SquidgeWorld Archive

The guy was nuts. Judge Milton C. "Hardcase" Hardcastle was absolutely, positively off his proverbial rocker. Yep, off his rocker, down the road, around the bend and into the next county. That was the only explanation for it. Either the Judge had finally eaten too many peanuts or all the times he'd been dropped on his head as a baby were finally catching up with him. Hardcastle didn't need to retire. That man needed to be committed!

What else would possess him to offer Mark McCormick, ex-con, some goofy partnership? Not even a partnership, more like an indentured servitude arrangement complete with some indefinite custody clause. Indefinite custody--that idea in itself was insane. They couldn't be in the same room together without trading insults, and yet it was clear Hardcastle had expected him to just jump at the offer. The Judge had laid it all out like some grand, logical plan that made perfect sense. Well, it didn't make sense to Mark. It sounded well...crazy and possibly dangerous and.......CRAZY.

Not that it wasn't a noble idea. He grudgingly had to give the Judge that. Most criminals didn't change their spots. You could bet the farm that those 200 defendants walking around free had enhanced their criminal resumes. Just the idea of that had to be giving Hardcastle fits knowing his precious legal system had in those instances not only been blind but bound and gagged too.

So the Judge, being the great defender of law and order that he was, hatched a plan to go after the ones that got away, and he'd offered Mark the role of sidekick in the grand adventure. Mark had said no.

Mark shook his head then moved away from the bars of his newly acquired cell. He sat down on the bunk, leaned his back against the concrete wall and stared at the view he'd hoped never to see again. No, not just hoped--vowed never to see again.

Maybe he was the crazy one. He was looking at going back to prison for a long time. Stealing the Coyote may have been the right thing to do, but he'd gotten caught. That cop's testimony was going to nail him. The only satisfaction Mark gleaned from the situation was that Martin Cody would NEVER lay his hands on Flip's car. Mark was convinced Cody had killed Flip for the Coyote, but it would never be his prize.

It was a small consolation at best considering Mark had planned to take the Coyote and prove Cody's involvement in Flip's death. He couldn't prove anything if he was locked away. Despite his assurance to Hardcastle that he intended to get himself cleared, he had no idea how he was going to pull it off. In fact, he didn't think he could.

That left him with Hardcastle's crazy plan, which as desperate as he was becoming, still sounded just as crazy. Still, the Judge had come to him. Maybe he could use that. It was possibly his only advantage, and admittedly even then it was tiny, but if Hardcastle really wanted Mark to play Tonto, then the Judge was gonna have to sweeten the deal.

Oh who was he kidding? Hardcastle already insisted the Coyote had to be returned which wasn't gonna happen. That was non-negotiable.

Mark leaned his head back and closed his eyes to escape the sight of the bars even temporarily. It would never have worked anyway. If they couldn't be civil for five minutes, they would never have made it through indefinite. Not to mention that the Judge could be arrogant, stubborn, and bossy, but he was also smart. Mark conceded Hardcastle had to be if he wanted Mark on his team, and it would have been nice to have Milton C. Hardcastle on his side for a change.

Yeah, it really was too bad, Mark thought surprised to discover he actually was feeling a sense of having lost......something. He was definitely on a huge cold streak. He allowed himself a small bittersweet smile.

McCormick and Hardcastle--it did have a nice ring to it.