Disclaimer:I don't own Eragon or anything associated with the Inheritance Cycle.
Claimer: I, SussieKitten, own this plot and the story. Borrow or steal my plot, my original characters (Aksel) or story and I will report you. I also own version of Saphira/Thorn's human appearances.
Warnings:Slash/Shōnen-ai – meaning mild guy x guy action. Swearing or strong language. Some major creepiness from Galbatorix. Mentions of Character Death – mentioned only. Mentions of Rape/Underage Violation (Rape) – mentioned and hinted only. If any of this disturbs you, click on the "back" button. I won't tolerate any flames.
A/N Hello, and welcome to the forth part of Black Mist. We here at SussieKitten's fanfics thank you for remaining seated and ask you all to once again buckle up, and keep your elbows inside the cart during the entire ride. We warn you that this will be a bit of a long ride, but promise that the upcoming chapter will be worth it.
I apologise in advance for this chapter. It's filled with a lot of information, but it's important to read. A huge thanks to everyone who read/reviewed and is still with me after all this time. A last thanks to dragonrider713 who managed to get through this! Lol.
BLACK MIST
Part Four; Commotion
(05.35 AM – Monday 22ndof September. Inside Murtagh's apartment in Carvahall, Alagaësia.)
Murtagh leaned down and filled his cupped hands with more water and drenched his face. He stood bent over the sink in his bathroom and had not dared to look at his reflection since getting up a half-hour ago. It was becoming almost impossible for him to sleep lately. His hands curled around the edge of the sink as his mind seemed to forcibly make him remember what he was doing up at five thirty in the morning.
Murtagh had had trouble sleeping for the past week and a half. Whenever he'd close his eyes, he would see hisface. And this time it wasn't just a flicker of a past nightmare. No, this time it was a real memory, a memory of when he had thought he had lost Eragon for good.
Murtagh's hands tightened; leaving the skin around his knuckles to seem even whiter than usual. He had done it again, thought his name. The name was like a sin, one he wanted to repeat so many times that not even God could judge him anymore. But he wouldn't allow himself, so he wouldn't think the name again. The name brought back memories that should stay locked up along with emotions he didn't have the strength to process.
The hazel eyed man shook his head in a try to shake the thoughts out of his head. He scooped up some more water and splashed his face and neck. He shivered slightly as the drops ran down his neck and back. Murtagh reached for the towel and slowly started to dry himself. Parts of his hair had gotten wet, but he didn't care. He looked up as he started to dry his neck and his eyes collided with that of his twin. Murtagh slowly studied himself in the mirror as he continued to dry himself off. Or more specifically, he watched his left arm flex as it moved.
He hung the towel back in place, his eyes never leaving his left arm. He could still be surprised at what he saw on his bicep, even though the marks had been there for years. The fingers on his right hand ran along the thick and dark lines that they found there. Murtagh had been twenty when he had gotten his bicep tattooed. It was a tribal pattern that he had come up with himself. The work had been done by someone he trusted, and it looked perfect.
He let his right hand drop as a frown entered his face. Slowly the left hand joined in on pulling his sleeping pants down slightly on his right side. Slowly another tattoo was revealed. His eyes had moved from the mirror to watch his own hands. The tattoo was a half-coiled black wolf with a few white lines. Beside it, the kanji for wolf had been tattooed. A sneer entered Murtagh's lips as a finger ghosted over the two figures, drawing out two letters. A G and a K. Galbatorix's mark.
Murtagh pulled up the pants harshly and exited the bathroom. As he started to dress himself, he couldn't help but to remember how that tattoo had come to be.
Galbatorix liked to mark his property. No one touched what was his and lived. And to make that even more clear, he had branded all his favourites with two gothic looking letters; GK. The first thing Murtagh had done when he had gotten eighteen was to go to a tattoo parlour and have the wolf and the kanji tattooed over it. The artist hadn't even blinked at the request, and had done a good job. If Murtagh hadn't known it, he would never have guessed there to be something else under the visible tattoo.
He finished dressing and walked out of the apartment. A short drive later and he had parked in the police's parking lot and was walking towards his office. The night shift were still buzzing about, but Murtagh didn't pay any attention to them. He knew that he was getting a few looks for coming in before six in the morning, but he didn't care. He answered to no one but Ajihad and the Chief of the precinct.
He was about to walk pass the meeting room when he noticed that the door was slightly ajar. Murtagh frowned and walked up to it. When he heard familiar voices on the other side he pushed it open.
"Ah, here so early, Murtagh?" Ajihad said almost fatherly.
Murtagh frowned. Thorn, Vanir and someone he knew was a SWAT agent were dressed in full protection gear; but it was a slimmer model that was build for stealth.
In answer, Murtagh just nodded.
