Chapter 5

"Hello, Renee," Anderson called as Nina and he walked slowly by. The young woman, Renee, lifted her head and smiled tightly.

Anderson had gone to Nina's holding cell at eight thirty to wake her up, as she was supposed to check into the court building by nine thirty at the latest. Her attorney was supposed to take her, apparently, so she'd eaten and then gone with Anderson to meet him.

Nina was still dressed in the faded grayish blue prison suit they'd issued her, though she was fairly certain she wasn't a prisoner until the hearing was over with. Or trial. Whatever it was, it was just protocall.

She snickered at that. Wouldn't Chappelle be pleased I'm following protocall? she thought wryly, smirking. It really wasn't that funny. She was walking to a definitive death. Well, almost definitive. Really.

"Hello, Nina," said a thin man in a navy suit, approaching her. He shook her hand, ignoring the clanking of her manacles. Nina rolled her eyes at him, and he took a step back.

"My name is Mitch Gregory." At this, Gregory cleared his throat. "Consider me your new chaperone. I'll be your attorney and representative for trial. We need to discuss your situation, and you need to decide how you want to plead." He adjusted his tie. "Are we clear on this?"

Nina shot him a withering look, her eyes lowered malevolently. What a fraud. "Fine." Whatever, she thought inwardly, sighing.

"I want you to know, I'm on your side, Nina," he told her, somewhat disinterestedly.

"Yeah, sure," Nina mumbled, keeping her face down.

"I'll be taking you to the court building, then." He reached for Nina's arm and led her forward. He looked as muscled and as hardcore as a field agent, which was probably why he was allowed to escort her.

"Good day, Richard," Gregory called to Anderson, and with that, Nina's fate shifted from pawn to pawn.

They strode in step to another identical, monotonous government van, and Gregory ordered Nina inside. She awkwardly slid into the back seat and sighed.

Another security guard slipped into the passenger's seat, a precaution, as if the mesh grating separating her from the front of the car and the locked doors weren't enough. Nina exhaled noisily, touching her fingertips to her forehead. It was going to be, without any doubt, the longest day of her life.

(20 minutes later)

Gregory expertly pulled into a parking space, and promptly halted the car. The guard maneuvered out of the passenger's seat, opened the back door, and linked his arm around Nina's. She tensed, always wary of anyone touching her.

"All right, let's do this," Gregory called, locking his van. Nina arched her back and stiffly allowed herself to be lead forward.

The court building was an ash-gray cement structure, dull and highly predictable, for a federal building. As they strode briskly up the steps, Gregory went on and on endlessly about Nina's hearing, and what she should say.

"You do know you are pleading guilty, don't you?" he asked at one point, observing her closely.

"Yeah," she muttered, her expression tentative.

"All right, now. I must want you to explain the circumstances you went through with Anderson, and act remorseful, please. With luck, you can hope for forty to life without bail."

Nina nodded, ignoring the raw sting in her eyes. She waited for the guard to open the glass door and passed through. Gregory scanned a brief listing of the rooms on each floor, then led them to the front desk.

"Excuse me," he called. A secretary bustled hurriedly over, her neat ponytail starting to wisp around the edges. She scrutinized Gregory and Nina expectantly.

"Yes?" She propped her glasses up on her nose.

"I'm here to sign in Ms. Nina Myers along with myself for a trial at ten." Nina watched with grim satisfaction as the woman's soft face betrayed her awe and fear. Deliberately, Nina smiled brightly and waved.

"Hello," she trilled lightly.

The secretary was flustered. "Um…yes, here's the sheet. Sign full names please, along with the date and time as shown."

"Thank you," Gregory answered sincerely, scrawling his name along with Nina's. The guard tailing them checked in and went off to make rounds in the exterior.

The dim hallway opened into an outer room with a series of labeled doors leading to other rooms. Gregory surveyed the numbered plaques fastened beside the doors and chose one decisively, walking knowledgably over to it.

"This is the courtroom," he told her, flipping the handle on the door.

Oh, thrills, Nina thought dully as she followed him in.

