Siblings with benefits

The next couple of weeks things began to unravel even more; a key witness for the prosecution suddenly backed off and a new witness for the defense appeared out of nowhere, the witness was an ex boyfriend of Alicia's who claimed she loved violent sex. In the meantime a day wasn't going by without something more coming out about my brother; pictures of him with Abigail, as well as other high ranking members of the church of Satan; photos of my brother with young girls in various stages of undress and of him carousing in New York with a well known porn-star that he'd had a fling with a couple of years ago; and then finally, saving the best for last, the story of Max resurfaced. This was released as a huge half page article talking about how Mark had crippled Max Thompson for life, yet somehow the judge deemed it not worth going to trial. Rumors started circulating that Mark had planned it all along and, just like he had accused Winthrop of doing, had used influential connections to buck the system.

During this time my brother had stayed silent, only telling the press that they could think whatever they wanted to, but what really mattered was that a young girl was raped and it was a shame they cared more about how many women he had bedded than justice being served. As I sat there, moving ten feet at a time in the bumper to bumper traffic, I continued flipping through the pages, the headlines leaping out at me;

"Phillips linked to church of Satan."

"Bad boy attorney has performed live sex shows."

"Phillips cleared of attempted murder by judge later found to be corrupt."

"Victim of Phillips attack crippled and disfigured for life."

That night I had gotten a call from my mother who asked me to come up and see Mark. Apparently dad had cornered Mark for a beer after work and had told mom that he was a nervous wreck, that he was shaking, and didn't seem at times to even be able to follow the conversation they were having. I explained to mom what could happen and she had sighed and agreed. I had hung up and immediately called Mark who sounded god awful. I once again offered to come up and his heartbreaking response to me was;

"I can't protect myself right now Meg, let alone you."

Mark then told me some of what was really going on behind the scenes. Apparently two people; Richard Adams, Editor in Chief of the Providence Journal and a city councilman named Jack Roberts were both in league with Alex Warner and were running a campaign to either knock him off the case or break him. The Journal was publishing any photo or story McAllister wanted and Roberts was using his influence to push the State towards getting Mark thrown off the case. My brother was fighting battles on all fronts and was beginning to lose the war.

This of course was exactly what McAllister had been waiting for; up to this point he had, as Mark had accused him , sat in the background and let Mark and the head of his firm, Jim Howard, who was Mark's co council, battle the rest of his team. With Mark obviously worn down McAllister now stepped in himself and for the next week proceeded to go on the attack, discrediting several more witnesses and even crossing up Alicia in her own story. Worse than that he had baited Mark into making several mistakes in his own examinations leading to the headline;

"McAllister makes bad boy look bad."

In the article McAllister was quoted as saying;

"Phillips is pretty good for a small town attorney, but it's a far cry from the Bush league to the Big Leagues."

Just as McAllister had underestimated my brother, this was where Mark learned the hard way that there were reason's Reggie McAllister had never lost a case. In a dirty, but brilliant move, McAllister brought Samantha, who was now an attorney with a New York firm, on board to help with the case. This worked out perfectly for the defense, as my brother was clearly rattled and lost a witness in a cross examination that Samantha was involved in.

Mark had told me that he had gone and seen Samantha at her hotel that night and told her to stay away from the case; the kid was guilty and she was going to look bad. Samantha had smiled coldly at him and said the only thing that mattered was that he was going to lose for the first time and that she was going to see it happen.

Two days later the defense came up with a picture of Carson in a dominatrix costume, complete with a dog collar. The picture made it into the paper and McAllister was trying to use it as an example showing that Carson obviously liked rough sex. The photo had been taken at a costume party and was taken out of context but the fact was people had seen it. Under the photo the caption stated that attorney Samantha Castini had come up with this important piece of evidence. Up until this point Mark had been playing the case straight; trying to win clean and not stoop to McAllister's level, but that trick, combined with Samantha's smug remark of; "Who says you're never better than your teacher?" Was enough to get Mark to strike back in kind.

