new colleagues. Leslie also concluded that if DJ was advising her opposition, their lack of ethics indicated that they were most likely Evil grunts, something confirmed by the strong whiff of Evil she recognised around several of her adversaries.

In the two minutes she had had to consult with Cole before the current hearing, she told him her instincts were telling her she was up against Evil, he had grinned and told her trust her instinct. He also reminded her to be extremely careful about any offers of compromise from prosecutors that made her life a bit too easy.

“I wish I had” Cole muttered bitterly before going off to use even dirtier tricks, and Leslie suspected a few magic waves of his hand to get DJ’s clients off the hook.

As Leslie worked around the courts, she could not help hearing mutterings on the legal gossip vine, about the sudden success of Cole’s firm in extracting so many clients, and the suspicions about how they were doing it. The same whispers ensured that that Leslie heard the legal community’s belief that as DJ’s advice to prosecutors about his former clients was so unsuccessful, he would not last long in his new job. Leslie’s heart sank because she knew the price DJ would pay if his demon masters were unhappy with his work. He would join the other lost souls in Ngigo Canyon.

Because she won her last case of the day quickly, due to the success of her dirty tricks, Leslie went home early, because the office reminded her of DJ’s fate. Fern and Charlie were still not home, so followed by the two dogs she went to the Manor to help herself to whatever Piper’s latest cooking triumph in the cake and cookie line was. She discovered Phoebe in the kitchen, also after coffee and cakes as a reward for winning a complicated battle with John Stuart Mill's Harm Principle for a chapter in her book. Phoebe took delight in quoting Mills words to Leslie. “Such liberty should exist with every subject matter so that we have absolute freedom of opinion and sentiment on all subjects, practical or speculative, scientific, moral or theological” explaining how she was going to use it in her chapter on ideology. “Of course” she added “It will be used in a more plebian, prosaic perspective of modern living and ideology and fantasy.”

“Sure” said Leslie. Because having read Phebe’s other books, she was certain it would be.

In return, Phoebe listened to Leslie’s concerns about DJ, as she explained he was no longer an innocent but he was STILL a friend.

“Do you know how many times this family went Evil and got rescued” Phoebe told her grinning.

“I was the Queen of hell” Phoebe replied as Leslie nodded. She knew the story. “Pretty impossible to turn Evil without doing something Evil” Phoebe explained. “The question is whether the Evil is irredeemable.”

“DJ may have to do his penance but that does not mean it has to be in hell” Phoebe explained. “You’re a clever lawyer, can’t you find a loophole to break his contract?”

“Do you know how hard it would be to break a contract between Evil and its lost souls?” Leslie asked.

“No but you should find out” insisted Phoebe “You never knew my sister Prue” she added “she was a hellion about rescuing and protecting innocents… at all costs.”

Leslie and three dogs went back to ‘next door’s’ parlour to sit on the sofa and contemplate Phoebe’s words. Her thoughts left her somewhere between annoyance, anger, pain, and unholy glee that was very similar to her emotions when she was about to wipe out an opposing prosecutor with a dirty trick they had not seen coming. When Fern returned home, she found Leslie still sitting on the sofa surrounded by dogs and giggling to herself.

“I’ve been thinking” Leslie told Fern “And don’t say it. Since Paige told us about what happened to that lost soul at her work, described it, the pain the betrayal.”

“Yes” Fern replied. “Enough to keep you on the path of Good.” Then she swallowed hard and uncomfortably, knowing her own emotions had caused her to wobble.

“Yes” agreed Leslie “Not something you would want for someone you loved or even someone you liked. So don’t consider it” she told her sister firmly.

Fern nodded, quite distraught “But kind of lucky the Power we have about recognising Evil kicked in. So I didn’t stay to listen to the offer. You?” she asked

Leslie nodded. “Same thing. Not so Good for people who can’t feel Evil” she added.

“They still get a choice.” Fern insisted. “They make the pact. DJ made the pact” she pushed realising what was troubling her sister.

“Well, I’m a lawyer and most of our work is breaking pacts or trying to enforce them when someone is trying to break them. There’s always a good loophole. Cole says. So, I’m going to find it” Leslie informed her sisters. “Come on” she added grabbing Fren’s arms

“I’m going to see DJ but I think I’ll need backup. He’s liable to be a bit … not too pleased to see me. Anyway” Leslie added “From what I hear from the Phoebe, choosing Evil isn’t a life time choice. Repentance and regret are an option as long as we get him to do it before Evil finds out and demands payment on the contract.”

