Deception By Ella713 Rated PG

[Ella713]

A new story about a mole innformant using Ted to destroy one of Gabriel's trials.


Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Ted walked into the grocery store by his apartment knowing exactly what would happen. He would buy the things he always bought, and Mrs. Han the owner would make some motherly comment about his bachelor life.
Ted didn’t like his single status either, but constantly reminding him of it he thought was rude. But tonight Mrs. Han said nothing when she saw him walking towards the produce.
“Hi Mrs. Han” Ted said politely.
“Hello. I got perfect lady friend for you” she said placing price tags on the grapefruits
“Oh, Mrs. Han. I really don’t want to be set up on a blind date” Ted groaned.
“Her vision is perfect” Mrs. Han replied clearly not understanding what he meant. “You will like her. She very nice. Over there at the butcher” she said pointing. Ted looked over and saw a very pretty woman who appeared to be around his age. She had long straight blonde hair and was on the petite side which Ted loved since he was always worried about his own height.
“Go over and say hi!” Mrs. Han said giving him a light push that direction.

The woman turned her head and saw him. She smiled brightly and motioned him to come towards her. Ted took a deep breath and walked over to her.
“You must be Ted” she said excitedly. “Mrs. Han told me all about you!”
“She did?” Ted asked turning to look at Mrs. Han who was busy working and was no longer interested.
“Well, she obsessed with fixing people up”
“I’ll say!” Ted Laughed.
“I know! Like we’re sitting in our apartments all night with nothing to do!” she replied.
“I know. Right?”
“Anyway, my name is Collette” she said holding out her hand
“Ted”
“Well, now that we’ve met officially, maybe we should dump the grocery and grab a bite somewhere.” She suggested.
“You know, that sounds like a great idea!” Ted said as he laid his basket down.
Mrs. Han concealed a smile as saw the two walk off together. Young people should be together. Never alone. She thought to herself satisfied that she had done a good job.

Ted and Collette walked to a nearby bistro and ordered dinner.
“So what do you do Ted?” she asked casually as she sipped her iced tea.
“I’m a researcher for Danvers, Mitchell and Roy” he said.
“That’s a law firm right?” she asked.
“Yeah. How about you?”
“I’m a copywriter, glorified fact checker, coffee gopher etc. for the LA Times”
“Come on, I’m sure it’s more exciting than that?”
“Not really. I’m not a reporter, although I hope to get promoted someday. But for right now……” she trailed off.
“I know how that is. I was kind of lost career wise too. I have a good friend who works at Danvers and he gave me a job”
“Lucky you” she said. “I had to go on interviews for three months before landing this gig”
They talked some more about the hardships of living in Los Angeles and where would they live if they had the money to live anywhere.
Ted was having a great time. Collette was very pretty really smart. Maybe he would be a lot nicer to Mrs. Han in the future.

“Well I had a great time Ted” Colette said.
“Me too. Maybe we could do it again?” he asked trying to sound casual.
“I’d love to. Here’s my number” she said handing him a card. “My cell numbers is right there” she pointed.
“Great, I’ll call you this weekend” Ted said placing the card in his pocket. Collette turned and walked away.
Stupid! Ted thought. He should have kissed her!

Collette got into her car and pulled out her cell phone.
“Hank, I made contact. His name is Ted Ferguson and he works for Danvers. I need you to make sure you bribe whoever to say that I work as a copywriter for the LA Times.”
“Okay. That’s easy enough. What else?”
“Nothing yet, but this is going to easy!” she said as she hung up phone.

[jen]

Oh, Rats.

I wasn't too crazy about Ted before he became Gabriel's friend but now that he is, I hope good things happen to good people. Collette seemed nice, but how many people have we met in the real world that made a great first impression that didn't quite pan out in the end.

I hope Ted wises up before he really gets hurt, and I hope that Gabriel doesn't misunderstand and think that Ted is the source of whatever bad things happen in his case.