Inside, the room was only half filled with people, most clustered in small groups. Conversations halted as Nina strode in with Gregory, and she once again smiled grimly at their open-mouthed stares.

The only things she knew about any court were from televisions, and that usually involved two parties – the defense and the prosecution. Judge Judy wasn't going to help her out here. This was more of a hearing than an actual trial, regardless of what they called it officially, as far as Nina knew, anyways. It was all going to be fairly new to her.

Gregory accompanied her to a small desk in the center of the room, between the judge's desk and the rows of benches for the spectators, who, for some reason, wanted to watch Nina's prosecution. Nina sank into the chair, not sure she could muster the strength to stand anymore.

(30 minutes later)

"All rise," the clerk called sonorously, and Nina stumbled to her feet. "Judge Marie Edmunds presiding." A tall woman strode importantly into the room, her ripples of coffee colored hair floating gracefully behind her. She looked young, but firm, Nina decided, as she studied the furrow in her brow, and the lack of smile lines in her face. And fair, Nina thought hopefully, slinking back into her seat.

"This begins the trial of Nina Myers, pleading guilty to the charges of murder and treason. After the case is presented and observed, the jury is to decide if the option of execution is an appropriate solution to this case. IF not, Judge Edmunds is to decide the corresponding punishment for Nina Myers."

Nina swallowed shakily, scared for real now. The gavel rammed loudly against the hard granite surface of the desk, and with that, the trial commenced.

(1 hour later)

"So you were approached by the extremists to help them?" The question had been repeated twice before.

Nina sighed inwardly. They had gone over her story already, but pressed her for detail after detail, name after name she claimed not to know.

"Yes," Nina replied simply, not wanting to go into it any more than she had to. So far, she'd answered as vaguely truthfully as she could, trying to convey her honest regret for it all. She bit her half-healed lip, keeping her eyes to the floor.

The judge probed Nina's face with her sharp, keen eyes. "Do you deny any of the charges you are accused of or the role of your involvement in them?" Her voice was rattling with solemnity, her face clear and honest.

Nina hesitated tentatively. "No," she murmured finally, her voice wavering. Be strong, she told herself. "I did what I did, and I'm sorry for that. I am."

Edmunds nodded slightly. "Thank you, Ms. Myers. Mr. Gregory." Gregory acknowledged her recognition with a raised hand. "Is the jury ready to confer in private?"

Evidently, they'd showed some sign they were, because Edmunds nodded slightly, and the men and women filed noiselessly out. Nina pressed her cold hand against her forehead; it felt cold and clammy. She did not know how well she'd explained it all, but the process seemed fair enough, and no one was biased.

God, how long was it going to take? Was it a good or bad sign that it was taking awhile? Nina flexed her fingers, ignoring the handcuffs around her wrists, digging into her skin.

Gregory whispered hoarsely, "Good work." Nina glowered, staring straight ahead, ignoring him coldly. She could feel her body tighten, taut with the stress that now was boiling in her veins, rushing through her blood.

She'd never felt this alone, this scared, or this uncertain. Nina didn't want to die. She never had. No matter how hard things got, she'd never thought of the finale of her life. Could they honestly end her life? Did they have that much power over her?

As Nina was pondering these things, the doors opened swiftly, letting a soft breeze loose into the room. Nina turned; she couldn't help it. The extent of the jury marched regally in, their faces vacant of all expression and impossible to interpret. Nina felt her stomach flip, and she rubbed her hand against her temple. Tony's habit. One she'd picked subconsciously, probably from living with him.

It seemed to take hours for the jury members to reach their seats. It seemed as if they were trying purposefully to prolong the decision, to torment Nina.

Finally, Judge Edmunds spoke, her clear voice directed at the jury. "Has the jury come to a decision?"

A gray-haired, grandfatherly looking man rose to his feet. He must be the jury leader, thought Nina, sitting up straighter.

"The jury has decided, based on the evidence gathered and presented here in this courtroom, that Ms. Nina Myers – "

Nina swallowed hard as he paused, looking directly at her, his eyes scorching her. This was it. The final conclusion of her life would be made here, if they so chose. So, Nina waited to hear the words she'd both dreaded and anticipated.