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She had said she would call if anything happened. The second anything happened. It had turned out to be far longer than a single second for Emmett to pick up the phone and punch in the numbers that had been left on her fridge, and then thankfully put into her own device for an occasion like this. In her defense, it had only taken her a moment to make the decision; it was everything else that followed that took up precious time.
Her mouth twisted to one side, nose crinkling as she held a hard plastic receiver up to her ear. She stalled on the last number, glancing around the space she sat in before finally committing, hearing the connection and first ring.
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Teddy had been home for hours, to the best of her efforts. In her defense, she'd slipped a file into her bag before she left.
So now, as the clock teetered towards midnight, at least she was home. She mightn't have been sleeping, but she was in the comforts of such privacy with a glass of red and one such case file that she was still waiting on particular details for.
A phone call? It was the kind she didn't wish for. For a split second she glanced at the number, then she cleared her throat.
"Teddy James." She greeted, her voice clean and clearly not dreary or tired.
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Emmett had briefly considered that she might have been waking up the lawyer at such a time of night, or that she might have just gone to voicemail and the mechanic would remain where she was until the morning. The latter almost seemed ideal, considering the news she was bearing. Yet a clean accent came through the receiver as if she hadn't even been tired yet. Professional enough like she was still in the office.
"Oh, hey. It's me." A pause, unsure if her voice would give herself away. "Emmett. Coupland. The mechanic." Okay, that was more than enough, but she kept going, trying to get a little more to the point before she even gave the lawyer a chance to speak. "So remember how you said this is our fight? Was that supposed to be taken literally?"
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The second she heard that voice, Teddy pressed her lips together and prepared her for whatever was bound to come from this. A familiar name caught her ears and she hummed knowingly, like she was acutely aware this couldn't be good. After all, she wasn't calling form her own number. The volley of texts Emmett liked to send the lawyer left her highly aware of her personal number.
"No." She said flatly. Perhaps that poor choice of wording landed completely on Teddy's shoulders. Bracing for impact was the right call; she knew exactly where they were going; "What's happened, Emmett?"
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Emmett rocked back in the metal chair she sat in, fingers drumming to the desk she was ordered to stay at by the very people that had been trying to help her for some time now. It didn't stop an airy laugh from escaping her lips, dusting the phone she pressed against her face. No. Of course not, and there wasn't a hit of appreciation for what was an attempt at a clever build up to the much larger issue.
"Well, I've got good news." Emmett took a turn in her tone, trying to bring a bit of lightness towards the bitter conversation. "We found the asshole who fucked up --" A pause, and there was a little shuffle. "-- sorry. No, I won't do it again, ma'am." There was another laugh that escaped the mechanic, though a little more forced this time. "We found the guy who destroyed my shop. He's at the police station now. I am too."
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"I can't wait." Teddy declared, knowing all too well that there was no real good news attached to it. Still, her spirits were on some level that wasn't the floor, so that was probably good.
It pieced together like she thought it might. Somehow Emmett believed she'd caught the person responsible for destroying what she'd worked so hard for. She couldn't help the audible sigh that passed her lips. "Of course." She said quietly, completely referencing the fact that the culprit was a man. But she wouldn't dare specify that.
She probably didn't need to.
"How do you know he did it?"
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Having been on a friendly exchange of texts for some time now, Emmett wasn't sure what it was like to get on Teddy's bad side. She knew this wouldn't go over so well, and for it the mechanic tried to stall on hard details, fluffing it up with what - in Emmett's mind - was a clear victory. Catching the culprit was one of the most important goals, right?
Oh, and here it was. How hard evidence fell right into her lap. She could be a detective, if it wasn't a matter of just being at the right place at the right time. "My jersey." Emmett's voice dropped in a little bit of excitement. "The guy was wearing it at a bar. I knew it was mine, 'cause the stains." Beer and grease. Not too many people wore that combo quite as well as the mechanic.
"And after I punched him, he called me meta scum."
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Hard evidence was the one thing Teddy needed to argue any case. She needed the clear facts to throw in someone's face the second it got bad. When she heard the story, she was honestly surprised someone would be stupid enough to wear stolen property anywhere. Fingers brushed through her hair, drawing it away from the phone.
She wasn't thrilled to hear it sounded like Emmett instigated a physical encounter. That was pretty much exactly why she said to call her first.
And then he called her that. Of course he did. Questions flooded her mind, but she knew time in a call like this was so precious. "Have you given a statement? Answered any questions? Have you signed anything?" These were three simple, effective killers for her case.
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There it was. News that Emmett didn't exactly listen to arguably the one explicit order she had been given. To call first. Strangely, the lawyer's voice lacked irritation that Emmett had been sure was coming. She was straight to business. A sigh of relief escaped her when she realized she wasn't being scolded. She stood up, feeling the desire to pace, only to sit back down when a look was thrown in her direction by the officer in charge of looking after her.
"No, not yet. I mean, they want me to but I at least know I shouldn't before you get here." Even if it meant sitting in a cell for the remainder of the night, something she wasn't entirely keen on doing but willing to if it insured the man who caused wreckage to her garage would be put in place. "... You are gonna come, right?"
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Relief was such an easy feeling to catch in a situation like this. It could either go really well or really bad for the pair, and Teddy was fortunate that the information she was given was everything she wanted. "Good." She said then, to indicate just how happy she was with the outcome.
Teddy wondered then what face was attached to that question. In all her encounters with Emmett, she'd never really known her to ask for help in such a way. It felt different. Then again, she supposed the prospect of a night in lock up changed most. "Of course." She declared without hesitation; "Just tell me where you are, and tell them your lawyer is on her way."
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A single word did well to put Emmett at partial ease. She had done correctly to refuse to sign anything or offer any sort of statement, even if it had been at the annoyance of the officer who put her in handcuffs.
To further her relief, she was told that Teddy would be there. It meant she wouldn't be shipped over to the local jail, and her tone must have expressed her gratitude, even if she wouldn't say it out loud. "Great. I'm at the station right now." Emmett pressed her palm to the receiver, but didn't do well to properly muffle the response she offered to the officer. "I told you she'd come."
Pressing the phone to her ear again, she smiled. "I'll see you soon."
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Teddy heard the little comment from the other end of the line, even if it wasn't meant for her. It was true; most lawyers wouldn't bother to go all that way outside of usual business hours. She could have called anyone else, really. Even a friend could have bailed her out. The call felt just that little bit more personal with that information in mind.
"Don't worry." She reassured her before she hung up. Without much delay, she quickly got dressed and headed out the door, leaving the still-full glass of wine on the counter.
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