[Ella713]

Ted was in Gabriel office going over the research on the McMullen case Gabriel was trying.
“This is a complete list of this illness in every medical journal in the United Sates and abroad. They each say the exact same thing. The only way to contract this is through the dye used from the plaintiff” Ted said laying the materials on Gabe’s desk.
“Great work Ted. I have to say, you are the best researcher I’ve ever worked with”
Gabriel said overwhelmed by the amount of information he was able to find in so little time.
“Thanks Gabe. But this is going to be a tough trial. That company poisoned those people. They knew about the toxins in their product and sold it to the public anyway. Anything I can do to make them pay is going to be worth it” Ted said. Gabriel looked up at Ted for the first time since he came in. There was something different about his demeanor.
“What’s going on Ted? You look………smitten” Gabriel said with a smile.
“Well…..I did meet a lovely young woman last night.” He said shyly
“Way to go Ted. Who is she?”
“Her name is Collette and she works as a copy writer for the LA Times. The lady who owns the grocery near my place kind of fixed us up”
“Tell me more!” Gabriel said anxious to hear about her. It was always his hope that Ted would find a woman to love. He had made such huge changes in his life and personality and he deserved to be happy.
“She’s pretty. And ambitious. She’s just a copy writer right now, but she wants to make it as a reporter. She’s got goals”
“She sounds amazing! Maybe we should all go out to dinner” Gabriel offered.
“That’s a great idea Gabe I’ll ask her and get back to you” Ted said and walked out the door. Brian walked in right after.
“What is Ted so happy about?” Brian asked.
“He found a woman” Gabriel said.
“Good for him”

[jen]

Now this is positive.

While Ted can be duped, having a friend who can smell deception is definitely a plus. Ted may not be very receptive to the idea that his new lady is not who she thinks she is--there are times when we just don't want to hear those things--but in those cases, Gabriel has another way to get his message through.

Hey, it's worked before...

Thank you!

[Ella713]

Gabriel and Zoe were having drinks with her best friend Amy who had come for visit.
“I forgot to tell you” Gabriel said. “Ted met someone. A woman. I think he’s getting kind of serious about her”
Zoe looked at Amy with an anxious expression then looked back at Gabriel.
“Really? Who is she?” Zoe asked.
“A copywriter at the LA Times. He said the woman who owns the grocery store by his place introduced them”
Amy looked down into her wine glass. She had really begun to like Ted. He was nothing like the vengeful boy he was in school. He had grown into a very nice, very handsome man. She should have done something about it sooner but she always thought that she would have time.
“Well good for Ted” she heard herself say. “I hope it all works out well. Listen guys I better scoot. I’ve got an early day at the gallery tomorrow” she said and picked up her coat and walked out the door. Gabriel stared at the door then looked at his wife.
“Was it something I said?” he asked in confusion.
“Amy likes Ted” Zoe said.
“Since when?!”
“For about 2 years now.”
“Why didn’t she ever do anything about it? Ted was always nuts over Amy!”
“You’re kidding?”
“No, he told me and Brian about it. He’s been in love with her since grade school” Zoe stood up.
“This is what happens when people don’t communicate!”

Collette Stinson aka Mary Lang, aka Jody Barnes, and a dozen other alias, was a hired gun. She was the person that you called when your company had screwed up big time. And McMullen Textiles and Dye had done just that. Collette infiltrated from the inside and destroyed the opposition. For a fair price of course. And sometimes that fair price was millions of dollars. A penance opposed to paying multiple plaintiffs over a hundred million dollars. She never messed up and she always got results. She studied the dossier in front of her. This Gabriel St. John was a formidable attorney but very green. He had only passed the bar 4 years prior. He wouldn’t know what hit him she thought to herself with smile!

Ted looked at himself one last time in the mirror. The suit was new as were the shoes. He was determined to put his best foot forward. Collette was a fantastic woman and he didn’t want to mess it up. All of his previous relationship were short term. More physical than anything. But he was ready for something serious. He had a great job, made a great salary and now he found himself thinking of children and a house……and a wife.
All of his friends had settled down with their special someones, and he felt like it was time for him to become more serious. Taking a deep breath he picked up his car keys and walked out his door.

Zoe was not happy about meeting this woman. She didn’t even like the name Collette! And how weird that she would just pop up out of nowhere. Gabriel however always the diplomat was willing to give her a chance. When they walked in the restaurant they saw that Ted and Collette were already there waiting for them.

