HUGE thanks to new followers and those who favorited both the first fic and this sequel! I see you and your support means alot, considering this had become a labor of love and dedication!

Of course I had to get caught up in a pressing real-life project at the exact same time I decided to finally finish this haaaa! like is cute like that. Anyway! I hope you enjoy this new chapter - maybe enough to leave a review and tell me about it ;D

okay okay!

Enjoy the drama

"Got a hangover, Sheriff?"

The morning came in a little while after Red left. Guy came back right after breakfast to pick me up and put me in the back of their car. I hadn't seen the Bastard until now, but by the look of his blood-shot eyes and his scowling face, whatever Lawyer had given him hadn't set in too well.

He glared at me, "If I do, Mutt, it's only because I was celebrating the end of your filthy freedom last night!"

Sure as hell smelled like he had a few drinks. Probably regretted it, too.

I smirked as he started the car and yelled at Chatterbox to get in.

I hadn't felt this good in what feels like forever.

000

"Uncle Robin, you got everything, right?"

He produced a folder filled with papers from and tucked it back from where it came beside him. We were inside his purple minivan, on our way out.

"Quite honestly, Red, you have to be the first client I have ever encountered that is constantly questioning my methods."

I smirked.

He started the ignition.

000

We went up the steps leading into the courthouse.

It was still to early for anyone to really be around. The Bastard Sheriff seemed to be getting some of the spring in his steps back, like he couldn't wait to get in and taste victory in his mouth.

"Take a good look around, Mutt," he said over his shoulder, "This is your last day on Earth. Breathe in the AIR and the SUN while you can!"

Tch. Wanna bet?

"Steve! Good morning!" Lawyer.

I turned around and saw Red smiling at me.

000

"You might as well turn back around, Hood," The Sheriff sneered at us, "You ought to know how much of a lost cause your little Dog is!"

I really did want to hit him in the face. But I'll leave all floor whipping for when we're inside the courtroom.

"Come now, Stevie old boy," Uncle Robin smiled brightly, "You want me to leave so close to curtain call? Or is that you're just scared I'll beat you just like I used to in the good ol' days?"

The Sheriff's face turned a color of red that I was sure he was keeping in before, "YOU'RE just here because this blasted BOY is just like you! A bloody criminal!"

"Until proven guilty, Steve, don't forget that little part."

"The JURY won't, I can assure you of that!"

"Oh, I don't know, they've seen the light before, haven't they?"

"You won't WIN this time, you green suited FOOL!"

"Say what you want, Nottingham!"

"King of Thieves!"

"Former. Although I loved the title while it lasted, I'm sure someone else has taken my throne by now."

The Sheriff snarled, "GUY! Bring the MUTT to the room! I'm going on ahead before I catch some sort of DISEASE from them!"

He left fuming.

Uncle Robin was smiling, "I love to rile him up."

"King of Thieves?" I asked.

He shrugged and started walking ahead, "I'm an enigma."

Okay, then.

I could just put this in the file of weird conversations Uncle Robin and the Sheriff have had this week.

"Feel like we're following a circus leader?" Wolf said. He made it sound like the most irritating performance of Shakespearean theater you could imagine.

"You mean a ring master."

"Same question."

I shook my head, taking his hands into mine and pulling him along, "Come on, don't tell me you're losing faith already, Wolf Youngkid."

He smiled one of his vicious little smiles, "Who said you could use my full name?"

"I did. I'm scolding you."

"Yeah? Where's your paddle?"

"Why does everything have to end up in pervert-land with you?"

"You're the one making entire nations, Red, I was just thinking about a constitutional democracy."

I know it sounds like we're nuts, but this was just our way of stretching the time.

Underneath the apparent confidence - that I don't know where it came from - there was a strip of fear that both numb yet powerfully aware. In Wolf's eyes and the way he held tightly to my hand, I felt reflected the doubts and worries I had. It was easier to hide it - block it - with talking the way we usually did. Like that it felt like we were safe, if only for now.

