The Arcane Trilogy: Better Call Paul - Book 1

Chapter 15: The Trial of 'Benzo'

The court room that would house the trial of 'Benzo' did not share the same honour as the Mallister case, with one undercity 'crook' being seen as a far less prestigious ordeal. Regardless of that fact, Paul did not treat it any differently. The stage was once again set and now all that was left was Paul to take the spotlight and tell his story once more.

Deep down, Paul was not as confident as he had been for some of his previous cases. There was no cunning ruse or surprising twist for the trial of 'Benzo'. He simply had to go in and convince a jury that Ekko was not a danger to Piltover after attacking some enforcers. A simple trial on paper, but Paul knew that it would not be as much of a home run as previous trials, due to the odds being heavily stacked against Ekko simply by virtue of his birth. Hoskel was a councillor, Angela was a citizen of Piltover, and Darren had the unique blessing of corrupt enforcers being agreeable with disposing damming evidence. Ekko had none of those benefits. It wasn't the first time an undercity client had nothing going for them except Paul's representation. Afterall, his advertisement campaign that he launched a few months prior led to Paul representing a large amount of 'Zaunites', but the key difference was that the charges pressed against the other clients he had worked with were often nowhere near the severity of those laid at Ekko's feet. In a way, Paul found it quite amusing. He had to really earn his pay check for the Ekko case, instead of banking on unorthodox tactics.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury. Your Honour. I'm Clementine Lynn, representative of The Enforcer Department of the prosecution. We intend to prove that Benzo is a danger to Piltover, and that his arrest was completely warranted for assaulting several enforcers, in a completely unprovoked manner. He was attempting to obstruct justice whilst preventing enforcers from performing their sworn duty. We believe that once the facts have been laid out, it will be clear that Benzo's arrest was completely justified, and in no way an unwarranted decision. Thank you, your honour."

'Short and sweet' thought Paul as he straightened his blazer as he rose from his seat beside Ekko, who's gaze remained as unreadable as he could manage.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury. Your Honour. I'm Paul Goodbrook, representative of Benzo. In the matter of the charges of assault of several enforcers when executing their duty, we concede that young Benzo did engage in a physical altercation with several enforcers," Began Paul, which did cause Ekko to snap his gaze to Paul, confused at why Paul was making such a statement. "but we will prove that the event in question was an instance of misinterpretation, communication and as a result of circumstances outside of my client's control. Once the day is done, we believe that it will be clear that Benzo's arrest was an act of prejudice made against my client, with the arrest and subsequent treatment highlighting blatant flaws in the ability of enforcers to uphold their vows to keep all of the civilians of Piltover safe. Thank you, your honour." Stated Paul, lowering himself into his seat, brushing off his lap, giving an attempt of a reassuring nod to Ekko, with the lawyer unsure if it made any difference.

"The defense may call it's witness." Decreed the judge, prompting Paul and Ekko into action, with the undercity teen sculking his way over to the stand.

"So, Benzo, can you tell me a little bit yourself? Your family, your upbringing in the undercity, that sort of thing." Asked Paul as he put his hands into his pockets, speaking in a relaxed manner, planning to get the trial of to a nice and manageable start.

"My family is quite big. Most of us don't have any living family members left, so we have banded together into one big group." Began Ekko, before Paul jumped in.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, how big is the group?"

"I don't know. I've never counted, but we've grown over the years, as people have started small families of their own in our group."