Equalizer

After the cops had left with Gordon and Candace in cuffs, we all sat down so that Tabby and her girls could explain the situation in detail.

"We sorta figured you'd need our help," Tabby said. "From your call this morning, it was pretty evident that things were coming to a head. So, are we hired? Our rates are reasonable."

"Hell yes, you're hired!" William said with a grin and a relieved chuckle.

"Ok, now why didn't you call me before you called Tabby?" I asked. "She had to call me to tell me the situation."

"I was already planning to call her first, to see if she would handle my Divorce. I was already dialing her number when I overheard Candace telling Gordon to come over now. So I finished dialing her number, then asked Ms. Williams to call you, since Candace caught me talking to her. She came and found me after she got off the phone with the Asshole. I told Tabitha to call you right before I hung up and had to deal with the harridan."

"Ok, that makes sense. Oh, here," I said, fishing the small pocket recorder out of my pocket. "On here is your wife's confession that she would commit custodial interference to keep you from seeing your children in case of Divorce."

His eyes widened at that. "Really?"

I pressed Play: "So, if the Judge in your Divorce case awards Mr. Turner partial custody, you would defy that and risk Contempt of Court charges?"

"As if they could find me. I have enough money to disappear in Europe or Asia to a non-extradition country. My limp dicked hubby will never see his kids again!" I hit Stop.

"So, would that be admissible in court?" I asked the ladies with a raised eyebrow.

"Should hold up. Mr. Turner, as long as you gave Mr. Shepard specific instructions to record that on these premises, there isn't anything that your wife can really do about it. She made that statement of her own free will," Maggie said, grinning her shark grin again.

William was quick on the uptake. "Of course, I did," he lied with a smile on his face. "I was very specific that Mr. Shepard could record anything that would help in my Divorce from Candace."

I understood. I popped open the SD card slot and ejected it. Then I handed it to William. "Mr. Turner, here is the recording you requested."

"Thank you, Mr. Shepard," he said, then handed the SD card to Maggie, who put it in a small clear carry case which she then put in with the rest of the Divorce paperwork that she would be filing with the Judge.

I made sure that my exchange with Candace was the only thing on there, as I'd hit Start right before I asked the question and Stop right after her answer. That had been Plan C, by the way... sort of. I knew I had to improvise, and had grabbed the pocket recorder just in case. I'd been hoping for verbal threats from Gordy boy against either William, myself, or both of us. But when Candace had given me a wide open shot with her rant about the kids, I'd taken it. Half court shot, nothin' but net.

No, the threats hadn't started until the cops had gotten there, and they had witnessed the whole thing.

"Now I can go purchase that gun," William said. Then he turned to Maggie. "Could you please get a restraining order against my wife and her lover, so they can't come to the house, my business, or the school?"

"I can draw one up in no time and have it to a judge before close of business," she smiled. The Redheaded Vamp smelled blood, and she was going to bleed those two assholes dry.

I didn't even know Shelly and Maggie that well, but I liked them already. I just prayed that I'd never be in their sights like ol' Gordy boy and Candace were, right then.

"So what's next?" William asked to the room at large.

Maggie spoke up. "First off, you have some errands to run..." she started. She went on to enumerate all the things he would need to get done before close of business. First, he needed to hit the bank and close out the joint account, then put all his money into an account in his name only. Then he would need to head to the kids' school and let the Principal know that his wife was not allowed to pick up the children under any circumstances. After that, he would have to cancel and pay off all joint credit cards.

I counted myself lucky in that moment that Cindy hadn't wanted anything from me in our Divorce. I had no idea that it would be like going into battle in some cases.

I saw the strategy immediately. Divorces like this one are like going to war. You want to cut the enemy's supply lines while fortifying your own position. Taking every last dime out of the joint account did both for William. His wife wouldn't have anything to hire an attorney with, and he would be flush with funds to wage his own battle. Another fortification would be the kids' school. With her threats to take the kids and run, he had to act quickly to prevent her from abducting the children. Then the credit card cancelations would really hurt his soon-to-be ex-wife, while solidifying his own position.

I had to hand it to Maggie. She knows her shit as far as Divorces go.

"Come on, Deck," Tabby whispered to me. "Let's leave the Divorce experts to their job. I rode with Maggie and Shelly, so my car is back at the office. Would you take me to lunch? I'm getting hungry."

