"All rise," the bailiff directed the courtroom the very next morning.
All attendees followed orders standing on their feet, only to have the judge waved the group to take their seats. The man looked extremely irritated to even being in the room with everyone. After bringing the court to order, he addressed the room, informing them to keep their behavior under control. He spoke to each attorney, letting them know to remain on point when questioning the witness.
"Prosecution, you may call your first witness of the day," the judge stated, peering down at the papers in front of him.
"Prosecution calls Detective Lucky Spencer," DA Scorpio said.
The room watched as the young man marched to the witness stand and vowed to speak nothing but the truth. All observed as both lawyers questioned the detective. Nothing appeared to work out well for the defense.
"The bullet Dr. Patrick Drake removed from Ms. Ally Lynn's body matched the caliber fired from Mr. Torres' weapon. The same weapon we discovered next to him before taken to the hospital that night," the detective described with confidence.
"Did you run ballistics on the weapon to ensure Mr. Torres was the shooter?" the DA investigated.
"As you can see in the ballistic report, we found gun powder residue on the man's jacket sleeve," he pointed out.
Both lawyers proceeded to question the detective for what seemed like forever, repeating the process with Dr. Patrick Drake. Ally placed her head on Jason's shoulder, hearing to every detail of that horrifying night. She closed her eyes, attempting to will away the memories. Every word, the young doctor uttered caused Ally to have a flashback. She clutched tightly to Jason's hand, feeling him squeeze back.
"You okay," he whispered into her temple.
She opened her eyes gradually, nodding. As much as she hated being her, she understood the sooner Luis was behind bars, the easier it would be to get over her anxiety.
"Do you want to step outside?" he asked as she peered up at him.
"No, I promise, I'm fine," she insisted with a smile.
The moment Dr. Drake stepped down, DA Scorpio announced that the Prosecution rested.
"Mr. Granger, you may call your first witness," the judge declared.
The man stood, smiling, "The Defense calls Mr. Luis Torres to the stand."
Luis grinned, standing and shuffling towards the stand. Eyes glared at him the entire time while being sworn in. Ally glanced up at Jason, watching his jaw clench. The man beside her patience had worn thin with the person that sat on the witness stand. Allowing the law to handle things was not in Jason's nature. Luis should be dead; Luis should not be smirking right at the enforcer.
"Don't let him get to you," Ally instructed in his ear.
Jason quickly turned, gazing down at her. The feeling of her breath so close to his skin immediately made him forget about the asshole. She smiled slightly, reminding him, she was here for him like he was for her.
"Mr. Torres, can you state your full name for the court, please," Mr. Granger requested, walking towards his witness.
"Luis Torres," he answered rather calmly.
"Before you arrest, what was your occupation?" the lawyer asked.
"I worked for Sonny Corinthos and Jason Morgan," he answered.
"Doing what specifically?"
"Security mostly," he responded, eyes remaining on his lawyer.
"Did the job require anything else?"
"Objection, your honor. How is any of this relevant to the case?" DA Scorpio protested, arising from his seat.
"It attests to Mr. Torres's work environment," the lawyer responded.
The judge rolled his eyes, "Overruled. Answer the question."
Luis' eyes drifted to Jason. The enforcer just smiled, because no matter what the man said, there was no proof to back him.
"I had to make deliveries once in a while for Mr. Corinthos or his wife. Even did inventories with Mr. Morgan at the warehouse from time to time," he answered, eyes drifting back to his lawyer.
"Did either man instruct you to before an illegal act?" the lawyer asked.
"Objection! He is leading the witness, Your Honor. The Defendant answered the question about what his job was with Mr. Corinthos. Let's move on," the DA insisted.
"Sustained, he is right...Mr. Granger, move it along," the judge demanded, leaning his head against his hand.
"Did you do everything Mr. Morgan asked of you?"
"I did, for the most part."
"But you stated that before the night in question, Mr. Morgan had cut your and your brother's pay," the lawyer pointed out. "Why did he do that?"
Luis looked down at his hands, "My brother and I were working the night that Johnny Zacchara entered the building and almost raped Ms. Lynn."
