The Power of Hope
Chapter Fourteen
By: Lily Handle
Author's Note: Mmm, chapter fourteen-y goodness. I'm so excited, my writing is really picking up speed. Who knows, I may have this story wrapped up in a couple of days at the rate I'm going!
The bailiff took the paper from the foreperson and handed it to the judge. Camera lights flashed and the silence in the room was like death. The judge handed the paper back to the bailiff and the bailiff returned it to the jury.
"In the matter of the People versus Dr. Hope Chandler, how do you find?" The judge ask and Hope heard the courtroom take a collective breath.
"In the matter of the People versus Dr. Hope Chandler, we find the defendant guilty." Hope was surprised it still hurt to hear them say the word. It apparently didn't matter if she knew it was coming, hearing it made her knees weak and she felt like fainting. She stayed on her feet though, stoically staring the jury foreperson in the eye. Behind her she heard her mother gasp and her father yelled something. She wasn't really listening to the reactions behind her though. She watched the jury as the judge asked them one by one if they agreed with the verdict. Six couldn't looked her in the eye when they said yes. How much is McKenna paying you? She wondered when a middle aged woman looked away. My life is worth what to you?
"We'll rejoin in two weeks for sentencing," the judge banged the gavel twice, "Court is recessed and the jury dismissed."
"The defense would like a continuance on bail!" Murdock called for the sudden blast of noise from the reporters.
McKenna seemed caught off guard by that, "The prosecution objects, your honor. The defendant has just been found guilty of first degree murder!"
"Well, too bad, Mr. McKenna, bail is continued and the defendant allowed to spend the next two weeks with her family."
"Your honor," McKenna protested.
"Keep it up, Mr. McKenna and I'll charge you with contempt of court." Hope smiled at the judge, who looked apologetically at her. Murdock then put a hand on her shoulder and turned her towards her family, who had pushed their way to the front of the gallery.
"My baby girl," Her mother sobbed, reaching for Hope. She allowed her mother to pull her into a tight embrace and laid her head on her mother's shoulder. Her father wrapped them both up in his arms and she felt Michael stroking her hair while Thea wedged her way in and hug her fiercely. Hope ignored the flashes of cameras taking pictures for the next day's headlines and just felt the love her family was giving her. She drew strength from them, took a step back and turned to Murdock.
"Thank you, Mr. Murdock, you did a good job."
"Don't you worry, Dr. Chandler, I'll start working on my appeal right away and you'll be free again before you know it," He said, offering a hand to her.
She took it and then hugged him, "I'm glad you're on my side."
"Anytime, Doctor," Murdock said while awkwardly patting her back. She smiled at him when she released him, then looked over his shoulder at David who had a blank expression plastered on his face.
"Ready to go, Lieutenant?" He gave her half a grin and then started to pushed aside the news reporters who were crowding to get a statement from her. Hope felt her family fall into step behind her along with Murdock as David shouldered his way through the crowd. Out on the front steps, Hope felt herself choke up. Waiting with the limo that would take her and her family to the Chandler Mansion stood the students and staff of the Institute. She smiled at Charles and nudged David in the back, silently asking for him to get her to the limo quicker. She never saw the bottle coming, only noticed it when it shattered at her feet. David instantly tucked her under his arm as more and more garbage started raining in from above. She watched Charles raise a hand to his head and all of it froze in midair.
"A tough crowd, Doctor," He said when she reached him.
"And gettin' tougher by the second," David said, holding the door to the limo open and as politely as possible shoving Hope inside. Seconds later her family piled in.
"We'll be right behind you, Doktor. See you at you home, correct, Mr. Chandler?" David asked, blocking the door.
"Yes, sir." David nodded once, closed the door then pounded on the roof twice. The limo lurched into motion and Hope felt the clock start ticking.
The last limo to leave the courthouse, and last in line was filled with the students of the Institute. They sat in the somber silence, as still as statues. No one knew what to say. It had seemed impossible to them that Dr. Hope would be convicted. Well, no, not impossible. They knew that the world hated them and that because Dr. Hope was a mutant she would probably be convicted, but they hadn't wanted to believe it. Now though it seemed anything was possible. These new laws were going to control their lives. No using their powers in self-defense because no one would be it had been self-defense. The government could check up on them at any random moment now that they were registered and what was next? Could the government actually get the Institute closed down? Could they go after the Professor? Or Storm? Beast? Wolverine? If they took out the teachers, they'd be next right?
