=== DON ===
I was in my office doing a little bit of paperwork. Alan Crane came in, knocking at the door. I finished the line I was on and looked up, putting on my best boss-appeasing smile. “Mr. Crane. How can I help you?”
“Oh, just stopping by to say hi, Don. How are your cases coming?” I watched him for a moment. He rarely checked on my cases. Mostly because he had learned he didn’t need to. I would get the job done. And my record was impeccable. Only slightly less than his, I thought bitterly. He looked tired, almost haggard, which wasn’t like him. I narrowed my eyes.
“They’re coming well. You know I like to stay on top of everything.”
“O-of course, Don. I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. Just checking in.”
“Of course, Alan,” I said, trying to sound familiar. “Is there something on your mind?”
“Yeah. I was wondering if I could borrow your ear for a while.” I glanced at the plea deal I had been constructing. Then I saved it three times, just to be sure, and stood up.
“Of course, Mister Crane. I’m here for you.” I tried to play off my disdain for the man as an easy affability. I don’t know if he bought it. He smiled.
“Come back to my office. I have some scotch.” We were still on the clock. And it would be for a few more hours. But he had never offered anything like that before. And it piqued my curiosity. Maybe it’s something that I can use. We retired to his office, and he poured me a drink and got me a few ice cubes. Then poured himself a healthy amount. More than I’d ever seen him pour off the clock. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him drink during work hours.
“What’s on your mind, Alan?” I asked, spinning the glass in my hands slowly.
“It’s this damn Bion case. I did my best with the jury, but it’s impossible to find someone who doesn’t have an opinion on Bion. Most of them are positive, even after the news. And his attorneys are good. Of course, they are. Damn it. I’m prosecuting an American hero. The American hero.” I tried not to frown. Andrew Wan was barely an American. Much less the best of us. He teamed up with freaks and degenerates. Not to mention his Chinese ties. Alan’s pathetic. Thinking a second-generation immigrant could possibly be the archetype of a real hero. I paused for a moment, trying to keep my smile purely inward. He’d learn soon. Curatio will make our move soon and show the world what true American heroes are. “I don’t know, Don. I don’t think I can win this case.” That was a shocking statement. District Attorneys had to keep their records close to perfect, or they’d be voted out. Which would be an ideal chance for me to take his position, I thought, suppressing my lips, stretching at the thought.
“Is the information Esvanir,” I failed to keep the disdain out of my voice this time, “provided not sufficient? When I looked at it, it seemed pretty bulletproof. WanEn designed the wormhole. They were signed off by Wan himself. He knew the risks. After the first Grignau attack, he reopened the portal, and they continued mining there. Depraved Heart was a good call.”
“The documents are fine. But you know damn well that the facts of a case are less important than the jury’s emotions. And Bion has been saving cats out of trees and fighting supervillains in Avalare for twenty-five years. There ain’t a single person in the city that hasn’t been saved in some way by him. And that begs the question. Why am I the one prosecuting this? Why wasn’t it kicked up to the Federal court?” It wasn’t a stupid question. Despite my opinion of the man, I have to admit he’s a good lawyer. Climbed his way up over forty years and won almost every case. He was careful and choosy. But this wasn’t a case anyone could just walk away from. Wan needed to be prosecuted. And forcing a local DA to take the case was almost certainly career suicide. But in case it’s not, I have to look supportive.
“There’s also not anyone who hasn’t been affected by the Grignau attacks. Everyone has a story. If the defense is playing up the emotional angle, maybe you should focus harder on the visceral nature of the attacks.” Alan nodded thoughtfully. He still looked a little unsure, so I continued, “When are the closing arguments scheduled for?”
“Tomorrow, 2 o’clock. Thanks, Don. That’s a good idea. You’re a good friend.” I smiled at him as best as I could. Moron. I excused myself and made my way back to my own office. A courier was standing in front of the receptionist’s desk, and she called out.
“Mister Lawin. Package for you. Needs your signature.” I made my way over to the desk, scrawled a quick signature, then took the package, looking at the return address.
Johnathan Rawlins
I frowned at the package and walked away from the receptionist and courier without a word, closing and locking the door behind me. I took my letter opener out, sliced through the tape, and opened the box. It was a large phone. I took it out and powered it on. And immediately, it started ringing. I answered it. On the other end, some static and a gravelly voice greeted me. “Assistant District Attorney Don Lawin. You are the last person I would have ever expected to contact me. But my associate tells me you and I have something to discuss.”
