Chapter 42: Court
Life carries on. We have a pool party, and invite some of Peters family over. Thing go well, and Perry finally gets the joke when he meets the O'Hare's. I did my shark impression, in the pool, mom was my victim. I had taught myself how to swim like an otter, and I used this to swim under water towards my mom. I stuck my tail up, so it was knifing through the water. My mates started to do the theme from "jaws" as I slow swam up on my unsuspecting victim.
I nipped her butt check and swam away. Well I did try to swim away, mom caught me as I was turning. She pulled me out of the water, and threw me in the deep end. Wow, mom has a good arm. Every time I tried to come back, she would grab me and throw me in the deep end again. I finally got out of the pool, and walked to the other end where everyone was. Mom gave me a stern look but I could see that she was laughing and having fun. I stuck out my tongue at her, and she just laughed. I decided to get a sandwich and drink.
And so, life goes on. By the end of November, everyone had gone up another belt level. Susan earned a double black belt; I was so proud of her. But then what had been put off, could not be put off anymore. Susan her sisters, and brother, had to appear in court to defend our parents.
Sitting in the gallery of the court room, I start to draw. Susan sitting next to me, and was on her pad waiting to take everything down that came to her as it transpired. All of us were nervous, but mom and dad had stoic looks on their faces, but we all could see how troubled they were. This was our first look at Larry O'Hare, he looked a lot like Justin, but he had a harder personality. He had a top notch, high powered lawyer, one Mr. Setero. Mom, Dad, Cindy, and Mr. Martin all sat at the defendant's, table.
"All rise for the Honorable Judge Harrison", the judge comes in and sits down. "You may be seated"; we all sit down. "I have read the affidavits of both parties, and frankly I can't see a reason to change the guardianship of the O'Hare Children".
Mr. Setero stands up, "your honor we feel that the Wilde's will hurt the children in the long run, they have ties to organized crime, they are never home, they never go out to socialize, they teach them nothing for their education, and Nick Wilde is a con mammal from the streets, and we believe that he is taking advantage of the children. Judy Wilde has a unique set of beliefs, that are out of touch with reality. Also, they are too small to protect the children properly". Mr. Setero sits down.
"Mr. Martin would you like to respond"? "Ah your honor, I'm only here as an observer, their lawyer will be handling their case". Cindy stands up. "Your honor I will be defending my parents". "And you are"? "Sorry your honor, I am Cindy P. O'Hare attorney at law". A look of surprise crosses the judges face. "What are you playing at? Your only four". "None the less your honor, I will be defending my parents. I have received my law degree from Harvard law, and had to bring an age discrimination law suit against the bar".
"In a seven to two decision, the board ruled in my favor. I can't practice criminal law, but family law was open to me". "How is this possible"? "Your honor, I have been studying law since I was two, I have read every law book written, and can quote some very obscure laws that are still valid. I quoted all 276 cases of age discrimination to the bar, they put me through the ringer, and I came out on top. I took the Harvard law course by extension, and passed all four years in one year. When I showed up for the final exam, I had to sit in front of a panel of teachers and argue my case. They were impressed, and granted me my degree".
"All right young lady, you have very impressive credentials, would you begin please"? "Thank you, your honor. The first point I would like to bring up, is education. Nick and Judy do not need to give us an education. I have here all the GED transcripts for myself and my siblings. Cindy passes the transcripts to the bailiff to hand to the judge. As you can see your honor, we had to pass the GED twice, once they thought we were cheating, and the second time we were taken to separate rooms, and with an observer present, wrote it a second time. We all passed both times with honors. My brother has been accepted to MIT and will be starting in the fall. The rest of us will be going to a school for the gifted, in the fall. They would not accept us till the age of five. So, sir, our education has not been neglected".
"The second point I would like to bring up, is our typical day. We all get up at five, and do an early morning exercise routine, we then do sparing practice, shower, swim, and then have breakfast. Nick, Judy, and Peter then head for work. Our grandmother then goes the rest of the day with us. We then go to the DOJO or to the Precinct, depending on what day of the week it is. We do another exercise routine, and our DOJO master then teaches the officers that show up for practice. After practice at the precinct, we either go to the park or library. After work they come home, we have supper as a family, watch some TV, and go to bed. I'm sure our parents spend more time with us, than Mr. O'Hare spends with his own family".
"I object your honor, conjecture, she doesn't know how much time Mr. O'Hare spends with his family". "I hear your objection Mr. Setero, but as this is not a criminal case, but a family law case, you can't object to her belief". Mr. Setero turns red and sits down.
