Flashback IX

Howard and Raj come back from a Saturday retreat with the Physics Department and see the lobby scattered with dozens of moving boxes, some stacked three high.

"Oh, look, the new ones, they're here." Raj remarks.

For the last two weeks, the building had been highly anticipating the arrival of a new tenant in 5A, just above Penny and Sheldon.

A blonde girl enters carrying a duffel, "Hello?"

Howard and Raj bolt up from their snooping. "Hello." Howard greets. "Hello," Raj waves.

The blonde girl waves back, "Hi." The trio stand around awkwardly, "Um… I'm Alicia. I'm moving in upstairs."

Howard smirks and introduces himself like a knight of yore taking her hand, "Enchante Mademoiselle. Howard Wolowitz, Caltech Department of Applied Physics. You may be familiar with some of my work, it's currently orbiting Jupiter's largest moon taking high-resolution digital photographs. I live in 4B."

Alicia giggles at his over-the-top introduction, "Sorry, I'm not, but nice to meet you, neighbour."

"This is my friend and Caltech colleague, Rajesh Koothrappali," Howard continues, "Do you need help getting your things upstairs?"

"Yeah… I was thinking of using the elevator which was why I let the movers go, but I didn't know it was still busted." Alicia admitted with a pout.

"Okay, what is the heaviest? Raj and I should take the heaviest up first," Howard says looking at his friend to back him up with the pretty blonde.

"Umm… yeah, is it this box marked 'kitchen'?" Raj rolls his eyes at his friend when Alicia looks away.

Alicia nods, "That's probably the heaviest, it's got all my pots and pans in it. I love to cook."

"Oh, are you a chef?" Raj asks as he tries lifting the box—it's certainly lighter than Leonard's stupid time machine.

Alicia laughs, "Oh no, I'm an actress—or at least I want to be—I've only done a couple of commercials and had a guest spot on CSI."

"My neighbour Penny in 4A is a Production Coordinator at ABC. I think you two could really hit it off," Howard says.

Alicia smiles and takes her duffel up the stairs, as Howard and Raj follow behind with boxes of kitchen equipment, Raj whispers as they trail behind the blonde, "Dude, what are you doing?"

"Making my move?" Howard shrugged, "Come on, between the two of us I sure as hell didn't expect to be the one alone. And yet…"

Raj rolled his eyes again, "Fine, but you need to dig deeper if you want any actual chance with her."

Alicia smiles, as they near the last flight of stairs leading up to the fifth floor, "Thanks so much for helping me, guys."

"I wouldn't be upholding my knight's code if I didn't," Howard replies as Raj snickers under his breath, Howard glares at him.

Penny exits the apartment holding Charlotte, while Sheldon carries a foldable jogging stroller, "Oh, hey, guys."

Howard turns around, "Hey, Penny, Sheldon. This is Alicia, our new neighbour." Penny looked confused then remembers, "Oh 5A. Hi."

Alicia smiles, "Hi," she then notices Charlotte in Penny's arms and points, "Yours? She's cute."

Penny beams, "Yep, this is Charlotte, she's just 17-months-old. And this is my husband, Sheldon." Alicia waves at Sheldon. He waves back.

Howard interrupts the lull, "We're helping her move in." Penny nods, 'I can see."

Alicia notices Penny's Nebraska t-shirt, and smirks, "Cool t-shirt."

Penny looks down at it hoping Charlotte didn't spit up on her or anything, "Oh, yeah, thanks well gotta have school pride, right?"

"I went to Oklahoma," Alicia said suddenly.

Penny's eyes narrow playfully, "Oh… a Sooner, well, nice meeting you outside of Norman."

Alicia is equally as playful, "Yeah… and I guess congratulations are in order for you beating us this past year. Only took you four tries."

Howard and Raj had moved toward Sheldon during the exchange, "What's going on?" Raj asked nervously.

Sheldon chuckled, "College football rivalries," Sheldon said as if that explained everything.

Howard and Raj shrugged, they both went to academic universities where sports were never a big thing. "I'll take your word for it, I went to Cambridge and the biggest thing there was whose crew team was better, ours or Oxford's." Sheldon chuckled.

"…Please, you look cute. I'm dressed like a slob today, too." Alicia said, apparently the brief school rivalry confrontation had devolved into fashion.

"I think you look fantastic." Howard grinned from the side. Alicia smirked and addressed Penny, "This one's a player, huh?"

Penny laughed and adjusted Charlotte on her arm, "Oh, yeah, be careful." Alicia laughed too, "Thanks for the warning."

They soon went their separate ways, as Alicia and the guys continued moving in and Penny and Sheldon took their daughter for a jog around Central Park.

***

Penny and Sheldon had done a full circuit of Central Park and Sheldon and Penny stopped on a park bench so she could feed Charlotte a bottle when she heard a familiar old voice, "Fancy meeting you here, dear." Penny looked up and smiled, it was the old lady from the airport. "I see you met up with your husband," the woman smiled warmly at Sheldon.

Before the woman could say anything else the broad-shouldered man Penny remembered seeing walked up behind her, "Mom, the picnic's set up."

