Monday evening, Mike Huntel shut down his laptop, stood up and stretched. He walked out of his office and down the hall, stopping at Blaine's office. He walked in and looked at the neat work piles on the desk. His eyes rested on the photo of Kurt. He picked it up and looked at it closely before returning it to its place. He still found it strange that someone like Blaine was gay. It seemed so out of character with his powers, but then again...Blaine wasn't the stereotypical gay. Hell, he wasn't the stereotypical anything. He was dark, intense, and had a slightly menacing aura that Mike had noticed he could turn on and off at will. Such a talented kid. He knew Blaine wanted to make partner at HWV, and Mike was going to make sure he did. Hell, he'd make the kid a partner today if he could. Fuck law school. The kid didn't need it. He had that power. That beautiful, unbelievable power.

Mike checked his watch. 6:45 pm. He didn't want to be late.

He called his driver, Dave.

"I'm ready. I'll meet you in the garage."

As Mike rode along in the Lincoln Town car, he relaxed with a martini from the car bar. Thank God he had found Blaine. A descendent of the Dark One. He smiled. Dark One. That's what his father had always called Congressman Jim. The Dark One. Mike missed his dad. He'd been dead for years, and yet he still missed him. Such a great man and a great father. Mike always strived to be as good a father to Samantha, as his father had been to him. Despite his father's busy political schedule, he'd always made time for Mike. He even made it to most of his little league games and school events. He'd been a great dad. Mike was sure he would be proud of all he had accomplished. And, he was sure he would approve of his plans for Blaine. His dad never begrudged Congressman Jim his power. Instead, he had been impressed by it. In awe of it. He had introduced Mike to the congressman with such adoration and respect in his voice and his eyes. Mike had been young, but he remembered the aura surrounding Congressman Jim. Blaine had the same aura. Power. Strength. Confidence. Mike had been very impressed with Congressman Jim's confidence. It had been confidence bordering on arrogance. Arrogance steeped in the knowledge that he held the world by its balls and he wasn't afraid to squeeze. Mike hoped Blaine wouldn't be scared to squeeze either.

Mike was pulled out of his thoughts by Dave slowing down the car in front of the private Danbury Club. Mike climbed out and walked to the front door. He swiped his silver plated keycard and pressed his thumb to the pad. The doors opened.

"Good evening Helena."

"Good evening Mr. Huntel. Nice to see you again."

Mike nodded, stepped on to the elevator and pushed the 3rd floor. He thought about Helena. She had been great in bed. Maybe he would screw her again. It had been awhile.

The doors opened at the third floor. Mike stepped out and walked down the hall to a private meeting room on the left. Andrew was waiting for him.

"Good evening Andrew."

"Hi Mike. Listen, I should probably warn..."

"When the fuck are you getting our son out!"

Andrew rolled his eyes and sighed wearily. "Warn you that Clarissa insisted on accompanying me."

Mike turned around.

"Good evening Clarissa. Nice to see you again."

Clarissa Montiel's eyes were as bright and on fire as her striking red hair. She was in a rage.

"Don't you fucking "nice to see you again" me, Mike Huntel! When are you getting my baby out of jail? All the damn money my family has spent with your firm all these years, and you can't even get my kid out of lockup! What the fuck? All of you lawyers are worthless sons-of-bitches!"

Mike purposely gave Clarissa a bored look. When was Andrew going to divorce this bitch?

"That's what I came to talk to Andrew about."

"And that's another fucking thing! Stop having meetings behind my back! That's my child locked up in there! I'm his mother! I deserve to know what's going on!"

Andrew had had enough of his wife.

"Clarissa, don't you have somewhere to be? I think I saw that waiter you were screwing last year, downstairs. Why don't you go down to the restaurant and be a good little whore for him?"

Mike stepped back as he saw the sheer fury erupt in Clarissa's eyes. No wonder their kid had shot someone.

"How dare you, you little asshole! How dare you insult me in front of someone! Maybe if your dick wasn't so..."

"Enough! Shut up!" Andrew screamed.

Clarissa stood there for a few moments, fuming. "I'm going to get a drink!" She stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Andrew looked exhausted.

Mike was amused. "So much for the concerned mother routine."

Andrew sighed. "She doesn't give a shit about Drew. She just wants to make sure I'm not meeting with you to discuss a divorce. Which, by the way, I will be meeting with you about, once all this Drew nonsense is over with."

The men sat down. Andrew leaned forward. "Well?"

"Well, I can safely say that your son should be out in about two weeks, if not sooner."

