AUTHOR'S POV 

It's a chilly day outside but the sun is out and shining brightly. It's a typical weekday for everyone as most people are hard at work but otherwise not having a care in the world as they work away...but not Larry, Laurent and neither are Laurent's employees. Since the night of Laurent's windshield incident his car has been repaired and he's also been taking extra security measures at the office. In addition to the three of them walking out together every night the front door to the firm, which is usually unlocked during the day and free for people to come in as most of the time it's always clients or other attorneys, it stays locked now. He also had a company come in and install an intercom system for Andrea and Dave to press a button and ask who the person is to make sure it's someone on schedule. For added security, cameras are in place to see the activity on the outside. All of this has without question put everyone in Bourgeois Law Firm on edge. Dave has been the bystander of it all because unlike Andrea he doesn't know anything other than what Laurent told the detective but he's very much concerned about both of them. Seeing them so on guard has been difficult to see and every night he's followed Andrea home before Laurent can even ask. Perhaps to some people a brick thrown through a windshield shouldn't bring on such intensity...but if someone can do this there's no telling what else this person capable of. That's why he's committed to doing everything he can to make sure Dave and Andrea are safe. As they've worked today occasionally Dave will look up at Andrea and see the concern written all over her face so whatever he has to do for her he will. If the office is in need of something he will be the one to take care of that. In the meantime...

Dave: "Andrea? Can I order some lunch for you"?

Andrea: "What do you have in mind", she asks softly. 

Dave: "How about pizza and wings? I'm sure boss will want some too". 

Andrea: "Sure. I need to take him more messages anyway so I'll ask him". 

Dave: "Ok. I'll order everything as soon as you let me know". 

Andrea: "Thanks. I won't be long". 

Dave: *smile* "It's alright. Take your time". 

Andrea smiles as warmly as she can then starts walking to Laurent's office. As she walks she's a nervous wreck on the inside...and it's not just because of what happened but since it happened Todd has called her everyday. It didn't take Laurent asking her to stay away from him. She already had it in her mind that she will and pretty much stop all contact with him until they know for sure...but now that he's calling her she's wondering about his thoughts being that she's not answering. If he's the guilty one he's possibly calling her to make things seem normal because if he doesn't she's more likely to suspect him. If Josh did this then he could be calling her to simply hang out because although Andrea has been upset with him for carrying on an affair with Larry it would be his way of trying to make it up to her. Perhaps he's calling to see when she's free again to go on another shopping trip which is something they've always done together. Boy. How Andrea wishes Todd just stayed to himself. How she wishes Larry would have stayed committed to Laurent regardless of their issues and how she absolutely hates seeing Laurent so down and having to watch his every step now. Just when he and Larry decide they're going to work on their marriage someone just has to seek revenge instead of moving on with their life. It still hurts her to have seen the sad face on Laurent when he and Larry were going through it before finding out about the affair, then the emotions he went through after he found out...now this. She arrives and knocks on Laurent's door then walks in after hearing him say "come in" but it's in such a sad tone she's tearing up before she even turns the knob to come inside. In an attempt to be strong for him she sucks them back... 

Andrea: "Hey". 

Laurent: "Hey Andrea. What's up"?

Andrea walks over to his desk and hands him the small stack of messages...

Andrea: "I just wanted to give you more of your messages. Oh and don't forget you have a consultation in 45 minutes". 

Laurent: "Yeah oki. Thank you for reminding me". 

Andrea: "No problem. Dave wants to order us some pizza and wings. Does that sound good"?

Realizing that he's been so distracted he didn't even bring lunch to work he agrees then pulls out his wallet...

Laurent: "Yeah it sounds good and I'll pay for it" *pause* "Here, give him my credit card". 

Andrea: "That's really nice Laurent but Dave wants to do this for us". 

Laurent: "Tell him I appreciate that but I'll pay for it. I don't mind". 