Sheldon stood up, "Colonel Atwater, nice to see you again."

The man looked up and after a brief look of confusion smiled, "Ah, Lieutenant Cooper. Always a pleasure."

"You two know each other?" The woman looked up at her son.

"Somewhat, this is Lieutenant Sheldon Cooper, he's the one who saved Keith and his platoon in Iraq. I met him during his year in North Carolina and again on the plane to LAX," Colonel Atwater explained to the elderly woman.

Sheldon then introduced the Colonel to Penny, "Penny, this is Colonel Bradley Atwater, Specialist Keith Atwater's father. Colonel, this is my wife Penny and our very hungry daughter, Charlotte."

"Pleasure to meet you, ma'am. Lieutenant, this is my mother, Caroline. You have a lovely family, Lieutenant."

"Thank you, sir."

A round of pleasantries is made with Caroline hugging Sheldon, and telling him, "Thank you, for saving my baby."

Sheldon smiled as he patted the elderly woman's back, "It was my pleasure, Mrs. Atwater."

Caroline nods then pulls away and was led away toward where the family were set up. Before leaving the Coopers, Colonel Atwater rendered Sheldon a parting salute.

When Penny and Sheldon resettled, Penny remarked with a smile, "Small world, huh?" Sheldon groaned, "If I concede that it is will you not sing the song?" Penny laughed. "All right, honey."

On Wednesday, Leonard had his first day in federal court. He was served with a summons the day after his mother visited; he knew it was coincidental because supposedly the federal authorities had been on his ass for months but, still he couldn't shake the feeling that his mother's visit was the catalyst for all of this to begin. He had hired a reputable defence attorney with 28 years of experience and had gotten a few mobsters lesser sentences in Oliver Wilkins.

It was in court that he found out just what kind of ammunition the prosecution had on him, ranging from depositions from his friends and former supervisors, surveillance camera footage of him actually taking the sample from a Caltech laboratory—which if he was honest, was all that was

needed—along with a chemical comparison report introduced by The Pentagon, as well as his own now severely debunked report on the experimental rocket fuel's viability. They charged him with theft of government property, destruction of government property, obstruction of justice, defrauding the government of money or property, and presenting a false, fictitious, or fraudulent claim to the federal government under the False Claims Act.

Upon hearing the charges, his lawyer asked the court for a brief recess, which was granted. In a small conference room outside of the courtroom, Oliver laid bare Leonard's options.

"You are a fucking liar," Oliver hissed darkly at his client, "You told me that you were falsely accused of a felony and that this was all a 'big misunderstanding'," Oliver used air quotes, "The hell it is! Federal prosecutors literally told the judge they spent nearly three years investigating claims because they want to, 'know if this was more than just an oversight and had become a conspiracy'. They took depositions from your friends and former employers, and they literally have you on tape stealing the fucking thing! Theft of government property is punishable by $250,000 and up to ten years in prison, and that's only one charge! Destruction of property adds another quarter million, and another 15 years—10 for government property, five for private property; obstruction for you is a five-year sentence; defrauding the government is another five years and a maximum fine of up to $10,000 per lie because of additional charges. And given that you told me you live in a one-bedroom apartment I highly doubt you have the money to pay for any of that.

That is literally your only saving grace because, under the False Claims Act, the government can recoup three times what it's owed for every false statement. And given that prosecutors have gone over your report with a fine-toothed comb and told the judge that, 'According to the initial terms of his role in the project, the defendant had no authority to submit a report, to begin with,' what that tells me, is somewhere in the bowels of the DoD there is probably the actual report written by those who were authorised to submit one, and theirs is incomplete but truthful while yours is full of bullcrap—like you. You are likely looking at multiple felony convictions and a lengthy prison term, even Johnnie Cochran can't get you acquitted."

Leonard sat silent, hands clasped on the table. "Are you telling me I'm screwed?"

"You're so screwed you might as well change your name to Government's Bitch and start licking their shoes and their faces, in the hopes that they go easy on you. No lawyer can possibly spin this into a favourable outcome for you, even if the federal prosecutors decide to drop obstruction, defrauding the government, and the False Claims charges; that is still two felonies, 500 grand, and a maximum of 15 years in federal prison. On top of what, the five years probation you already have? You told me you were smart, a doctor with a degree from Princeton… well, what kind of idiot with those credentials decides, 'yeah you know what, today I'm gonna screw over the federal government of the United States!' You better hope to God, that the prosecutors don't have an answer to the question of why or else you'll be in even deeper shit."

"Do you think it's possible to ask for a plea deal?" Leonard asked meekly after fully digesting the full scope of the situation he was in.

"And say what? 'Oops, my bad I promise never to be a bad boy again, please go easy on me'. The only reason they didn't offer you anything, to begin with, is that they knew they have an open and shut case. A vast majority of cases never go to trial, the DA or other prosecutors work to secure plea bargains instead. The fact that none was presented says a whole hell of a lot. If we go to the prosecution now, at best you could hope for is that they look upon you with pity."