“Ordinarily, I wouldn’t want to make a deal with someone like you. But we have a common enemy, Mister Marcelli.”
“And who would that be?” He sounded bored. Irritation flared up in my neck and behind my eyes, and my stomach roiled.
“I am a part of an organization that will see the end of all of the genetic degeneration that has occurred in the last generation.”
“If you’re so sure of your role in this, then pray to tell, Mister Lawin, why are you contacting me.”
“We have developed a cure for it, but as one might expect, maintaining such an operation is very expensive. I’m reaching out to see if you might consider being a benefactor.”
“Many of my resources were seized when I was forced into my extended vacation. I’m not as liquid as I used to be. Would you be able to assist in any thawing?”
“There are things I can do on that front. But I could’ve reached out to any number of wealthy men. I need some assurances of my own.”
“Oh? Do tell.”
“Our aim is to eliminate every last meta-human. None of them will be left. My understanding is that you also hate these things and would like to see them eradicated.”
“These metas have taken everything from me. Buck Cherry robbed me twice. Made me look like an idiot. Smash Gal destroyed my house. Or beasts coming out to kill my family with their disgusting fire powers. I want nothing more than the utter destruction of these people.” Marcelli started out sounding bored, but as he continued on, heat grew in his voice. He took a deep breath before continuing, his tone returning to its neutral mask. “But if I’m involved, I have a few stipulations beyond access to my funds.” I grit my teeth. I’m giving him the chance to do what’s right. To use his ill-gotten gains to do something meaningful. And these criminals spit in my face, making demands. But compromises must be made. I’m doing God’s will, and He will forgive me for whatever transgressions we make as long as we can eliminate these sinners.
“And what would that be?” I asked bitterly.
“I want to know what this cure is. How it works. To see it in action. And I want to add an additional non-meta target to our list.” He paused for a moment, and I could hear him breathing heavily. “I want to kill Curtis Reese. I want you to help me find him so I can squeeze the life physically out of him. So that I can crush him after we kill his bitch in front of him. And I want both of their deaths to be incredibly painful. I want them to know no peace.” I found myself smiling throughout his rant.
“I think we can work that out, Mister Marcelli. In fact, it would be my pleasure to help you with those goals.”
=== KARI ===
I returned to Chuck’s apartment after talking with Curt and told him everything. My boyfriend pursed his lips, considering. “That’s interesting. I guess his time in that other reality really affected him.”
“No kidding. Do you think he can change?”
“We all can change. It’s just a matter of wanting to. And that’s the bigger question. But you said Curt could’ve attacked you and didn’t.” I chewed on Chuck’s words, pushing myself into his arms. I have been spending more time here lately. He had given me half his closet space and some dresser drawers. My toothbrush rested next to his in a cup. Another thought crossed my mind. Curt and Buck Cherry had been basically the same at this point. And now they’re married. Is that going to be Chuck and me? He wrapped his arm loosely around me and kissed my neck, and I leaned away, giggling. It tickled. Despite all of my strength, my ability to tank rockets and swords, and everything else, I was still ticklish. God has a sense of humor with that. I turned into him and kissed him. He kissed back and just watched me for a moment with his deep brown eyes. The pressure we’d been under lately had worn more worry lines into his face. I pressed into his chest, and he hugged me tight.
The following day, I got up and dressed in a business skirt and blouse with a blazer. Closing arguments for Bion’s case were today. I’d testified against him, and it was one of the worst experiences of my life. I had grown up looking up to a ton of heroes, but Andrew Wan was the hero. He was larger than life, more famous than anyone else. Rich, powerful, innovative, and capable. And I betrayed him, a voice in the back of my head kept saying. I had tried to rebuff it a thousand times, countering with, No, he betrayed everyone. He’s the one that caused the Grignau attacks. He’s the one that endangered people. That didn’t allay the guilt at all. And what was worse was that I could hear Curt’s smug voice add to it, And he did it all to line his pockets. He let people die for money. I watched myself in the mirror. This was basically the same thing I wore the first time I had testified.
=== FLASHBACK ===
“And I call to the stand Smash Gal, Kari Stewart,” the prosecutor said. My heart was beating fast. I had done arbitrations before, settling out of court, but being in the actual court was different. It hadn’t occurred to me before, but none of the metas and supervillains I had stopped ever had trials. They had been sent directly to a holding facility. I didn’t know it was Bellemere yet. I’d never even heard the name.
