FLASHBACK - Season Four, Episode 15
Prologue
Steve paced anxiously outside of the judge's chamber. He knew that on the other side of those heavy oak doors, Michael's defense team was going to try to rip Jaime to shreds. They'd tried to prepare her for the worst...but was that even possible? What Michael had done to her had rocked Jaime to her core - and what he'd threatened to do was utterly horrific. As a neurologist, he knew exactly how to wipe her mind clean (or turn it into 'mushy scrambled eggs', as he'd put it) and the needle he'd been about to use on Jaime when she'd gained control of the gun would've done exactly that. The thought was terrifying; it was evil beyond comprehension.
Waiting outside of the Tribunal (as a potential witness) was almost as tough for Steve as listening over a speaker while Jaime stared death in the face had been. Both times, the feeling of helplessness was overwhelming. He wanted desperately to be by her side, to help give her courage and strength...to comfort her. Jaime would be needing all three.
Inside the Tribunal chamber, Morrisey has just finished his opening statement. Michael was charged with five counts of Attempted Murder of a Federal Agent - the first for switching the malfunctioning ear back into Jaime's head and the others for each time he had turned up the voltage. A sixth count covered what he'd done to Rudy. There was a charge of Kidnapping...and every other felony they could come up with, in the hope that when (not 'if' - when) Marchetti was found Guilty, the judge would run his sentences consecutively and Michael would never see the light of day again.
The lead Defense Attorney stood and placed his hands on his client's shoulders, drawing an immediate Objection!from Morrisey. Testimony and evidence in the Tribunal were to be presented to the judge while the participants remained seated. There was no witness box, no pacing of the floor by the attorneys - and no jury to view what were obvious theatrics. The judge agreed, granting the motion and instructing Joseph Reinert to take his seat.
Reinert scowled and sat down. He was everything a defense attorney hired by a clearly guilty client should look like...and then some. As he began to speak, Michael glared across the table, attempting to stare Jaime down - to intimidate her - but she met his gaze squarely, with resolution and a strong sense of purpose...and (so far) unafraid. She knew the worst was over; he couldn't hurt her now - and he deserved to pay dearly for what he'd done to her, to Rudy...and to Steve.
As they'd expected, Reinert tried to place the blame firmly on Jaime's shoulders. She'd led Michael on, allowing him to believe that what they'd shared three years earlier was possible again - then 'cruelly dashed his hopes and dreams'. It was painful to listen to but Jaime had been well-prepared. She'd known this was coming. Still, she had to wonder what had happened to the handsome young doctor - so talented and full of the promise of even more discoveries and innovations in the future. None of it made sense! (Had she been responsible for his downfall - even in part - a small voice inside of Jaime couldn't help asking...) NO!No; she hadn't! She refused to let Reinert's words (or Michael's eyes) get to her! She was there to do a job and she intended to see it through!
Then...something unexpected was thrown in their faces...something no one on the Prosecution's side of the table had been prepared for. Reinert began talking about Grant Kingsley, about his mind control devices and the effects he'd achieved upon his victims. The defense attorney glanced in turn at each person on the other side of the table - Morrisey, Hansen, Oscar, Russ...and Jaime - knowing and savoring the effect his words were about to have on each of them.
He claimed Michael had been 'zapped' by Kingsley's device and left with an intricate, complicated stack of instructions on how to torment, torture and eventually annihilate Jaime and Steve. According to Reinert, Michael was Kingsley's final victim!