Leonard sighed, "Will you still represent me?"

"Can you pay me?" Oliver asked. Leonard shrugged.

Oliver looked at the sad, little man sitting across from him wearing the ugliest tie he'd ever seen in his life, if they go forward, the trial was expected to start next week and last maybe two or three weeks. His client's case was weak, he'd never seen this weak of a possible defence in 28 years of legal practice. Even mob bosses had reasons in their defence, his current client had nothing. No alibi, no witnesses, no reason for doing what he did—just that he did it. The fact that federal prosecutors spent this long building a case against him means his client is pretty much done.

Nobody spends this long on discovery unless there was a lot to rule out, sift through, and build up. Oliver knows there's something else his client isn't telling him but that's pretty much moot because they literally have him on camera taking the thing he shouldn't have. That was the smoking gun. He knew that law was ultimately fairly subjective because it depended on the views of 12 different people coming to a consensus on another's guilt or innocence. And the judge who takes jury suggestion and prosecution and defence arguments to bare when deciding sentencing.

He knows ultimately his client will lose this and appeal—if he can afford it—but even then what new evidence can he put up to back his claim that he had no ill intentions? If he had any, he would have used them in the initial trial. Oliver knew his client was done.

"What if I pled guilty to all charges?"

"If you do then the prosecutors may reduce the charges somewhat but it still won't be pretty. At best, you're still looking at, at least two felony convictions which carry lengthy prison terms and maximum fines."

Leonard sighed, "What can I do to avoid prison?"

Oliver looked at his client in shock, "You're serious? At best, the only way to avoid prison now would be to beg the judge for leniency. Or invent a time machine." Leonard looked downcast. Oliver took pity on him, and sighed, "What can you tell me right now that I can possibly bring to the plea bargaining table? And no more BS."

Leonard sat there quietly, "I…," he sighed, "Okay, the full story is this; six months after I was onboarded I met a graduate student who was really into me and my work or so I thought. We flirted, and I asked her out; she accepted. And for a few weeks, I was happy. Then she started to ask, umm… difficult questions about the fuel; like its chemical makeup, its expansion rate in pressurised conditions, and its viability as a multistage standalone fuel, among others. I had no answers to those questions, I was onboarded to collect data, not actually work on the fuel itself. When I told her as much she started to show waning interest in me, so I back-pedalled and said I could find out. So I took a tiny sample of the fuel and over the next three weekends, I tried to decipher her questions by analysing the fuel in my apartment. When I tried to test its viability as a standalone fuel I knew it wasn't meant to be used as it became too volatile and in a state of panic I dumped the mixture down my apartment building's elevator shaft. The fuel exploded, but it was such a tiny explosion that the elevator car was able to contain it, rendering it useless and causing a small fire. The building inspector came and investigated a couple of weeks later and determined it was due to bad electrical wiring and an ageing car cable. I thought I was in the clear. But I knew the full report by the project managers would not back up the claims that I told them afterwards, so I submitted a false report as an addendum, or so I told the supervisors. Instead, I made their report the addendum and mine the actual one. And because the government shut down the project three months later and no one questioned it I thought I was in the clear, until my new neighbour until recently was upset with the fact that the landlord advertised the building as 'with elevator' but it was broken and he brought in a team to do some kind of analysis. Then yeah, my friends started to avoid me, my mother came and visited me and now here I am."

Oliver sat there stone-faced but internally was rolling his eyes at the man's story, he did this because of a girl? He defrauded the government, stole property, and destroyed property; all

because of a girl? "Who was this girl?"

"Joyce Kim. She was a South Korean transfer from Stanford." "What happened to her?"

"She went back to South Korea because her father had a heart attack a few weeks after the project shut down."

Oliver snorted derisively, "That's convenient. Why didn't you just tell the truth?" "Because then I would've been fired," Leonard said with a slight whine.

"Better fired than jail."

Leonard sighed, "Look, now you know the whole story is there anything in that which would get me out of prison."

Oliver shook his head, "No, if you fully confess you might get a lengthy parole sentence if the judge looks favourable upon you, but you'd still I'd say serve a year, maybe six months."

"Either way, I'm screwed," Leonard sighed, "Well, a year isn't that bad, right? I mean people go to jail all the time."

Oliver looked at the delusional little man, he thought a year in federal prison would be a cakewalk. "Real prison isn't like it is on TV. And most likely you'll be heading to a high-security facility, in which you might as well kiss any idea of personal freedom goodbye. It's not a joke." He told his client succinctly.

"What are my chances?" "At what?"

"Avoiding prison," Leonard clarified. "Slim to none."

Leonard groaned, "I'm not a bad guy!" He whined.

Oliver looked at him blankly, "My job is to ensure your rights aren't infringed upon, I have no horse in the good vs. bad debate given who I've defended in the past. Tell that to the judge."

Leonard sighed again.

Oliver looked at the clock, "Come on, court's gonna start up again soon." Oliver stood up.

***

Once all parties were back in court the Clerk called the session to order. "Court is now in session, the Honorable Judge Janice G. Donovan presiding."

