[June 21st] [Perry Mason] Lux Aeterna, 21

[insaneladybug.livejournal.com]

Title: Lux Aeterna, scene 21
Day/Theme: June 21st - The Rising of the Sea
Series: Perry Mason
Character/Pairing: David Gideon, Hamilton Burger, Leon, Perry Mason
Rating: K/G

Takes place after scene #17.

Originally I was trying to use this prompt literally only. Then I realized how well it figuratively fit the situation going on here.


By Lucky_Ladybug

David stood on the pier, observing the ships rolling into port on the gentle waves of the Pacific Ocean. The tide was coming in; the water lapped at the edges of the dock.

And something darted past out of the corner of his eye. He started, whirling to look. Now there was nothing. Had he just imagined it?

Well, if he hadn’t, it was surely just a fish of some kind.

It splashed again, farther away, but still close enough that water sprayed on the pier. David ducked, throwing up his hands to ward it off. When he straightened and looked, a green tail was just disappearing beneath the surface. And . . . it almost looked like he could see flowing blonde hair, too.

Oh, that was ridiculous. Now he really was letting his imagination run wild.

But he still bent down, squinting into the water for any sign of what had just been there.

“Mr. Gideon?!”

He jumped a mile and nearly lost his balance. Embarrassed, he gripped the railing and turned as he straightened, coming face-to-face with Hamilton Burger. The district attorney was watching him with a raised eyebrow, clearly baffled by the sight.

“Did you lose something in the water, Mr. Gideon?”

“No, Mr. Burger,” David replied as he unconsciously smoothed down his suit coat. The last thing he wanted was to look ridiculous in front of the prosecutor. He had returned to Los Angeles to help with the rebellion, but he was still considering staying afterwards as well. And if he so much as breathed the idea that he might have seen a mermaid, that would be the end of that. He would probably end up on his way to a loony bin.

Mr. Burger looked as though he felt there was definitely something odd going on. But after a brief hesitation he dropped the subject. “Mr. Gideon, there’s going to be another meeting tonight.” He looked uncomfortable. “I’ll be closest to your location. Mr. Mason asked me if I would drive you there.”

Now David was the one raising an eyebrow. “I see,” he said. “Well, that’s fine then. Thank you, Sir.”

Hamilton nodded. “I’ll come for you around ten.”

David was left looking after him as he walked away from the pier and towards his car. The young lawyer crossed his arms, frowning. He had the feeling that Mr. Mason had probably arranged this on purpose. He had sensed that Mr. Mason was trying to improve his image of the district attorney. And what more effective way to try than by throwing them together for a short while?

He sighed, letting his arms fall to his sides. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. He did not mind Mr. Burger so much outside of court. Or . . . well, at least he found Mr. Burger more tolerable then.

Or was he just trying to convince himself of that?

He glanced back at the water. If there possibly was anything out of the ordinary in there (and this was likely the only time when there was a chance it would ever be more than imaginations), he would have to investigate it later.

Not it would ever come out of the water to let him see. And he had no intention of falling in.
****
Hamilton was not alone when he pulled up in front of the Gideon manor that night. Also present was his secretary, Leon.

David looked to him as he came through the gates and climbed into the waiting vehicle. He had met Leon briefly at the last meeting. It had not taken long for him to see that Leon idolized Mr. Burger about as much as David did Mr. Mason. One thing he certainly wanted to refrain from doing was getting into any sort of disagreement with Mr. Burger while Leon was present.

But he hoped there would be no disagreement period. It was not the time for such things, and anyway, he wanted Mr. Mason to be proud of him and not ashamed.

“Hello,” Leon greeted.

“Hello,” David returned. Well, that was congenial enough.

Mr. Burger glanced back. “Is your grandfather coming tonight?”

David shook his head. “He’s working late at the company. He told me to take notes and report back to him.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll be very efficient at that.” Hamilton pulled out of the driveway and headed towards the road leading to the opposite side of town and the abandoned business park.

David mulled over possible conversation topics in his mind. He would be content to ride in silence, but that was surely not what Mr. Mason was expecting and hoping. And from Mr. Burger’s discomfort, he also knew what was hoped of them and was trying to think of a good subject.