It's hard to explain I think, but trust me when I say I didn't want our last conversation to be about the improbability of there being a kingdom of pervs in which Wolf would be the reigning monarch.

But that's just it - we didn't want it to be our last conversation.

If we could pretend, for a minute, an hour, a lifetime, that we were going to keep having a million pointless conversation, then the reality of the courtroom and the jury we depended on didn't worry us as much.

If I could believe that what we came to hear wouldn't take Wolf away from me, then maybe belief would become truth.

Like Granny always says. It'll come true if you say it will.

And I'm sure as hell screaming for it.

000

I don't know why I'm so nervous.

Well, I know, but I usually try to hide it.

Since last night, everything feels different, though. Leaning on Red doesn't seem so bad. Especially since she doesn't mind it. But it's still new to me, and just another thing that's making me dread going into that room.

I don't know what's coming. I don't know if I can handle it because I'm already pretty worn out.

"You okay?" Red asked through the silence that crept on us the closer we got to the courtroom doors.

I'm ecstatic. "Great."

000

Yeah right.

As much as I'm feeling worried, I reminded myself that Wolf was first and foremost right now. So instead of arguing, I wrapped my arm around his as we went down the aisle towards the defense table. Uncle Robin was already there waiting for us.

Things were about to get very real.

"Hurry up now," Uncle Robin ushered us into our seats, "The judge will be here any minute."

The Sheriff scoffed from his side of the room, "In a hurry to LOSE, Hood?"

"I'm in a hurry to win, Steve."

"You're UGLY!"

"You're barbaric."

The Sheriff was so insulted that he shut up without trying at a comeback.

Meanwhile, Judge Cricket emerged from the back door. The bailiff gave the order to rise as he went up to his podium. My heart began beating rapidly. This was it, after all. Wolf's last chance and the only role I had to play in it was to be next to him for better or worse.

God, I hope it's for better.

"I'm anxious to see the final act of this performance," Judge Cricket said as he took his seat, eying both my uncle and the sheriff, "Mr. Hood, Sheriff, don't disappoint me."

000

"Certainly not, Your Honor!" Lawyer already flew off his chair, holding some paper up in the air as he moved forward to the center of the room, "And to start today's program, let me refer to you a piece of evidence that was neglected in these proceedings!"

The room erupted into a whispering frenzy.

Judge had to call for order, "What is it that you have in your hand, Mr. Hood?"

Lawyer was more than happy to comply, even bowing a little to the Judge to thank him.

"What I have here in my hand is a printed article from a few years back. Specifically, it is an article from a local newspaper referring to the events taken place which we are currently debating in this very courtroom," he began reading from it, "It is an interview given by the chief witness, Mr. Hamilton Swineheart, in which he says he and his brothers were 'viciously chased and mangled by a demonic wolf', 'Black as the soul of a sinner' and 'with eyes that shone like hell's fury'! Now, ladies and gentlemen, although the name bears a striking resemblance to that of my defendant, A wolf cannot POSSIBLY be confused with the pronoun name of Mr. Wolf Youngkid –!"

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, you damnable Pimpernel!" Sheriff leapt from his seat, "That interview was taken when Swineheart was NOT in his SOUND MIND! He had just gone through a bloody TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE! He didn't know what he was saying!"

"And I know precisely the reason why he was delirious!" Lawyer got another paper from his desk, "Here are the X-rays and medical records from Hamilton Swineheart's early-morning emergency room visit, after the alleged attack!"

He handed it to the Judge, who began to examine it with raised eyebrows.

"WHERE IN HELL DID YOU GET – "

Lawyer straight up ignored him, "A dog bite, Your Honor! Hamilton Swineheart was maliciously chewed on by a wild dog on his right arm the night of the happenings! These files prove it!"

"THOSE PROVE NOTHING!"

"I have no doubt that the dog - or the wolf - might have been big, or the possibility of it being savage and dark in coat - but for the love of God Almighty - you can't sit here and tell me that a 16-year-old boy bit a grown man until a chunk of his flesh was ripped off!"

