"Does that help?"

Kathleen watched Jax pace back and forth in front of the door of his jail cell. She sat on the narrow bed, legal pad on her lap. "What?" Jax asked, stopping momentarily. His hair looked as though it hadn’t seen a comb in a lifetime, and his eyes were so blood-shot that she almost couldn’t see the amazing blue centers.

Kathleen pointed at the doorway, moving her hand back and forth in a mirror image of his movements. "Pacing back and forth. Does it help relieve your stress?"

"Oh." Jax looked down at the floor and then back up at Kathleen. "Was I pacing, Kate?"

She leaned back and folded her hands around her knee. "No, Jax. I thought you were training for the 10K. I think you’ve probably already done 5K just since I’ve been here." She smiled at him with compassion. "Did you get any sleep at all last night?"

Jax shook his head. "I don’t think so." He put his hands on his hips and stood with his weight unevenly distributed. "Are you sure you checked her cottage last night and it was empty?"

"Dark as a tomb."

Jax raised his hand in a gesture of offering a suggestion. "Maybe they were asleep."

Kathleen shook her head again. "Nope. Remember, Jax, I AM an operative, even if only on a part-time basis. I jimmied the lock and checked inside. The shower in the bathroom was wet, but the cottage was empty."

Jax ran his fingers through his hair. "Then where the bloody hell can she be?! I told Blue to take care of her. I told her to get her to a safe place when those test results come out."

Kathleen stood up and went to the door and looked into the hallway. "Now, Jax, we’re just going to pretend this conversation never happened. As an officer of the court, I’m not supposed to know about someone evading the long arm of the law." She put her hand on his arm. "But I really don’t think those test results are back yet. You know Mac would be down here gloating if they were. So, Blue probably just has her somewhere until they come out, and then they’ll go …." Kathleen stopped and Jax’s eyes twinkled, "…wherever it is they’re going." She walked back over to sit down again.

Jax put his fingers to his chin. "Maybe Blue took her back to her place." He thought for a moment, and shook his head. "Although, maybe not. Blue’s been kind of touchy about her place lately." He smiled briefly. "Nah -- she probably wouldn’t take Brenda there. She might think that Brenda would be put off by her rather eclectic decorating scheme."

"Blue has a decorating scheme? I thought she just has some odds and ends in her place since she’s never there," Kathleen said in a curious tone.

Jax chuckled. "Better that than that d*mn beige silk couch Brenda has. I could just see her if I tried to put my feet up on it when I was watching the football game." But then, his eyes grew wistful and he began to pace again.

"Stop it, Jax," Kathleen said soundly. "I’m sure they’re both fine." She picked up her legal pad and pen again. "Now, why don’t we talk about the real problem here. Defending you against these ironclad trumped-up charges."

"Ironclad, counselor?" Jax smirked. He walked over to sit next to her on the small bed and bumped against her shoulder. "Oh, come on now. I’m sure you can find some way to blow them out of the water. If you could get me out of that jail cell in Turkey in 1995, you can find a way to get me out of this one."

Kathleen smiled and bumped him back. "Turkey, the place, I can deal with." She sighed. "Turkeys, like Mac Scorpio, I can’t." She got a devilish expression on her face. "Of course, having that experimental lightweight Ouzi didn’t hurt things either."

Jax leaned down, took her chin with his finger, and turned it to face him. "You didn’t have any bullets in it, duchess!"

She feigned an insulted look. "Well, THEY didn’t know that!" But then, she looked at him seriously. "This is a real mell of a hess you’ve gotten yourself into this time, Handsome."

Jax snickered. "Mell of a hess? Since when did you decide to clean up your act, Kate?"

"Since I found out Judge Van Owen is hearing your case. She hates it when I use profanity." She looked at her watch and gave a long sigh. "Well, we’ll just have to work on your case when you get back here after the arraignment."

"No possibility of bail, I take it?"

"In this lifetime? Think again." She walked over to a hanger on the wall. "Here, I brought you a change so you don’t have to look like you went through the dry cleaners in your clothes." She handed Jax the shirt, tie and trousers and then picked up her legal pad and briefcase. After rapping sharply on the cell bars, a sergeant appeared to let her out of the cell.

She turned back to Jax. "See ‘ya in court, Handsome."

Jax nodded sadly. "Yeah – see ‘ya."

