Disclaimer: I know nothing about court cases. While some research has been done, I've had to move things around and speed up the whole process for entertainment's sake. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.
Thank you for the beautiful comments. I will certainly reply but tonight it was either reply to comments or post a chapter.
I offer you a chapter.
As always, beta'd by me - eek! Avert your eyes, dear reader.
Enjoy :)
Crimson Lane - Chapter 27 - Retribution
Leia, Han and Rey pulled up in a silver Bently outside the steps of the Coruscant District Court. The driver scurried to open Leia's door and a wall of journalists piled around her, pushing microphones into her space as bright cameras flashed with rapid-fire.
Despite the assault of blinding lights and hounding, intrusive questions, Leia emerged, stoic and unmoved.
Rey had never experienced this side of the media before. The type that earned their bad reputation by pushing and fighting each other to get one-up on their competitors. She snuck behind Han, head bowed and avoiding eye contact as the swarm morphed into a frenzy of interrogation.
And yet, no one seemed to notice her. At that moment, she finally understood why Ben had sent her away to Bespin, and for that, she was beyond grateful. Had anyone known who she was and the part she had played in all of this, they would have been relentless in their pursuit to expose her.
"Senator Organa, has your son's criminal actions destroyed your political career for good?"
"Is it true, he is accused of murdering Snoke over a prostitute?"
"Where have you been hiding these past six months?"
Each question shot at Leia like an arrow was returned with a stiff "no comment". Other times she didn't even waste her breath with a reply. Han walked alongside her, pushing past anyone who dared get in his face, while Rey skulked up behind them both, barely raising her head lest someone notice her.
When they came out again this afternoon, perhaps she would be the one they attacked. Could she manage to do it with as much steel determination as Leia? Could she let the arrows fall to the ground as they branded her a prostitute, and much worse...
She felt dizzy following the throngs of reporters, and even sicker at the signs held by protesters demanding "Justice for Alastair Snoke". She tried to push through, ignoring the way her heart was palpitating like a machine gun, hot and cold shivers running up and down her spine making her feel faint. Sweaty bodies pushed up against her and whenever they barged past, Rey's skin felt like ants were swarming beneath her flesh, their chanting, blotting out every other sense.
Justice. Justice. Justice!
Rey's world was closing in around her, the shouts of the media and protesters crushing her skull. With each step she slowed, breathing too fast, too hard, until she was on the verge of a panic attack.
She froze, paralysed.
A warm hand pressed against hers and she turned to see Finn, Rose and Poe forming ranks around her.
"We got you, peanut," Finn pulled her along beside him.
Rose flanked her right side, and with a cheeky smile, shouted into the crowd. "Move out the way you pack of vultures!"
"Stay classy, Rose." Poe came up behind them. "How you doing, Rey?"
"Okay. Better now, you guys are here."
Inside the court, they bundled into a large corridor with polished timber floors and marble bust statues with gold plaques dotted between every door. The sound ricocheted off the walls and they were surrounded by a rumble of low voices. Amongst the crowd, Rey saw the lavender shade of Amilyn's hair, the lawyer speaking calmly to reporters as a dozen furry microphones were shoved in her face. She caught eyes with her, and Rey saw the familiar crinkle in them as they recognised her, assured and confident even under all this pressure.
Rey smiled and looked away, her cheeks burning. Even after everything Amilyn and her had spoken about, the work they had done together, Rey couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by guilt because that morning she'd received an unexpected call. One she didn't quite dare to warn them about.
The sharp clap of stiletto heels snapped against the floorboards and Rey cringed as she heard Amilyn's voice.
"Where did you run off to this morning after breakfast?"
Rey turned to face her, flushed. "Oh, that, it was just a phone call."
"Yes, I know that. I was there. But you disappeared?"
Rey smiled in a way that didn't reach her eyes, glancing around the hallway to see where her entourage had gone.
"Is everything alright?"
"Uh ha," Rey hummed, still refusing to meet her eye but she could feel Amilyn's gaze on her, studying the jittery way her fingers tapped on her leg and how Rey struggled to focus on any one thing.
"So who was the phone call from then?"
Rey blanched, shrugging.
"Really? You don't know. Some random no-name called you and you were so upset you left your breakfast and didn't return."
Shit.
"Amilyn, I—"
"Prosecution contacted you, huh?"
She snapped her eyes to Amiliyn, biting her lip.
"Surprise witness?"
Rey gave the hint of a nod.
"They expect you to testify against him?"
