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Summary: It's been almost a year since someone tried to murder Theo in Brooklyn. Now that the trial is ready to begin, he's learned that the defending lawyer is the last person he'd expect, or want. (Who Am I Protecting Again for the original incident.)
Date: Tuesday, August 16, 2011. 2:36pm
Log Title: Just To The Unjust
Rating: R
NYC - Thompson Square Park
Thompson Square Park is a small park in the middle of Mutant Town. The benches might need a fresh coat of paint, the fence might be rusted in places and the pavement is raised and has cracks but it's all part of the mutant haven and fairly relaxing. Trees and grassy areas are in between the many paths, there are a few structures and benches along the path as well as a special area of the park that is marked 'the dog walk'.
Two trees have been planted in the park as a Memorial to Carmencita Florez and Detective Baxter each with a plaque stating the tree is in their memory.
Tuesday afternoon. Theo got some rather unpleasant news in the mail. Greg Cassidy and Chuck Furlong are headed for trial, and the state wants to call Theo as a witness. That much is good. But the defending lawyer is Jennifer Walters. That is bad. He didn't say why, he just sent Rashmi a text telling her that he needed to meet in person as soon as she could possibly meet. So here he is at Thompson Park. He sits in his car like a statue, staring over the Ferrari steering wheel at a group of children playing tag, a rather annoyed look on his face already.
Theo's car is easy enough to spot, given the general shabbiness of the borough, and Rashmi comes to Thompson Square often enough that such differences stand out well enough. Hefting her bookbag, she trots across the crosswalk toward Theo's side of the street, brow furrowed. "…What's up, Theo?" she asks, once she's closed to earshot.
Theo's gaze shifts quickly as Rashmi calls out to him, and he gets out of the car. He holds up the opened envelope in his hand. "Got some mail today," Theo says in a short and almost professional manner. He reaches in and pulls out the document, and begins to read. "Theodore Fegenbush III, this letter is to inform you that you have been formally requested by the State of New York to appear as a witness in the trials of Greg Cassidy and Chuck Furlong. Blah blah blah the way you were treated is terrible, blah blah blah and we thank you for your assistance to make certain that these individuals face justice." His eyes shift up from the first page and meet Rashmi's. "Cassidy and Furlong. They are the guys who tried to murder me in Brooklyn last year. Took the state long enough to get the trial a hearing. Expected, since it's just a mutant hate crime, not like a hate crime against a real person, you know," he says in mock dismissiveness. "Still, it's good to know they are going to get what's coming to them, right?"
Rashmi's eyebrows draw together, a small frown appearing on her face. "…Actually it's not surprising at all it took this long," she says after a moment. "Nevermind anything else, they probably had to push the trial back after the police mess just to make sure none of the evidence could be tainted. …But I'm glad it's coming up. It's going to suck, but hopefully when it's over you'll feel better."
"Oh, but wait, there's more, Rashmi," Theo says witha rather sardonic smile, trading the first page with the second, and then pretending to read it. "Look here! I looked up the lawyers for both sides of the case. See, I thought it'd be good to know that kind of stuff." The page is turned to face Rashmi, and he holds it up to her face. "You know who a…Jennifer Walters is?" The technopath's smile drops, and his face betrays his true feelings on the matter. A bitter and unamused scowl. "I think you do. It's your boss. Your boss is going to defend the people who tried to kill me because I was a mutant."
"Yes," Rashmi says, unhesitating, not once looking away from the technopath's gaze, "she is. Which means a *lot* of things, Theo. C'mon. Let's go find a diner or something, and talk it over, okay?" Not once has her voice risen, or hardened, but there's a flicker of emotion deep in the redhead's eyes, a steel in her gaze that says she has nothing to be afraid or ashamed of. "I asked for time off so it wouldn't create a conflict of interest, Theo… so whatever you say to me stays between us. Okay?"
"Conflict. Of. Interest?" Theo bites each word as it leaves his mouth. "Gee, that was so big of you. I might have gone a slightly different route, maybe say, 'Hey boss, we shouldn't defend scum like this, they are garbage and they don't deserve to breathe the same air as the rest of us!'" He doesn't look interested in grabbing food right now, and paces a few steps away from Rashmi before turning back to face her, more than just a flicker of emotion in his own dark brown eyes. "Tell me you at least tried to convince her not to take it."
Rashmi shakes her head, closing her eyes for a moment and taking a slow, deep breath. "No, Theo," she says quietly. "I didn't. She wouldn't have taken the case at *all* if I hadn't said anything." Opening her eyes, she meets Theo's gaze. "I *asked* her to defend them. Regardless of whether they have a chance in hell or not. Which they probably don't; hate crimes almost *never* end well for the people doing the hurting."
