((OOC: Continued from Sweet Dreams are Made of BZZZT. ))

He didn't say much further. The cab driver knew where to go. Riley probably didn't want any words out of his big trap.

But he was forgetting... he was just a bit drunk!

"So." Aurum said. "What do you think about mysteries?"

Aurum finally took the hint and followed Riley from the clinic. Their business was done there…it had never really began. Aurum had been there for his biceps and Riley had been there…because she hadn’t wanted to stay behind in the bar for the cops to pick on. Hopefully nobody had thought to catch the license of the cab…they’d paid in cash though so it didn’t matter too much.

They climbed into the cab, and Riley’s lip curled slightly. Aurum was drunk. How had she just noticed? He’d been drinking the whole time he’d stumbled through his terrible apologies….and when she’d dumped the Ginger Ale in his lap. Pity. Riley hoped he’d remember it in the morning.

Aurum gave his address, and Riley didn’t say anything, she’d give hers when he got out. It didn’t matter if hers was on the way, Lori had given her plenty of money.

He asked what she thought about mysteries, and Riley turned her head and glared at him for a moment. Truth be told…she liked mysteries quite a bit. She didn’t want to admit that to Aurum though.

”I think you should stop trying to be charming and be grateful I drug you out of there before you got yourself hurt…against my better judgment. My kind of people don’t like your kind of people plopping down in chairs in the middle of business.” Lori and Lenna were definitely her kind of people.

Anger incarnate. That was her. Angry comment. That was her response. For some reason, Aurum thought that was a little funny. A bit of the silent doom and gloom that had come from being out of place and unwanted vanished, to replaced by a tiny smirk.

"I'm not trying to be charming," He said. "Simply wondering about the mystery of why my clothes smell of ginger ale, and what kind of people throw that sort of stuff. I'm wondering if they're the same class of people that feel everyone is entitled to equal representation and a fair trial in court. In life? Because people usually deserve the right to state their own case... hm. Wonder who the suspects are in this mystery of wet pants. Who could they be?" He looked Riley dead-on, not shrinking one bit from her glares.

Oh. He was going to get all high and mighty on her. He was going to drunkenly spout legal jargon in her general direction and quote the constitution or whatever the hell it was that said jerk faces like Gerry got to pay out the ass to get away with pretty much whatever they wanted. She opened her mouth to respond…to tell him.

She shut it and turned to look out the window. What was the point? People…men, like that didn’t understand. Glaring didn’t help, being angry didn’t help. Some people were in positions of power, some people weren’t. The people who weren’t simply had to make do. Riley knew from experience, a person simply did the best they could.

He backhandedly accused her of the crime she had committed, dumping her drink in his lap. She turned and looked at Aurum, really looked at him. No scowl, no glare. She shook her head.

”I’m so sorry.” she said, ”Maybe Lonnie can buy you a new pair with all the money he probably got from helping Gerry get away with being a massive creep.”

She shook her head, ”Then again….with my ‘past history’…who can be sure when I’m telling the truth.” she said.

Maybe it wouldn’t make a difference…but it made her feel better…even if she was ranting at a drunk...in the back of a cab.

He let her apologize (if you could call it that), before responding. It wasn't a heated response. It came off amiable. "I don't get paid." He shrugged. "I don't really do much of anything for Lonnie except watch and listen. Sometimes, I make coffee." For some reason, the thought of the situation he was in made him laugh a little. That alcohol must have really gone to his head to bring out this side of him. The side that conversed with devils and devilish beauties. "Really, it's kind of a joke situation. All I really get out of the arrangement is experience. So anything I could have possibly done to help you out, rather than that guy who screwed you over in court, would have been pretty weak. Lonnie's gotten in the habit of totally ignoring the fact I even exist, as of late. It's kind of a mystery why I'm even doing this apprenticeship anymore..." He scratched the back of his head with a hint of embarrassment, and smiled weakly, changing the subject. "But anyways, past history?" He tilted his head.

What kind of 'past history' was she talking about? She'd brought it up. It was her fault if he was a little bit drunken-curious.

At first, Riley wanted to snap simply for the sake of snapping. Was she supposed to feel sorry for him? Was she supposed to suddenly understand where he was coming from and empathize? She almost laughed out loud, but reined it in. That wouldn’t help anything and besides…he had a point. Maybe her blame was a little bit displaced. At the least, it was useless. If Lonnie really was ignoring the fact that his golden-coffee-boy existed, Riley was wasting her time.

She didn’t feel sorry for him, and raised an eyebrow at his suggestion that there was no point in his ‘apprenticeship’. Is that what they called slaves these days? Riley didn’t really care, but it was something focus on besides the monologue. She’d been wrong before, she realized, he wasn’t all that drunk. His words were too precise. ..and now he was asking her about her past.

Her eyebrows climbed close to the edge of her hairline, she wouldn’t have graced him with an answer, but the words were tumbling from her mouth before she realized it was happening.