Judge Donovan pounded her gavel, "In the matter of the United States vs. Hofstadter, Mr. Hofstadter, how do you plead?"

Leonard looked at his lawyer then at the judge, "Guilty, your Honour."

That shocked the prosecution.

Judge Donovan addresses the prosecution, "Counsel, have you reached a settlement?"

US Attorney Stephen Roberts spoke, "No, Your Honour. The people were unaware of the defendant's intended plea."

"Is there potential for one?" The judge asked.

"Possibly," Roberts replied, "I request a recess to confer with opposing counsel to begin a dialogue."

Donovan looks at the clock on the wall, "Granted, we will remain in recess until 9 AM tomorrow, that should be enough time for both sides to come to an agreement, right?"

"Yes, your Honour," Roberts replied. "Yes, your Honour," Oliver responded. The judge then pounds her gavel.

***

Back in a larger conference room, Leonard and his lawyer sat across from three lawyers for the Department of Justice.

"Now then, Mr. Wilkins, can you give me a good enough reason to offer your client a plea deal, when my bosses at the Justice Department never explicitly drew one up, even in the event of a guilty plea," Roberts asked.

"That's pretty sloppy work, counsel, you should always have a contingency plan," Oliver replied.

"Tread carefully," Roberts warned, "just because your client said he was guilty doesn't mean we still can't go after him."

"Fair enough, what would it take to remove prison from the equation?" Oliver asked directly. "You mean after he's already entered a guilty plea? Next to nothing."

"Oh come on, there has to be something."

"Counsel, your client stole government property, destroyed government and private property, obstructed justice, defrauded the government, and presented a false, fictitious, or fraudulent claim to the federal government. The fact that he admitted to it in court doesn't change the government's mind about prosecuting him to the fullest extent of the law. The fact that he also has a recent felony misdemeanour for lying about being a combat veteran just adds to the government's claim that he is nothing but a liar and a cheat." Roberts said.

Oliver looked at his client, that last part about the conviction wasn't news to him the what of it, however, was. "Six months and whatever fines and probation you want to tack on," Oliver offered.

Roberts looked affronted, "Six months, for defrauding the government out of a multi-year project worth millions of dollars that he shuttered in eight months after coming on board? Where is the justice in that? Why would we even consent to that when we can prove he did it, why he did it, have records that he did it, and can ask for the maximum across all charges?"

Oliver sighed, "Look, he's a good, and smart kid, so he screwed up once, is that really enough reason to lock him up for an extended time?"

"Counsel, I don't know what he's told you to convince you, but your client is far from good and smart if he tried to cover up his mistake. We all make them, but your client also covered it up, the only reason we aren't charging him with conspiracy is that that would be harder to prove.

Everything else is a slam dunk. So again I ask you, give me one good reason to grant this man a plea bargain that no one is willing to give."

"Okay look, I want to but I can't so, just… I mean, look at him, does he strike you as a criminal mastermind?"

"Criminals come in all shapes and sizes, Counsel," Roberts said dismissively.

Oliver sighed again, "It's not like he hurt anybody, so he stole some gas and started a small fire, at the end of the day he didn't hurt anybody. Why are you being so intransigent?"

Roberts looked over toward his team, then nodded. One of the other lawyers opened up their briefcase, took out a folder and slid it across the table toward Oliver. It was an FBI file.

"What's this?" Oliver said picking it up.

"I want you to read it, right here. This is the why." Roberts said.

Oliver opened it, and inside was a partially redacted dossier on Joyce Kim. He read through it, over the next few minutes the conference room was silent except for the ticking of the clock. When he finished, he closed it and put it down, then looked at Leonard, "You told me she was South Korean." His voice was flat.

"She is!" Leonard insisted.

Oliver rolled his eyes, then looked at Roberts, "May I?" Roberts nodded. Oliver opened it and pointed angrily, "She's a North Korean spy." "What?! No, she's not!" Leonard whined.

"Read it," Oliver said.

Leonard read the dossier, and as he did colour drained from his face particularly, the most damning part. "P'yong Jung-Hwa also known as Joyce Kim and Rose Lee, born either in 1978 or 1979 is a resident of Pyongyang and is a member of the Korean People's Army Strategic Force, a military branch of the Korean People's Army that oversees North Korea's nuclear and conventional strategic missiles. She has been the very public face of the KPASF as it gathers up foreign intelligence to advance its missile program due to her deceptive young appearance. She was last spotted abroad in California posing as a graduate student in 2003. Current whereabouts unknown; suspected North Korea." That was why she wanted to know all those things about the fuel, Leonard thought.

Leonard took a deep breath, he fucked up big time. He closed the folder, and Roberts reached over and took it back.

"Now do you see, Mr. Wilkins? This isn't just a matter of lying to the U.S. government but a national security one as well."

Oliver looked at his opposing counsel, "May I have a minute with my client alone?"

"Certainly." The Justice Department lawyers stood and left the room. Once they had the room to themselves, Oliver turned to Leonard, "You are so fucked."

"What do you mean, it's not like they're charging me with espionage or treason."