#~#~#~#

At precisely 1 PM, Judge Grace Van Owen swept into her courtroom. As she sat down to face the afternoon’s proceedings, Jasper Jacks was led from a back room into the courtroom. He was wearing the outfit that Kathleen had brought him that morning – some dark blue trousers, a beige shirt, and a dark brown and blue striped silk tie. He looked dignified but tired. Almost like he was ready to clinch some million-dollar merger that had kept him up all night in negotiations. Almost – because the handcuffs that held his hands behind his back brought the situation back to its painful reality.

Kathleen had already taken her place at the defense table as soon as the case was called. Assistant District Attorney Dara Jensen stood at the Prosecutor’s table, not really expecting to have to do much in the hearing. As Jax walked over to stand next to Kathleen, Judge Van Owen looked up briefly from the papers she was reading.

"Miss Jensen, I’ve read the papers you submitted on the Jacks case. Do you have anything to add to them at this point?"

"No, your honor," Dara answered in a bored tone.

"Miss Sheehan, is your client prepared to enter his plea?"

"Yes, ma’am. But I would like to make a respectful request of the court before we proceed."

The judge looked puzzled. "Counselor, this is only an arraignment hearing. I’m not fond of dramatics. This had better be good."

Kathleen looked at Jax’s face, which still showed just the hint of a bruise above his right eye and at his lip, which was healing but still showed the evidence of being split. She glanced over at Mac Scorpio, who had taken a seat in the gallery behind the prosecutor’s table along with Alex Garcia. Kathleen shot them both a withering look, and then she turned back to face the judge.

"Your honor, my client has been the object of some questionable treatment while in the custody of the Port Charles police department."

"Really?" Grace said, raising her eyebrows. "You haven’t filed any kind of motion to that effect." Dara glanced back at Mac and gave him a withering look. Mac just shrugged his shoulders.

"No, your honor," Kathleen continued. "This case all developed so quickly last night that I haven’t had a chance to file the briefs as yet. Let us just say at this point that my client shows signs of physical abuse. Although I will file the necessary papers to that effect as quickly as possible, all I am requesting of the court today is that he be allowed to stand at this hearing without the handcuffs."

The judge looked at Kathleen with dismay and Dara was obviously unhappy. "That’s a highly unusual request for a man who’s being arraigned on two counts of murder, counselor. Especially for a man who also evaded capture for over a week and shows every inclination to flee again, given the chance."

Kathleen cringed inwardly. "Your honor, Mr. Jacks is in great physical discomfort and has rested very poorly since last night. He is also recovering from a bullet wound in his shoulder, and the handcuffs cause him greater pain than normal. We would appreciate the court’s indulgence in allowing the handcuffs to be removed."

Grace looked at Kathleen seriously. "And he GOT that bullet wound, Miss Sheehan, evading arrest." She looked back down at the papers and then up at Kathleen again. "This is only an arraignment hearing. It shouldn’t take long. I think he can suffer through wearing the cuffs for this proceeding. File your papers on his mistreatment and then we’ll reconsider his physical confinement at trial." At the judge’s words, Dara looked calm again and Mac smiled confidently.

Kathleen winced, and looked up at Jax. He shook his head at her, and gave her a "thanks for trying" look.

The judge shifted the papers again. "Now, Miss Sheehan, let’s get on with the arraignment. Mr. Jacks is charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of Officers Thomas Kavanaugh and Marcus Taggert. How does he plead to these charges?"

Jax stood up straight and answered in a strong voice. "Not guilty, your honor."

The judge nodded. "Your plea has been recorded with this court. Jasper Jacks, I am ordering you bound over for trial on the charges as presented to the court this morning." She looked at Dara. "Has there been a discussion of bail, Miss Jensen?"

Dara stood. "In light of the severity of the charges and his previous record at avoiding confinement, your honor, the people strongly request that motion for bail be denied and the defendant be held in maximum security pending trial."

Grace nodded. "I agree, counselor." She turned to Jax and Kathleen. "Mr. Jacks, motion for bail is denied. You will be held…."

The judge looked up suddenly as there was a loud commotion at the back of the courtroom. "Let me through, d*mnit!" a man’s voice rang out. The bailiffs appeared to be struggling with a large man, and Sean Donelly finally broke through their hold and headed for the swinging gate at the center of the courtroom.

