"Will someone tell me what I'm here for?!" Tyler shouted at the two-way mirror as Singh and Joe looked on from the other room. Singh looked at Joe.
"You sure you can do this?" he asked. Joe nodded.
"This guy hurt Barry. Let's nail him to the wall." he ground out. They walked out of the room they were in and into the interrogation room that Tyler was in. All three took seats at the table, Joe and Singh on one side and Tyler on the other. Singh started.
"Do you really not know why you're here, Mr. Moss?" he asked, though he already knew the answer. Tyler huffed out a sigh.
"No, I don't. I don't even remember coming here! Last I knew, I was in Keystone!"
"So, you don't remember coming to Central and moving in with Barry Allen?" Joe asked, quirking a brow. Tyler's mouth dropped open.
"What?! No! What's that bitch saying I did?!" It took everything in Joe to not reach across the table and punch the man in front of him. Captain Singh's cool voice cut through his boiling angry thoughts.
"Well, from Barry, assault, battery, rape, false imprisonment, just to name a few. You're also going to have charges for what you did to Leonard Snart. Attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, you get the idea." Red in the face, Tyler began yelling at Singh and Joe for a moment before finally settling on one phrase that ended their interrogation.
"I want a lawyer!" Joe and Singh looked at each other, a knowing gleam in their eye as they stood and left the room.
~x~x~x~
Barry was asleep, head pillowed on the hospital bed beside Len's thigh, with said man's fingers running through his hair when there was a knock at the door. Len looked up as the door opened, Joe and Captain Singh walking in. Len gently shook Barry, who looked around blearily, an expression of confusion on his face. Len smiled.
"You've got company." he said softly. Barry whipped his head around, looking for who Len was talking about, when his eyes settled on his foster father and Captain. Joe smiled at his son and took the chair beside him, Singh taking the one on the other side of the bed.
"We interrogated Tyler. He was very adamant that he doesn't remember leaving Keystone. Your secret is safe." Barry sighed, entire body sagging. Joe rested a hand on his shoulder giving him a comforting squeeze.
"So, what happens now?" Barry asked. Singh answered.
"I've talked to the DA. Along with your testimony, the evidence gathered at the hospital is enough to go forward with charges. Of course," his eyes slid over to Len. "We'll need Snart and Rory's testimony as well. Assuming you'll cooperate..." he trailed off. Len nodded once.
"Absolutely. Anything to keep the bastard behind bars. You can count Mick in, too." he said confidently. Barry smiled, eyes watering suspiciously, as he laid a hand over Len's. In response, Len turned his hand and intertwined their fingers. As Singh and Joe looked upon the scene, the look in their eyes softened. Singh cleared his throat and continued.
"There's a whole list of things he's going to be charged with, including felony assault and battery and attempted murder."
"He won't be able to get out of this because he can't remember, will he?" Barry asked, concerned.
"No." Singh answered immediately. The ADA on the case says we should have enough to successfully prosecute him." After a brief moment of silence, Len spoke up.
"When does the trial start?" Singh looked at his watch and then back at Len.
"He should be at arraignment now. We'll go before the Grand Jury tomorrow and, once the indictment is handed down, we'll go to trial. I talked to your doctor, Snart. You'll be released today. You'll have a wheelchair for a while, which is good for us. Makes you look more sympathetic." Singh finished with a smirk at the criminal. Len rolled his eyes huffed in irritation. Singh continued after a moment. "Be prepared, though. I imagine your entire criminal history will be brought up during cross. Rory's too." Len grimaced.
"I can handle it." he said. Barry gave his hand a squeeze and smiled, expression full of empathy. Len gave a small smile back. He was sure he could handle anything for the man sitting beside him.
~x~x~x~
The indictment had quickly been passed down and the prosecution was set to begin presenting its case the following Monday. Barry, along with Len and Mick, had spent their Friday meeting with the ADA on the case. Miguel Santos was the type of man who was all business. He spent hours going over each man's testimony with them and grilling them the way a defense attorney might. It had been a grueling day. Now, it was Sunday and Barry and Len were sitting on the couch in Joe's house, where they were going to stay for the duration of the trial. Barry sighed and leaned further against Len's shoulder.
"Nervous?" Len asked. Barry looked up and nodded.
"Yeah." he said. "I can't stop thinking about what's going to happen if he's found not guilty. What will we do?" Len rubbed Barry's arm with the hand he had around his shoulders.
"We'll figure it out if it comes to that. What I do know, though, is that, no matter what happens, I'll always protect you." Barry looked at Len with pure adoration in his eyes. He leaned up and placed a chaste kiss on Len's lips.
"Thank you."
~x~x~x~
Monday morning came far too quickly. Barry was set to be the first witness testifying for the prosecution and he was pacing the lobby outside the courtroom. Joe and Len were trying to calm him down, to no avail. Barry stopped when Len grabbed his hand from the wheelchair he was sitting in. Barry ran a nervous hand through his hair and looked down.
"It's going to be fine." Len stressed. Barry took a shaky breath and exhaled.
