Shots Fired #206

"What happened to keeping your cards up your sleeve?" Deborah asked as she hastened her steps to keep up with me, leaving behind a clamoring crowd murmuring among themselves.

"I still stand by that, but revealing one card to get a good head start doesn't sound like a bad deal, does it...?" I replied, putting my hands into my pocket as I continued walking without bothering to entertain the reporters shouting barrages of questions.

Deborah frowned, seemingly unable to understand what I meant, causing me to shrug as I continued to explain. "Look around, Deborah. Other than reporters, most people present are Gotham citizens, born and raised..." I said, grinning as I shook my head.

"What do you think they'd do once it's Waller's turn to walk through those stairs...?" I asked, turning to Debroah and chuckling as I noticed the look of realization slowly forming on her face.

"Waller herself wouldn't care. But her team? Her lawyers?" I asked, turning away from Deborah and into the court's entrance. "How many jeers can they take before it gets into their heads, before they hesitate, lose focus, or make a mistake...?" I added, dismissively waving my hand to the side.

"The Judge, the DA, and The Jury members will see it too, and they'll think twice before getting into bed with Waller..." I concluded, shrugging my shoulders, to which Deborah could only sigh in exasperation as she shook her head.

We were already at the entrance when I finished explaining my actions, and the security officers approached us. "Mr. Whitlock, Captain Tiegel..." The officer at the front of the group greeted me before turning to me.

"I trust you understand we must go through several formalities before letting you inside..." He calmly stated in a matter-of-fact tone. I merely nodded in response.

"There is no point in patting you down, and we wouldn't be able to stop you, armed or not..." The officer said, crossing his arms as he locked eyes with me.

"So I will trust in your common sense. Please don't make our jobs harder than they need to be..." He concluded, his expression grave as he studied my expression to see my reaction.

"No need to worry. I'm only here to do my part, officer..." I replied, my tone genuine as I shrugged my shoulders, to which he nodded after a brief pause.

"Thank you. You may proceed..." The officer said as he stepped aside to allow me entry, gesturing toward a man in a similar uniform to his waiting at the entrance.

I turned to Deborah. She gestured for me to go on, and I obliged. I made for the officer waiting at the entrance. He escorted me to the body scanner, then halfheartedly inspected me with a handheld screening device before gesturing for me to be on my way.

...

As she climbed off the SUV, followed by her lawyers and several subordinates, Amanda Waller frowned as the crowd immediately began jeering and pushing against the police officers holding them back.

Her frown deepened as she looked around and saw the expressions of the people accompanying her turning nervous. She quickly put on a calm demeanor and made for the courthouse stairway, prompting her entourage to follow.

The closer Amanda drew to the entrance, the louder the jeers became, the stronger the crowd pushed against the police officers, and the more her people's faces sank.

Amanda had already learned of Grayson's attempt to rile up the people against her, so the crowd's reaction didn't surprise or bother her. But her team wasn't made of sterner stuff, unfortunately.

She scanned the area and immediately spotted Lois Lane standing in the middle of the crowd with a composed expression. Amanda signaled for her people to stop as she approached the Metropolis reporter.

"Mrs. Lane, as eager to get into the eye of the storm as ever, I see..." The task force director said, crossing her arms as she stopped in front of the reporter, causing the latter to smile.

"Not the first time you were in the center of one, either..." Lois Lane replied, shrugging her shoulders. "Since you went out of your way to say hi... I assume you have time for some questions...?" The reporter said, already retrieving her notebook, despite her questioning tone.

Sure enough. Waller nodded, and Lois didn't waste any time. "Mrs. Waller, today you are to stand trial under severe accusations..." Lois remarked after a brief glance into her notebook.

"Perhaps the most shocking of which is your involvement in Brimstone's attack on Gotham city as insinuated by Grayson Whitlock..." The reporter went on, getting straight to the point as she knew she didn't have much time to bear around the bush.

"Do you have any comment regarding that specific accusation...?" Lois asked, trailing off as she looked straight into Waller's eyes, to which the clamoring and jeering began dying down.

"I find the accusations directed at me to be ridiculous, my involvement with Brimstone more so than the rest.." Waller replied as she shook her head in dismissal at the reporter's words.

"I am in charge of a task force dedicated to protecting our great country from meta threats..." The task force direction continued, nodding her head, to which the last of the jeers died as everyone listened in silence.

"As such, I'm allowed a certain measure of flexibility..." Waller went on, her tone firm. "But I am under heavy supervision by my superiors to ensure I don't abuse the power they entrusted me..." she remarked, her expression grave as she shook her head.

"It's how our system works. Even the president has a group of people breathing down his neck..." Waller jokingly said, trailing off as she chuckled and shrugged her shoulders.

"It's their job to ensure that the actions of people in positions of power align with the interests of our homeland and its people," The task force director concluded, crossing her arms as she resumed her blank, calm expression.

"Still, Grayson Whitlock is a local hero, loved and respected by many in this City and outside it..." Lois said as she wrote something down in her notebook and turned back to Waller.

"He has little reason to slander someone like you, going as far as to reveal his secret identity for all to see..." The reporter went, trailing off as she raised an eyebrow and waiter for Waller to reply.

"Mr. Whitlock is indeed an exemplary young man..." Waller said, nodding her face, to which the reporter couldn't help but tilt her head in confusion at her unexpected words of praise.

"He's set a positive example that I believe even The Justice League would do well to follow," She went on, to which Lois Lane's confusion immediately turned to realization.

"I honestly don't understand why he would go this far to bring my name into the mud..." The task force direction continued, trailing off as she shook her head regretfully.

"However, I've accumulated a long list of enemies through a years-long career of fighting and deterring superpowered threats..." Waller remarked, her expression hardening as she frowned.

"Those people, as individuals, have powers beyond what any regular human can perceive..." She added, sighing. "It wouldn't be strange if one of them got to the young man somehow..." She said in a sad, tired tone, shaking her head.

"But I'm afraid I don't have time for further questions," Waller concluded before anyone could react to her words and quickly left, not giving Loise Lane another chance to ask her more questions.

...

"As expected, she won't make it so easy..." I muttered to myself, smiling as I watched Waller make for the courthouse entrance, leaving behind a stunned crowd in her wake.

I intended to pressure Waller and her people with my little speech before I entered the courthouse, but that wasn't the only goal I had in mind.

I wanted to make the trial about more than just Waller, the growing fear of meta-threats, to be exact. I planned to water down that fear and direct it toward people in positions of power.

It wasn't the route I'd planned to take, but I promised to help Ivy, and this was the first step in keeping that promise, to humanize her and people like her while demonizing those on the other side.

My words created a clear division between those who had political power, like Waller, and those with actual power, like Ivy, involving them in the trial and putting them on opposing sides.

By winning the trial, the ones on my side would also score a win. It would make any plans I had to reform Ivy's and other such people's images in the future ten times less complicated since the people would be more accepting of them.

Still, my words undoubtedly earned me a few enemies. Waller quickly took advantage of the situation, firmly putting herself on the other side and insinuating that I might be under the influence of someone with meta powers.

"Looks like the first round is a tie..."

...

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