”You were there. If you were in the court room, you know. Don’t patronize me.” she commented. ”You watched Lonnie pick me apart up there, made it my fault.” Some girls would have gotten weepy here, played the advantage of being pitiful. Not Riley, she was still so angry about that. Her words weren’t angry though, they were simply what they were, true.

”Hell, he was so good I almost bought it. Almost. The judge saw enough…I was just dumb enough, just scummy enough to go ahead and take my case to court and try to punish the guy, essentially blackmail him. Imagine how that looks on a resume. And Gerry...Gerry walks away without the slightest stain to dirty his name. ” Riley shrugged and let that sink in for a moment, ”Try that on, then go ahead and complain about getting coffee for Lonnie.”

Aurum blinked, then slapped his forehead and looked at her sincerely as a slightly-inebriated lawyer could. "Sorry. It slipped my mind. That's right. I remember now. Lonnie." He shook his head. "Guy just wouldn't quit. That's how he works, you know? Tears people apart, pins the blame on someone else, regardless of the situation, defends people by teaching them that it's good to shirk the blame.

"I felt sorry for you in court, you know?" It probably didn't mean anything. "Like I said, I wish I could have actually helped. I don't like seeing women mistreated. One of my rules." One he might have broken tonight, what with practically calling Lenna and Lori cows and all that, but anyways... they were both hypocrites. They could be forgiven.

He tilted his head at the last comment she'd made. "Was I complaining?" Aurum asked. "I thought I was just stating how it was."

He’d felt sorry for her….he had felt sorry for her in the court room. For a moment, Riley’s anger threatened to flare into an outright rage. How dare he feel sorry for her. Riley didn’t need someone like Aurum feeling sorry for her. Besides, there was no way he could be being sincere. Except when she looked at him on the other side of the cab…he either was sincere…or was the best liar she’d ever met.

Dammit.

It was deflating when someone actually stepped outside your expectations and showed themselves to be a decent human being. He was still misogynistic though, talking about how one of his “rules” was disliking seeing a woman mistreated. Apparently rules were meant to be broken, though. Riley couldn’t comment on that without feeling like a complete hypocrite, so she simply kept her mouth shut.

Aurum pointed out how he hadn’t been complaining and Riley shrugged her shoulders. ”It doesn’t matter." she said simply to prevent an awkward silence. ”And you’re right. Some things are simply the way they are.” She wasn’t even mad anymore. Just tired. Really tired.

"Some time though...just once. It might be nice to see principal stand above politics or position. I'm not fooling myself into thinking it'll happen to me, but still." she said, wondering even as she did why she wanted him to hear that.

>>”It doesn’t matter."

It did, a little... didn't it? Enough to elicit a response from him, anyways. And he didn't just say stuff for no reason.

>>”And you’re right. Some things are simply the way they are.”

"Mhm." He agreed.

Okay. There had been no reason for him to agree with her agreeing with him. He did comment pointlessly sometimes. What. Ever.

>>
"Some time though...just once. It might be nice to see principal stand above politics or position. I'm not fooling myself into thinking it'll happen to me, but still."

Aurum looked at her seriously. "When I'm a defense attorney, I'm gonna defend someone, no matter what."

He wasn't sure why he'd said that, either, but it felt like something to say. Something important. And so, he went went it. He let her hear what he thought she ought.

He just kept agreeing, and Riley kept looking out the window. Why was he doing that? He didn’t like her, no matter how hard he kept trying to apologize, and he had absolutely no reason to try and appease her.

She commented about principles and politics and Aurum commented with conviction that when he was a real lawyer, he’d defend someone no matter what. Riley looked back at him incredulously. That’s exactly what she’d been talking about!

”And that’s exactly the problem.” she said.

”Do you think for a second that I was the first one Gerry tried that on?” she asked, voice low but intense in the back of the cab. ”Do you have any idea how many creeps there are out there…and how many girls are just desperate enough…” she paused and shut her mouth, furious with him and furious with herself. Why was she explaining? She’d told herself time and time again that there was no getting through to this guy.

”And when you’re a real boy, you’ll make sure you defend your client no matter what.” she said, betraying her recent vow of silence, ”Have you ever wondered what you’d do if they didn’t deserve to be defended?”

Whoa, hold on a second. Back up a step. That was not how he'd wanted this to turn out. "You're misunderstanding..." He stopped. What exactly was she misunderstanding? What had his point been.

>>”And when you’re a real boy, you’ll make sure you defend your client no matter what.”

She said angrily.

>>”Have you ever wondered what you’d do if they didn’t deserve to be defended?”

