[June 17th] [Perry Mason] Lux Aeterna, 17

[insaneladybug.livejournal.com]

Title: Lux Aeterna, scene 17
Day/Theme: June 17th - Fire and lamp and meat and bread
Series: Perry Mason
Character/Pairing: Perry Mason, David Gideon, Della Street, Paul Drake
Rating: K/G

Takes place after scene #13.


By Lucky_Ladybug

The final assault against Florence was going to be a long, drawn-out process. All of the rebels from every group had to be gathered. The word went out via code on the short-wave radio. In addition, everyone spread out over their respective areas, trying one last time to recruit those interested and willing to join the fight. Each day their numbers grew.

It was late at night when Perry and some of the others met in one of the ritzier Los Angeles neighborhoods.

Paul looked at the houses around them in awe, shaking his head. “I’ll never stop being amazed by people who manage to make enough money to afford living like kings here.”

Della smiled at him in gentle amusement. “Yes, Paul, you certainly don’t qualify.”

“Not yet,” Paul retorted.

“Oh?” said Perry, as they walked up a dimly lit street. “Are you planning to win the lottery?”

“Maybe someday,” Paul said. “And I’ll figure out the secret of becoming a millionaire.”

“Well, here’s someone who may be able to give you some tips.” Perry stopped at the front gate of one particularly spacious mansion.

Paul leaned over, reading the nameplate. “J.J. Gideon?” He looked at Perry in surprise. “What are we doing here? I think J.J.’s kind of out of fighting practice if you’re thinking of asking him to join the rebellion.”

“We still need people in positions other than just to fight, Paul. And Mr. Gideon has been a good friend for years now.” Perry pressed the intercom.

“Yeah, but it’s the middle of the night,” Paul exclaimed. “He’ll be in bed, asleep!”

“I don’t know, Paul,” Della said. “There’s a light on in that room.” She nodded to the left side of the house.

“And the whole reason we’re out here so late is to have the cover of night, isn’t it?” Perry said.

“Well, yeah, but . . .”

Paul was interrupted as the intercom buzzed to life with a response. “Who is it?”

“Perry Mason and friends to see Mr. Gideon,” Perry announced.

There was only a brief silence. “Come on in, Mr. Mason.” The iron gates creaked to life and began to slowly open. When there was a space big enough to walk through, Perry hastened into the front yard and up the walk to the porch. Della and Paul chased after him.

“He didn’t even ask what we’re doing here so late!” Paul hissed. “Perry, something’s fishy here.”

But Perry just smiled. “Oh, I don’t know about that.”

The front door opened almost as soon as they arrived on the porch. “You’re a sight for sore eyes!” a young man greeted them pleasantly. “Mr. Mason! Della! Paul!”

Paul stopped and stared in amazement. “David?!”

“Why, I thought you’d left Los Angeles,” Della exclaimed in equal surprise.

Perry did not look so amazed or surprised. “I thought I recognized your voice, David,” he said as they filed into the entryway. “What are you doing back in town?”

David shut the door after them. “Well, at the moment I came to help with the rebellion,” he said. “But after Florence is brought down, I’m not sure what I’m going to do.” He walked towards the living room. “I might go away again. Or I might try to open a law practice right here in the city.”

“The last I heard was that you’d joined a very successful firm,” Paul said.

David sighed. “I did,” he admitted. “But I don’t know if I’ll be staying on. I’d rather set my own rules, you know, and not be working under someone else.”

“It might be good for a while,” Perry said. “You’d get some experience before trying to strike out on your own.”

“I’ve got some experience, Mr. Mason,” David said. He stopped and turned back to them. “Being back in Los Angeles has made me realize how much I missed it.”

Perry nodded. “Well, we’ll talk about it later,” he said.

David was agreeable to that. “Oh, I was just having a midnight snack,” he said. “Why don’t you come in the kitchen and join me? We can talk more out there.”

“That sounds good to me,” Paul declared.

“Food always sounds good to you, Paul,” Della said, amused. “But right now I’ll admit I’m starving. We’ve been out for hours, looking for people to join us.”

Perry nodded. “We could all do with something to eat. Thank you, David.”

“Great. Just grab whatever you want.” David led them to the kitchen, where he had spread a smorgasbord on the counter. Paul’s eyes went wide.

