Hello there you lovely readers~ Who is ready for the trial =v=/ Hopefully this chapter won't be too boring. Just to make sure it's not all very half-assed Legalese was a barely coherent understanding of the American legal system, I have included cuteness in the chapter as well ^v^/
Song suggestion: Lion by Hearts & Colors
Disclaimer: I own nothing, CapCom please don't sue I am soft and poor and barely understand legal stuff as proven by the content below. ovq
One Week.
They had been cooped up in a heaven-forsaken cell for a full week and then some. Charlotte frowned as she was escorted by a group of armed individuals alongside her Lawyer into the courthouse that was assigned the case. It was somewhat nerve-wracking to be separated like this but he had to be somewhere...
"Remember, don't say anything more than you have to. don't answer questions unless you can give exact details," the lawyer coaches as they enter the courtroom.
"I understand, and Karl? where is he? have you talked to him?" Charlotte asks evenly though her concern is evident by the string of questions with little time given for an answer to be provided.
"He was transferred by a different escort team. I'll be talking to him once we get to our seats.
"very well," Charlotte replies with a slight frown. that was not what she wanted to hear but at this point the game was afoot. She doubted they'd get a full dismissal of the case at this point. The goal was a game of cat and mouse. a stalemate by providing as little evidence as possible that would work against her and pray for a trial by jury.
As Charlotte looked around the room she noticed a particularly Irking face waits alongside a few others. That Redfield guy was here too. Great.
While she wanted to complain she remained quiet as the Attorneys did their jobs and the preliminary evidence was provided to the judge to confirm that a crime had in fact been committed and there was reason to believe that they found who did it.
"You're honor, on the night of April 6th, two individuals were caught trespassing. The area in question was off-limits and under the BSAA's protection due to hazardous materials." The BSAA lawyer starts. "We have evidence of the trespassing. One photo of an unidentified individual walking in and one with the same unidentified individual leaving the area with a secondary person of interest known as Karl Heisenberg. A known Bioweapon who had proven hostile and dangerous in the past during the Romanian outbreak incident know on record as The Village," the lawyer explains before continuing. "We believe the unidentified individual is one miss Charlotte Wiltse from the state of New York. We were able to confirm that she does own the same make and model of vehicle that was used to leave the area with Mister Heisenberg. Furthermore, we confirmed that Mr. Heisenberg has been living with her for some time after the incident." They say while flipping through slides that show the visual evidence as it is mentioned. "We further believe there is a reasonable motive for her to be the culprit due to the fact that the defendant was involved in The Village incident and resisted assistance from the BSAA. She would be aware of the mold that was present at the Louisianna location, she'd be aware of Mister Heisenberg's existence. As such we are moving forward with accusations of Trespassing for the sake of unauthorized access of otherwise Illegal hazardous materials and public endangerment along with human trafficking."
The judge nods, "Would the plaintiff like to include anything else before the defense speaks and we move on to gathering testimonies?"
"That's all your honor," The judge nods, and the BSAA Attorney moves to take their seat again.
"Your Honor my Client has insisted that they are not guilty of the charges. Furthermore after seeing the evidence provided so far these accusations are based on conjecture and are circumstantial." The defense attorney says. "Should the testimonies fail to provide any form of substantial evidence I would urge for the case to be dismissed."
"There is enough to reasonably believe that a crime was committed and probable cause that the defendant could be involved. We'll continue with the testimonies." The judge replies before looking to the BSAA Attorney, "Who are you calling as your first witness?"
"While the evidence may be considered circumstantial if it was one or two pieces with no motive. We have more than enough reason to believe that the defense is in fact the culprit once you consider that she not only has a reasonable motive but she matches the Height of the culprit and has the same model of car," the attorney reminds. "As such, we'd like to ask Mr. Heisenberg to testify first since he was undeniably on the scene of the crime."
Charlotte feels a breath of relief as she sees that he's safe and seemingly in good spirits considering the smirk on his face. She couldn't help but wonder how badly he tormented the guards of his Cell. naturally, he was put in his own special plastic box to keep him out of trouble. she doubted that worked.
"State your name for the record," the judge requests.
"Karl Heisenberg," He says with a rather thick Romanian accent. For now, he'd be a good little mutant and be compliant. It was part of the plan even if this was a risky bet.
"What were you doing on the night of the incident?" The BSAA attorney asks.
"Can't say, I don't remember," He replies with a shrug.
