The Bet || Lizrei

Chapter 15

Liz checked her watch as she hurried down the crowded hall toward the courtroom where her nine o'clock bail hearing was scheduled. She was cutting it close. Between her extended shower with Rei earlier and the obscene amount of traffic her cab hit on the way, she had exactly forty three seconds to make her appearance without being late. And she knew Gaeul would not hesitate to hold her in contempt if she was tardy by even a single second.

Desperately wishing that she had a few minutes to stop for coffee, Liz hefted her briefcase closer to her side as she dodged yet another cookie cutter lawyer in a suit. Every time she and Rei made love before work, she always ended up rushing out the door and narrowly avoiding some judge's wrath. The fact that she was due in Gaeul's court only made things worse. Stopping outside of the courtroom's double doors, she realized that she had ten seconds to spare. She used them wisely, making sure that her decorative scarf was wrapped carefully around her neck to hide the hickeys she had acquired in the shower.

Taking a deep breath and steeling herself for another lecture, or at least a glare, Liz pushed open the doors to the courtroom and hurried over to the People's table, relieved that she always organized her notes well in advance so she wouldn't have to rummage through her briefcase and further embarrass herself.

Kim Gaeul peered down at her imperiously from the judge's bench, black robed and unforgiving. "Good morning, Ms. Kim. The Court is pleased to see that, despite all odds, you have managed to arrive on time." She glanced up at the clock to accentuate her point.

Liz tried to look unconcerned. "The People were caught in morning traffic... again..." she sighed. Fortunately, the defense, headed by Heesung Langan on this occasion, was still taking off his coat. He rolled his eyes at Liz, a gesture of commiseration instead of unfriendliness. He had been caught in the same traffic. The brief moment of camaraderie (Gaeul was a frightening judge to appear before, and morning traffic really did suck) ended when they both moved to open their briefcases.

"It's cold in here, isn't it?" Gaeul's comment surprised Liz, and she looked up in spite of herself. Cold? The Honorable Kim Gaeul never bothered with such trivialities as the temperature. Turning to the bailiff, she asked, "could you turn up the heat in here, please? These robes aren't as warm as they look."

Liz frowned, confusion evident in her features as she watched the bailiff do as he was instructed before meeting the judge's imposing stare with a small nod, confirming that the heat would be kicking on any second now.

"Your Honor," Heesung began, but was promptly cut off.

"Have I called court into session yet?"

Heesung shook his head from side to side slowly.

"Exactly," Gaeul nodded. "So, until I do, you are free to prepare your notes and what-have-you while I concern myself with the matters of my courtroom."

Liz hiked a brow and bit her lip as she obediently buried her head in her briefcase. Gaeul seemed to be in a real winner of a mood, and the last thing she needed was to end up on the Judge's shit-list. Again. Snide orgasm comments aside, Yujin had told her that the Judge was in on the pool. Besides, Liz was sporting a couple of rather impressive hickeys, and she figured it was best not to provoke a personal attack.

"Excellent," Gaeul called out loudly as the old heater kicked on with a hiss and a groan. "Now," she banged her gavel authoritatively, "court is in session. Case number 45872, The People v. John Tomas. Please have it entered for the record that ADA Kim Jiwon is representing the people of New York and Mister Heesung Langan is representing the defense. Mister Langan, how does your client plead in this matter?"

"Not guilty, Your Honor," Heesung announced smugly.

"So noted," Gaeul scribbled something on the file.