The court case to determine the fate of Team Rocket and Team Ash continue in:


#58: Turnabout Trainwreck: Part 2

Gadot had called the 'Jail Security Guard' to the stand for questioning.

"This man here is the head of security of the local precinct. He has been primarily responsible for keeping an eye on the individuals on the defense side to ensure they did not cause a ruckus while in custody. We will now have cross examination by Mr. Wright," the white-boarded judge explains to the court.

"Okay, here goes nothing," Phoenix says with a big sigh of anticipation, ready for anything to come from the fat greasy security guard.

"So all you have to do is expose that fat tub of lard for the fraud he is? This will be a cinch!" Jessie says with confidence.

"With the amount of abuse we endured, there's no way he'd be able to sway the jury towards creep Gadot's favor," Brock adds.

"You got this, Mr. Wright!" Butch cheers.

"Yeah, show that bully whose boss!" Serena chimes in.


CROSS EXAMINATION


"Yeah, just like the judge said, I'm the head security guard at the precinct. My job was to put these troublemakers in their place. I had them all locked up and gave them a one phone call as mandated by our department's rules…" the security guard states.

"OBJECTION!"

"You said you allow inmates one phone call after they are booked. Were you aware of the type of call that was made by my clients?" Phoenix questions.

"How would I know, that's none of my business!" the security guard responds with a shrug.

"Mr. Gadot, the law in this area states that the warden or any applicable security detail at the time of booking should be made aware of the type of outgoing call made by those in lockup. Does your client not understand this? The lack of oversight is against judicial policy," the judge questions the prosecution.

Gadot takes a drink from his coffee before answering.

"That's rather irrelevant," Gadot says sternly.

"W-what do you mean?" the judge says in shock.

"My client were busy and understaffed handling that large rabble of criminals during the time that call was made, you can't expect these hard-working men to juggle multiple responsibilities at a time, so nice try, Mr. Wright," Gadot says, staring at Phoenix all the while.

"Wow who does he think he is? What a slime ball!" Ash responds quietly to his pals.

"Wow that guy is pretty sharp. Looks like we are in the fight of our lives here," Paul states under his breath.

"Geez, way to come out guns blazing…" Phoenix says with frustration.

"Very well, you may continue," the judge says to the security guard.

"Ah yes, where was I? Oh, on the note of 'rabble of criminals' my lawyer just stated, I spent the entire night stopping these troublemakers from breaking out of their cells multiple times…" the security guard continues.

"OBJECTION!"

Phoenix slams his hands on the desk.

"You say my clients tried to break out of their cells multiple times. Do you have proof of this?" Phoenix presses.

"Of course I do! We got it all on video tape," the security guard responds.

"Roll the tape," the judge says as the courtroom goes dark and video footage begins to play.

The video shows every instance of Team Rocket trying to break out of their cells, Meowth trying to snag the keys off the guard from the cell bars, and James trying to sneak through the sewer system to find an exit.

"That's odd…there's no footage of me trying to escape with those other inmates I was with: Lupin, Jigen, Goemon, and Fujiko. Was this footage edited?" James wonders quietly in suspicion.

"You see? These guys are the lowest of the low! We got everything covered at the precinct as far as security cameras go…" the security guard explains with confident arrogance.

"OBJECTION!"

Phoenix points an accusing finger at the security guard.

"You said you have cameras all over the precinct," is that correct?" Phoenix asks.

"Yeah, what of it?" the security guard responds.

"Then why are there cameras in your sewers?" Phoenix asks.

"H-huh? Well um…" the security guard says in hesitation.

"OBJECTION!"

Gadot slams his coffee mug down on his own desk.

"Mr. Wright is badgering my witness with unnecessary and pointless nitpicking of the larger picture," Gadot says sternly.

"Mr. Wright, is there a reason you are inquiring about the surveillance of a police precinct's sewer system in relevance to this case?" the judge asks.

"Why yes, Your Honor. Think about it, a camera in the sewer system suggests the precinct must have faults in their security measures. Meaning that inmates must often try to escape from jail via the sewers if cameras are need to catch them in the act!" Phoenix explains.

"OBJECTION!"

Gadot was getting as bit peeved now.

"The footage caught Mr. James in the act of escape, there's no denying he's guilty of even trying it!" Gadot fires back.

Phoenix shakes his head.

"No, you fail to realize the bigger issue at hand. No police precinct should be allowed, under law, to book any suspect or convicted felon at any site that is not adequately equipped to hold individuals without risk of an easy escape," Phoenix explains.

The entire courtroom went in an uproar over the revelation that the precinct wasn't even up to code to properly secure its inmates.

The judge slams his gavel to get everyone's attention.

"Order, order!" proclaims the judge. "Mr. Security Guard, what say you in your defense? Why did you book these individuals in a place that's unsuitable for holding inmates in the first place?"

The fat security guard was now sweating harder than a pig going to the electric chair.

"I…uh…well…you see…um…er…eherm…" the security guard mutters as he starts breaking down, when suddenly…

THUMP!

...the security guard topples over as he faints from the embarrassment of being called out for his inability to do his job right.

The judge bangs his gavel as everyone in the room (except for Phoenix and Gadot) all gasp at the scene.

"That'll be it for the first witness. Get him out of here and let's take a short recess," the judge says, banging his gavel once again to confirm his statement.

Both Team Rocket and Ash's members all jump for joy at this first victory.

"Yes!That's one point for us!" Meowth says with satisfaction.

"Yeah, way to go, Mr. Wright!" says Cassidy with much delight.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu chimes in on their first hurdle being cleared.

"It's not over yet, everyone. There's still Gadot's other witness. I have a feeling that things will be much harder next time around," Phoenix says as he looks over to Gadot, who was ready to crush his ceramic coffee mug with his bare hands in response to the loss this round.


Our heroes may have secured a short victory, but will this bring them one step closer to freedom or will it spell imprisonment for life?
Please review and stay tuned to the next chapter!