"The third point I would like to bring up is the fact of my father being a con mammal. He freely admits to being a con Mammal, and an errand boy for Mr. Big". Larry and his lawyer get smug grins of satisfaction on their faces. "When he was an errand boy for Mr. Big, he ran packages all over town. We all know Mr. Big does not deal in drugs, in fact he has run all drug dealers out of the part of tundra town he controls".
"All the stuff he did for Mr. Big, was before he reached the age of majority. He left Mr. Big's employ on his 18th birthday, under circumstances that were a bit dubious. In fact, Mr. Big told him not to return, under fear of death. He didn't return of his own free will. My mom on her second day in Zootopia saved the life of Mr. Big's daughter. With Dad at her side they went to see Mr. Big. Mr. Big forgave dad, and welcomed them into his family. Mom is the god mother to little Judy, Fru Fru's daughter".
"Mom and Dad are friends to the Big's, not employees. In fact, IA has investigated mom and dad twice, they don't like the fact that they are friends to the Big's, but can find nothing wrong with their relationship. They have never acted inappropriately in their jobs as police officers".
"Forth point is my mom is not out of touch with reality. She subscribes to a higher level of morality than some people I know. And her high morals make her one tough cop. Mom and dad are one of the best police teams working out of precinct 1".
"Fifth point, No one is taking advantage of us. We gave that right to mom and dad to be guardians over us. We gladly share our space with our parents, even if they are not our biological parents. I started to draw furiously; I had gotten my fist picture of the day. Could they be taken away from us, Like my parents in their auto accident? Yes, they could. I got my second and third picture from the day. But until that day, I stand by Nick and Judy as my parents. Even if they were in a coma, I would still stand by them". I now had a fifth picture from the day.
"Sixth point, my parents and grandmother did protect us all from an armed invasion at the house. They put themselves in danger to do this. Some of the perps did survive but not many. I got a sixth picture".
"Seventh and final point, Larry O'Hare has not come to see us once since we were freed from the place we were being held. Your honor I have here a sworn statement from the head of security for the O'Hare apartments. In this statement, he states that he received no request from Larry O'Hare to see us. He has not phoned, presented himself in the lobby, or tried to contact us in any way. Frankly sir he does not exist to us. We may be family, but if I treated my family this badly, I think they would disown me".
"Thank you, young lady. We now will take a lunch break until one, I will render my verdict at that time". "All rise", judge Harrison then leaves the court room. Susan and I rush out of the building, across the court yard to precinct 1, we head in to talk to chief Bogo. The precinct is a bee hive of activity as we leave. We join our family for some lunch before we head back into court.
We return to court only to be informed that the judge will be unavoidably detained, and the verdict would be delivered at 9:00 am tomorrow. We all trudge home, with the sword of Damocles hanging over our heads.
When we return to court the next morning, chief Bogo is there along with several officers he gives me a nod. I walk up to Larry O'Hare and ask if I can speak to him with out his lawyer present. He looks at me with a smile, but I can see the hate and loathing he has for me being a hybrid. He agrees to talk to me in a small court room down the hall. As we enter, he looks around for any cameras that might be present. He sees none, but activates his counter surveillance measures anyway.
"What do you want? you damn hybrid scum". "Why Larry that's not what you called me at the institute, in fact, I believe you just called me subject "J". Larry is taken aback, he thought he had covered all his tracks. "What do you mean"? "I have never seen you before yesterday". "Oh, cut the act Larry, I can tell when you are lying". "So, you know, what do you want scum"? "Why Larry I'm here to offer you a get out of jail free card". "Get out of jail? I'm not going to jail". "Yes, you are Larry, remember this mammal"?
I flip the portfolio I was carrying and show him the first picture. "I know he was the one to insert the device into Justin's car. In fact, he did both cars, the ZPD has picked him up, and offered him immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony. The ZPD has gone through the Beamer and removed the other device". I then flip to the next page; "this is the mammal who created the device in question. He built two of them and gave them both to Stan".
"You remember Stan Don't you? Stan had some pretty interesting things to say about you". "I don't Know any Stan". "Right Larry, and I blow bubbles out my butt. Stan and his brother Steven are in jail for the mammal slaughter of Heather t, and they are willing to roll on you for some time off of their sentence".
"Now here's where it gets dicey, I flip to the next page. Remember her? She was the one to administer the drug that kept Justin and Jenifer in a coma, and depressed their brain activity. How about this mammal? He doctored the reports to cover up the fact they were being drugged. It's strange, we found a bank account in her and his name with a half a million dollars in both. Is that the price of two lives? Did you take pleasure in ending his life, Larry"?
