Coffee and a Piece of Pie

He sat in the corner booth. He did every day. His briefcase sat on the seat beside him, full of the work he was bound to for the rest of the day. But for this one hour, from noon to one...he was free. There were no research to be done, no witnesses to talk to, no tension. This was his one hour of complete and utter peace.

Beth walked up with a warm smile. "Harvey, you were on the news again this morning," she said pointing to the TV. "They were talking about your big trial again. You're almost a celebrity, I might have to ask for your autograph."

"I'll be a celebrity when this guy is behind bars," he replied, pointing to a picture of Nathan Vorello on the front of the newspaper he was reading. "Until then, I'm just a lawyer doing his job."

"Well, I hope you know me and the rest of the girls down here wish you the best of luck," she sighed. "That man...what he did was...just...I can't even imagine how anyone could find him innocent..."

Harvey grinned. "Where were you when we were picking the jury?"

Beth tilted her head back and laughed. "So, you ready to order, Mr. Comedian?"

"I'll have a coffee and a piec-"

"And a piece of pie. I know, I know, "she shook her head. "One day I got to get you to try the burgers here."

Harvey leaned back. "Tell you what. I win the case, I'll order whatever you tell me to."

She pointed at him. "You better not forget that, because I'm going to hold you to it!"

"You know I'm good for my word," he called out to her as she walked away.

His face turned back to his paper on the table. He began to read the article on Vorello. It was weird to see his name in print. It always was. He could barely watch TV anymore, for fear he might see himself. He just wanted to live a peaceful life and practice law. He never asked for people to recognize him on the street and ask him for legal advice. He wanted this case to end so he could go back to being a nobody. He hated being somebody.

"Excuse me," a quiet voice suddenly sounded beside him. "May I sit down here?"

Harvey looked up. The thinnest man he had ever seen stood next to his table. The man's lips were nothing but two thin lines of flesh, and his eyes drooped like someone who hadn't slept in days. As strange as the man looked, Harvey felt a slight feeling of recognition when he stared up at him.

"Uh...do I know you?" Harvey asked confused.

"You might," the thin man said softly as he sat down opposite of Harvey uninvited. "My name is William..."

Harvey's blood went cold. He knew what words were coming next.

"William Vorello, "the thin man smiled, revealing two rotten front teeth. "I believe you know my brother."

"Oh god..." Harvey thought to himself. "What does he want...what could he possibly want?"

"I...I'm trying to have my lunch," Harvey nervously explained. "Maybe we could meet at my office later, and talk there, be-"

"I have a gun pointed at you from underneath my coat," William cut him off. "We are going to head outside. I will take you to the alley behind the diner. Then I will shoot you."

Harvey stared at him in disbelief. He couldn't feel anything, just cold. His mouth opened to speak...but nothing came out. He was now paler than the man sitting across from him.

"T...This is a public place. You'd never get away with it," Harvey tried to reason with him. "You'll go to jail, just like... like your brother!"

A slight smile came across William's face. "Prison...death...they don't bother me anymore," he leaned forward. "You are trying to take my little brother away from me. I can't let that happen...my parents...they told me to watch over him."

Harvey turned to face Beth, who was pouring his cup of coffee. She looked up and smiled. William kicked his leg under the booth. Harvey turned back towards him.

"If you even look at her again, I will blow her brains out all across that fucking counter," William bluntly stated. "Then I will go and shoot every other single person in this diner."

William pointed over his shoulder to the booth in the opposite corner. A little girl ate a bowl of soup, her Grandpa sat beside her. William grinned.

"Is that all you want then, to kill me?" Harvey moaned. "I...I'll do anything...anything else."

"I don't want anything else."

Time seemed to stop for a moment. Harvey's face was blank. The city was bustling outside the window next to the booth. Cars drove by, people walked up and down the sidewalks, a cop stood on the opposite end of the street, writing up a ticket for a speeder. All of them completely oblivious to the gun that was pointing at him. They all noticed him when they saw him walking down the street, when they called him 'that guy from the newspaper' or 'that guy who was on CNN'. But now, when he needed them the most...not one soul spoke up.

Harvey turned back to face William. His face was blank. "Fine. Shoot me. Right in the goddamn head. Blow my brains out across this fucking window, let everyone out there see your bloody statement," Harvey began to shout as he stood up from the booth. "Because that's what this is, right? A statement. A protest. This is how you think you're going to free your brother. Well, I got bad news for you. When they peel my fucking brains off that window, a new lawyer is just gonna take my place. Some guy who'll be in every newspaper, on every channel, in every goddamn piece of media known to mankind as he spends every waking hour of his life trying to get your brother the lethal injection. So fine, shoot me. I don't want to be in the spotlight anymore, I don't want to have this lunch be my only time of peace. Let the next guy come in and try to take down your brother, because I'm done. And if you have a problem with that guy, then you can come right back here when he comes for his lunch, and you can blow his fucking bra-"

His sentence was cut off by the bullet hitting his brain. He stumbled backwards against the table, and then collapsed to the ground. Beth dropped his coffee.