Chapter 18

District Attorney – Paul Pfingst The Judge – William Mudd Prosecutor – Jeff Dusek Defense – Steven Feldman Damon Van Dam (D. Van Dam) – Prosecution Witness; Father of victim Crt

"All rise. The United States District Court for the District of California is now in session. The Honorable Christina Lee presiding."

Christina smiled as she entered the courtroom, making her way to her podium. "Please be seated. Is the Assistant United States Attorney ready to proceed with the opening argument?"

"Yes, Your Honor. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the Government intends to prove that the defendant, Mason Greyback, is a pedophile who has assualted, harrassed, abused, and raped Alexandra Russo for an entire year, starting with the day of January 6th 2009. At the conclusion of the trial, I will ask you to return a verdict of "Guilty" as charged. Thank you." Noah Linsky- Alex's attorney- stated his opening argument passionatly. Alex struggled to hold her tears back, but managed to.

"Does the defendant wish to make an opening statement at this time?"

"Thank you, Your Honor. The Defense does wish to make an opening statement. Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, what the prosecution is attempting to do here today is nothing less than shameful. The prosecution says that my client is guilty of committing assalt, harrassment, and rape. The evidence will prove that my client is innocent. He did not commit any of these charges. At the conclusion of this trial, I will ask you to return the just verdict of "Not Guilty." Thank you." Mason's attorney- Steve Fild sat down, nodding his head. Mason quickly glanced at Alex, secretly winking at her. She ignored his actions, taking a deep breath.

"The Prosecution may call its first witness." Christina's eyes glanced over the audience, before landing on Alex, who she could tell looked tramatized.

"Your Honor, the Prosecution calls Dr. Louis Smith to the stand.

"I had been walking through the halls of the hospital, with my co-worker, Dr. Amy Lance. We were on our way to lunch when we heard muffled screams coming from a closet. Dr. Lance ran to get police, while I waited there. I couldn't just stand there. The door was locked, so I opened it with my key. Miss. Russo was on the floor crying and nude and Mason was on top of her, with his hands around her neck."

"Dr. Smith, what kind of closet was this? Are there any cameras in it?"

"No, your Honor. This is just where some of the doctors keep their bags and coats."

"Your Honor, there is a video of Mason breaking into the closet and dragging Miss. Russo into the closet." Noah held the disk up, before a police brought it to Christina.

"Thank you, I'll take a look at this."She slipped it beneath her files, before looking back up. "Dr. Smith, you may step down now. Miss. Russo, please step foward."

"Yes, your Honor." She cleared her throat, feeling her body tremble.

"Why were you in the hospital?"

"I...I had an eating disorder." She tried not to look away from Christina, as instructed by Noah, but it was hard not to.

"Why kind of eating disorder did you have, Miss. Russo? And how long?"

"Anorexia for a month and a half."

"Are you still struggling with it?"

"Yes, your Honor. I'm working on it, day by day."

"And how bad did it get?"

"I was on life support and in a coma for a week."

"Thank you, Miss. Russo. You may steps down. The prosecution may call its next witness."

"Thank you, Your Honor. The Prosecution wishes to call Justin Russo to the stand."

Justin stepped foward, keeping his eyes locked with Christina's."Your honor, I just want to say that our family is familiar with Mason. He actually dated my sister, Alex Russo for a week or so. But he ended up breaking her heart, by telling my girlfriend he loved her. After that he apologized to Alex and told her it had just come out by mistake. He told Alex he had lost this necklace he wanted to give her and took her with him to find it. My girlfriend, Juliet, my brother, Max,and I went after them to make sure Alex was okay. There Mason got in a fight with us and started punching and kicking us. He left after that and returned a few months later. After he returned, Alex's moods started to change, but I didn't think anything of it."

"Mr. Russo, did you notice anything strange about Mason?"

"Yes, I didn't like him from the beginning. He had that cold stare and I could tell something was up. Then when he broke my sister's heart, I hated him. It was like he turned into some monster."

"Okay, thank you. You may step down."