"We're getting ready to seize the suspects." Ajihad said next, and Murtagh noticed he was dressed similarly. "I trust you remember the plan?"
"I'm to stay here and 'hold down the fort' while working on the case with Elve and Black." Murtagh recited dully.
Ajihad nodded.
"Detective Elve reported to me a few minutes ago. She's with the possible targets now."
Murtagh nodded back.
"The two others are on their way." The Captain said and fixed the gun by his side. "Everything you need has been moved into this room."
The other three stood up and walked out of the room one by one. Thorn lingered for a moment to give Murtagh a brief nod. Murtagh answered with one of his own.
"Be careful out there, Captain. Watch out for alleys they can escape in. Remember, this is their territory." Murtagh said in a low voice.
Ajihad's face lost the little life it had, becoming serious and cold in an instant.
"We will, son. But remember, don't come after us." The older man said gravely.
"I may not like it, sir, but I promise I won't." Murtagh said and saluted.
Ajihad gave him a sad smile before walking out of the room, barking orders into his earpiece as he did so. Murtagh watched the door close behind him.
The hazel eyed man quickly went into working mode. He sat down in his usual seat and opened up the files in front of him. Then he laid out the five over-view photos of the victims and studied them all carefully. The first four had a message that spelled out the same, but even from the angle the last picture was taken, Murtagh could see the last one was different. He found a picture of just the message and read it. Thought you could get away that easily, E? Think again.
Murtagh frowned. There was something else written below it, but it looked like the murder or murderers had changed their mind and cleaned it off. He walked over to the counter inside the room, picked up a magnifying glass, and walked back to the photo. He could see it just barely, and was sure the lab could make out the message more clearly. He squinted slightly and read it. This is just the beginning.
Murtagh put the picture down and opened one of the previous nine files from the original case. Then he compared that writing to the one from the newer cases.
"Damnit."
They looked identical. That could prove to be a double edged blade. They could prove the twins worked for Galbatorix and murdered on his command, but the defence would say that the twins had worked and murdered individually and that Galbatorix had nothing to do with it. If the jury believed that, it could mean that Galbatorix could be spared of the life sentence, possibly even be able to get out on parole.
"What's going on?"
Murtagh turned around slowly to face the newcomers. Aksel stifled yet another yawn and Nasuada came up behind him. The dark skinned female was instantly by Murtagh's side and looked at what he had found.
"That could damage our case if we don't find more proof." Nasuada said quietly and sat down.
Aksel took another sip of the coffee in his hands and slumped down in his seat.
"Have you been able to I.D. the last victim yet?" Murtagh asked quietly.
"No." Nasuada said sadly. "We've put out a notice, but so far no one is missing him."
"Apparently he's not a student at CC either." Aksel said and began to snoop into his own files. "We suspect he was placed there."
"You've really been working on this without me." Murtagh stated.
"We suspected you didn't want to have a huge part in this part of the investigation." Nasuada said quietly.
"Why, because of him?" Murtagh said and held up the autopsy head-shot.
Nasuada remained silent.
"... I guess you're right." He said and sighed. "He does look too much like Rider for comfort."
Nasuada nodded softly.
"And my question is how the fuck did they manage to find someone like that!" Aksel piped up loudly as he flipped through a few pictures.
Murtagh stared at him blankly.
"He swears in the mornings. I thought you knew that after the last case?" The dark eyed female said and lifted an eyebrow.
"I wasn't usually graced with his presence in the mornings." Murtagh answered simply.
Aksel lifted the cup up in confirmation.
"Anyway, he must have been handpicked and so we hoped to find something that could be linked back to the killers. But they left no trace of them whatsoever." Nasuada said and sighed.
"We'll link this to them somehow." Murtagh said and frowned down at the pictures. "They are the ones that did it, I can feel it."
"Were there any trace of them back at the HQ?" Aksel asked as he chewed on a pencil.
"We never thought to check!" Nasuada said and sat up in a flash. "There were some traces of foreign DNA that we weren't able to match to the members we caught."
"Were did you find it?" Murtagh asked and looked at her from over his linked fingers.
"On a DB that the search team found in the southern basement." Nasuada said and showed Murtagh the file. "Where the DNA was found suggested that the DNA came from the victim's killer. We can say killers now because of the obvious two sources it must have come from and because of our suspects."
"Two sources but one DNA?" Murtagh asked, his eyebrow crocking slightly as he spoke.
"Yup. Cos as we all know, maternal twins have the same DNA." Aksel replied. "And right here are the DNA charts from the crime scenes and the basement. They match."
Murtagh smirked.
"We have enough grounds to be able to get a DNA sample." He said and felt his smirk widen. "Ask them to do a writing test as well, and we have them."
"Let's just hope we get them before the trial." Aksel said and tapped the pencil onto the desk. "Or we're screwed."
