Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2011 22:26:15 GMT -6
Chicago, August 24th 2008
“G*d damn it!”
He screamed in frustration, slamming his fists into the marble stonework that wrapped its way around the sink. Looking up into the mirror a seething disbelief permeated from his eyes as his image became progressively clouded with each snort from his nostrils. The room fell silent once again as he brooded deeply, oblivious to the little string of blood that trickled down from his knuckles and into the bowl, whirling around the plughole in a grotesque pattern. Letting out a sigh he raised his other hand, running it slowly through his dark brown hair, clenching his eyes in an effort to stem the fit of rage that had overcome him.
“Sh*t…”
He grunted, wincing as the dull stinging pain in his knuckles got sharper with each pulse. Grabbing the tap forcefully he placed his clenched fist beneath the stream of water, watching the blood wash away all the while wishing his frustration could be removed so easily. This wasn’t the first time he had found himself in the restrooms of the District Court, over the past few months it had become an unwelcome home from home and each visit became more tinged with anger than the previous. In this moment, it all seemed devastatingly pointless.
“Roberto?”
Quizzed a female voice accompanied with a polite, yet firm knock. Snapping out of his own train of thoughts Roberto closed the tap, reaching for a towel before gently drying his hand, carefully avoiding applying placing too much pressure to his grazed skin. Looking towards the exit he heard the door open and watched as a young woman poked her head through the gap, her blonde hair tied neatly at the back of her head. Smiling calmly she pushed herself into the restroom, scanning the cubicles for occupants as she awkwardly approached him, brushing her skirt suit down nervously.
“I thought I might find you here.”
“And I thought this was the one place you couldn’t follow…”
“You know you can’t escape me that easily. Although you could at least do me a favour and run into the ladies next time. That said, I don’t think the women at court would appreciate you trashing their bathroom…”
She laughed uncomfortably, placing a hand on his shoulder rubbing it softly in a futile attempt to calm him down. She moved closer, leaning in to look him in the eyes as her concern for her friend only grew as each second ticked by.
“Truth is Hannah, I don’t think I really wanted you to follow me this time.”
“Why? You know how this works, you win some, you lose so-…”
“That doesn’t make it right!”
Roberto bellowed, startling Hannah who slowly retracted her hand whilst clutching her briefcase tightly with the other, grasping with all her might as she tried to remain composed. Sighing, Roberto raised his hand in an apologetic manner and turned turned away from the sink, wrapping the towel around his injured hand whilst shaking his head with disappointment.
“I aren’t blaming you Hannah, don’t worry. I’m sorry. I know it isn’t your fault, but that doesn’t help, it only makes it worse. If even you couldn’t win, then who could?”
“TBut why is today different to any other case? ”
It was a question he couldn’t answer. She was right, this case wasn’t unlike others had been involved in before, but Roberto had become lost in a pit of frustration, rage and despair at the system he had served diligently for so long. It wasn’t the first time he had lost a case, he’d lost enough to learn by now that real guilt didn’t always translate to legal guilt, but today something had snapped. This case wasn’t any more unique than any other but for some reason today the legal machine which he had always known was flawed seem to be damaged beyond repair.
“I tried my best Roberto, the evidence just wasn’t strong enough. There was too much circumstantial evidence, too much conjecture and not enough physical evident. We had some solid testimonies but that isn’t enough to swing a jury in a case like this. Besides, you know as well as I do that with his connections we could have put a bloody knife in his hands and he’d still come out smelling of roses. You did your best…”
Again, she was right. He had chased him from Chicago to Rockford, from Rockford to Peoria and all the way back again. When it looked like he had slipped under the radar it was Roberto, not the police, who had caught him with his trousers around his ankles in that hotel room. It was Roberto who had dragged him back to Chicago to face trial. All of this, however, couldn’t help stem to rush of adrenaline that shot through his veins again, the sensation of injustice fuelling his rage once more.
“But it wasn’t good enough was it? The guy was guilty as sin yet that smug bastard gets to walk out of here a free man? Again? Tell me that isn’t f*cked up.”
“I can’t….”
“Exactly! I chased his ass all over the state and after all that I finally drag him back to Chicago to be placed on trial and for what? So he can just sit there in his suit with his fancy lawyers wearing that ridiculous little smirk across his face whilst his victims have to relive every sordid detail of what he did to them? Was it really worth it?”
“If you hadn’t caught him they’d have never got the chance to face their fears, to bring some closure to their ordeal. Without you they’d have never been given the chance to find that strength, they’d be stuck on a leather couch popping pills like candy just to get to sleep at night. No matter how strongly you feel you can’t guarantee a verdict…”
“If I hadn’t caught him they wouldn’t have had to endure that shambles. What closure will they get when all they have really learnt is that a man’s wallet is more important that his actions? That isn’t a conclusion; it’s just the path to more misery.”