And there it was. "Now just one minute," Aurum said quietly, seriously, as if he wanted to get every word right, not shout it at the top of his lungs. "What about the people that are innocent, but have the entire world against them? What about your case? If I'd been your attorney, instead of that idiot you'd hired, I'd have defended you, and gotten their stupid 'evidence' thrown out of court. A lot of that stuff wasn't even fair. Legally. Your attorney should have brought it to the attention of the court. That was his job. He didn't do it effectively. It's too bad Lonnie did his own job so well. Riley." He spoke a bit louder, to make sure she heard his point. "Everyone is entitled to a fair trial. It isn't up to the defense to decide whether their own client is guilty or not guilty. It's the prosecution. Defense attorneys protect, no matter what. They try their best to get the best possible outcome for their client. For those that cannot defend themselves. Do you get it?"

Frankly, he was a little shocked she hadn't already.

Riley almost laughed as he spoke almost. How had he managed to live so long as such an idealist in New York City? The incredulity on her face was evident as he continued his tirade, and looked at her as if he honestly expected her to understand the point he was trying to get across when his words simply reinforced her point.

”It’s easy to believe in a perfect system, isn’t it?” she threw back at him, eyes narrowed nearly to slits as she took his words to heart then threw them back and let them sink in.

”But the fact of the matter was, that I couldn’t afford a slick lawyer who knew what he was doing.” The words were cold and true. ”Did I know what was going to happen in that courtroom? Aboslutely.”

He’ said that a defense attorney did what they could to help people who couldn’t help themselves.

”But I was sick and tired of laying down for people like him to walk on me. I thought maybe I could make him think twice next time…if I was just enough of a pain. It didn’t turn out that way…but heck, the justice system ‘worked’ right?” she paused again for emphasis, ”Poor defenseless Gerry was protected from big bad me and all the other girls he’s tried to get his money’s worth from.”

Did she get it?

Riley looked steadily at Aurum, a small, not-very-nice smile curving her lips, ”You’re not the only idealist there’s ever been in the world, Aurum. And you all learn the hard way. It’s an ugly, ugly world out there, and you can judge me all you want right now, but one day you’ll see.”

She almost felt sorry for him. He'd obviously had his lofty ideas for a long time, their fall from grace would not have a soft landing.

Aurum looked away, then glanced back at her, eying her with mixed annoyance and distaste. "Your view of the legal system is messed up," He commented. "Skewed towards your favor. Biased as hell. You still don't get it." Why didn't she get it? "You say the legal system worked 'right'. No. Naw, it didn't. You went with a piece of trash lawyer who didn't do the most basic things he could do. He didn't call on the judge to determine the relevance of the references to your past Lonnie brought up. He didn't advise you more thoroughly to settle outside of court. He didn't advise you much at all. Frankly... he was kind of an idiot."

He stared at her. Then, Aurum said it. "I hate idiots." He looked away with a sigh. "Bad lawyers give us all a bad name." And back, making eye contact. "The only reason I got into this was so I could be there for people, when they can't find anyone to help them out. So they didn't have to deal with bull**** idiots like the guy you got. Jesus, I don't care if I have to eventually deal with defending a criminal. Criminal Defense attorneys have a job to do, just like the prosecution. Everyone's entitled to a fair trial, and... that applies to you, just like it would to everyone else. So, sorry." He frowned at her. "Sorry you got stuck with a bad lawyer and a jerk. But I can't make the world different, and I can't apologize for your own lawyer's incompetence."

The cab stopped. The cabbie turned back, rolling down his window. He looked at Aurum. "Your stop."

"Thank you." He turned back to Riley, rising from his seat. "Good bye."

He left her hanging, and slipped off into the night, leaving her the bill, and a whole lot to think about.

Riley opened her mouth to say something to Aurum, then shut it again. He was making her feel peevish, and immature, and like a whiner. That was ridiculous! She was justified! Gerry was a creep…and he’d…gotten a better lawyer.

Even in his half-drunken rant, Aurum took away all of her arguments….Riley didn’t have a chance to be angry about it. She was just to…gobsmacked. He’d completely dismantled all of her arguments. Riley was angry, and frustrated, and disappointed in the way things had turned out, but she wasn’t stupid. She knew when to throw in her cards. So as Aurum spoke, she looked back at him steadily, taking what he said in stride. What else was there to do?

He pointed out his reasons for wanting to be a lawyer, and again Riley found herself almost jealous. What must it be like to be so sure of yourself, and your place in life? He was infuriating. Absolutely infuriating. And smug. Finally Riley started feeling the way she thought she should….angry. He didn’t have to be so damn smug. She opened her mouth to tell him so, and the cabbie announced that they were at his stop.

The bastard got out of the cab without leaving a dime, full of righteous indignation, and cheap. Riley scowled. The night had been a complete waste. The cabbie was looking at her in the rear view mirror and she snapped her address, finally allowing herself to cross her arms and pout a bit. It had been a long time since anyone had done such a good job shutting her up. As much as she loathed to admit it, Riley was a bit impressed. Still, she scowled and let out a huff if indignation.

There was nobody to see or hear it but the cabbie…and he understood. Better dress-downs were rarely given in the back seat of his cab.