"How? The district attorney has a witness. A witness, I can't touch. I can't do shit. I can't have anything happen. The fed is so far up my ass, they know when I take a dump or a piss."

"Nothing needs to happen to the witness. She will simply change her story."

"What makes you say that? I can't pay her off. I can't threaten her and neither can you. I'm telling you Mike, we gotta be careful. Anything smells fishy and the feds are gonna nail me. Whether it was my fault or not."

"Threats and violence are not the only answer. Trust me. The witness will change her story, no harm will come to her, and your son will walk. No one will suspect you of a thing."

Andrew looked at Mike hard. He trusted him. Had trusted him for over 15 years with the legitimate side of his business. He knew Mike wouldn't jerk him around.

"Okay. How you gonna pull this off?"

Mike smiled. "Just leave it to me."

Blaine checked the clock and sighed. When would he hear from Mike? He didn't know what time they were meeting or where. He didn't want to be late.

When Blaine opened his work email that Tuesday morning, there was an email from Mike, inviting him to lunch. Blaine had quickly accepted. He hoped Mike was going to ask him to assist on another case. He was tired of doing research.

At 11:30 am, Alison appeared in his doorway.

"Blaine, Mike wants you to meet him in 15 minutes, downstairs in front of the building. He will be in a black Lincoln Town car."

"Okay. Thanks."

Blaine smirked as Alison turned and walked off. One night, he forgot his cell phone and came back to get it. It was around 8:00 pm, and the offices were deserted. As he neared his office, he heard odd noises. Grunts, groans and squeals. Upon investigating, he stumbled upon Mike screwing the hell out of Alison, in the conference room. They didn't notice him, so Blaine watched for awhile. He had found it interesting, but not arousing. He was definitely gay.

At exactly 11:45 am, Mike's car pulled up and his driver, Dave stepped out to open the door for Blaine.

"Hi! Welcome back!"

"Thanks Blaine. It's good to be back. How have things been?"

Boring as hell.

"Good. I've been doing some background research for a few of the attorneys in real estate."

Mike laughed. "In other words, you've been bored to tears."

Blaine just smiled.

They pulled up in front of a private restaurant called, Smiths. Private restaurants were only open to members, never the public. As they entered, Blaine observed the luxurious decor and the way in which the staff all greeted Mike by name. One day. One day he would have the money for membership to a place like this.

Once they were settled in a private dining room, Mike began. He needed to find out just how far Blaine was willing to go to get what he wanted.

"Tell me, Blaine. Do you believe everyone deserves a defense?"

"Of course. It's the way our justice system works."

"What about those who are guilty?"

"Everyone is innocent until proven guilty."

"True...but, let's say you know for a fact that they are guilty. Do they still deserve a defense?"

"Of course."

"What is the number one responsibility of an attorney?"

"To represent their client to the best of their ability. To vigorously prepare their case and fight for their client."

Mike was quiet. He looked into Blaine's eyes. So much power in those eyes.

"Just so we are clear. You don't have a problem defending someone you know is guilty?"

Blaine didn't hesitate. "No, I don't. Do you think that's bad?"

Mike chuckled. "No, I think it's lucrative. In my experience, the guilty are willing to spend however much it costs to prove their innocence. Their guilt drives their need for approval from a jury. They need that declaration of innocence to wash away their guilt. Those who get caught, that is. The guilty who never get caught, don't give a shit and they don't wallow in remorse. They simply move on."

Blaine nodded. That was very true. He felt no guilt about killing Phil and he never thought about it.

Mike continued. "It's only the innocent who truly believe the justice system will work for them. The guilty understand that's bullshit. After all, those who are guilty are already playing on a different field than everyone else. That's why they committed their crime in the first place. They think the rules don't apply to them. And, they are usually right."

Blaine frowned. "But, guilty people go to jail all the time."

"Do they?"

"Well...not all the time, but...most of the time."

Mike smiled. "Are you sure about that, Blaine?"

Blaine looked at Mike. The darkness stirred a little. Blaine was guilty of murder and arson, and yet he'd never even been questioned. He was an example of what Mike was describing. Blaine played on a completely different field than everyone else.

He got away with murder.

And torture.

And he had a slave.

Exactly what rules applied to him?

"Maybe you have a point."

Mike smiled. The kid was quick.

Their lunch arrived. As they ate, Blaine brought Mike up to speed on what he'd been working on. Mike listened and decided it was definitely time to put Blaine's talents to better use. The poor kid had been languishing away under research and reports.

Once the waiter removed their dishes, Mike began. He knew he had to be careful. He had faith in Blaine, but Blaine was still young and probably a bit idealistic. Mike had to tread carefully.

