"Christ is that guy insufferable."

The judge had called for a short recess, presumably to also get the ringing voice of Van Dusen out of his head like the rest of us. I took a seat on the sofa in the waiting room, rubbing a hand over my face to wake me up.

"Well, as insufferable as he may be," Gary countered, "He has been playing his part well." He took a seat next to me, looking over a file of evidence. "Scapelli certainly has all this down to an art form, it seems. And Van Dusen is making him look like his case is legitimate."

"If only he were that cordial with me when we were working together," I added.

"You know, I meant to ask you; did you ever consider just voiding the contract and paying what was owed?"

I shook my head. "William handled that arrangement. He felt like it would be letting me down if he dropped him at that stage."

"Hmm..." Gary thought aloud. "While William is a good assistant, I can't help but feel that our case would be much stronger had he been here."

"But its still a strong case," I remarked.

The silence in the room was deafening after I uttered those words.

"...I mean...it is, right?"

At that moment Charles walked into the waiting room with a glass of water. "I've been informed that we have three minutes until we are to reconvene." He handed the glass to me. "For you. Figured you could use it since we're in the line of fire now."

"Appreciated," I replied, taking a sip of the cool water. I had to admit, I didn't even think I was thirsty until I started drinking from the cup.

"Its the brace that's proving to be a problem," Gary said. "We don't have a way to prove that his injury wasn't caused by the incident."

"True," Charles replied, "but it is also their burden to show that evidence. They have only provided the supposedly incomplete security footage as proof."

"Charles, please don't be that naive," Gary sighed. "A medical document was part of the evidence pool. Clearly they want to establish a connection between the incident and the injury and will use that as their definitive proof."

"But that document could be anything," Charles argued, pointing to his own briefcase. "You know how many workplace injury cases I have reviewed; oftentimes the companies are submitting in amendments to correct dozens of forms!"

"Oh, and I suppose a shady construction company is going to fall into those same tired tropes?"

"If you would only-"

"...Wait a minute," I said, breaking up the argument. "How do we even know if he is injured?"

The two attorneys turned their eyes to me, their expressions completely dumbfounded.

"I mean think about it," I continued, "I've seen plenty of people who were either working through or recovering from neck injuries. Considering I received the summons two months ago, and the incident happened a week prior to that...doesn't that seem like an abnormally long amount of time just to heal?"

Gary shook his head. "We don't have his medical history, since the entirety is irrelevant to the case. Besides, it isn't as though you know for certain how long an injury like that can take to heal up."

I stood up in that moment, the idea finally hitting me. "Gary, I have a degree in sports medicine. Even if the medical science doesn't exactly line up, injuries like that are common enough in my line of work that we know the expected recovery time. He stumbled to the ground, he never hit his neck on anything. Even if he did manage to harm himself in the process, it would only be a four to six week recovery window at best."

"I really hate to point this out," Charles interrupted, "but the man does appear to be in a lot of pain."

"Exactly," Gary said in realization. "That's because he knows how to look like he's in pain."

Charles' eyes grew wide. "I think I know how we can win this case. But I need a few minutes to get as much information as I can."

"Do you want me to draw out his testimony?"

"And possibly the cross-examination," Charles added as he sprinted toward the door. "I'll message you once I have what I need. I'll be quick," he finished, closing the door behind him.

"So all I need to do," I said, turning to Gary, "Is stall Van Dusen until Charles gets back?"

"Afraid so," Gary replied.

I thought about that rat-faced attorney, the bile beginning to rise in my throat. "This is going to be a long trial..."

"You may be seated."

The prosecution, defense, and gallery all took our seats. "Defense, is there anyone you would like to call at this time?"

"Your Honor," replied Gary, pointing at me, "The defense would like to call Dionysus Berget to the stand at this time." As I stood up, Gary whispered to me, "Remember, the goal here is to stall. Charles needs a few minutes, I need you to give him thirty."

"Copy," I whispered back.

I was sworn in and took my seat on the witness stand. It was a strange experience; similar to sitting at a podium, but with the judge's seat dominating the room, it felt less important, in a way. Like going to a church service and seeing a speaker read from the Bible, only to be outshined by the priest in his shimmering vestments. "Would you please state your name for the record?" asked Gary.

"Dionysus Albert Berget."

"And your occupation in this case?"

"Owner of Berget Vineyards."

Gary smiled at me. "Are there any other occupations you have?"

I smirked back. "Well I do work as a professional wrestler in my spare time."

Judge Skovald rolled his eyes, but also couldn't hide his smirk. I think I was making progress with him.

"You previously provided testimony about the events leading to the vandalism on your construction site, is that correct?"

"Yes," I said. "I don't think there is any more information I can add to that statement."