Ally shuttered, at the sound of her name resonating out of Luis' mouth. She felt like she could become sick if she heard him speak it again. She placed her head in her hands, trying to will nausea away. Jason's hand on her back allowed her to relax slightly.
"So Mr. Morgan believed that it was your fault that Mr. Zacchara entered his building?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Um, the service entrance of Harborview Towers is consistently left unlocked due to employees and us, guards, coming and going so frequently," he answered, glancing at Jason, then back at his lawyer.
"How long has that been the case?"
"Since I started working there," he stated.
"So, if the door is always open, why was the blame put on you and your brother?"
"The security footage showed Mateo and I exiting the building right before Mr. Zacchara entered," he explained.
"So, the only reason the two of you were held responsible was that you were leaving the building?"
"Correct."
The lawyer turned to look at Jason Morgan. "So, Mr. Morgan cuts your pay. You lose his trust because you stated that he gave your job to someone else."
"Yes, sir."
"So, tell me, if he gave your job to someone, how is it your fault that Mr. Anthony Zacchara was able to gain access to his building?"
"I don't know, sir," he smiled.
"Did you have prior knowledge that he was going to be there?"
"No, sir,"
"He is lying," Ally spit out, jumping to her feet.
Jason pulled Ally back into her seat, "Stop!"
The courtroom erupted in chatter as all eyes turned to the young woman in tears.
"Order," the judge insisted, banging his gavel. "Young lady, I will not allow those kinds of outbursts in my courtroom. If you can't handle your emotions, then I'm going to suggest that you leave."
"I'm sorry, Your Honor," she expressed through her tears.
The judge nodded, turning towards Mr. Granger. "You may continue."
"Where were you the night in question?"
"Mateo and I were assigned to guard the second floor."
"And where does Mr. Morgan live?"
"Penthouse Suite on the top floor," he answered. "Over thirty floors away from where I was working."
Ally clung to Jason as she continued to listen to Luis's testimony on how none of this was his fault. She prayed the DA would destroy every bit of his testimony. The man couldn't get away with what he did to her or the people she cared about.
"Mr. Torres," Robert Scorpio spoke, snapping Ally back to the proceedings.
"Yes, sir."
"You testfied that all this was a misunderstanding. That you never meant to shoot Ms. Lynn. That you weren't chasing her in the icy streets of Port Charles, you were concerned for her. And the reason you pulled a gun on Mr. Morgan because you thought he was going to blame what happened at the Towers on you," the DA recalled, waltzing towards the man.
"Yes, sir," he answered politely.
Robert chuckled, "Why did a bullet from your gun end up in Ms. Lynn's body. The only bullet that was missing from your gun came from that woman's body right there."
Ally swallowed hard when all eyes fell on her. She nibbled at her bottom lip, doing her best not to let on how uncomfortable she was.
"I didn't shoot her!" he swore.
"Who did?"
"Jason Morgan!"
"Why would Jason Morgan shoot Ms. Lynn?"
"To frame me," he insisted.
"So Mr. Morgan shoots you then shoots Ms. Ally?"
Luis stuttered, "I don't remember."
"Mr. Torres, you don't remember because it didn't happen," he replied. "You see, we got some footages from the building across the street, and it clearly shows Ms. Lynn being shot right outside the Towers," DA Scorpio informed with a smile.
"Doesn't prove that I shot her," he stated smugly.
"No, but it proves that Mr. Morgan didn't shot her," he smirked.
Anger pulsed through the man's body, and it increased when he saw a small smile on Jason's face. He scowled at the enforcer, whose arm laid protectively around Ally.
"How can you defend a man like that? He is a killing machine. He kills people for fun," Luis began to shout at the DA. "I try to take out him and his girlfriend to make the world a better place, and I get charged for attempted murder. We all know that Jason Morgan is the real murderer here," he yelled while the judge scolded the man for his outburst.
"Order, young man. I will not have this kind of behavior in my courtroom. Mr. Granger, you need to control your client," the judge scolded, pounding his gavel.
The chatter slowly started to settle when the judge turned back to Robert. "Any more questions for the defendant?"