The judge repeatedly pounded her gavel. "Order! I’ll have order in this courtroom immediately!" Sean stopped short at the swinging gates, and when the crowd cleared, Jax’s eyes widened as he saw Blue and Brenda right behind him, and then four more men Jax recognized as operatives behind them.

"Begging the court’s pardon," Sean intoned, "I have important information that should be considered before this man is bound over for trial."

Jax could feel Kathleen’s body tighten up in anticipation, but all he could do was look into Brenda’s eyes. They were sparkling and wide and deep, and he lost himself in them and felt relief he hadn’t known in over 24 hours.

Dara jumped to her feet. "Your honor, this is HIGHLY irregular!"

Judge Van Owen didn’t look happy either. "As I said earlier, I don’t like theatrics in my courtroom," she said to Sean. "This had better be good."

Sean stood his ground. "Your honor, if you would just review these papers, I think you’ll find them very interesting." Grace looked skeptical, but finally nodded to her bailiff who went to take the papers from Sean. The bailiff brought them to her and as she read them, Brenda started breathing again and took her first opportunity to get a good look at Jax.

She almost cried out when she saw his lower lip and the cut beneath his eye, but then Blue’s arm went around her shoulders. She looked into Blue’s eyes with tearful ones of her own. "He’s hurt, Blue. They hurt him!"

Blue squeezed her shoulders. "Don’t worry about it, sweetie. He’ll be out of here in no time and then he’ll have you to nurse him back to health. And I have a feeling that Kathleen will make the people who did that wish they had never been born." At that, she turned to give Mac Scorpio a look that could freeze a burning flame.

Judge Van Owen looked up from her papers. "Miss Jensen, I think you’d better approach the bench and review these also." Dara gave Mac another dirty look and then went to the judge’s bench, where Grace handed her a thick file of paperwork. "These were issued by Federal Magistrate Deb Hankins this morning," the judge said respectfully. "I think perhaps a further explanation of them is necessary." She nodded at Sean. "Approach the bench and tell me more."

Brenda almost did a little happiness dance, but Blue tightened her arm again to restrain her. "My name is Sean Donnelly," Sean said, going through the swinging gate. "I’m the head of the World Security Bureau, also known as the WSB. Mr. Jacks has been an operative for the Bureau for many years."

"I already know that, Mr. Donnelly," the judge said. "Get to the point."

"Mr. Jacks and his partner, the late officer Kavanaugh, had been working on the Organized Crime Task Force for some time before Officer Kavanaugh’s death. They had amassed a mountain of evidence against certain citizens of Port Charles and their connections with organized crime. Officer Kavanaugh had been holding the evidence, but before he and Mr. Jacks could put the case together, Officer Kavanaugh was killed. Nobody had been able to locate the evidence – that is, until now."

There was an audible gasp in the courtroom coming from the direction of Mac Scorpio. He jumped to his feet. "Your honor, I protest this whole thing! Mr. Donnelly is just trying to get Mr. Jacks released because he is a friend!"

The judge looked at him frostily. "Sit down, Commissioner. I want to hear the rest of what Mr. Donnelly has to say."

"Thanks to the heroism and determination of the two women with me, the evidence was discovered at Mr. Kavanaugh’s cabin and taken to Federal Magistrate Hankins this morning. Included in the evidence were diaries in Kavanaugh’s own handwriting which have already been authenticated. Unfortunately, he explains that he was blackmailing certain officials who had been shown to have mob connections and that those officials had been threatening him." Sean looked over at Mac, and then back at the judge. "There was an entry the date before his death that stated that he was going to tell Mr. Jacks everything, beg his forgiveness, and that they were going to bring the evidence to the authorities shortly thereafter. He also states that he feared greatly for his life since certain officials had threatened him repeatedly."

The judge was looking through the mountain of papers while Sean was speaking, and to Brenda’s delight, she was growing more and more grim. Dara’s face was a mirror image of the judge’s. Brenda glanced over at Mac, and he was squirming in his seat, while Garcia was slowly slinking down lower and lower in his.

Sean continued. "I’ve attached certified photocopies of the pertinent evidence for you, your honor. But I believe that if Judge Hankins felt compelled to issue the papers you have in your hands, this court should honor them and we should execute them immediately."

Judge Van Owen glanced at Dara. "Miss Jensen, do you want more time to review these materials before I rule on the validity of the warrants?"