::BLACK MIST::
(09.56 PM – Monday 22ndof September. Inside the Police Department in Carvahall, Alagaësia.)
Murtagh watched the scene before him unfold with a thin-stretched mouth. Ajihad and the rest of the team had managed to capture the twins where Ciljan had told Murtagh they would be. They had been separated on arrival and so far neither of them had said a word. Currently Murtagh was looking at was the older of the two twins. They could be told apart by the tattoos on their bald heads. The older one had a more complex and thicker black pattern on top of his skull. The detective inside the room, one Murtagh had only met with a few times, kept talking to him, but the man just continued to leer.
"I told you; he won't talk." Murtagh said quietly to the man beside him.
"It was too much to hope for, I suppose." Ajihad said in a soft murmur. "But we can't allow them to be in the same room."
"Have they agreed to the DNA and writing test?" Murtagh asked, his eyes not leaving the twin on the other side of the window.
"They both agreed, but have yet to say one word. They just signed the documents we presented them and declined the right to a lawyer."
"Old King taught them well." Murtagh said with a slight dark undertone in his voice. "Talk and you'll wish you were dead. That means no talking to even a lawyer."
"That certainly explains Shruikan's silence." Ajihad commented.
"The last thing that man does is to betray Galbatorix. I don't know how, but Galbatorix brainwashed him somehow. I remember the first time I saw Shruikan. He was in his early twenties I reckon when Galbatorix brought him in. He was full of life and had a fighting spirit. The next time I saw him, he was just a hollow shell." The hazel eyed man said gravely. "These two however... he was able to play with their minds and twist them to into being just who he wanted them to be. They were mere kids, they didn't know better, and they liked the way Galbatorix treated them and allowed them to hurt others. It was sickening to even hear about."
Ajihad fell silent when Murtagh finished speaking.
"Go in there." He said suddenly, making Murtagh jump a little from the shock. "Somehow, I know you'll be able to get something out of him."
Murtagh stared at his boss in shock. He narrowed his eyes at the man. Ajihad nodded slowly in consent. Murtagh pursed his lips before walking out of the door and towards the door leading to the interrogation room he had been looking into. He braced himself before entering.
Both men inside the room looked up when he entered. Even the office standing guard inside of the door was startled. Murtagh closed the door and approached the table. The twin before him raised an eyebrow when their eyes met. Ah, so he remembered him? That could work to his advantage.
"I'll take it from here." Murtagh said quietly to the other detective.
The copper haired detective nodded and gestured towards the seat beside him.
"He's all yours."
Murtagh smirked to himself when he remembered who the detective was. Orrin something, if he wasn't mistaken. Well, it was always good to know your ally's name.
"Mr Khimera, how are you this fine morning?" Murtagh said and rested onto the table by using his right hand.
The twin before him just widened his leer.
"Good." Murtagh commented and let a small smirk show on his lips. "Because it's about to get a hell of a lot worse. But let's begin easy; we want to save the best for last, now don't we? Where were you the night before 12th of September?"
"... I was at home." The twin said calmly.
The detective beside Murtagh let out a small gasp. Murtagh ignored him. He was too busy observing the twin to let anything the other detective did get to him.
The twin spoke with a rusty and slightly harsh accent. His parents had clearly not come from either Alagaësia or Surda.
"Really?" Murtagh let his smirk widen. "That is not what your brother is saying."
The twin narrowed his eyes slightly.
"He's your little brother, isn't he? Your tattoo tells us all we need to know. And yet... and yet you don't dominate him, don't hustle him around. Why is that?"
The twin crossed his arms and didn't answer.
"That's right, I promised to keep it simple." Murtagh paused with a small sneer. "Why don't you tell us where home is?"
The twin just raised his eyebrow. From what Murtagh could see, the twins both had dark brown hair. Their eyes were peculiar however. They were gray, but so light and glazed that they, like Galbatorix's eyes, looked almost white.
"Right. That's too personal, I gather?" Murtagh sat down, his eyes never leaving the twin's. "Let me try again. Can anyone verify that you were at home that night?"
"... My brother."
"You see, this is where I'm struggling. Your brother keeps saying that you were somewhere else. I simply don't know what brother to believe." Murtagh said and raised an eyebrow of his own.
"... My brother must have gotten the dates mixed." The twin replied, his calm edge breaking slightly.
"Of course." Murtagh said and smirked. "He must have confused it with the other day you both killed an innocent teenager."
Both of his eyebrows twitched. Murtagh allowed himself to feel slightly smug.
"We have evidence that links you both to the murders of fifteen teenagers." Murtagh said and allowed his voice to darken with anger. "All we want from you is your boss. We could get you moved to a prison where you and your brother will be spared from getting killed by the other prisoners. Just give us Galbatorix."
The man before him fell silent, and this time Murtagh could tell it was from shock.
