AND THE REST IS HISTORY
by Michelle F.
Disclaimer: The characters and concepts of Hardcastle and
McCormick do not belong to me. They were created by
Stephen J. Cannell, and they belong to him and Columbia
TriStar Television Distribution.
Summary: Hardcastle's thoughts after McCormick turns down
his deal.
Author's Notes: Rated G. This is a missing scene from the pilot episode,
Rolling Thunder. It is my interpretation of what the Judge was
thinking both about McCormick's reaction to his offer and about
McCormick himself. I took a little liberty with the time schedule.
Part of this is set directly after Mark is led away to the holding
area. In the episode, the Judge makes the phone call practically
right away not much time for all the thinking I have him doing, but
hopefully it all fits okay. The only quote I use in this is taken
directly from the episode and is in double quotes. The quote is
credited to Stephen J. Cannel and Patrick Hasburgh who wrote
the episode. I hope to have a companion piece from Mark's
point of view done soon.
Comments welcome at [email protected]
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Hardcastle sighed as he watched McCormick taken from his
office down to lock up. Damn stubborn kid. Couldn't he see
that the Judge was offering him a lifeline? It was the best deal
he was gonna get.
Hardcastle had known it wouldn't be easy. It would have gone
against the kid's pride to just jump at the offer falling all over
himself with gratitude. The Judge expected resistence, but not a
flat out denial. He thought he might even have been getting
through to McCormick at first until he'd said McCormick would
have to give back the car. That's when the kid shut down and
rejected the idea completely. He'd said he thought Martin Cody
killed his friend and stole the car. Apparently that was a belief
that was worth his freedom and for McCormick, that was saying
a lot.
The irony of the situation wasn't lost on the Judge. McCormick
was doing in this exactly what Hardcastle wanted to do with
those 200 cases. The kid believed his friend's murderer had
escaped justice so he was planning to do what the law had been
unable to. It was the same song just a different verse.
That McCormick was sticking to his guns so adamantly to his
own detriment, actually increased the kid's appeal. It
demonstrated loyalty and strength of character. It was easy to
fight for something when you had nothing to lose. McCormick
had everything to lose and yet fought anyway.
Sighing again the Judge sat down at his desk and picked up the
phone.""Listen, get Kline, Kline in records and ID. Tell him I want
a national check on this car guy, Martin Cody.""
As soon as he got the report back, he'd know if he had something
to offer that McCormick couldn't be stubborn enough to say no to.
For all his faults, Mark McCormick was certainly no dummy.
They would have a lot to overcome. McCormick was openly
hostile. Not a suprising fact considering the Judge put him in
prison, but Hardcastle thought they could move beyond that. The
past was the past, and it belonged exactly there. This could be
a fresh start. Of course the kid was also a smart ass--usually
when he was being hostile. So if they could work that out, the
mouth should quiet down on its own.
Secretly he hoped not too much though. He wouldn't admit it
to anyone--most of all McCormick, but he actually enjoyed their
verbal sparring sessions. McCormick gave as good as he got,
and it was kind of nice to find someone that wasn't easily
intimidated by Judge Milton C. Hardcastle.
The kid had spunk and style, but he was impulsive which led him
to make bad judgments that were self-destructive. McCormick's
heart was in the right place, but the kid needed to learn to work
within the law not outside it. Not to mention he could use a
little discipline--someone to lay down a few boudaries. Someone
looking over his shoulder to keep him from getting himself into
trouble.
Hardcastle knew Mark McCormick's file by heart. He knew the
kid never had a steady father figure or male role model growing
up. He was raised by his mother until her death left McCormick
on his own. Considering his background, he could easily have
fallen into one of the gangs leading to much more serious trouble
flushing his entire future down the toilet. He hadn't which earned
him more points on the Judge's scorecard.
The Judge would have to be careful not to get his hopes up
though--well, up any higher than they already were. He thought
he'd found viable candidates before and been sorely disappointed.
Even reminded of past failure, a word Hardcastle despised in
general but doubly when applied to him, he couldn't dampen
the certainty taking hold that his search was over. Mark
McCormick was his Tonto. Now if he could just convince the
kid.
Hardcastle and McCormick--it did have a nice ring to it.
The End
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