“If he shows any regret or repentance, demon’ll get him like they got the guy at Paige’s work” Fern insisted.

“I know” agreed Leslie “But you know Faustian deal, Evil promises something in return for your soul. If they haven’t kept their promises, contract is broken. That’s why we have to warn him to keep playing the contract until we can break it. Liable to be a bit nasty though” she explained. “You know DJ.”

“Not as well as you. Not sure I really want to now,” Fern remained still as Leslie pulled on her arm. “I mean after all …” she swallowed hard “last time going out caused… well you know.”

“Look I know Mary died” Leslie snapped as Fern became teary. “Evil got her. Don’t you think maybe the best thing we can do for her is save a lost soul. Every one we saved, every innocent we save from Evil is a tribute to Mary.”

“You sound like a bloody lawyer” Fern sniffed and remained stock still. “You’re not going to tell me Mary’s time was up” she demanded.

Leslie shook her head. Then she laughed “Do you think there could be court cases about repatriating artefacts between Good and Evil. Mary knew her stuff on that. Wouldn’t it be great if Evil got to really regret finishing her off.”

For the first time Fern almost smiled at a mention of Mary, which Leslie noted. “Maybe we better get Charlie too?” Fern suggested. “Kind of like a Power of Three. At least the burn works better, quicker from three points. Learnt that last week.”

“Well, we seem to do better when we work together. Sisters.” Fern insisted. “Or at least we live long enough to let the Charmed Ones save us.” She smiled a little watery.

“I’ll call Charlie” Leslie agreed reluctantly. “If that will make you come.”

Charlie was working in the university library, hiding from fellow students talking about the latest fighting in the university. She agreed to meet her sisters outside the building where DJ lived. It was a relatively large building dating back to the rebuilding after the earthquake, still in an area where the rents were not impossible…mostly upcoming professionals like DJ who could afford the rents…only just. Leslie knew the conveniences described in the rental advertisements, such as easy stair access, were in reality dark, creepy, steep steps, parking on the street where DJ had been relieved if his car was still there in the morning, and easy maintenance which meant very small, were extremely inconvenient. Leslie who often visited DJ there knew that the only impressive part of the building was the shabby exterior, with its large bay windows. The interior was small bed, shower, kitchenette, living room, that two people could have squeezed in but not much more.

“You know he’s bound to have done Evil by now” Charlie pointed out as she met her sisters.

“Almost certain” agreed Leslie. "But it does not mean he’s irredeemable.”

“Even if we could get him back would he want to make up for it?” Charlie asked.

“Maybe with the people he’s helped, he has a bit of a bank account on good deeds” Leslie suggested determinedly. “I know he works with lots of petty criminals but he’s also kept a lot of families together and got quite a few out of the crime cycle.”

“He did it so he can thumb his nose at the DA’s office for setting him up” Fern pointed out.

“Outcome was the same, whyever he did it.” Leslie insisted. “This is going to be bad” she warned her sisters, “so probably have to do a lot of threatening. What we want is to find out what the deal was” Leslie said. “So as long as we don’t vanquish him, just frighten him its okay.”

“So you’re going to scare the shit out of one of your best friends” Fern asked dryly.

“Waste resources guarding one lowly grunt” Leslie almost sneered. “Demons just wipe them out when they find out about misdemeanours.”

The girls checked the street and DJ’s car was there so they walked up the narrow steep stairs to DJ’s fourth floor apartment and rang the bell. Leslie kept leaning on the bell when at first there was not an answer. She finally yelled “DJ we’re not going away until you answer.”

After a further five minutes of leaning on the bell, DJ appeared at the door. He had not shaved for days and his eyes were red rimmed and blood shot and he held a large whisky glass in his hand. He was wearing a stained wife beater and track pants and bare foot.

“Your favourite boyfriend crush send you here to beg me to come back?” DJ demanded “Come in ladies, come in” he bowed mockingly when he saw Leslie’s sisters. “You want a drink. Of course, you want a drink ladies. Help yourself” he pointed at a half empty bottle.

The girls entered the apartment and crowded around his very small living space. DJ raised his glass “And what do I owe the pleasure?” he slurred.

“Cole didn’t send us” Leslie informed him slowly blinking back tears when she saw the state DJ was in.