A hushed silence fell over the room as Roberto’s words echoed around the restroom, neither he nor Hannah able to offer an answer. Letting out a sigh and rubbing her fingers along the bridge of her nose Hannah shook her head, putting her briefcase on the marble top before pushing it away in frustration and running head hand across her scalp. She couldn’t tell Roberto he was wrong, it’d be a lie, but neither could she just give up her faith in the law, it was her life and the one thing that kept her going when everything else had looked bleak. Letting out a laboured groan she stared him in the eyes, a new found determination pushing her forward.
“What do you want me to say Roberto? That there is no point dragging these people in? That we should just give up before we even begin just because we can’t be sure that once we’ve got them we can definately send them down? That we just stop trying altogether?”
“Of course not…”
He replied frustrated, looking hurriedly around the room before a light bulb somewhere in the darkest recesses of his mind lit up. Something deep inside had woken up and it began to whisper sweet nothings in his ear. The answer, it seemed, was staring him right in the face the whole time.
“Then what? What do you suggest we do? I have exhausted every legal avenue possible, even if we started the whole case over we just can’t overcome the fact that he has friends in the right places, we can’t account for that.”
“No we can’t, but we…. I…. can make sure he doesn’t get away with it…”
Hannah was dumbstruck, did she really just hear what Roberto had said? Was he really suggesting what she thought he was? Could he seriously mean…
“Don’t look at me like that Hannah. You and I both know that he deserves, just because a judge with a pocket full of cash disagrees doesn’t change that.“
“He deserves to rot in jail Roberto, but that doesn’t justify what your suggesting. You can’t just bend the law to your will, it doesn’t work like that…”
“The legal system isn’t going to do a damn thing though is it, he can just walk right out there and do it again and then what? Another life destroyed whilst he rubs it in our faces? Well f*ck Hannah, I have had enough of this sh*t, it is time somebody did something about people like him.”
“This isn’t you Roberto…”
“ I am tired of letting people get away with murder. You couldn’t punish him Hannah, but by God…I will.”
He snarled, ignoring her protests. Before she could react Roberto rushed by, pushing the door open violently, leaving Hannah alone. Composing herself she took a deep breath whilst staring awestruck at the floor, her mind racing feverishly to and fro, grappling with the enormity of Roberto’s intent. She couldn’t let him do this. It wasn’t right. Was it?
“Sh*t.”
“G*d damn it!”
He screamed in frustration, slamming his fists into the marble stonework that wrapped its way around the sink. Looking up into the mirror a seething disbelief permeated from his eyes as his image became progressively clouded with each snort from his nostrils. The room fell silent once again as he brooded deeply, oblivious to the little string of blood that trickled down from his knuckles and into the bowl, whirling around the plughole in a grotesque pattern. Letting out a sigh he raised his other hand, running it slowly through his dark brown hair, clenching his eyes in an effort to stem the fit of rage that had overcome him.
“Sh*t…”
He grunted, wincing as the dull stinging pain in his knuckles got sharper with each pulse. Grabbing the tap forcefully he placed his clenched fist beneath the stream of water, watching the blood wash away all the while wishing his frustration could be removed so easily. This wasn’t the first time he had found himself in the restrooms of the District Court, over the past few months it had become an unwelcome home from home and each visit became more tinged with anger than the previous. In this moment, it all seemed devastatingly pointless.
“Roberto?”
Quizzed a female voice accompanied with a polite, yet firm knock. Snapping out of his own train of thoughts Roberto closed the tap, reaching for a towel before gently drying his hand, carefully avoiding applying placing too much pressure to his grazed skin. Looking towards the exit he heard the door open and watched as a young woman poked her head through the gap, her blonde hair tied neatly at the back of her head. Smiling calmly she pushed herself into the restroom, scanning the cubicles for occupants as she awkwardly approached him, brushing her skirt suit down nervously.
“I thought I might find you here.”
“And I thought this was the one place you couldn’t follow…”
“You know you can’t escape me that easily. Although you could at least do me a favour and run into the ladies next time. That said, I don’t think the women at court would appreciate you trashing their bathroom…”
She laughed uncomfortably, placing a hand on his shoulder rubbing it softly in a futile attempt to calm him down. She moved closer, leaning in to look him in the eyes as her concern for her friend only grew as each second ticked by.
“Truth is Hannah, I don’t think I really wanted you to follow me this time.”
“Why? You know how this works, you win some, you lose so-…”
“That doesn’t make it right!”
Roberto bellowed, startling Hannah who slowly retracted her hand whilst clutching her briefcase tightly with the other, grasping with all her might as she tried to remain composed. Sighing, Roberto raised his hand in an apologetic manner and turned turned away from the sink, wrapping the towel around his injured hand whilst shaking his head with disappointment.
