Simply Sonny: An SVU love story

Chapter 73: Gone

The next morning, I head to my lawyer's office early as she requested. She never called me back after I called her so I figured I'd just go over early to see her as she requested. When I arrive, the door is locked but there is a light on in the office. I ring the bell and knock and then wait for a few minutes for her to come let me in. When she doesn't, I pull out my phone and dial the office. It rings but no one comes out. I stand around for another 45 minutes before her receptionist shows up. She looks at me and smiles, but it's clear she's annoyed she has to deal with a client before her official clocking in time, "what can I do for you, Addison?"

"Mrs. Flynn wanted me to come in early to talk but she didn't answer the door," I respond, looking past her, telling her I see a light on, meaning I think she's back there.

She looks over her shoulder and hums, then turns back to me and says, "weird, when I left she was gone. Must've come back to work. Here, let me see if she's ready for you."

She moves to turn a key into a door as I answer, "well, I hope so. We need to leave for court soon if we're going to be on time." She doesn't answer me and just pushes the door open.

I sit down in the front room as she heads to the back to see if she's there. When she comes out she has a puzzling look on her face, "I'm sorry Addison, but she's not here. I guess she came back for a bit and left her light on when she left."

"Well, can you try calling her? I'd really like to know who else the defense got to testify before walking in today." Maybe if she saw her assistant calling, she'd take the call.

Cindy tries twice to call Mrs. Flynn but she doesn't answer either call. She apologizes to me, "I'm sorry. Maybe she's already at the courthouse?"

I shrug and stand up picking my bag up off the floor, "I hope so. Thanks!" I wave at her as I leave the office room.

When I get to the courthouse, Sonny is already outside waiting for me. His face is full of concern and he whispers as I reach him, "where's Flynn?"

I shrug, "here, I hope. She wasn't at her office."

He shakes his head, "well, she's not here either. And you're not going to like who the defense added to their testimony." My stomach drops, not even sure who he's about to say. He tells me, "it's Lori."

"Lori? Why would they want her to testify? I thought she would be a good character witness for me if we needed it." I say out, reminding him of one of the conversations I had with my lawyer.

He shrugs, "Barba couldn't tell me much. But that's not really something we should worry about right now, Flynn isn't here."

My heart races inside my chest, "what do we do?"

He sighs, "we request a continuance, figure out where she is."

I nod, beyond thankful he's in my life and walking by my side through this drama. We move to walk inside and I ask, "so, do I just go in there alone and stand up and explain what's going on.. or?"

He says, "I'll go with you."

"But what about in the actual courtroom? Behind the desk and everything?" I inquire.

He explains, "I'll be your stand in lawyer."

"What? Wait. You can do that?" I inquire, knowing nothing about this system, and totally forgetting he passed the bar.

He shrugs, "well since your lawyer is MIA and we know Barba, I don't think he'll object. It's just for today, so we can get this thing postponed till we find Flynn."

I bite my lower lip, "you sure? I don't really want to wrap you up in all this mess."

"Babe, please. You're not wrapping me up in anything. It'll be fine." He assures, grabbing my hand and giving it a firm squeeze, "let's head in."

"If you're sure" I barely say back above a whisper.

Barba gives Sonny a strange look as he walks with me to the table. After being told to stand for the judge, he orders us to sit and looks to Sonny with a weird scowl on his face. He comments, "I'm in no mood for games. Where's Ms. Flynn?"

"We're not sure, your honor. I'm here to fill in for her and would like to request a continuance." Sonny speaks up after he stands to address her question.

He sounds confident and strong as he stands tall as he waits for his response. He pulls off his glasses and asks, "you're not sure?"

"That's right, your honor." He confirms, "we haven't been able to get a hold of her."

"Counselor?" The judge looks to Barba for his say in the matter.

Barba replies, "we have no objection."

"Well you might not, but I do. You have 24 hours to find your lawyer Ms. Collins or get a hold of another. And if detective Carisi here is your lawyer please make sure to make that known prior to your appearance. We will reconvene this time tomorrow." He bangs the gavel and stands to leave.

Sonny turns to me with a sort of sloppy shrug and says, "24 hours to find her, I'm sure we'll be hearing from her soon."

"And if we don't?!" I ask in a hushed panic.

Before Sonny could answer me, Barba comes over to where we stand, "so, taking on your first court case already. You sure you're ready for that Carisi?" Barba has a sort of grin on his face and I can't tell if he's seriously asking him or being sarcastic.

Sonny just chuckles it off and replies, "nah, just filling in. Hey, have you heard from Flynn at all?"

He shakes his head, "not since my assistant called over our newest addition to the witness list."

"Lori, right. What's she doing as a witness for you anyway?" Sonny asks him.

Barba gives him a knowing glare and answers, "I can't share that with you, you have to ask Flynn. And if you can't, get another attorney and let them fill you in."

"Yeah, alright." Sonny nods to him, "we should get going. See ya later."

However, before we could leave Barba asks to speak to Sonny privately for a second. He excuses himself for me and is gone for only a minute before He comes back over to me and says, "let's go find Flynn and figure out what Lori is doing for a witness for the state."

"What did Barba want?" I look over my shoulder at him as he pulls out his phone.

Sonny just says, "I'll tell you later, come on."

"Okay, yeah. Let's go." I hesitate as I follow behind him.