“Gabe, Zoe” Ted said standing up “I’d like you to meet Collette Stinson. This is Gabriel and Zoe St. John” he said.
Collette stared at the striking couple trying to get some sort of read on their personalities. Zoe she could tell right away was leery, but Gabriel was open and honest and genuine.
“Pleased to meet you Collette. Ted had told us nothing but great things about you” Gabriel said with smile as he held Zoe’s chair out for her before sitting.
“Ted said you were an up and coming attorney” she said with a wide smile
“Well you know how friends are. They only see the good parts.”
“Are you working on anything now, or is it all top secret” she said innocently.
“A few cases are headed for the courts but nothing stellar or noteworthy” Gabriel said. Zoe spoke little during the entire night having already made up her mind about Collette. She was polite but very cool towards the eager young woman. Ted noticed it and kept looking at Zoe with a concerned expression.
“We were thinking of going to Jazz Alley to hear Simone Simone sing. You guys up for it?” Ted asked hopefully.
“I wish I could Ted, but I have an early meeting in the morning, but you two have fun.” Then he turned to Collette. “It was very nice meeting you Collette. We should do this again soon” Gabriel urged.

Gabe and Zoe didn’t discuss anything until they made their way home. Going inside and locking the door, Gabe whispered to Zoe that had been bugged.

Gabriel rang Brian and asked him to come over for drink. Brian knew immediately that something was up because Brian rarely if ever drank alcohol. He sped over all his senses on high alert as he swept over the house.
Zoe let Brian in and began to speak in no audible tones.
“Who is the blonde woman?” Brian asked.
“Her name is Collette Stinson although I know that is not her true name” Gabriel said. “She is the woman who is dating Ted”
Brian, who although had no reason for being suspicious of Ted would forever suspect Ted.
“Brian, Ted doesn’t know” Gabriel assured him. “He honestly believes that this woman really likes him” he explained.
“What is her motive?” Brian asked.
“The wrongful death case Danvers is handling. Chances are she’s a hired consultant who’s paid to sabotage the trial”
“And she just happened to pick Ted out a firm of 300 employees?” Brian said still unconvinced that Ted wasn’t behind this betrayal.
“Ted said the owner of the grocery store near his house is responsible for them meeting”
Brian closed his eyes for a moment assembling his thoughts
“I will go to this grocery store” He said suddenly. He turned to leave then stopped. He sped through the house and located all the bugs that had been planted and crushed them with in his hands. “Now I will go to the grocery store”

[jen]

Okay.

Gabriel, Zoe and Brian are on to 'Collette' but I'm afraid Ted will not be as receptive to hearing bad things of the new woman in his life. Now might be a good time for Gabriel's mental ability again. He's done it before with very positive effects in Ted's life.

Wonder if Amy the artist is going to finally go after Ted and bring Collette down.

How about Gabe goint directly to the source of the problem and plant the irresistable desire in Collette's mind to leave and join the peace corps?

[Ella713]

Brian stood outside the grocery letting his mind sweep the store. He focused on the owners. He saw that they were worried about money. Brian saw the blonde woman come up to them. She handed them an envelope filled with money. Brian closed his eyes tightly. He saw the business card the blonde woman handed them. Aon Insurance the card read. Juliette Burnside was the blonde woman’s given name. Brian looked up suddenly and smiled.
“Gotacha” he said to himself before speeding away into the night.

Ted opened his eyes to see if he was dreaming. He wasn’t. This beautiful woman was still sleeping peacefully next to him. He closed his eyes once more and began to dream about his future. His perfect future.

Collette wasn’t sleeping. She lay perfectly still plotting her next move. Ted was the easiest mark she had ever encountered. Considering what she had read from his files it was no wonder. A father that pushed his dreams onto his two sons each one failing miserably. Ted was hell-bent on proving himself no matter what. He would have given up military secrets if he had access to any. He told Collette of the McMullen case and how Gabriel had worked out his strategy. He told her of the expert witnesses they were planning on calling. And the material witnesses that had contacted them. Collette almost felt sorry for the poor schmuck. But hell, she would be in Montenegro by the time anyone wised up.

This would be the easiest job of her career.

[jen]

Gabe knows and the nice lady at the supermarket fixed Ted up with
'Collette' and fixed their money problems at the same time.

What a shame she doesn't just confess her misdeeds to Ted herself as he probably won't believe it if the truth comes from anyone else.

Just sayin'

[Ella713]

Collette met with her partner and handed over the information she had collected. Then they rang McMullen Textiles and gave them the good news.
Ryan McMullen had inherited the family business after his father had died and he was determined to take into a new direction. Okay, he had run into a small problem with this class action lawsuit, but he was confident that everything would be okay.
“Are you sure this information is correct?” He asked
“100% sure” Collette said confidently. “The only thing left to do is contact these material witnesses and make them an offer”
“You are truly worth every penny! I am wiring the money now into the specified account.” Ryan said and hung up. Hank sat back in his chair and lit up a cigar.
“Honey, you are a miracle worker!” he said with smile.

