Crime & Counterpoint by M.S. Daniel Page B

called you her hero , quote unquote.” He smirked. “The indictment jury and Judge Blankenship liked that. And they especially loved the part where you took the time to hand the girl her robe.” Carter scratched around his collar and said sarcastically, “I didn’t know you had it in you to be so considerate .”
    Zach narrowed his eyes, his body still aching. “Cut to the chase, please.”
    Carter drew a breath and plunged forward. “Alright, bottom line: The Professor’s counsel changed his plea to guilty and dropped the allegations against you for armed assault and battery.” He opened his hands, self-satisfied. “You’re in the clear.”
    Zach should have been pleased, considering such a black mark on his permanent record would have kept him from any job options at the federal level. But…
    “Hey, come on. Don’t I get a thank you?” Carter joked as he smoothed down his scintillating, power-play tie and crossed one leg over the other. “You know for a while there when the defense dug up that incident at Ramone’s Steakhouse, I thought you were done for.”
    Zach kept fiddling with the pen in his hand, keeping his head down and his burly form slouched.
    Carter, on the other hand, looked like he was high on life as he stretched his hands up and interlaced his fingers behind his head. “I mean, showing your gun and not your badge at the brothel was bad enough. Oh, and then the knife throwing – don’t get me started. But nearly assaulting the governor’s nephew in a four-star restaurant?”
    “I didn’t assault him,” Zach retorted, dropping the indifferent act for a second. “He was misbehaving.”
    “Well, it gave me a heart attack anyway.” He brought his arms down and leaned forward, frowning now. “I’m still pissed that you didn’t tell me, and I had to find out in the preliminaries. I was seriously considering pleading temporary insanity or at the very least getting a psychiatrist to diagnose you with ‘antisocial personality disorder’.”
    Zach glared but said nothing.
    “You just better be glad that I was able to get the incident thrown out on the grounds it wasn’t relevant to DeJohnette’s case.” The pulsing, dim fluorescent caught his attention, and Carter glanced at it, squinting a little.
    “I’m waiting for the bad news.”
    Carter smirked and lowered his voice. “You’re getting a sixty-day probationary period, off the record, to prove to Judge Blankenship that you can keep your hands clean. And the only reason it’s not on paper is because I begged on your behalf.”
    “Don’t lower yourself on my account,” Zach said tersely.
    Carter scoffed. “Fine. Next time, just turn yourself in and save my goddamn breath. But for right now, you’ve got another chance. And as your friend, I’m asking you please don’t blow it.”
    Zach rubbed a calloused hand over his face. “I’m not trying to–”
    “I know, I know,” Carter pacified. “Trouble just follows you like a lost puppy. But you need to figure out how to control this. Maybe it’s time for some professional help?”
    “No.”
    “Come on, man,” Carter said to Zach’s stubborn profile. “Don’t you think it’s time to face the underlying problems?”
    “The restaurant was a one-time blow-up.”
    “Because of your dad.”
    Zach slammed his fist on the desk. “Because of the asshole who took a swing at me!”
    Rick and a couple nearby detectives looked over, and Carter waved them off with a tight grin, indicating everything was fine. Then, he regarded Zach whose face had turned a couple shades of crimson with a ‘see? I told you’ look. But he didn’t press the issue. “Never mind. Let’s just take the victory and drop the rest for now.” He cleared his throat. “I’ve decided I’m gonna help you go after Cervenka.”
    A frown flickered over Zach’s visage, cooling him. “What about the whole ‘this is just you being you’?”
    “Yeah, well” – Carter dipped his head sheepishly –