Some odd complications occur when Behnam attempts to secure his side of the lawsuit, claiming damages. The lawyers representing him can see he is playing, but a sudden twist makes things difficult for the prosecution side.

Wrap Up

After explaining his case to the law firm he's went to, Behnam sits inside of his truck, softly scratching his chin in thought. If he wanted his case to be successful, then he'll have to pull some strings, but how? At 56, the older LaPerm still has a keen mind, yet with all the trouble he's caused, he has no way of being tracked by the authorities, mainly because his son is silenced in forgetting what happened to him. But with age comes natural consequences.

Despite his thinking ability, the middle-aged LaPerm has nothing to come up with for the time being. So before he leaves the parking lot, he decides to make one final pit stop; he exits out of his Ford F150 and proceeds to head back into the law firm he just walked out of recently.

'If I can pull my punches right, I can make this work. Nobody will suspect a thing! The only obstacle in my way is that damned snow leopard and I will not settle to be humiliated in any way!' Standing outside of the law office in contemplation, Behnam takes one final look at the overhead sign before slipping inside, the sign reading in capital black letters: 'PORTER / MORIETTE LAW GROUP'.

Inside of the office, a black furred female Burmese cat is sitting at the front desk typing away on a computer when she hears the door. But upon noticing Behnam coming back inside, she scowls in frustration. Annoyed, she complains, "Mr. Filla, why are you back? Haven't you worked out your case enough?"

Scowling at the woman, Behnam stares at her for a moment. He then explains, "I'm simply coming back to strengthen my case, not that it matters to anyone else. And I want it to work too."

The female Burmese only rolls her eyes in contempt while sighing heavily. She rises from her seat while mumbling, "Let's get this over with; this is only a waste of time."

"I assume you know what you are doing, right Ms. Moriette?" Behnam folds his arms while tapping his pawfoot against the ground in a mild manner, waiting for the female to lead the way. However, she wants nothing more than to destroy him, given the details of said case he provided her with.

The lawyer in charge, Yves Moriette, argues with him, "Mr. Behnam Filla, correct?" The older tomcat nods and joins her while she cautions, "Do you have any idea what you are doing; how insane you are? You're seriously going to file a lawsuit against a United States Army General on the grounds of assault?? Are you out of your stinking mind!?"

"Watch who you're talking to, young one! I'm your client!" Pointing directly at Yves, Behnam reminds her of her place, to which she forcefully objects, "I may be your lawyer in charge of your case, but I can resign at any time. Remember that, Mr. Filla!"

"Is that so?" Seeing the grin cracked by the older LaPerm, Yves only braces herself for the worst when he moves closer to her, his grin widening. At first, Yves backs away for personal space with Behnam leaning dangerously close to her, slamming the doorway with his palm. Exercising his control over her, Behnam breathes his threat to her, "You will get me a settlement out of this lawsuit, or there will be consequences surrounding your friend. Do I make myself clear?"

The shorter Burmese lashes out with an extended arm, slapping the LaPerm on the left side of his face with her claws out…

