Over a decade has passed since the resolution of the M case. What happens to the members of the QED Club after? Is their bond as strong as when they were still in high school? Or did they start to grow apart?
FUTURE OF THE QED CLUB is a special volu...
A/N: Today is Loki's birthday, so it's time for an update!
DISCLAIMER The succeeding chapters will involve legal and criminal proceedings. I am not a police or a lawyer, but to the best of my knowledge, I will try to write these parts as close to the real procedures. Nevertheless, I will be exercising my dramatic license to modify some of these existing conventions to fit the narrative. I hope you all understand!
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LORELEI
TODAY IS the day of the trial. It's People of the Philippines versus Madonna Mendoza. Usually this case would have been ignored by the public. But because of the media attention given to it, almost everyone who has heard of this case was looking forward to what its outcome would be. Parang laban sa boxing na inaabangan kung sino ang mananalo.
Bago pa magsimula ang trial sa ganap na alas-nuwebe ng umaga, nakabantay na ako sa Hall of Justice building para sa pagdating ng prosecution at ng defense teams. Nandito na rin ang iba pang members ng media na tututok sa pagdinig na 'to. May naka-set-up na ngang cameras na naka-mount sa tripod at nakaharap sa front steps ng building. Parang may A-list celebrity na darating dito.
Naunang dumating ang team na pinangungunahan ni Luthor. He's wearing his iconic three-piece suit and carrying a leather briefcase by his left hand. Kinunan siya ng mga ritrato at footage ng mga cameraman. Sinubukan pa siyang hingan ng comment, pero tumanggi siyang magbigay kahit isang salita. He's always that person who looked exactly the same kahit ano ang sitwasyon. I couldn't tell if he's confident by his calm facade, but I wager he's ready to win this case.
Sunod na dumating ang defense team sa pangunguna ni Alistair. Kasama niya ang accused na nakasuot ng orange na shirt at binabantayan ng dalawang pulis. Gaya kay Luthor, sinalubong din ng mga mic at camera ang defense, pero tumanggi rin silang paunlakan ang mga tanong. I couldn't imagine the pressure that must be on Al right now. Ni hindi nga siya ngumiti nang magtagpo ang tingin namin. He must be on a serious mode. Seeing him that way somewhat scared me.
Sumunod kaming pumasok sa courtroom nang payagan na ng bailiff. Strictly no cameras allowed, so the reporters inside must be able to describe the events that would unfold here and make our readers or audience picture the scenes vividly in their minds. Pwede rin naman akong mag-record ng audio, basta walang video component na kasama. Nasa ikalawang row sa gallery ako pumuwesto para mas malapitan kong makita ang dalawang panig. May mga familiar na mukha naman sa unang row.
On the left was the prosecution team. Luthor and his assistant who had fringes sat there, reviewing the documents in different folders. On the right was the defense team. Alistair, his assistant and the accused huddled together as if they were talking about their last minute strategy.
We all rose as the judge in black robe entered and sat on the bench at the rear part of the courtroom. Judge Harold Harrison would preside over the trial. He's in his mid-forties and has the reputation of being incorruptible. Therefore, we could expect that the judgment here would be fair and unbiased.