Maggie was going over some of the finer points for William, and Tabby's closeness was getting to me. A big part of me wanted to grab her, kiss her, and do other things to her that we'd both enjoy.

"Ok, guys. I'm going to take Tabby here to lunch. Will you all be ok without us for a bit?" I asked.

"We should be fine, hon," Maggie said with a genuine smile. "You two lovebirds have fun."

We were up and leaving as Maggie was telling William that he would need to change the locks on the house and change the house alarm code and the garage door openers as well.

When we got into my '79 Camaro, Tabby looked at me and squeezed my hand. I looked back at her and smiled. "Is there some reason why you're looking at me like that?" I asked with a bemused smirk.

"Just wondering why I didn't meet you ten years ago," she said. "You coulda saved me from marrying my asshole ex."

"I remember you telling me that last night," I said. "His fault, I take it?"

"Uh huh. Asshole couldn't keep it in his pants. Gave me a case of the clap before I kicked him to the curb. I made sure our whole church knew about it too. They pretty much ran him outta town on a rail. Anyway, after I got treated, nobody else in town would touch me. So I came out here to Cali, went to college, law school, and the rest you know."

"Hmmm. And you said your story wasn't very interesting," I chuckled. "That's way more interesting than my Divorce from Cindy."

"Do you believe in second chances?" she asked. At my questioning look, she said "No, I don't mean as in giving second chances to cheaters. I don't play that shit. I mean second chances at love."

"Good, because I had a girlfriend cheat on me once with my former best friend. I didn't take her back, and the whole fuckin' school knew she was a slut by the time my cousin was done with her."

"I gotta meet your cousin," she laughed.

"Well, she lives up in Santa Barbara close to our folks. My aunt and uncle, that is," I smiled. "To answer your second question, yes, I do believe in second chances at love. I won't lie to you, Tabby. I've been attracted to you since I first saw you chewing out your former client yesterday."

"Me too, Deck," she said with a smile. "I have to be honest too. I have dated white guys before, but you put them and the brothas I've dated to shame. You're the best kisser out of all of them."

That made me grin. My cock was rock hard from her closeness, and her statement gave my ego a huge boost. I could feel the signals coming from her. After Cindy, I had promised myself that I wouldn't fall so hard and so fast next time. With Cindy, it had been pretty much pure lust on both of our parts. I couldn't deny the attraction with Tabby, but I didn't want to do all my thinking with my cock, this time around.

"Tabby, please don't take this the wrong way. You are the best kisser I've ever experienced, and right now I would like nothing better than to take you back to either my place or your place and fuck you, make love to you, or whichever you prefer. The thing is, I'm still a bit gunshy about a new relationship, and it kind of scares me that I'm feeling this intense attraction to you."

Her smile disappeared for a moment. "What are you saying, Deck?"

"I'm saying that I want to take it slow with you. I don't want just a 'wham, bam, thank you ma'am'. I want to date you, get to know you, and make sure these feelings are real." I went on to describe how it had been with Cindy. The whirlwind courtship between assignments, and the fallout when she met a man who made more money than I did. Granted, the Divorce from Cindy had been very amicable, since I discovered that I didn't miss her at all after a while, but still. Ok, the sex had been incredible, but that was it. Seeing what was happening to William with what was most likely going to be an all-out war in court, made me think.

"I understand where you're coming from, hon," she smiled. "My Divorce was pretty hostile. If you want to take it slow, then I'm ok with that. It makes sense for both of us, anyway."

We shared another smile and I couldn't resist kissing her again. "Where would you like to eat?" I asked once we broke the kiss.

"I know this little place close to the office," she said. "I'll tell you where it is."

* * * * *

We got to the little diner and I was impressed. I like a good burger, and Tabby said they had the best burgers in California.

Once inside, we ordered our food and talked while we waited. We told each other our favorite types of music. I was a bit surprised to find that she enjoyed Country and even some Metal, while I admitted to enjoying some R&B along with my Metal. I even listen to Country sometimes, too.

Food wise, she admitted that Chinese was her favorite, while I told her that I love Italian. Granted, I like Chinese food as well, and she likes Italian too.

We ate and talked between mouthfuls, and I realized that I had learned more about her during our conversation last night and then this one than I had learned about my ex-wife in our year long marriage.

