Faun Over You Ch. 06

The three of them exchanged a quick glance, and before Rose could say anything in reply, Lauren continued.

"Calvin is a cutthroat lawyer and infamous in the media circle because of his penchant for representing major companies and corporations. He is exceptional as a prosecutor, and his record shows it. Thankfully though, he has never been involved with Gen-U-Tech in any capacity. You get him, and you will have them clenching their assholes in fear. Pardon my profanity."

"Do you happen to have his number?" Danny asked.

Lauren looked over at him, and a devilish grin split her face. It was as good a yes as any.

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"Fletcher, Burke, & Granger Law Offices, this is Julia. How may I direct your call?" came a rather pleasant sounding voice from the phone.

Lauren had called Calvin Burke's practice after they had eaten a small lunch and discussed the plan to get him on board, and it was agreed that Lauren was the best suited to speaking with him as she had done so on a few occasions prior. They went over the few things that they were comfortable with sharing that wouldn't really give anything away, and anything els would be decided on the fly if need be.

"Yes ma'am, this is Lauren Stern from the New York Times. Could you please connect me to Mr. Burke? I'm afraid it's urgent."

"One moment please" came her cordial reply.

There was a small pop and a brief pause, and then the line picked back up and a man spoke.

"I can't imagine why you're calling me Lauren, as I currently don't have any juicy cases on my desk. ...or is this about something I haven't heard yet?"

His voice was smooth, and it had an alluring quality to it. That, coupled with the picture they had seen of a decently fit man in his 40s and a rather coy grin, gave him a natural charisma that drew you in and had you hanging off his every word. Rose had said it was good he had taken up law and not started a cult somewhere, and that had made Lauren bark out loud with laughter.

"A bit of both actually, with the second leading into the first. Mind if I borrow your ear for a few minutes?"

He was quiet for a few seconds, but then he simply said "proceed."

"What if I told you that I had the makings of a case that would put your name down in the law books for the rest of time?"

"I'd ask what exactly you think it is that makes it seem likely. That's a tall order."

"Actually, it's about 5'9"."

Rose had to stifle a snicker at Lauren's quip. He didn't say anything, but grunted an affirmative. That must have been normal for him, as Lauren continued immediately after.

"That missing scientist from Gen-U-Tech, the one that-"

"Look Lauren, I've listened to so many of your speculations on that company and it borders on conspiracy theory more than it does fact! You work for the Times, not the National Inquirer! If you think I'm going to represent a case without proof, then-"

"I'm looking at her right now Calvin. She is sitting not even 5 feet from me, listening to this conversation."

Silence, and after a solid ten seconds, Lauren continued.

"She contacted me, and I was promised exclusive story coverage, and when she said she hadn't decided on a lawyer yet, I told her about you. I know you Calvin, and I know you get results. I'm offering you an ironclad case, that someone of your ability could not possibly lose, save the most impossible of circumstances."

Lauren was grinning mischievously as she spoke. She had told them that Calvin absolutely hated losing, and appealing to him with how assuredly he would get the win would draw him in like a fly to feces. She waited patiently for him to reply, letting him mull it over, and it took him almost a full minute before he said anything.

"Put her on."

Lauren held the phone over to Rose, who leaned towards it.

"Umm, hello?"

"How much?"

"...I'm sorry, I don't understand what-"

"How much do you want from them? How much money will it take them to offer before you finally agree to a deal with them?"

Rose's eyebrows lifted slightly as she understood what he wanted, and then her face hardened as she replied.

"There is no amount of money they can offer me that would appease me. I don't want money. I want vindication."

Her voice was cold, and you could hear the seriousness in it as she spoke. Calvin was quiet for a little while, but then he spoke up again.

"Can you be at my office tomorrow morning by 10am? I want to talk turkey with you. ALL of you, Lauren."

Lauren clicked her tongue at that, but said nothing.

"I think that can be arranged. There will be..."

Lauren paused to look at them, her gaze flicking to each of them in turn. Rachael held up a hand and shook her head, understanding what she was doing.