“Just visiting out of the goodness of your heart I see” sneered DJ. “You know your beloved boyfriend isn’t a saint?” he smirked at Leslie. “You know what he is. He’s Evil through and through so he has no right to thumb his nose at me. Well, here’s to Evil” DJ raised his glass. “You do know she’s in love with the boss?” DJ demanded of Fern and Charlie “Has to go out with the gay guy to make him jealous or pity her enough to sweep her into his arms.”

“Well, you’re sure kiddo so you can get going” DJ made another mocking bow that spilt his glass contents over the floor “Bitch” he told Leslie viciously “Witch bitch” he added “It rhymes” he giggled. He glared at his empty glass “Witchy bitchy” he giggled again. “You made me spill my drink.” He walked over and filled the with glass straight alcohol.

“I got the Hogworth brothers and the Harris woman off today” Leslie told DJ watching him carefully. “I don’t think your DA colleagues were very happy.”

“No” said DJ raising his glass to her, his expression one of total Evil, and total fear. “Here’s to Evil” he repeated.

“How did you… how did Evil get you to work… I mean why?” Leslie asked carefully standing her ground.

“As if it’s your business little miss goody two shoes” DJ sneered and then to all three girls horror, his eyes clouded over with tears and he had to hold on the back of a chair to support himself and just for a second his mouth formed the words ‘help me’. He then half staggered toward Leslie.

Charlie and Fern exchanged glances and both pulled off their glasses ready to use their firepower but then stopped when DJ fell on his sofa.

Leslie stood in front of him so she could look straight down at him and tried again “What were you promised?” she asked in her calmest, coldest lawyer voice.

“Boyfriend been teaching you law tricks?” demanded DJ “How to be the best arsehole lawyer that no one in the profession has any respect for.”

“What did they offer you?” Leslie asked while Fern and Charlie came behind her, holding their glasses in their hands while their eyes flashed fire.

“What did you want?” Leslie asked “What did they promise you? To get back into the ADA’s office?”

DJ laughed nastily. “I hate those bastards” he spat “Sell you soul and your licence to them and blame you because they’re to stupid to use what you give them. Can’t do a damn thing without asking the masters… well the mistress’s permission.”

DJ’s face grumbled and he burst into tears. Fern and Charlie exchanged glances not sure whether DJ was dangerous or suicidal.

It took considerable skill and pushing on her part but by sticking to her plan, to the admiration of both her younger sisters, Leslie finally managed to drag the whole story out of DJ. How he had been approached by a couple of very weasely looking Assistant DA’s, who claimed they were disgusted at the way DJ had been thrown out of the prosecutor’s office and only wanted to be friends. They made a deal that would basically help DJ’s client, a petty but non-violent dealer in stolen goods who had had the book thrown at him, and was facing a long sentence if DJ could not help him. DJ had thought it was a great deal for the client which saved him considerable time and bother in court.

Then a second offer had come from the same weasly prosecutors, an offer to drop charges on a woman who worked as a carer of elderly people but on the side stole anything she could get her hands on.

“Both of them guilty as hell?” Leslie asked and after Charlie left his sofa smouldering DJ agreed he took the offers from the DA because he really doubted he could get either off. The cases were both stacked.

“Why did you take the cases?” Leslie asked and Fern burnt the rug in front of his bare feet while DJ swore in hideous demonese “A blind idiot could see it was a setup. Why didn’t you talk to Cole about it?”

“They offered me enough money, thought I could get a place my parents would like,” DJ mumbled and glanced around at his small shabby apartment. “Your stupid boyfriend trusted me” he laughed. “They said they didn’t want him involved. Did it outside the firm. It was a favour between friends” DJ;’s voice cracked.

Then he been approached to help a drug dealer who was setting up her partner in crime for a long sentence when she was equally guilty, maybe even more guilty, once again for very reasonable money. Only the way to fix it was to approach the same prosecutors who would not agree to help DJ’s client unless she agreed to be a snitch. This was not a problem for DJ as it was about major drug dealing and DJ had been quite glad to get both her and her partner off the streets.

Unfortunately, the next time DJ needed a favour, the weasely District Attorneys had been brutal. They wanted his client, who had been charged with felony murder, because he had been unfortunate enough to get caught shoplifting just as two armed men robbed a store and killed the cashier, to go state’s evidence because the people they arrested had excellent alibis. Their case was so dodgy, without the client’s identification any reasonable juror would have been inclined to dismiss. DJ encouraged his client to perjure himself. Not long afterwards, the weasely prosecutor introduced DJ to a very beautiful, tall with honey blond hair in a peek-a-boo style demon who offered him what he craved and all he had to do was report on Cole’s small practice and anything that came his way about Cole’s family. About six months ago.

