G.U.I.L.T.
"Not Guilty" Sam's Solicitor echoed, that was against everything he'd told him to do, he lost his thread and stood shaking his head "Your Honour could we get a short recess for me to consult with my client?"
"Granted" the Judge banged his hammer agreeing
"All Stand" the Usher called out, Sam stood watching everyone jump up waiting for the Judge to leave the room
"So what the hell is your plan?" Anthony; his Solicitor turned to ask once the door shut behind the Judge
"I don't agree with the guilty plea, I didn't touch that girl"
"But you can't deny you were at the scene"
"I'm not denying that, but I didn't touch that girl, its not in me to do what she's saying I did"
"Did you have sex with her?" Anthony looked at him asking "Please just tell the truth, I'll do my best with what you give me, it won't go out of these walls"
"I did not have sex with her, consented or forced, I'm not a rapist"
"It's going to be her word against yours, and she has witnesses" Anthony warned
"My truth against her lies"
"You'll go in front of a jury, if this goes any further"
"Bring it on" he smiled
"If that's what you want" Anthony rolled his eyes telling him
"I notice there was no one from my side out there" he looked at Anthony eyes slit
"You know she can't be seen in that capacity here" Anthony replied "And I know you, as well as I, want the best for her"
"Very true" Sam grabbed his hair and covered his face with his hands, he wanted to cry but this wasn't the place or the time, court was in hearing again a few minutes later and as he'd wished the case got sent to Crown for a full hearing,
The incident
It had been nearly three weeks since he'd clapped eyes on his girl they'd had a mad, secret week together where he wasn't travelling with his band and she'd just finished what seemed like a lifetime of promotion on her new album. They'd finally hit one of the wishes on their bucket list and sung a heartfelt rendition of 'Set The Night To Music' by Roberta Flack & Maxi Priest together, even if they said so themselves it was going on the next album for both of them, maybe then they'd go public. It shouldn't have happened but it did, Sam had been at a night club with two of his friends, he was suppose to meet his girl at 4am and he was just wasting time until he had to get to the airport to pick her up. The guys got a bit spirited and started shouting, he'd had a drink but not much, he couldn't wait, his mind was on his girl arriving, he needed to get down and dirty and that wasn't going to happen if he was intoxicated, she wouldn't let him near her, they were definitely going to watch the world disappear.
There were a group of girls at the beginning of the night that were a bit flirty, and they all played up for it, just some harmless fun, but as the night went on the group dispersed the girls were out of it, hooking up with anyone that would have them. Sam noticed a guy slip something into one of the glasses, he thought he was giving the girls spirits but a short while later the girls started acting strangely he followed her around, it seemed like there were a group of lads going around spiking the drinks of a few of the girls in the place. He did the right thing reporting it at the bar staff, his friends were almost as bad as the girls they were literally asleep all over the place, finished with making a show of themselves.
He was horrified when he saw a girl spiking a drink and watched her like a hawk, shocked when she signalled to a guy which drink she'd spiked, even more horrified when the bartender approached the said girl and pointed at him. It was obvious the bartender had told her what he's told him, he told his friends they needed to leave and went outside to call the police, this needed shutting down, the girl that had been speaking to the bartender followed him outside, he couldn't help it he confronted her about her behaviour, of course she denied it but he'd seen it and let her know, he was calling the police.
Suddenly she started screaming and ripping her clothes, he didn't know what was happening he stood watching her for a second and then suddenly there were people standing around and she was telling them he'd tied to rape her. Of course he denied it but it seemed like at least half the people out there were a part of her crew and before he knew it he was being taken away in a police car
Every man and his dog had something to say about what he'd supposedly done in the club, even the bartender, his friends were too far gone to legibly recollect everything that happened that night and although they might be good character witnesses, there was no one to actually defend him against what this woman was alleging. Mercy took some convincing, she'd quickly forgiven him for leaving her standing at the airport for five hours before he could get word to her about where he was, and that had been a forty minute telephone conversation on Anthony's phone and some time on social media not the best form of communication when you're grovelling but he had no option, and the last thing that could happen right now was to lose her. He stayed in the cells that Saturday night fretting about his relationship, she hadn't said anything much about her feelings about these accusations so, he was just settling his mind into lost her mode, because there was nothing he could do from inside that place when the officer came to tell him he had visitors, he jumped up knowing it was his friends, but silently hoping it was going to be Mercy
He sat at the table waiting for his visitors looking around the naked room with rules, posters about crime, drugs, support and more rules staring back at him, the sun beaming in telling him that for someone outside of that place there was a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon to be had. He was wondering how the hell this turned out to be his damn life when the door opened "Ant" he smiled getting up at his Bro, Dude or Solicitor it was patchy for which one he needed him to be just then
"Sam" he smiled walking towards him, his eyes telling him there was more to come, he looked beyond him gasping as he saw his girl walking in behind her brother
"Mercy" his eyes frightened but relieved, his mind wondering if she'd come to finally break things off with him and if this was going to be her decision or those damn publicists of hers
"How fucking stupid" she hissed walking towards him, he hadn't expected to see her, he wanted to smile for her taking this risk in being seen in the place but she was mad "Why do you always have to be the fucking hero?" she walked towards him asking grabbing his face and lunging at him with her lips as she spoke
"I'm sorry" he opened his eyes when her lips left his saying "I watched them drugging people and I just felt it was my place to tell the police"
"It was stupid to tell the bartender"
"I know that now" he frowned "I didn't do this thing she's saying..."
