In the morning, Liam sought out Connor after breakfast.
"Da, I might need a bit more time with that doctor. I'm still having some problems with the thing with Dave."
"I'll give him a call and set up a visit. Are you sleeping okay, any nightmares and such?"
"I slept fine, no nightmares but it took me a while to get to sleep."
"Are you worried that you didn't do the right thing, or maybe that you'll have to do it again?" Connor asked.
"No, I did the right thing, I hope I never have to do it again but I know it's possible," Liam shared.
"Maybe I should tell you what happened right after I landed at Dulles on that last trip. A fella made a run at me not thinkin' that I had noticed him. He made a grab at my computer case, I locked his wrist and broke it while I was sending him face first into a pillar. These guys are always at airports and train stations watching for careless types who don't check their surroundings. If he had stolen my computer, there would have been a terrible mess. It's a hazard of havin' the bloody DoD as a customer. But the thing is, I've had to use my skill at least half a dozen times. I don't enjoy it but I don't feel any remorse. I won't initiate an altercation, except once and that was to prevent a rape. Two fellas cornered a woman behind a lorry in the car park of a Lidl back home. They tore her jumper and I had to act. They came at me and I put them on the ground hard. The woman kicked them both in the tackle and I called the Gardi."
"Did you get in trouble, Da?"
"No Lad, those two were well known to the lads that arrived and they got sent back to prison. I fancy it added a year or more to their time. It wasn't long after that, I decided to emigrate."
"So I guess it could happen again, if some random eedjit takes a run at me. Up until Dave, I'd only ever used the pain holds. I guess there's no way to predict when it might happen again," Liam reasoned.
"No Lad, there really isn't. You can only prepare for the day you might need it; just keep your wits about you and mind your surroundings," Connor counselled.
"I think that helps Da, it's not really something I can control. I try to be alert but it's always been when I'm relaxed and had me guard down when it happens."
"Well, you can't be lookin' for hoodlums around every corner, that's no way to live. It's just general awareness of your surroundings. There's no way you could have guessed Dave would do what he did. But your training is what saved you and Doug. Maybe you should consider what might of happened if Dave was able to use Doug as a hostage. He might have hurt you badly or hurt Doug and the first person through that door might have caught a bullet. Your ability to act is what prevented any of that from happening."
"I guess you're right Da, it still bothers me a bit though."
"That's a sign that you're a decent man, if you didn't care I'd be worried. While we're discussin' this, I need to make a decision about whether or not we should sue Dave's parents. They knew what he was but allowed him to roam about in violation of his probation. And that eedjit guard has some responsibility too. We don't want or need their money but we should make the issue known so others can recognize their own responsibilities to the public good. The tough part is that you would probably have to stand witness if it gets to a trial. And your mate Brian would be expected to tell about what he heard during the first incident with Dave."
Liam was silent awhile but finally he spoke, "I think you're right Da, and maybe we could find a good cause to donate any money from the case. I'd bet the lawyers would get a fair bit of it," he speculated.
"That's a good thought, maybe a summer music program at the park for kids, wouldn't that be grand?" Connor suggested.
"It would Da, it would indeed."
"Ah, there you are, I wondered where you'd run off to. How do you feel about a day out? We could find something for the four of us to do together," Terri suggested.
"It would be a bad day for swimming but I wouldn't mind a trip to the beach. Maybe we could go to Venice Beach and see what's doing there?" Connor proposed.
"That sounds like fun Babe, what do you think Liam?" Terri asked.
"It sounds fun, Venice Beach is kind of cool, lots of people will be there and that makes it more interesting. Where's Danny, we should get him in on this. I'll go and track him down," Liam volunteered.
Liam went back to their room and heard Danny playing a guitar in the closet. He listened closely and heard the strains of The Habanera de Carmen. He waited until the passage ended and then knocked.
"Come in Liam, I'm just trying a few things on my own," Danny called.
"I heard, it sounded pretty good to me. Where did you get the music?"