"You think just because they're not that they won't tell the judge your character deserves more than what is prescribed during sentencing? That FBI folder is a literal golden ticket to a life sentence. No lawyer at this point would even dream of representing you—because there is no way to win—I tried the soft approach, the sweet kid tactic, and still, they weren't moved to offer you a plea bargain. Face it, kid, you are done. The only thing left to do is tell your loved ones goodbye and pack up for prison."

Leonard looked at his hands forlorn, "Are you telling me, game over?" Oliver nodded, "Yep, and you're out of quarters."

"Okay…"

When Oliver called the DoJ lawyers back in, they agreed to no deal and let the trial proceed, but Leonard told the lawyers that they need to drop their investigation of his brother, Michael for this matter, he had nothing to do with it.

As Leonard drove home that day and once he was in his apartment, he wondered why the hell does he always get in his own way. His mother was right, she isn't responsible for his happiness. She wasn't the one who told him to steal government property, she wasn't the one who told him to make a play for a married woman, and she wasn't the one who told him to coast after he landed the position at Caltech. It was all him. He did it because he was afraid to step out of his comfort zone and take reasonable risks. He was to blame for all of his missteps, truth be told, he was lucky to make friends with Howard and Raj to begin with because when he joined Caltech, he always saw them laughing together and he wanted that. He never had a friend growing up. The closest thing to that was Jimmy Speckerman, who bullied him in high school for algebra notes and homework, but aside from that he was pretty decent to Leonard, especially when they got a little older. When he was onboarded for the rocket fuel project, Howard and Raj were already there so he decided to see if they could be lab partners and hope that a working relationship could become a friendship— which it did after the project was cancelled. But even then, they were hesitant to hang out with him except on the weekends. He had played it safe for the most part, except when it came to women.

He wanted to have a meaningful relationship with someone, but also he wanted his partner to be beautiful so that others would envy him, instead he latched onto a casual sex-only thing with a colleague at work, Leslie Winkle, and it never went beyond that. Joyce was the first girl who sought him out rather than it being the other way around—in hindsight that should have been a red flag—but he was happy, at least for a few weeks. He never knew that relationship—possibly the only real one he had—would be his downfall. He sighed. There was nothing left. He had no friends, he had no family, no job, and not even a dog who would be happy to see him. Because the one risk he took was coming back to bite him in the ass in a big way.

Leonard sat there wallowing in his own private hell, when he decided to pay his friends one last visit, it'd probably be one of the last times he would see them. He looked at the clock and it read 5:30, he didn't even know he'd been lost in his own thoughts for that long, Howard and Raj probably left the university already. He headed over to the apartment. He got to the apartment a half hour later because of traffic, as he climbed the familiar stairs and walked over to the familiar door with the shiny, gold '4B' on it, he heard laughter, and the distinct giggling of a woman, then he

heard, "Oh Howard, you're a doll. Thanks again for setting up my Wi-Fi and stereo. But, unfortunately, I'm taken. Yeah, just yesterday actually. But I do have a friend that might interest you."

Leonard huffed in defeat. Great, even Howard had female guests; in the five years that he lived in 4B, not once did a girl ever step foot into 4B. He left down the stairs without knocking, he didn't want to be a burden on anyone anymore.

The next two weeks, the government lawyers presented their case against him with such attention to detail that if he was an outsider, he'd have been convinced he was guilty. Leonard heard testimony from Dr. Gablehauser about his hiring and the decision to onboard him to the rocket fuel project. He heard testimony from Howard and Raj who both asserted having feared for their livelihoods and/or visas had they come forward. That they had nothing to do with him stealing, mixing or disposing of the fuel in his apartment. At the time of the incident, they were nowhere near the apartment but at The Comic Center of Pasadena where their friend Stuart was the owner and they spoke for nearly an hour about The Matrix Reloaded movie. He heard testimony from Sheldon dressed in his olive green service dress uniform—it was like a scene out of A Few Good Men—and a man by the name of Bobby Hatfield who was now with the State Department but formerly with The Pentagon's Defense Sciences Office. The lawyers questioned Sheldon about why he used military personnel for a civilian matter, but ultimately the answer that Sheldon revealed was that even way back in 2007, Sheldon had his doubts and suspicions about Leonard and the veracity of his report submitted to the DoD. Bobby Hatfield confirmed Lieutenant Cooper's testimony and told the lawyers and the jury, "Within weeks, of then Staff Sergeant Cooper's phone call I knew there was some truth to it after an internal investigation, after which I transferred it to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution." He and the jury saw evidence of him taking the sample, they heard, from the building inspector, the fire chief and his former landlord in the closing days of the prosecution's argument. They also entered into evidence the FBI file on Joyce Kim, which was the end for him. When the prosecution rested, Oliver asked a spirited cross-exam of all witnesses but, presented no evidence, to the contrary. They had none. Oliver did not allow him to testify, telling him, "Look they already have you by the noose, if you testify all you're going to do is kick the chair out from under yourself."