"Oh, no, sir. He answered all my questions," he said with a smile.
"Okay, I'm done with this. Since there are no more witnesses on the list, I'm going to skip closing argument and let the jury deliberate," the judge ruled. "We will all meet back here when the jury has come to a decision. Keep the prisoner close," he instructed the officers close by, before dismissing the court.
"Well, that went very well," Diane smirked. "Could have done without your little tantrum."
"I'm sorry," Ally mumbled, looking at her feet. "I just couldn't let him speak all those lies."
"The jury knew he was lying. All the evidence supported your testimony. His lawyer has nothing," Diane
informed her.
"What do you think his sentence is going to be?" Jason asked, loosening his tie.
"He could be facing up to 20 years, but I'm sure," Diane said, looking over her shoulder at Luis.
The man gazed down at his hands while his lawyer reprimanded him for his outburst. He peered up for only a second, finding Ally staring at him.
"What are you looking at, whore?" he breathed out, finding courage in the fact that he had nothing else to lose. "You really think your little boyfriend is going to be able to save you from everything?"
"Shut up," his lawyer instructed, pushing him back down in his seat.
"You will get what is coming to you I promise you that," he said, ignoring his lawyer, jumping back to his feet.
"Are you really threatening her right now?" Jason asked, stepping in front of the young woman. "Seems as though..."
"Jason!" Sonny called out. The enforcer turned to his friend, who just shook his head. "He isn't worth it."
"He is right, Jason," Ally agreed, pulling on his arm. "He is just trying to get you to do something stupid. You're smarter than that," she expressed, placing herself in front of him. Jason glanced down at her as she grabbed his face in her hands. "He wants to hurt us, don't let him."
Jason nodded, wrapping his arms around her body. His emotions were high, higher than they had been in a while. To know that what he felt for Ally had caused him almost to lose control, scared him. He hadn't been able to perfect that aspect of his life. Honestly, he didn't think he ever could.
The awkward silence hung over the group for a few more minutes before the bailiff returned, saying the jury reached a verdict. It surprised everyone that it had come back so fast. The judge didn't seem surprised, walking back into the room.
"I call this court to order," he said, pounding his gavel. He turned his body towards the jury. "Has the jury reached a verdict?"
A dark-haired, skinny, overly tanned man stood up and faced the judge. "We have, Your Honor."
"Will the defendant, please, rise," the judge instructed. Luis slowly stood, eyes staring at the man on the jury. "What is the verdict?"
"We the people find the defendant, Luis Torres, Guilty in the Attempted Murder of Ally Lynn. We the people find the defendant, Luis Torres, Guilty in the aiding of the abduction of Ally Lynn," the man spoke.
Every word the man spoke caused Ally's smile to grow. Her smile grew bigger when she watched the guards escort her nightmare away. Happiness could be the only words to describe what she felt.
"You're smiling," Jason said while walking out of the courthouse.
"I'm happy," she uttered, peering up at him. "It's over. Completely over."
"Yeah," he whispered into the top of her head. He gazed over his shoulder to Max. The two exchanged looks before Jason turned his attention back to Ally. "Why don't we go out and have some fun tonight to celebrate."
Ally pulled away slightly, examining Jason's face. "Who are you?"
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Now don't get me wrong, you are fun when it's just you and me," she laughed. "But you just suggested, we go out. That isn't you, Jason Morgan," she said, climbing into their waiting car.
Jason shook his head, "Just go out with me."
Ally laughed, "Fine...as long as we go dancing."
Jason groaned at her request, running his hand over his face a couple of times. He glanced at her sideways, enjoying the smile she gave him.
"Okay, but no drinking so much that you fall asleep," he responded, causing her to scoff.
"You are rude," she expressed.
"But you love me," he replied, leaning over, capturing her lips with his.
"Mmmhmm," she agreed, lacing her fingers into his hair as she returned his kiss.
Author's Note: Horrible Writer's Block. I wanted to do more with the Trial but I was stuck. I do have a lot to share after I get past the Luis stuff. I think you will love it. Sorry for the delay in posting. Might be another delay, but I hope that you all enjoy the update. Much LOVE!