A/N: On with the story. Do I even have an excuse for the delay apart from the usual ones? No. I'm I a cliché? Hopefully not. Do I want you to enjoy this as much as I enjoy writing it? Yes. Can I set my mind to only one storyline? Probably not. Plot-twists? Hell, yeah.
Now to begin with the unholy number of follow-ups I need to do, in theory, I need to check if the suspect or accused is still on custody. If it is, then I need to check if the'll be prosecuted. If they were released and no longer in custody I need to check by what means, lack of evidence or bail. So exciting. And no, I'm not a workaholic. I grabbed the first BLACK folder and read it. It is about a protester, a poor guy named Erick Mes who got arrested during a convention pro-Slade. The interesting detail is that he was a silent protester and his poster only said "SLADE is an AUTHORITARIAN." Huh, he was also arrested yesterday, and didn't oppose to the arrest. He also didn't quite insult him, which will make him a candidate for a bail. This is another example of the unfairness under Slade's, Wilson's government, this poor kid will get years behind bars for that. Sadly we live under the law's rule.
Knowing I should get going, I get up, file in hand, and conduct myself downstairs, stoping just one floor before the op-floor. I begin making my way to the imprinted door that signs the office of the director of procedures, Officer Lieutenant Troy. She is the head of the department, and while she supervises the procedures, she also takes care of some kind of pre-trials. These are between the lawyers and their respective defendant and Ofc. Lt. Troy. She ultimately decides if its fair to release the suspect or to grant a bail or to send him or her for trial without bail. I discreetly tried seeing if she was in there, but I only saw two persons seating, presumably Erick and his lawyer, but there was no trace of Ofc. Lt. Troy. Not wanting to interrupt Erik and his lawyer, I begin asking around for Ofc. Lt. Troy to the other officers in their cubicles, but to anyone surprise they just stared at me. After three other blank face stares I got, I see a woman walking down to her office. It appears she is carrying one box, and I decide to approach her before she is close to the door, just in case she isn't Ofc. Lt. Troy.
-Hello, ma'am are you the head of department here? If so, is that man seated Erick Mes?-
-Yes, to both questions, Officer ...?-
-Oh, Grayson, Richard Grayson, ma'am. Police technician.-
-Very well, Officer Grayson. Now, tell me, why enquire?-
-Right, sorry, ma'am. I'm doing the follow-ups for now, and Erick is one of them. I'll be reporting to you this month.-
-Alright, you will be working with me closely, come with me.- She gracefully dumped in my arms what weighted like four full boxes of full of reports but was only one heavy box. We entered her office and she took her seat, meanwhile I stood awkwardly at her left side. I faced Erick, who isn't older than nineteen years old and looked like he had one of his worst nights in here. I turned to his lawyer, a woman with a fitted black suit with fine white lines throughout and a white formal shirt, black, thin framed glasses, black hair, incredibly pale skin, incredibly obscure blue eyes and a quite stern look.
Ofc. Lt. Troy explained the defendant lawyer that his client committed a crime, the one established on the article no. 89 in the Criminal Code of Jump City, which by the way it establish anyone who speaks up with the intention of insulting the one in charge of government, aka Slade, will receive six years of prison, nevertheless the circumstances, intensity of the act or age or gender of the aggressor. So much for liberty of speech. Then Ofc. Lt. Troy took a mouthful of air. Wow, she knows almost by heart what the article said that surprised me more, well, than it should.
-But, attorney, because of your well structured argument about not his desire to insult, in a strict interpretation, but to inform his fellow peers and share an opinion therefore not satisfing the crime's subjective requesits, I will allow the release of your client, grounded on the article 5. Wow, she knows almost by heart what the article said that surprised me more, well, than it should. I will allow a release today, but of course the defendant must compensate moral damage he inflicted quantified on 30,000, to be paid in full.-
I couldn't believe that because a technicality this guy would get free, don't get me wrong the law is, well, wrong, but one should honor it, it is a black and white matter. If the majority of the people doesn't follow the law, what kind of society will that be? We could be worse than we already are. Imagine if murderers went running and because they truly maybe didn't want to kill somebody they would get free!
-Of course, Ofc. Lt. Troy. We will proceed with that, would you lead the way? - As she said that, in a formal tone, Erick's face lighted up and the attorney's face was full with a well practiced smug-polite smile.
While Ofc. Lt. Troy gets off her seat and accompanies both of them to pay the compensation. I place the boxes Ofc. Lt. Troy commissioned me. I take her seat quickly to fill by hand the follow-up, with my mind wandering to murderers and other criminals getting out of arrests by technicalities. Just as I was going upstairs to upload the follow-up, I met the eyes of Erick's attorney. And everything about her sets me off, but I dismiss the though thinking I'm just paranoid as always. As, bloody, always.