The next day in court after Samantha finished questioning Carson about the photo, Mark had stood up and asked the judge if he could ask Samantha a couple of questions in order to refute her claim that pictures always told the truth. The Judge allowed it and Mark then asked Samantha where she had gotten her Nursing degree. Samantha had asked what he was talking about, and my brother then produced a photo of Samantha in a risqué nurses costume, her tits all but hanging out and her tongue sticking out provocatively, Mark then asked her when she had been sworn in as a police officer and displayed a picture of her in an equally trashy police girl outfit with the cuffs around her wrists.

As Samantha stood there speechless my brother addressed the jury and said that Samantha had to be a nurse and a police officer because there were pictures and pictures, according to Miss Castini never lied. Mark then shook his head and said that of course she wasn't a nurse just as Alicia Carson wasn't a Dominatrix. My brother had then sighed dramatically and suggested that any first year law student would know that. Turning to a humiliated Samantha my brother, risking contempt at that point, told her to go back to school, and held up a picture of her in a school girl costume complete with pigtails. At that point the Judge had called for Mark and McAllister to approach the bench as he turned away from her Mark's parting shot to Samantha was;

"Good luck finding someone to pay your way this time."

As the Judge then told both Mark and McAllister to clean up their act Samantha fled the courtroom in tears.

Mark had called me that night after midnight and looking to talk. After telling me what happened in court, he said he hadn't slept in a week and the trial was getting to the point where it was going to be Carson and Winthrop taking the stand for the final examinations and that he was such a mess, that Jim Howard was thinking of taking over because he didn't feel Mark could handle McAllister at this point. My heart went out to my brother as he told me with complete frustration in his voice that he didn't understand why it was happening; he knew he had gotten away with Max and that was exactly why he was doing this, to make amends and even the score so to speak.

As I listened, my heart breaking for him, Mark talked about how badly he felt for hurting Samantha again. It had only been a few months since he had broken it off with her and he had just really gotten completely over it and now he had crushed and humiliated her. Mark told me he had gone to see her at her hotel again, to try to apologize, she had already finished packing to leave and, when Mark tried to talk to her, she had hauled off and slapped him and through her tears told him how much she hated him. Speaking of tears, Mark didn't sound far from them himself. I tried to console him telling him that he didn't have a choice that Samantha would have kept pushing and, in her attempt to get revenge on him, would have ended up hurting this girl and, after realizing it, would have felt even worse than she did now. I also threw in that it was McAllister's fault anyways; that the bastard was smart enough to know he was setting Samantha up and did it anyways to get Mark to blow or collapse. Either way it would help him. Samantha had been a sacrifice.

My brother was quiet on the other end for so long I asked if he were still there, when he answered he sounded different, not as upset but tense, he told me that I was right, that Samantha was a pawn in their attack and that they had forced him to react and hurt her. Mark then repeated that he had been trying to do this the right way. But by everyone else's right way not his. Mark thanked me for reminding him to be true to himself and our beliefs and, after telling me how much he loved and missed me, told me to follow the news because tomorrow he was going to forget being the better person and take what he wanted, and what he wanted was Winthrop and McAllister's ass.

The following day my mother had called and asked me if I knew if Mark was okay, because the story of the day was that Mark did not show up for court. This led to the speculation that my brother was finally succumbing to the pressure and was backing off, before he was due to face McAllister in the final cross examinations. The rumor gained momentum when it was announced that my brother had called a press conference to be held in the foyer of his firm at five o'clock. Apparently my brother just needed the day to do what he did best; get even.

The press conference was only televised locally, but I was able to watch it on the internet. Mark came in looking incredible as always, too good for someone who was supposed to be a beaten man, but that seemed to go unnoticed, as according to the reporter doing the lead in, the general buzz leading up to the news conference was that Mark was going to remove himself from the case. The press conference was small and, the reporter had pointed out, by invitation only. In addition to the Journal reporters, there were representatives from several small town papers like the Pawtucket Times and Johnston Sun that never made it to things like this.