The lawyer for the prosecution, Enric Pryde charged through the crowd of reporters then, confidently spouting words like "justice will be served" and that the case would be a "win for the people".
"That idiot." Amilyn's lips quirked with a quarter smile as she squinted at the man marching towards the courtroom doors. "He certainly knows how to make things interesting."
Rey grasped her forearm. "I don't know what to do. He said if I say no he will issue a summons."
"Well, that depends on if you do what he wants you to. I imagine he's under the impression that you were a victim of Kylo Ren and will use you to further his case."
"But, I'm not!"
"If he believes that then he'll make the move to treat you as a hostile witness. If it goes that way, then you're in for a tough time. Be prepared for some nasty questions. He'll dredge up your past, the sex work, even Unkar—"
"You know about that?" Amilyn gave her a conciliatory smile. "Ben told me."
"Great."
"It's one of the reasons why he didn't want you to come. He thought they'd try to use you as a weapon."
"Oh, God. I shouldn't have-."
"Nonsense. Ben's very good at being melodramatic if you haven't noticed.'
If it was in any other situation, Rey might have laughed, but right now she couldn't.
"It will be fine, Rey, but for the sake of my client's sanity can you not do anything stupid up there?"
Suddenly an older woman with a long narrow nose and grey, frizzy hair came out in a hurry. "Amilyn, they're starting now."
"I'll try." Rey's heart dropped, knowing the lawyer had more important things to do than ease her fears.
There was another squeeze of her hand, this time it was longer, more deliberate, as she added with a whisper. "Whatever happens, we'll deal with it. I'll see you in there."
The courtroom had that stale, closed-room kind of smell, mixed with the remnants of lemon-lime cleaning products, lacquer and a mishmash of perfume and cologne.
Rey shuffled in with a crowd of people and sat down on a bench between Rose and Finn, with Leia and Han diagonally behind her. There was a low murmur, the collective creaking of benches and a smattering of coughs.
To the far right, there were a group of photographers and reporters, even a film crew. She recognised a couple of faces from the Hosnian Herald but the others she'd never seen before. Of course, it was a big case and there would be media attention, but suddenly it all seemed very real and confronting. Regardless of what the court found, how would he be able to move on from this?
The question and lack of answer haunted her. Was this going to be his life now? Always in the media spotlight? The "disgraced son of a senator" the newspapers had called him. Would no one know what he had really done, what he had risked and fought to escape from?
She shivered.
"It's bloody freezing in here," Rose hissed.
They looked up and saw they were seated right under an air conditioning vent.
"Rey!" A voice whispered from behind her.
She turned to see Leia, holding out a jacket, the older woman's eyes were red-rimmed but her hair and make-up were pristine, only Rey would have noticed the thick layer of concealer under her eyes. Even now, as her son faced an uncertain future, she treated Rey like a member of the family.
"You keep it. I'll be okay," Rey said.
"I bought it for you especially. Take it. You'll catch your death otherwise."
Rey nodded, thanking her and pulled the brown leather jacket over her lap, spreading it over Rose's legs too. As she smoothed the jacket down around her knees, Rose gripped her hand at the sound of a door opening, followed by the firing bolts of flashes and camera clicks.
A sense of dread washed over her as she looked up to see Ben. His head was lowered and hair greasy, falling around his face. He squinted past the flashes, looking into the crowd. The murmuring peaked and Rey felt her throat go dry. He looked … terrible.
As he was escorted into the courtroom, Rey was surprised to find he was in street clothes, navy jeans and a black knitted sweater.
"No cuffs?" She mouthed back to Leia.
"It's for the jury. They don't want him to be seen as a threat."
The clothes were fine, but his face, there was no hiding the dark circles under his eyes, the uneven trim of his beard and unwashed hair. He'd lost weight, but not enough to be alarming. She imagined Amilyn had worked hard enough to get him dressed in something-halfway normal seeing how dejected he was.
He made a point of facing the cameras, staring dead ahead, like a man facing the gallows. The clicking of shutters increased until he was moved on to the area for the defence. As he neared the crowd, his dark eyes searched through the lines of people, stopping at his parents. Rey noticed how his face softened but then he spotted her. She scrunched down in her seat, fighting the urge to cover her face.
There was a painful bolt to her heart as their eyes met, and Ben froze, his lips parted and brows furrowed.
"Shit!" she hissed, biting her lip.
He looked furious. She slumped down in her seat hiding, dragging the jacket with her, but it was too late for that.
"What are you doing?" Rose tugged the jacket back over her legs. "He wants to see you."