Time travels faster than what I imagined in the station. The procedures area is almost always incredibly crowded, with the coming and going of not only officers but also criminals. And attorneys. A lot of them. Ofc. Lt. Troy is kind enough to let me struggle silently in her office and doesn't call me out frequently, only when I'm screwing up completely. She has been teaching me practical law, something different than theory of law, and had given me the homework. It is reading and analyzing the Criminal Code of Jump City, CCJP for short, which I am doing right now, being seated in my couch with a jam and cheese sandwich next to my copy of the CCJP.
Currently, I'm with the article 89, exactly the one that guy was arrested last week. Ofc. Lt. Troy emphasized this was one of the articles I am going to be transcribing constantly on the follow-ups. And apparently that will save time to the prosecutors. Basically, she told me to memorize the article 89, along with the 5, 34,52,60,78, and so on. Ofc. Lt. Troy explains me from a different point of view the law, including not only the ethics but also the internal tensions of it with all of the others states. In fact every state has at least one or two weird laws, either for benefit or disadvantage of the citizens, but most of their laws make sense. I mean, I want to stop Slade, but he isn't so mad putting all this rules, it is pretty brilliant allowing law enforcement to comply by them, making Jump City easy to rule over. It's cruel but effective. I just wonder the breaking point of the citizens, I am so close to reach mine, but I truly don't see why ordinary people stand up, they have realistically no chance to change anything. They should just obey the laws, no matter what. After all, we live under the rule of law, or rechtsstaatlichkeit.
Anyway, I make sure to retain every word of it and am tempted to write little notes on every article of the code, with a color code. Just as I'm reading the 61 articles, I give in to my temptation and get off my couch to get my office supplies. I walk slowly and catch the hour at my clock 1:29 am, which means I'm not sleeping today.
Walking to Ofc. Lt. Troy office is something that has become integrated in my brain pretty fast. It's also extremely pleasant to not have to see either Benton o Damian that much. I reach the imprinted door and I halt. I hear two voices, not clearly enough to recognize what they were negotiating, but I do recognize my boss stern voice. The other feminine voice is deep, allows a hint of monotonously but there is an underlying emotion in there, anger. I open the door and see Ofc. Lt. Troy looking at a woman sadly and the attorney has a hand on her back. Ofc. Lt. Troy hears the sound result of the opening door and only tells me a name. Karen Beecher.
I look at the girl again, and I recognize her. Bumblebee.
-Well, Officer Grayson, bring me the file.- says curtly Ofc. Lt. Troy. I walk in shock to my old desk, upstairs, and search it automatically. Why is Karen here? Why is she under arrest? I find her file and read it quicky. It's a BLACK one. At least is not a RED one. That means there is no death penalty. She apparently engaged on an undercover mission for the looks of it. She was actively promoting an anti-Wilson message on social media and on traditional means, newspapers, conventions, protests. Oh no. She will get a load of years, many life imprisonment convictions. I get back to Ofc. Lt. Troy's office and notice who is the attorney. It's the same gal from the Erick Mes case. I hand it to my boss the file and she reads it quietly.
The defendant, Karen, looks up and stares at me. She must recognize me, she knows. There are only four people, that are alive, on this universe that know how I look without the mask and know about my two identities. Bruce, Alfred, Barbara, and Raven. The first three were my guardians, the fourth one, she was my confidante. Sorry Barbara. I hope Karen doesn't make the connection, but if she does, my plans for an anti-hero would be hopeless. She could make a deal with Ofc. Lt. Troy, Brenton, hell Slade and tell them about me. Before I perceive it, Ofc. Lt. Troy begins talking and saying that she cannot possibly offer a bail.
-Lieutenant Troy. I have already explained my clients motives. They were in no way disrespectful to the government, and in no way they were with the intention to insult or even less, overthrow, the one on charge, she was just sharing her opinion and believe me Officer Troy. If you don't release my client, we will go to California Supreme Court, and if that doesn't work because casually they will not revise the case I will ask for federal jurisdiction, and we both know I'm going to win, because your government gives out laws that definitely violates the first amendment. And this government and whoever who serves this nation needs to comply with the Constitution.- The attorney said. I am perplexed with the amount of... courage this attorney has. This lady, just, in a police station, to a Lieutenant, spoke to her like that. Why hasn't my boss thrown her out? We are the authority after all. We deserve respect. Ofc. Lt. Troy just raised an eyebrow and asked nonchalantly.
-Is this a threat attorney Roth?- The attorney showed her polite-full of smugness smile and as calmly responded.
-No, Officer Troy. Not at all, it is a promise.- That's it. We are locking up this lawyer.
Ofc. Lt. Troy revised the file again. The attorney relaxed on her seat and Karen just looked from one another. The tension in the room was high, I am scared even for what is in store for this lawyer. I'm pretty sad for Karen, but she did break the law and her attorney was not helping her at all.
-Officer Grayson, what do you think is going to happen with the defendant?- What. Catching me off guard, Ofc. Lit. Troy is requesting me my opinion about the faith of Karen.
A/N: Hope you like this chapter. Feedback is always welcome.