Gabe didn’t know what to do. Ted had to be told, but he was worried that this information might send Ted over the edge and back to that dark place where he lived for so long. Ted walked into Gabriel’s office with a bright smile and Gabe knew immediately that this woman had upped the ante.
“Good morning Gabe!” Ted said taking a seat across from him.
“How’s it going Ted?”
“Well…..great actually. Things with Collette and I are going very well to say the least.” He said with sheepish grin.
“Ted…..I wanted to talk to you about something….” Gabriel began. Then an idea hit him. “I was talking with Zoe last night and she told me something that I think you should know”
Ted sat up straight in his chair.
“What is it?”
“It’s about Amy…..well, I’ll just tell you. She’s in love with you” Gabriel said. Ted’s eyes grew wide and he stared at Gabriel in disbelief.
“Are you serious?” He asked quietly.
“Yeah. She’s been in love with you for about 2 years now, but was too afraid to approach you” Gabriel watched as the realization of his words sank in.
“Amy Perkins is in love with me?” Ted said out loud. He suddenly jumped out of his chair and ran out of Gabriel’s office.
Gabriel knew that Ted was gong to the Gallery to find Amy. He smiled to himself. Collette was about to become yesterday’s news.

Amy worked for a high end gallery on Melrose and was busy trying to set up for a art show when Ted came walking through the door. He looked around until his eyes found hers. He slowly walked over.
“Amy can I talk to you for a moment?” he asked.
“Sure Ted. Is something wrong? Is it Zoe?” she asked anxiously leading him towards an empty corridor.
“No. Zoe’s fine. The thing is Amy……I love you. I have loved you since 4th grade! And I’m sorry it took me so long to tell you” He said in a rush.
Amy stared at him for a long time and said nothing. Ted saw the expression on her face and thought maybe Gabriel had been wrong. He held his head down feeling ashamed and ridiculous. He turned around slowly and prepared to walk away. Amy touched his arm to stop him
“It took you long enough” she said looking up at him shyly. Ted took her face in his hands and kissed her. All thoughts of Collette left his mind. The only thing that mattered was Amy and this kiss.

[francis]

It's so good that Ted and Amy are together, it didn't take a lot of Gabriel to get there. But it's too late, he already gave Colette everything she needed. How will this affect the trial? Can't wait to find out.

[jen]

Now all that is lovely, of course--the right girl gets the guy and all Ted has been nicely distracted from a catastrophic mistake, but there are still problems with Gabe's lawsuit. Ted told 'Collette' all the details she wanted to really mess things up.

How can Gabriel fix this for his client and also communicate to Ted the importance of keeping legal matters confidential--no sharing allowed, even pillow talk.

Looking forward to more.

Jenna

[Ella713]

Brian met with Gabriel for lunch.
“This is what I know” Brian began “The Aon Insurance company did a complete background check of every employee at your firm. They chose Ted because of his background. Desperate to be seen as a success, desperate for recognition. They then paid the owners of the grocery a great deal of money to secure an introduction. It is my belief that Ted has given up information, although before you say anything, no I do not believe that he knows anything” Brian said with a smirk.
“So we’re going with the idea that they know everything?”
“McMullen Textiles wired a sum of $7 million dollars into a bank account located off the coast of Montenegro under the name Nichols Consulting, Inc. I believe this a dummy company that the blonde has created. Here is the paperwork.” Brian said sliding the folder over towards Gabriel.
“Looks like its time to change my strategy.” Gabriel said.

Collette was packing up and heading out. Her work was done. The rest was up to McMullen.


“So, who was this woman you were dating?” Amy asked as they sat in the back lounge of the gallery.
“Amy, I’m not going to lie. I mean, it felt good to have someone like me. And I didn’t think I had a chance with you. Collette said all the right things. She made me feel wanted, and smart and handsome.” He tried to explain.
“Ted, you were already all of those things. You just need to know it.” Amy said sincerely. “But I’ll tell you, it wouldn’t have lasted long. Zoe hated the woman!” Amy laughed remembering Zoe’s rant about Collette after they had met.
“You know, I knew that! The whole night Zoe kept staring at her like she was going to murder her. I wonder what that was about.”
“Really Ted? You’re talking about Zoe!” and they both started to laugh.