"Come now. He'll be convicted anyway, why not save yourself a bit in the process?" The hazel eyed man said quirked an eyebrow. "I know that deep down you want to give the guy what he deserves."
The twin narrowed his eyes at him.
"No? Well, that's too bad." The hazel eyed man leaned back and chuckled. "Have a nice life in jail, or what's left of it anyway."
Murtagh rose from his seat and exited the room without another word. He found Ajihad waiting for him on the other side with a blank look on his face.
"His brother is in the next room." The Captain said simply.
"It's no use. I could see it in his eyes. They won't talk. But Galbatorix's DNA, which we have matched to the first ten victims, will link him to them without them having to even open their mouth."
"But it is still plausible that Mr King, with a good attorney, can walk." Ajihad said and sighed tiredly.
The older man started to walk and Murtagh made sure to walk beside him.
"Maybe." Murtagh said and bit back a sneer. "But let the attorney have a good time explaining why the bastards DNA were inside all of the victims, why his fingerprints were on every scene. I'll be looking forward to that show."
Ajihad stopped suddenly. Murtagh looked back at his words and cringed.
"Sorry, sir. I don't know what came over me." The dark haired brunet said humbly.
The Captain gave him a brief nod.
"I'll be seeing you at the trial, Morann. Remember, 12 o'clock tomorrow."
Murtagh cursed under his breath as he watched his boss walk away. For some reason, he knew something bad was about to happen.
::BLACK MIST::
(11.43 PM – Tuesday 23rdof September. Inside the Local Court in Carvahall, Alagaësia.)
Murtagh fidgeted in his seat. He, Thorn and Vanir were seated just behind the police attorney on the left side of the court room. Behind him, he knew that Nasuada were saving seats for the four more that were due to arrive. Around him people were gradually starting to fill the seats. The trial had been closed to the public; only people who were linked to the case and a few media representatives were allowed inside. Murtagh could faintly hear the soft sobs of mothers that had lost their child in Galbatorix's sick game and the soft scratching of pen against paper. The media had been confiscated of any tape recorders or cameras before they had entered. They had only been allowed to take notes.
As far as he could see, everyone was dressed in neat clothes. Murtagh was no exception. He had put on a pair of black cotton pants, a black belt and a crisp white shirt. But he had refused to wear the tie the way Nasuada had tightened it; it now hung a little more loosely around his neck. The first two buttons on his shirt were open, showing just a hint of the light grey t-shirt underneath.
Thorn had been seated on his right and Vanir on his left. Vanir was already looking through something in his lap, no doubt notes on what they would do if the trial went the wrong way. They were both dressed almost identically to Murtagh, though Vanir in grey looked more professional and neater than him. Thorn had just put on his traditional dark brown pants and red t-shirt under the shirt. But Murtagh didn't really care who looked neater. He might be Ajihad's second in command, but he wasn't about to stand up and take a part in the trial unless he was called up on the witness bench.
A soft murmur suddenly rose inside of the room. Murtagh, though he had a feeling he knew the cause of the noise, turned around with the rest. Arya entered first. She was dressed like Nasuada; in a knee-length skirt and a shirt, though Arya's was unbuttoned to show off more of her assets. And while Nasuada had dressed in soft brown colours, Arya was dressed in grey and green. Behind Arya came a blonde Murtagh had gotten used to seeing.
Saphira had pulled her hair up and was dressed in a pair of jeans that looked really good on her and a blue shirt. Aksel came in behind her, though he stopped to wait for the final person that was sure to enter. Aksel had toned down a lot, Murtagh noticed. His hair lay neatly around his face, something that almost made him unrecognizable. He was dressed in a pair of black slacks and an open shirt with a tee underneath. And then the person Murtagh had been waiting for stepped inside.
His light brown hair looked as messy as always, but Murtagh had expected that. He was wearing a pair of loose, but not too loose jeans and a t-shirt over a white shirt. The shirt's collar was pulled up and folded over the tee's collar. Like Saphira, he looked nervous and looked like he felt out of place. Murtagh heart clenched at the sight. He looked just as beautiful as he remembered. Eragon.
As if Eragon had heard Murtagh think his name, he looked up. Their eyes met for a split second. Murtagh looked away and focused his attention in front of him. He both heard and felt the group walk up to sit a row behind him.
In front of him, the jury had just come out of their chamber. They all looked nervous, and some slightly excited about being there. A few looked bored though, not that Murtagh could blame them. The police attorney was a man around Murtagh's height that had light blond hair and beard and a likeable face. He, whose name was Hrothgar Darr, was talking quietly to Ajihad as they waited for the trial to start. The defence attorney sat to his right and waited for his client to come out. The defence was a tall man that had his brown hair slicked back and a slightly round belly. He looked eerily calm.
