Brian glanced over at his partner, the anxiety clearly written all over his beautiful face. The longer it took for Prescott to enter the courtroom, the more agitated Justin became. The waiting was tortuous for both of them, but for his partner, especially, it was a two-edged sword. Brian knew how badly the man he loved wanted this entire ordeal behind him, but he also knew how much Justin was dreading having to face Prescott again. Unfortunately, everyone knew the best chance to put the fucker away for good was for his victim to testify against him. So as much as Brian detested the idea, it was necessary in order to achieve their goal.
Brian noticed Justin's entire body suddenly tensing up as he heard a side door opening. Justin reached over to tightly grasp Brian's hand as a uniformed, armed deputy sheriff walked into the courtroom, followed by the defendant. Brian had fervently hoped the man would be forced to wear the latest in fashionable, orange prison gear, but unfortunately the son of a bitch had maintained his right to wear street clothes at his trial, and arrived accordingly in an outrageously expensive Armani tailored suit and Versace black leather shoes, his dark black hair perfectly coiffed. The only satisfaction Brian received was the observation that the man was handcuffed; however, even that was short-lived, as he noticed the deputy reach around Prescott's back and unlock his cuffs before the man was seated next to his attorney, Wyatt Sinclair.
Brian and Justin had already been briefed on Prescott's defense attorney. From what both Mel and Greg had told them, Prescott had indeed spared no expense in retaining possibly the most famous and cut-throat attorney in Pennsylvania. Sinclair was known for hobnobbing with the rich and famous, and his wealth was only surpassed by his cockiness. The 57-year-old attorney had an outstanding winning case record, and was well-known and respected by the local trial judges.
Thirty-five-year old Matthews, on the other hand, was a former police officer and relatively new to the Alleghany County Prosecutor's Office, having graduated from law school just five years earlier. Brian had to admit the thought of this virtual newcomer grappling with the venerable defense attorney made him extremely nervous, but Mel was confident he would pull out all the stops to prosecute Prescott. She had worked alongside him on previous cases, and assured Brian the man was a virtual pit bull when the need was warranted. Matthews had made no secret of his disdain for what Prescott had done in his obsessive pursuit of Justin. Brian only hoped his zealousness and tenacity would overcome Sinclair's reputation and overly high opinion of himself.
Justin watched Prescott intently from the time he came into the courtroom until he was seated by Sinclair; only then did he finally loosen his death grip slightly on his partner's hand. He would not let go entirely, however. Justin was going to need every bit of Brian and the rest of his family's support to get through this procedure. Brian squeezed his partner's hand back supportively, before leaning over to whisper in his ear. "It's going to be okay, Sunshine," he softly reassured him. Justin nodded slightly, trying hard to believe that.
As everyone rose for the jury and judge to enter the courtroom, Justin had an opportunity to examine the judge who would be presiding over the trial, George Mason. Justin was relieved to discover it was NOT the same judge who had presided over Hobbs's farce of a trial. In fact, Mel had told him that at least Mason was known to be a fair, no-nonsense, and thorough judge, qualities that the previous judge had been sorely lacking in, from what Brian had told him afterward.
Shortly after everyone was seated and preliminary instructions were given, the two opposing sides presented their opening arguments. As expected, Matthews strategically focused on all the reprehensible aspects of Prescott's actions.
"Honorable Judge and Jury, ladies and gentlemen. I am going to present to you a simple case. A case of a man obsessed with another who would stop at nothing until he had what he wanted," Matthews intoned clearly and confidently, pacing slowly back in forth in front of the jury box. "A man who clearly stepped over the boundaries of a mere infatuation into kidnapping this man to obtain what he wanted, but at a price that almost cost this man his life. During this trial, you will be presented with undisputable evidence that the defendant, Lane Prescott, meticulously and with premeditation planned out every step of his outrageous scheme to obtain the object of his desire, with no regard to the cost. And when all the evidence is presented, you will be left with no doubt that what this man did was clearly outside of the law, and deserves appropriate punishment."
