"Mr. Lynch is right in here," Mr. Erikson gestured to a door. "I'll be in to talk to you all about how the hearing is going to go down in a little while." Paul and Lilly nodded to him, then he opened the door to let them in, and closed it behind them.

     "Paul," Barney said, striding over and hugging him. "It's been a while." He let go of Paul.

     "Yeah, you could say that," Paul chuckled. "How are you?"

     "I'm okay, aside from the fact that they've been keeping me here for two months," Barney shrugged.

      Paul's eyes grew wide. "Seriously?"

     Barney nodded. "They don't want me going into hiding." He turned to Lilly and his daughter. "Oh, Kylie." He took the baby girl from Lilly's arms and his wife smiled. "She's gotten so big."

     Lilly nodded slowly. "She's missed you," she frowned.

    "I've missed her," Barney said, kissing his daughter's forehead. "How are you?" He asked Lilly.

     "I'm okay," she lied, leaning over Kylie and kissing Barney. "I just want you to be okay. I just want you to come home."

     "I know," Barney frowned. "Paul," he turned back to his friend. "Has anything big happened since the last time I saw you?"

     Oh, you mean aside from the fact that I'm pretty sure the F.H.O. is bringing in a Plan B to save John because they don't think that I'll be able to pull it off? No, nothing comes to mind. Paul thought.

     "Nothing too big," Paul shook his head. "George fractured his hand which didn't happen originally, and he has to been able to play guitar in a quite a few months. But we haven't had any concerts to do anyway, and he'll be able to play again by the time we go to America next month."

     "Good, good," Barney nodded. "And no big changes coming up, as far as you can see?"

     Aside from the mystery woman who is supposedly the F.H.O.'s Plan B being brought to the sixties? No, can't think of anything off the top of my head. Paul added bitterly in his mind.

     "No," Paul shook his head, a slight edge making its way into Paul's tone. "We're going to start writing and recording A Hard Day's Night pretty soon, and we're starting to make plans for the movie. Everything looks like it's going smoothly."

     "Great," Barney said. "I haven't been getting any information on the case, obviously, so I really have no idea what's going on."

     Oh, so you have no idea that your organization has no trust in me? Paul thought and he knew that he needed to calm down.
    
     "Yeah," Paul said and he could hear the involuntary edge in his voice growing more prominent. Barney noticed that time.

     "What's wrong?" Barney frowned.

     "Nothing is wrong," Paul shook his head. His tone wasn't at all convicting.

     "It sure sounds like something is wrong.. You seem bitter," Barney furrowed his brows. Lilly was frowning at Paul.

     "I'm not bitter," Paul said bitterly, with a bitter expression.

     "Okay," Barney said, deciding to drop it. It certainly wasn't the best time for Barney to be stirring up an argument with his friend, who just so happened to be the one of the only people there to defend him. "Listen, if something goes wrong today — "

     "Don't say that," Lilly said. "You can't just go forgetting all about me and Kylie, yeah? Don't leave me alone to be a single mum."

     "I'll do my best," Barney smiled. He handed Kylie over to Lilly and turned to Paul. "Listen, seriously, if something goes wrong today and I get fired then..just promise me you'll be really careful around Carlos Vega, okay? He's strict, he's mean..he's not a people person. He's not please to work with."

     Paul nodded slowly.

     "Listen, I don't know what's up with you today," Barney said. "But whatever it is, well, as long as I get off easy today, then I'm here for you."

     Paul could feel his anger ebbing away, and he began to come to his senses. He realized that Barney couldn't have any idea about this. He'd been locked up and kept from all information on Paul's case for two months.. Then again, they'd probably been planning this for longer than two months. But something told Paul that Barney didn't know about the F.H.O.'s Plan B. He'd never had any reason to doubt Barney in the past, anyway.

     Paul smiled. "I know. Thank you, Barney. I'm sorry if I've been acting a bit weird, it's just... Never mind. Just tired, that's all."

     Barney nodded. "You and me both, Paulie."

     The door opened and Paul, Barney, and Lilly all looked up to see Mr. Erikson entering the room. "Okay, they're almost ready for you in there, Mr. Lynch and Mr. McCartney, so here's what's going  to happen; President Wilson is convinced that Mr. Lynch should have been able to see that Mr. McCartney was in danger of being kidnapped. My job is to prove that he could not have seen it coming, which, from what I understand, he couldn't have. Are you ready to go in?"