"Can you clarify what you mean by that?" the Attorney requests.
"Not much more to explain. I don't know what happened after the Village incident," Karl admits as he relaxes in the chair. "The last thing I remember is dying in Romania. Then out of nowhere, I woke up on the side of a large road. Took a while but I found out that somehow I was actually in America."
"Do you remember where you woke up?" the attorney asks.
"I spent the more of my life undocumented in a village in Europe with no contact to the outside world. You think I know anything about American Geography?" Heisenberg points out. "Couldn't tell ya where I was but I knew where I needed to be and started hitchhiking to New York," The metal lord explained. "See you did get one thing right, Charlotte and I do know each other because of the Village. She showed up two years before the place got blown to pieces by the bolder punching asshole over there," Karl admits while making a vague gesture to the area where Chris was sitting. "We had plenty of time to 'bond over shared trama' or whatever you want to call it. Hell, she's the reason I even know English. During that time she mentioned she was from New York. Since I was alive I hoped maybe she was too and went to try and find her. She caught wind that I was looking for her and picked me up." Heisenberg explains while relaxing in his chair "So ask me as many times in as many ways as you want. but I can't say that the person in that photo is me. because I woke up on the side of a road, not in a swamp."
The attorney frowns but nods, "No further questions for the time being," He says before continuing. "We'd like to call Charlotte Wiltse to the stand."
Oh thank god he paid enough attention to remember the plan. Charlotte took a deep breath and allowed herself to wash away. she needed to focus. She does as she is told and trades places with Heisenberg. she's sworn in and the same process continues. she states her name before the attorney speaks again.
"Where were you the night of April 6th," the attorney asks.
"I was at home resting," Charlotte replies blandly.
"And for the sake of the record can you clarify where that is?" the attorney requests.
"I was at my home in new york," She replies before providing the exact address.
"And can you confirm that?" The attorney requests.
"If you'd like I can provide my bank statements?" Charlotte suggests as she shifts to sit more comfortably. "As I said, I was resting. After two years of being in that village, I wanted some time to myself. I wasn't exactly interested in posting selfies or spending time with others."
"Can you confirm the statements made by Mister Heisenberg?" The attorney asks.
"I can to an extent. I found out he was looking for me and went to go get him," Charlotte confirms before speaking further. "I'm afraid I can't confirm if he died in Romania or not. I was held against my will by the BSAA at that time. Once I was left alone I ran for it and spent the next month with a friend before getting my papers back in order and heading back to America alone."
The attorney nods though they seem a bit frustrated. Charlotte internally smiled at this. Good. "who was this friend of yours and can confirm the story." The attorney asks.
"That would be me," says a voice from the back of the courtroom. While initially surprised by this Charlotte smiles.
Your running around will catch up with you eventually Miss Wiltse. All debts eventually become due. When that time comes, you're going to need an ally to have your back.
"Can you confirm this is the person you were talking about?" the attorney asks.
"That is them," Charlotte confirms. Now to see if he'd actually keep his promise or if he'd end up throwing her under the bus. It was risky putting this much trust in someone that had pretty actively screwed her over in the past but, a deal was a deal.
"Sir would you mind taking the stand to testify?" the Attorney requests.
"Oh, I'd be happy to help," the large man replies, "though I'm afraid moving is quite difficult for me. I'd need to speak from here,"
The attorney looks to the judge who does end up nodding "I'll allow it."
Duke is sworn in and once more the usual request is made.
"State your name for the records," the attorney requests.
"I prefer to go by the name Duke on the record. I'm a businessman of many regards and a bit of an artist if I may say so myself," Duke says with a laugh. "I do recall the Village Incident as your calling it quite well. I was packing up to leave the area when I found Miss Wiltse in the woods with her arms tied up with zip ties. It seemed like a crime to leave her like that so I cut her free and gave her a ride to safety. After that, I continued to allow her to stay with me. I housed her for a month and gave her a few odds and end jobs to help her recover enough to leave the country and go home. That can be confirmed by the Receipt I gave her for an art piece as a parting gift. The assemblage of life. I figured the receipt would help her get through customs. and if it was broken she'd be able to make a claim." Duke readily explained.
a quiet pitying tsk could be heard from him before he spoke again. "I'll admit I was rather surprised to hear that she ran into such trouble. As I recall, Charlotte spent the more of her time there working to improve the quality of living for the villagers. After having enough reason to believe she was a safe person to trust, I worked with Charlotte regarding how to get her into contact with someone that might be able to help."