Leon solved the problem for both of them. “So, Mr. Gideon, Mr. Burger says that you’ve started practicing law outside of Los Angeles.”

“That’s right,” David said.

“You’ve never gone up against Mr. Burger, have you?”

“No, I haven’t. Until a few days ago, I hadn’t seen Mr. Burger since I was going back to law school.”

Mr. Burger, suddenly concerned about the direction this discussion could take, interrupted. “And Mr. Mason says you’re thinking of coming back here to practice.”

“That’s always a possibility,” David said. “My grandfather would be happy if I would.”

“Yes, I’m sure he would.”

David wondered if he was just imagining the heavy tension hanging over them or if Mr. Burger felt it too.

He knew it was real when he overheard Mr. Burger’s comment to Mr. Mason upon their arrival.

“Perry, that was terrible!” Mr. Burger hissed in an undertone, after asking if they could talk in private for a moment.

“Why?” Perry frowned. “Did something happen?”

“No,” Hamilton admitted. “It was more what didn’t happen. We were both trying so hard to be tactful that everything came off stilted. I don’t know if Leon picked up on it or not, but I don’t know how he could have missed it.

“You know you could have brought David here. It’s going to take more than a ride or two with me to make him feel any different about me. And maybe he never will. Some defense attorneys think of the prosecution as the enemy all the years they practice. I’ve dealt with more than one of them.”

“I know, Hamilton,” Mr. Mason answered. He laid a hand on Hamilton’s shoulder, leading him farther away from the others. “But I have faith that David will warm up to you, eventually.”

“Maybe, but this isn’t the way to do it,” Hamilton said. “Trying to force it is just going to cause more trouble.”

Perry sighed. “You’re right. And if it felt like that, I’m sorry. I guess I’m just overly eager to show David that you’re not the Devil incarnate.”

David cringed. Mr. Mason was surely exaggerating, but he must have really come off badly in the past, and probably not so well in the present, either. He never had been good at hiding his feelings. And he did not like Hamilton Burger. He had to admit that.

“He could have just not forgiven me for prosecuting him,” Hamilton said, “but I’m afraid it goes deeper than that. He sees me as the enemy because of how he sees you. To him, you’re a shining example of righteousness, defender of the innocent and oppressed. I’m the guy with a twirly mustache and a cape, ready to tie some sweet girl to the train tracks. You can do no wrong. I can’t do anything right.” He sighed, tiredly. “Prosecutors go through this sort of thing all the time. We’ve been villainized by the media for decades. And sometimes it’s because of some over-zealous prosecutors; I’ll admit that.

“But Perry, I’ve already been through this up and down with Paul. I’m not up to going through it with David, too. If he doesn’t want anything to do with me, let’s just keep it that way as much as possible. He’s mature enough to work with me if he has to. He doesn’t need to associate with me otherwise.”

Perry sighed too. “Alright,” he conceded. “If that’s the way you want it, Hamilton, I won’t interfere again.”

“Thank you, Perry,” Hamilton said in relief. “I know you just wanted to help, but . . . well, I’m afraid even you can’t fix every problem.”

Perry smiled, regretfully. “It’s a shame, too.”

David slipped away from them, wandering around the side of the building. Maybe he was being unfair to Mr. Mason as well as to Mr. Burger. He had known that Mr. Mason did not think of them as being enemies. And it really sounded like they were friends more than even just allies.

Mr. Burger had not been the only one to note his negative attitude towards prosecutors. He had been called into his employer’s office more than once to be checked on that very thing. They had told him that he had the makings of a good lawyer, but that unless he could come to see the prosecutors as fellow truth-seekers and not as Personal Enemy Number One, he would have a hang-up that plagued more than a few defense lawyers. And his instructors had told him something along those same lines during law school. And of course, Mr. Mason had also tried, whenever David had been angry and ranting about something or another that Mr. Burger had done.

He felt much more angry and defensive about the prosecutors who went up against Mr. Mason, with Mr. Burger at the top of that list. He heaved a sigh. It really was a problem. He had thought he had managed to curb it at least somewhat. But Mr. Burger was right; it went much deeper in this case than any other. It would take time, and a lot of it, to try to repair this mess.

However, he knew that he wanted to try. And that was certainly a start.