"I know" she covered his mouth with her fingers telling him "You don't need to even tell me that"
"They'll send him out of state you know that right?" Anthony looked at the two of them saying "It might be best, because the less you guys see of each other right now the better"
"He's right" Sam grabbed her waist telling her "I love you"
"I love you too" she kissed him again saying before sitting on the table in front of him "So what's the plan?" she looked round at Anthony asking
"The plans looking like I should get out of here" he looked at Sam replying "Ten minutes tops" he smiled at his sister
"Look at us we're all alone, oh, … darling come and hold me close" she smiled as she told her man what she wanted, her hands already running freely around his body
"Mercy you'll get us into trouble" he pulled her legs further off the table as he stood up, grabbing her lips as he spoke
"Ten minutes" she pulled away reminding him as she pulled at his belt buckle
"I don't think I'll last ten seconds" he laughed watching her remove him from this pants, and direct him into her, his noise low, aching and needy all at the same time "God Mercy" he held onto her hips as he moved inside her fast, hard and urgent, smiling as she held onto his neck and lifted herself off the table to give more of herself to him, his spare hand lifted her top and grabbed hold of her hardened nipple seconds before his mouth was on it, his whole body craving for her
"Four minutes Evans" she gasped as he hit her spot over and over again, she felt him go faster at her words and smiled, she knew there was more in there somewhere
"Are you there yet?" he lifted his head to ask
"Give me a minute"
"I don't have a minute, his hand searched her body to find her sensitive spot, his fingers went to work pulling every nerve ending to one place her body stopped moving, her button like a drum as he moved in and out of her "Two minutes" he told her seconds before her sound told him she was there and he felt her grasp him and pull the life out of him with the pulse of her pleasure
"God that was hard, I wanted to scream" she kissed his neck saying
"We could set the night to music" he sang
"Who needs music when you can get it like that" she laughed "Grab my bag" she told him, he looked behind her and grabbed her bag watching as she took out tissue for the clean up
"Your brother's going to know we just did the nasty" he laughed
"And I care because?"
"I care, he'll never look at me the same again" he laughed
"He'll pat your back for shutting me up so damn quick" she laughed
"I hope you only walk around with no panties on for me?"
"Is that a thing?" she took her panties out of her bag asking "Present" she threw them at him smiling
"Mercy.." he laughed
"So" Anthony walked back into the room "Can we deal with this little business of a prison sentence now?" he asked watching Sam stuff her panties in his pocket
"We can, but it's not going to get that far" Mercy smiled, sitting on Sam's lap for the rest of the meeting, he had to admit he didn't want her to go when the time came, he smiled and kissed her like she'd expected him to but his hands wouldn't let her go
"Sam" she smiled pulling away from him "Sam" she looked into his eyes saying again when she realised he wasn't about to let her go "You're innocent, stick to the facts and you'll be fine, I promise"
"Promise?"
"I said it didn't I?" she smiled "Canada remember, I'll see you when I get back" she poked him in the abs and tiptoed up to kiss his lips
"Yeah, break everything you can as usual" he smiled watching her walk away
"I'll be back bright and early tomorrow, and listen to me not my sister" he warned him as he opened the door to let Mercy out before he went out of it himself and closed it behind him
Unfortunately for Sam he was remanded in custody until the hearing, he hadn't banked on that, and to make things worse he was sent out of state which made it difficult for visiting. He hadn't seen many of his friends since this new flavour of shit hit. To cream it off his girl was off doing her thing again for the next four weeks, she was a singer, just breaking into the business and doing very well about it, this shit could cripple her, he was sure her Agent or Manager would be advising her to drop him like dead wood, straight away, as soon as he heard the verdict he knew she wasn't going to be very happy about this whole thing because of the hassle she was going to get.
Crown Court
It was nearly six weeks later when Sam finally got his three days in court, which he was prepared for, he'd got as many statements as he could together, his friends hadn't been much help, and of course CCTV, that he knew was outside that night, couldn't be found, there was no physical evidence that he'd done anything to the girl, his heart was clean and for him justice must prevail.
He walked into the courtroom, a pretty daunting cold room with officials standing around like he was the most wanted criminal in the world, a stand of strangers sitting behind him obviously in support of the so called victim, and the empty place where the jury would eventually sit.
He had to catch his breath when he saw cheating Quinn sitting there, an ex from way back in his before life, he'd walked away from her after that fiasco when he found her in bed with one of his friends, 'how the hell is she honest enough to be on a jury?' he asked himself as he sat scanning the people walking in and taking seats as part of the jury he was just contemplating telling the judge he knew the woman, looking at her for a second to make sure it was her when she smiled at him, it was a nice smile, maybe she didn't even remember him, he took a deep breath thinking alright, and relaxed
His eyes moved to the person walking in to sit next to her, he gasped when Rachel caught his eye, shit his past life was getting it's own back, how the fuck did that actually happen, he stood looking at her, he could tell she still had that power thing going on, this was not going to be pretty, he needed to talk up. She'd took things between them to another level, behind his back she was planning this elaborate engagement party, apparently she was proposing to him in front of all his family, he had nothing against proposals but he'd known the girl for three months. He'd called his parents one afternoon and got congratulated, he gasped when his Mom let out the full story, he told them not to bother turning up it wasn't going to happen, they in turn told everyone else and he'd heard Rachel sat in the venue with all her family waiting to pop the question, he'd never tuned back.
A few fresh faces walked in putting a smile on his face, he was just relieved to see some men on the jury 'Could this get any worse?' he sat rolling his eyes asking himself, as his eyes fell on Santana 'of course it fucking can' he thinned his lips thinking, he'd left Santana because she was pure drama everywhere they went someone was a bitch, she was always shouting inappropriately as some poor stranger or him, and it was almost certain every time she'd be the one laying on the floor waiting for him to defend her rude behaviour when some girl knocked her out, she was much too high risk to be around for any length of time she needed taming and he wasn't the kind of guy she needed to do that, he'd walked away
"Brittany" he gasped at the sight of her 'pretended to be so fucking sweet' he chuckled inside as he looked at her before raising his eyes to the heavens as he remembered her being so nice on their first date, all sweetness and light, lets watch ball, fix the car, play golf all show, once they got together it was do as she says or nothing, he hated that section of his life. He'd actually gotten into a fight because of her and after beating the guy to a pulp he'd told him, he was her boyfriend, Sam couldn't catch his breath, he'd looked up at Brittany waiting for her to call him a liar, to find a smile on her face. He let the guy up, held his hand out to help him up, apologised for his behaviour, took one look at Brittany and walked away
This was his personal judgement day, he'd definitely rue the day he decided to have a Crown Court hearing he looked round for his Solicitor, something needed to be done before he was given the damn death sentence "Anthony" he called to him shaking his head for his attention when he looked
"What's up?" he walked towards him asking
"The Jury, do they know who's on the stand?"