When Mark reached the podium he looked around and smiled, a thrill went through me. as I knew that look; Mark was going to put on a show. Before Mark spoke he picked up a clicker and as he hit it the picture of him showing his Baphomet tattoo appeared on the projection screen behind him. Another click showed him at a club sandwiched between two young scantily clad girls, the next was my brother shirtless, wearing a dog collar, Mark turned to look at it and turning back to the reporters grinned and said; "Good times." There were a couple of laughs then Mark turned back and spoke again;

"I said before that it's a shame that the pictures behind me, as well as my religious beliefs, are more of a concern to you than the fact that a heinous crime was committed against an innocent girl. I've also said that I would not discuss anything other than the case, nor would I stoop to the level of my opponent or his benefactors. Today, however, things are going to change."

Mark paused and clicked back to the picture of the Baphomet.

"Yes I follow the teachings of Anton Levay, who amongst other things talked of not being a hypocrite. I am no hypocrite and take my beliefs seriously. I pray every day." Mark stopped and after looking around for a second asked; "Do you? No, you don't, you sin all week, pretend you're sorry on Sunday, and do it again the next week. Your good book says 'Let he who is without sin cast the first stone'."

Mark once again paused this time shaking his head sadly.

"There have been a lot of stones cast at me lately, and yet I know for a fact those casting the stones have committed more than their share of sins." He smirked and a thousand miles away I felt myself begin to hold my breath in anticipation. "You call me a player, a womanizer; for the record, I, unlike many of you, am not married, and every woman I have ever been to bed with has been consenting and of age. I have broken no laws, moral or otherwise. I simply live the life that all you hypocrites wish you could, but since you can't, you condemn me to cover your envy." Another shake of his head, "Jealousy my friends is an ugly emotion."

"Now," Mark started, as he stared directly at Richard Adams, who although the editor of the Journal, had been front and center for the entire case. "Please allow me to impart some wisdom from my good book." Mark made an exaggerated show of clearing his throat and began;

"When walking through a field bother no one, if someone bothers you ask them to stop. If they do not stop destroy them." Mark nodded, as if in agreement with his own words, and then continued;

"My field is this trial. Despite my reputation I have gone about prosecuting Steven Winthrop with class and dignity, sticking to the fact that he is guilty and all I need to do is prove it. Meanwhile, I have been the victim of a vicious slander campaign led by people in the pocket of the defendant's family. When asked about my perceived indiscretions I responded that it was my business and let's get back to the facts of the case. That was my warning to leave me be. But did you?"

Mark shook his head and the tone of his voice changed, getting quieter and more intense as he continued to look directly at Adams.

"Oh no you kept going, setting up Samantha Castini, a young attorney who was out of her league and has a personal axe to grind with me, to take a fall. You fed her false evidence and set her off on me. You tried to use her to weaken me." Mark then smiled and whispered;

"That only leaves the last part of the quote." With an evil smirk Mark hit the clicker, on the screen behind him appeared a photo of Adams and his wife that had been in last week's local section, the article, underneath spoke of them celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary.

"During this trial many photos have surfaced of me, photo's that somehow always found their way to your desk Robert. You used them saying that, as a public figure I am subject to the scrutiny of the press. Well Mr. Adams let me show you what has surfaced on my desk."

Another click and a gasp went up, the next photo showed Adams walking into a seedy motel with a very young girl in an extremely short skirt. The picture changed replaced by a photo of the same girl sitting on Adams lap wearing a cheerleader's outfit and kissing him.

"Funny that doesn't look like Elizabeth, now does it?" Mark asked.

The camera panned to Adams who was white as a ghost. Mark continued.

"The girl's name is Kristin Ware and at the time those pictures were taken she was seventeen years old. When all you fine reporters get back to your office you will see that someone, the same someone who sent me these lovely photos, has emailed you her contact info. Something tells me she would love to talk." Mark's smile then grew broader, "Especially about the baby."

Someone called out something but Mark put his hand up.