The door to his right suddenly opened and the court room fell into a hushed silence. Murtagh couldn't tear his eyes away from the man that was lead inside. Galbatorix looked bored and excited all at once. His face was blank, but his eyes gleamed of life and the constant malice that always was present. He had been dressed in a typical suit, though his shirt had been unbuttoned at the collar and his wrists were cuffed. With criminals like Galbatorix, they couldn't risk letting him escape. A guard watched Galbatorix sit down and then stood in the corner, just a few metres away from the prisoner.
Murtagh looked up at the witness bench. He had been inside of the court room many times, but he remembered his first time. Back then it had just been a chair that you sat in. Now the chair was installed with cuffs that more dangerous or insane criminals could be restrained with and a lie detector. The lie detector had been tested for a year inside of a few selective court rooms in Alagaësia, and had then afterwards become a law. Every court room now had one. There had even been made a specific detector just for court rooms. The witness didn't have to say just yes or no, they could now explain all they wanted, and the detector could pick up if they were telling the truth or not. It was an interesting tool in Murtagh's eyes, but he wouldn't want to be seated in the seat. To be fully unable to lie or hold something back was not a position he wanted to find himself in.
"All rise for Judge Trianna Magii of the Carvahall Court."
Murtagh rose slowly as he watched the woman come out from a door to the left. She was a thin woman that had a slightly raspy voice, without a doubt from smoking. When he had heard that she was going to be the judge, Murtagh had been relieved beyond words. Judge Trianna was the fairest judge in all of Alagaësia, and they had been lucky that she had been willing to oversee the trial.
"Be seated." Trianna said as she had sat down in her throne like chair. "In the trial of the State vs. Galbatorix King, the prosecutor may begin."
Murtagh crossed his arms and prepared himself mentally for a long trial.
An hour later both sides had mocked each other in the way that only lawyers can. The trial against Galbatorix regarding the drug crimes, minor trafficking and the other murders and kidnappings had taken place a few weeks before. Now it was time to focus on the ten murders and Eragon's kidnapping and attempted murder. But Galbatorix wouldn't receive a verdict until all of his trials were over. Murtagh had begged Ajihad to leave his case be, to let the past be the past, but the Captain had only promised that he wouldn't bring it up unless the defence did it.
Murtagh shook himself out of his thoughts just in time to hear the next witness being called.
"I call Galbatorix King to the witness bench!" The defence attorney, whose name was Sloan Brutch if Murtagh remembered correctly, called out.
Galbatorix was led up to the seat by his guard. The officer then buckled him to the seat and turned on the lie detector. Beside the older man, a technician sat down and started to monitor the detector. Murtagh could feel a new hush fall over the audience. It almost seemed like no one was breathing. And Galbatorix just sat there with an eerie leer on his face.
"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?" The bailiff asked in a droning voice.
"I do." Galbatorix said, his leer never faltering.
"State your name for the record." Sloan said in his annoying voice that Murtagh knew others could find soothing or almost alluring if he put the right pressure behind his words.
"Galbatorix King." Galbatorix said calmly.
"Mr King, could you tell the court where you were on these dates..."
Murtagh blocked out the lawyer's voice. What he said was irrelevant. He took note on how Galbatorix shifted and how he looked when he answered the questions he was asked.
"Did you ask the late Mr Durza Shade to kidnap and attempt to murder Mr Eragon Rider?"
Murtagh woke up at this. There was something off about that question. He leaned forward and squinted at Galbatorix.
"No." The man answered calmly and smirked.
The technician held his thumb up, the sign that told the audience that Galbatorix was telling the truth. The court room began to talk in hushed and appalled voices.
"Order!" Trianna called out.
The room instantly fell silent. Murtagh cursed.
"No further questions, your honour." Sloan said and sat down.
Seeing his chance, Murtagh leaned forward to whisper in Ajihad's ear.
"Tell him to ask Galbatorix if he orderedDurza to kidnap and kill Rider if needed be."
Ajihad turned around to look at him. Murtagh gave him a sharp nod and silently urged him to do so. Ajihad leaned over and whispered something in Hrogthar's ear. The blond haired man nodded and stood up when Trianna called out.
"The prosecutor's witness."
"Thank you, your honour." The police attorney cleared his throat before walking out from behind the table he had been seated at. "Mr King, are you saying that the late Mr Shade acted on his own?"
"Yes." Galbatorix answered calmly.
"So, you didn't order him to kidnap and to kill Mr Rider if needed be?"
"Objection, your honour! The question has already been answered." Sloan shouted loudly.
Murtagh looked at the man. The attorney looked alarmed by the question and even looked to be sweating a little. Sloan clearly didn't want them to ask it. Galbatorix must have given him a list of what words the police under no circumstances could be allowed to ask.
"Do you have a point with your question, Mr Darr?" Trianna asked.
