Angela ran so close to Suskind, she could hear the ruffling of his shirt and see the sweat on his neck. Calculating her last move, she tackled him around his knees, bringing him down, but in his drug powered, testosterone fueled strength, he dragged her through the dirt and broke loose.

As Angela stood, Suskind whirled around and pulled his .38 revolver from its hidden holster and pointed it at Angela. The loud, cannon-like boom was the last thing she heard as her body hit the dirt.

"Officer down!" screamed one CHP into his shoulder mike, as he felt for a pulse and his partner continued the pursuit.

51.

"Damn it, where is Suskind?" asked Brent, pulling Jack aside during the break.

"Brent, I've got some bad news."

Brent listened somberly as Jack told him what he knew so far; that Angela had been shot in the pursuit, and Suskind was still being pursued. Brent's whole world came crushing down in that instant. What seemed to always be clear was not anymore. What seemed to be important before was inconsequential.

"Is she alright...is she alive?"

"She's alive, on her way to the hospital in an ambulance. But we won't know anything else until she sees the emergency doctors."

"I've got to leave, have to ask for a recess."

After the short afternoon break, Brent approached the bench to ask for a recess.

"Your request for a recess is denied, Mr. Marks."

"But, Your Honor..."

"I understand your urgency, but, as I told you before, the time for trial has been set and it will not be altered."

Nothing would tame the cold heart of Judge Masters. Not life or death, or even a near death crisis would convince her to bend her own rules "Mr. Bernstein," instructed the judge, "you will take your position in the witness box. Mr. Marks, please continue."

Brent felt buried alive, suffocated. He couldn't think about anything, only thoughts of Angela lying on the ground, shot, bleeding. That image came to him with every thought, and the anxiety was gnawing at his brain. He couldn't leave the courtroom, and there was nothing he could do at the moment to help Angela.

Since the crisis of 2008, the big banks had been bailed out by the government; the tax payers stuck with the bill. Prudent Bank had been able to foreclose on Tentane Mutual's properties, and had collected on its bad debts, to the tune of billions more than it had paid for them. The wealth of the United States had been redistributed; the middle class transformed into the "lower middle class." It was time for someone to pay.

Suddenly, a surge of anger overcame him like a wave of power. He pointed that wave at Bernstein and let him have it.

"Mr. Bernstein, before the break, you testified that you didn't tell Mr. Marsh that falling behind in his mortgage payments would make it impossible for him to refinance his property."

"Not impossible, just more difficult."

"And you didn't tell him that his loan and deed of trust were not assigned to the Trust before the closing of the Pooling Service Agreement, is that correct?"

"He wasn't a party to that agreement."

"Move to strike as non-responsive."

"Granted, answer the question, Mr. Bernstein."

"No, I didn't."

"And you spoke to Mr. Marsh after he received this letter from Prudent Bank to make his further payments to Prudent, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"And, at the time, you discussed the Grand Jury investigation with him, didn't you?"

"I may have mentioned it."

"You may have mentioned it. Wasn't that your very purpose in going to see Mr. Marsh that day?"

"Objection!"

"Overruled."

"No."

"In fact, Mr. Bernstein, you found out about the Grand Jury investigation, a secret proceeding, from your superiors at Prudent Bank, didn't you?"

"I don't remember who told me."

"And you knew that the Bank was being investigated for covering up forged documents..."

"Objection, Your Honor, assumes facts not in evidence."

"...fraudulent transfers, like the assignment of Mr. Marsh's loan to the trust..."

"Objection! Argumentative!"

"Sustained! Mr. Marks! The jury will disregard the question."

"Shall the jury disregard the truth, Your Honor?"

"Counsel, approach the bench!"

Brent was hot, and had no intention of cooling down.

"Mr. Marks, you will obey protocol in my courtroom or I will hold you in contempt, and you'll be spending the night in jail."

"Yes, Your Honor."

Back at counsel table, Brent continued on his roll.

"You knew of the Grand Jury Investigation, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"And you found out about the investigation from Prudent Bank."

"I don't recall."

"And you went to Mr. Marsh because you knew he was a witness in the investigation, isn't that correct?"

"No."

"You discussed the investigation with Mr. Marsh?"

"I may have."

"And you told him not to testify, isn't that true?"

"No."

"You told him that if he testified, he would regret it, didn't you?"

"I said no such thing."

Bernstein was wiggling in his chair, avoiding eye contact and avoiding the jury.

"Are you alright, Mr. Bernstein?"

"Objection, Your Honor."

"Sustained. Mr. Marks, stick to the facts please."

"You discussed your conversation with Mr. Marsh with your superiors at Prudent Bank, isn't that true?"

"I may have; I don't recall."

"Who did you discuss it with?"

"I don't remember."

"Who was your immediate supervisor at the time?"

"Joel Simon."

"And you discussed Mr. Marsh with Mr. Simon?"

"I don't recall."

"You told your superiors at the bank that Mr. Marsh intended to witness against the bank in the Grand Jury investigation, didn't you?"

"I don't recall."

"Mr. Bernstein, after you came back to Prudent Bank, after seeing Mr. Marsh, and after having 'possibly' discussed your conversation with your superiors at the bank, a decision was made to prevent Mr. Marsh from testifying, isn't that true?"

"No."

"And you were charged with implementing that decision, isn't that correct?"

"Objection, Your Honor, lack of foundation."

"Sustained."

"Mr. Bernstein, you ordered the murder of Mr. and Mrs. Marsh, didn't you?"

"No!"

Bernstein was squirming in his chair, blinking incessantly.

"And Prudent Bank knew about it?"

"Objection, lack of foundation, assumes facts not in evidence."

"Sustained. The jury will disregard the question."

"Mr. Bernstein, you hired two men to murder Mr. and Mrs. Marsh, didn't you?"

"No!"

Bernstein scratched his nose. He tugged at his collar.

"You were there at the time of the attack, weren't you?"

"No!"

"You know who beat the life out of Mrs. Marsh, don't you Mr. Bernstein?"

"No! That's ridiculous!"

"And you know who killed Mr. Marsh in the hospital, don't you?"

"Objection, lack of foundation!" Stein boomed.

"Sustained."

"And you know who is responsible for the murder of my investigator on this case, Rick Penn, don't you?"

"Objection, assumes facts not in evidence."

"Sustained. Counsel, please approach."

By the time they broke for lunch, Brent had been admonished by the judge countless times for improper grandstanding before the jury. If the secret weapon he had in mind materialized, he may be spending the night in a jail cell. But the only thing on his mind right now was Angela and, trial or no trial, he headed straight for the hospital.