Tabby had been married for two years to her ex, a black guy named Thomas. He insisted on being called Thomas, not Tom or Tommy. From the way she described him, I pictured Blair Underwood's character from the movie "Something New". In other words, a complete douchebag.

When I mentioned that, she burst out with a melodic laugh. "That isn't too far off the mark," she chuckled. "I caught him cheating with my best friend, if you want a good cliché."

"Ouch! I feel lucky that Cindy wasn't cheating on me, that I know of. When she told me that she had met someone else, she made it a point to tell me that she hadn't slept with him yet, but was 'in love' with him. When I found out who he was, I kind of felt sorry for him. I'm pretty sure that if they don't have a pre-nup in effect, she's going to take him to the cleaners if they get Divorced."

"A real Richie Rich type, huh?"

"Yeah. Some big shot Lawyer named Warren Symington," I snorted. "I guess a Lawyer makes more than a Private Security goon, even though I was pulling down six figures a year."

Tabby's mouth had dropped open at that. "Warren Symington?!" she exclaimed. "I faced off against that asshole a few months back with another client. He's the Assistant DA for the City of Los Angeles!"

"Small world," I chuckled. "Like I said, I feel sorry for him if Cindy finds another guy who makes more than he does."

She snorted in response. "As far as I'm concerned, he deserves it if she takes him for every dime."

I just shrugged. "Well, it would teach him a lesson about gold diggers."

"She really didn't ask for shit when she filed?"

"Nope. She just said she wanted out. No division of assets. No alimony. No kids, so no child support. Just out. I believe she had literal dollar signs in her eyes when the Judge gave us the Quickie D and she was free to marry her 'one true love,'" I said with a wry smile.

"Well, if she's looking for a good reason to dump him, he's a lecherous asshole. He hits on every woman with a hole and a heartbeat. The man is fifty years old, but acts like a fuckin' teenager when it comes to women. Sometimes, I get the feeling that the heartbeat would be optional with him."

"Ok, that's kind of sick," I said, and couldn't help laughing. "Do you really think he would crack open a cold one?"

"Ewwwww!" she made a disgusted face. "I wouldn't put it past him, though. He hit on Judge Sherman once. That bitch should be retired by now, since I think she's pushing 90."

I laughed. "Are you sure she's that old?"

"Ok, she's probably around 60, but she LOOKS 90!"

"Still, that's kind of sick," I acknowledged.

"Yeah, well Warren is a horndog, so I think your ex would want to know if he's messing around on her."

"I'm not worried about it. It's her life. If she finds out and takes him to the cleaners, more power to her," I shrugged.

Tabby laughed at that. "You really are pretty laid back, aren't you?"

"On most things, yeah. If I dwelled on bad stuff, I'd go crazy. So I just take it in stride and do what I have to do."

"That's cool. I mean really cool. I like that in a man," she said, slipping her hand over to mine and giving it a squeeze.

I looked into her beautiful eyes and we shared another smile. Tabby is a strong woman, but doesn't let her strength translate into cruelty. I admire and respect that about her. She just doesn't put up with bullshit from anybody, as evidenced by how she'd stood up to Gordon and then stood up for William alongside me.

"You aren't like most lawyers I've met, Tabby. You actually have a good heart," I said as we gazed into each other's eyes.

"Thank you, hon," she said with her beautiful smile. "I try to see the goodness in people, but it's hard to do when I sometimes have to work with the worst that society has to offer."

"I know that feeling, too," I said. "Working for Red River, it was pretty easy to spot the assholes who were there just for the violence. I've run into guys like Gordon. Most of them weren't cowards like he is, though. At least they got their own hands dirty. I know it isn't much to respect someone for, but guys like Gordon who hide behind hired goons, even though he says he doesn't, are pathetic."

"Pathetic," she said with a snort. "That's a good way to describe him. The calls he made to me to get him out of trouble were filled with fear whenever he'd get put in a holding cell with some real badass hard cases," she said with a chuckle.

I chuckled along with her. We spent another 20 minutes talking, then called for the check. After I paid the bill, we left out and I dropped her at her car. We kissed, and then I followed her back to William's place.

* * * * *

When we got there, William and the ladies were just returning from their errands. Shelly had gone with him, while Maggie had gone and filed the Restraining and No-Contact orders with the court, as well as filing the Divorce paperwork.