"So you can confirm that Miss Wiltse is in fact the person that sent in the tip and therefore would have reason to know of the existence of the BSAA and to that extent could know about other areas under BSAA jurisdiction?" the attorney asks hoping he may have found something useful in all of this.
God damn it Duke, seriously? Charlotte thought while forcing a neutral expression.
"Well I wouldn't know about that, I was the one that suggested the BSAA. That I'm aware, Charlotte didn't know about their existence until then. So it's unlikely she knows about any sort of secret area in America that was off-limits unless someone else told her about it. Even then she would have only had what, two weeks to plan the break-in of a guarded base she'd never seen before? If the plaintiff believes that's possible that it speaks poorly of their defensive capabilities."
"Well," the attorney says with a forced smile "Luckily we have reason to believe she could have known about this well before. Thank you for your time." The attorney adds before looking to the judge. "We'd like to now call a Mister Christopher Redfield to the stand."
Oh fuck that guy, Charlotte thought as she watched Chris get up and make his way over. He really was proving to be a thorn in her side but if she could get out of this trial with a 'Not Guilty' verdict, he was going to be useful.
She watches as the agent goes through the usual process. "State your name for the record," The Judge requests.
"Christopher Redfield," He replies.
"And your statement on the matter?" The judge adds.
"On January 18th, My team first came in contact with Charlotte." Chris explains, "During this time it's possible that she could have overheard my team mention it since she did help from time to time. The Mold in the village was related to the Louisianna case so it was mentioned quite a few times." He adds before continuing to speak. "While initially, she had been an asset. That quickly changed when I rejected the idea of working with her and Heisenberg to fight Miranda using a large army of lesser Bioweapons. It's my job to remove threats of that kind not work with them." Chris points out. "she could have known about the Louisianna location months in advance of the break-in and she spent 2 years in an extremely hostile situation which is more than enough to suggest she could craft a way to get into the base if she was determined enough." The agent insists before moving on to prove his point. "While she is insisting she can't confirm that Heisenberg died, I can. I received a call that he was killed. The two of them have mutually confirmed that they grew attached during their time in the village. If she is lying and she did know about the mold. this 'relation' would be room for motive. The whole village incident revolved around Miranda trying to bring back a child from the dead. Charlotte spent two years with this woman and working with her. if she knew how to bring him back, that relation is more than enough motive to find a new source of mold."
Charlotte fought back the urge to groan in annoyance. Good lord this guy could go eat a whole di-
"There you have it, Full circle. Motive, cause, source of knowledge. and two rather blatant visual indicators that support that she is in fact the unidentified individual in the photos." the BSAA Attorney says before the defense attorney speaks up.
"The defense would like to call the Client back to the stand for her statement on this matter. A lot of this is conjecture on If she might know something. We should have her say on the matter of her own knowledge." the defense points out.
"Very well. Miss Wiltse, can you please return to the stand once more." the judge requests, Charlotte spares a passing glare at the agent and the two trade places.
"The witness is accusing that you overheard the location of this second mold site from their team. Is this statement accurate," the defense attorney asks.
Technically yes but I'm not telling you that. "I don't recall hearing anything of the sort. I'm more than willing to comply with the court process though, and I can provide my phone and computer browsing history to confirm I would have no other way of knowing about this." Charlotte says calmly. Providing evidence requires counter-evidence to disprove it. This could only work to her credit.
"The witness has further stated that you worked with them but turned on them after some time?" The defense attorney asks to continue the record.
Ugh, this part. great. remind her to chew out this lawyer later he should have interrupted and marked it as irrelevant. If the boulder puncher was going to throw in irrelevant details then so was she. "His slander is biased at best. I can confirm we first met on the 18th of January. Shortly after he and his team left the area without assisting the hostages I mentioned in my tip. He did not return until the 9th of February when the hostages were all dead with the exception of myself and Heisenberg. So the window he's suggesting I may have heard him and his team is much smaller than he'd have you believe." Charlotte clarifies while somehow managing to keep an even and neutral tone. "Even after I had to watch the entire village worth of people that I was trying to protect die needlessly, I continued to help him to the point of risking my own life to drag him out of a lake. in the middle of winter." She says with a sneer while rather clearly feeling ire towards Chris's behavior. Seriously you save a guy's ass what. Two, three times and this is the thanks you get for it.