Jesus Christ…

Did I really do that?

Just the thought of it made me sick to my stomach, but not a second later I felt Red's hand on my arm, with a concerned look to boot. That was enough for me to remind myself that even though I might have been guilty without a doubt - I really wasn't and didn't deserve to get screwed over for it. I don't know what the hell happens when I turn, I can't control it. I know I did bad things but I wasn't me when I did them.

Meanwhile, they were still talking.

"So the MUTT that is your CLIENT had a DOG with him - !"

"Now you're just being ridiculous, Steve!" Lawyer shot back, "There wasn't even a mention of a pet throughout this whole proceeding!"

"SO IT WAS A BLOODY COINCIDENCE!" Sheriff was fuming, "An actual mutt attacked while this Mutt was on the prowl - what's your point?!"

"What's YOUR point, Sheriff? How, pray tell, did my client break into the BRICK HOUSE your witnesses were supposedly hiding in? There were no REPORTS on any signs of a break-in!"

"I put on the REPORT that your CRIMINAL client went down the chimney as if were HOLY NIGHT and he was a parading St. Nick enthusiast!"

"The chimney you speak of was allegedly destroyed by the storm, crumbled to rubble by the time the police and news crews got there!"

"It's not my fault your client was fat enough to break a chimney!"

"Your Honor, the prosecution is grasping at straws!"

"STICKS AND STONES, HOOD - !"

Judge bashed his javelin, "Enough! Sheriff, you yourself said something in respect of conspiracy theories. Let's keep the realm of possibilities in a short vacuum, if you please."

"It has also come to my attention, Your Honor, that my clients name was unknown in the time of these events! The Sheriff never booked him, there is no mug-shot, not even a file or record against him until now! So to further prove my point, there was no way for the witness to confuse the name of an actual wolf with the name of my client and - "

"He must have said his name at one point - !"

"Why the devil would my client divulge his name to the people he is allegedly attempting to murder?"

"Because he's a maniac!"

"No, because he was never there!" this time, Lawyer looked right at him, "Admit it, Sheriff, you had to dig deep into the system in order to find my client! He's never had an occupation, home, or procession in his name for you to be able to find him - that man's lived on the sweat of his brow and the road as a guide!"

"Let's ask ourselves WHY then, huh? Was he HIDING from someone? Something? Something that he DID?"

"My client's lifestyle choice is not the issue, here - "

"Oh, what a dandy thing to fall back on - a bloody lifestyle choice my ARSE!" Sheriff was red in the face and pointed right at me, "THAT MAN is on the RUN from this crime and GOODNESS KNOWS WHAT OTHERS!"

"My clients record is impeccable because he has no record!"

"HE'S BEEN ON THE LAM!"

"The only reason we're here, my dear Judge and Jury, is because the Sheriff is in dire danger of loosing his badge! The Nottingham PD is a wasteland, he hasn't caught a single criminal in a long time and needs someone to be convicted!"

"That's SLANDER!"

"On the contrary, this is exactly what happened two decades ago when you were in this same situation and another young man was your target for slaughter!"

"YOUR HONOR! This lunatic is prejudice against me!"

"You're one to talk about prejudice!"

"Mr. Hood," Judge looked like he wasn't taking any more crap, "Your personal qualms with the Sheriff of Nottingham appear to me irrelevant at this point. Keep it current."

"HA!"

"Furthermore," he glared at the Sheriff, "I'm surprised that all this wasn't presented before, Sheriff. I'm afraid I'll have to allow this new evidence provided by Mr. Hood."

Ha.

Damn Sheriff's fucking fuming over there.

000

"In light of the new evidence, I'd say the jury has a lot to deliberate on while it's out," the Judge looked toward Uncle Robin, "Unless of course, Mr. Hood has anything else to add before they leave?"

"No, sir, your Honor."

"I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY!" of course you do, Sheriff. And we're all dying to hear it.

The Judge let out a sigh, "Is it relative to the case, Sheriff?"