"One of my piano books had the music and I was trying to transpose it to guitar. It's really hard to do, how do you make it look so easy?" Danny asked.
"Lots of practice, remember I've been playin' since I was three and a bit. I just seemed to have a knack for music. You do too, you've just had a few roadblocks in yer way. But yer comin' on strong. I loved that Dvorak piece you played the other night."
"Thanks, it's nice having my own piano after all this time. Um… why were you looking for me?"
"Oh Mam and Da want to take us to Venice Beach, do yas fancy goin' along?"
"Sure, but… are you okay? You sound stressed."
"I'm good now, I had a long talk with Da and he helped me see it."
"Dave?"
"Yeah, but I think it's sorted for now. Get yer jeans on and grab a jacket, it might be windy down there."
"Okay, I'm on it but you'll have to kiss me first."
"As you wish my love, I could never resist that," Liam grinned and pulled Danny in for a long kiss.
Venice Beach proved entertaining; jugglers, magicians and musicians were out in force. The little family spent a little time at each, watching and listening and then contributing. Around one o’clock Connor suggested lunch and they drove to a restaurant in Marina Del Rey and enjoyed a wonderful meal.
Traffic was light going back towards Claremont and the two boys succumbed to full bellies and not much to look at. They dozed until the transition to the 57 North which is very rough and bumpy. Just as Liam became fully awake, the car swerved to avoid a Prius that had launched itself over the center divider coming from the opposite direction.
"Jaysus, what the feckin' hell was that about?" Connor yelled. Terri screamed and Liam was dumbfounded; Danny slept through the whole thing. Connor pulled to the left shoulder and walked back to see if anything could be done. He discovered a CHP officer on the opposite side of the divider talking with the shaken driver. He was trying to convince the officer that another car had cut him off and caused him to swerve out of control and strike another car and jump the divider. It never occurred to the driver that the patrolman had watched the entire incident and knew that the man had been looking at his phone when the traffic in front of him slowed suddenly for the transition to the 60 West. Connor returned to the car and told Terri she could hang up because the cops were already there.
A week later Connor was discussing the potential suit with his attorney Dennis Sprague.
"You've got a substantial case Mr. Dennehy. Both parties are liable and responsible. The guard's employer will need to be added to the suit. What will likely happen is a settlement. It will be a matter of apportionment at that point. I wouldn't expect that the judge would extract much from the guard himself. He has no assets of his own and as a rent paying tenant the landlord isn't liable even though they're his parents. The state will take his license to work as a guard and he'll have to find other employment.
“The damages should exceed the coverage limits of the parents of the bad actor. The security company owned the weapon used and I think we can prove they used bad judgement in issuing a handgun to a man who lacked the proper storage facilities. Given that the parents failed in their duty to supervise the activities of their son, case law is clearly on your side. It comes down to the initial amount of the suit.
“We could start at fifty million but it would probably make the respondents less likely to discuss a settlement. I would suggest somewhere between five and nine million as a starting point. And that's with the stipulation that the respondents will also pay your legal costs. That's pretty standard. We could add the State Corrections to the suit but it would take years and frankly, they have more resources than we do and would use them to their full advantage. Any questions so far?"
“It seems like an awful lot of money, is the strategy to start out high and then negotiate?" Connor asked.
"Essentially, you may need to be prepared for a counter suit. They might try to make an argument that your son used too much force to disarm the shooter. Which by the way is how I would refer to him at every opportunity if it came to a trial. I doubt their attorney would encourage such a tactic. It's very risky and could jeopardize the defense against your suit." I suggest we start at nine million dollars plus legal fees. Both insurance companies are going to recognize that this is going to be a losing battle and will press for a settlement that costs them the least amount possible. I estimate between four and six when all is said and done."
"I hate the idea of reducing this down to money, but an example must be made; if yer kid's a bad'un you need to see to him and keep him off the streets. This kid was on probation for molesting little kids and he's out roamin' the streets with impunity. It's feckin cracked."