"And did you turn on him as he suggested?" the defense asks out of obligation to the record, knowing if he didn't the prosecutor would.
"I told him a piece of equipment was a metal-polymer though he seems to blame me for his own lack of understanding that a metal-polymer, by definition has metal in it," Charlotte says pointedly while glaring at the agent. It was in the god damn name she can not be blamed for him being that stupid.
"You said it was reinforced plastic," Chris counters.
"I said it was a metal-polymer first and you asked if it was metal even though I already said it was a polymer. So said it was reinforced plastic to explain it. A polymer of plastic and metal, is reinforced plastic. It still has metal in it." Honestly, this one detail was so beyond irking for her that she was more annoyed by that than the whole court case. If this was all the evidence they had against her the case would be a wash easily.
"Order in the court" The judge demands and repeatedly hits his gavel against its block. he looks to the recorder next "strike that last outburst between the two."
"You're honor, that this tangent regarding the village incident is not consequential to the case aside from confirming that Miss Wiltse does know Mr. Heisenberg. It confirms his story that the two had significant time to bond during the traumatic experience." The defense attorney states.
Oh thank the lord, you decided to finally wake up and do your job. Charlotte thought annoyed. So help her if she ended up getting a guilty verdict because of this guy.
"The Hearing is regarding a break-in at Louisianna and is not regarding her connection to the village or what else happened there. This does not give any further credence to the idea she was in Louisiana. She was home and has offered a significant amount of data to prove her claims. I would move to have the hearing closed unless the prosecution has any further evidence to provide."
"Does the prosecution have any further evidence they wish to submit?" The judge asks.
"... None at this time your honor," the admit before sitting back down.
"Very well," The judge replies. "At this time I see no reason why the case should not be continued. The data Miss Wiltse has offered will be collected and provided to each of the attorneys and this case will continue to the next stage. The defense will be granted one week to submit a plea deal or agree to a bench trial due to the sensitive/classified information the case revolves around, should the defendant insist on being not guilty."
Charlotte frowned at that. A bench trial. So the judge would be making the final call. Well, there goes appealing to a group of civilians. Bringing up the sob story of her experience in the village and growing a 'bond through trauma' was suppose to be a point of sympathy for a jury and now she wouldn't have that. great. one more piece off the board. The meeting was adjourned and by the time Charlotte looked over to where Duke had been. Sure enough, the man was gone. Honestly, she wasn't sure if his testimony helped or not...
'*'*'*'*'
If a one-week wait in a cell was pleasant then the full month of waiting through to December was just a treat.
Charlotte Rolled her eyes at that thought as she relaxed on the bed. to be fair this was probably the more comfortable cage she'd been in. no death threats, no crushing responsibilities, no crippling expectations or quotas that have to be met to be deemed worthy of continuing to live. 3 meals a day that she didn't have to cook. Privacy was lacking and she couldn't really go anywhere but eh, what cage is perfect.
That was kind of the point though. she wanted to be watched she wanted to show she wasn't a threat. the longer she was under watch and the better her behavior was, that would work in her favor. If she did by some miracle on the BSAAs part get a guilty verdict, the Judge tends to take in factors like cooperation, criminal history and public record. all of which are in good standing so, being on record as a good little prisoner would be a decent safety net for a lighter sentence. While the BSAA didn't seem to have much evidence she couldn't ignore the fact that she was guilty and she was trying to get away with murder. well. Un-murder? Necromancy?
Whatever.
"Miss Wiltse," Says the guard.
"Charlotte is fine," She offers for the 100th time.
"It's time for the trial," The guard says as they ignore the offer once more.
"Very well," She replies as she moves to get up and walk over to the cell door. "I'm ready."
The guard nods and opens the cell and Charlotte allows for them to escort her out of the building and to a transport vehicle. once more she was moved separately from Karl. hopefully, he was doing okay...
The fact that they were keeping this trial under wraps was doing her some favors. there were no news articles or press members trying to take pictures or ask questions regarding why the heiress was in trouble. though in a way she wished they would. It would help in a way with ruining the company's reputation if she was seen as untrustworthy, but it at least gave her room to work on her plan for a much larger fall. she made her way out of the vehicle and into the courthouse.
"Hey there Sweetheart, Long time no see," Says a comforting familiar voice as Heisenberg was escorted to a seat next to Charlotte's.
Charlotte smiles. "How are you holding up?" she asks quietly.