"Not until just now when they saw you" he looked at him strangely "Why"
"I was wondering if..." he stopped talking as he watched his girl walk in, he hadn't seen her for nearly two months, and straight away he needed her, they'd spoken on the phone and he knew she wasn't very pleased with him about this situation but he was secure in the knowledge that she knew he'd never do what this girl was accusing him of "Mercy" he gasped a smile on his face as he watched her walk across the front of the court and sit with the jury "What?" he asked surprised, the faint smile on her face letting him know she knew it was his case, his expression asking her if she could do that, he knew those ex's shouldn't be there but your actual girlfriend, surely this wasn't protocol, he stood wondering what the hell was happening looking at the women on the jury "Shit" he said out loud when he realised Mercy was actually going to find out that he'd dated most of the damn Jury "Ant" he nudged him as he looked at her sitting "Mercy's on the jury how the fuck?"
"She's Jones I'm Hamilton how would they connect?" Anthony asked him
"Is this ethical?"
"It better stay buried for your benefit"
He looked around the room at the many people most of them friend of the so called victim, he was in deep water here, he had a few statements and one friend 4 disgruntled ex's and an unknowing girlfriend, for now anyway
Mercy was the total opposite to any of the girls he'd been out with before, she was smart, honest, had a very positive attitude and laughed at his jokes as well as being very funny herself, sometimes they'd just spend the evening bouncing jokes off each other and actually getting it, they were in the same headspace. She loved and respected her family and for him that was a big plus, it gave him confidence for when he'd actually introduced his parents to her, he smiled when they took to her on their very first meeting, and just like that, seeing her with them he know she was the one. She was ambitious for herself and for him always pushing him to reach his goals and filling him with the confidence he needed to reach for them, she was calm and kept him calm, which he needed a lot of the time, accepting him for who he was and loving him anyway that for him was his perfect woman.
Mercy looked at him, he glanced at her face bending his head in thought, she was telling him something and he needed to work it out, but one thing was for sure, if she was keeping her mouth shut so was he right now. He sat listening as the Judge asked questions of the victims representatives every man, woman and barman that stood witness telling lies, the four ex's pretending they didn't know him, smirking when they thought no one was watching, his eyes were darting all over the place, expecting one of them to announce something that would change his life forever, they obviously had it in for him, they got sworn in earlier on and then there was straight faces and silence
Finally the hearing started and one by one these random people, some Sam was sure weren't even there, got up and gave their evidence, swearing he'd attacked this woman, and even witnessed it that carried on for the whole day. The next day Sam's character statements were read out and he gave his version of the turn of events leading to him being in the alley with the woman, of course he was cross questioned and then the dreaded moment arrived when the Judge put his life in the hands of those women. Right now he knew for sure he had Mercy on his side, but once she got behind that door and found out about those ex's of his he feared she might feel different
The Jury
Quinn & Mercy
"So what do you think?" Mark asked some of the group as the door shut and conversations started
"The jury said he has a girlfriend, he's a cheat and he should be punished like one" Quinn replied "I can't bear hypocrites, cheats, I believe he did that to that girl"
"Okay game is on' she went into mode, this was going to be the best performance of her life so far "Have you ever cheated or been cheated on?" Mercy asked
"I don't think I'm the one on trial here" she snapped in reply, dismissing Mercy's question, her eyes cutting at her like she'd sworn at her
Mercy walked away to go get a drink, she stood sipping it watching the woman who'd just been so rude over the top of her cup 'Hardball' she thought a smile coming to her face for how she was going to deal with this. This woman stood there with her blond hair flowing down her back made Mercy smirk as she watched her flinging her hair off her shoulder so many times she was getting dizzy, Mercy stood thinking maybe she should have put it up for the amount of times she flung it around like an irritating little rats tail. Her clothes on the other hand were of class quality, you could tell they looked like they were built for her body, clinging nicely to her small hips, perfect legs and tiny waist, if she had to sum her up in one word she'd say glamour with a capital G "Okay" she smiled moving off to have yet another conversation with this woman, they were going to spend the day together and come to an agreement at the end of it she needed to seem to be getting on with her.
"Sorry" Mercy walked up to her saying "I feel like I offended you with my remark, that was not my intention and I apologise for that" she held her hand out for shaking "My name's Mercy Jones" she smiled waiting for the woman's response
"Quinn Fabray" she smiled taking her hand "I accept your apology"
"So I did offend you then?"
"I think it was more your tone"
"Again I apologise" Mercy grinned wondering if this woman was really going make her stand apologising for the entire day
"Forgiven" Quinn replied smiling
'Apparently yes' she smiled back thinking "I was actually standing back there admiring your McQueen's" she looked down at Quinn's feet at the sparkling heels she was wearing "I have a thing about shoes and those are really nice"
"Thank you" Quinn smiled turning her foot to give Mercy a rounded view "I have a few pairs of Louboutin's too, they don't come out often" she laughed
"Oh to live in your closet, that's my dream, to own a pair of those" she rolled her eyes in fantasy "A couple more years work"
"I guess I should apologise for my attitude earlier too"
"No problem I understand if you thought I was being abrupt" Mercy smiled
"So" Quinn looked down at Mercy's feet taking in the Walter Steiger on the feet "I know you already said what you wanted shoes wise but what have you got already?"
