The Evil Inside

5. Mr. Hugh Kissel

     Hugh Kissel had practiced law for close to twenty years before his embarrassing disbarment. It was a scandal that crumbled the life he knew into tiny pebbles, ending his career as a lawyer as well as his marriage. His wife divorced him two years later and then took the kids to another state. He hadn't seen his daughters ever since and just that was enough to break his heart. His own inability to keep it in his pants was his demise. He knew it, which was the entire reason he never challenged his disbarment. He confessed to what he had done and begged the bar association for compassion and leniency. He got neither.

     Despite the fact that it was only noon never stopped Hugh from cracking open a new bottle of Jack Daniels, mixing it up with some ice cold coke classic, and drank it while watching episodes of Maury. He loved the episodes where they did DNA tests to see which guy this slut slept with was the true father of her baby. He was laughing and having a good time when there was an unexpected knock at the front door. Hugh muted the television.

     "I'm not interested!" he called out.

     "Open the door, we need to talk." A voice called back.

     "I don't want to accept Jesus, so fuck off!" Hugh called again.

     "Dammit, Hugh." The voice called again. "It's Max, open the damn door already!"

     "Why the hell should I?" Hugh asked, not leaving his seat.

     "Because I brought lunch!" Max answered through the door. "I need some advice and you're the only one I can trust."

     Hugh paused for a moment. "The door's not locked. Come on in."

     Max sighed before opening the door and then locking it behind him before strolling into the living room.

     "You're watching Maury again?" Max asked.

     Hugh paused the show again. "Whenever I see these people on this show and how fucked up their lives are, it always makes me feel a little bit better about myself."

     "I'll keep that in mind." Max said as he set the large bag down on the coffee table. "We need to talk about a case."

     "It's got to be a dozy if you're bringing me lunch." Hugh said as he looked over at the bag. "Is that Popeye's?"

     "That's right." Max said as he started to take the food out of the bag. "I got two spicy sandwiches, Cajun fries and some gravy. But I need you to sign this first." Max pulled out a form from his pocket and handed it over to him.

     Hugh opened it and had an amused look on his face as he read it to himself, "I have to sign this?"

     "The judge has already ordered a gag on the case." Max explained. "I can't talk to anyone about it, not even Janet unless they sign this and become a part of my team. I told the client that I need someone I trust to bounce ideas off. He signed it and now you need to or we can't even start talking about anything."

     "Damn, this one sounds serious." Hugh said as he continued to read the form.

     "Dude," Max started, "This will seriously fuck you up."

     Hugh paused for a moment and could tell by the look in the young man's face that he wasn't bluffing. Curiosity was finally getting the best of the old lawyer.

     "Alright," Hugh said as he signed the papers. "Let's get this out of the way. I'm not going to have to make any court appearances, do I?"

     "No," Max answered, "There's a good chance this will never see the inside of a court room."

     "Okay, let's start from the beginning." Hugh said as he turned the TV off. Maury and his tribe of losers were gonna have to wait.