"Just tell me when he's sat down."
Rose stretched her neck up, trying to peer between the people in front of them. "Okay, now. He's talking to his lawyer."
"He's not looking back?"
"No, not at the moment."
Relieved, Rey sat up again and allowed herself to gaze at the man she had missed every minute since they'd parted. At the lover who had grunted her name and come inside her as a desperate moment of passion. The last time she had seen him, she'd watched him buttoning up a short-sleeve dress shirt, his skin gold with the light of the morning sun. He'd only half gotten dressed before he'd smiled back at her and then was climbing over her naked body, pinning her under the sheet as he showered her with kisses. She'd laughed, pretending to push him away.
Her eyes lingered at the tips of his ears, peaking out beneath those black locks and she smiled. That morning as they walked to the dock, she'd come to learn why he'd always kept his hair long, embarrassed by "those fucking wing-nuts that refused to stay down".
As if sensing her thoughts, he turned back to look at her, running a hand through his thick dark hair. She gestured to her ears and he raised an eyebrow, tucking those rogue tips beneath his hair. A little laugh escaped her, the memory tugging so strongly at her heart it was either that or cry. And then, as if sensing her thoughts, the side of his mouth quirked. In that fleeting smile, she saw the gentleness in his face, those half-moon eyes and two long dimples that flashed whenever she made him laugh. They stared at each other as the lawyers shuffled their papers, as the jury entered and the bailiff paced.
You know I had to come, she pleaded with her eyes. Please understand.
And as if almost reading her mind, he nodded.
The connection lasted no more than a few seconds, but it belonged to them, despite the crazy world, the trial, the media, this moment was theirs.
Until it wasn't.
There was a flash pointed directly in Rey's direction and she heard the close of a shutter, followed by another.
She turned away in a hurry, fixing her eyes to the ground.
The judge in his black robes entered, and they stood, waiting for him to sit. There was a collective creak as people sat down, and this time, the doors at the back closed. Rey scanned every face, searching for just one.
"Phasma's not here," she whispered to Rose.
Rose joined her, peering around the courtroom. "I thought she agreed to do it."
"She did."
"Poe said his lawyer turned down the plea bargain?"
"She thinks he will have a better chance when the jury hears his case."
Rose eyed the jury. "I don't know. They look kind of grim."
"Things are changing. Poe released our huge expose on Snoke yesterday and he's been hounded by reporters all morning. We just need time. The trial gives us that."
"Shh!" Finn leant over, indicating the Judge was about to speak.
For the next few minutes, Rey stared at the back of Ben's head as the Bailiff opened the court and introduced the prosecutor and defence counsel before announcing:
"Let the defendant stand."
Ben obeyed, swallowing in a way that made his Adam's apple bob up and down like a giant marble in his throat.
"Ben Solo, you are charged that on Friday, 6 July at 12 Crimson Lane, you entered into an altercation with Alastair Snoke that resulted in grievous bodily harm, leaving the victim near-dead until paramedics revived him on the scene. How do you plead, guilty or not guilty?"
He stared at Amilyn and she immediately stood, bending over the microphone. "We plead not guilty, Your Honour."
"Furthermore, you stand charged that on Thursday, 5 July at 18 Tuanui Street, Niima Outpost, you shot and killed Lor San Tekka in the head, without any provocation or cause. How do you plead?"
"The defendant pleads not guilty, Your Honour."
The judge looked at Amilyn sceptically and continued to rattle off a list of charges. Mostly smaller counts of assault dating back sixteen years ago. To every charge, Amilyn responded with a quick "not guilty", except for one:
"... to the charge that the defendant brutally attacked bus driver Dale Johnson at 4/26 Nimma Road, Jakku on 17 September 2006, resulting in two broken hands and the man's inability to continue working as a bus driver to support his wife and child."
Rey stopped breathing, her vice-like fingers grabbing hold of Leia's jacket — he hadn't — he hadn't told her that.
Ben turned back to look at her briefly, his face a mix of pain and regret. She didn't blink, or swallow, and praised God she didn't cry.
He hesitated and a camera clicked repeatedly, followed by three or four more.
"Johnson?" Rose asked her in an almost perky voice like she'd just discovered a gold coin on the pavement.
"How does the defendant plead?" the judge continued.
Rose nudged Rey, waiting for an answer.
"Dale Johnson was my father," Rey said hollowly, as she turned to Rose. "He owed money to Snoke. Money my family could never payback."