"These are it" Mercy looked down at her feet telling the woman, looking around to note who was watching them
"Not to be sneezed at" Quinn laughed
"Thank you" Mercy laughed with her "but I was actually curious as to why you thought that earlier" she added at the end of her laugh
"He has a girlfriend and he's out chatting up another girl"
"So you think he's guilty because he spoke to someone?"
"A girl, yeah" Quinn's voice a little raised
"What if it's true and he was genuinely concerned about her welfare?"
"Do you believe that?"
"I believe he doesn't look like the type who needs to rape to get sex"
"He is cute isn't he?" Quinn laughed "You might have a point" she added looking across the room at nothing
"Can I get you a drink or something?"
"I'm fine for now" Quinn smiled holding her cup up, Mercy walked off thinking she liked Miss Glamour
Rachel & Mercy
"I think this is going to end badly for him poor guy" Rachel stood telling a small group of the jury, Mercy slowed down at the comment and looked at Rachel interested in where she was taking that argument
"Why?" Mercy stepped into the conversation asking, she was in mode, she was going to play devils advocate here "Do you know something we don't?"
"No I just have this uncomfortable feeling about him"
"What do you mean?" Mercy looked at this dark haired woman asking her, she stood poised in her Gucci from head to toe, smiling on the outside but obviously unhappy on the inside, she was a full grown woman but she dressed like a school girl, one of those girls at school that Mercy would have gladly slapped happy. The school girl look was deceiving because her persona said she liked to be in control of things and for this particular game, on this field Mercy needed to be in total control, this woman had the art of looking, feeling and thinking three different things all at the same time, Mercy's word for the woman Unique, of course with a capital U
"I was just agreeing with Simon here" she looked at the man standing next to her
"So I guess you could help the rest of us as you've already established what constitutes rape?" Mercy smiled
"Well that's simple, no means no doesn't it?" Simon told her Rachel nodding agreement
"Does it?" Mercy asked "I know I've done it before playfully said no to my partner, my mind and my body saying yes and meaning it and I've let him take me"
"We've all done that" Rachel laughed "It's part of the fun"
"So why is it fun for you and rape for someone else?"
"I..."
"Let me ask a question" she looked Rachel but was talking to Simon too "If you really fancied a guy how far would you go to get him?"
"I'm not going to lie, I've done that before and reached my goal" she smile smugly
"So what makes you think this girl was any different, maybe she got mugged off and took offence"
"Maybe she did I know I would be" Rachel laughed
"I'll just leave you to think on that one, Mmm, sorry I didn't get your name"
"Rachel, Rachel Berry" she smiled
"And I'm Simon"
"And I'm Mercy Jones" she smiled walking away hoping she'd dropped a little oil in their ear
Brittany & Mercy
Mercy stood taking her second cup of coffee, nothing much had been said as yet they were waiting for instruction from the Usher so they could get into the negotiation room and start their process, she stood waiting to add sweetener to her drink watching this woman counting cubes. "Is everything alright?" she finally asked fed up of waiting for her turn to come
"Yes fine I was just trying to remember how many cubes I have"
"How many you have?" she asked wondering if she'd heard right or even if the woman had made a mistake
"Yes I can't remember if I said I had two or three" she smiled back at Mercy, Mercy's giggle came out for a second
"Maybe you should try two and if it doesn't taste right you can add the third one"
"Why didn't I think of that?" Brittany asked laughing
"Maybe you've just got too much going on in your brain at the moment I have times like that too" Mercy smiled
"You know I think you might be right, I've got this cheating boyfriend at home, I've never done anything like this before everyone looks so... intelligent" she looked around the room as she talked
"I've never done this before either" Mercy admitted to her "It's kind of daunting" she laughed "I'm just overdosing on coffee"
"Good idea" Brittany smiled "Brittany by the way" she held her hand out for shaking
"Mercy, nice to meet you" Mercy took the hand she offered, this woman was tall, blond and beautiful, her flowered frock and sandals gave the impression she was from a small country village but her accent balled city roots. Her hair fell freely down her back and although the bow indicated it has been attended to today, the tangles that fell on her shoulders indicated different. Her blue eyes had a vacancy behind them as if she wasn't in the room but when something in her brain clicked she was able to link things together and converse, it was very rare but Mercy knew it was possible she might be autistic. She stood watching Brittany put sugar cubes in her drink and stir it before tasting it, her face scrunched as she tasted it, all Mercy could think was this girl was a right laugh, of course with a capital L
"I take two" she smiled "I'm better with numbers"
"I get that, I'm better with music" Mercy smiled "So what do your numbers tell you about this case?"
"It depends on where we start I mean if it's six against six then we could be talking 48 hours and 2 seconds to come to an agreement"
"Good with numbers" Mercy smiled nodding her head "I'm going to circulate we'll maybe catch up later"
"I'd like that" Brittany smiled taking another sip of her drink
Santana & Mercy
Mercy was stood talking to Terry, one of the guys on the jury, when she noticed a woman talking to one of the other guys the words quiet but spitting out of her mouth, she stood looking at this Latino looking woman with a little mix of something in her skin, almost threatening the guy with her finger constantly pointing in his face, either that or he'd offended her. Her Prada trouser suit sitting comfortably and neatly on her body, her torso showing every time she lifted her arms in protest to whatever the guy was saying to her, straight away it seemed this was going to be a controversial coupling, it only needed one bad apple and this woman was threatening to be just that
"Well I'm not most women and I'd thank you to keep your eyes and your damn comments to yourself" she walked away from him towards Mercy saying
"Is everything alright?" Mercy asked, smiling as she got closer to her
"Damn men" Santana turned to look at the man she was referring to as she spoke "I hate it when they see women as meat"
"I'd have to agree with that" Mercy smiled looking at the man still checking this woman out, even she'd noticed her naked torso and wondered why she'd think that was appropriate dress for jury service "Mercy Jones" she held her hand out at the woman as she spoke
"Santana Lopez" her face broke into a smile as she spoke "And as you can hear I hate men, I mean literally hate them" she rolled her eyes as she spoke
"They say opposites attract" Mercy laughed
"I don't think so, especially that sleaze" she moved her head in the direction of the guy she'd just blasted
"No I mean I love my man" Mercy laughed
"I don't think I hate all men I mean I have a Dad and brothers but men like those, or even like this so called rapist we're calling judgement on"
"So called?"