Andrea's gaze stays on Laurent's face as she slowly takes the credit card from his hand. It's always been like Laurent to do for others and the fact that someone is trying to hurt him knowing what a sincere person he is just breaks her heart even more...

Andrea: "Ok". *pause* "I'll tell him". 

Laurent: "Thank you and I want you two to get whatever you want. I don't care how much it costs, oki"? 

Andrea: "Ok", she replies softly again. 

Just as she's turning around to walk out Dave is knocking on the door...

Laurent: "Come in Dave". 

When Laurent told him to come in the last thing he expects is for someone to be with him but when he looks up he sees Detective Duval. Laurent stands up in anticipation of the news he has for him...

Laurent: "Hey detective". 

Duval: "Afternoon Mr. Bourgeois". *looks at Andrea* "Ma'am". 

Andrea: "Hi Detective". *pause* "We'll leave you two alone and get lunch ordered". 

Laurent nods and now that it's just Laurent and the detective... 

Laurent: "I didn't expect to see you today. I thought maybe you would call me". *pause* "You have more bad news"?

*brief pause*

Duval: "Mr. Bourgeois, we looked into Mr. Durand's employment and we were able to find the marketing firm you spoke of but it seems he stopped working there several months ago. He went to another one but when my partner and I went to speak with him we were told that he suddenly took a leave of absence. He told his boss for a month...possibly longer. When I asked about his behavior prior to leaving she said that he had definitely been distracted and appeared extremely upset about something but she didn't want to pry". 

As Laurent listens to him he's becoming more convinced that Josh is indeed the one. He still wants Andrea to steer clear of Todd because this could all be a coincidence but he's certain it's Josh...

Duval: "We haven't been able to locate his whereabouts but we are looking. You'll hear from me often as I'll keep you updated with everything". 

Laurent: *nods* "Oki. Thank you detective". 

Duval: "You're very welcome".

Laurent and the detective shake hands and after Duval leaves his office Laurent plops back down in his chair. Too upset to get back to work he just gazes out the window. Now Andrea is at the door and and when Laurent doesn't answer she slowly opens the door and pokes her head inside...

Andrea: "Laurent"?

Laurent: "Come in". 

Andrea catches sight of Laurent looking out the window in a completely different world. She really doesn't want to pressure him to talk about anything but she's definitely feeling a little unsettled since the detective left...

Andrea: "I know this is hard to talk about but I just got a bad vibe from the detective. He didn't find Josh did he"?

*brief pause* 

Laurent: "He didn't find him and now I'm not sure if he's going to". 

Andrea's head slowly drops in despair because things are taking an even more serious turn now. Several moments of silence between them go by as they merely listen to the busy streets of Paris. Then Andrea speaks up...

Andrea: "How is Larry holding up"?

Laurent: "He's not doing good. I talk with him every night because he always calls me to say goodnight. He tries to act like he's not worried but...I know Larry. He's really worried. Mama is safe and we're both happy for that but Larry's not only worried, he's scared too. I know he is". 

Between the reality of what's going on and the deep sadness to Laurent's tone Andrea really doesn't know what to say but will say the one thing she can and deeply means...

Andrea: "I'm so sorry Laurent". 

With his soft gaze still looking out the window...

Laurent: "It's not your fault Andrea, but thank you". 

Andrea: "You're welcome". *pause* "You still have some time before your consultation and lunch should be here very soon. Can I bring you some"?   

Laurent: "Yes please. Thank you".  

Andrea: "No problem at all". 

Andrea leaves Laurent to his window although heartbreaking to do so then walks back to her desk. The food eventually arrives and per her gesture she brings Laurent his lunch then eats some of her own before walking Laurent's consultation who showed up promptly back to his office. She knows Laurent is very distracted with good reason but she also knows that law is in Laurent's blood so she expects him to be at his best during this consultation as usual. However she does take a moment to reflect on the things she and Laurent discussed...primarily the detective on Laurent's case being unable to locate Josh. She's extremely frustrated that they haven't caught him yet but she's also deeply saddened for Laurent because something on the inside of her is now telling her that this whole thing is going to throw a monkey wrench in Larry and Laurent's plans to repair their marriage and if it's one thing she wants more than anything is to see Laurent happy again. She can only hope that this feeling will pass...but only time will tell...

