Chapter 12: Biting their Ankles

First thing the next morning Nio called Kayla into his office. “Please start a new case file, Ms. Wilson.” He handed her JoElle’s grimy dollar. “This is our retainer, please make a receipt. Label the file ‘JoElle/Carlie Dawson v. CST’ and we’ll get started.”

“You’re taking their case? For a dollar?”

“Yes, Ms. Wilson. It’s worse than you think. Their operatives raped her, in front of Carlie, and broke her hand so she couldn’t work.”

Kayla swept around the desk and kissed Nio. “That’s the last time you call me ‘Ms. Wilson,’ Nio. Let’s get the bastards.”

Nio’s first step was to clear his backlog. He transferred cases to colleagues he trusted and obtained the clients’ consent for the substitute representation.

Then he began preparing the lawsuit, using the details Jo provided. With some poking around on their website, he found that CST was holding an event soon where their leadership would be featured. The dicey part was finding and serving the now 30-year-old father (“Richard”) of Carlie.

But Nio had a plan for that service. In the meantime, he drew up the complaint, focusing on the acts of both Richard and CST in the past 11 years. The complaint went through several drafts before Nio was satisfied with it.

After the event, a reception and catered dinner was planned. Richard’s parents may or may not attend, but he would surely be there as he was being groomed for replacing his father in the leadership. Nio approached one of the wait staff and offered him $200 to serve the paperwork on Richard personally, using a photo from their website.

On the scheduled date, the event proceeded as planned, and Nio’s packet was successfully served on Richard. The following morning the same papers were served on CST’s designated agent, and the suit was formally underway.

The first step was arranging family therapy through the county. Kayla and Nio also worked on getting Jo a job, and re-enrolling Carlie in school. Fortunately Carlie was bright and capable for the grade level that matched her age. Her teacher was counseled that Carlie was mute and could complete written assignments only. Nio contacted a landlord (and former client) and arranged a small apartment for them, with him as a guarantor in case Jo had trouble paying the rent.

Things were looking up!

For security, Nio equipped the apartment with cameras. The door was replaced with a reinforced model to prevent anyone from breaking in. Both Jo and Carlie got mobile phones and instructions on how to call 9-1-1 (or text 9-1-1 in Carlie’s case). Nio was almost certain there would be more attempts to intimidate them, if CST could find the Dawsons.

Jo had a job waiting tables at upscale restaurant from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Carlie’s school was close so she walked in the mornings and was picked up after school by Jo for the walk home.

Meanwhile, CST had tried every trick to get Nio’s complaint dismissed. When that failed, they somehow expedited the legal process so they could begin “discovery” immediately. In a typical tactic, they bombarded Nio with unreasonable demands attempting to intimidate and dissuade him from pursuing the case. Nio responded with demands of his own, such as requiring a paternity test on Richard. CST denied this, but eventually the court forced him to take the test and his parentage of Carlie was confirmed.

Nio was working 11-hour days, and Kayla was right there with him. Of course, they were back to using “Nio” and “Kayla” with each other.

On a Thursday during lunch, Kayla had a request: “Nio, I want you to come to dinner with me tomorrow night. My parents want to meet you, and my Mom is a great cook. Please?”

Nio was hesitant. He was very fond of Kayla, and he didn’t want a repeat of her previous blow‑up. “I guess I can come. Your parents aren’t going to grill me as your boyfriend?”

“My Dad knows about that Saturday night, but not Mom. They will speak to you as my employer.”

“Alright. Should I bring something? Some wine?”

“Sure. So here’s the address and please come at 7.”