Chapter 25: "Small Victory"
This chapter is a shout to Antionette Wilson, an avid fan and reader of my stories from my home country. I know that this is your favourite story. Happy belated birthday! Enjoy!
Negan sat in his office brewing. What Shane said to him four nights earlier struck a chord with him. He straight out threatened Michonne. He will never admit to himself that Shane scares him. He has seen first-hand what he is capable of. The only option he has is to warn her but in order to do that, he has to get close to her.
She has been showing a strength that he has never seen before. She is slipping away from him and it doesn't help that now she has a boyfriend. He had dominated her for so long all these years that it's driving him crazy that he has so limited access to her now. The one leverage he had against her was their daughter and even that is almost out of his hands.
He knows that it was the only reason why Michonne tolerated him. Sydney looks at him differently now, not with the adoring admiration that she use to. She's no longer daddy's little girl. Instead, she sticks close to her mother, more than ever. He needed to talk to her. He dialled her number.~*~*~*~*~*
Michonne was still on a high from the success of dinner three nights ago. She was surprised by how easy Sydney got along with Rick and was completely thrown off guard when she asked when will he be coming again.
"Do you really want him too?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I like him. He's nice."
The joy in her heart hearing that from her daughter was overwhelming. Her biggest concern was Sydney's stamp of approval and Rick had it. That's one hurdle down and one more to go….Negan.
Although she doesn't need him to approve of whom she is dating, the bad blood between Rick and Negan will eventually reach a boiling point when Negan finds out. He will demand that she stop seeing Rick which she has no intention of doing. He will have to get use to it.
A client had just left her office ten minutes ago and she was about to review the file of her next client when her phone rang. She didn't glance at the screen.
"Hello?"
"Hey…it's me."
"What do you want Negan?"
"We need to talk."
"Is it about Sydney?"
"No."
"Then we don't have anything to talk about."
"I'll come by the house tonight to talk."
"It's not your turn to have Sydney so you have no business being there."
"How does 9pm sound?"
"I'm warning you Negan. If you come to my house I'll call the police."
"See you later."
"Negan!"
She heard a dial tone.~*~*~*~*~*
After Sydney finished her home work, Michonne made dinner of turkey sandwich on rye bread with grapefruit juice.
"I'm going upstairs to take a bath."
Sydney nodded and began eating. On her way upstairs, Michonne thought she heard a sound so she walked to the patio at the side of the house. There was no one there. She went to the front door and peered through the peephole. She didn't see anyone
"What's wrong mommy?"
"Did you just hear something?"
"Like what?"
She paused.
"Nothing."
She headed upstairs.~*~*~*~*~*
As she applied lotion to her skin, she was thinking about Rick and how he put in down on her. She can't wait to feel him inside of her again. Sydney is due to be at Negan's house in two days for the weekend so she will have Rick all to herself. She threw on her robe minus her underwear. She was feeling sexy tonight. Suddenly, she heard voices. Panicking, she ran out the bedroom and down the stairs, twisting her ankle at the bottom of the steps.
"Ahhhhh!"
Swallowing the pain and limping to her feet, she called out to her daughter.
"Sydney!"
"Yes mummy!"
She limped around the corner and saw her daughter sitting in the kitchen with her father.
"Hi."~*~*~*~*~*
She stared angrily at Negan.
"What are you doing in my house?"
Negan looked at her, smiling then turned to their daughter.
"Can you go upstairs? Mummy and I need to talk."
Sydney looked between her parents and when Michonne nodded slightly she bolted up the steps. With Sydney out of sight, Negan stood up and walked towards Michonne. What greeted him was not unexpected.
Whack.
She slapped him.
"Answer me! What are you doing here?! I told you not to come."
"Yeah...you did."
"And you still came anyway!"
"Yes."
"I'm calling the police."
As she limped away to the phone, he grabbed her arm and in one swift move, she turned around and slapped him hard again.
"Don't you dare touch me!"
"God dammit Michonne! This is important."
"I don't want to hear anything you have to say Negan. All you've ever done is lie, cheat and hurt me! I've had enough!"
"I'm sorry for everything I've done to you!"
"Keep your worthless apology! I don't need it anymore!"
She dialled.
"911! What's your emergency?"
"Your life is in danger!" Negan screamed out behind her. She froze temporarily staring at him.
"From who?"