Behind her both Fern and Charlie gasped and Leslie had to suck her lip “What did they give you … pay you?” and then she had to do considerable pushing until she finally got DJ to admit that around that time, he had had a very bitter argument with his parents when they came to visit him in his small shabby apartment. They had put considerable money and effort into getting him through college and taken great pride in his achievements and his work in the District Attorneys’ office. When he had been targeted by Evil, after all their efforts to get him through college and law school, his parent’s disappointment was palpable, Even worse had been their disappointment when he had been forced to work at a shonky suburban law practice whose clients were disreputable and whose reputation, they found out, was worse. DJ’s parents had reluctantly understood that until he cleared his name with the legal fraternity, it was all the work he could get, but afterwards they were convinced his continual employment at the ‘shit’ law firm was setting him on the road to hell.

“Which it did” Fern muttered to Charlie “Only not the way they were thinking.”

Six months ago, when DJ put off repayments on the loan to his parents to get a new car, the shit hit the fan as his parents told him they were bitterly disappointed in him and it hurt DJ badly.

Leslie also dragged out of DJ a long and complicated story how the demon had given him an amulet which somehow protected him from Cole discovering the state of his soul, and her as well, but in the last few weeks he had been terrified because a demon had stolen the amulet and he had tried to avoid Leslie and Cole. To no avail and the blond demon had been ready to smite him when instead she decided to give him a preview of hell.

Some more dragging from DJ brought out that the Faustian deal with the demon was to make his parents proud and that as DJ was back in the DA’s office they were. But Leslie pushing got out of him that their pride was in the expectation that DJ would have a career that would give them boasting rights about their son’s success. She also dragged out of him that as DJ had failed to keep his position in Cole’s office, he was now stuck in the lowliest corner of the DA’s office doing the worst of the grunt work in the most sickening and unrewarding cases.

After dragging the story out of DJ, to her sisters’ admiration, Leslie was quite pleased. Charlie however was not pleased. Almost thoughtlessly, she quite scornfully said to DJ “So you had to make it all about you and what you want, just didn’t have the guts to resist Evil. Doesn’t matter who you hurt or destroy. So its just a weak miserable little bastard selling his soul for petty self-gratification. I hope you remember that every miserable moment doing grunt work.”

DJ’s expression became so Evil, all three sisters gasped. “Wait ‘til they come after you” he sneered then he flung himself at Charlie, grabbing her by the throat and her sisters had to use fire power that singed his wifebeater and face to protect her. They finally dragged Charlie away and DJ fell back onto his sofa, his Evil turned to agony as he sobbed his regret and fear, in between calling Leslie and her sisters vile names.

The sisters carefully backed toward the door, all three holding their glasses in their hands, ready to use fire to protect themselves. Before Leslie left, she stopped at the door and gave him strict instructions “Listen to me DJ” she ordered. Leslie told him to do what the demons asked, not to tell his masters about his doubts, or fears, not to give his masters any hint that he had any regrets about his deal. “You can’t fight them, accepting your fate is what you must do. I’ll fix it” Leslie promised him.

DJ did not appreciate the advice, and in between sobs, spat more vile names at her, much of it related to some of the very private thoughts Lesie had shared with him. However, at one point his eyes glimmered with a kind of fatalistic despair and Leslie was able to feel a little smug herself. “I think I got to him” she told her sisters as they dragged her out of the building.

“Why on earth would you want to get to him?” Charlie demanded. “That...that weasely little grunt is just plain Evil.”

Leslie smiled almost with satisfaction “Just taken over by Evil,” she assured her sisters. ”DJ is still there I’m relieved to say.”

“What are you up to?” Fern demanded suspiciously “and why was the Evil bastard making cracks about Cole I mean, he’s okay looking. I had a crush on him when I was a kid. I mean…. He’s only interested in Phoebe” she explained, half smothering the words.

“I.am.not.in.love.with.Cole” Leslie snapped. “Just Evil talking because they can’t understand things that aren’t Evil.” She laughed almost happily “What I am up to is a contract is a contract is a contract” Leslie smiled gleefully while her sisters exchanged fearful glances.

“Well, if you get him back” said Charlie rubbing her bruised neck “He’s going to owe me quite an apology.”

Fern snorted “If she gets him back, he is going to owe a lot of people…if half of what he said about Evil getting him is true.”