     "Yeah," Barney nodded.

     "Yes," Paul said.

     "I'll see you soon," Barney said to Lilly and kissed her. He leaned down and kissed Kylie's forehead again. "And I'll see you soon, as well, sweetheart."

     "You'd better," Lilly said firmly.

     "Right this way," Mr. Erikson gestured to the door and Barney and Paul both followed him. Barney's lawyer led them straight to the double doors that Barney had led Paul through the first time the Beatle had visited the F.H.O. Headquarters.

     "Okay. Let's get this over with." Barney sighed and Paul nodded in agreement.

      Into the courtroom they went, and Mr. Erikson led Barney to the chair in the middle of the room. Paul shuddered when he saw that chair and Judge Matthews's voice rang through his mind saying, "Have you and Mr. Lennon been sexually active?"

      "Mr. McCartney," Mr. Erikson turned to Paul once Barney was seated. "This way, please. You'll be seated with me until you're called to the stand."

     Paul nodded and followed Mr. Erikson to a table. They both took a seat behind the table and watched as dozens and dozens of people filed into the room. The enormous amount of jury chairs quickly filled up, and the seats behind Paul were soon occupied as well. Before long, Judge Matthews took his place at the head of the room and President Wilson took a seat to the judge's left.

     "I now call this hearing to order," Judge Matthews said. "The court recognizes the defendant, Mr. Barney Jason Lynch, age thirty one. You have been accused of failing to deliver necessary information to Mr. James Paul McCartney, whom you are an advisor to, resulting in his kidnapping and his being taken hostage by the Shadows. How do you plead?"

     "Not guilty," Barney said sharply. "I have given Mr. McCartney all necessary information and there was nothing I could have done to prevent his kidnapping."

     "Was there any reason for you yo to believe that Mr. McCartney was in any danger?" Judge Matthews asked.

     "No," Barney said.

     "Mr. Erikson is Mr. Lynch's lawyer," Judge Matthews stated. "Mr. Erikson, would you please rise?"

     "Yes, your honor," Mr. Erikson stood and walked over to Barney. He stood beside his client. "Judge Matthews, President Wilson, why do you believe that Mr. Lynch should have been able to see any telltale signs that the Shadows were going to make an attack on Mr. McCartney? How would you know that there would be any telltale signs?"

     "President Wilson, if you would please rise." Judge Matthews bowed his head to the leader of the F.H.O. out of respect.

     President Wilson got to his feet. "The Shadows are a much smaller and weaker organization than we. There is no way they could pop in at any time, on a whim, and kidnap Mr. McCartney. They are not strong enough. They would need to plan more, they would need to come in ahead of time and get a look at the apartment."

     "But surely anyone would have to do that," Mr. Erikson said. "Take Mr. McCartney for example," he gestured to Paul. "Did you go in and get Paul McCartney on a whim and take him from the twenty first century?"

     "No," President Wilson said. "We dedicated weeks to researching and planning."

     Researching? Paul thought. What does that even — you know what? Never mind. I don't want to know.

     "And did you leave any telltale signs of your presence?" Mr. Erikson questioned.

     "Of course not, we covered up any evidence of our presence." President Wilson said. "Just as we always do."

     "So how do you know that the Shadows didn't do the same thing?" Mr. Erikson asked.

     "Because, as I said before, they are a weaker organization and they are not capable of such things." President Wilson said matter-of-factly.

     "They're weak, you say?" Mr. Erikson raised his eyebrows. "Well, we'll see about that. I would like to please call Mr. Paul McCartney to the stand as my first witness." 
    
     Paul stood and approached the stand. Judge Matthews gestured to the only empty seat, which stood below President Wilson's seat. Paul took a seat and waited patiently.

     "Mr. McCartney, I'm going to ask you about what happened when you were held hostage by the Shadows, if that's okay with you?" Mr. Erikson said and Paul nodded. "Okay. Tell me, what happened when you were kidnapped by the Shadows? What did they want from me?"

     "They wanted information about the F.H.O.'s plans to save John," Paul said.

     "So, they didn't merely want to harm you, they had an actual purpose for kidnapping you." Mr. Erikson and Paul nodded again. "Interesting.. And tell me, did they torture the information out of you?"