"There is a case Jessica Lincoln is working on that I would like you to assist with. It's a criminal case. We are defending a young man named Andrew Montiel III. He is accused of murdering a girl named Stephanie Wilcox. Apparently the two were romantically involved and things went south. Andrew comes from a well-bred, upper east side family. The Montiels are great philanthropists and important business and civic leaders in this city. They have also been clients of this firm for years. We handle all their affairs. They are counting on us to get this right. We need to stop the prosecution of Andrew, before it goes to court."

Blaine was listening intently. "How can I help?"

Mike focused on Blaine's eyes. He hoped they would give him clues to Blaine's thoughts on what he was about to say. He needed to know immediately if Blaine wasn't up to the challenge. There could be no fucking up.

"There is a witness to the shooting. A young woman named Alexis Young. She was sitting in the park, a few feet away when the shooting took place. She has positively identified Andrew. We need to get rid of her testimony."

Mike paused.

"Alexis needs to decide that she didn't see Andrew in the park that day. He wasn't the one who shot that girl. The DA's entire case rests on her testimony."

Blaine's mind worked quickly. Mike needed him to get this girl to change her mind. To change her story. Like his grandfather convinced colleagues to change their minds about legislation.

Blaine looked at Mike. What made him think Blaine could do this? Blaine knew he could but how did Mike know that?

"What makes you think I can make her change her mind?"

Mike suppressed a smile. The kid wasn't stupid. He was right to question Mike's confidence in him. After all, no one was supposed to know about his power. Mike chose his words carefully.

"After seeing you with Jamison, I have confidence in your...way with people. I think you can convince her that she is mistaken. Women like you Blaine."

Blaine's eyes darkened slightly. Mike did not miss it. Would Blaine rise to the challenge?

"Isn't this witness tampering?"

"No one is going to harass, influence or intimidate a witness."

Blaine narrowed his eyes. Okay...that wasn't exactly true. He would be influencing a witness. With the darkness.

He would be helping a murderer go free.

What did he think about that?

Blaine was a murderer. But, he wasn't a danger to society...was he? No. He was only dangerous to those who hurt Kurt or tried to steal him. Like that fucker Warren. Everyone else was safe. Unless they crossed him and pissed him off.

"Is this Andrew kid a danger to society?"

Mike frowned and shook his head. "Uh, uh Blaine. It's either all or nothing. Defense attorneys don't get to make those determinations. You defend your client. Period."

Blaine sat back in his chair.

He wasn't sure about this.

Kurt would not approve. Not at all.

But...

Mike had a point. A defense attorney's job was to defend his client and get him off. Not pass judgment.

This was probably a decent kid. Maybe he killed in a rage. Blaine had killed in a rage. Okay...maybe that wasn't exactly true. Phil's murder had been premeditated. He had visited Phil's apartment and mapped out exactly how he would kill him. It was strictly by chance that they ended up at his father's headquarters that day. Had Andrew planned to kill this girl? Of course he had. Why else would he have a gun with him in the park?

Mike watched Blaine carefully. He was disappointed with Blaine's obvious struggle. He'd hoped the darkness would make this simple. Congressman Jim had always acted without hesitation or thought for the other side. It was one of the things Mike's father had admired about him. When you start thinking about the other side, you lose focus. You get weak. Mike hoped Blaine wasn't weak. Maybe being gay affected the darkness after all.

Blaine knew he was taking too long to answer, but he needed time to think. He looked up at Mike.

And everything clicked.

This was a test.

The test.

The test to see if he was worth the corner office, the salary, the gym membership. Somehow, Mike knew about the darkness and he was testing Blaine to see if he would really use it. It had been easy to use it on behalf of Sheila Jamison. Who wouldn't want to help a pretty woman whose husband was a philandering jerk?

But this...this was the real shit. How far was Blaine willing to go to get what he wanted? Would he really use the darkness to his advantage? To the firm's advantage? Even if it meant freeing a murderer?

Blaine felt pissed. This was why he planned to go into corporate law. He didn't want to have to make these types of decisions. This was too deep. Corporate law would involve getting money out of business deals. Blaine could do that with no problem. Everyone around the table would be a rich bastard. He would just be transferring money and assets, and fighting to get the most for his clients.

But this...this was different.

He looked at Mike again. Mike was watching him closely, his eyes slightly cold.

Blaine didn't want to disappoint Mike.

He didn't have to tell Kurt.

He could do this once and never do it again. After all, he didn't plan to go into criminal law.

"Okay. How do I get to this, Alexis?"

Mike smiled.

My apologies to all defense attorneys.