"Damned if it isn't!"

"Proceed."

"Yes, well, are we really going to ignore the fact that THE BOY CONFESSED TO HIS CRIME?"

000

I flinched.

"What are we still doing here people?!"

"You talk about traumatic events and YOUR witness not knowing what he's saying?!" Unlike me, Lawyer didn't seem to lose any momentum, "My client is going through the literal trail of his LIFE! You backed him into a corner for him to say what he did!"

"YOU never objected!"

"And HE never admitted to anything!"

"Oh, please!"

"I will!" he went towards a little guy near the judge, "If the Judge and Jury permits, I ask the court reporter to entertain us with an excerpt from yesterdays climatic end?"

Judge shrugged, "Very well."

Yeah, even I feel a little skeptical. Might be nice to know where exactly you're goin with this.

A full on confession is a bit hard to contradict.

Lawyer nodded like he read my mind, "My clients last words, please."

The little guy started reading, "Fine - I did it okay - Just leave me alone - I was cold and I was hungry -"

"Thank you, sir."

Sheriff was far from impressed, "What's your bloody point, Hood?"

"My point is clearly in print!" He decided to enlighten us, pacing around for good measure, "'Fine' … 'Just leave me alone'…These are relenting words in an attempt to stop your badgering! An AP literature student could see it!"

"I heard the words 'I DID IT' which is worth far more than outdated articles and Due Ex Machinas in the form of diction!"

"The jury will decide that!"

000

"Indeed they will," Judge Cricket said gravely, looking at both my uncle and the sheriff in equal measure.

The comment was more the foreboding.

At this point, some silence fell in the courtroom. It was so thick that I doubt anyone was really breathing, let alone did they have anything to say. A form of uneasiness possessed everyone in the room. A weeks worth of effort led to here and all this last-minute banter did little to settle that.

I waited for Uncle Robin to say anything. If, by some miracle, he kept talking non-stop then maybe he'd say something profound and earth shattering - enough to sway things in Wolf's favor. Enough for me to feel like it was all going to be okay.

But miracles seemed to be in sort supply this morning. Instead of one last retort, Uncle Robin simply stepped back and silently slipped back into his chair.

The Sheriff, ever the exact opposite of my uncle, spat at the floor before deeming it practical to sit back down in his own spot.

I'll admit, the air was unbelievably dry.

What was there more to say?

After all, me and Uncle Robin had been cramming all night just to come up with everything he showed the court today. Like a test you have to take in the morning, all that's left is to circle what you think are the right answers and hope for the best.

Not that it's relevant, but I've been winging it for every test in science this semester and never came up with more than a C, but still managed a course average of an A.

Judge Cricket cleared his throat, a good two-minutes after the silence had permeated throughout the room, and arranged some papers that were in front of him before speaking, "As it appears that both counsels have nothing more to add in this most interesting case - I think now it's time for closing statements."

Yep, there's that grim tone he loves using. Making it all sound pretty hopeless.

But you can't beat yourself down yet, Red, not with Wolf right next to you. Not when he still needs you to hold his hand.

Warm, strong hands that used to make you feel safe and not the other way around. Hands that occasionally wandered to damn much, prompting you to start carrying around a spray water bottle just to teach him a lesson in "I warned you the first time, you freaking pervert". Stuff you laughed about later. Stuff that didn't matter when he just held you and you didn't mind at all. Because everything seemed perfect.

Back then it all felt so silly and fleeting - when did everything get so complicated and meaningful?

Probably about the same time Wolf stopped being my stalker and became the person I couldn't live without.

"Red."

And there it was. The deep and rough voice to pull me out of my mental torture. Wolf was always more concerned with me living in the now than living in my thoughts.

I looked at him.

He was nervous, of course. Barely looking anywhere but the empty desk ahead of him. His beautiful blue eyes shifting uneasily. I felt how he clenched at my hand, telling me what he couldn't voice.

"Hey," I said as softly as I could, like I wanted to keep this big secret from anyone else but really wanted an excuse to lean close to him, "They're just gonna talk some more, it's no big deal."