Brian had to admit he was impressed by Matthews' confidence and passion. Justin, also, seemed to relax slightly when the prosecuting attorney had finished his opening statement. Both man, however, turned to look intently as Wyatt Sinclair stood to present the defense side's opening argument.
"Honorable judge and jury, ladies and gentlemen," he began. "During the course of this trial, the defendant will not deny that he may have stepped outside the limits of the law in his somewhat overzealous pursuit of a man he was captivated and enthralled by," Sinclair stated. "However, we respectfully ask that you withhold judgment until all the facts are presented. If you do, we are confident that you will decide that my client, a man of great influence and power who is held in high esteem by his colleagues in the world of fashion merchandising, never meant to incur harm on the victim. Rather, when all the evidence is offered, you will agree that this man was temporarily incapable of determining right from wrong, that his actions were not within his control."
Brian snorted in disgust; this man truly was one of the most pompous people he had ever seen. Brian knew most people perhaps considered him cocky, also, but next to this man, he was as bashful as a virgin on her wedding night. Did he really think people were going to buy this cock and bull shit? For Justin's sake, he certainly hoped not.
After opening arguments were concluded, the calling of witnesses started, beginning with Lee Keller of Everwatch Security, who recounted Brian's assigning him to watch over Justin and the loft, as well as the man who apparently called impersonating Ted. Ted followed immediately after him, verifying that he was not the man who had called with the cancellation request and correct code.
Carl then was brought to the stand to testify about his knowledge regarding the bug that was placed on Brian's phone, as well as his involvement with his and Brian's attempt to find Justin before he was seriously harmed. Dr. Morrisey from Lancaster General Hospital was also sworn in to testify how seriously ill Justin was when he was initially brought into the hospital, and to verify that GHB had been found in his system. He also indicated that his patient's condition confirmed that the drug would have had to have been administered within a few hours of Justin being admitted.
Before the lunch recess, Prescott's friends, Jack Belden and Vince Comisar, were both called to the stand. Though they were hesitant to incriminate Prescott, they were nevertheless forced to explain their part in how they were recruited to persuade Brian to travel to Chicago and Justin to fly to Lancaster, respectively.
Brian noticed that Justin did not take his eyes off the proceedings, the blond nervously chewing on a fingernail as he no doubt relived some of his ordeal at the hands of his ardent pursuer. Matthews had estimated that at the rate the trial was progressing, Brian and then Justin would be called to testify sometime later this afternoon; Brian only hoped that Justin would persevere through having to be within such close range of the man who had nearly cost him his life. He knew his partner was a lot stronger than most people gave him credit for; however, this experience had clearly rattled him to the core.
As the courtroom eventually called for a lunch recess, Justin, Brian and their supporters stood as Prescott was led temporarily out of the courtroom. Only then did Brian notice Justin breathing a soft sigh of relief.
"You okay?" he asked the younger man.
Justin let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. "Yeah, I guess," he sighed. Pursing his lips slightly, he observed, "Looks like you and I might be up next. You think the defense has decided yet whether or not he will testify, too?" Brian didn't need to ask his partner who he was referring to; the worry etched on his face was answer enough.
"I don't know, Sunshine. Greg wasn't sure this morning. And since they've changed their defense to temporary insanity, it's hard to tell if they think it would be wise for that fucker to testify or not." Brian couldn't hide the disgust in his voice; any remote mentioning of Prescott in any way, shape, or form just served to set him off and increase his hatred for the man. And although he would never express it out loud to Justin, he was afraid that Prescott might just somehow be clever or powerful enough to make everyone think he really WAS temporarily out of his mind when he committed those reprehensible acts. He hoped desperately that he would be proven wrong. The brunet DID know one thing, however – he was going to do everything in his power on the witness stand to make sure that everyone in the courtroom knew how despicable Lane Prescott was. Placing his arm around Justin's waist, he pulled the slender man to him, whispering, "Let's get out of here for a while, Sunshine, and go get a bite to eat." Smiling slightly at the man he loved so much, Justin nodded, as he allowed Brian to lead him protectively out the back of the room.
