A/N I'm sorry if I got things about the court wrong. I don't know much about law.
"Order, order!" The judge yelled at the humming audience. Everyone was going to watch the trial of Peter Browning. Cobb stood in his best suit with Arthur by his side. Yusuf and Eames was waiting for the witness stand. Ariadne stood behind the two men. Saito stood in the audience. Cobb's mind flashed unconsciously to Mal.
"This will be our way home?" Mal asked.
"Yes. We can go home."
Mal smiled. "Good." She said happily.
"But you have to stay here." Cobb told her. "If you go out, we can never see James and Phillipa again."
"Okay." Mal said, caught up in dreams about reuniting with her children.
Cobb handed her some water. "Here, drink this." He told her. She drank the whole thing, paused, then fainted. Cobb gently moved her to the bed, lashing her down with some rope. He checked and made sure that she couldn't escape. "I'm sorry." He murmured, kissing her forehead. "I can't trust you anymore."
Cobb came back to reality as the judge stated the facts of the case. "Peter Browning," The judge said authoritatively. "You have been charged with illegal whiskey manufacturing and tax evasion by the People." Cobb blinked. Tax evasion? Arthur threw him a sidelong glance and Cobb had to suppress a smile. Just in case was the sheriff's motto. "What do you say to these charges?" The judge asked.
"I say they are false!" Browning yelled back. The crowd gasped. "I say these men here are trying to frame me." He said wildly, pointing at Cobb and Arthur.
"Honorable men." The judge said, sounding bored. "Do you have an answer to this?"
"Yes sir, we do!" Cobb said loudly. "I say that we have no reason to frame him, and that Mr. Browning is trying to cover his illegal scheme." The crowd's humming grew to a roar. "Furthermore," Cobb continued over the crowd's roar. "I have evidence of Peter Browning's wrongdoing." Cobb stood with a flourish and started pacing back and forth. "I call Mr. Eames to the stand."
The crowd quieted as soon as Eames took the stand. "I, William Eames, swear to tell the truth." He said.
"Mr. Eames, can you tell me what happened on the day you got poisoned by illegal whiskey?" Cobb asked him.
"Well sir." Eames said angrily. "This man" Here he pointed to Browning. "He sells me a cup of whiskey. I drink it, then I start feeling all cold. Can't see anymore. The gut hurts. Then the sheriff and this young lady" He gestured to Ariadne. "they help me up. The sheriff says that this is whiskey poisoning and he and the young lady take me to the Witch Doctor, who gives me something and I fell better."
"Any questions from the defense?" The judge asked Browning. Browning shook his head.
"Next witness." The judge yelled.
Ariadne stepped up. "I, Ariadne Black, swear to tell the truth."
"Miss Ariadne," Cobb said. "Can you verify what Mr. Eames has said?"
"Yes." Ariadne said. "I can also say that Mr. Eames threw up everywhere and I have also felt sick after I drink whiskey from the bar there." The crowd started calling for Peter Browning to be hanged.
"I call Dr. Patil to the stand!" Cobb yelled over the crowd's chanting.
"I, Yusuf Patil, swear to tell the truth." Yusuf recited.
"Dr. Patil, can you tell us what has happened to Mr. Eames?"
"Yes, Mayor Cobb, I can. It seemes Mr. Eames has been poisoned with whiskey. The symptoms are all there." Yusuf informed the crowd.
"Any questions?" The judge asked the defense. Browning shook his head again. By this time, the crowd had become a mob. "We will resume trial tomorrow!" The judge announced.