"I can't tell you that but you have to trust me!"
"911! What's your emergency? Hello!"
"Trust you?" She scoffed. "Trust you! The only person who is a danger to me is you Negan!"
She spoke into the receiver.
"Yes! There is an intruder in my house."
"Do you recognize him?"
"Yes! He's my ex husband."
"Ma'am, please stay on the line. Officers are being dispatched to your home immediately."
"Thank you."
She covered the mouth of the phone.
"If you have any respect for your daughter, you better leave. Don't let her see them dragging you away in cuffs."
Negan grew angry and rushed forward, knocking the phone out of her hand. Grabbing her, he pushed her up against the wall. He pressed his body against hers, slowly squeezing the life out of her. She opened her mouth to scream but large hands covered it.
"You will regret this."
With that he was gone.~*~*~*~*~*
Michonne stood outside when the police arrived. They looked like teenagers as they walked up the path. They were ten minutes too late.
"What took you guys so long?! He's long gone!"
"Sorry ma'am. We were told that you know who the intruder in your house was."
"Yes. He's my ex husband…Negan Mc Avoy."
The officers looked at each other.
"Director Mc Avoy?"
"Yes."
They shifted on their feet.
"Is that a problem?"
"No ma'am."
"I want him arrested. He assaulted me."
One of the officers scribbled in his notepad and the other looked uncomfortable. He scribbled some more.
"Ok. We need you to come down to the police station."
"I can't…not right now. I'm at home alone with my daughter."
"Did she witness the assault?"
She eyed the officers.
"No she didn't but he did assaulted me!"
"Ok. We need you to come to the station to make an official complaint."
"I'll be there first thing in the morning."~*~*~*~*~*
After dropping Sydney off to school, She went straight to the police station and walked into Captain Ford's office. He was giving instructions to an officer. When he left, he gestured for her to sit down.
"Mrs …."
Michonne glared at him.
"I'm sorry. Force of habit. Ms Greaves."
"I want Negan arrested. He assaulted me last night and I want to have a restraining order taken out against him."
She spoke in one single breath.
"Officers visited Negan's home last night. He did confirm that he was at your home but denied that he assaulted you."
"He's lying!"
"Well it's his word against yours situation. If you are serious about pursuing a restraining order, fill out this form."
She took it from him.
"How soon can I get a hearing?"
"If you fill out the form now, I can call in a favour and have you in a magistrate's chamber by this evening."
Michonne looked at him relieved.
"Thank you."
"You don't have too. I know Negan is a corrupt bastard and he has caused a lot of problems for my officers and maybe involved in the death in one of them."
She squinted at him.
"I know about you and Rick and since Negan hasn't been here ranting and raving for me to fire Rick for some foolish reason, I suspect he doesn't know about you guys."
"No. He doesn't and I will like to keep it that was for now."
"That's between the three of you but I don't want another one of my best officers getting killed because of this prick."
She filled out the form and hand it back to him.
"I'll call you."~*~*~*~*~*
After making a few calls, Captain Ford set up a hearing with Magistrate Collins. Before he called Michonne he called Rick.
"I know I'm going to regret telling you this but it seems that our mutual hated friend has pushed Michonne too far."
"What?!"
"He went to her house and assaulted her."
"WHAT?!"
"She's fine but she is taking out a restraining order against him."
"Do you know when she has a hearing?"
"I called in a few favours and got Magistrate Collins for late this evening."
"Magistrate Collins? That's good. I have a good rapport with him. He can swing things our way."
"Once it is within the confines of the law."
"I'm not Negan but I'm not above a little blackmail if I have too."
"I know you want to support Michonne but please don't show up in court and do something stupid. It will only aggravate the situation in the long run."
"Thanks for the heads up Cap."
Captain Ford hung up the phone.
"F*ck! I am going to regret this."
He dialled Michonne's number.~*~*~*~*~*
The clerk brought the letter into the office and handed it to Negan. He opened it and read the first line written in bold.
Summons for the Magistrate's Court
In the Application of a Restraining Order
Michonne Greaves - Petitioner
Vs
Negan Mc Avoy - Respondent
"What the f*ck is this shit?!"
He continued reading the application which Michonne filed. Then he read the bottom of the page to see which court in which he had to appear in
6th Magistrate's Court
The Honourable Magistrate Collins presiding.
