I know. I said the last chapter had the epilogue. The longer I thought about it though, the more I realized some things were left unanswered. Here's my attempt at filling in some of the blanks. Enjoy!!
Susanne
Epilogue:
Roy sat in the court room feeling decidedly uncomfortable. All of his cuts and bruises were long since healed and even the nightmares had stopped. Well, mostly. Roy had at first refused to come here. The last thing he wanted to do was to look on the faces of the men responsible for the worst couple of days of his life. The longer he tried to convince himself of that, the worse he'd felt.
Not all of the escaped convicts had tried to hurt Roy. In fact, Connors and the brothers had spent a great deal of time and energy trying to keep him safe. It was this fact that had finally dragged him here. He had to know why they'd risked getting caught to do that.
The benches in the room were full. The court had a packed docket that day. Roy didn't know how long he was going to have to wait but he settled in, intent on staying until the end. While he watched, several smaller cases were dealt with.
Then the side door opened and a familiar face was led into the room wearing an orange jumpsuit and chains on his ankles and wrists. Connors. The last time Roy had seem the man, he'd squared off against Johnson to give him time to escape. Connors had been severely beaten. For that Roy had a small degree of guilt. Quickly he tried to squash the emotion as he saw that Connors too had mostly healed. The man still had a rather livid scar down the right side of his face and a slight limp. The guilt slipped through again.
Behind Connors came the brothers followed by Anderson and the other two men that had escaped that day. Roy had been very grateful that the two men that had stolen his car hadn't actually managed to damage it. The car was his baby. Well, it had been. Now his priorities were just a little different.
The bailiff stood and read the docket number and the rest of the information for the charges against the six men. They stood stiffly, not bothering to turn and look at the people in the audience. It seemed they didn't want to know who was behind them or why they were there.
Quietly, Roy sat and listened as briefs of each of the men's lives and their criminal records were read aloud to bring the judge up to speed. He wasn't especially surprised to find out that Connors had a military background. The man had been in the Army during the Vietnam War. What did surprise him were the circumstances behind the man's murder conviction. He'd been protecting his wife during a fight at a bar. Since Connors was trained as a Ranger, the judge had decided his body was a lethal weapon and had thrown the book at him.
Anderson and the two men who'd stolen Roy's car had very similar backgrounds. Raised in broken, one parent homes, they'd never really had a lot of choice in life. It didn't excuse what the men had become but it helped Roy to understand them a little better.
The brothers were another story completely. Until the day they'd killed a man in cold blood, neither man had been in trouble with the law. Their lawyer had tried to get them a 'guilty by reason of mental defect' plea but the judge had thrown it out. Apparently, the brothers had decided the man they'd killed was possessed by a demon. Roy shook his head. They'd seemed san enough, now he wasn't so sure.
Finally the current charges were detailed including the kidnapping of a Los Angeles County Fireman Paramedic. Unconsciously, Roy sat forward in the bench, resting his forearms on the back of the bench in front of him. As he listened, his statement to police, made four days after the events, was read into the record. As the man read Roy's words in a dry monotone, Roy relived every minute of his ordeal.
A cold sweat broke out down Roy's back and across his forehead. The memories were still too new, too strong. Roy ran a trembling hand over his eyes, trying to wipe away the tears that had gathered there before any of the other spectators noticed.
"Well," the judge stated, having heard all the information. He turned to face the men standing in his courtroom. "We have a bit of a dilemma here, gentlemen. You were not responsible for the bus losing its brakes and careening down the side of that cliff. Furthermore you were not responsible for the fireman/paramedic coming to your aid. You are, however, responsible for your actions after having been set free."
The judge shifted in his chair while he considered everything he'd been told. While he thought, he stared long and hard at the men in front of him. Coming to a conclusion, he sat up a little straighter.
"Mr. Connors. You displayed exemplary behaviour by trying to keep the fireman/paramedic safe from your fellow inmates. Even the paramedic spoke highly of you in his statement. Taking this under consideration, I have chosen not to add any more time to your sentence. You will serve the sentence that was originally given to you.
"David and Jared Winters. You allowed yourselves to be apprehended without instance. You were not responsible for any of the injuries sustained by the paramedic during the course of events that day. While you weren't outwardly trying to protect the man, you didn't hurt him either. As a result, I have decided to not add any time to your sentences either.
"Now we come to Mr. Anderson. While you were not personally responsible for any of the paramedic's injuries, it wasn't for lack of trying. I know that I am unable to give you the sentence I would like because you can't be charges for things you wanted to do. As a result, an additional two years will be added to your sentence to be served consecutively.
"Mr. White and Mr. Harrison. You had a minimal amount of time with the victim but you are guilty of grand theft auto. An additional eight months will be added to both of your sentences to be served consecutively. Court is adjourned." The judge banged his gavel and then waited for the next case to be read.
Roy was rooted to his seat. He watched as the inmates were escorted out of the room. At the last moment, Connors looked up and made eye contact with Roy. The inmate didn't smile but Roy was sure he saw peace in the man's eyes. Connors had accepted his fate. He considered himself to be guilty because he had knowingly taken another man's life. But he'd also saved a life. He hoped somewhere in the universe that stood for something. With a slight nod at Roy, Connors allowed himself to be pushed through the door to the waiting van.
A sense of peace settled over Roy. It was over. Johnson was dead but not by his hands. The monster in his nightmares was never going to be able to touch him again. He'd seen the other men that had made his life a living hell and seen that justice had been done. Standing up, Roy slipped past the other people on the bench and left the court room. He had the feeling that tonight he wasn't going to have any nightmares. Smiling, the senior paramedic paced down the hallway and headed toward his beloved car. He was going home to his family. That was the greatest blessing of all.
The end.