"Yeah he doesn't look the type to me, and if I'm truthful, I've seen enough of that sort to know the truth here"
"Which is?"
"He's a pussycat"
"Even pussycats have claws" Mercy smiled
"Not this one"
"See you at the table" Mercy turned smugly walking away, that one had instinct she was going to stay truthful to herself, she was already on board "And that man" she pointed at the guy that had offended Santana in the first place "You shouldn't go all out on him for having taste" she smiled 'Yes Miss Lopez taste with a capital T' she shook her head as she walked, this was gong to be testing
"Point taken" Santana smiled, her eye cocked at the indirect complement
The Room
They all walked around for a while longer until finally they heard the Usher call "The Jury this way please" and everyone involved made their way over to him "The Judge has given this one three days, you've had nearly two already so should we say 3pm tomorrow afternoon?" he smiled "And Mark you're the chair" he gave him some papers, waited for them all to get into the room and shut the door leaving them to it
"Is this anyone's first time?" Mark asked a show of hands revealing there were eight new people to the proceedings including the ladies she'd spoken to earlier and herself "Okay so I guess we have a show of hands first so we can see where we're at" he smiled at everyone, Mercy sat wishing she'd asked him questions before they'd got here, she felt a bit out of her depth
"So a show for not guilty" Mark asked smiling as seven hands went up, including Santana's, Mercy's and his "Guilty" he asked as he watched four hands go up, Mercy noting that included Quinn and Rachel's "And so that leaves one person undecided" he smiled at Brittany telling everyone "I guess we should deal with the undecided first" his hand waving for Brittany to take the floor
"I guess..." she looked around the table, daunted by these people, smiling when her eyes caught Mercy's and they shared a smile, Mercy nodded her encouragement "I guess I'd need to know a bit more about him like does he have butter or margarine, does he like cats, how many sugars he has in his coffee, I mean we're literally talking about someone's life here"
"Fucking butter or margarine" Hendrick one of the men asked his voice draping sarcasm
"Everyone's entitled to their say Hendrick" Mark cut the awkward silence that followed saying
"Say he liked butter, loved cats actually all animals and had no sugar in his coffee what would you think of him then?" Mercy asked
"He'd be cool, because a guy that does all of that, according to my mathematical genius brain, couldn't, wouldn't or even didn't do what that girl's saying he did"
"So you're voting he's...?"
"Not guilty" Brittany smiled, Mercy sat back thinking this was going to be too easy
"I like the way your brain works Brittany, pure genius" Mercy smiled at her across the table
"Thank you" she smiled, she couldn't tell everyone she felt rotten for the way things had ended with her and Sam five years ago she'd been cheating on her boyfriend with him and when it blew up she'd actually stood by and let Sam beat the crap out her man, she was turned on by it actually, but he was a good guy, she shouldn't have done that to him. Unfortunately for her this clarity only came after Drew turned out to be just as much a cheater as her, less than a year after that incident she was the one beating the crap out of some girl while Drew stood smiling and picking the bitch up after she'd finished with her. She was hoping somewhere in there, with this not guilty outcome he could see that she was truly sorry, she was using her brain on this one coming out all undecided the word that kept repeating in her head. Nobody had ever treated her as well as Sam did, she'd actually lived to regret the day she'd messed with his feelings like that
"What does that brain of yours tell us about the time we have?" Mercy asked
"I said four hours originally but we can give them two hours each" she smiled looking around the room
"Okay that's eight to four, do you guys want to give your reasoning and we'll take it from there?" Mark looked at Josh and smiled
Josh started off well with the ethos of the very core of rape cases being based on the fact that the man thought he had permission, but by the end of his argument which lasted nearing two hours Santana asked the question "So your wife's never asked you to be rough and told you to stop?"
"Yeah but that's my wife and that's like foreplay" he told her, red faced
"So according to your argument you've raped your wife?" Santana asked
"No that was with consent" Josh replied trying not to rise to Santana's sarcastic attitude
"And for the record I'd like to add there was no physical evidence of any rape taking place and that the victim went directly to hospital" Mark pointed out looking at the notes he'd ben given
"For me the whole thing around her being a married woman sort of stuck out for me, if she was getting it at home, why make up something as elaborate as a rape, for crying out loud" Quinn butted in saying
"Did the notes say she was getting it at home?" Mark flicked the pages of the notes as he asked the question "I don't remember hearing the answer to that question"
"Because it wasn't asked" Mercy informed him
"I didn't think so" Mark looked at her, smiling for the help on that "You look familiar" he squinted his eyes at her saying
"I just have one of those faces" she smiled showing her bright white teeth
"What I mean by that" Quinn made sure her eyes met with everyone around the table before she carried on talking "Is that marriage is just so final for a couple, if they were just seeing each other and that had happened maybe there would be a way back, but how can that husband look at his wife with love ever again?"