"I do your honour." Hrothgar replied calmly.
"Proceed and come to your point." The judge said and gave him a slight nod.
"I will, your honour." The blond man said and turned back to the witness. "Mr King, if you could answer the question?"
"I didn't." Galbatorix replied with slightly narrowed eyes.
The technician looked like he had seen a ghost. He shakily pointed his thumb downwards. Once again Trianna had to ask the court to quiet down.
Murtagh allowed himself to smirk in triumph. Ajihad turned back to him with a raised eyebrow.
"It's all in the wording." Murtagh whispered to his boss.
Ajihad's eyes twinkled slightly.
"Mr Brutch, it seems like your client can't distinguish right from wrong." Judge Trianna said with a glare directed at the defence. "Or do I need to remind you of the consequences for lying inside a court room?"
"No, your honour." Sloan said and gulped.
"You may proceed, Mr Darr."
"Thank you, your honour." Hrothgar said and turned his gaze back to Galbatorix. "So, if I understood you right, Mr King, you did order Mr Shade to do the things I just mentioned?"
Galbatorix turned and directed his glare directly at Murtagh. The hazel eyed man didn't flinch. He just allowed a small smirk to enter his face before looking away. When confronted with Galbatorix, it was better to look cocky than scared, even if you were the latter.
"Answer the question, Mr King." The judge called out.
"You understood me right." Galbatorix answered darkly.
"Ah, it seems like we're finally done playing." Hrothgar said and clapped his hands together once. "Then how about we ask every other question again, just to be sure you didn't misunderstand them?"
"Objection, your honour! What are the grounds?" Sloan called out almost desperately.
"Your client has been caught lying in the court of Alagaësia. If he even answered one question wrongly, due to misunderstandingit, then he could end up being tried wrongly." Hrothgar said and looked over at his opponent. "And you don't want that now do you, Mr Brutch?"
Sloan pursed his lips. Murtagh could see that he looked pale and was shaking slightly. Obviously he knew that things weren't going his way.
"Proceed, Mr Darr." Trianna called out, silencing the court once again.
"Therr, give me a pen and a paper. I'm going to bring this bastard to the ground." Murtagh whispered to the black haired man next to him.
Vanir looked up with a brief look of shock on his face. It soon melted away and a smirk took its place. He handed over a pen and a piece of paper soundlessly.
As Hrothgar continued to reveal Galbatorix secrets and undermine every other answer he had given earlier in the trial, Murtagh worked on a list of questions and key words that the attorney would get a real answer with.
Unfortunately, as Murtagh reached over and slipped Ajihad the folded paper, Sloan had turned to watch them. And when Ajihad leaned over to whisper something in Hrothagr's ear, he stood up.
"Objection, your honour! The prosecutor isn't asking his own questions." Sloan barked out, a small look of triumph on his face.
Murtagh cursed under his breath. It looked like he might have to be a witness after all.
"Mr Darr?" Trianna called out, an eyebrow raised in question.
"The questions have been crafted by a member of the team that helped capture Mr King." Hrothgar said, and Murtagh had to give him credit for not showing any anxiety on his face. "It was with this member's help that we managed to capture Mr King's first... misunderstanding."
"This member you speak of, is he educated in the court's procedure?" Trianna asked, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly.
"He studied law while going to the Police Academy, your honour. He never took a lawyer's exam, but he's qualified and knows the court's procedure as well as any lawyer." Ajihad said and stood up, a firm look on his face.
"Why doesn't he ask the questions, then?" Sloan barked with a small sneer. "That way you wouldn't have to rely on whispering in each other's ear."
The court room fell silent. Murtagh sneered darkly at the defence, and felt only a small bit of satisfaction when he saw the man flinch.
"Do you have any objections to supervise that, Mr Darr?" Judge Trianna asked with pursed lips. "Or I'm afraid the member you speak of will need to leave the court room."
Unfortunately, Judge Trianna was fair in every way. If Hrothgar didn't allow Murtagh to stand up, then she would either order it or have him leave the room. She wouldn't and couldn't allow the offense to get away with what Sloan had witnessed.
"No, your honour." Hrothgar said and sighed.
Murtagh, who had started to pull up his tie when Sloan had finished speaking, cursed out loud. He stood up and walked past Thorn. The redhead met his eyes and gave him an encouraging nod. Murtagh wasn't so sure that would help him any. One wrong step and they could lose Galbatorix forever. You couldn't be tried for the same crime twice, such was the Alagaësian law.
Murtagh entered the floor and walked past Ajihad. The Captain looked unusually pale where he was sitting. Murtagh gulped and met up with Hrothagr.
"I'll guide you the best I can, but basically you're on your own, Morann." Hrothgar spoke softly.
Murtagh just answered with a nod.
"State your name for the court." Trianna called out, her eyes fixed on him as she spoke.