"The prosecution wished to call Dean Samaonos to the stand."

Dean stepped foward, taking a deep breath. "I'm Alex's boyfriend, your Honor. And one night in September, I had to stop by my cousins house to pick up my I-pod that I left there two days before. When I got there, he was having a high school party and it was out of control. I told Alex to wait in the car, but she didn't want me to go alone so she followed me. She had a water bottle with her and she put it down for a minute, because I almost got in a fight with a guy who made a comment about Alex. She told me to stop and gave me some of her water to calm down. She drank it after me and then I went upstairs, away from everyone, to get my I-pod. We were up there for a few minutes talking, because I was was trying to calm me down and then after that, everything was kind of a blur. I kind of remember getting on a bus home, by myself and then I woke up in my house."

"How long are you two dating?"

"A little over two years, your Honor."

"And what comment did this boy make and who is he?"

"Um..well he said that Alex was hot and then he tried to kiss her and he's my cousin's friend, your Honor."

"And why didn't you call the police?"

"Well...I was going to, but I had to get away from people and then after Alex and I went upstairs, we only really remember being up there for a few minutes."

"Thank you, you may step down." Christina slightly smiled, as Noah stepped foward.

"The prosecution wishes to call Dr. Stevens, Alex's doctor, to the stand."

"Alex Russo was very tramatized while she was in my had been refusing to eat and was diagnosed with various different disorders. I have the papers, if you'd like to look at them." She handed the papers to the officer, before continuing. "After her and her boyfriend discussed the possibility of rape, I performed testing on Alex and her clothing. The DNA on her clothing, matches to Mason's. And there is Mason's semen on Alex's clothing. The other results was rophenol, also known as Date Rape, was found in Alex's hair sample. And the baby Alex had been carrying, was Mason's child. Those are also in the paper I gave you."

"Thank you, Dr. Stevens. The prosecution wishes to call DNA analyst Annette Peer to the stand."

"Your Honor, I examined the blood stains found on Mason's clothing. They match the genetic profile of Alexandra Russo. There is a slim chance it wasn't Alex's blood. We also have pornographic photos of Miss. Russo, which show she was unwilling to take these photos. And on the camera we found them in is the DNA of Mason."

"Thank you, Ms. Peer. Your Honor, we have no further witnesses."

"Does the Defense wish to call a witness to the stand?" Christina questioned, watching Steve nod.

"Yes, Your Honor. We would like to call Mason's Mother, Lisa Greyback, to the stand.

"Your honor, I have evidence that shows that my son could not have hurt Alex Russo in any way."

"But it's happened before. You're son is already charged for the murder of Miss. Russo's baby." Noah interrupted, causing Alex to feel sick. A tear slipped from her eye, but she managed to gain control.

Lisa was speechless. This hadn't happened in the script her and Steve had gone over. "He...he is a good boy. And every time we would watch criminal shows, he's hate those people with a strong passon." She pulled something out of no where, causing Steve to cringe.

"How old was your son when you started watching these shows?" Christina asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Um...fifteen."

"Thank you, you may be seated."

"Your honor, the defense calls its next witness, Ryan Tide."

"Your Honor," began Ryan- a friend of Mason's. "I was with Mason the night he was accused of raping Alex Russo. I was with him the entire night and I didn't see him put anything into Alex's drink."

"Ryan, what time did you leave this party?" Christina questioned, taking another glance at Alex.

"Midnight, your Honor."

"Thank you, you may step down." She looked to Mason, raising an eyebrow. "Mason, what time did you leave?"

"Um...one."

"Were you invited to this party?"

"No, your Honor. There's really no invitations to these parties. It goes around school and you just show up."

"I'd like Miles Samaonos to come to the stand." Christina's face was serious and almost annoyed.

"Yes, your Honor." Miles- Dean's cousin- stepped foward, feeling nerves run through his body.

"Did you see Mason with Alex the night of your party?"