"I haven't done anything too stupid. yet. If that's what you're asking," He replies with a slight smirk. "If I didn't know any better I'd say these BSAA Bastards get off on Power trips like this."
"Wouldn't surprise me," Charlotte agrees with a whisper of a chuckle. "They haven't tried anything have they?"
"Oh, they think they're being slick with their blood tests but from what I can tell it hasn't given them anything useful." He admits before shaking his head. "But they haven't tried ripping my arm off and putting it back on if that's what you're worried about."
"Small miracles then," Charlotte replies.
"All rise," says the bailiff as the judge enters the room.
Everyone stands as the judge makes their way to their seat. "Be seated," the judge says and everyone does so. "Let the record show we will be proceeding with the case BSAA vs Wiltse regarding the charge of Trespassing for the sake of unauthorized access of otherwise Illegal hazardous materials and public endangerment along with human trafficking. We'll begin with an opening statement from the Plaintiff's attorney then go on to hear the Defense attorney's statement on the matter."
Charlotte watched with uncertainty. it was the same judge as last time... If they've already made up their mind then this could be bad.
"You're honor we believe that the defendant is guilty of the charges based on the following evidence." The BSAA's attorney starts and begins listing off the same information as before.
"We've established the following timeline based on the evidence submitted which supports this claim. two years prior to the Village incident the defendant met one Mister Karl Heisenberg, a known Sentiant Bioweapon. The village incident revolved around a third party whom both associated with who was working on a method of reviving the dead using a strain of mold local to the village. The defense then came into contact with a BSAA team known as Hound Wolf Squad, lead by Christopher Redfield on the 18th of January where it has been stated she could have learned about the Louisiana mold site where the trespassing took place before the team left on the 19th of January to pursue other leads. On February 9th of 2021, Hound Wolf squad returned and the Village incident began. By the morning of February 10th, Mister Heisenberg perished in the incident. The defendant and Mister Heisenberg had grown close during their time together providing the motive for the defendant to look for access to a new mold site to try and revive their associate using the methods they could have easily learned from the third party." The BSAA agent Droned on as they read over their report of the evidence that supported their claim.
"After this incident, the defendant claims to have spent one month with the witness who is on the record as "Duke" a local merchant and artisan before returning home Via a cruise by the 3rd of April 2021. This lines up with the bank statements and receipts provided by the defense. the same day They returned home the defendant withdrew $1,000 dollars from their account and their purchase records go dark until April 9th, 3 days after the break-in and on April 10th the defendant makes a large, couple thousand dollar purchase at a suit store where we have visual evidence to confirm that she and were together." The Attorney continued to explain while going through slides that showed the evidence that correlated with their statements.
"We have a witness report from a prior interview of a young man who, in a related case, admitted to bringing the unknown figure onto BSAA property. While too inebriated at the time to remember the suspect's face reliably, he confirmed that the suspect was a woman. we've confirmed that the woman's height matches Miss Wiltse and that Miss Wiltse owns a car of the same make and model that was used to transport Mr. Heisenberg away from the area after being collected. He claims the perpetrator paid him 300 dollars in cash to take her on-site via waterways which are more difficult to patrol and as such were a know weak point by the locals. the perpetrator when in alone with a large bag of equipment and came out with the same bag and Mr. Heisenberg before leaving the area." They further explain.
"This is the full extent of our knowledge on the subject based on the evidence available to the court." they stay "with that, we believe the evidence wholeheartedly points to the defendant as the guilty party and so, we'll close our opening statement."
The judge nods.
Lordy please let there be a miracle. Charlotte quietly prayed.
"Defense, your response?" the judge requests, And charlotte's lawyer stood up.
"Thank you for the rather full timeline of events. While I'll agree it is the full extent of knowledge the evidence provides, It leaves out key factors for any form of true and just verdict," The defense attorney states. "It does not answer several Key points of information. How was Mister Heisenberg brought into the states from Romania? If Miss Wiltse was the party involved then would she not have traveled home with the body? Her records clearly show she traveled alone including records of her check-in at customs." the defense points out.