"Murtagh Morann, your honour." Murtagh replied calmly.
"And before you changed your name?" Sloan called out mockingly.
"Objection, your honour! Mr Morann isn't on trial here." Hrothgar called out, anger just barely present in his voice.
"Mr Darr is correct, Mr Brutch. It was you who wanted Mr Morann to do the questioning." Trianna said and Murtagh was a little surprised when he saw the glare in her eyes. "But if you could answer the question, Mr Morann?"
There was a slight apology in her words. Murtagh schooled his face blank and stared at Galbatorix as he replied.
"Murtagh Morzanson Morann is my full name, your honour."
He saw Sloan stand up out of the corner of his eye, but a sharp glare from Trianna had him sitting before he could even open his mouth to speak.
"Thank you, Mr Morann. You may proceed." She said and leaned back into her seat.
"Thank you, your honour." Murtagh said, his eyes never leaving Galbatorix.
He was going to make Sloan regret calling him up to do the questioning.
"Mr King, could you tell us your intentions for kidnapping Mr Rider?" He asked and raised an eyebrow slightly in challenge.
"Objection!"
"Overruled!" Trianna practically barked out.
The sadistic side in Murtagh was having a field day. He mentally noted that he needed to do some serious meditating after he got home. He really wasn't too comfortable with the person he might be becoming.
"Answer the question, Mr King." Trianna ordered.
"I intended to make him a part of my group." Galbatorix replied, the eerie smirk growing as he talked to the hazel eyed man.
"And just what part of your group?" Murtagh asked calmly.
"I intended to make him mine."
"A whore, in other words?" Murtagh asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"OBJECTION!" Sloan called out again.
"OVERRULED!"
"In other words, yes." Galbatorix drawled and smirked even wider. "I was missing one ever since you ran out on me, Murtagh."
Murtagh sneered. He saw a few members of the jury jump at the dark glare he knew he was sending Galbatorix's way.
"We aren't here to talk about me, Mr King." Murtagh said and tried his best to smother his anger. "Why don't you tell us instead why you raped and made your subordinates kill ten other boys?"
"OBJ -"
"We were looking for Rider, of course." Galbatorix said cruelly, cutting off the objection his lawyer had almost come with. "They weren't the right boy I was looking for. They no longer served a purpose in my plan."
"Your plan in finding, kidnapping and breaking Eragon Rider!" Murtagh barked out angrily.
"Yes."
"So you admit to having a hand in the murder of ten young men?" Murtagh asked darkly, not even noticing before then just how close he had gotten to the older man.
Galbatorix met his gaze head-on. His lips, if possible, curled into an even wider leer.
"Yes."
"And what about the five new murders? What part did you play in those?" Murtagh growled, but didn't pull back.
"They were a decoy, to make it look like I was innocent." Galbatorix said calmly.
"And what about the last victim, huh? What was the deal with that?" Murtagh hissed.
But Galbatorix just smirked.
"YOUR HONOUR!" Sloan yelled loudly and stood up. "Objection! That is a new and still pending case."
"That is wrong, your honour." Hrothgar said and stood up much more calmly than his opponent. "We've caught the people that were responsible for the murderers who we can prove were working for Galbatorix. Mr Brutch here is shooting blind. And that trial doesn't have a court date yet."
"Then you should notify Mr Morann here of that." Trianna said and crocked an eyebrow.
"I'm sorry, your honour." Murtagh said and send a half smile her way. "I'll move back to the current trial."
Trianna gave him a slight nod. Murtagh schooled his face blank again and turned back to Galbatroix.
"I'm curious, why haven't you or your friend asked me any questions about yourself?" The bald man drawled with a pleased smirk on his face. "Don't you want revenge, Murtagh?"
"That is irrelevant." Murtagh growled. "We're not here to discuss me, but the murder of ten boys and the kidnapping of another."
"Come now. Don't you want me to pay?"
"Mr King, in a court room it's the lawyer or someone that he supervises that asks the questions, not the witness." Judge Trianna said with narrow and cold eyes.
Galbatorix just continued to smirk. Murtagh crossed his arms to keep himself from lashing out at the old man. This was exactly why he hadn't wanted to do the questioning or to be a witness. He just knew it was going to end badly.
"Mr Morann?"
"I'm sorry, your honour. I'll proceed." Murtagh said and barely noticed how his voice took an icy tone. "Why don't you tell the court why you were originally after Mr Rider?"
"I wanted his mother." Galbatorix said as if he was simply talking about the weather. "But sadly an accident happened, and my man ended up with killing both her and her husband."
"The people you speak of being Mrs Selena Rider and Mr Brom Teller?" Murtagh practically growled.
"Yes. And Durza Shade, of course." Galbatorix chuckled. "Of course, since I couldn't have the original, I had to settle with a substitute; her son. He looks remarkably like Selena, doesn't he?"
