WITSEC
Brandi watched as Liv and the US Attorney exchanged a look. She looked helplessly as the US Attorney seemed to be contemplating the offer Liv had drawn up. As Brandi sat there, she wondered whether Liv was supposed to show her before they got to the meeting.
"Have you discussed the option with your client?"
"Briefly."
"Wait…whoah hold on…what did we discuss?" Liv turned to look at Brandi, handing her a copy of the proposed plea agreement. Brandi scanned the pages, trying to digest the information as quickly as she could. They had discussed her testifying against Chuck and his co-conspirators but the information on the second page was completely new.
"Uh...so someone tell me what this means…if I agree to testify?" The US Attorney pushed away from the table, giving the two women a little privacy.
"Federal Witness Protection."
"What's that like police outside my house and stuff?"
"No…I'm afraid it's more involved than that. It would require you to relocate until the trial. You'd assume a new identity. You'd essentially be an entirely new person."
Brandi sat back, trying to comprehend the information. It didn't seem too hard. And the way Liv said it, it sounded like it was only temporary.
"So Chuck couldn't find me?"
"As long as you followed the rules, no one could find you. We can't get into all of the details of the program now but it's really the only option we have to avoid any jail time."
"Ok…then let's do it."
"Counselor, you might want to advise your client to consider the option carefully."
"Hey…I'm in the room you know," Brandi snapped.
"And I did think about it. If it means I can still do the right thing and get out of going to jail, then it doesn't seem too bad to me."
"It may seem that way –" Liv cut him off.
"Counselor, my client has made her decision." He nodded and exhaled through hiss nose.
"I'll see if I can get a hearing in the morning to discuss bail."
"You mean I have to spend the night in jail…"
"Just one night. Ii think you handle it." Liv tried her best to sound reassuring. Brandi bit the inside of her lip again but nodded. They all stood and the two attorneys shook hands briefly.
"I'll have my secretary call your office with a time for tomorrow."
Liv patted Brandi on the shoulder as they made their way down to the elevator. Neither spoke as they waited or as they descended to the lobby.
"Do you think…" She paused. She wanted to ask if she could call her mother to let her know she was ok but as she thought about it, the question sounded childish.
"Never mind." She would let Mary handle telling Jinx.
"I'll be back in the morning. You'll be ok." They reached Liv's car and got in. Brandi turned her gaze towards the scenery around them as Liv put the car in drive and sped out of the parking lot.
Downtown, Mary pulled into a parking spot and let out a breath. What was she supposed to tell her mother? She knew Jinx wouldn't believe that Brandi was in serious trouble. It had nothing to do with Brandi being the baby of the family. Half the time, their mother was too drunk to comprehend much of anything. After sitting in her car for a few more minutes, Mary climbed out and walked towards the front door. The light lunch crowd was just clearing out, giving Mary the privacy she would need to talk with Jinx.
"Mary, sweetie!" Jinx rounded the counter and threw her arms around her daughter.
"Hi Mom." Jinx seemed oblivious to Mary's serious tone.
"Sit down….do you want something to eat?"
"No…I'm fine. Mom, I need to talk to you."
"Oh sure honey. Have a seat." They moved to one of the booths near the back of the restaurant. Mary stared at her hands, folded on thee table in front of her.
"It's about Brandi."
"Oh…she's still coming to stop by for dinner right? I told her lunch but…well lunch is over."
"No, Mom…she's not going to be stopping by."
"Oh…ok then." Jinx started to stand up when Mary caught her by the wrist.
"Mom, this is serious. Brandi was arrested this morning."
"That's ridiculous."
"Yeah, well it's true. They tore the place apart."
"What? Is…the house….did they break anything?"
"No…but the house is a mess."
"Why did they arrest her? That's so silly. She didn't do anything wrong."
"She was hiding a suitcase of crystal meth in her closet." Jinx opened her mouth to say something but found no sound would pass over her vocal chords.
"No…that can't be…why would she do that?"
"I don't know."
"Is she going to jail?"
"I don't know…all I know is that they took her down to police headquarters this morning."
"We have to go see her."
"No, we have to go home and clean the place up. And I'm going to file a complaint with the city, that's for damn sure." Mary stood up, pulling her keys from her pocket. Jinx sat staring blankly at the now vacated seat across from her.
"Mom…are you coming?"
"Oh….yes…sure." She stood slowly, as if moving too quickly was painful. She knew enough to punch out before following her daughter out to the car.
The evening passed by slowly. Jinx just sat in her room amidst the strewn clothing half-exposed drawers. Mary did her best to put her room back together before walking into Brandi's room and shutting the door. She looked around.
"What the hell were you thinking, Squish?" She moved through the room, picking through the piles of clothes and shoes. Of all the thoughts that could have gone through Mary's mind at that moment, she couldn't stop from wondering why her sister had so many shoes and where she'd put them all when she'd come. Mary spotted a box of tissues sitting on the night table and grabbed several to keep from getting her fingerprints on items. She spent the better part of an hour combing every in of the room to see if the cops had missed something. She wanted to be absolutely sure there weren't any drugs left in the house.
That night passed slowly for Brandi as well. She sat curled up in a cell, her head resting against the wall. She tried to sleep but found the whole experience to be too nerve-wracking. Around one in the morning, she got up and started to pace around small space, attracting one of the night guards.
"Something wrong?"
"Huh? Oh…just can't sleep…I guess. Sorry." She sat back down. He looked at her with a half-interested expression on his face before moving down the cell block.
By the time morning came, Brandi was exhausted and could barely keep her eyes open. She barely noticed when Liv arrived around 8:30. The guard unlocked the cell door and motioned for Brandi to step out. She walked, zombie-like out of the station and into Liv's car.
"Did you get any sleep last night?"
"Not really. I tried…just couldn't."
"Hopefully this won't take long. We should be able to get the judge to agree to release you into your own custody."
"So I can go home."
"Yes."
"Thank God." The drive seemed shorter the second time around, despite her exhaustion. They walked into a court room on the first floor and sat down in the back of the room. The US Attorney stood at a desk in the front of the court room, addressing the judge.
"When do we go up?"
"The Bailiff will call your case number and we'll go up." Much to Brandi's annoyance, there were about twenty cases ahead of hers on the morning's docket. She leaned back in the chair, listening to judge and other attorneys as their voices wafted to the back of the room. She was almost asleep with Liv nudged her shoulder.
"Come on. We're up." Brandi ran a hand through her hair and straightened her skirt. She tried to smile up at the judge but he seemed to be looking right past her.
"Counselors? What is the status of this case?"
"We've reached an agreement with the government, Your Honor. We will be acting upon the agreement within twenty four hours. For that time, we would like to request the defendant be released under their own recognizance," Liv explained. The judge turned to look at the US Attorney.
"Any objections?"
"No Your Honor. The government is amenable to ROR." The judge nodded and made a note in the case jacket.
"Defendant is released on ROR. The plea will be fulfilled within twenty four hours."
"Next case." Brandi turned to Liv and gave her a hug before they left the court room.
"So what happens now?" They waited for the US Attorney to join them.
"I'll send the Marshalls to your address. You'll have the rest of the day to pack and say your goodbyes. Tomorrow your new life begins, Ms. Shannon."