Chapter 2

Detective Kendall rang the doorbell of the now familiar house and waited patiently for a response. After a few moments of he heard heavy footsteps approaching and the door was opened to reveal a tired looking tall young man.

"Hello, Darrell. It is good to see you," Kendall said with a soft smile, "May I come in?"

The oldest Curtis brother studied the man in a suit with a critical eye. "Good morning Detective," he answered warily, "We weren't expecting you today."

"I don't expect to be long," Kendall said, "But I haven't been able to get Pony on the phone lately and there is something of great importance that I must discuss with him. It cannot wait."

Darry hesitated for several more seconds and then reluctantly opened the door wider to enable the detective to enter his house.

As Kendall crossed the threshold he said in an undertone, "Darry I must assume that you and your brothers know that is going to happen next week."

A dry laugh escaped through Darry's lips. "The trial of the bastards who took by baby brother is hardly going to slip my mind, Kendall."

Darry led the detective to the living room where they found Soda reading a book on the couch. He looked up as they entered and his eyes instantly narrowed as he saw Kendall, the ever present wariness quite clear.

"I'll go get Pony," said Darry glancing between the two men. He left and Soda and Kendall were left staring at each other.

After several tense moments Kendall settled into one the chair and gestured to the book in the Greaser's hands, "I didn't take you to be a reader."

"Pony gave it to me," Sodapop answered and Kendall nodded. No other explanation was needed. Sodapop Curtis had made abundantly clear on several occasions that he would do absolutely anything for his younger brother even something so out of character.

"What do you want Pony to do with the trial?" demanded Soda.

"Well he is of course going to need to testify," said Kendall, "He knows that already. I just want to run a few things by him first."

Soda didn't get a chance to answer because just then Darry returned with a trailing Ponyboy behind him.

Kendall stood and reached out to shake Pony's hand. "It's good to see you again Ponyboy," he said, "How are you?"

"As well as to be expected I suppose," Pony answered hesitantly. The four men sat down and Kendall began going over details of the upcoming trial. Pony sat silently throughout most of it, just nodding or shaking his head at the appropriate spots.

As Kendall was wrapping up his speech Pony finally spoke. "What about James?" he asked.

"What about James" Kendall replied, confused.

"He wasn't like Daniel and Kevin," Pony said thoughtfully, "In a lot of ways he was a victim too."

Kendall frowned. "I'm afraid that really doesn't matter, Pony. James was a willing part of a kidnapping and assault and he is going to need to answer for his crimes."

Pony looked away and Soda laid a hand on his shoulder in comfort. In the last few weeks Pony had expressed some degree of worry for James, insisting that he wasn't really a bad guy. Soda didn't understand this seemingly misplaced loyalty but it still upset him that it appeared caused Pony pain.

Detective Kendall stood up and said, "Well I think everything's done. You're going to do great at the trial, Pony."

The listless boy nodded but his mind was far away.

Darry showed Kendall to the door and told him in a soft voice so not to get overheard, "I don't want any unpleasant surprises at the trial, Kendall."

"There won't be," Kendall assured him, "The guilt of the three boys in absolutely undeniable. Hopefully this will help Pony put this all behind him."

Darry hoped so too.

Xxxxxxxx

Ponyboy flopped onto the couch with a groan, covering his head with shaking hands.

Soda sat down next to him and began to stroke his matted hair. Darry leaned against the closed front door, a helpless look on his face. "This is good, baby," he said, "They aren't going to be able to hurt anyone anymore."

The three Curtis brothers had just returned from the gruelling trial of Daniel, Kevin and James. After many testimonies and waiting all three boys had been found as guilty and sentenced to juvenile detention.

As their leader, Daniel had been given the longest sentence, and James had gotten the shortest but none of them would walk free for a long time.

"There wasn't anything else the jury could have done," said Soda, still tugging lightly on Pony's hair.

"I know," replied Pony in a lifeless voice, "The whole thing was all just so… senseless. They didn't accomplish anything. Everyone just ended up getting hurt. There wasn't any point."

Soda and Darry looked at each other, unable to say anything. The truth of Ponyboy's words rang loud and clear and there were no arguments they could offer.

Soda buried his fingers in his baby brother's hair. At that moment there wasn't any comfort that could be offered. The three brothers would just have to do what they had been doing their entire lives. Take it one day at a time and pray that eventually, things would make sense and the violence and suffering would finally come to an end.

Next chapter will be a boy's day out so it should be a little more uplifting. Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, don't forget to review!