Theo's eyes go wide, taken aback by the concept. "You…asked her to defend them?" The concept feels beyond him. "You asked her to defend them. Rashmi. They beat me within an inch of my life, and tried to kill me. If it hadn't been for Caleb, they would have succeeded. Not hurt. Not set back. Not paralyzed. Dead. Why in the hell would you want them to have a good lawyer? Let them get the public defender and get brushed out with the rest of the trash. Why would you do that to me?" The documents in his hand crinkle as he makes a fist around them. "I thought you were supposed to be my friend."
"Because I want them to lose," Rashmi says, her voice a strained whisper. "Because they *hurt my friend* and I want to see them get locked up for the rest of their lives." Her own hand clenches into a fist, briefly, the anger very clear in her dark eyes. "Because of them, you *almost died,* and that makes me *furious.*"
Theo pauses in his build of rage. He regards the hindi girl for several moments, uncertain what his precise response should be. "You… you asked her to take the case to throw it?" he asks. The technopath can almost not believe that he's hearing this implication.
"*No,*" Rashmi says, forcing her hands open again. "I asked her because she'd *never* throw a case. Because it's *wrong* to do the job she does and even think about half-assing it. Because that's not *justice,* Theo, and *everyone* deserves a fair trial. Maybe other people can spit on the Constitution, but I won't."
"No, they don't," Theo answers. "Everybody doesn't deserve a fair trial. Screw the Constitution. They deserved to die in that warehouse when I got the gun. I should've pulled the trigger. That would be justice. If you wanted them to lose, you should've let them end up with some rookie public defender. Now there's a chance that your boss won't lose, and do what she does best, and they'll walk." He clenches his teeth. "You don't know how much I hate them."
Rashmi's steps are quick as she approaches Theo, and the force with which she grips his shoulders, startling. "*Yes I do,*" she says through clenched teeth, hurt and fury in her eyes. "You know why I know that, Theo. Don't you ever stand there and tell me I don't."
Theo steels his face in a contorted sense of rage, trying to fight to maintain his composure as he speaks in a forced calmness, not engaging or disengaging from Rashmi's hold. "And how would you feel if Nero got off? What if someone got him the best lawyer they could find? What if the UN can't find enough cause to convict him? What if he goes back to Nigeria, and continues experimenting on people like he did before? Where does your precious sense of fair play land you then?"
"A lot of trouble," Rashmi says, letting go of Theo's shoulders. "Because I made it *personal.* But whether he does or he doesn't, I tried. I did things *right* no matter how badly I wanted him to hurt. But the difference is? If he gets off because of his lawyer, it's because he got one so incredibly crooked he has to *glue* his tie into place. I didn't *do that,* Theo, I made sure he had an *honest* lawyer because that's what the *law says he should get.*"
"And if Cassidy and Furlong get off?" Theo asks in an empty tone. "Then I guess they deserve it, right? Because the good guys always win in America. That's why the people who burned my family alive got away scott free, because they really should. Because that's what the law said they should get." He throws the wad of documents back in through his car's open window. "Benjamin Franklin said that it's better for a hundred guilty to go free than for one innocent man pay for a crime he didn't commit. Our law system was built off of that thinking. You know what that amounts to? A hundred guilty going free."
"If they get off," Rashmi says quietly, the heat leaching out of her voice, "then the DA didn't try hard enough, or someone screwed up somewhere, but it doesn't matter. The chance that they will get off is barely there at all. Ms. Walters' job is to look for reasonable doubt. The DA's job is to erase it. You will probably be the deciding factor, because they hurt you, Theo. You don't want them to go free? Tell them exactly what happened. Answer all their questions. And don't ever tell me the people who burned your family alive— my God, Theo! Is that seriously what you think I think?!"
"No, I think you have too much faith in the American law system," Theo retorts. "It's got more holes than swiss cheese, and you just gave my enemies a lawyer who knows them inside out and backwards." He opens his car door. "I don't care how small the chance is that they will get off. You helped that chance, and if they do get off, I'll never forgive you."
Rashmi's eyes narrow at the back of Theo's head, but she accepts his anger in silence. "…Fine," she says after a moment. "But if you want to see them put away, tell them the truth. Don't hide anything, and by God don't lie in court. Two wrongs don't make a right, Theo… keep that in mind, all right?"
"They tried to murder me, remember?" Theo says, getting into the car and looking back at Rashmi. "What could I make up that would be worse than that?" He starts the engine, which purrs quietly to life. "I don't care what's right, I just want them to hurt."
"And that's why Ben Franklin said what he did," Rashmi says, approaching the car door. "Because if the law isn't good enough… what happens when you start taking that anger out on people who don't deserve it? Theo… I care about you too much to ever want to see you go down that road. Just.. try, okay? Whether you succeed or not… just… try not to hate me for this. That's all I'm asking."
Theo doesn't answer Rashmi. He refuses to even look at her. Instead, he puts the car into gear, and backs out of his parking space, then hits the gas, peeling out as he pulls into traffic, not waiting for his due turn, and causing no less than three cars to honk at him.