"I understand Mr. Dennehy, but the judge can't exact a flogging, only the financial equivalent," Sprague explained.
"Oh I understand, I just don't like it," Connor grumbled.
"I sympathize, I've run across many people who could do with a lash across the back. But our justice system is predicated on preventing that sort of thing. Do you have a financial advisor? You will want to have a plan in place to deal with any funds that come your way."
"Yes, and my son wants any proceeds to go to a summer music program to be administered by the parks department. I may tuck some aside for his education later but the vast majority will be donated if it materializes."
"Wow, that's refreshing. Usually the first question I hear after the facts are laid out is, 'How much can we get?' That's not why I became an attorney. I have to ask, if you aren't interested in the money, how do you feel about a bit of media coverage to assist in making the example you seek."
"I don't know, I'm not a big fan of reporters. They're always looking to outdo the competition. If they can be managed then I could tolerate a certain amount of attention. I won't have them camped out on my street or at my business."
"All you would need to do is refer them to my office. I have a media consultant whose job is to deal with the media and keep them away from our clients. They won't want to run afoul of the judge and get a gag order slapped on them. I presume you'll be opposed to a nondisclosure agreement?"
"It won't be much of an example if we can't discuss it, so yes I would oppose that."
"Just clarifying your wishes, I presumed that but I had to ask. If there is nothing further I'll have my office get the paperwork going and we can effect service of court papers as early as next Monday."
"What if it does come to a trial, when will that likely be happening?" Connor asked.
"Probably late summer or early fall. I don't anticipate that being an issue. The insurance companies will want this to go away and they will pressure their clients to settle," Sprague assured.
That's good, I've a wedding coming up in about three weeks, I don't want anything interfering with that," Connor supplied.
"I presume you mean that you are getting married and in that case, congratulations and my best wishes for the bride," Sprague offered.
"Thank you, that's very kind, Mr. Sprague. I don't want to take up any more of your time but I appreciate you making the effort to meet me at my office. I've quite a bit going on at the moment."
"Think nothing of it Mr. Dennehy, this has been a refreshing change from most of the personal injury suits that come across my desk.
Liam and Danny lounged in their room, "Are you okay Liam?”
"Da called, he talked to the attorney today. He said he gave the man the okay to sue Dave's parents and the guard and the company he works for. I just don't know how to feel about it," Liam uttered to Danny.
"If you want my opinion, I think it's the right thing to do. People with kids like Dave are no different from someone who owns a vicious dog that attacks people. They knew Dave was dangerous and that he wasn't going to change. But they let him roam free anyway, and that was wrong. If he had raped Doug or TJ just to get at you, would you want his parents to be punished?" Danny asked.
Liam sniffed back a tear and nodded. "You're right Danny, I guess it's the right thing to do. It just seems like there should be a better way than to make it about money."
"But it isn't, the money is like a fine they have to pay for letting Dave run loose. Do I need to remind you he shot you and tried to shoot you again? If he wasn't an idiot when it comes to guns, I might have lost you. You're so brave when it comes to taking action, be brave about this, too. It needs to be done and Da realizes that," Danny stressed.
"You're right, I'll just have to deal with it. I can't help that it bothers me a bit, but when I look at it through your eyes, I can understand how you feel. At least the money will go for something good. Da and I discussed having a summer music program for the park, so people can learn and listen to music,” Liam explained.
"It bothers you for the same reason I love you. You're a good person Liam, I want to tell anyone that will listen how wonderful you are," Danny declared.
"I love you too Danny, for those reasons and more. You really saved my school year just by being there at McAuliffe. I went from being thoroughly aggro about the whole situation to happy I'd found you. All that anger just slipped away in the office right there in front of Miss Grace and by the time we were sitting in Science class, I was completely over Hart."
"Great, so you love me, what are you going to do about it?" Danny taunted playfully.
Liam tackled him and had him pretty well undressed in about two minutes.