“This is a midnight snack?” Perry said in astonishment.

David shrugged. “It was a long flight. And I couldn’t decide what I wanted.”

Soon they were all sitting at the counter, making sandwiches and whatever else struck their fancy. As Perry took a piece of deli meat he started up the serious conversation once more. “David, you say you’re interested in joining us in our cause?”

“That’s right,” David said. He buttered a slice of bread. “That’s . . . er, another reason I thought I might stay in Los Angeles. I told my boss that I was coming out here for a vacation. I don’t think he would’ve been too happy if I’d told him the rest.” He looked a bit sheepish. “And he’ll probably find out.”

“Yes, he probably will,” said Perry. “Do you think he would be on Florence’s side?”

“I’m not sure he’d be on either side,” David said. “He’s mainly concerned with his practice. And since that hasn’t changed much, he doesn’t seem to care.”

“I see.” Perry studied his young friend in the combined light from the overhead lamp and the nearby fireplace. “Tell me, David, what made you decide to come out now?”

David sighed. “Oh, it’s a long story. Basically some of Florence’s guards tried to set me up to find out if I’m part of the rebellion. And I ended up thinking that maybe I really should be.”

Perry was certain that there was more to it. But for the moment he did not pry. “Well,” he said with a genuine smile, “we’ll be happy to have you.”

“Great!” David grinned. “Say, why are all of you here so late anyway? Granddad’s in bed.”

“Strangely, we were going to invite him to the rebellion too,” Perry said. “What do you think, David? Would he be interested?”

“Would he!” David shook his head. “When I came back earlier today he was getting on my case, telling me I should’ve come sooner and that the whole world’s a big mess as long as Florence is in charge. Well, not that it was perfect before that, but it was a lot better.”

“That’s an understatement,” Paul said. He was building himself a dagwood sandwich. He added two more pieces of various cheeses and grabbed another bologna.

Della looked up from her very simple sandwich and shook her head in disbelief. “I don’t know how you’re going to get that in your mouth.”

Paul smiled. “Della, my love, it’s a learned skill,” he said.

David was amused. “Nothing much has changed,” he observed.

“No, not on the surface,” Perry said.

“So who else is part of the rebellion?” David asked, the curiosity as well as the eagerness obvious in his voice.

“Oh, pretty much everyone,” Perry said. “Lieutenants Tragg and Anderson, for two. I’m sure you remember them.”

“Of course,” David nodded.

“And Lieutenant Drumm. I don’t believe you’ve ever met him.”

“No, I haven’t. What’s he like?”

“Very by-the-book when it comes to the law and police procedure,” Perry said. “But off-duty he’s quite relaxed. He often has lunch or dinner with us.”

David looked satisfied. “That’s nice to know.”

“. . . Hamilton Burger is also one of our key members,” Perry continued, quite deliberately.

David’s eyes flickered with something that did not look positive. “I thought he would be,” was all he said. Now he was noticeably not satisfied.

Perry had suspected as much. “He’s a good man, David.”

Some time back, Paul would have surprised himself by saying much of anything in Hamilton’s defense. But now it felt right. “You know, you’ll have to work with him sometimes, if you join up,” he said.

“Yes,” David nodded. “I know. And that isn’t a problem; I’ll work with him.”

Perry nodded too. “Good.”

He remembered that in the past David had been unhappy with Hamilton, not fully understanding that the defense and the prosecution did not have to be enemies—or that in Perry and Hamilton’s case, they were not. He wondered if David’s attitude had changed any since he had graduated law school. But that was a conversation for another time.

“When’s the next meeting?” David asked now, probably wanting to change the subject as much as to know the answer.

“Most likely tomorrow night,” Perry said. “Someone would be happy to drive you and your grandfather to our meeting place.”

“Everyone is driven there the first time or so,” Della explained. “We never give the address.”

“That’s a smart idea,” David said. “Alright, we’ll both be ready. What time?”

“One of us will get back to you on that,” Perry said. “It often depends on several people’s schedules, such as the police.”

“That makes sense,” David said. “Thank you, Mr. Mason.”

“Not at all. We should be thanking you, David,” Perry said.

“We need everyone we can get,” Paul said.

“Then I’m glad I came back,” David declared. “We’ll beat Florence yet.”

“Yes,” Perry said. “Yes, I’m sure we will.”