As I stood, my panic spiked, and everything slowed down for me. My footsteps seemed to echo forever with each step I took. The prosecutor was an older, heavyset man. Alan Crane, I thought. The District Attorney. He had a jolly red face, gray hair, and a matching gray suit. The kind of guy who would come up if you googled a lawyer and hit images. The defense attorneys wore dark suits and looked like they’d be the second or third result on the same search. The lead attorney was a severe-looking woman named Julie Mason. Wan also wore a dark blue suit and glared at me, eyes narrowing over his breathing mask. I forced myself to look forward, not daring to meet his gaze. After what seemed to be an eternity and a half, I made it to the stand and took a few deep breaths. I was sworn in, promising to tell the truth. From behind a table, Alan stood up and began his questioning, “Miss Stewart, could you please state your relationship with the accused?”
“Uh, well, we’re both superheroes. We’ve worked together to try and bring down Esvanir and push back against the Grignau invasion that happened late last year.”
“Yes, I wanted to thank you for your help with that on behalf of the City of Avalare.” Mister Crane smiled reassuringly at me. I smiled back, breathing easily for the first time since I sat on the seat. “So, you’ve worked with Mister Wan before. Is that how you ended up on one of his bases?”
“Well, no. We had tried to apprehend Curtis Reese, Esvanir, and his then-fiancé, Buck Cherry, at their wedding. The fight hadn’t gone well. Afterward, I found Esvanir elsewhere, and we fought again. I broke his teleport-y thing, and it transported us to the Grignau home planet.” Alan paused for a moment collecting his thoughts. It was weird for me, and I fly at Mach 8 daily. It must be really bizarre for a vanilla to deal with this.
“So, you ended up on a different planet in your skirmish with Esvanir. What happened after that?”
“C-Curt, Ch- Professor Mind, and I argued about what we needed to do next.” I had purposefully avoided mentioning Doctor Desai. They seem like a nice person. I don’t want to drag them into all of this. “Curt was furious that we’d crashed his wedding, and during the fight that took us to the new planet, I broke his hand, so he wasn’t super cooperative.”
“Did you immediately realize where you were?”
“No, Curt did. He was the first person to both piece together that we were on a different planet and that it was a Wan En and EnGin property.”
“And did you believe him when he told you this?” Alan’s tone had become somber.
“Not at first. But he pointed out that the cafeteria we were in was filled with products and machines from both companies’ products and that they’re the only ones with the tech to make an off-planet compound like that.”
“Interesting. And what happened next?”
“Well, after Curt calmed down, we looked for a way to get back home. Curt powered on some of the computers, got into their systems and started a download of the files. He even found a video of Grignau attacking the workers there. I tried to stop him from downloading the files, but I couldn’t.”
“And what happened after that?”
“Well, Curt got a wormhole or something up and running, and we returned to Earth.”
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“Where exactly did you end up?”
“One of Bion’s. . . Sorry. One of the Wan En facilities.”
“How do you know it was a Wan En facility?”
“Well, Mister Wan was there. And his company’s logo was everywhere.”
“Fair enough. What happened next?”
“Mister Wan knocked out Curt and the doctor who had been brought with us and took them somewhere. He then said that Professor Mind and I had to be kept under observation to make sure any alien pathogens didn’t get loose.”
“Was that why he was keeping you there?”
“As near as I can tell, no. Mister Wan was trying to figure out a way to spin this. Stalling for time. Trying to figure out how we could get on his side.”
“Objection, speculation,” Miss Mason called out.
“It’s not, though,” I countered. The judge, a woman in her fifties, leaned over.
“The witness’ last remark will be stricken from the record. Miss Stewart, don’t speak out of turn.” She glanced down from her very high chair to the District Attorney. “Mister Crane, I’ll allow you a clarifying question or two to establish her knowledge, but please keep your client under control.”
“Thank you, your honor. Miss Stewart, you said that this isn’t speculation. How do you know what Mister Wan was thinking?”
“Professor Mind read his mind and told me.”
“Objection, hearsay.” The lead defense attorney cried again. I clenched my jaw to stop myself from saying something this time. “There’s no way that Miss Stewart could verify the claim being made and is appealing to supernatural knowledge from a third party to substantiate it.”