Dara looked slightly nauseous. "No, your honor," she replied, refusing to look Mac in the face again. "Based on what I’ve seen so far, the people would have no objections to proceeding with as much haste as possible on the warrants."

Grace looked at Sean intently. "You’re prepared to do that now?"

"Yes, your honor. Just give me the word."

Grace smiled. "I see no reason for a delay." Sean nodded to the four burly men and they went quickly to position themselves behind Mac and Garcia. "Malcolm Scorpio, Alexander Garcia," she intoned, "I have before me federal warrants for your arrest." The men pulled Mac and Garcia to their feet and began handcuffing them.

"What charges?" Mac shouted angrily.

The judge looked through the paperwork. "Well, Commissioner, you have an impressive list, but they start with conspiracy to murder Officer Thomas Kavanaugh. They continue with racketeering, perjury…." She looked up at him. "Shall I go on?" Mac frowned and stared at the floor. "And for Lieutenant Garcia, the charges read similarly. Conspiracy to murder Kavanaugh, racketeering, fraud…." She looked at them and shook her head. "You two have been VERY naughty boys."

Kathleen stepped up to the bench. "Your honor, I move for an immediate dismissal of the charges against my client." Brenda’s squeal of happiness could be heard throughout the courtroom and Jax looked back at her and smiled warmly. Electricity flowed between them.

The judge looked to Dara. "Miss Jensen, how would the prosecutor’s office feel about that motion?"

But Kathleen’s heart sank. "Your honor," Dara answered carefully, "I would say from a brief perusal of this evidence that the defense motion could be granted for the first charge. But there’s no actual proof here that Mr. Jacks didn’t murder Officer Taggert. The evidence in that case is still very strong."

"Very strongly circumstantial," Sean interrupted, and at the judge’s frown, he continued, "with all due respect, your honor." He walked over to Garcia. "The charges against our friend, Lieutenant Garcia, here are very serious. I’m sure that if he thought he might have a chance at some leniency from the court, he might be persuaded to shed some light on the murder of Officer Taggert."

"Is that true, Lieutenant Garcia?" Grace asked.

He hung his head and Brenda held her breath. "I want some kind of guarantees," Garcia said through gritted teeth.

The judge looked to Dara, who now was looking a sickly shade of green. "I’m not prepared to make any specific offer, but the prosecutor’s office would certainly want justice to prevail. I think the terms of the offer would depend on how seriously Lieutenant Garcia’s testimony would affect Mr. Jacks’ guilt or innocence."

Grace nodded. "I agree, counselor." She turned to Garcia. "Let’s hear what you have to say, and remember – I don’t like grandstanding. Make it worth my while."

Mac gave Garcia a dirty look and started to lunge for him, but the two operatives holding Mac pulled him further away. "I’ll testify," Garcia said slowly. "Mr. Jacks didn’t shoot Officer Taggert. I had orders from Commissioner Scorpio to use whatever means I needed to convince Taggert to lie about seeing Jax shoot Kavanaugh."

Grace interrupted. "Lieutenant, I believe you’re coming dangerously close to self-incrimination here. I don’t think you should proceed any further without the advice of legal counsel. But I need to get this part straight – are you stating as your testimony that you have personal knowledge that Mr. Jasper Jacks was NOT the party that shot Officer Marcus Taggert?"

Garcia looked at Mac, and then down at the floor. "Yes, your honor," he replied. "Jax never shot Taggert."

There were more gasps throughout the courtroom and Brenda saw Jax’s shoulders sag in relief. At that point, she couldn’t stand it any longer and she burst out of Blue’s embrace and ran through the swinging gate to be with Jax. He turned to her just as she approached, and she threw her arms around his neck.

"Whoa, there, hellcat," he chuckled. "I’m still a little sore, you know."

She drew back and smiled in wicked pleasure. "Obviously you need a good nurse, pig!"

Kathleen moved over to the two of them. "Ummm…excuse me, kids, but things aren’t official yet. Can we put a lid on the nooky for just a few more seconds?" She turned back to the judge. "Your honor, in light of the extremely compelling evidence presented, I move that all charges against my client be dropped."

Grace glanced at Dara, who nodded silently and hung her head in disgust at her former comrades. The judge smiled. "So ordered. Jasper Jacks, I am dismissing all charges against you. You are free to go."