"I don't know what you are driving at, but everything you are saying is all news to me". "Oh, come Larry, you wanted to get rid of your brother for a long time. He found your accounts for the drugs and guns you were selling on the streets of Zootopia". I flip to the next page and show him the account numbers. "We also found the accounts in the "ka Ram Islands". Funny one of the accounts was linked to the institute as it's operating fund".
"He told you to come clean, or he was going to report you to the police. You got rid of him in a way that cast no suspicion on you". "Even if that was true, I loved my brother". "Really Larry? We have video footage of the two of you fighting, and he did say some pretty derogatory things to you". "Were did you get that footage? it was erased". "Nothing is ever truly forgotten on the internet".
"Oh, we did find the helicopter you used to escape from the institute. It was also the one used in the assault on our home. I flip another page; this mammal was the leader of that assault". "It's not your home, you damn hybrid". "Really Larry? I live there. The pilot won't talk at the moment, but when he sees you in jail, I'm sure he will give you up".
"I believe that you staged the bombing at the fertility clinic, just to get your brothers kits. What were you going to do Larry? Hold them for ransom? Or were you going to quietly get rid of them"? "You have it all figured out don't you, you damn hybrid, you tell me". "I believe Larry that you picked up the wrong list for the cryonic cylinder. So, you had to birth all of the embryo's just to get the ones you wanted. You were going to hold them over your brother's head to make him toe the line. My brothers, sister, and I were just some experimental fodder". "You should never have been born, scum like you should never exist". "So why did you keep us around Larry"? He just glares at me.
"So, just before their accident you told him you had their kits, and threatened to kill them if he didn't obey you. He told you were to go and how to get there. You then activated the device in their car. When they hit 45 MPH, the brakes were disengaged, and the ECM was set to race the engine, because it was a standard, they couldn't pull it out of gear once the engine was over revving, and with no brakes, it was only a matter of time before they crashed".
"When they didn't die in the accident, you had a nurse inject them with fentanyl, to decrease their brain function. And she kept injecting them, till you pulled the plug. But they had enough brains left to thwart you again. They died after midnight so the clause was defunct".
"You can't prove any of this". "I beg to differ we can prove all of this. All the mammals involved have given you up Larry. But most of this is circumstantial, and it can go the way of the Dodo bird". "How's that"? "Well I have a legal document here that states you are dropping the guardianship application. In exchange for you dropping your application, the O'Hare children will give up their birth right to half the company. They will keep the house and their parents bank accounts but you get the company". "You brought all of this up, just to get me to sign this document"? "Pretty much, yes". "If I sign, all of this disappears"? "I promise you it will go the way of the Dodo bird". Larry signs all the documents and walks out of the court room.
We both walk into the family court room. Larry hands the paperwork to his lawyer, and sits down. His lawyer reads it, signs it and passes it to Mr. Martin. Mr. Martin signs it, passes it to Cindy, she signs it as well. So does Susan Rick and Susie. Before the judge could enter, chief Bogo bursts into the court room.
He walks up to the front, turns and looks at Larry. "Larry O'Hare you are under arrest for the murder of Justin and Jenifer O'Hare. You are also under arrest for selling and distributing guns and drugs, and running an illegal testing lab, forcible confinement, and a few more charges we are looking into". Larry looks at me with murder in his eyes. "YOU said this would all go away". "No Larry, I said it would go the way of the Dodo bird. Funny thing, if you had been following the news, you would know that a flock of Dodo birds had been found on a small island in the South Pacific. It was quite the "discovery". All of us kits get together, "it's called a hustle sweetheart".
"All rise for the Honorable Judge Harrison, you may be seated". "Mis O'Hare where is Larry O'Hare"? "Sorry your honor, but he was just arrested". "And his Lawyer"? "He went to the precinct to defend him. Your honor before he left, he signed this document". Cindy passes it to the bailiff. "As you can see your honor, he has dropped his application for guardianship of us". "Right I can see that, what a waste of my time". "Yes, your honor, it was". "Well young lady you have handled yourself very professionally, you are welcome in my court room anytime". "Thank you, your honor". "All rise", the judge leaves the court room.
"Well Cindy, how does it feel to win your first court case"? "Technically I didn't win, but It feels good Mr. Martin, but I couldn't have done it without my family". Unknown to everyone there was a reporter in the court room, and boy did he have a juicy story.