During closing arguments, the prosecution called him, "A misguided and overly ambitious young man who thought he was above the law because he could steal state property, destroy it, cover it up and no one would be the wiser." They called him a little emperor, more specifically, "Because he had a position at an elite university, friends who he treated like underlings, and a need for control the little emperor sought to obstruct the discovery of his ill deeds until someone came and called him out on it, a respected and highly-decorated member of the United States Marine Corps; they who live by the creed always faithful discovered the misdeeds of a man who thought defrauding the government and his employer was completely above board. Because nobody was willing to tell the little emperor he had no clothes. And it is up to you, ladies and gentlemen to ensure he has no more freedom."

Oliver's defence of him was less-spirited, all he noted was that Leonard had committed one mistake and was that enough to ruin his life; Oliver urged the jury to put themselves in his shoes and decide if one mistake was enough to ruin a man's life.

The jury's decision was rather swift after the judge ordered them to deliberate on each count—five in all—and they had to come to a unanimous consensus with each count. The jury returned from deliberation in three days and found him guilty on four of five counts. "We the jury in United States vs. Hofstadter (2010) on this 23rd day of June hereby find the defendant, Leonard L. Hofstadter guilty of stealing government property, guilty of destroying government and private

property, guilty of obstruction of justice, not guilty of defrauding the government, and guilty of presenting a false, fictitious, or fraudulent claim to the federal government."

Sentencing took place the following Tuesday, with Judge Donovan giving him a 26-year sentence with the possibility of parole after 18, and five years additional probation in addition to the five years he already had for impersonating a combat veteran which will be suspended until release to be served at USP Victorville, and a $1,660,000 fine, plus court fees.

When Leonard heard that he was shocked; he wanted to yell, he wanted to say nothing bad really happened, that he wasn't a bad guy, unfortunately when the judge asked him if he had anything to say all he said was a very flat, low, and defeated, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for who I am and what I am

—an unloved loser."

Flashback

March 2006

Sheldon had a week before he had to rejoin the fray. If he didn't do it now chances are he'd probably never have the balls to do it ever. He swallowed hard, then knocked. The door opens and a slightly balding middle-aged man answered, "Well Sheldon, what a surprise! You know that Penny's still at school, right?"

"Yes sir, I was hoping to talk to you and Mrs. Teller."

Wyatt Teller then took a good look at the young man who not only won his little Slugger's heart but made her really happy. He was in his dress blues, so this wasn't a social call or at least just one. "All right, come in, Susie's in the living room."

Sheldon followed Wyatt into the Teller living room, Susan was excited to see him, "Oh Sheldon, don't you look handsome?" She winked, "What's the occasion?"

Wyatt took a seat and offered Sheldon one, "That's what we're about to find out."

Sheldon took a deep breath, and placed his head cover on the table, "Mr. and Mrs. Teller, I don't know where to begin, usually, I'm very fastidious with my words, but given what I have to say, those words fail me, as it often does when it comes to your daughter."

"Oh no, something's happened!" Susan interjected, Wyatt shushed her but, the look on his face told Sheldon to tread carefully.

"Oh no," Sheldon shook his head with a smile, "Nothing like that." He takes another breath, "I love your daughter, with every fibre of my being, she is the light in my mostly heavy-handed line of business. She is the one I think about when I feel down and need an instant jolt of sunshine—to me Penny is sunshine. She is everything that makes life worth living, I am forever in your debt for creating such a human being and even more for raising her to have the love, patience, and compassion needed to love someone like me. When I was barely a teenager I lost my father to a heart condition; on his deathbed, he told me to find a good woman. I believe Penelope is that woman. In the year since we met, I could picture no one else but her as the person I want to be with for the rest of my life." He heard Susan gasp behind a hand, "And that life may be shorter than expected given where I'm about to go next, I am not one for wasting my life but I would have peace of mind going where I am, knowing that there's one person who wants me to return—outside of family obviously. Therefore, Mr. and Mrs. Teller, I come here to formally and humbly ask for your blessing and your daughter's hand in marriage."

Susan jumps up and runs to him with a huge smile and pulls him up for a hug, "Of course, you may!"

Hugs are still something he can't get used to, but his girlfriend's whole family was a hugging family, that's something he'll have to get used to.

"Now hold on a minute, Susan," Wyatt tells his wife from the couch, then looks at Sheldon, "Now let's talk about this. You wanna marry Penny, is there a particular reason why that you're not telling us?" He already had one daughter knocked up and forced to marry before she was ready— and although he is glad that it is working out he doesn't want his little Slugger to go through something like that. In fact, Penny hates it when people helm her in, he thinks that is why she had so many damn boyfriends in high school—just to piss him off.

Sheldon shook his head with Susan still by his side, "No, Mr. Teller, I'm not doing this because Penny and I have done anything illicit, I want to marry Penny because in the past year with her, I feel like I can do anything, she gives me the confidence to try anything. The Marine Corps gave me purpose, but Penny is my reason; she is why I will do whatever it takes to get the job done right and get back to her. I never had that in my life, you know a person I want to see, a person I want to love and support. When we met it was as if we had instant chemistry, and I don't want to lose my chance."