He smiled a little.

It hurt my heart to think he was trying to force himself to believe. His fear overcame what he wanted and I didn't blame him for it.

I just thought about how much I missed his smirk and started praying.

000

It's not surprising that Red's right again.

There really isn't anything the Damn Sheriff can say anymore that could provoke anything from me. He's already run me through the mud.

An with Red besides me, feels like it shouldn't hurt.

Speaking of which, my lil lady's smiling up at me. It's the kind you give a six year old that's been honestly crying for something. Meaning that if I'm the kid than I've got one hell of a crush on her. It's hard not to get lost in her pretty smile and her pretty eyes. Even harder to admit that I just said something as sappy as having a mind-blowing crush on Red. Kind of an understatement at this point.

I smile back, which makes her brighten up like a star in the sky.

She leans her head next to mine, "I'll be right here."

"You promised."

"Yeah."

Closing statements - more like last rites.

Sheriff got off his chair and started walking, "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, contrary to what Hood would like for you to believe, the undeniable truth remains - this persona, sitting yonder like a sad little PUPPY - CONFESSED to his crime!"

Here we go.

"No matter what Hood says, no one dragged the words I DID IT out of the accused mouth! Only his own guilty conscious is what made it happen! An innocent man would never admit his guilt! Yet here those very words are - CLEAR AS HOLY WATER!"

I curse under my breath. That's the one thing Lawyer warned me about, my confession. I should have expected the Bastard to shove that one little thing in everyone's face.

But he isn't done there, "Men like Hamilton Swineheart did not become mortally traumatized for FUNSIES! Without a doubt, SOMETHING must have happened to this poor human being AND to his precious brothers. They wouldn't be pointing fingers unless they were sure this MISCREANT was the one who did it!"

They would if you told em to.

"OH, but Hood has weaved a sad tale, to be sure! The poor little homeless boy, not a friend in the world, who was mistreated by three big bad wealthy people…My fellow Americans, DO NOT BE FOOLED!"

Here he stops to point right at me, looking like the snake he really is with his sneer, "You've all seen the Mutt's temper tantrums! How VIOLENT he can become at a moments notice! His FOUL MOUTHED BACK-TALKING!"

I glare at him and he started using both hands to make everyone see me, "This unlawful creature had to be pinned down on multiple occasions! There isn't a damn thing he's done throughout this trail that champions the FALSE good-lil-boy act that Hood is trying to make you swallow. Simply because it is all a filthy LIE."

Damn.

Damn because he's right. I should have been staying put the whole time, should've stopped to think before acting. But I let my instincts get the better of me. And my paranoia.

I only now just realize that Lawyer had been building up this clean back-story for me and all I've been doing is screwing it up with the things I've done. I've been making the case for the Bastard in front of me.

An' he knows it.

He knows with that glint in his eye, telling me off, saying that I'm screwed. That I gave him everything he needs to do me in. Damn Sheriff's crooked smile practically glistens.

"If there ever was a boy inside the criminal you see now, that very same boy was just as VILE," Sheriff practically spat at me, "He purposely stalked the Swineheart brothers, late at night, waited out the right time to STRIKE! When no one was looking. When a storm was raging outside!"

Out of the blue the feeling creeps up on me again. The need to throttle him and suppress every single memory of that night. Cuz I don't need it. I don't want it.

I want to remember what Red told me. How it's always gonna be ugly but how it wasn't me.

"Adrenaline pumping through his veins - this criminal had the strength of a MADMAN!" Sheriff's raving, red in the face, "Ask any doctor or shrink! He could easily over power even a hundred men in the state of bloodlust!"

The way he tells it makes me feel sick. The way he knows how bloody it was while I don't makes him all the more believable. I hate him for it.

"This DEPLORABLE act is what he would have succeeded in doing…if I had not come in time to save them!" of course Sheriff's ego is more important than following anything up, "I am the one who chased him past the bridge - till day break! This criminal!"