“I aren’t blaming you Hannah, don’t worry. I’m sorry. I know it isn’t your fault, but that doesn’t help, it only makes it worse. If even you couldn’t win, then who could?”
“TBut why is today different to any other case? ”
It was a question he couldn’t answer. She was right, this case wasn’t unlike others had been involved in before, but Roberto had become lost in a pit of frustration, rage and despair at the system he had served diligently for so long. It wasn’t the first time he had lost a case, he’d lost enough to learn by now that real guilt didn’t always translate to legal guilt, but today something had snapped. This case wasn’t any more unique than any other but for some reason today the legal machine which he had always known was flawed seem to be damaged beyond repair.
“I tried my best Roberto, the evidence just wasn’t strong enough. There was too much circumstantial evidence, too much conjecture and not enough physical evident. We had some solid testimonies but that isn’t enough to swing a jury in a case like this. Besides, you know as well as I do that with his connections we could have put a bloody knife in his hands and he’d still come out smelling of roses. You did your best…”
Again, she was right. He had chased him from Chicago to Rockford, from Rockford to Peoria and all the way back again. When it looked like he had slipped under the radar it was Roberto, not the police, who had caught him with his trousers around his ankles in that hotel room. It was Roberto who had dragged him back to Chicago to face trial. All of this, however, couldn’t help stem to rush of adrenaline that shot through his veins again, the sensation of injustice fuelling his rage once more.
“But it wasn’t good enough was it? The guy was guilty as sin yet that smug bastard gets to walk out of here a free man? Again? Tell me that isn’t f*cked up.”
“I can’t….”
“Exactly! I chased his ass all over the state and after all that I finally drag him back to Chicago to be placed on trial and for what? So he can just sit there in his suit with his fancy lawyers wearing that ridiculous little smirk across his face whilst his victims have to relive every sordid detail of what he did to them? Was it really worth it?”
“If you hadn’t caught him they’d have never got the chance to face their fears, to bring some closure to their ordeal. Without you they’d have never been given the chance to find that strength, they’d be stuck on a leather couch popping pills like candy just to get to sleep at night. No matter how strongly you feel you can’t guarantee a verdict…”
“If I hadn’t caught him they wouldn’t have had to endure that shambles. What closure will they get when all they have really learnt is that a man’s wallet is more important that his actions? That isn’t a conclusion; it’s just the path to more misery.”
A hushed silence fell over the room as Roberto’s words echoed around the restroom, neither he nor Hannah able to offer an answer. Letting out a sigh and rubbing her fingers along the bridge of her nose Hannah shook her head, putting her briefcase on the marble top before pushing it away in frustration and running head hand across her scalp. She couldn’t tell Roberto he was wrong, it’d be a lie, but neither could she just give up her faith in the law, it was her life and the one thing that kept her going when everything else had looked bleak. Letting out a laboured groan she stared him in the eyes, a new found determination pushing her forward.
“What do you want me to say Roberto? That there is no point dragging these people in? That we should just give up before we even begin just because we can’t be sure that once we’ve got them we can definately send them down? That we just stop trying altogether?”
“Of course not…”
He replied frustrated, looking hurriedly around the room before a light bulb somewhere in the darkest recesses of his mind lit up. Something deep inside had woken up and it began to whisper sweet nothings in his ear. The answer, it seemed, was staring him right in the face the whole time.
“Then what? What do you suggest we do? I have exhausted every legal avenue possible, even if we started the whole case over we just can’t overcome the fact that he has friends in the right places, we can’t account for that.”
“No we can’t, but we…. I…. can make sure he doesn’t get away with it…”
Hannah was dumbstruck, did she really just hear what Roberto had said? Was he really suggesting what she thought he was? Could he seriously mean…
“Don’t look at me like that Hannah. You and I both know that he deserves, just because a judge with a pocket full of cash disagrees doesn’t change that.“
“He deserves to rot in jail Roberto, but that doesn’t justify what your suggesting. You can’t just bend the law to your will, it doesn’t work like that…”
“The legal system isn’t going to do a damn thing though is it, he can just walk right out there and do it again and then what? Another life destroyed whilst he rubs it in our faces? Well f*ck Hannah, I have had enough of this sh*t, it is time somebody did something about people like him.”
“This isn’t you Roberto…”
“ I am tired of letting people get away with murder. You couldn’t punish him Hannah, but by God…I will.”
He snarled, ignoring her protests. Before she could react Roberto rushed by, pushing the door open violently, leaving Hannah alone. Composing herself she took a deep breath whilst staring awestruck at the floor, her mind racing feverishly to and fro, grappling with the enormity of Roberto’s intent. She couldn’t let him do this. It wasn’t right. Was it?
“Sh*t.”