     "No,"

    "How did they get the information, then?" Mr. Erikson asked.

    "They had this machine, kind of, and all these wires," Paul explained. "They hooked me up to all the wires and they somehow managed to get into my brain and see information. I don't think they saw very much, but that's only because I fought back."

     "President Wilson, sir, have you ever heard of a machine that could do such a thing?" Mr. Erikson turned to the leader of the F.H.O. who was, at this point, looking extremely pissed off.

     "No," President Wilson gritted out.

     "So, if the F.H.O. has nothing of that sort, we are led to believe that the Shadows invented this inventive machine. Now, humor me, Mr. McCartney," Mr. Erikson said, turning to Paul once more. "If you would.. Would you say that an organization that could create such a powerful thing would be considered weak or strong?"

     Paul glanced at Judge Matthews and his beady eyes, and he was grateful for the fact that he couldn't see President Wilson in his peripheral vision. "Strong." He said.

     "Thank you," Mr. Erikson said to Paul then returned his gaze to President Wilson. "Another one of your reasons for removing Mr. Lynch from Mr. McCartney's case and threatening to fire him was your claim that Mr. Lynch has not provided Mr. McCartney will all of the information that Mr. McCartney needed to know. Mr. McCartney, do you feel you've been well informed by Mr. Lynch?"

     "Yes. Always." Paul said.

     "And hasn't Mr. McCartney always been informed of the important things?" Mr. Erikson said.

     "I don't know. Has he?" President Wilson raised his eyebrows, looking to Barney with an intense glare.

      "Mr. Lynch?" Mr. Erikson said.

     "Yes, he's always been informed of the bug and important things." Barney nodded firmly. "I can promise you that."

     "And what about the things like your last name, and the fact that you are Mr. McCartney's advisor? Simple things." President Wilson narrowed his eyes. "How could you be so stupid as to forget things so simple?"

     "I've spoken with Mr. Lynch about things like that," Mr. Erikson said. "and I'd like to remind you of something; Mr. Lynch was not supposed to be on this case. When you were in sudden need of an advisor for Mr. McCartney, he was the only one who was willing to step up. He was prepared for the case in two, short days, so the fact that he had two very small slip ups shouldn't really come as a shock, now, should it?"

     President Wilson didn't say anything, but everyone in the massive jury was jotting down notes.

    "Mr. McCartney, thank your for your time and cooperation." Mr. Erikson said to Paul. "If you would please return to your seat."

     Paul nodded, stood, and hurried back to the seat he'd been sitting in when the hearing had commenced.

     "The jury will now vote," Judge Matthews said.

     The courtroom fell to silence as each member of the jury took out a small device that looked rather like an iPhone, and they all typed something into the device. Moments later, Judge Matthews picked up an iPhone-like device of his own. He examined the screen of the device for a long while, then looked up.

     "Mr. Barney Lynch, please rise." He said and Barney rose to his feet. "The jury has voted. Sixty three percent of the jury has voted you not guilty, as well as free of all charges, which means you are free to return home, your job at the Foxing History Oragnization shall remain intact, and you are, again, Mr. Paul McCartney's advisor."

     Paul grinned and Mr. Erikson smiled, nodding curtly.

     Barney bowed his head respectfully to both President Wilson and Judge Matthews, then he turned to Mr. Erikson who escorted both Barney and Paul from the room. The lawyer led the two men straight to the room where Lilly was waiting with Kylie.

     "We did it!" Barney exclaimed as he ran into the room. He scooped Kylie up into his arms and kissed the top of her head over and over and over. "Oh, my baby girl, I'll never ever forget you! I will always be here for you, I promise!" He turned to Paul with a grin on his face that he just couldn't wipe off. "Can you take Kylie?"

     "Oh, yeah, of course," Paul smiled, taking the baby into his arms and smiling down at her.

     Barney turned to his wife, grinning. She returned the grin and flung her arms around his neck as he wrapped his arms tightly around her, sweeping her off of her feet and spinning her around and around. He kissed her again and again and wouldn't stop.

     "We should celebrate," Paul said.

     Barney set Lilly down on her feet. "Yeah, we should!!" She grinned.

    "I know just what we should do," Barney said. He walked over to Paul and took Kylie back, cradling her in his arms. "Let's go!" He grinned.