No one gives a crap what you did. The way you end up making everything something glorify you just kills whatever else you have to say.

Judge or jury, you can't be listening to what this fucking loser is saying.

It's almost like I can breathe again, after he stops talking all that bullshit -

I just hold onto Red because at least she knows that's not how it went. That he's a fucking liar and I'm not. Not anymore.

"The only thing left to ask is: why? Why the violence and the rage? Simply because he felt offended!" Bastard, you know that's not the reason - "A teenager who doesn't even know the value of a hard earned dollar! A punk, street rat! Immature! Easily set off!"

Yeah, maybe. Maybe I was a street kid and I still didn't know how the world worked. I still trusted people and I was honest. But everyone has their damn limits an that day was mine.

He's fucking using that and it's pissing me off.

"Kids these days want the world handed to them without so much as a sweat! Exactly the case we have here!" Sheriff just keeps going on without a care, "Why, even the felon's own little thieving girlfriend - BONNIE to his CLYDE - probably begged her uncle to even come out to defend him! An uncle, mind you, that is rather INFAMOUS around these parts! With a reputation that far exceeds the criminal status of his defendant! They run in the same crowd!"

Same crowd my ass.

Red has to pull me down a little, just because I was about to pounce the motherfucker again and rip his guts out.

She gives me a look and I know she feels even more pissed, because it's her family he's talking about, but she's going to sit it out and I sure as hell have to be able to do the same.

"And I'll tell you one other thing -" Sheriff turns to the jury again, "JUST because you have a bad day doesn't mean you can go about trying to MURDER PEOPLE."

Fuck.

Fuck him.

"Just because your ANGRY doesn't give you the right to try to STRANGLE a POLICE OFFICER!" He wrings at his neck, just for show, an looks straight at the jury, "What's Hood got to say to that, huh? He'll have you not believe in the word of not one - but THREE witnesses - but you all saw WITH YOUR EYEBALLS what this CHARACTER is capable of!"

An just like that I feel like I want to puke.

If not for Red holding my arm, I would have. If not for her that word 'murder' would still echo off 'monster' every time I hear it.

It's hard enough but I can bear it since I have to.

He wants to piss me off. He wants to get me to snap again.

Maybe somewhere inside me I'd like to, but I can't anymore. I'm too tired and I just care too much about Red to screw up again.

"I, for one, will not feel safe if we were to let this ANIMAL roam free! This delinquent! No, sir, I won't rest until I see this MUTT behind prison bars! I only PRAY that as God-fearing United States Americans you will see the same."

He's half-expecting an applause at the end of his little speech. After half a minute, though, he goes back to the hell chair he came from - imagining it in his head, no doubt. It's real enough for him to be strutting down like he just did a great fucking job. A smile on his fucking face.

Christ.

I feel like I just came out of the most brutal beating of my life.

It takes a lot out of me to just lean my head back and breathe.

It's not over but it is. This last thing and a few more minutes before I know. I'm tired, I'm barely chugging along but I have to see the end of this even if part of me doesn't.

The air is a lot thicker and more tense than before. I'm sweating a little just from how thirsty I suddenly am. It's just so quiet and it's not making it any easier. Like the life got sucked out of everything. Or maybe they're holding their breath until it's all over.

"Wolf…" It's Red's voice. The only one that can pull my head together.

"I'm fine."

To prove it, I sit up and take her hand again as she gives me a lil bit to drink from the glass of water in front of us. Just cuz she's sweet that way. That or maybe I look as thirsty as I feel. The water helps enough. Almost like I drank in Red. It's not a bad thought.

I must of scared her when I almost beat the crap out of the Sheriff. But he's done talking for today so I don't have to worry about it.

Unless Mr. Lawyer decides to piss me off, but I can't see that happening.

Speaking of, he hasn't really made a single movement since sitting down. He was definitely with his spark when he was presenting those files earlier, but now it's vacant.