“Sustained,” the judge remarked. I frowned.
“Your honor, sidebar?” Alan asked. The judge nodded. Alan and Miss Mason crossed the room to just before the judge’s podium. They started whispering, but they could’ve been seven blocks away, and I could’ve heard them. “Judge, I would like to add Professor Mind to my witness list. He can establish Miss Stewart’s claim.”
“Absolutely not,” the defense attorney cut in. “His identity isn’t public, and we cannot verify he can do what he says.”
“He has been a hero in the town for most of a decade, and his record of public service should speak for itself.”
“Mister Crane,” the judge began, sounding exasperated. “I won’t allow a masked vigilante to testify in my court. Having to deal with Smash Gal is bad enough. You’ll have to find a different way of substantiating Miss Stewart’s testimony.” I watched the District Attorney’s chest swell. It looked like he was going to argue, but after a moment, he deflated and nodded.
“Alright, your honor.” He didn’t sound thrilled. This is ridiculous, I thought. Why wouldn’t they let Chuck testify? He’s been a hero since he was fourteen! I grit my teeth. Is this what it means to help people? That we’re just never going to be trusted? Both attorneys returned to their seats, and Alan took a moment or two to collect himself.
“How long did Mister Wan keep you in his facility?”
“Three days.”
“And after those three days, what happened?”
“After Professor Mind told me what was up,” I paused to glare at both the judge and the defense attorneys before continuing, “we decided to leave.”
“And did you help Mister Reese escape?”
“No,” I said, my voice darkening. “He got out some other way.”
“You don’t know how?”
“Uh . . . Professor Mind says that Buck Cherry helped him escape. I was distracted at the time, trying to escape.”
“And after you escaped, what happened?”
“Professor Mind and I went to the cops, but they couldn’t do anything without hard evidence. So, we did a press conference to try and drum up attention. But . . . we still didn’t have proof.”
“And then what happened?”
“Curt leaked the story to David Thrawn. He was interviewed, and Thrawn released the files with most of the information redacted, but I guess there was enough proof for the police to open a full investigation finally.”
“No further questions, your honor.”
=== PRESENT DAY ===
I took a cab to the courthouse. I didn’t want to fly there and ruin my outfit or hair. I had to look professional and capable. It took forever to get to the courtroom; I wasn’t used to moving so slowly. It gave me too much time to think. They’re going to find him guilty, right? They have to. He did it. No matter how rich you are, you have to pay for something this big, right?
I got to the enormous court building. I could throw any of the marble floor tiles into the stratosphere; I could use the story-tall pillars as a bat. And yet, this place felt bigger than me; More than I was. This is why I am a hero. I tried not to think of Bellemere. I failed. Metas never get to see this, a bastion of supposed justice. They were just shipped off to prison and drugged into unconsciousness. I made my way to the courtroom. When I entered, people stared at me. Alan Crane smiled at me. He looked confident, but I could see things other people couldn’t. And there was a slight tremor in his hands. A tightness in his eyes. I smiled as brightly as I could back. I locked eyes with the lead defense attorney. She grinned dangerously at me. There was no tremor in her at all. Just absolute confidence. I tried not to shiver. I am Smash Gal! She’s just a vanilla. But I knew that wasn’t true. She’d proven that when she cross-examined me.
=== FLASHBACK ===
“Miss Stewart,” Julie Mason began from behind her table. I’d learned that lawyers didn’t actually step into the gallery. They asked all of their questions from across the room for some reason. “You claim that you just happened to end up on the Grignau planet by pure happenstance; is that correct?”
“I guess. I don’t really know how I got there. I broke Esvanir’s teleport device, which malfunctioned and sent us there.”
“That seems like a pretty big coincidence, don’t you think?” The defense attorney asked from across the room. “You just happened to end up in the place with all of the evidence to levy these accusations against my client.”
“I don’t really know why we ended up there. You could ask Esvanir. He tried to explain it to me when we were on the planet, but it was way beyond anything I could comprehend.”
“And you and Mister Reese had a relationship, correct?”
“Rela-” I began, but Alan cut me off.
“Objection, relevance?”
“I’m establishing a baseline to test the veracity of Miss Stewart’s claims.”
“Overruled, Mister Crane,” the judge sounded almost bored in her response. “You will answer the question, Miss Stewart.”