~evening~

Larry has been working a normal shift and is scheduled to get off soon. To avoid Edward pulling him to the side again and asking if everything is ok he's done a great job keeping his mind off of everything. Although, mama is by herself and since Laurent's windshield fiasco and not completely sure who it is he's been nervous about mama being home alone as he's had to work every day since it happened. He's called her every day on his lunch hour but he knows that if he calls her too often she will get suspicious as he has yet to tell her what happened but he definitely calls her when he's on his way home. Each time he speaks with her she sounds as vibrant as ever which is a clear indication to him that she's safe so he's relieved. He's about fifteen minutes from the end of his shift and he's with a customer who is more than likely his last one. Utterly satisfied with the styles Larry's put together for him the customer informs him that he will take everything so as he goes to the fitting room to get dressed back into his original clothes Larry takes the items over to the register to start the sale. As he starts folding the clothes to neatly package them a bad feeling slowly comes over him that he's being watched so he slowly raises his head and looks out the window. It's pitch black outside which makes it ten times harder to see but he continues to stretch his neck to locate where this is coming from. When he doesn't see anything he just drops his head and goes back to folding. Now the customer is out of the fitting room and heading over to the register so Larry begins to scan the price tags into the system. The feeling is still with him and his first instinct is to look back up but he doesn't want to take his attention of his customer so he just continues to scan. Seconds later Edward emerges from his office and Larry can see him making sure the store is straightened up. Larry feels relieved that he's out because he really doesn't want to be by himself...but that relief will turn back into fear in just a matter of minutes. Edward's phone quietly goes off inside his pocket and since there's a customer left in the store he retreats back to his office to take the call while Larry wraps up his sale...

Larry: *smile* "Here you go and thank you so much for coming to Couture Du Jour". 

*smile* "You're welcome and thank you for your help. You're really good at this". 

Larry: *smile* "Welcome...and thank you". *pause* "I'll walk you out". 

The customer smiles and nods then Larry walks from around the counter to walk him to the door. He's use to doing this every night but tonight he has extra reasons to. Not only is it time to lock the doors and start shutting everything down but since he has this feeling he's being watched he can see much better at the door versus looking out the window from a distance. He holds it open so the customer can walk out and as he walks away he takes a moment to scan the shopping center. He can also see where he's parked so he examines his car to see if there is anything off about it. It appears to be ok so he brings the door in to close and lock it then he turns around and starts shutting everything down. A minute later Edward comes out of the office with his jacket on and keys in his hand immediately alarming Larry... 

Edward: "Larry, my wife called and she's at the hospital with my daughter who's been sick but it's worse now. Will you please put the deposit together and drop it off at the bank's overnight slot"?

Naturally this means Larry will be alone and with this nervous feeling but of course Edward getting to the hospital to be with his child is urgent so he quickly agrees, tells him that he will and that he hopes she feels better...

Edward: "Thank you. I'll lock the door behind me". 

Larry: "Don't worry for that. I'll be right behind you and lock it back. You just go". 

Edward: "Ok. Thanks again". 

Larry: "Yeah no problem". 

Larry follows Edward to the door and swiftly locks it behind him. He then makes sure Edward is safe in his car before turning around and after Edward's car disappears he takes one more look around the parking lot. He still doesn't see anything or anyone suspicious so he starts to think that maybe this feeling is a result of what happened and it's driven him to the point of paranoia. Perhaps there isn't anyone watching him and since he can't see anyone he just turns around to finish straightening up the store then takes the register till out and walks to the office to prepare the deposit so he can finally leave...

