Intoxifresh

Chapter Eighteen

The morning of the court case soon arrived and George smiled to himself as he stood at Toms mirror wearing his newly acquired suit. 'Looking pretty sharp, Mr T, if I don't say so myself,' he commented to his reflection just before Tom walked in.

'Are you ready?' Tom asked. 'We really need to get going.'

'I'm just about ready,' he said, feeling good about the day ahead.

After a quick spray of breath mint, George joined Tom and Simon in the car and they were on their way.

'Are you sure you have everything you need?' Tom enquired.

'Absolutely, I've gone over everything with Dexter. Everything I need is in my briefcase.' George replied.

The courthouse was a magnificent and old building; its vast size boasted a look of both grandeur and strength. The words The Royal Courts of Justice were fixed to a wall below a large coat of arms. The main doors were open and they walked inside to the reception. Simon spotted a drinks dispenser and returned with three plastic cups of water. 'Thanks Simon, I needed that.' George said after drinking it down in one.

'Name, Sir?' ask the receptionist.

'Thornley. It should be down for 11 am.'

The young girl's eyes drifted over several papers before she spotted the right one. 'Thornley versus Merrick?' she enquired. George nodded. 'Just take a seat, Sir, you'll be called momentarily.' They sat down and quietly made small talk until a man wearing a red and white gown appeared to confirm their names.

'Please follow me, Gentleman,' he said in a relaxed but stern manner. George, Tom and Simon followed the clerk through another door and into a large room where only a handful of people were talking, reading or signing documents. The air was musky and everything seemed to be made of a dark wood, except for the colourful coat of arms on the wall in the centre. Tom and Simon took a seat at the back of the courtroom, while George took his seat at the front. Two court officials asked George for his name again. He answered and took a look at his green dragon. The proceedings would commence in a few minutes.

Dexter Worthington strolled in and shook hands with George before going to the officials to confirm his status as George's defence. He then sat next to George, glanced at his Rolex and turned to the door upon hearing someone else enter. Following closely behind Mr Merrick was Mr Smyth, using both walking sticks to manoeuvre, also a few faces they'd never seen before, including about a dozen sharply dressed men with briefcases. Merrick's grin seemed fixed. Last to arrive was Karim, who joined Tom and Simon on the back row.

Whispers turned into silence when the Magistrate appeared through a side door and sat down on a raised central platform. He took some papers from a spectacled young woman before commencing with the proceedings.

The registrar called the plaintiff to the stand. Marvin Merrick wedged himself into the seat, promised to tell the truth and then confirmed his full name and address before beginning a convincing speech. After many questions had been put to him, the majority from Dexter Worthington, Marvin remained firm that he was the man at the top of Merrick and Smyth Pharmaceuticals and that he had worked with George in the creation of Intoxifresh. He also stated that he owned all rights to the new pill as it was created at his firm with the help of an employee on his payroll. Marvin handed his evidence to the Magistrate and went to sit down. The court then broke for lunch. Karim left the court after telling his friends he'd be back shortly.

George, Tom, Simon and Dexter sat at one of the many grey tables to eat. Both Tom and Simon looked worried. 'He gave quite a convincing speech.' Tom said miserably, looking up from his plate.