Hi everyone! Just a quick note from me the author (author, please -_-) anyway I wanted to clear up one small but very important issue. Some people have asked me 'hey, how come Caine is alive?' which is a pretty valid question in my opinion so I figured I should explain: I began writing this in-between Plague and Fear so obviously Caine was live and kicking back then, I didn't really want to remove him from the story because there are soooo many positives about having him (I mean he's going to have the best trials) so consider this, if you will, a sort of semi AU. However, since he's the only one mentioned so far in the story who didn't actually survive the FAYZ I've decided that he will be the only exception so people like Jack and Breeze etc. will not be featuring in this story. I hope this makes sense to everyone and seems fair to you but I personally think the story benefits from Caine being alive. Anyway enough from me, the good stuff is three lines down! Hope you all enjoy and please let me know what you think - positive or negative I take it all on board. Till we meet again, TR25
The FAYZ Trials Chapter 8
After the formalities Sam was ushered out of the courtroom. Karim was waiting for him and Sam ran over to him to shake his hand.
"Well done Sam, justice is served!" Karim said ignoring Sam's outstretched hand and pulling him into an all out bear-hug.
"I owe it all to you," Sam replied once he was released "thank you Karim."
"No problem," Karim said and then added more seriously "and don't you worry about the retrial, that will go fine too."
Sam knew Karim didn't mean to but he'd kind of killed his elation – unlike people like Quinn Sam wouldn't be going back to a hotel room that night – granted Quinn's hotel wasn't security free but Sam would be returning to the high security cell that night thanks to his previous court results.
"Sam!" Suddenly the hairs on the back of Sam's neck rose and he turned happily to see Astrid – perfect, beautiful, wonderful Astrid, running towards him with her arms outstretched. He met her and kissed her and hugged her wishing he could just stay like this in a state of sheer happiness and bliss with her forever.
"I knew you could do it Sam!" she said through tears "I'm so proud of you!"
"Me? What about you? You wiped the floor with that Freddy guy!" Astrid blushed and shook of the comment like it was nothing by kissing him once more.
"Damn it!" Freddy kicked the wastepaper bin in his office sending scrunched up scraps of paper everywhere "damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" sitting in his high-backed leather chair he leaned forward and tugged at his blonde hair. Now that result hurt. Sam Temple and the Thanksgiving Massacre was one of the most high profile cases in his agenda – it was one of the most high profile cases in the whole of the FAYZ Trials! And he'd lost. He'd lost against Karim Smith again! How many more times was this going to happen? How many more times was he going to be humiliated and made out to be a pathetic loser again?
He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. There was no point in getting upset now, not when he was expected to go back into court any second to face that insufferable little brat Caine Soren.
Caine couldn't quite believe what had just happened. Sam was free! Sam was innocent! If Sam was innocent then so was he so why were they even bothering with his trial? It was strange though, how had Karim suddenly become the super-lawyer Caine had paid him to be? How in the world had Karim Smith managed to win over the jury when Freddy had practically torn Sam to shreds? Then suddenly, it dawned on him: Astrid. Astrid was the one who'd turned things around for Sam, she was the one who'd given Freddy that run for his money. In fact if it wasn't for perfect-girlfriend Astrid the Genius than Sam would most likely be facing a very long sentence right now.
As if a little light had gone off inside his head, Caine realised what he needed now more than ever and there was no way in hell he'd go into that courtroom without it. He marched over to Karim, took him by the shoulder and muttered
"Get Diana."
Freddy had been just about ready to go back into court when the secretary had knocked to tell him that the evening's case had been postponed until tomorrow morning. Apparently Karim had claimed that Caine was too tired after waiting all day to speak in court and that it would benefit everyone to get a night's rest.
Freddy didn't argue but he wasn't happy either – what kind of lame-ass excuse was that anyway? He reckoned Karim and Caine had something up their sleeves so he knew that he needed to be on his toes the next morning and so an evening off did admittedly sound like a good idea.
He was driving in his car now, racing along the quiet roads in his sports car. The radio had been on but all the channels were telling the same story, Sam Temple is Innocent, so he'd knocked it off and turned up the volume to his Mozart CD.
Before long he was in the countryside and on the empty roads he sped up a little more, rolling down the window to let the cool breeze touch his face. After an hour of driving he reached the small, quaint village he'd aimed for and had pulled up outside a white bricked cottage with a large, flowery garden on top of a hill. Next to the front door was the familiar professional plaque which read:
Mr F. Wishman LL.B.
Glad to be home, Freddy pulled out his keys but then thought better of it and rang the bell.
The navy blue door opened and a short, stern faced lady with rosy cheeks and greying blonde hair appeared before him.
"I thought it might be you," she said knowingly "come on in, your father was about to ring you anyway, he's very disappointed in your performance this afternoon."
"Good to see you too Mother," Freddy muttered stepping inside. His parents' house was very grand on the inside, a mixture of elegance and tradition that made Freddy's ultra modern city apartment seem cheap and tacky. He went into the sitting room where his father Frank was sitting in the window with a glass of scotch and a cigar, he was watching the television and Freddy saw that the program was a coverage of today's jury verdict.
"Sit yourself down dear, dinner will be ready in ten minutes." His mother pushed him into the squashy sofa and bustled out of the room. Freddy saw himself on the screen, the camera had zoomed onto his face to catch his reaction. Freddy scowled at himself, his poker face had let him down there. His father suddenly paused the screen,
"There you go – that's exactly what they wanted." He said without even looking at the real Freddy "Son, the media is all over you, you're becoming bigger than the trials and that's not good," he turned to Freddy and frowned "you're the lawyer, people aren't supposed to care about the lawyers you need to calm down."
"Calm down?" Freddy echoed "Father, these are the biggest trials since Nuremburg! This is my opportunity to go down in history and you're asking me to calm down?"
"I'm not asking you Freddy, I'm telling you – this attitude and behaviour of yours is not a sign of a good, competent lawyer. Going down in history isn't what being a lawyer is all about it's about -"
"Justice," Freddy interrupted "yes I know."
"Freddy I didn't train you just so you could become some sort of reality star, these are peoples' lives we're dealing with here, and not just any people – kids! Kids who've lived through some sort of nightmare than we can't even begin to imagine!"
"Kids who lied, stole, assaulted, shot and murdered each other!" Freddy said shrilly, he wasn't going to let his father lecture him on how to deal with the case.
"I get that Freddy," his father said draining the contents of his glass "I get that these kids aren't saints but as a lawyer you've got to put yourself in their shoes, this isn't your average murder case son, this isn't some punk who shot his girlfriend when he found her in bed with another guy or some idiot doing a hit 'n run,. These are kids who've been faced with obstacles we can't even begin to imagine and you need to remember that," he rewound the TV and pressed play just as the juror declared the verdict again and Freddy watched the camera once again zoom to his own face, he looked gutted, like an Olympic champion placed fourth, like a title holder giving up his title. Hs father saw it too, "it's not a game son, it's not a contest between you and that Smith kid, when all of this is over, nobody's going to be counting who 'won' and who 'lost'..."
"Alright Dad!" Freddy snapped "I get it okay? I need to start treating the case with respect right? I need to...to wake up and smell the coffee? That's what you're going to say isn't it Dad? You're disappointed in me again well I don't know what it is I have to do to impress you, what do you want from me?!"He was shouting now and grasping at straws. His father remained silent but sighed and extinguished his cigar. Freddy watched as he got up and headed towards the dining room but paused to turn to him;
"I just want you to make me proud,"