*****

Larry is sitting at Edward's desk and handling the deposit just as Edward showed him shortly after he started working there. There are records of daily sales and they're used to compare the growth or decline in sales each day. As he records numbers and logs receipts he hears a noise. Couture Du Jour sits between two stores so Larry merely figures the noise is coming from one of them. He's not thinking at all that it can be anything else as the front door is secure and it would take something to break it so he continues logging numbers...but as he works the noises go from being once in a while to being regular and now he's hearing a rhythmic tapping noise against something. His face scrunches into confusion and he stops writing to listen to it. Then he hears voices and it sounds like two people having a conversation so again he figures they're employees from one of the stores. He never realized how thin the walls are in this place but nonetheless he's sure now that what he's feeling is paranoia so he whispers to himself, "just shake it off Larry. It's nothing". He goes back to work and now the voices have stopped allowing full concentration on the deposit. Five minutes pass and suddenly Larry hears a bang on the door and being that he's in the back office the fact that he heard it so well means that it was pretty loud. He slowly places the pen in his hand on the desk and stands up just as slowly to walk out of the office...but he won't go directly to the door. Instead, he stops at the corner of the wall and slowly pokes his head around to look. He doesn't see anyone standing there so either this is someone doing a knock and run or the knock is on another door. Then he realizes something. The businesses on both sides of the store are still open so there wouldn't be a knock on either of them. Now he's certain it's at the front door of his store and he realizes that this is no paranoia. No doubt this is either Josh or Todd and whatever either of them have planned they're determined to carry it out. Larry waits a few more moments to see if the person will return to knock again so he can get a good look but there's a great likelihood that they won't as he's now sure this is a reminder that vengeance from one of them is on the horizon so this loud knock on the door is a scare tactic...and boy is it working. Now Larry is beside himself and the first person to come to mind is mama. He quickly turns around, goes back into the office and sits in the chair then grabs his phone to make the call...

Mama: *smile* "Hey son. You on your way home"?

Normally hearing mama smile through the phone will make him smile in return...but he simply can't. He still doesn't want to alarm mama as she's seemingly fine so he will try his best to sound normal...

Larry: "Not yet mama. Edward had to leave so I'm making the deposit for him. Are you oki"?  

Mama: "I'm fine son. Just cooking some dinner because I know you're hungry". 

Larry: "Thank you. I'll be home soon. I just called to make sure you're oki and tell you that I'll be home soon". 

Mama: "Oki my love. Be safe". 

Larry: "Yes ma'am. I love you and I'll see you soon". 

Mama: "I love you too son". 

Larry and mama release the call and wanting to get out of the store Larry quickly but carefully completes the deposit then secures it on the inside of his coat. Just knowing he's about to walk out into the parking lot is unsettling but although scared he's still prepared to defend himself. He walks out into the quiet store and before leaving he shuts off the lights. He walks out into crisp air and a nice breeze which is normally ideal after a long day at work...but these elements are an afterthought in this moment. As he walks to the car he's very careful of his surroundings as evident by him looking around. He's already unlocked the door from the remote on his key chain and now at his car all he has to do is get inside...and he wastes not another second doing so. He hops in, immediately locks the doors then breathes a sigh of relief that he's safely inside. He cranks the engine up then backs out to make his way to the bank for the deposit then finally home. It will be a tense drive however. Every few seconds he looks in his rear view mirror to see if he's being followed but every car that's been behind him made a turn at some point. He makes it to the bank and when he pulls up to the overnight depository he looks around again to make sure no one sees him making the drop. Before pulling off a black car slowly pulls up behind him and right away it looks suspicious so instead of trying to get a good look at the person behind it he just slams his foot on the gas pedal. The tires screech as he drives off but that's an afterthought to him too as he really just wants to get away. Looking in the rear view mirror is continuous as he drives and will only increase the closer he is to mama's house because if someone is following him he will take a detour to play it safe...