“I . . . We were childhood friends. But I did everything I could to bring him in when I learned who he was.”
“Everything?” She asked. “Your testimony earlier said you couldn’t even stop him from stealing computer files.”
“I . . . Should have,” I said through gritted teeth.
“What is your profession, Miss Stewart?”
“I’m a superhero. I do some modeling and brand integrations to pay the bills, but mostly, I try to help people.”
“Is what you do legal?”
“Objection, relevance?” The district attorney asked again, annoyance crawling in his voice.
“This is to point out that Miss Stewart has no qualms about bending and sometimes breaking the law when she thinks something is right.”
“Overruled,” the judge replied. She looked at Mason. “I’m giving you some leeway, counselor. Don’t abuse it.”
“Again, Smash Gal, is what you do legal?”
“Most of what I do is helping people. Helping with disasters and accidents and trying to help people.”
“That doesn’t answer my question, Miss Stewart.”
“I don’t know. I’m not a lawyer or a cop,” I said, anger edging into my voice. “I try to do what’s right.” Crane put his head in his hands. It was just for a moment, but the jury definitely saw it.
“So, your friend just so happens to take you to a different planet, then happens to find the files that implicate that my client is responsible for two of the worst tragedies in the history of the world.”
“Objection! Argumentative,” Crane cut in.
“Withdrawn,” Mason replied quickly. “Do you know how Mister Reese accessed these files?”
“I don’t know,” I responded, exasperated. “He’s a thief. It’s what he does. He’s been hacking WanEn for years.”
“Did you review the files, other than the video, that he took before he gave them to David Thrawn?”
“No, I didn’t get a chance to. I was a little busy. Being stranded on a different planet. And then being held against my will by your client.”
“So, you don’t know if your friend, a known terrorist with a vendetta against my client, edited any of the files?”
“I- Curt wouldn’t do that. He’s a dick, bu-”
“Miss Stewart!” The judge chided. “Show this court proper respect and avoid using any foul language.” I gritted my teeth and glared up at the woman. “Or I will find you in contempt of court.”
“Curt wouldn’t do that.”
“And how do you know that?”
“Because he’s got a sense of honor!”
“A terrorist, known for targeting people like my client, has a sense of honor? A man on the FBI’s Most Wanted List?”
“Yes.”
“It sounds like you respect Mister Reese quite a bit. Which is why you didn’t stop him from stealing the files?”
“Curt tries to do what he thinks is right. Even if he is a thief,” I said heatedly. It’s so much harder not to curse when I know I can’t! Damn it! I glared at the woman across the room from me. “And he was right about what was happening. The files he took proved that. And I saw where we were with my own eyes.”
“The files you hadn’t reviewed before Mister Reese could’ve edited them. Right. And you claim that you were on the planet, but the claim that my client was involved maliciously has not been proven. WanEn has lots of interests local and abroad.”
“Most of those interests don’t get tens of thousands of people killed,” I said through bared teeth. My words were both quick and barely able to be heard.
“Objection! Argumentative. Again.” The District Attorney sounded defeated.
“Sustained. Counselor, keep it to the subject at hand, please.”
“I have no further questions for Miss Stewart, your honor.”
=== PRESENT DAY ===
District Attorney Crane tried to redirect me after that and reestablish my credibility, but I wasn’t sure the damage could be reversed. And now I was just sitting in what basically amounted to church pews, waiting for the results. The judge, an older woman, walked through the door, and the bailiff said, “All rise.” And everybody did, just like that. I could bench a building, and I didn’t warrant a quarter of the respect that this woman did. At least not in the same way.
“We will hear closing arguments today. I would remind everyone to keep in mind that this is a courtroom and to respect our institutions regardless of the results. We will hear from the prosecution first.” Alan stood up slowly and let his gaze trace over the jury momentarily.