Gabriel stood in front of the court confident in his black suit. All the women on the jury sat mesmerized at they listened to him speak.
“I would like to call Ling Han to the stand” Gabriel said to the judge.
“Objection!” The opposing council shouted. “This person is not on the witness list!”
“No she’s not but she does have evidence that speaks to his client’s credibility. Mr. McMullen stated that his company has always been one of honesty and integrity. I have the right to challenge that” Gabriel argued.
The judge nodded and looked at opposing council
“He’s correct counselor. You opened the door” the Judge said and Gabriel proceeded.
“Please state your name for the record” Gabriel said to her.
“Ling Han” the old woman said.
“Explain to the court what happened four days ago”
“A woman come into my store and show me a picture. She say she want to meet that man. I told her he comes in every Thursday evening.”
“Then what?” Gabriel asked.
“She hand me a check for $100,000.00 and say I can keep it. All I do is introduce her to the man.” Mrs. Han said.
Gabriel picked up a piece of paper and held it up.
“I’d like to introduce exhibit 11. Is this the check she gave you?”
“Yes” Mrs. Han said after looking at it.
“And did you introduce them?”
“Yes. The man come in. I tell him I have the perfect woman for him, and I point her out. He walk over and they start to talk. The leave together”
“Before that night did you know who the man was?”
“He come into store every week. He was nice”
“But you didn’t know what he did for a living?”
“No”
“Do you know now, what he does for a living?”
Yes. He work for you” she said pointing at Gabriel
There were collective gasps all around the courtroom.
“No more questions” Gabriel said and sat down. Ryan McMullen held his head down. He knew he was done for and it was only the first day of trial.

Collette and Hank were already preparing to leave town having had their fee wired to their account. They had a boat at the harbor all ready. They began to load their things on when Collette heard a familiar voice.
“Collette! Collette! How are you?” Collette turned and saw it was Gabriel St. John’s wife. She looked at Hank and said.
“Finish loading up. I’ll handle this” She straightened up and walked over towards Zoe.
“Hello. Zoe right?” she said.
“Yes. How have you been?” Zoe asked casually.
“Oh, so so.”
“Are you taking a trip?” Zoe asked looking at the boat.
“Just for the weekend. Headed down to Baja for a little r&r”
“Is Ted going with you?” Zoe asked knowing that Amy and Ted were finally together.
“No. Just me and my dad” she said pointing at Hank who often was mistaken for her father.
“Well have a great time” Zoe said and she turned to walk away. “Oh! I forgot to tell you something” Zoe said suddenly. Collette turned to face her and Zoe punched her in face! Hard. Blood spurted out from her nose as she lay on the deck screaming in pain.
“That’s for screwing with my friend’s feelings! If I ever see you around here again, you will wish you were never born!” Zoe said through clenched teeth as she walked away.
Hank ran over to Collette and scooped her up and got on the boat.

McMullen Textiles, Inc. was found guilty on all counts including five new counts of bribery. It became one of the largest class action suits in California’s history.

“The bad guys were caught again. If this keeps happening, I’m just going to wear a cape instead of a suit” Gabriel joked. “Although it’s too bad we didn’t get Collette”
Brian looked over at Zoe.
Brian had drained all the accounts belonging to Nichols Consulting. He had set up a foundation for the victims with the millions of dollars. And he was pretty sure Zoe had made her point about ever showing up in California again.
“Karma catches up with everyone in the end” Brian said with a knowing smile. Then looking around he said.
“Where is Ted? I thought he was meeting us here” Brian said.
“He’s at the office re-reading our confidentiality clauses” Gabriel said sternly.
“That’s a good idea Gabe” Brian said.








The End

[francis]

Gabriel saved the day. And it looks like he gave Ted some homework and detention. But that's mild considering how much his heart could have been broken and how he could have lost his job and Gabriel could have lost the trial.

[jen]

Gabriel managed to pull everything together in the end, and there were fewer ramifications to Ted's ego than I expected. I suppose he was less emotionally involved than he was just flattered. Apparently it was more 'in lust' than 'in love' in this case, it spared him some badly hurt feelings. I wonder if Collette will be coming back to L.A.

I hope at some point down the line, Gabriel and Zoe tell Ted in detail what happened.

Good story!

Thanks!

Jenna