I can smell the anxiety off him. He doesn't look it, though, and I guess his way of keeping it under control is being stiff. I'm not even sure if he's thinking about anything. I don't feel any better for it, because I'm not sure if this kind of thing is normal for him. Not like I can ask Red right now either, but I figure she noticed by now, too.

If she doesn't look calm about her own uncle, then how am I supposed to react?

Which gets me thinking…this whole time, my whole life has been hanging by the thread this guy weaved up.

He doesn't know me. He's only doing this for Red.

I've been treating him like crap.

I'm not sure if he even believes me.

All of a sudden he starts getting up and I realize I've been half staring at him. He's still not saying anything, halfway up, and just when I think I'm sure he hates me - he pats my shoulder. Three times. I have enough time to count em.

I also notice a slight smile on his stupid face.

I've got to stop calling him stupid.

000

Uncle Robin put his hands in his pockets, letting silence roll over as he tried to piece together the words in his head. I know because its something he always did. Like he knew what he wanted to say was in there, somewhere, and all he had to do is give them a few seconds to show up.

He began to walk slowly in front of the jury and judge. In return, they watched him silently but attentively.

I guess the words really did start forming, because Uncle Robin suddenly looked so sure of himself. He had a look about him that said, 'okay, I'm going to do this and it better be good'.

Here's hoping, Uncle Robin.

"Ladies and gentlemen…where do I begin? I don't pretend to know who is guilty or who is innocent, I don't pretend to know what qualifications should earn a person either titles, but what I do know is that this case and this courtroom has been a living circus since day one! The Sheriff has graciously presented to us the subject of undeniable truths - well, let me present you with my own.

"The THRUTH is, dear jury, that the value of credible evidence has been villainously neglected. Not in one instance of the entirety of these proceedings has the Sheriff and the prosecution produced any form of evidence. I, on the other hand, have at least shown you three tangible proofs."

Uncle Robin showed the jury the black folder from the desk.

I remembered how he said that the evidence we managed to get was our best bet. Time to milk it for all it's worth.

"These proofs consist of an article, one which has a written declaration of the chief witness - Mr. Hamilton's - account of the happenings. This account talks about a rabid beast, wolf, dog, but most definitely not man, attacking these three men. This is further backed up by the second proof, a medical report which details the injury Hamilton suffered AND has photos to boot!"

Uncle Robin put the folder back with a light tap.

Goodbye evidence, you served us well.

"My third card is the fact that since that point in time, when my client was sixteen, he has never - not once - shown up again on a police report. Not even a parking ticket can be linked to Mr. Wolf. This leads me to believe that the Sheriff of Nottingham purposely sought out my client, in order to satisfy his own ends. The Sheriff, who will have you believe in the story of a few witnesses. A story that not only has serious holes in it, but whose storyteller's mental state and personal credibility has come into serious question!"

I'll say.

The Sheriff and his minions didn't exactly try to cover all the potholes. Not to mention the fact that Hamilton is a total prick whose aura of superiority doesn't give off the kind of trustworthiness that, I dunno, Big Bird would give out to people.

If that's not enough to get people thinking, I don't know what is.

"Just who is Mr. Hamilton?" Uncle Robin was saying, "A rich man - not a sin, but bear with me - who is currently living on a favorable retirement plan. This man who offers a boy just one dollar to pick up the trash! A boy who needed help. A boy starving and alone in the world."

That last bit gets to me as I remember everything Wolf's told me and how he felt.

Read - I don't feel sorry for him. I would never feel like that toward Wolf. Pity is an ugly thing to give someone who values you. Wolf's always been strong, even before I met him and I admire that.

If anything I feel guilty. He was alone and I wish I could have been there for him.

But I can't change the past. The Wolf I have next to me is the only one I got.

"Mr. Hamilton admits this with a smugness unimaginable - calling my client a troublemaker, priding himself in his tailored suit, quick to point a finger at my client but just a quick to turn sour once his story comes apart! Mr. Hamilton had a breakdown right here in court… The Sheriff claims that his star witness doesn't know what he's saying…or is it perhaps more the result of everything he was forced to say?"