"I remember when she first came here," Bobby said, breaking the silence, "She was weird."
"Everyone though she was some kinda nutty doctor who was going to stick a bunch of needles in us and hook us up to machines," Amara smiled, "Everyone avoided her."
"And, like, you all would harass me and Jean about her, for like hours," Kitty said with a chuckle.
"She was so patient," Jamie said.
"She was nice too," Evan pointed out.
"Huh, maybe to you guys, but she was always throwing me out of the Infirmary," Roberto snorted.
"That's because you were faking it," Scott noted, "The Professor and her were trying to find away to check my eyes, see if there was a better way to control my powers."
"She was the worst telepath in the whole Institute," Jean sighed.
"She saved my life," Ray said and everyone fell silent again. The only doctor who trusted them was now gone and they didn't know where they were going either.
The second limo wasn't quite like the last limo. Maverick, Logan, Colonel Fury and the Professor sat at one side, talking.
"We look deep into McKenna's records," Maverick said, "We look for aliases and phony accounts, something will turn up."
"What about your man on the inside?" Logan asked, arms crossed over his chest.
"He'll be replaced with a better agent. One more suited to infiltration instead of observation."
"I wonder if it's possible that I can get a meeting with McKenna?" Charles asked, looking over the tips of his steepled fingers, "I would very much like to see what's inside his head."
"I'll work on it," Fury promised, "I'd like to know what that prick is thinking too."
"And what about the Institute, Professor?" Ororo asked, "The students will need to be reassured no one from the government is going to sneak in and steal them from their beds at night."
"Unless they get the codes to the security systems, they won't make it past the front gate," Logan snorted, "And if they do, we'll show them out."
"A good point," Charles said with a nod, "We'll talk to them tonight, after dinner."
"And we'll let the Chandler's in on the fact that the jury was paid off." Hank said sternly, "They need to know."
"Yeah, unless the Doc hasn't tipped them off already," Logan pointed out.
"WHAT!" Hope's father and brother roared at the exact same time and in the exact same tone.
"The jury was paid off to vote guilty," Hope said again, and glanced at her mother when she laughed.
"Well, your Mr. Logan and Lt. North have been quite busy haven't they?" She said, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. "What a relief."
"Those boys have some explaining to do when we arrive home," Her father said, "What were they thinkin' keepin' us in the dark like that?"
"They probably thought it was for the best, Papa." Hope patted his hand, "And I would have told you sooner, but I didn't want you doing something that might cause a problem for their investigation."
"Such as?" Michael asked.
"Go to the media, which you would," Thea sighed and rolled her eyes, "Well, this proves one thing for sure."
"What's that?" Hope asked.
"McKenna's an ass."
The Chandler mansion dates back to before the Civil War. One of the only plantations not destroyed by Union soldiers, the three story home was a land mark in Clemson, South Caroline. It is traditionally passed down from Chandler to Chandler, each adding something to the original structure. Marcus Chandler, the latest Chandler to own the home, added a wine cellar fit for any Italian vineyard. When the three limos arrived at the mansion's front door, most of the occupants stared in wonder at the enormity of the house.
"I know, such a modest home, really," Mary Chandler said to the students, who gapped. Sure the Institute was bigger, but they couldn't believe two people could need this much space. "Why don't you all go with Benson here and he'll show you to your rooms on the third floor?" Benson, the butler/driver/keeper of the house and caretaker of the family nodded towards the students and asked them to follow him. They glanced towards the Professor, who nodded and then they followed the man.
"Well, shall we adjourn to the library?" Mary asked once the students had disappeared into the depths of the house. "I'll get Maria to make up tea and coffee for everyone, unless you'd like somethin' else? And, Professor Xavier, please forgive the lack of ramp, we don't get many handicapped visitors."
"It's quite alright, Mrs. Chandler," Charles said, waving away her concern, as Logan lifted him from his chair.