"Yeah." he said, not convinced. Cisco, Caitlin, Iris, and Joe looked on from a few feet away. Lisa was there, too, but she was across the street getting coffees for everyone, with the help of Mick. Barry took a moment to look around at his friends and family. He had a great support system. No matter what happened during the course of this trial, he knew they would have his back. Barry turned his head as a court clerk came and opened the courtroom doors so everyone could begin to get seated. His group walked in and took seats right in the front, behind the prosecution's table. Len parked his chair at the end of the row and Barry sat beside him. As they waited for ADA Santos, the defense attorney, Tyler, and the judge, Lisa and Mick returned, passing out drinks to the group. Santos and the defense arrived a few minutes later and then everyone stood as the judge, a severe-looking man named Judge Kearney, entered the room and took his seat. The prosecution gave opening statements and, all too soon, called Barry to take the stand. Barry was sworn in and he sat on the witness stand. He fiddled with his fingers as he stared out at the courtroom and jury. He was wondering what was going through their heads.
"Will you state your full name for the court?" Santos said, startling him out of his thoughts.
"Um, Bartholomew Henry Allen." Barry answered. He couldn't believe he sounded so unsure. He had testified in hundreds of cases. This shouldn't be any different. Unfortunately, it was. It was so, so different.
"And, how do you know the defendant?" Barry looked at the jury for a moment before answering.
"He was my boyfriend in college."
"Are you currently dating?" Barry fidgeted some more.
"We were. Until a few days ago."
"What happened a few days ago?" Santos asked. Barry quickly glanced at Tyler and back at Santos.
"A friend convinced me to leave him. When I was trying, he shot that friend."
"Why did your friend need to convince you to leave him? What was wrong with the relationship?"
"Tyler was abusive. Ever since college, he would get angry and hit me. That progressed into beatings. He even attacked me with a knife one night." The defense attorney, a slimy-looking man named George Johnson, startled Barry when he stood and shouted.
"Objection, Your Honor! Mr. Allen recanted the the story of the knife attack to police. Either he's lying now, or he lied then." The judge looked to Santos, who addressed the objection.
"Mr. Allen will testify that recanting his story that night was a direct result of a threat from Mr. Moss after he was arrested." The judge looked over at Barry.
"Is that true, Mr. Allen?" he asked.
"Yes. He, ah, called me the night he got arrested and threatened my family. That's why I told the detectives I had lied." The judge looked back at Johnson.
"Your objection is overruled." Johnson scowled, but sat down. Santos stepped up to the witness stand.
"Mr. Allen, how exactly did Mr. Moss threaten you?" he asked.
"He bragged about killing his ex."
"You mean Jared Sims?" Barry nodded. Santos turned to address the jury. "Jared Sims was found murdered, in the trunk of the defendant's car in 2008. The car had been set on fire. The case is still open and an arrest was never made." he turned back to Barry. "Go on, Mr. Allen."
"He said he would kill my family, like he killed Jared, and lock me in his basement, where nobody could help me." Barry swallowed past the lump in his throat.
"And, you believed him?" Barry nodded shakily.
"Yeah. At that point, I knew what he was capable of."
"So, to keep your family safe, you stayed with Mr. Moss?"
"Yes."
"And, when did the defendant reappear in your life?" Barry looked down at his hands, thinking back.
"He came to Central about four months ago."
As the questioning went on and on, Barry studiously answered each question to the best of his ability. He teared up a time or two, but was mostly able to keep his emotions in check. It felt like his entire life was being laid bare for everyone in the courtroom to see. He was also made jumpy by the looks he was drawing from, not only Tyler, but his attorney as well. Finally, Santos' questions came to an end and Barry braced himself for the cross examination.
"No further questions, Your Honor." Santos straightened his suit jacket and returned to his seat. The defense attorney stepped out from around the defense table and approached the stand. Barry was wringing his hands together in his lap, nervous about being cross examined. He lifted his eyes slightly to catch Len's and the emotion, the warmth and affection, the other man let show in his gaze choked Barry up for a moment. Barry's attention was drawn back to Johnson when the man began speaking.
"Now, Mr. Allen, you've testified that you were terrified of my client. That he beat you and you were scared for your life." Barry nodded. "That begs the question then, if my client was such a horrible person, if you were truly so scared of him, why did you go back? Why did you go back to the man that allegedly hurt you?" Barry shifted anxiously in his seat before answering the question. His voice shook slightly as he spoke.
"I-I was scared." he said. Johnson had a skeptical look on his face.
"Ah. You were scared? So, you took back the man that caused that fear? Makes sense." Out the corner of his eye, Barry noticed Len with his hands around the arms of his wheelchair in a white-knuckled grip. He looked pissed. Suddenly, Santos stood and addressed the judge.
"Objection, your honor! Asked and answered. Is there another question in this?" Judge Kearney leveled a look at Johnson.
"Sustained. Move along Mr. Johnson." he instructed. Johnson nodded.
"Mr. Allen, can you tell me what made you so scared that you took the defendant back?"