Uncle Robin paused, letting the question sink in.

It made perfect sense, in all honesty. Someone like the Sheriff would take advantage of Hamilton's vulnerability. Thankfully my uncle isn't the Sheriff, so he comes off more honest than manipulative.

"Thus the prosecution has failed to prove that Mr. Wolf was capable of destroying the workplace of the construction site. In fact, a sixteen year old - underfed, weak and in poor health - is INCAPABLE of turning over HUGE machines and dirt piles! Freak weather is the only thing we seem to have here! And now they want to pin an attempted murder? A story that at first sounds credible - what with my clients forced confession - yet…the Sheriff claims my client went down the chimney…but I have shown that that very chimney was destroyed!"

He stared straight at the jury this time, "There's a pattern here…Lies upon lies! It's almost as if the Sheriff wants to DUMP things and things on my client. I dare to say that this whole case was dumped on my client! Unjustly! My heart goes out to the trauma the chief witness and his brothers have gone through, but his delirium will not convince me to convict a man who doesn't deserve it!"

Uncle Robin paused again.

The heavy heaving of his chest, something that was picking up from his earlier discourse, began to subside. He must of known that it was unwise to get too worked up, no matter what he felt, and that in mind he started to clear his head.

I had to hand it to my uncle. I've never seen him get so passionate about something - or in that case have to control his passion.

"It's not illegal to get angry. It's not illegal to have a bad day. However, it should be illegal to use that knowledge to try to condemn an innocent person! My client, then a boy without a person to defend him, was a perfect target. Make him the villain and no one will care."

His voice was a little shaky now, not because he wasn't sure…more like, he understood what it was like and that made him angry, "The Sheriff will have you believe that just because the defendant was poor and homeless, he is a criminal capable of violence. Because he was a teenager, he was and still is a ne'er do well. But we all know that this isn't true. Just because you are poor doesn't mean that at any moment you'll likely to commit a crime."

"I propose the opposite. That a poor person is more likely to want to earn an honest living, like my client attempted to do. And, yes, he may have gotten angry because he was mistreated, but that hardly constitutes a motive. There isn't anyone here who hasn't gotten angry. Yet the Sheriff takes his perfectly human emotion and manipulates it, he made the defendant feel guilty for his anger, even if he did nothing wrong.

"I ask you to think of this when you deliberate. I ask you to put yourselves in his shoes, think about the unique circumstances that led you here and how it feels like no one believes you. Ask yourself if you would not have admitted to anything just to get them to stop pointing fingers. The confusion and dismay is enough to make anyone slip. This should not be enough to disprove everything we've shown throughout these proceedings. Something is most definitely wrong here, but it isn't the defendant."

My uncle paused for a third time and I got to see another first from him. He wrung the back of his neck until there was a light pop. The weight of the world sure seemed heavy, and he was just about done with it.

A silent sigh slipped out of him as he looked down to his shoes. He was pretty worm down at this point and didn't have enough in him to hide it anymore than he has been. But as he put his hands back into his pocket and looked up, even though he was still slouching a little, he looked more human than anything I've seen this entire week.

He's almost finished.

"I haven't known the defendant long. Yet, I, myself, am a prime example that not everything is what it appears to be. Given the chance…a thief can become a lawyer. Which reminds me of a story that happened years ago, about a young outlaw you all should know very well. No one ever said this story was one of a kind. The young man sitting here now may surprise us."

When he said this, his eyes strayed for a fraction of a moment, landing right at me and Wolf.

By the slight smirk my uncle had - one that nearly mimicked Wolf's in a sarcastic sort of way - I could tell that if he could have, he would have winked just for fun.

I smiled softly.

Uncle Robin, for all his eccentricities and stubborn habits, wouldn't be up here if he didn't really care. If he wasn't really sure. He's not like that.

"So before I take my leave, I ask you only one thing" the springy-ness of his voice was back, mixed with a hint of solidarity, "…Believe him."

Please, believe him.