He has heard that name before but they have never had any dealings as they have never met but they are about too. He tore the summons in half and threw it in the bin. He's going to need a new suit.~*~*~*~*~*
Michonne arrived early to the court room. She was tempted to tell Rick what happened but decided to wait until after the proceeding. They didn't need attorneys because it was a minor civil matter. The door opened behind her. It was Negan. He was looking crisp and sharp. The air of arrogance was ripe around him. He sat down.
"Michonne."
She didn't respond or acknowledge him. Seconds later Magistrate Collins walked in.
"Please rise. The Honourable Magistrate Collins arrived."
When Collins sat down, they all took a seat.
"This is a late hearing so I'll just be asking a couple of questions to get straight to the point. This Application was filed by Ms Greaves against her ex husband Mr Mc Avoy and she is asking for a restraining order to be put in place. Ms Greaves I will hear briefly from you."
She stood up.
"You can sit down Ms Greaves."
"Thank you Your Honour. Mr Mc Avoy and I are divorced and we are co-parenting our daughter Sydney. He has taken certain liberties in the past that I'm not willing to put up with anymore. I asked Mr Mc Avoy to not come to my house unless it was his turn to have Sydney or if it was an emergency concerning her but he's not respecting that. He called me telling me that he is coming over. I asked him if it was about our daughter and he said it was about me. I told him not to come but he still showed up at my house. I told him to leave and he refused so I called the police. That's when he slammed me against wall."
Negan was glaring at Michonne as she spoke but she didn't care. He looked to the magistrate.
"Can I tell my side of the story?"
"The short and sweet version."
"I went over to her house to talk and…"
"About your daughter?" the magistrate interrupted.
"No but…"
"Did she tell you to only to come to her house if it concerns your daughter?"
"Yes but…"
"So you went there against her expressed wishes?"
Negan clenched his jaw. This was not going according to plan.
"I went there to tell her that she was in danger."
"Is that true Ms Greaves?'
"Yes."
He turned back to Negan.
"Why didn't you just tell her that she was in danger when you called her earlier?"
"It was not a conversation to be had over the phone."
Collins eyed Negan.
"Who was she in danger from? What was the threat?"
"I can't reveal that information in this court. It is of a sensitive nature."
"Is it a matter of national security?"
"No" He grumbled.
"So you could have told her over the phone if you wanted to."
Negan clenched his fist at his side and looked angrily at Michonne.
"Don't look at her. She's not one you have to answer to."
Negan dragged his eyes back to the magistrate.
"Did you assault her?"
"She was trying to call the police. She wasn't listening to me! I barely touched her!"
"So you did put your hands on her?"
"Your Honour, you're not giving me a fair hearing! You're not hearing me out!"
The guard in the room stepped forward and cautioned Negan on his tone.
"Ok Mr Mc Avoy. I just want to understand a few things and then you will get to speak freely. Is that acceptable?'
"Yes!"
Michonne looked over at Negan. His confidence and arrogance level was beginning to rise again.
"Your ex wife expressly stated that you are not to come to her house unless it has to do with the child that you both share. Despite that express desire, you still went to her house to warn her of a threat to her, one that was not of national security concerns and could have been done over the phone but seems to also have no merit and when she called the police you claimed that you didn't assault her but barely touched her. Is that correct Mr Mc Avoy?"
The room was quiet. Michonne was speechless and when she looked over at Negan, he too was bugged eyed and dumbfounded. It made her smile.
"Women all over the world are in danger from men like you Mr Mc Avoy. I see in my courtroom every day. Men like you don't know how to let go, how to respect boundaries. You think that you own every woman that you've been with and you are unwilling to move on. Ms Greaves should not have to put up with this assault on her person and on her mental and emotional well being. It has to stop."
He turned to Michonne.
"Ms Greaves, I am granting you a first instance six months restraining order which is the maximum I can give you as this is your first application. Mr Mc Avoy is only to contact you or visit your home if it concerns your daughter. However, I am inserting a provision in the order, that should this situation escalate all you need to do is to make a report to the police and it will automatically be upgraded to a three year restraining order against Mr Mc Avoy."
Michonne rose to her feet.
"Thank you your Honour! Thank you!"
He nodded to her before turning to Negan.
"This order is with immediate effect. A copy will be prepared and send to you via registered mail. This proceeding is over."
Michonne left the court in tears of joy.