"If that had happened to my wife, I can't lie I'd struggle" Mark told the jury "But I must reiterate there is no evidence of actual rape"
"But the intention was there" Quinn fired back "He was disturbed by the audience"
"Seriously?" Mercy let slip out of her mouth, her tone one of shock
"Seriously" Quinn smiled at her obviously taking on board what she'd said earlier about not meaning to sound disrespectful, It had been a lonely time in her life when Sam had rocked up, she was just coming out of a very rocky, volatile, heart wrenching relationship with Alan a guy she'd been seeing from work, he was married and although he told her every time that made love that she was it for him, when the time came he chose his wife. She'd reacted badly to his confession she went out and found Sam a willing naïve substitute who overwhelmed her with love and affection, just what she needed, but her heart still belonged to Alan he was her first love and if her pride hadn't overtaken her she'd have still been sitting there waiting on the man.
She knew the day would come when she'd have to choose between them, but for a few months Alan was alright with seeing her at work and sometimes after work for a few seriously hot seconds, it was exciting. Sam had just started getting serious talking about love, settling down while she was thinking fun, fun and more fun, stupidly she'd mentioned Sam's thoughts to Alan, wanting him to make his move before Sam did, but it backfired when Alan turned up at her place when she thought Sam was out of town. Sam came back early and stood in the bedroom doorway watching Alan and her going at it, worse still, she was telling Alan how much she loved him, she'd never said that to Sam, he waited until the two of them saw him before he walked out and she never saw him again, too ashamed to fetch her few things from his place and he never came to collect the things he'd left.
Alan's only interest was whether Sam would tell his wife or not, eventually telling her Sam and he were friends, before he made it clear to her that he was never leaving his wife for her a few months later. By the time she got to Sam's apartment he'd left, he was in a band and she'd read somewhere they were touring, going into the big time. She'd tried to move on several times but when she got drunk Sam was the one man that came to her mind, he'd treated her good, now she had a chance to tell and show him how sorry she was "He looks like a ravenous lover to me" she smiled remembering their time together, she looked around the table at everyone suddenly remembering where she was "That's what came to mind when I looked at his lips" she giggled
"Seriously?" Mercy let slip she was so pissed
"Interesting" Mark laughed "So which camp are you in?" he asked Quinn
"I still think.. no I don't, I reserve judgement for now" she smiled, looking around the table at the uneasy women
"Simon?" Mark carried on around the table asking questions of the Jury members that thought he was guilty
"To be honest I just don't think there's ever smoke without fire" he looked around the table saying "I mean that woman's husbands alright, why would she willingly go behind his back, that Sam looks too innocent to actually be innocent, and didn't I hear he was in the acting business or something, that stuff comes like a second coat to those people"
"He's actually a musician, plays the guitar, I don't think that needs much acting unless he can't play the damn thing" Mark confirmed
"What if this time the fire's coming from the victim?" Dwayne asked "I think his innocent look is because he's actually that, and I pride myself on being able to read people"
"So your not guilty is based on the fact that you can read the guy's body language?" Rachel asked shocked
"You'd be amazed how much you can tell about someone's body language" Dwayne smiled looking around the room "Like Brittany over there fancies her chances with him" he smiled her tone was all beg when she spoke about him and she took care not to say his name that would have been a dead give away" everyone watched as Brittany's head lowered and her eyes found her lap "And I really wouldn't be surprised if you were a former lover" he looked at Santana telling her
"This is ridiculous" Quinn looked at him saying "You'll have every woman at the damn table interested in being raped next"
"I must say again, there was no evidence of actual rape" Mark butted in keeping the jury focused
Mercy sat quietly looking at Dwayne she needed to speak to him, because while they were in court she got the distinct feeling that something was amiss, Sam looked more than worried and he was forever looking at them her eyes looking over to where each woman sat, there was something there. Brittany hadn't been too comfortable with what Dwayne had said, she didn't protest just looked down in shame, why would she want a piece of Sam, was she really asking herself that question, everyone wanted a piece of her man that was standard, hell she did too, her head came back in the room when the usher came in to tell them it was the end of the day
"Show of hands" Mark said as they ended the session "Those who say not guilty please raise your hand" he counted nine with Brittany and Josh "Undecided" he smiled at Quinn's move "And Guilty" he counted two pretty soon it was time for dinner
The Hotel
Conversation after dinner came easy, everyone was relaxed, they'd had a heavy day and it was time for some relaxation, Lindsey coming out of her shell when the girls naturally gravitated to each other sitting watching the guys go overboard on the alcohol Frankie the worst for wear standing up, stumbling and grabbing hold of Mark to steady himself, Mark flicked him off, he fell and that was the excitement for the evening. Mercy had been hoping the girls would loosen up a bit during the evening there was something going on for the women she didn't understand, Rachel especially had been quiet throughout the day "I'd hoped we could find out a bit more about each other" she announced as Quinn made to move off
"Like?" Rachel asked and Quinn stop to hear more
"Actually" Quinn sat back down saying "That might be something I'd want to do" she smiled "I was watching Sam during the trial and he kept looking at you why?" she looked at Mercy asking thinking how the woman had cleverly manoeuvred the conversation
"At me?" she gasped "I thought he was looking at you and I don't blame him, your stunning" she smiled throwing a compliment at the girl who needed it all to be about her
"I saw him looking at you too" Santana told Quinn wondering what she was up to
"Me?" she grinned her mind was made up, if they'd seen it, it was true he did want her back "I didn't notice to be honest" she lied
"Girl his eyes were all over you" Mercy told her, her face smiling but her mind asking the question why Santana thought Sam's eyes were all over this damn woman, they stroked Quinn's ego for a while before Mercy finally turned the conversation to subject Rachel "So Rachel you were going to enlighten me earlier as to what actually constitutes a rape" she asked the need to change the subject overwhelming, plus the wine was starting to talk for her, the conversation might have been tired but she needed this woman to focus on what she was saying
"Well that's simple no means no doesn't it, I stick by what I said"
"Sometimes I say no just to get the party started" Santana laughed "The funs in the chase isn't it?"
