~*~*Tom's P.O.V.*~*~

The trial date was set for a week after the men had been brought in. The other men were all convicted prior to today. We all arrived at the court house to meet with our attorneys an hour before hand to go over the procedures of the trial. It would go something like this: We would all enter with our lawyers and be seated at one table; the Ringleader would then be led into the room with his lawyer and be seated on the opposite side of the room from us. None of us really knew how we would feel with him fifteen feet away from us, but we figured we would be ok if we didn't look at him. That was much easier said than done.

When the He did enter the room there was a detectable stiffness in the air around our table. Everyone looked at him with deep loathing and fear. I grabbed Veronica's hand to comfort her and myself. She squeezed my hand gently in response; we both squeezed harder when He looked at us with an over-confident smirk on his face. Bill pretended to scratch his face as he looked away from Him; his eyes shone with held in tears.

"Would the defense like to make an opening statement, Mr. Kurlo?" the judge asked His lawyer.

"Yes, your honor," the man said. He was a short, middle-aged man with a deeply receding hairline wearing a suit that should've been retired several years ago. He stood before the courtroom facing the jury.

"My client has been charged with the kidnap and assault of the people at that table over there and several counts of forced prostitution and rape in the first and second degree against Ms. Oswell. Now it is clear that there was serious mental and physical damage done to these young people, but that does not mean what he was doing was not wanted by them."

"Objection!" our lawyer called. "There is sufficient evidence that proves that all of my clients were forced into whatever acts they did while in the custody of those men."

"Sit down, Ms. Cabot, we will get to your evidence later," the judge ordered.

Veronica turned to me with troubled eyes. I rubbed the back of her hand with my thumb and tried to give her a reassuring smile, but we both knew the things this man was saying disturbed both of us deeply. She feebly returned my smile, but it faded right after she turned her head back to the attorney.

"While some of the injuries they sustained were a bit traumatic, that is not necessarily my client's fault; you see, client has suffered the pain of losing his beloved wife to a group of neo-Nazis and shortly after losing his only daughter to suicide from the unbearable pain. Ever since he has suffered from heavy alcohol addiction that has impaired his ability to properly function. His only wish is to have his wife and daughter by his side again."

The man sat back down at his table at the end of his short speech.

"Now you may speak, Ms. Cabot," the judge addressed our attorney.

"Thank you, your honor. Ladies and gentlemen, do not let this con-artist fool you; he is 100% responsible for everything that happened to these innocent people over the past two years. Don't let the sob story of his family blind you from the fact that he was out for blood in this merciless act of vengeance. Yes, he does live with alcoholism; but that only fueled his rage and made him more violent towards them. The actions committed by this man are unforgivable and must receive the maximum punishment available."

The trial continued with the Ringleader first telling some bogus story of how he was a 'confused old man' who managed to think we were the group that killed his wife and had taken his daughter hostage. When asked about forcing Veronica to turn tricks, he said he didn't know what he was doing. 'Didn't know', my ass.

When it was our turn, we each went up and told what we went through individually and talked about how we were after we got back home. The defense attorney showed the jury photos of us while we were in the hospital. Most of the women, and even some of the men, cried at the sight of them. The Ringleader's lawyer didn't have any questions for us, which seemed odd according to Ms. Cabot. When Veronica took the stand and finished her story Ms. Cabot took out the photos and doctor's reports on her. As she read each note and panned each picture, each member of the jury looked back and forth between the pictures and her, obvious shock on their faces. She looked nervous up there, yet determined at the same time. When she was done with her bit, His lawyer stood up for the first time since the beginning of the trial.

"Ms. Oswell, you lived with my client for how long, again?" he asked.

"I was held prisoner for a little over eighteen months."

"And during that time, you never tried to leave on your own?"

"I was afraid that He would try to kill me if I did."

"You claim that my client forced you into prostitution, is that right?"

"Yes."

"According to him, you liked having sex with the men he set you up with."

"That's not true, I despised it."

"Really? Cause, I never would've guessed by the way you acted in all the videos he had of you," the man said suggestively.

Videos? She never mentioned any videos.

"What are you talking about?" Veronica looked worried.

"If I may, your honor?" the man addressed the judge.

"Proceed," he said, interested.

A T.V. was wheeled into the room on a cart. There were several VHS tapes on the cart as well. The lawyer picked up one of them at random.

"I present to you all videos my client took of Ms. Oswell having intercourse with several different men, including my client."

He put the tape in the VCR and hit the play button; an image of Veronica standing against a wall appeared on the screen. Her eyes looked glassy and lifeless and her body was basically limp. From off camera, His voice was giving her instructions; take your shirt off, unbutton your pants. She did them all robotically, her face never changing. Another man walked on camera and more instructions came; kiss her here, touch him there, do this with your hands, make more noise. The look on his face was like a predator stalking it's pray; hers was still lifeless.

"What is this?" our lawyer asked.

"Ask your client, Ms. Cabot. She's the one taking her clothes off."

Veronica's face was streaked with tears and covered in embarrassment.

"What was that Ms. Oswell?" His lawyer asked her.

"I don't remember; he gave me drugs; I went days without remembering anything; He had dozens of men over all the time; I never noticed a camera," she said distantly, shaking her head as she spoke.

"You certainly weren't resisting in that video."

"Objection! The victim clearly had no knowledge of these videos," Ms. Cabot said.

"She's looking right onto the camera."

"She's obviously intoxicated."

"That's enough," the judge said. "Defense has apparently withheld evidence from the D.A. I am ordering all these tapes be handed over to Ms. Cabot for reviewing. This trial will continue in four days after prosecution has had a chance to catch up with defense. In the mean time, Mr. Kurlo, you are on thin ice."

As we left the courthouse, Veronica didn't look at or speak to me.