Wyatt could understand that, he felt the same way about Susan when they first met all those years ago. "Does Penny know about this?"

"About my visit to you or my intent on proposing?" "Both."

"Then, no on both accounts. The last time I surprised her was just before last summer," Sheldon recalled, "Valerie has Penny's reaction on video because she helped me, but even she has no clue I'm planning this."

"Why do you want to marry my daughter? I know you gave some reasons already but what is your real goal here?"

Sheldon sighed, "Well sir, I'm sure you can attest to the difficulties of having a loved one while serving in the military. My goal is to return to Penny, by any and all means, but in the event I don't, I want her to know my true intentions. That I wasn't just stringing her along or with her because she's pretty—she is—but that's such a small part of her; Penny to me is everything. She is my everything."

Wyatt looked at the young man who was already a Sergeant in the Marine Corps, who is already more decorated than some Army friends of his, down at the VFW. This was a good man and one who wanted to marry his youngest daughter—his favourite. Wyatt couldn't deny that in the last year he'd never seen Penny happier, if she was happy who was he to stand in her way; his daughter had found herself a good and reputable man and she herself had matured much over the last year.

Wyatt stood, walked over to Sheldon, and extended a hand which the younger man took, "Welcome to the family, son."

"Sheldon? What are you doing here?" Valerie asked shocked to see her best friend's boyfriend at their dorm room door, in dress blues. "Penny's not here, she's still in class."

"I know. I need your help…"

Forty minutes later, when they were walking Valerie said good-naturedly, "God, you two are so disgustingly sweet it gives me cavities." Sheldon just smiled back at her.

"Yeah, yeah… can you just be sure to get Penny over here?"

"Oh don't worry stud, not only will I get her over here I'm gonna film it so she'll have no choice but to make me her maid of honour." Then she cackled like a supervillain.

"Oh lord." Sheldon shook his head.

***

Penny sat in class bored out of her mind, the professor was droning on about camera angles and lighting and shadow, and the more she heard the more she wanted to go take a nap. She glanced up at the clock, mercifully only a few more minutes left. A few more minutes then she can get some food. Today felt like a panini day.

Penny ran out of Production 210 faster than The Flash, only to be snared by the arm by Val. "Val? What the hell? What are you doing here?"

Valerie smiled, "I'm a courier today, and my job is to deliver you."

Penny looked confused and hungry, "Okay Val, whatever, come on, I'm hungry."

Valerie wagged her finger, smiling, "Sorry, Pen, I have my orders and I must carry them out. Now, come with me if you want to live."

Penny rolled her eyes at her best friend's dramatics but followed. The sooner she deals with Val's antics the sooner she can eat.

They made it to the quad, and Penny sees a white tarp laid out on the grass like a carpet and the Pep Band. She turns to Val who is now filming her, "What's going on, a pep rally for the basketball team?"

Val doesn't answer but instead pulls Penny toward the designated spot she and Sheldon and the Pep Band—she can't believe Sheldon managed to rope the Pep Band in on this—setup. Then the Pep Band begins to play the Marine's Hymn, and Sheldon walks out behind a tree and up the white tarp toward her best friend. By now they've attracted a pretty sizeable crowd.

Sheldon smiles down at Penny, "Hello Penny," he greets as the song ends.

Penny is confused, she is happy to see her boyfriend but still confused. "What's going on, Sheldon?"

"One of my patented surprises," he tells her. "Wh—"

Sheldon takes her left hand, and gets down on one knee; several people in the crowd gasp and whisper, "Oh my God!"

Penny's eyes start to well up, as Sheldon speaks.

"Penny, the day I met you was the day I found my reason for living. You are everything good and bright and beautiful in my life. My love for you Penny, knows no bounds and I will endeavour to

always be the man you want. You are all that I want and need as my friend, biggest supporter, and lover. So, Penelope Quinn Teller, would you do this Marine the greatest honour ever and be my wife? Penny, will you marry me?"

Penny is crying now and nods her head vigorously as she squeaks out a, "Yes."

Sheldon puts the ring on her finger, and Penny pulls him up to kiss him to cheers from the gathered crowd—including now a few professors and administrators who came out to see what was going on

—as the Pep Band begins to play Kool & The Gang's "Celebration". Suddenly Penny didn't care much for food.

Penny lays in her dorm room on Saturday, staring at the sparkling engagement ring on her finger, she couldn't believe she was now somebody's fiancée. Promised to someone. Penny didn't think she would get married so young, but it's only been a week and all she could think about in her spare time was a house with a white picket fence, her husband and kids, a minivan, maybe a dog playing in the front yard. It's crazy because she was just old enough to drink legally and here she was thinking about years—decades in the future, and it was all because of this little metal band on her left hand. She hated that she and Sheldon couldn't be together longer to celebrate their engagement, but she knew he had a job to do. Apart from a promise to "rock your world when you get back", several long passionate kisses and one final demand from her, "to come back to me", he left later that night.

Ramadi 2006

"Mortar! Take cover!" Sheldon yelled. "Give me some cover fire, I'm going up! Clarke, you're in charge until I get back."