Fortunately, the courtroom had a small cafeteria in the basement that was off-limits to the vast hoard of media reporters camped outside, allowing both men to grab a bite to eat in relative peace. The rest of their "family" had joined them at an adjacent table, each providing their opinion as to how the morning's opening arguments and testimony had went.
"Well, I was impressed with your attorney, honey," Jennifer reassured her son. "I know he's relatively new, but I think he stood up to Sinclair very well, and was very persuasive."
"I agree with your mom, Sunshine," Debbie said. "I think he's got just enough balls to pull this off. Don't you worry, baby, he's not going to let that son of a bitch walk," she vowed.
"I hope you're right, Deb." Justin couldn't quite keep the doubt out of his voice, however. After all, he had seen what type of "punishment" Chris Hobbs had received; a slap on the wrist would have been more severe than what HE got. His experience with so-called justice up until now had been very disappointing, so he wasn't overly optimistic that this time it would be any different.
"Hang in there, baby," Em said encouragingly. "He's going to get what he deserves. I just know it." He reached over to give his friend a quick hug before releasing him. Brian, to his credit, attempted to remain impassive but didn't quite succeed; Emmett knew how Brian was when it came to anyone handling his man. Yes, logically Brian knew the other man was just a friend, but when it came to Justin, the older man was very possessive of him to the extreme. And after the fiasco with Prescott, he was even MORE so, Emmett decided.
"Thanks, Em, everyone," Justin said, appreciating all their support. Despite their encouragement, however, his stomach was tied up in knots and he had little appetite. The thought of having to look Prescott in the eye later from the witness stand gave him palpations and made him very apprehensive. He was so thankful that Brian would be there to lend him the support he would definitely need.
Glancing up just then, Brian saw Matthews heading into the cafeteria. Noticing their group, he walked directly toward them. Brian once again reached over and grasped Justin's hand as he noticed his partner's body growing rigid; Justin smiled gratefully at him.
"Justin, Brian," he said, nodding his head at the others, also, in acknowledgement. "The recess is about over. I thought before you came back up I'd give you a heads up. Brian, you will be next on the witness stand. All I'm expecting you to do is follow my lead and just tell the truth. But I need to warn you. You need to remain calm. I know how emotionally involved you are with this trial," Greg continued, looking over at his client who was leaning into the older man for support. Their love for each other was obvious to anyone who observed them. "And I think everyone is very aware of your feelings toward the defendant." He held up his hand before Brian tried to speak. "Hear me out. All I'm saying is that I know this judge who is presiding. We're lucky we've got Mason for this trial; everyone I work with says he's fair and impartial, which is important with Sinclair involved. But I also know he will NOT tolerate any type of outbursts from the courtroom. And I'm sure the last thing you want is for a mistrial to be declared."
Brian was about to protest at the implied insult; he could maintain decorum when the need was warranted. But he finally, silently, had to admit the attorney was right. When it came to Justin, everything was black and white. Any hint of mistreatment toward him was met with nothing less than hatred and hostility; he certainly had more than enough of those feelings directed toward Prescott. But he also knew how important it was that they nail this fucker. So if he had to bite his tongue to make sure they succeeded, so be it. "I understand," he said softly, looking tenderly over at his compassionate, too-kind-for-his-own-good partner. "I want that fucking bastard nailed for what he did to Justin."
Justin swallowed the lump in his throat and had to blink back the tears that threatened to fail. He was NOT going to cry in front of everyone. He had to steel himself for what was about to come. But Brian's devotion to him continued to amaze him. Not that Brian was capable of it, but that he was WORTHY of it. I love this man so much, he thought.
"Good," Matthews nodded, pleased. "I'll see you all upstairs, then. We're scheduled to reconvene in about 10 minutes," he reminded them before heading out toward the elevators.
"Ready, Sunshine?" Brian asked, standing up. "Let's do this."
Justin reached up once again to take Brian's hand as he stood up from the table. "I'm ready," he verified. "As long as you're there with me."