Higher Security

Chapter 13: Guilty As Charged 1

All rise' The judge walked in. I was next to a state laywer, i wasnt in any position to afford any of those cash munching goodies. I never thought i would be in the defendant's box. It always seemed like a movie when i would be in court,  watching the scenes, a criminal standing for his judgment. Well, now i was the one awaiting mine. My lawyer raised his motion and the word bashing constisting of incomprehensible jargon that are so known to be used in court  went on. 'Your honour, i plead to present the evidence to the court.' 'Granted' And then, a cctv footage, no a video recording of me at the warehouse was presented. What the hell! My eyes popped but i contained my composure. Next, he brought Charles, okay whats he doing here. '...to speak the truth and nothing but the truth.' He was in the witness stand, and the presumptuous lawyer walked  to him and he moved his eyes on Charles, a lawyer's trump card to ultimate control, intimidation. Charles was sweating in his fat self. 'What is your occupation?' 'I am the leading security guard.' 'Hhmm interesting. What does your job mainly comprise of?' 'Well, i am in charge of cyber security.' 'Which in other words means computer and systems security.' 'Yes.' 'So, Mr Charles, what was the activity on the 13th?' 'It was casual sir. Nothing amiss.' Just then, i remembered the date, thats the day i hacked the system to find the PD records. Shit! 'How old are you Mr Charles?' 'I am 55 years.' 'Right,  you must be getting ready for retirement right.' Oh no dont fall for it Charles. He was now grinning as the lawyer wormed his way to his mind. 'Yes , i am.' 'Its hot these days, so do you plan on going somewhere, less hot.' 'Well yes, my wife and i are planning on going to Norway.' 'Oh really, such a cool place, it will be such a great break from the hot, exhausting sun of Texas.' 'Yes it is.' 'Whats your sleeping schedule Me Charles?' Oh no, he was going for the kill. 'Sometime between 10pm.' '..i understand you are usually on the nightshifts. How are they for you?' 'They are usually very exhausting.' 'I can understand and this burning heat, you just feel like laying back for a nap.' 'Yes, i do that a lot and by the time i wake up, i will be up and good to go.' 'Would you call yourself a heavy sleeper?' 'Ha ha , my wife always complains to my snoring. She says i sleep like im dead.' No!
'Thank you Mr Charles, that will be all.' Charles was shocked as he expected something more than this. Little did he know he had walked into the lawyer's trap. 'Your honour, a 55 year old obese man, exhausted and alone, working on a nightshift. Sleeps on duty which is highly expectable. A young, confident, ambitious and intelligent police officer who knows this daily routine of the man. She has a known reputation for computers and can easily break into the system without blinking an eye. What do you think your honour? If i were to be asked, ild say, she has been feeding her accomplices with information and thats why, the Night Shadow was always ,  five bloody steps ahead of the bloody PD.' 'Language advocate.' 'Forgive me your honour, but it deeply hurts me when a person whos core duty is to protect their country and fight against crime, condone crime to the extent of even working in cahoots with criminals.' 'And with that, i rest my case your honour.' He walked back to sit down with the most disgusting smug on his face. A five minute break was granted while we waited for the verdict. It was the longest five minutes of my life. One thing i hated about courts was, the scenes would transpire in such a way that everything would be turned against you. Sometimes, it would be so severe that the defendant would question their own innocence. But not me, i wasnt gonna let this charade ruin me.

Five minutes went by and we returned. The judge spoke, 'Due to the evidence presented,  i grant Miss Cortenji 1 week to prove herself innocent. If she is unable to bring forth evidence, she will have to face the wrath of the law. Till then, the case is postponed to that day.' She hit the gavel and couldnt even blink. I didnt remember my lawyer ever raising that motion. It seemed like i was the only one confused as everyone else got up to leave. To some extent, i was happy, confused but happy. One week to prove my innocence. One week for justice to be served.