Brenda screamed in delight again. She launched herself against Jax and pulled his head down for a searing kiss. Grace blushed and looked at Kathleen. "Rather enthusiastic, aren’t they?"

Jax pulled out of the kiss for a moment. "Brenda, take it easy!" She was raining kisses all over his face, even though he was still handcuffed. When she stopped to catch her breath, she looked as though she would burst with happiness. Jax winked at her. "After they manage to get me out of this hardware, are you sure you don’t want me to ask if we can borrow them?"

Brenda blushed. "Oh, shut up and kiss me, you disgusting pig, you!" Jax leaned down and as Kathleen discreetly averted her eyes, the two engaged in a very intimate kiss.

When she couldn’t stand it any longer, Kathleen marched over to the bailiff standing at the door Judge Van Owen and Dara Jensen had disappeared through. "Excuse me," she said softly. The bailiff ignored her. She glanced down at the key ring attached to his belt loop. "Excuse me!" she repeated a little louder. He still didn’t move. "Oh, what the hell," she finally murmured, and to the bailiff’s surprise, she grabbed the keys, pulling him by the belt loop over to where Brenda and Jax were still kissing.

Brenda was lost in Jax’s kiss. As she threaded her hands up into his blonde hair, she suddenly inhaled when she felt his hands reach around to gather her to him. She broke the kiss, and then looked around Jax to see Kathleen standing there, twirling the handcuffs in her hand, and still holding the key that was attached by a long expandable chain to the bailiff’s belt loop.

Brenda smiled at Jax, who was now free to run his hands up and down her back. "It’s over," she breathed softly.

"Thanks to you," he whispered back. "How can I ever thank you?"

Brenda got a coy look on her face, but before she could answer, Kathleen loudly cleared her voice. "I really hate to break up such a tender moment, but Jax has to sign a few documents before he’s officially free to go."

Brenda hung onto his arm, but Jax smiled at her, leaned down and kissed her quickly, and then pulled away. "I’ll only be a few minutes. Everything will be fine now. Why don’t you just wait for me in the hall while I sign these papers and get my things?"

Kathleen reassured Brenda. "He’ll be fine. I’ll make sure of it. You did all the hard work. This should only take a minute." Brenda finally nodded, and turned toward the swinging gate again.

Blue and Sean were still with Mac and Garcia, reading them their rights and making sure all the legal paperwork had been filed. Most of the spectators at the arraignment hearing were beginning to clear the courtroom. Blue looked over at Brenda momentarily and gave her the thumbs up, and Brenda returned the gesture.

Brenda slowly made her way through the swinging gate, and was about half-way down the aisle when she turned back to see Jax. He was standing at the table near the door to the courtroom, signing papers. Her heart swelled at the thought of having him all to herself, with no fear of being discovered or threatened by the police.

Jax looked up when he felt her gaze on him. He had just about finished signing, but as Brenda watched, his face paled and he dropped the pen. It registered somewhere in Brenda’s brain that a woman screamed, but she never got to see why.

"Brenda! NO!!" Jax screamed.

At that instant, Brenda felt a hand snake around her waist, and the feel of cold steel against her temple. She heard a voice at her ear.

"I missed you, baby. We didn’t get to have our reunion."

{Sonny! Oh my God, it’s Sonny!} Brenda opened her mouth to scream, and Sonny pressed the gun harder against her temple. It came out as a frightened yelp.

Jax and Sean both were at the gate in an instant, but Sonny pulled her farther back down the aisle. "Stay back or I’ll kill her!" Sonny shouted.

Sean had drawn his weapon, but Jax stood at the railing, gripping the gate with his bare hands, wishing it was Corinthos’ throat. "Let her go, Sonny," he said in a low growl. "You’re in enough trouble as it is."

"He’s right, Corinthos," Sean said. "There’s a warrant being drawn up as we speak for your arrest. Racketeering, vice, murder…you don’t want to add another charge to the list. Let the woman go."

Sonny only backed up a few steps more. "And you think I care?" Brenda whimpered in fear. "What’s the matter, babe? Don’t tell me you’re scared of me?" He looked at Jax and his eyes shot daggers. "I know what you’ve been doing with my woman while I was gone. Mac told me how you turned her against me." He pulled Brenda a little harder and put the gun under her chin. "Well, blondie, if I can’t have her, nobody will!!"

To be concluded.….