"How did he get on BSAA property? The evidence shows the perpetrator going in alone and leaving with a secondary party who looks like Mr. Heisenberg. Even if this secondary party shown in the picture was Mr. Heisenberg, by his own admission and the admission of the plaintiff he was dead. Would this not be a grounds asylum by law to protect human trafficking victims? He was by all accounts deceased and moved without permission." The defense further explains. "furthermore there is no concrete evidence that places Miss Wiltse in the state Her phone's GSP record show that it was in New York at the time of the incident. her phone and computer browsing history are clear of any mention of the location that would have allowed her to know Where in Lousiana this base was additionally her bank records show a long-standing history of taking out large cash amounts each month for several years even during her time in the village. Taking out a large sum every so often is not abnormal behavior." the Defense lists off while pacing around the floor.
"The closest they have to a conscious witness to the trespassing is inadmissible due to inebriation. My client can not be the only five foot six woman in the states that drives a red honda. There are no other identifying features known about the perpetrator and my Client's connection to this case is all being based on past relations to Mr. Heisenberg under the pretense of guilt by association." he accuses. "My client has no criminal record, has a long-standing good public record, and furthermore multiple witnesses that have testified in this case clearly stated Miss Wiltse went out of her way to Assist the BSAA during the village incident despite the risk to her own personal health. She has been nothing but hospitable to the investigation and openly provided evidence when requested. Records show she's been respectful to the guards and staff of the BSAA during her time incarcerated and she still insists that she is not guilty." The attorney states before moving to face the judge in particular. "As such the defense would urge for the judge to find the defendant, Not guilty."
"Does the Plaintiff or Defendant have any further argument to make for this case?" The judge asks keeping a neutral tone.
"We believe the evidence provided is sufficient and have no further detail to provide." The BSAA attorney states.
"The defense rests as well," Charlotte's attorney says and takes their seat.
"Very well. We'll take a 40-minute recess. After which we'll proceed with a verdict. I believe I've heard enough." The judge says.
"All rise" the bailiff states once more and everyone stands as the judge leaves. before sitting once more to wait. a few people left to go get food from a vending machine or water from the fountain but Charlotte remained at Heisenbergs side. waiting to hear what their fate would be.
Time moved painfully slow as Charlotte watched the clock count down the requested 40-minute recess.
"All rise." The bailiff says and once again everyone stands. Charlotte watches quietly as the judge moved to take his seat only to snap out of her trance as she felt a gentle touch and found that Heisenberg had moved to hold her hand.
Please give a not guilty sentence. Please not guilty. She mentally repeated knowing well enough that if they did get convicted Heisenberg would not go quietly. they may have managed to build him a plastic cell but even she could tell this place was littered with metal parts.
The judge takes their seat and so does everyone in the room.
"After careful consideration of the evidence and circumstances provided." The judge began and Charlotte held her breath. "I deem the evidence, Incomplete and the case will be dismissed with permission to be revisited should sufficient evidence be provided. Regarding the matter of Mr. Heisenberg, he is protected under the law as a potential victim of human trafficking and does not fall under the BSAAs jurisdiction to be detained further. Should the Plaintiff wish to pursue this further it will need to be done in a higher court as a civil rights case with its own time and process for providing evidence for why he should not have the basic human right to live freely," The Judge states and smacks the gavel against the block.
Oh thank god. It's not as useful as a not guilty verdict but it meant they were free for now and just needed to be careful until the statute of limitation ran out. Which. for a federal misdemeanor of this sort. probably wouldn't happen until well after she died. And for Heisenberg, it was just a matter of how much attention the BSAA wanted to bring to themselves. a civil rights case would certainly end up in the news.
"The defense is free to go," The judge says and the process goes through one last time. everyone stands as the judge leaves and is given permission to leave.
Charlotte and Heisenberg smile widely at each other and the two walk out of the courthouse hand in hand. they make it out to the street not knowing where they were or what to say for fear of accidentally getting herself a lovely guilty verdict anyways. Charlotte remained quiet but moved to Hold the man she hadn't seen in well over a month.
Relief sets in as the two start to laugh as they continued to hold each other and exchanged kisses. cheek, forehead, nose, lips, neck. Anything to just feel the continued presence of the other after being separated for so long.
Movement catches Charlotte's attention from the corner of her eye causing her to stop and check only to find Mr. Professional himself walking towards them. Charlotte instinctively moves to stand between Chris and Heisenberg while glaring at the BSAA Agent.
"Back off," Charlotte says while staring him down. "You heard the judge, he's not your 'property' so leave us the hell alone."
Heisenberg raised an eyebrow at this, What did she think she was going to be able to do to stop the roid rage machine that he couldn't do? An amused smirk crossed his face as he simply allowed Charlotte to stand her ground while watching Chris with more of a 'your move' expression.