"The chase is fun" Quinn smiled
"Are you a virgin?" Brittany asked her
"No" Rachel said laughing with everyone else at Brittany's question "And I'm not a prude either, I just think men need to be punished"
"Punished?" Quinn asked
"Someone's had a bad time of it" Santana's eyes moved around the group at Rachel's comment
"I'm going to bed" Rachel got up and announced before she walked off leaving them to it, Mercy looked across at Dwayne a few times trying to get her opportunity for a chat but the groups were so separated it would have looked odd if she'd just left the girls and gone over to him so she marked it up as a missed opportunity, they sat talking about Rachel for a while before they all went to bed they had an early start tomorrow,
Mercy fell asleep imagining Sam sitting singing 'Set The Night To Music' by Roberta Flack & Maxi Priest in her ear a smile on her face as she remembered the night they'd finally got that song how they wanted it "What a night" she smiled closing her eyes to relive it
The Room
They'd had their breakfast fit for Royalty, sat listening to the Usher's instructions for the day, and were sitting around the table again with people still to convince "Well I suppose the good sign is we've had nobody move over to guilty unless that's changed over night" Mark smiled around the room "Show of hands please Not Guilty?" he asked smiling as ten hands went up "You've made a decision overnight?" he smiled at Quinn who had switched camps
"I guess watching you guys last night I thought well none of you were fit for sex after the amount you took in and to be truthful I think that was the last thing on any of you guys mind so, he's a guy yeah?"
"Yeah" Mark replied
"A nice guy at that, he didn't do it I believe his story to be fact" Quinn smiled
"So that leaves Simon and Rachel to put their argument"
"You can go first, you started yesterday" Rachel turned to Simon telling him
"Okay" he smiled "I watched that poor woman's heart break up there on that stand, I felt her pain and I believe her story"
"Story that's exactly what it is, a story" Santana snapped "I could do that same act for you guys right now, almost word for word"
Simon carried on for well into three hours before everyone decided he wasn't moving on his decision and called a break
"Rachel" Mercy called as they got up for refreshments "I just wanted to catch up with you on something you said yesterday"
"What constitutes rape I know you were going to come back to me on that one" she smiled walking towards the beverages
"Yeah I guess that's played on my mind and I just sat thinking what does?" she picked the pot of coffee up and offered her a refill
"Please" she smiled accepting the pouring of her drink "I think I stand by what I said to Mark, no means no"
"But we agreed earlier sometimes it can mean yes" Mercy laughed "I'm confused" Mercy dropped two cubes of sugar in the cup and stood looking at her "Let's discuss the sinario we talked about yesterday again with a twist, say you fancy a guy across the room and well not just fancy but want to get into his pants, you walk over to him make your intentions known and he flat out says no what do you do?"
"Find a corner lick my wounds and think about a plan B" Rachel laughed
"But you wouldn't, you said no means no"
"That's flirting not rape"
"But the man said no"
"He didn't mean it..." she looked at Mercy getting her point "Because he doesn't even know how sweet I can be yet" she laughed
"Remember what you're holding onto, no means no" Mercy smiled walking away her job was done, she looked around the room her eyes eventually finding Dwayne, she moved quickly across the room to get to him she needed a conversation "Dwayne" she smiled as she got closer "I was interested in your intuitions yesterday" her eyes met his again from above her put as she took a sip of her drink "How's it going?" she whispered as she got closer to him
"I think Quinn, Brittany and Rachel are still into him, if you keep at Rachel I think she'll change her mind soon enough"
"I'm dealing with her" she looked across at her standing with Simon talking "I'm getting a strange vibe from Quinn, but I've got her" she giggled looking around the room
"Is our man in trouble?"
"Depends" she took a sip of her drink
"On?"
"If these bitches are still in his life"
"You don't believe that?" Dwayne asked, Mercy just looked at him and walked away to mingle
"Mercy" Santana called across the room, grabbing her attention, the smile on her face saying she had a secret, she hurriedly cross the room to get to her as she called "I have the latest news hot off the press" she almost knocked heads she got that close
"What's happened?" Mercy asked
"Rachel and Simon" she raised her eyebrow as she spoke, indicating there was something going on there "I just heard their conversation, there's something going on" she looked across at the two of them still standing awkwardly talking
"Since when?"
"My third eye tells me this was going on well before the case started, maybe she was trying to bribe him or something"
"I don't think she has that much pull" Mercy laughed
"She was almost jumping up and down at whatever he said to her, the smile on his face was priceless" they watched as Dwayne walked over to the couple, smiled and started talking, he was there for a short while before he shook Simon's hand and walked away looking across at Santana and her as he walked, he lifted his eyebrows indicating he'd unearthed something
"Time people please" Mark shouted across the room, watching everyone got back to the table "We have two arguments to hear and one decision to make" he looked around the table saying his eyes finally landing on Rachel "Can we hear yours before we get back to Simon's?"
"If he didn't touch her how did her clothes get torn?"