"Oh shit," Rose gasped. "I didn't—"
"Defence, please state—" Amilyn snatched the microphone once more. "Your Honour, that charge should be dropped. My client was a minor at the time and, regardless, we plead not guilty."
Ben glared at his lawyer, his cheeks and ears slashed by a red blush, as he tried to give Amilyn a subtle shake of his head but she ignored him.
Rose clutched Rey's hand in her own, squeezing it. She wished she wouldn't, it was enough that she had to wear this mask, the one that kept her chin high, refusing to give away the heartbreak that lay beneath.
She knew why he'd done it. Snoke must have given him that cruel job … but still, it didn't ease the pain knowing what he'd been made to do, what he'd been too scared to tell her all along.
The charges continued, but by this point, she could barely face listening to them.
"And to close," the Judge continued. "That on 30 June 2014, the defendant again unlawfully entered the apartment of 4/26 Nimma Road, Jakku assaulting 16-year-old Kira Johnson, daughter of Dale Johnson where she was verbally and physically threatened."
Rey stared at him, feeling like the world had stopped turning. She was that young girl again, pleading with the monster to let her go.
Amilyn leaned forward, but Ben reached out a hand to stop her.
"Guilty," his soft voice cracked through the speakers.
There was a loud murmur in the courtroom and Rey watched as Amilyn spoke quietly to him, her hand covering the microphone but he just shook his head profusely.
Rose squeezed her hand a little harder, and Rey anchored herself to it. She wished he hadn't said it. They had no hard evidence of any of those charges and in Rey's eyes, he'd long paid for that crime.
The closest Rey had ever come to being in court was flicking past the odd Law and Order episode on television. In the end, nothing could have prepared her for how boring it was.
The Judge introduced the jury, and she studied each of their faces, deciding on sight whether she trusted any of them, the answer was a resolving "no". Occasionally, she watched the court reporter tapping furiously on the keys of her laptop, or sometimes she eyed the journalists scribbling notes.
But most of the time she watched him, and almost like some deep instinct, he always seemed to know. His head would half turn in her direction like he was trying to see her too. And after the opening charges were read, she doubted he could bear too.
The morning rolled on until recess, when they stood, groaning and stretching stiff muscles.
During the break, a couple of journalists rushed up to interrogate Rey as to her relationship with the accused. Rey opened and closed her mouth, unsure of what to say, until Finn shot them down with a sharp "no comment".
When they returned to the courtroom, Amilyn began her opening statement, taking the jury on a journey of Ben's past: the events surrounding his initiation into the First Order and the increasing pressure and blackmail he faced as a member of the Knights of Ren.
Ben barely looked up, his dark eyes fixed on the desk in front of him. By this point, he'd rolled his sleeves up and it struck Rey how washed out he seemed. His skin was matte white and beneath his eyes were bruised.
He needed sunlight. He needed freedom.
The jury was transfixed by the narrative Amilyn weaved, like a layered tapestry, all the pieces coming together to show how Ben had come to be in this position.
A "tragedy" she had called it.
As she got to the end of her speech, she paused, holding her breath, fixing her eye at every one of the Jury, giving each person time to be seen.
She lowered her eyes to the floor, her head bowing dramatically, and then to Ben, with a sad smile.
"You may be wondering today, how a man of 30 years could find himself trapped in this position. Some might argue, he was strong and smart enough to escape, that there was no reason he would stay working for such a brutal monster. And you could be right—" She paced before them thoughtfully. "But today I present to you, a young boy who was captured and trapped into a web of physical and emotional abuse. Slide please!"
To the left of the judge, a white screen came to life, as the lights above dimmed and the window shades lowered, plunging the room into soft darkness. Rey shot one last glance at Ben before his outline faded from view.
Her heart squeezed in her chest, wanting to go and hold him, to kiss him, to tell him everything would be alright—
Then the crowd gasped and she saw what they were looking at.
Rey drew back in her seat, the horror of the image, forcing a haunted sob to escape he. The picture was of Ben's back, but there was barely an inch without blood. Running from his shoulder blade to his middle was a deep gash, the skin ripped and broken, that was the worst one, but all around his back were smaller, deeper cuts, his sides were shaded with nebulous bruises spreading across his spine and around to his front. Rey could hear Leia and Han's heavy breaths behind her in the silence, and one-by-one there were quiet sobs in the darkened crowd, noses blowing, people shifting on their seats. Rose wasn't even looking, her hand shielded her eyes as Finn clutched at her thigh.
Rey's lips trembled. Phasma's cruel words from yesterday haunted her when she'd said Snoke's violence had been "barbaric".