"Mr King." Trianna said warningly.
"Oh, I'm sorry, your honour. I won't stray from the point again." Galbatorix said and smiled evilly. "I walked around the country looking for him until I finally found him here. The rest you know."
"Indeed." Murtagh commented coldly. "No further questions, your honour."
He stalked around and sat down heavily in the empty chair beside Ajihad. He knew his boss was looking at him worryingly, but he stared straight ahead and ignored everything around him.
"You're dismissed, Mr King." Trianna said and let out a barely noticeable sigh.
Galbatorix was escorted back to his seat, but his eyes never left Murtagh. The hazel eyed man made sure to keep his eyes unfocused and away from Galbatorix's gaze.
"Mr Brutch, your next witness?"
"I'd like to call Murtagh Morann up to the bench, your honour." Sloan said smugly.
"Objection!" Hrothgar called out as he stood angrily. "Mr Morann has nothing to do with this trial. He chose himself not to file anything against Mr King and wishes not to approach the bench. Had it not been for my colleague, he wouldn't have done the questions either, your honour."
Judge Trianna frowned. Her face, despite her age, was devoid of any wrinkles. Her slowly greying hair was pulled back in a tight bun and her cold green eyes shifted over to Murtagh as Hrothgar finished speaking.
"It would be the same as asking a lawyer to be a witness in a trial where he's defending his client, your honour." Hrothgar continued; his hands slowly clenching into fists on top of the table.
"Your honour, Mr Morann was a witness to the scene where Mr Rider was rescued." Sloan said with a barely noticeable smirk. "The only one that, in a way, has nothing to benefit from sitting on the witness bench."
"Your honour, Mr Brutch clearly has an impure motive for doing this. Mr Morann is on my side of this case, there is nothing he can hope to gain out of this besides discomfort for Mr Morann."
The judge held up her hand and both men fell into a silence. Murtagh, who had been scowling throughout the bickering between the two lawyers, made sure his face was devoid of any emotions as he looked up at the judge. He knew it, the whole court knew it; he was going up there.
"Mr Morann, approach the witness bench, please." Judge Trianna said with a soft scowl. "But you have been warned, Mr Brutch."
Murtagh, making sure that the sound of his chair covered the noise, cursed. Nothing good was going to come of this, he just knew it.
A/N Hello again everybody. I apologise for the wait and hope it was worth it. I also apologise for the cliffhanger, but it is thanks to that cliffie that chapter five is completed and will hopefully be posted soon.
To those who are perhaps wondering about Murtagh's tattoos, I have a few things to say. No, I did not mention either of them in Red Haze because I felt that they were irrelevant. And Eragon didn't notice them either because; one is always covered and he was too busy staring at Murtagh's chest and right arm to notice anything on the left. Wouldn't you have been? :raises eyebrow: And the scene I'm referring to here is chapter four of RH.
So, why am I mentioning his tattoos here? Because if you look closer in the previous chapters, you can just barely see that Murtagh isn't too comfortable in his own skin after the presumed death of Eragon. That is why he's suddenly taking notice of them again, hence why I haven't mentioned them in this fic before now. He's trying to find himself, but believe me people; he isn't in for an easy ride!
I apologise again for the long wait for this chapter and for your replies. I've been swamped with work, and nothing has been going my way lately. In fact, I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out. I just beg you all to wait patiently. This story is far from over.
I'm also working on the sequel to Haunted, along with every other story that I have up on my profile. I ask you all to be very patient with me. Stress has already nearly killed me twice, and writing stories is something I do to relax. I beg you all to understand where I am right now. I'm getting overly busy with college, and since I'm moving in a matter of days, I won't be able to write for a little while. But I'm just talking about a week. After that I will have Internet on a daily basis, as I've spent the last month with Internet two days a week, and I'll be able to reply and post more regulary.
That is all for now. I'll be back with more hopefully sometime in early September. My plan is to have something up around my B-day, and I really hope I can pull it off.
I know you may already know some of the words, but I'm adding them all just in case.
Police Speak:
SWAT – (in my story) police agents that make sure the coast is clear for the "normal" cops to move in
I.D. – short for Identify
CC– short for Carvahall College
HQ – short for Head Quarters
DB – short for Dead Body
Twins and their DNA – Maternal twins actually share the same DNA. This is what the Twins in this story are, so therefore they do indeed have the same DNA. They do however have different fingerprints.
Defence attorney– the lawyer that represents the person that has been convicted of a crime, here Galbatorix
Prosecutor – the lawyer that represents the police or whatever organisation/person that's accusing the defendant of committing a crime
Defendant - the person that's been put up for trial
Technicians – (in this chapter) someone that monitors the lie detector and tells the rest of the court what it says