"According to his story he stood watching her rip them" Brittany replied almost before the sentence finished
"I need to get out of here, can we have another count" Rachel replied
"Fine" Mark rolled his eyes irritated "All those for not guilty?" he looked around the table everyone shocked that twelve hands went up "Wow what did you say to her?" he asked Simon, a smile on his face
"Sometimes no means yes" he replied
"I really don't care right now all that matters is that we have a verdict and we can get out of here" Mark smiled
Rachel sat holding her secret, she really didn't care about the case anymore she'd thought he was the one once, when she'd been putting all her eggs in one basket back then, sat stewing on the shame of it all for all this time, wanting to get him back, only to find that someone actually liked her for who she was, things were going to go far with Simon she could feel it, maybe this one she'd get down the isle. she sat humming that well known song in her head "That you, don't do it for me anymore, no, you, don't do it for me anymore" 'Don't Do It For Me Anymore' by Demi Lovato happy she could finally close this chapter in her life, coming back into the room when she heard the usher's voice giving instruction
Sam
He'd gone back to his cell sweating, he wasn't looking forward to seeing Mercy again after this, shit was going to hit, the only thing he had going for him in all this was that all of them were well before their time, he'd never dream of cheating on her. He lay in the empty cell imagining her face as Santana took pleasure in throwing their shit in her face, or Rachel made out like they'd actually got married and he was the cheat that woman was trying to paint him as in court. A giggle came out as he imagined Brittany's story, she'd never made any sense to him and if Mercy understood her enough to get what she was on about she'd actually get the woman more than he ever did "And Quinn" he rolled his eyes that woman was relentless, he laughed at the thought of her trying to take on Mercy, Mercy would crucify her,
"Dinner" he heard bringing him back to where he was as he heard the locks open and his meal was brought in
"Any news?" he asked the officer
"Nothing past they've got till 3pm tomorrow"
"3pm" Sam echoed taking the tray and finding a seat to eat, he didn't finish the food, he was tired he lay imagining he was laying in Mercy's lap listening to her singing 'Set The Night To Music' by Roberta Flack & Maxi Priest in his ear until he fell asleep
He spent the next day pacing the cell, wanting to squeeze through the bars and tell his side of the story to Mercy, his eyes constantly on the clock he could just about see from his cell as he waited impatiently for 3pm
"It's time Sam" the officer opened the cell telling him, Sam brushed his hair back off his face with his hands, straightened his tie, checked his jacket, feeling her panties in his pocket and followed the officer out and up into the court room
Crown Court
Sam walked up the stairs, the first person he saw was Mercy, his eyes smiled and he felt better when hers smiled back, he got to his spot and looked at the rest of the Jury, not knowing what to think, no one was giving anything away "All Rise" the Usher shouted and everyone's attention focused on the judge. His head was buzzing everything just seemed surreal, how did his life change from playing to thousands of people in a stadium to sitting waiting for twelve people to determine his fate.
"Are you alright?" Anthony nudged him asking, shaking him out of his shivering thought
"Not really" he looked at this guy he called friend standing next to him "I love your sister and she probably hates me right now"
"She doesn't hate you, trust me" his face serious as he spoke
"Mr Sam Evans" they heard thundering through the court making them both look at the Judge, to see he was looking at the jury, their heads turned to take in the conversation, this was it they were about to read out the verdict, Sam had bells ringing in his head
"Yes" he heard Anthony hiss his fist hitting the air above him, he looked at him and for a second he wondered what had happened "Not guilty Sam" he told him
"Not guilty?" Sam asked looking at the Judge, he so wanted to jump the bar and grab hold of Mercy but that wasn't an option right now
"She had your back" Anthony whispered in his ear as he hugged him "Let's get out of here"
Free
Sam and Anthony stepped outside the courts, Sam smiled as he took in the fresh air and looked around at the space "It's good to be a free man"
"A free man with his dignity in tact" Anthony corrected him
"And a girl that's going to be mad as hell, I need to sort my life out before I do anything else"
"She's waiting for you at the café you guys..." Anthony trailed off as a woman came walking towards them "Step back please" he held his arm out telling her
"It's alright I know her" Sam told him
"Quinn" his face like stone as he spoke "I think I need to say thank you"
"Is there a chance for us?" she asked "I mean a real chance, will you let me apologise properly just give my ten minutes, I was horrible to you and I just need a chance to make that up to you, just ten minutes" she looked at Anthony standing there before looking back at Sam
"No"
"But you were checking me out in there..."
"I wasn't, I was wondering what the hell you were playing at"
"This isn't a game, I mean it I was wrong to do what I did" she told him a beg in her voice
"I was right to do what I did" he told her "I'm with someone, I'm happy and she's the one"
"Sam we have to go" Anthony pulled at him saying, Sam willingly went with him as Quinn stood watching him go, he didn't even look back at her as the car pulled off
They got to the café to applause, the only person Sam could see was Mercy "You did all this?" he looked around at the faces from the jury
"Nobody messes with my man" she smiled jumping into his arms
"How did you..." he pulled her off his chest asking
"I know a few people, who know a few people, I found your ex's a while ago" she looked at the girls "They needed to say sorry properly, and I gave them the opportunity"
"I accept your apologies" he smiled at Rachel, Santana and Brittany
"I got Simon involved ages ago, he's a charmer" she laughed as he tipped his hat at Sam "And Josh with the smooth suit was sent in to work specifically with Miss Fabray" Mercy rolled her eyes saying
"But she took a liking to me" Dwayne smiled
"No she didn't, her eye was always on the prize, just like Mercy said it would be" Anthony told him "She was waiting outside for him"
"Damn" Dwayne hissed
"So how did you manage to pull that off?" he sat down asking, not caring that she was attached to his lap "Getting the Jury together?"
"Mark knows a man, a few actually" she smiled
"That woman thought she had people, you had people" Anthony laughed "Everyone came through for you"
"That was crown court how did you do that?" he asked stunned
"Guilt" she smiled
"What you bribed them?"
"No just our ultra-ego's" she laughed "Quinn was all about the G as in glamour, obviously a turncoat now" she laughed "Rachel was U as in Unique she had a way of saying, doing and thinking different things all at the same time. Britt was just a L as in laugh I love it when she goes into her mode, she cracks me up, and Santana well she's the T, she found all the guys and helped set this all up very tastefully" she giggled
"What happened to the I?" he asked
"That would be me" she looked into his eyes telling him "Incredible, Incomparable, Insatiable, Intimate need I go on?" her lips met his asking
"Hold up" Sam looked at the people around him saying "Anymore parties are taking place in our home with people I know and trust give us a few hours" he smiled getting up grabbing Mercy's hand and leaving the café "We're about to set the night to music"
"Don't ask" Anthony held his hand up telling the crowd
The End
On a break for a while now - Write to you when I get back to it