Funny; that was another time he suffered for you …
Rey shook her head, trying to push the words away.
Amilyn only granted a reprieve long enough for the next image to load, one that showed the front of his torso. There was no blood this time, but the bruises down his left side were massive explosions of black, purple and blue. Beside the image were a list of injuries: broken ribs, a bruised kidney, shoulder subluxation...
Other thoughts came back to Rey then…
The left side of his body — he'd protected it that morning at the dojo when she sparred with him so many years ago. Had this happened the night before he had come to get help from Master Luke? When they'd turned him away because they wanted to protect her.
Rey brought her hand to her mouth, silencing her cry.
She knew he'd been abused and manipulated by Snoke, but had she ever really known what that looked like? There was only so much her imagination let her believe, but seeing it here on screen for the world to see... She forced herself not to look away from the horror. If she was to be with him, then she had to see, she had to know what he'd been through.
"In December 2014, my client came to Snoke asking to leave the organisation, citing he felt uncomfortable with the work. A young man, no more than 23-years of age, begged to be released of his contract to your respected Alastair Snoke. Not only did Snoke threaten the safety of the Solo family, but he proved to my client that if he tried to escape, every crime Snoke had forced him to commit would be reported to the police and proceeded to personally torture him, both emotionally and physically, into compliance."
She kept the images up, flicking through close-ups, each one of them worse than the one before, until most of the audience had averted their eyes, unable to keep looking at the steady stream of images.
"These images were sent into us by Lor San Tekka, who encouraged my client to work with him and try to expose Alastair Snoke's true nature."
The lights flicked with a buzz and the automatic shutters rolled up with a low groan. Ben was staring into the space before him with dead eyes, nostrils flared, and even Rey could see that he was shaking.
"The late Mr San Tekka was fully aware of the risks of this endeavour. He went so far as creating a letter of intent, signed and stored by his family lawyer, stating unequivocally that-" Amilyn pulled a file from her desk, along with a pair of spectacles — "in the interest of exposing Alastair Snoke as the murderer that he is, the man who was responsible for my wife's death and the Resistance bombing, I have asked Ben Solo to help me. He does so at grave risk to his own safety. I am writing this letter, to be held with my lawyer until the event of my death, that if in pursuit of the truth he is forced into a position whereby Snoke orders my own murder at his hands, then I offer him forgiveness and compassion."
Amilyn stopped.
"He added for my client, 'Ben, I know the terrible burden I placed on you at the end, but I could never have faced each day without the kindness you showed me in these last few weeks and pray that my death is payment for a long, beautiful, life of freedom and redemption for you."
She left her argument there, leaving it hanging in the deathly silence of the court.
The court had begun the process of calling witnesses when Amilyn approached the Bar, and they waited for the prosecutor to join them before a rushed and quiet discussion took place.
The room erupted in whispers and Rey looked back once more seeking Phasma. That coward was nowhere to be seen.
Leia leaned forward, speaking quietly. "She's going to try and get an adjournment until tomorrow. In the meantime, she'll issue a subpoena to Phasma so she's legally required to testify."
Rey nodded, watching the hurried conversation at the front of the room.
This wasn't going to work.
Ben risked a quick look back at her, his lips pressed in a poor attempt to smile, but even still she could see the strain of being confronted with those images.
The lawyers returned to their places and Amilyn's face was flushed. It was the most undone Rey had ever seen her and this made her panic.
The judge pounded on his gavel, and the quiet murmuring stopped instantly.
He blinked slowly like he was ready for a hit of blood sugar.
"This court will adjourn until tomorrow while the defence attempts to establish a witness."
There was a groan, as papers shuffled and chairs scraped dully on the wooden floors.
"Your Honour!" the prosecutor called out, fixing his eyes on Rey. "The prosecution would request that Rey Johnson take the stand before we adjourn for the day."
Rey's heart lurched in her chest as Ben's head shot up, panic-stricken eyes growing wide as he looked back at Rey.
Then everything happened in a blur, she saw Ben speaking angrily to Amilyn, the crowd broke out in collective whispers again, and Rey blinked as a half a dozen cameras appeared to snap in her direction.
Amilyn stood, hands-on-hips. "Your Honour, this is highly irregular. At least, let it wait until tomorrow."
"The witness is currently staying with the accused's mother, who I might remind you is a close personal friend of the defence lawyer. In these extenuating circumstances, we'd ask that you allow us to interview the witness now before she is guided by defence."