"Alright then, if everyone would follow me." Hope found herself wedged between Hank and David. She rolled her eyes but laid her hand on Hank's shoulder and gave a squeeze. The smile he gave her seemed sad and she wished she knew what to say to reassure him that she'd be alright.
Hope never tired of walking through the front door of her child-hood home. The grand staircase spiraled up the left side of the entry way, stopping at the third floor and the second. Hope knew the first floor was used for meals and entertaining guest, while the second was where the family would lounge about and the third was full of bedrooms. She followed her mother to the library and waited until her father took his traditional seat in the high backed desk chair before sitting on the loveseat next to her sister.
"Well, Mr. Chandler, I'm pretty sure there are plenty of things you'd like to get off your chest," Fury said, standing in the middle of the room, ready to take the brunt of her father's anger.
"You gonna keep workin' on getting' my baby girl out of jail?" Her father asked calmly.
"Of course sir," Fury replied just as calmly.
"Then, I got nothin' to say. She already told us about how McKenna's payin' the jury and everythin' else you've been doing to help her. Can't say I'm happy about the way you're goin' about it, but your business is your business."
"I want to thank you, Mr. Logan, Lt. North," her mother said, laying a hand on Hope's shoulder, "You are both in our dept."
"Think nothing of it, ma'am," David said, "It's been a pleasure watching over your daughter and getting to know her." Logan simply said thanks.
"Now, I'd like to stick around an chat, but Mr. Murdock and I planned to meet up, and since you've been filled in by Dr. Chandler, I'd like to make the meeting earlier and get back to work on your daughter's case."
"Of course," Her father stood and offered a hand to Fury, who shook it once and then strode out of the room. Hope was sure Benson would intercept him and show him to the door.
"Does anyone know what this jail is like?" Hope asked, filling the silence left in the wake of Colonel Fury. "If I'm going to spend some time there I want to know what I'm facing."
"South Las Vegas Correctional Facility is the only mutant prison in the United States," David said, "It can hold over 200 mutant inmates and is a maximum security prison. Those serving their sentence there are only allowed out for an hour a day, for exercise in a ten foot by ten foot yard. No inmates are allowed to interact with each other and they run a pretty strict ship."
"So, no privileges?" Hope asked, swallowing hard as the grim reality of prison life washed over her.
"Depends on the sentence and if the warden like you," David said with a shrug.
"First degree murder won't get me very far I take it?" David's look was answer enough, "Alright, then. At least I won't have to worry about the other inmates attacking me…" She stopped when Logan suddenly stormed out,
"Logan?" Ororo started to get up to follow him, but Hope was faster.
"No, Ororo, I'll talk with him. Why don't you see if Maurice has ready with dinner, Mama? Excuse me." Hope got up from her chair and followed. He walked towards the front door, she could tell he was angry, the way he carried his shoulders, the way his hands were clenched at his sides. All of it showed he was holding in a storm of anger. She wondered if it was her he was mad at.
"Logan wait!" Hope called, running to catch up with him. She grabbed his shoulder just at the front doors, "Please wait."
"What?" He growled whirling around to face her, the rage clearly visible in his eyes.
Hope dropped her hand, curling it to her chest, "I'm sorry," she said, looking towards the mirror to her left, so she wouldn't have to see his anger.
He sighed, "Doc, I'm not mad at you."
Hope looked up suddenly, "Then why are you…" She looked down at her hands, nervously twisting together, "Why are you leaving?" She asked softly, thinking because I don't want you to go.
"You're not guilty, I'm gonna catch up with Fury. If they're gettin' together, trying to find a way to fix this, I wanna be there," He explained, though the angry note was still in his voice.
"There's nothing you can do," Hope turned away, "Fury and Murdock will handle it now. It has to be politics and law they're discussing, you should let them handle it."
"They'll need me eventually," Logan put a hand on her arm and turned her to face him, "I need to know what's goin' on."
"Oh, but…never mind," Hope shook her head, pushing aside the selfish need to have him near her right now.
Logan caught her chin gently between his fingers and made her look at him, "Hope, I'm findin' a way to get you out and the best way to do that is to have all the information."