"...three of us, counting myself."

"Good."

The line went dead, and Lauren let out a sigh of relief. She sat her phone on the coffee table, next to the small recorder that was still going, and grabbed her replacement glass. She leaned back and put her head in her hand as she took a brief sip of water.

"I assume you will be driving?" she said aloud to Danny.

"Yes. We can leave in an hour and be there in time to grab a hotel for the night."

Lauren nodded silently, sipping on her drink again, and then suddenly grinning with that same devilish grin from earlier. She locks eyes with Rose, and then chuckles softly.

"I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees you tomorrow."

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Calvin Burke had seen many things in his career as a lawyer. He had seen crime scene photos that would give most people nightmares, and had fought for people that he knew truly deserved to be hanged because of the things they'd done, but they were paying him, so he did his job, and he did it well.

Now though, Calvin was sitting at his desk, mouth agape at the woman standing in front of him. She had been dressed to look like she was in mourning, complete with a thick black veil covering her face. It wasn't until they were inside his office with the door shut and the blinds closed, that she had removed her headpiece.

He had laughed at first, thinking that this HAD to be a joke, and an elaborate one at that. But when he finally stopped laughing, he noticed that none of them had joined in, not even Lauren. This caught him a bit off guard, and that was when they had hit him with a bombshell.

The girl, Rose, began to recount the night she had gone missing, with Lauren recording everything as she did. She hadn't been made aware of the details either, so the both of them sat and listened as she recounted the details. The man, Daniel Cross, was holding her hand throughout the entire tale, and she would sometimes stop and squeeze his hand when her voice started to waver a bit, and then she would continue with renewed vigor.

After the phone call yesterday, curiosity had gotten the better of him, and Calvin had looked up the info concerning Ms. Vansant. He had a solid enough understanding of what was known to be able to spot any discrepancies and poke holes in her story, but everything she said had lined up with what had been previously reported. The only difference was that there were also things mixed in that would not have been as publicly known, and that was where his insider knowledge from some of the other firms had come up.

He called in favors from other lawyers he was friends with and asked if they had any info they could spare on Gen-U-Tech, and they had provided him what they could with minimal prodding as to why he wanted it. Everything she was saying was corroborated by that back pocket info, and the more she talked, the more he was convinced that this girl had truly gone through everything she was describing to him.

It was nearly an hour before she was done, and an additional two before he had stopped asking her questions of his own. He leaned back in his chair, hand over his mouth as he contemplated everything he had just learned. He held up his other hand and began speaking aloud, but not to anyone in particular.

"Illegal human experimentation, and assault with a deadly weapon. Those alone are probably enough, but then the theft of an untested and extremely volatile mutating serum, and his admittance that he knew exactly what he was doing? What would've happened if it had been someone else? Kidnapping? It's not much of a stretch really..."

Danny, Rose, and Lauren watched in silence as Calvin muttered to himself for several minutes, none of them daring to speak and interrupt his train of thought. When he finally stopped, he turned slowly and looked at each of them in turn, and then his face split in a grin that reminded Danny of the Grinch in the old animated cartoon.

"Ms. Vansant, I have decided I will take up your case, pro bono."

Rose seemed taken aback, and apparently so was Lauren.

"Pro bono? YOU?" she said in disbelief.

"Did I stutter? Ms. Vansant may not be after money, but I intend to bleed those bastards dry of as much money as I can in the court proceedings. I'll make them file chapter 7 by the end of it all, if I play my cards right. Obviously I won't keep it all to myself, but I'll make sure you aren't ever hurting for financial support for the rest of your life. Sound good?"

Rose looked at him with slight apprehension, and she felt a squeeze on her hand. She looked over at Danny, who gave her a warm smile, and then pulled her hand up to his face, where he kissed her tenderly on the back of her palm. Rose turned back to face Calvin Burke, now fully ready to take the plunge into the unknown before her.

"Deal."

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We've reached the peak of the hill, and now there's only one way down, so hold on tight because the next chapter is going to be one you won't want to miss!