Rey could barely hear a word they were saying, her heart was drumming so wildly in her chest, blood rushing past her ears. Ben swore at Amilyn again and again, and this time a couple of cameras picked up on it, firing in their direction and then back to Rey.
The judge pounded the gavel again. "Request allowed."
The dark-haired Bailiff had a penetrative stare, his eyes deep-set against tanned skin, cheekbones casting shadows down his face.
"Raise your right hand."
Rey swallowed, obeying.
"Rey Johnson, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"
She flicked her eyes to Ben and he shook his head, a subtle movement, no one else would have seen it unless they had known to look.
Don't do it, she could practically hear his voice in her head.
"Rey Johnson—"
"I do." She threaded her fingers beneath the stand, squeezing them together until they hurt. "I do."
The prosecutor paced towards her, his polished shoe gossamer against the shiny wooden floors. He studied her with one eye larger than the other, reading beneath the surface and looking like a man who'd already won …
"What is your profession, Ms Johnson?"
Rey flexed her fingers far past where they should go.
She leant forward into the microphone, clearing her tinder dry-throat.
"I'm a part-time barista at the Taco-Dana Cafe."
Her voice was shaking, the rest of the answer was there too on the tip of her tongue, but pulling that out had proved a lot more difficult.
"And what else do you do?"
She tried to swallow, but her throat closed.
"I'm—" She looked at Finn, and Ben's parents, feeling like she was going to vomit. "I'm a sex worker."
"Can you point to your client, please?"
She raised a finger, pointing directly at Ben, his eyes were squeezed shut, as though he couldn't believe this was happening.
"Do you recall if you had sex with Kylo Ren on the night of Lor San Tekka's murder?"
"I—" Her eyes darted around the room quickly, searching for a bucket she could throw up in. Would they give her one if she needed it, or would she have to do it there, furthering her embarrassment?
"I don't recall."
"You don't? It was Thursday night, he came back to the brothel covered in blood," Pryde said haughtily. "Come now, surely you would remember that?"
Rey shook her head.
"We didn't have sex every night."
"There was a used condom left beside the bed and extensive damage had been done to the room."
"Oh. I suppose that night we did then."
Fuck, how much did this guy know? Rey panicked.
"And how would you describe his demeanour while you did your … work?"
Her work? She hated this man so much already.
"He was distressed."
"Angry? He did tear up the room, after all."
"No," Rey shot back. "Upset, hurt. He only got angry after Snoke called him—"
Pryde's lip curled and Rey was filled with dread.
"So, just speaking to Alistair Snoke was enough to send Kylo Ren into an uncontrollable rage?"
Oh, God! What had she done?
Rey glanced at Amilyn; the lawyer looked worried. She couldn't even bring herself to look at Ben.
"Ms Johnson, can you tell the crowd how you watched Ben Solo put a knife in Snoke's neck; reminding you that you are under oath and that anything other than the truth is considered a federal crime."
Rey's lips parted, all eyes fixed on her. It wasn't enough that blood was pounding at her temples, she had visibly begun to shake now, muscles contracting and releasing in shuddering spasms.
"Need I remind you again, that if you fail to tell the truth—"
Rey nodded. The world slowed down around her as if in half time, she turned to Ben. His face was wretched, hard-etched lines creased his forehead and his skin was pale. When she met his gaze, he once again shook his head, lips rounded in a silent "don't" or "no."
The lawyer's voice rose, sharp and accusatory.
"Ms Johnson, did you see Ben Solo throw a knife into Mr Snoke's neck?"
Rose, Finn, Poe, Leia, Han, Amilyn, Ben — they all watched her, transfixed.
"I —"
Ben leant over to Amilyn talking to her with a panicked look on his face, but Amilyn put a hand on his arm, and Rey made out the word "wait".
"I didn't see that."
Pryde exhaled a loud frustrated sound through his nostrils.
"What did you see then? I have it on record that you were there."
"I saw —" she tried to steady her nerves, standing tall, fisting her hands.
Out of the corner of her eye, Ben tried to stand, but Amilyn yanked him down before an officer of the court saw and watched him wearily, hand on his club.
I'm sorry, she mouthed the words to Ben and he looked distraught.
"No!" he cried out.
"I didn't see Ben Solo stab Snoke because he didn't do it."
The court went quiet enough to hear a pin drop, the tension in the air electric as Rey closed her eyes and took an unsteady breath.
"I did."
Last cliffhanger - I promise! I think ... is the next one a cliffhanger? Hmm, more of an entreaty to keep reading.
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