The Marines laid down cover fire as Sheldon scaled the nearest high point, a wooden outpost three metres to his right. Once settled he switched from the M16 to the M40. And scoped in the mortar teams. He sent several rounds 600 yards downwind toward the mortar operator and towards RPG gunners and an individual that appeared to be carrying an FIM-92 Stinger. He radioed C Company and told them to take the west flank to cover off access to the mortars and to collect the RPGs and Stinger. He watched through the scope as C Company advanced from the west end successfully cutting off access to the mortar system. He radios for air support, and within a few minutes he hears over the radio, "Angel of Death is above your position, hunker down, we got this." He signals to Michael and the others to drop. The engagement is all over in about 90 seconds, 45 insurgents and six enemy APCs are destroyed by an AC-130 circling around, providing close air support (CAS).

Sheldon and his two fireteams are safe and they've taken one crucial block in their fight for Ramadi. The area they were trying to secure is a munition depot just outside the city. There are four more around the city. They will tackle the rest in the coming days but this one is the largest and most significant because it, according to ground intel is the one to house the bulk of the insurgent's anti-air weaponry. With coalition forces in control of it, the skies over Ramadi remain mostly clear and open to American airstrikes. A US Army regiment arrives within the hour to set up checkpoints. As Sheldon and his Marines regroup he has to wonder at the sheer audacity of sending in 14 Marines to fight against 50 hostiles. But it isn't his call to make, just his to carry out.

After a debrief with Master Sergeant Joseph Haney, where he advocated for tactical use of raids on the remaining depots instead of direct engagement like they had experienced today. Sheldon argued that the remaining depots had to have similar setups, which Haney agreed that they did only

on a smaller scale. Therefore, he advocated for nighttime retrieval of the mortar systems, and a dedicated sniper team as support for the rest of the operation. He argued that without the mortars they could engage closer and with a sniper team, RPG gunners couldn't hide. Haney agrees with his analysis and tells him he'll run it by the First Sergeant and try and get the okay.

When Sheldon gets back to the barracks, he sits on his rack; he is the only one in the barracks and takes out a picture of him and Penny. She has her arm around his neck and is smiling widely at the camera, her face pressed to his grinning one. It was taken on their first date while on the trails at Pioneers Park Nature Center.

"I miss you already, Penny." He says quietly to the picture. He had only been in Iraq a few days and yet he already wanted to go back home. He sighed, he was here until Ramadi was captured and the insurgency throughout the region was crushed.

The next morning, Sheldon and his unit were having breakfast when First Sergeant Oliver W. Peyton came to their table. The Marines stopped eating. "At ease. Sergeant Cooper, come with me." Peyton told them.

Sheldon stood and walked away with his CO, leaving his breakfast, "Yes, sir."

Once outside Peyton, handed him a letter, "The general agreed with your assessment. Take four of your most trusted, Sergeant, you are going on a mortar hunt."

Sheldon saluted and thanked his CO. He went back in clued everyone at his table of the situation then selected. Corporal Michael Clarke, Private First Class Nathan Anthony, Lance Corporal Fred Monroe, and Corporal Connor Reese. Michael, he trusted with his life; Anthony and Monroe were despite being very young, highly capable, and Reese was fearless.

It took a week, using E-3 Sentry surveillance and two M1151 Enhanced Armament Carriers because one sustained an open throttle issue, and while there were mechanics to fix it the parts weren't available—it was not like there was an AutoZone around the corner or anything—to devise a plan. Sheldon was surprised at the sheer size of the other four munition depots; true they were nowhere as big as the one they took but, he was still surprised only one depot carried the bulk of the insurgent's anti-air weaponry. According to AWACS photos, the four remaining depots had a total of eight permanent mortar stations and according to Iraqi Army sources they had two portable Soviet-era portable mortar systems but those had been mostly mothballed after Desert Storm and their battle-readiness was unclear. They practised on a dummy system and it took Monroe and Reese, both with specialities in bomb disposal 10 minutes to decommission and carry to the Humvee. Instead, Michael suggested hooking it up to dummy wires, that way it doesn't raise suspicion and would be easier for infantry to engage. Sheldon liked that idea. It took two nights after that to complete their mortar sabotage operation. Sheldon understands why the insurgents use mortars—to keep coalition forces at a distance more than to actually hit anything—because they are sending dumb munition into the air; the mortar and mortar bombs the insurgents are using are primary homemade systems that fire explosives and shrapnel. They're more like low-altitude fireworks than anything, but one almost killed Michael, so Sheldon has had it out for them ever since.

Once the mortars were out of commission, a joint operation between Army and Marine units took out the depots within a week with few friendly casualties. In all, nine servicemen were wounded but they'll live, while CAS killed across the four depots at least 79 insurgents, according to after- operation sweeps.

As March waned, Sheldon and his team were headed for the belly of the beast. In the transport,

Sheldon touched his picture of him and Penny next to his heart. "I'll come back to you," he murmured to himself, as he prepared for the longest battle of his life.