"Like I said before, I was afraid for the lives of my family. Tyler had threatened them before and I felt that, if I didn't take him back and let him move in with me, he would hurt or kill them."
"Why didn't you go to the police at any time during the time you were with my client?" Barry looked down at his hands.
"I didn't think there was anything they could do. He always bragged about getting away with the murder of his ex-boyfriend. I didn't think they could stop him."
"But, you think there's something they can do now?" Johnson said in disbelief.
"Someone I know gave me the courage to finally stand up for myself." Barry said firmly. He sent a small smile to Len who returned it with one of his own. Johnson looked back at Len before turning to Barry, a little smirk on his face.
"Would that someone happen to be Leonard Snart?" he asked. Barry hesitated slightly before answering.
"Yes."
"Now, how do you, a CSI for the CCPD, know Mr. Snart, a known criminal?" Barry shifted uncomfortably again. He hated that he was going to have to lie on the stand.
"We've had some run ins with each other. We've...interacted before." Johnson moved toward the jury.
"Mmhm. Is it true that Mr. Snart's entire criminal record with, not only the CCPD, but the FBI and Interpol has recently mysteriously disappeared?" Barry hesitated again, looking desperately to Joe. His foster father looked worried.
"Yes." Johnson walked back to stop in front of Barry.
"Mr. Allen, did you delete Mr. Snart's records?"
"W-what? No!"
"Do you have access to the criminal records in the CCPD database, Mr. Allen?" Barry paled.
"W-well, yes." he answered.
"And, do you have access to the records stored in the FBI and Interpol databases?" Barry let out a small breath of relief. This question, he could answer truthfully.
"No." he said confidently. That stupid smirk was still on Johnson's face and it made Barry uneasy.
"Do you know somebody who can illegally hack into the FBI and Interpol databases?" Barry's eyes darted to Cisco faster than anyone could see. A moment later, Santos stood again.
"Objection! Mr. Allen and Mr. Snart aren't on trial here. Can we please focus on the defendant?" he said in exasperation.
"I'm not going to warn you again, Mr. Johnson." the judge said reproachfully. Johnson turned to the judge.
"Your honor, this goes to the credibility of the only witnesses the state has against my client. How can we trust the testimony of a convicted criminal and crooked CSI?" he asked haughtily.
"Your honor, there is no evidence that Mr. Allen has ever been anything but an upstanding member of the CCPD and, let me remind Mr. Johnson that Mr. Snart has no criminal record!" Santos said angrily. Johnson whirled around to face Santos.
"That's because someone deleted it and rid the CCPD of all the physical evidence they had against Snart!" he shouted, turning back to Judge Kearney. "Snart is a criminal who was recently on trial for killing his own father! He's not a very trustworthy witness."
"Judge, can you remind Mr. Johnson that Mr. Snart was acquitted of all charges regarding the death of Lewis Snart?" Santos asked. Johnson sneered.
"Murder, you mean." he said. Barry looked back and forth between ADA Santos and Johnson like he was watching a tennis match. His anxiety soon turned to raging anger the more he heard what came out of Johnson's mouth. He looked over at Tyler who was leering at him, a smirk on his face at his obvious discomfort. Coming to a decision, Barry spoke up over the voices of the arguing attorneys.
"Leonard Snart is a good man!" he said loudly. Silence settled over the courtroom and all eyes turned to Barry. "He's a much better man than the defendant! He-" Barry's impassioned speech was abruptly cut off when Johnson spoke over him.
"No further questions, Your Honor." Barry was about to continue, but Johnson held up a hand. "Mr. Allen, you can go now." he said, returning to his seat. Barry looked helplessly at Santos, who sighed.
"Redirect, Your Honor?" he asked. Judge Kearney nodded and Santos came around the table. "Mr. Allen, what were you about to say?" Barry swallowed and looked at the jury.
"I know he's a criminal, but Leonard Snart is a good man whose testimony can be trusted. He stayed with me. He stayed in the room with me when a crazy man was holding me at gunpoint. Even when the gun was turned on him and he was told to leave, by not only Tyler, but myself as well, he stayed. He could have easily left, turned his back and walked away, saving himself. But, he didn't. He stayed and tried to overpower Tyler to save me. So, yes, he's made some bad choices throughout the course of his life, but who hasn't? When it mattered most, he risked his own life to save mine and got shot for the effort. I trust him." By the time Barry was finished speaking, there were unshed tears in his eyes. He looked each member of the jury in the eye and silence rang out for a few moments.
"Nothing further." Santos said, moving back to his table and shifting through some papers. Barry stood and stepped down from the stand. He returned to his seat beside Len's wheelchair, and when he sat, Len grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers. Barry looked up with a warm smile, the look reflected on Len's own face. He squeezed Len's hand and took a deep breath, calming himself. He could do this. As long as Len was with him, he could do this.
x~x~x~x
Soooo, Santos is definitely based on Rafael Barba from Law & Order: SVU. I'm not ashamed. lol He's my favorite ADA on that show.