Hope laid her hand against his arm, "Thank you."
"You're welcome." And he kissed her, wrapping her in his arms and holding her like she was made delicate glass. She lifted her arms to his shoulders and held on to him. She felt centered with him, as if he was her rock in a storm. Her Logan.
"Don't take long," She couldn't help but whisper when he drew away.
"I'll be back," He told her, pulling back and walking out the door. Hope walked out onto the front steps to watch him. He opened the door to one of the remaining limos, glanced once over his shoulder at her, then ducked inside, vanishing into the shadows of the tree flanked driveway.
"You always come back," She whispered, then turned to walk back to the library.
From the top of the stairs Kurt and Kitty gapped at each other.
"Did you just see what I just saw?" Kitty asked him, once Dr. Chandler had walked away.
"Ja."
"Mr. Logan and Dr. Hope?" Kitty couldn't wrap her mind around it. "They kissed."
"Ja." Kurt started laughing, "Can you believe what we saw? I got to tell Scott!"
"No!" Kitty grabbed his shoulder, "We can't tell."
"Wha? Why not?" Kurt looked confused, "This is definitely grade A gossip."
"What happens when Mr. Logan finds out? He probably knew we were there the whole time, and he'll know who told!" Kitty whispered, utterly paranoid of being caught spying. Well, she wasn't really spying, she just happened to see. It wasn't like as soon as she heard Dr. Hope calling out to Logan she'd stopped to see what was going on. It was so romantic, Kitty thought, with a happy sigh.
"Oh, come on, Kitty, he won't find out. Scott doesn't gossip," Kurt rolled his eyes.
"No, no telling!" Kitty pointed a finger in Kurt's face, inches from his nose, "Promise Kurt, please."
"But…"
"Please Kurt, I don't want to get in trouble," Kitty begged.
Kurt rolled his eyes, "All right, all right. I won't tell." Kitty hugged Kurt, then went racing off. Kurt sighed, giving up gossip was worth a hug.
Dinner was a strange event, though dinner with the students was always an event of some sorts. They behaved, pretty much, though they didn't know what to make of the high class meal Maurice had prepared. Hope explained what silverware, real silver silverware, to use to Jean, who was seated next to her and then the knowledge got passed down the table. After dinner Hope showed the students the billiards room while the Professor, Hank and Ororo returned to the Institute because Colonel Fury wanted information from Cerebro. Left to guard the students Michael stood with her by the bar, babysitting.
"All of them are mutants then?" Michael asked, rubbing a sunflower seed with his thumb and forefinger.
"Yes, of course," Hope glance at him out of the corner of her eyes, "Something on your mind, Michael?"
"None of them would give a damn if I made this seed burst into a million sunflowers, would they?"
"I wouldn't say that," Hope shrugged, "They like showing off to each other, all the time. You may be asked to do something else."
"You found a good thing at that Institute, Hope."
"You could too, you know."
"I'd rather be on the farm with my plants, but if I ever need a place to go, maybe…" Michael trailed off and shrugged. Hope laid her head on his shoulder and he draped an arm over her shoulders. "You look beat, sis."
"Long day," She yawned.
"Head up to bed, I'll keep an eye on these guys."
"Michael, you can't watch them by yourself," Hope sighed, "They'll tear you to pieces."
"Probably, but you're wilting before my eyes, go to bed." Hope sighed he was right. Darn big brother, always being right, she thought, sliding out from under his arm.
"Hey!" She called, getting everyone's attention, "I'm going to bed, be nice to my brother, he's only human."
A chorus of "Night Dr. Hope!" and "We will echoed back to her. She nodded then slipped out the door and headed for the stairs. Her childhood room was tucked into the back of the east wing, over looking part of the gardens and the pool. She felt a strange since of trepidation wash over her as she got ready for bed. She was just afraid of being locked up, she reasoned as she climbed in to be, it was that and nothing more.
"Are we ready to go, Commander?" McKenna asked, strapping himself into the helicopter.
"Yes sir," The commander replied.
"Good," The blades of the helicopter started up along with the ten other helicopters on the air strip, "Let's go collect our prize."
Author's Note: Cliff-hanger! Mwha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!