They were still coaching him on what to do in preparation for the upcoming battle. He had removed his wife from his insurance and medical plans and named his children as sole beneficiaries of his Life Insurance policy. He had also gone to the hospital and had them take a DNA sample to see if the kids were actually his. Their DNA was already on file from when they were born. It would only take a few days to compare the sample he gave to their records and get him the results.

"Wow. I think I was lucky that my Divorce wasn't this bad," I said with a wry smile as they wrapped up the latest coaching session. When I told Maggie and Shelly how amicable it had been, they laughed and told me that I had to be the luckiest man alive, as far as Divorces went.

"Well, hopefully I won't have to go through an all-out war like William here," I smiled. "I'm going to stick this one out, though. I have the feeling you're going to need my help at some point. I have a bad feeling about this whole mess."

"I hope you're wrong on that, but we'll take all the help we can get," Maggie said with a smile. "You've already provided some great evidence against Mrs. Turner, with that recording. I got it logged into evidence for the upcoming court hearings, and made copies while I was at it."

So saying, she handed me a copy on a different SD card, and handed one to William and Tabby as well. "There. Just in case something happens to the original. After the crap Gordon has pulled in the past, I wouldn't put it past him this time to try and tamper with evidence on that bitch's behalf."

"Would he really do that?" William asked.

"You stood up to him, William," Tabby said. "Bullies like him don't like it when their victims stand up to them and stop being a victim. Right now, he's facing some serious jail time. You and Deck will probably be subpoenaed to testify against him on the Assault and Trespassing charges."

William looked at me, and I nodded that I was with him on this. He looked at Tabby. "I'm not scared of him anymore, and I'll testify against him if it puts him away." Then he turned and looked at me. "I have a week to go before I can pick up the Smith & Wesson .38 I bought while I was out earlier. I've also applied for a Concealed Weapons permit."

I nodded. I should have thought of that, but I heard they're notoriously hard to get here in California. That William had taken the initiative on that showed that he was thinking for himself too.

"Good. That way, you won't be unprotected while you're out of the house," I smiled my respect for him. "I have one question, though."

"What's that?" he asked.

"If the kids aren't yours, will you still sue for custody?" I asked. I had to get a sense of where he was.

He sighed. "Yes, I will. If it comes to that, and my children have a different biological father, I'll also sue Candace and whomever their birth father would be for Fraud and back child support, since I was led to believe that they were mine. If they ARE my children, which I believe they are, I won't sue anyone, and won't care about Child Support from Candace. But either way, I love my children, whether of my own flesh and blood or not."

"Sounds like a plan to me," I shrugged. He'd been the kids' father for all of their young lives, and loved his kids dearly. I saw the determination on his face, and hoped that one day I'd be a father too. Cindy had been on Birth Control during our entire relationship, and back then, it had suited me just fine. Now, however...

"So what's next?" William asked Maggie, breaking me from my reverie.

"I think that's pretty much all you can do for now, William," she responded. "You will probably be notified of their court date, and we will notify you if they get out of jail on Bond or Bail. Until then, we have the Restraining and No-Contact orders in place, to be reviewed after your initial Divorce hearing. I'll be working to get them made permanent, but you will need to NOT contact either Gordon or Candace at all. If you do, those Orders will most likely be voided by the judge."

"I understand," he nodded. "I've never been one to gloat, and I have you all to thank for getting me out of this mess."

So saying, he stood and shook hands with all of us.

"Don't thank us yet though, William," Tabby said. "There are still a lot of things that might go wrong, and then there's the possible danger to your life from Gordon. We can't prove anything yet, but with his threats against your life, we're going to have to keep a close watch on you and your children. That will be Deck's job."

"That's what I'm here for, alright," I smiled. Then I lost the smile as I laid it all out for him. "William, I'm not going to lie to you. This could get dangerous for you and your children. Even with the Restraining Order in effect, it's just a piece of paper. You can't pick up your gun for a week, and that's only going to increase your security a little bit. As long as you know how to use it effectively, it should provide a good defense for your home. If you get the Concealed Carry License, that will help you outside the home too. But until then, if you have ANY problems with what you think might be an intruder on the premises, or someone following you, you call ME right after you call 911. Got it?"