"I am not here to answer questions; I am here to give fair warning. This is the tip of the iceberg, starting tomorrow if anything appears about me that is not related directly to this case, if anything that has nothing to do with my performance and is personal surfaces, there will be more revelations to come. Unlike these pictures anything else from this extremely reliable source will be sent directly to the impartial press, so sorry Robert, not to the Journal." Mark hung his head down and after taking a deep breath said;

"So for you reporters from the smaller papers who were invited here, I've been told there's something waiting for you, something big." Mark shrugged. "I'm not sure what it is, but hopefully it's as entertaining as my YouTube videos." Mark looked around the room one last time and said;

"Tomorrow I will be back in court. In two days the final questioning starts and I am looking forward to finally facing Reggie McAllister, one on one, with no distractions." Mark smiled into the camera;

"Just you and I Reggie, and you are going to learn what everyone in Rhode Island already knows; I take what I want. And what I want is a ten year minimum sentence; think about that Reggie."

With that Mark turned and walked away leaving the picture of Adams on the screen behind him.

As I sat there shaking my head and smiling ear to ear, the reporter tried to ask Robert Adams a question, but he stormed past. The reporter then went on to mention that now there could possibly be action taken against my brother in the form of a defamation of character suit. The last thing he mentioned was that he was sure that people would be going out of their way to grab up copies of the small town papers tomorrow morning and wondered what would be so interesting.

It turned out to be more than interesting, it turned out to be outright scandalous. The next morning, the front page of the Pawtucket Times, Johnston Sun and Cranston Herald all featured a photo of councilman Jack Roberts on a beach in Aruba holding the hand of a young blonde man who barely looked eighteen. The article continued onto the next page and featured two more pictures of Roberts, one with the same blond at a club in New York with his arm around him, and another picture showing him with a different boy of around the same age. Like Adams, Roberts had been married twenty plus years. Within two days the blonde came forward and told channel ten news that Roberts had paid him for sexual favors. By the end of the week in an emotional press conference Jack Roberts resigned.

Meanwhile the final questioning of Carson and Winthrop had begun and had become a show in itself. McAllister against my brother with the trial on the line. For the next few days the journal, which was now not only very carefully sticking to just the facts, but had also begun going out of it's way to compliment my brother, was reporting that the showdown was everything people had anticipated.

For the next several days both Alicia Carson and Steven Winthrop, were examined, cross examined and then brought back to the beginning to start all over again. As time went on the reports were that, although the strategies of McAllister were brilliant and designed to confuse, Mark was getting the better of him. This was the moment my brother had been waiting for since he had past the bar; to prove that he wasn't just good but was the best and to do it in dramatic fashion. Mark was definitely proving it as Winthrop began to crack on the stand and my brother, smelling the kill, was badgering him relentlessly, once getting him so close to admitting he did it that McAllister had interrupted, risking a reprimand in order to stop Mark's momentum. That Friday rumors began circulating that Winthrop senior was talking to McAllister about cutting a deal with the state.

When I talked to Mark over the weekend he sounded excited, and predicted that the case would be over by Tuesday, and said that McAllister had called him on his personal cell phone to arrange a meeting between the two of them early Monday morning. When Monday came I went online expecting to see something about a deal or a plea. Instead what I saw was that my brother had not appeared in court that day and that Jim Howard had asked for a continuance until the next day, meaning he'd had no idea that Mark wasn't going to show. I called Mark three times that day but didn't get an answer. Finally around one am Mark called me and, sounding worse than he had even after the Samantha incident, said that he was going to be stepping away from the case. I asked him what the hell he was talking about, but all he said was that he wasn't up for to talking and would call me in a couple of days.

Mark didn't show up in court on Tuesday or Wednesday and the momentum began to swing back towards the defense. Jim Howard was a good lawyer, a third generation Harvard graduate and had won his fair share of big cases, but he wasn't Mark. Jim had the education and the experience but lacked the street savvy and pure killer instinct of my brother. Speaking of killer instinct, McAllister could smell blood and was pressing forward full tilt, Carson was now the one beginning to trip up on the stand and the papers were now saying that it was her testimony that could bring about her own demise. The official reason given for Mark's absence was a "personal matter" had come up.