*SMACK!*

…the resulting slap echoes throughout the office, leaving behind a deadly tension between the two. The silent tension between the two is so thick, one would suspect a murder has just taken place. Instead, all that is going on is an angry lawyer and a pained tomcat undergoing a midlife crisis, despite nearing 60 years of age. Speaking of which…

~~~~~

"Mr. Eriksson, I cannot thank you enough! I've already felt trapped with that blasted cat spitting out nonsense; my best friend is left to deal with him too, and I can't even imagine the torture he's putting her through! Sir, if anything bad happens to Yves, I'll never forgive myself!" Paulo somehow received wind of the situation going on at the law office where Behnam traveled to and his service, more like attitude, was so bad, criminal law attorney Ashley Porter snuck out to avoid him, claiming she was taking a bathroom break - in reality, she escaped through the back door of the office and took her Kia Stinger GT with her. Now the white furred Angora cat is sitting on the hood of her car, explaining the severity of the problem to the snow leopard patriarch, who is across from her while sitting on the hood of his own Enzo Ferrari.

Listening and nodding his head in rapt attention, Paulo keeps his pink eyes on the prosecutor while letting her spill her heart out on the situation. While hearing Ashley out, and after she's through, Paulo considers, "This has gotten really bad, really fast. From what you're explaining to me, it sounds like Filla is not only advancing on your friend, but something tells me he's desperate; his case is still flat so he's trying to pull out all the stops. Do you guys have security cameras at your workplace?"

"There are a few security cameras scattered around but the chances of him being picked up by those things is low. Our office is small and so is our front desk." Ashley explained.

"If we do happen to cross paths again, I'd confront him. But I wouldn't say a word about you in particular though. Still, it's his loss anyway." Paulo hunches his shoulders lightly, not even worried about the upcoming trial. For all he's concerned, Behnam's dug his own grave from the start.

"Mr. Eriksson, thank you so much! I cannot even begin to describe the relief I feel when…" Ashley is already standing up to hug Paulo when she freezes in realization. Horrified, she realizes one major error involving one of her coworkers, "Oh no… ESTEFANIA!!!"

"Ms. Porter, please calm down. I assure you your friend will escape unharmed, if not alive at the very least." The snow leopard stands up to grab the distressed Angora in a hard squeeze to comfort her, though it does little to relax her. At the very least, the snow leopard still has a glimmer of hope in his upcoming trial. The snow leopard is still sure of his innocence, and with this Angora prosecutor coming to him for help, this further cements Behnam's loss and guilt while strengthening Paulo's innocence. But when Ashley screamed out the new name, things changed drastically.

"Who is this Estefania that I may find more about?" Paulo cradles the female cat in an effort to help her focus and relax, though she is still disheartened. While rocking in his embrace, Ashley whimpers, "She's one of our colleagues and she was gone recently! I think she may have been kidnapped!"

Learning of this, Paulo releases her and stands up across from her, clasping his hands together at his sides. "Kidnapped?? Sounds like desperation on his part. Desperation and blackmail. He is going to force you to do his bidding in ensuring his victory. Don't let him get to you, though. He will try and mess with your head and emotions. But remember this: you can choose to resign as his lawyer at any time. And your friend will be okay, trust me."

"I hope so but Estefania is not the type of woman who runs away from danger! If anything, she will try to escape, at least; she's quick to pull a fast one without any hesitation!" Ashley related, still worried. She then groans, "How are we gonna solve this now??"

"My son is a lawyer, so I would recommend calling him and explaining the situation; this is not my place to be involved in such a serious situation." Before the female Angora can point out his inconsistency, Paulo raises a hand to silence her, explaining, "Ms. Porter, what I am attempting to say is this: I am not a lawyer. Yes, I am aware of the false charges against me and the 'lawsuit' Behnam is filing against me, but what evidence does he have to support his claim? What evidence does he have to point out that I instigated this whole situation? And what evidence does he have to suggest that I grabbed him and possibly kidnapped him? He either has some screws loose or he really hates me."

"I am aware of that. You've done nothing wrong and even I, a prosecutor, believes you're innocent. And I'm sure Yves does too. Estefania shouldn't have had to be kidnapped in order to force out a guilty verdict on you." Ashley's worry slowly turns into anger where she balls her hands into fists, beginning to tremble in rage. With newfound determination, Ashley stares into Paulo's pink expression while assuring him, "I believe in your innocence wholeheartedly, and we'll convince the court of the same! And yes, I will inform your son of the predicament. Rest assured, Mr. Eriksson, that ugly middle-aged freak will get a guilty verdict; he's already sealed his own doom!"

When Ashley turns back to her Kia Stinger GT, Paulo waves to bid her farewell when she stops, casting one final glance over her shoulder and wearing a confident smirk. She bids Paulo farewell and gives him one final piece of information, "And Mr. Eriksson, remember this. Don't take the presiding judge for a fool because he's smarter than you think; he'll most likely rule in your favor once he reviews the information."

Softly nodding in thought, Paulo watches Ashley climb into her Kia Stinger GT for the time being and while she leaves, Paulo climbs into his Enzo Ferrari while internally remarking, 'Mr. Filla, your days are numbered, buddy. You're digging yourself an even bigger hole now.' Sighing to himself, the snow leopard continues his internal monologue, resting his hands on the F1-style steering wheel while closing the butterfly door, 'Still, I wonder about him but more importantly, the outcome of the trial. I hope the prosecutor gets released. Why did it have to come to this?'

Sullenly shaking his head in worry, Paulo straightens up in his seat, clicking on his seatbelt and firing up the 6.0L Tipo F140 B V12 engine. After letting the engine idle for a bit, the snow leopard patriarch races away, leaving the meetup spot. He certainly had a lot on his mind at the moment but it will be sorted out during the trial. That he can count on for sure. And with his son defending him, the patriarch won't have to worry about finding someone to defend him or being a reliable witness. He also hopes that the hostage will be released depending on the verdict given.

~~~~~

Behnam Filla belongs to Sunnahal from ToyHouse; Yves Moriette, Ashley Porter, Estefania Pharrell (mentioned), and Paulo Eriksson belong to me!