When he finally arrives he's confident that he hasn't been followed but he's still in a hurry to get inside...although he won't burst through the door as to not alarm mama. When he goes inside he smells the aroma of the food mama said she had been cooking but he just doesn't have an appetite. He goes to the kitchen to greet her of course but he really needs to speak to Laurent so he excuses himself then walks to his room to do that. He softly shuts the door behind him and after he pulls his phone out of his jacket he takes it off then slides out of his shoes. He then sits on the edge of the bed to call Laurent...

Laurent: "Hey".

Larry: "Hey. Are you at home"?

Laurent instantly hears the shakiness in Larry's voice...

Laurent: "Yeah. You oki"?

*brief pause* 

Larry: "No I'm not". 

Now Laurent is just as nervous...

Laurent: "What happened? Is mama oki"?

Larry: "Yeah she's fine. She's in the kitchen". 

Laurent: "Then what's wrong"?

Larry: "Someone came to my store tonight. I think that I drive myself crazy at first but Edward had to leave so he asked me to put the deposit together and when I was doing that someone bang on the door but they run away". 

Laurent: "Shit", he whispers harshly. 

Larry: "He's really trying to hurt us Laurent". 

Laurent: "I know and the detective doesn't know where he is yet. He took a leave of absence from his job and they don't know how long he will be gone". 

*silence*

Laurent: "Larry, I won't let anyone hurt you or mama oki? I'll start looking for somewhere for you and mama to go and we will tell mama what's going on together. Just make sure the windows and doors are locked and the alarm is set every night". 

Larry: "I will", he replies softly. 

Laurent: "Oki". *pause* "Goodnight", he replies softly. 

Larry and Laurent release the call and both freeze right where they are. Laurent is at home as well and now with this information, like Andrea thought earlier, he realizes that things are truly taking a turn. He starts beating himself up for telling Josh about him and Larry thinking he should have kept it simple and instead told him that it just wasn't going to work out. Of course he could still try to hurt anyone close to him whether he told him or not but either way this is extreme. It's one thing to be angry at him...but trying to hurt Larry lights a fire inside of him and he just might have to start his own investigation to find him. For now, it's dinner then later on sleep as he still has to work the next day...

~the next day~

Andrea is on her way to the office later than normal as she had an appointment on her personal schedule for the day. She's already checked in with Laurent and Dave but before she gets there she decides to stop for something to eat as she didn't have a chance to eat anything before she left this morning. She's completely oblivious to the run in she's going to have with someone but unlike last time where it was a friendly coincidence this time she will wonder if it was planned. She didn't have to wait long for her order and once it was handed over to her she smiled and thanked the worker then turned to leave. Now outside she's walking to her car...but then she unexpectedly runs into Todd and right away she sees something different in his eyes. There's anger behind them and on top of that it appears he's lost weight. She won't ask any questions for her goal is to get away from him as quickly as possible but not tipping him off...

Andrea: *clears throat* "Hey". 

Complete disregarding her greeting...

Todd: "I've been calling you". 

Andrea: "Yeah I know. I've uh, just been busy. That's all". 

Todd: "Not too busy. You're not at work". 

Andrea: "I'm on my way and um, I really have to go. I'm already late". 

Todd just continues to stand there and look at her...his eyes still as cold as ever. Andrea doesn't know what else to say but still trying to keep her cool she just smiles awkwardly, whispers goodbye and walks around him to go to her car. As she walks away she has a feeling that he's still looking at her so she stops then turns around...she's right. He turned around just so he can watch her as she walked and it seems as though the look on his face is even angrier. His eyes are squinting as he bites down on his lower lip. To be this upset over a few missed phone calls wasn't like him. She's aware that Larry broke it off with him...otherwise he and Laurent wouldn't be trying to work on things but he wasn't this upset the first time Larry broke it off. Why now? Maybe he blames her for Larry breaking it off again because if she hadn't caught them she wouldn't have known...but that still doesn't mean that he and Larry should've have continued. The secret was bound to come out. Nonetheless she just smiles awkwardly again then turns around to walk away...only slightly faster. One good thing about today is Laurent has to appear in court to hear the sentencing on one of the cases that wrapped up several weeks ago. They're much safer at work now but the added security at the courthouse will put all of them at ease as Dave is coming with them this time. Todd eventually walks away and it's to the office she goes...