All the same, Chris moved to stand in front of them and stare down at them with what was likely a forced neutral expression. it took him a second but he eventually spoke. "An escort will be here shortly to take you where ever you need to go." He states before shifting to walk away.
Charlotte continued to glare at his back. "That's not an apology, asshole!"
"Wasn't offering one!" Chris countered and continued on his way.
Charlotte waited until Chris was out of earshot before looking to Heisenberg. "yeah I'm not trusting a BSAA transport as far as you could throw it."
"I could throw it pretty far." he points out still smirking.
"Thats not the point," Charlotte says in return.
"Pretty sure we don't have a choice sweetheart, we don't have our shit," he points out "we got picked up in our nightware so unless you have a credit card stashed on you somewhere. we're not getting back home."
"I can make a few calls. besides. It will be more fun to piss off the asshole," Charlotte points out.
"I see your point," he admits while thinking it over and scratching at his beard. "I don't have anything to lose for it. Let's go on an adventure then."
Charlotte smiles as she takes his hand once more and leads the way. the two quickly make their way away from the courthouse and towards the first public building she could find. it took a few tries but she eventually found a public phone and made an honestly dreaded phone call to her father. a few transfers from one secretary to another and she eventually got ahold of the man in question.
"Where the hell have you been?" the man says in greeting.
"Nice to hear from you too," Charlotte replies. "Held in a cell for a trial that got drawn out far longer than it should have been. did you not see the request for legal representation?"
"oh no, I saw that, trust me I saw that," he says while she could only guess he was holding his face. "please tell me this isn't going to end up on the front page."
"It was quiet," charlotte says in return. "Case dismissed for lack of evidence."
"Held you in a cell for a month with a lack of evidence, I oughta go after their neck for it," the man says annoyed. "this could have ruined our fourth quarter. They're lucky this didn't enter public defamation."
Charlotte rolled her eyes. "thanks, dad... We could use a ride."
"... Fine. I'll arrange to have you picked up. but we are going to have a serious conversation when you get home is that clear?" the man says with evident irritation.
"Crystal," Charlotte replies.
"Good." he replies shortly.
Adrresses were provided and while it took the more of a day, Karl and Charlotte are taken back home and dropped off.
Exhaustion set in as the two go inside.
"Oh great, they just left the door off it's hinge. awesome." Charlotte says annoyed as she steps over the broken door. she was probably going to have to call an exterminator now to clean out the place.
Heisenberg lazily waves his hand to pick up the door by the hinges and reattach it to the wall for now. "not a permanent fix but. should keep out any critters that could wander in otherwise."
"Thanks," Charlotte replies as they two walk to the couches and instantly collapse on the seat and start laughing again and move closer to start smooching again. "I can't believe that actually kinda worked..." Charlotte says quietly and moves to rest her forehead against Heisenberg's shoulder as he held her.
"The guy looked like he was going to pop a blood vessel he was so pissed," Heisenberg says still amused by it all. "the BSAA is off our tail, for now, so I guess that means the only thing in our way now is the green card."
"Yep," Charlotte confirms with a smile as she allowed herself to relax. Waiting for the BSAA nonsense to pass them by was a risky move but it paid off. and now. A short chuckle crossed her lips. She had a lovely new toy to add to the board. She moved to give Heisenberg a peck and got up to go to her computer where her phone was still plugged in to charge. She scrolled through the messages on the phone to get to a message dated 1/18/21. she entered the phone number into google.
Christopher R.
Charlotte smiled as she clicked around and looked for a reverse phone number look-up report. It didn't take long before she had an address. All in due time. She thought with a smile. All in shortly due time.
Tadah~ x'D not sure how interesting this chapter will be for most but it was definitely needed. Court matters are dealt with. The BSAA has to back off and Charlotte is getting more confident in her plan. What could she possibly have in mind =v= It won't be long now. It's time for the father's story to end.
Review Responses:
nadillaandlaprasthefireandice - lol yeah they did take it pretty well X'D and who knows what may happen with those blueprints ovo would be a shame if they were reverse-engineered and attached to something much larger and much more powerful to control it.
Black Moons Daughter - lol well the two got out of trouble on a technicality X'D luckily charlotte's initial planning for reviving Heisenberg and all the extra care she took to not get caught paid off. hopefuly this chapter wasnt too dull X'D