"Yes. I had seen Dean leave to get on a bus and I found it weird that he wasn't with Alex. And then I saw Mason carrying Alex upstairs. She looked as if she was asleep and I knew she knew Mason so I thought maybe she boke up with Dean or was cheating on him. I left them alone and then I saw her leave in the morning."

"Did you speak to her that morning or see Mason leave?"

"No she looked like she was in a rush to leave, your Honor. But I heard Mason leave about thirty minutes after I saw them go upstairs."

"Where were you parents during this party?"

"On a business trip, but they found out and I'm grounded, your Honor."

"Thank you, you may step down." Christina sighed, gathering her papers into one neat pile. "Now, for the closing arguments. Prosecution?

Noah looked over to the jury, slightly nodding. " Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, I don't need to beg and plead for you to give me the verdict that I want to hear. The evidence speaks for itself. We have also shown you the state of mind that Mason had killed his own child, before it was even born. We have shown you the sick intuitions of Mason and the photos he took of Alex. Alexandra Russo's blood was found on his clothing. Excuse me for feeling this way but isn't this wrong? Isn't this immoral? Isn't this every parents nightmare? I think that if this man gets away with such a horrendous crime, our society is simply worse off. Please, ladies and gentleman of the jury, lets not make the wrong decision. Let's realize what is at stake and punish the man who is responsible for this innocent girl's trama and assault. Thank you."

"Defense?"

Steve cleared his throat, cringing at all the things that had gone wrong. This had been the worst case he's dealt with. All the evidence of the crime was there, so now he needed a stong closing argument. But he knew even the arguement was lousy. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, let me remind you of something. We have had numerous witnesses come in and testify that Mason is innocent. He was with a friend the entire night. What does this mean? Well, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this creates a reasonable doubt. And with reasonable doubt, by law, you must render a verdict of not guilty. Thank you."

Alex let another tear slip as the jury dissapeared to deliberate. She glanced down at her hands, which were shaking uncontrollably. She wanted this to end. And she wanted it to end now. The room began to spin and her head was throbbing. She closed her eyes for a moment, but she felt Mason's eyes burn through her skin. She opened them and saw the jury return.

"We the jury, find the defendant, guilty as charged with rape, assualt, sexual assualt, drug offences, harassment, and stalking, as well as your previous, first degree murder for Alexandra Russo's unborn baby. You are sentenced to twenty years of prison and we reccomend the death sentence." Lisa Greyback buried her face in her hands, sobbing. How could her son do something like that? How could her baby grow up as a murderer or a rapist. She remembers the first time she held him. Never did she think he's grow up and be a criminal.

Alex stood up, searching for Dean. Her heart skipped a beat as she collided with the arms that folded around her. She didn't want everyone to see her cry, but she couldn't help it. Her tears continueosuly fell from her eyes, like pouring rain. Dean rubbed her back, not saying a word. He gave Mason a cold stare, watching the police handcuff his wrists. "It's all over now, he's gone."

"Just wait! I'll get back at you, you whore!" He tried to pull from the police's tight grip, but they were too strong. "I'll find my ways!"

Alex picked her head up, looking at Mason. But she could hardly see anything. He was just a big blur. Her tears clouded her vision and she fell back into Dean's arms. She sobbed even harder- if possible- feeling everyone's eyes on her. She suddenly jumped as she felt an unfamiliar hand on her shoulder. She pulled out of Dean's arms to see Christina. She suddenly wiped her tears away, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

"No, don't be. I'm sorry you had to go through all of this." Christina apologized, feeling sympathy for Alex. "This had to be one of my worse cases. Normally when we have cases like this, the person who's in your situation is dead. They don't have to go through all of this. But you made it through. You're strong and you're going to get better. Good luck, I wish you the best in all that you do."

"Thank you." Alex forced a slight smile, before leaning back against Dean. She fit perfectly in his arms, almost like a puzzle pieice. "Promise me you'll always love me."

"I promise. I could never stop loving you."

Thanks for reading! Where are my reviewers? Two chapters with no reviews? What's going on? I'm going vaction so I won't be updating this week. Please, please, please review! That's what get's me going! Review!