*****

*knock on door*

Laurent: "Come in". 

Andrea: "Hey Laurent. I made it finally". 

Laurent: "You good"?

Andrea: "Not really". *pause* "I ran into Todd". 

Laurent slowly raises his head and looks at her...

Laurent: "Anything happen"?

Andrea: "No. He just told me that he's been trying to call me and I just told him that I've been busy". *pause* "He looked really different...and scary".

Laurent: "What you mean"?

Andrea: "He looked angry and like he's lost some weight". *pause* "It was just really scary Laurent. I've never seen him like that before". 

Laurent: "I'm sorry you had to run into him".

Andrea: "It's fine. It was just weird. I've been friends with him for so long and now he's a stranger to me". 

Laurent: "I understand", he replies softly. 

*pause*

Andrea: "Listen we better get to the courthouse". 

Laurent: "Yeah you're right. I'll shut everything down and we can go". 

Andrea turns around to go and grab her purse and small briefcase from her desk. Laurent sits in his chair frozen because now he just doesn't know what to think. First his car, then Larry gets a scare at his store and now Andrea sees a completely disheveled and angry looking Todd. He begins to wonder if it's him...but having somewhere to be right now he can't use another moment to think about it so he stands up and grabs his briefcase then walks out the door. Now the three of them are heading to court to hopefully receive some great news as it's very much needed... 

*****

For there to be a full courtroom today it's really quiet...but that's mostly due to everyone awaiting the sentencing of such a high profile case. Everyone stands to their feet as the judge walks out and as he instructs everyone to be seated the three of them take their seats nervously as they wait. When the judge finally speak...

Judge: "The defendant will now rise"

Laurent, Andrea and Dave look over at the table to watch him and his lawyer stand to their feet then they look at the judge...

Judge: "The defendant has been found guilty of fraud and money laundering. The prosecution has requested the maximum sentence in prison and today I honor that request. You are hereby sentenced to fifteen to twenty years for your crimes of which you will begin serving immediately". 

Considering everything that's been going on Laurent smiles and blows out a sigh as this is another victory he can count for his firm. He looks over at Dave and Andrea who are happy and quietly celebrating him. After the defendant is taken away and the court dismissed the three of them leave for the parking deck where Laurent's car awaits them so they can go back to the office...

Dave: *smile* "How are you feeling boss"?

Laurent: *smile* "I feel good. I was really nervous for that one". 

Andrea: "Yeah you were but I wasn't worried at all. You kicked butt on that case like you do all the others". 

Laurent: *smile* "Thanks Andrea". 

Andrea: *smile* "You're welcome". 

Now on the level Laurent parked they walk in the direction of the car. While they all talk about the win Laurent sees his car first but immediately notices a piece of paper attached to the wiper blade. Normally he would think it's simply a flyer for someone's business...but something tells him this is far from that. Laurent stops dead in his tracks which causes Andrea and Dave to show concern as to what he's looking at... 

Andrea: "What is it"?

Laurent: "Just stay here". 

Laurent slowly walks over to his car and slowly takes the piece of paper from the wiper blade and opens it...

"Your car may be fixed now but you better believe this is not over. This is far from over". 

Laurent refolds the letter then turns to look at Andrea and Dave. He nervously walks back to them...

Dave: "What is it boss"?

Laurent: "I need to call the detective".

------------------------ 

A/N: Sooo yeah. Who is really the one behind all this mess? Larry gets a visitor at his job so it has to be Todd because Josh doesn't know where he works right? Or does he? But Todd ran into Andrea and you all see how that went. Plus the note was left shortly after she did. What are everyone's thoughts? Sound off in the comments! Love you guys. :)