"And what about in your meeting with mister Scapelli the day after? Could you tell us, in your own words, how the incident occurred?"

I took in a deep breath, remembering the moment as vividly as I could. "After speaking with my business partner, I asked him to oversee the inspection while I traveled to mister Scapelli's office."

"Why did you decide to go to his office, instead of giving him a call?" Gary asked.

"At the moment," I replied, "I felt it was better to deliver the news in person. I didn't want to risk a bad connection over the phone or an email not being sent. Besides," I said, looking directly at Scapelli, "He had informed me that he would usually be in his office during their business hours, so I thought a visit was more appropriate."

Gary nodded. "During that meeting, what did you two discuss?"

As I started to speak, I heard a low murmuring of a crowd of people. I stopped, panning around the gallery. There were only a handful of people watching these proceedings, but the noise I was hearing was much, much louder. I placed a hand on the back of my neck, rubbing it gently to calm my nerves.

"You have nothing to worry about," Gary assured me. "All I am asking for is the truth."

I swallowed my apprehension and started again. "During that meeting, I informed mister Scapelli of what had occurred..." I paused, sighing before saying, "...and also accused his firm of being the cause of the incident."

There was a slight murmur in the gallery.

"Was there any evidence linking South Shore Construction to the vandalism?" Gary pressed.

"There was no hard evidence," I answered honestly, "but the vandalism seemed too calculated to have been done without motive, at least according to the insurance company and law enforcement."

"In other words," Gary summarized, "the vandalism could only have been carried out by someone who knew what they were doing."

"Yes," I answered. "it was too calculated, too perfect. All the right things were damaged; nothing seemed random about it."

Gary pointed to the monitor next to me. "Are you familiar with this video footage?"

"Yes."

"Does this video footage accurately depict the events that occurred in the office-"

"Objection," Van Dusen interrupted. "The witness had no knowledge of the security measures in my client's office."

Judge Skovald nodded. "Sustained."

"I shall rephrase the question," Gary continued, not the least bit disturbed. "After you spoke with Scapelli, what happened next?"

"I left him by saying I would be pursuing legal action, and turned to the door." I paused, thinking about the events as clearly as I could. "I remember turning the knob, and as I was, I felt something slam into my back...but I was already at the door and had good footing. I turned to look and saw mister Scapelli sprawled out on the floor. Then I slammed the door and walked out of the room."

"So you saw mister Scapelli on the floor and simply walked out of the room?"

"Yes, that is correct," I replied. "I wasn't sure what he would do if I tried helping him up."

"Thank you. No further questions," Gary finished, returning to his seat at the bench.

Judge Skovald nodded to Van Dusen, who cleared his throat loudly. "Mister Berget, are you trying to convince us that my client was the one who attacked you?"

"I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything," I replied. "I was asked about the events and I spoke to them."

"And yet this footage," Van Dusen paused, pointing to the monitor, "shows us nothing of my client hitting you. Is that correct?"

"That would be correct, yes."

"So you would have this court believe that my client's injuries were self-sustained?" Van Dusen pressed angrily.

"You would need to ask a doctor that question," I replied. "I just make wine and beat people up for a living."

"As a brute?"

"Objection-" Gary started to object, but...

"As a professional wrestler," I corrected Van Dusen at the same time.

Judge Skovald banged his gavel. "Mister Berget, please allow the objection to be completed first."

"Yes, Your Honor," I acknowledged. "My apologies."

"Your Honor, the prosecution is using this cross-examination to badger the witness," Gary argued.

"I am ensuring," Van Dusen countered, "that the information this man is telling us is factual. If I need to use harsh words to get there, then so be it."

"Objection sustained," Skovald commanded before anyone else could get a word in.

"Fine. You said that the vandalism couldn't be done randomly. That only someone who worked on the site would be able to do this."

"Or had a knowledge of the site, yes," I clarified.

"Then you won't have a problem going through each and every piece of damage with this court and describe to me how that could link back to my client and his company."

Gary winked at me before saying, "Objection, Your Honor; clearly the prosecution is attempting to retrieve expert opinion from the defendant, who is not an expert in the field of carpentry or construction."

"Your Honor," Van Dusen argued, "I am only asking for his observations of the damage. After all, it was on that basis that he accused my client."

Judge Skovald thought for a moment before saying, "Prosecutor, you raise an interesting point. I will permit this line of questioning, but please make it as brief as possible."

"Surely, Your Honor," Van Dusen said with gratitude, a shit-eating grin crossing his face. But little did he know, Gary and I had planned on this question being asked by him. This was the exact opening we needed to give Charles more time to find whatever it was he needed to find.

We had them in our trap. And we weren't about to let go.