“The facts of this case are pretty simple when we strip away all of the science fiction technology and the superheroics. Mister Wan and his company knowingly and deliberately endangered the lives of everyone on the planet. Regardless of who provided the documents, we have confirmed they came from internal Wan En systems and show that the company, and Mister Wan, in particular, were aware of the danger. He opened the portal several times, allowing an external threat a direct line to our front door. Tens of thousands of people died worldwide in the first attack from the Grignau. Thousands in Avalare alone. At the time, we all thought it was a tragedy. Maybe an act of God punishing us. But then it happened again. And more people died. Thousands more people dead. Our city torn asunder. Cities all across the world destroyed. Brought to their knees. And then, because of the actions of private citizens, we found out that it wasn’t an accident, a tragedy, or an act of God. We found internal memos at Wan En that it was a calculated risk. A calculated risk. Tens of thousands dead. Torn to shreds by an alien threat. All because Wan thought he could control it. Stop it. Even after he failed the first time. Even after he’d already sacrificed so many people to the altar of money. Everything else aside, that’s the core of this case. He calculated the risk and decided that tens of thousands of deaths were not enough to pause over. He did this with the knowledge that this could happen. Because it had before. I ask the jury to remember those lost and remember that Bion’s math was wrong. He calculated wrong.” I watched the jury. They were considering his words. But I couldn’t read their faces well enough to tell how they’d fall. And we hadn’t heard from the defense yet. She stood up, and my heart skipped a beat. I can’t believe she actually scares me. Her movements were stiff, and she looked around the room like a hawk ready to swoop down and eat whatever struck her fancy. She didn’t take more than a moment sizing everyone up before she spoke.
“The prosecution would like to make this case seem simple. Play on your emotions. And it makes sense. Tens of thousands dead; a hero fallen. But there are a lot of questions. The documents were stolen by a known terrorist who has very publicly and privately fought with my client in the past. There is tons of bad blood there. And the documents were stolen and given to a reporter. Not to the police. We have no idea how much that terrorist changed those documents. Beyond that, Mister Wan, Bion, has spent most of his adult life-saving people serving this city and our country. The entire world owes him a debt. And if not a debt, at least some consideration. He has always done everything in his power to protect us. And he usually succeeds. And this time, he made a mistake. But it wasn’t malicious. He was trying to continue to provide the best technology to the world as a whole. Was it dangerous? Yes. But many corporations make dangerous decisions, and we don’t hold all of them to this standard. We don’t claim that they are reckless when mistakes are made. Especially when so much is on the line. The benefits of Wan En’s inventions and innovations developed from this planet’s resources cannot be calculated. The very thing that gave Mister Wan, Bion, the ability to protect us. Again, the prosecution would like to look at this in plain black and white. But this isn’t a black-and-white case. Bion has been protecting us for twenty years, saving hundreds of thousands of people with his inventions and creations. And when something went wrong, he did his best to correct it. Beyond that, he has been targeted by vigilantes, those we know the name of, those you may even like, and those who are enemies of the state. People with a grudge out to make him look bad. To stop all of the creativity and ability to protect us further. Someone who would have us put the greatest mind and our greatest protector behind bars. An American hero. Behind bars. Let me ask you, the next time a tragedy happens, do you want Bion to be behind bars or out here, saving people?”
She sat back down, and I watched the jury as they got up and began to leave to deliberate over the case. I wanted to hold my breath until they got back. My chest was tight, and my heart was pounding. I had been there. I had seen what the Grignau had done. Tearing people apart. And her question had even gotten to me. Do I want Bion to be behind bars when we need him? Can I take his place? Am I good enough? I didn’t know the answer to those questions. My hands were shaking.
The jury was out for hours. It was actually so long that the court closed, and they would continue the deliberation the next day. Is it really that complicated? I asked myself, doing my best to ignore all of the doubts crawling through my stomach. I had worked with Bion. I knew that he wanted to be a hero. He wanted to save people. And he had. But I also knew that he was reckless. Just like you are, a voice in my head echoed out. I frowned and tried to push away the thoughts. The next day, near the end, the jury finally came out of the room where they had discussed everything. The jury foreman stood, then was addressed by the judge. “Has the jury reached a verdict?”
“Yes, we have, your honor,” the jury foreman replied.
“Please read the counts individually. And I would remind everyone in the courtroom to refrain from any outbursts.”
“On the counts of Depraved Heart Murder, we find the defendant . . .” The foreman took a deep breath, and my heart stopped. Everything seemed to slow down, even as he continued, “Not guilty.” My heart started pounding. The words rang in my ears. Not guilty. I sat there, stunned, unable to process anything else. When I came back to reality, Bion was standing. He glanced at me. I couldn’t tell through his oxygen mask, but I think he was smiling. My stomach lurched into my chest. I pushed my way out of the courtroom, just barely remembering to not knock anyone over.