Prologue

New York State Supreme Court Building

Criminal Court Room #11

02/31/2040 10:32am

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, your honor, and the entire court, despite the severity of the charges present, this is a simple case...."

Mike, a short, heavyset man stood in the center of the courtroom gesturing to the jurors. He wore a brown, plaid suit, a silver watch peaking from his sleeve and had a face only a mother could love.

[Two chins this time. He's either working out or his suit's too tight. Anyway, the brains of this operation is still out there somewhere, and it doesn't seem like he's willing to stick his neck out for these chumps. Once again all I did was catch a tail. This is big and I've only scratched the surface. They moved several dozen kilos through that house, but where did it go? This would've been impossible without state and police backing. Can I win? As long as I find the right guy, I can get all kinds of information out of him. It's been a while since I've been this excited.] Jack thought.

"..and you'll see by the end that my defendant, a tax-paying citizen has been nothing but cooperative and has nothing to hide. Thank you" Mike finished as he took slight bow. His sniveling smile was in full view of Jack, who ignored him.

"Thank you, and are you ready to proceed Jack?" said the Judge.

Alex Jacquez, referred to by his peers as Jack, took a gulp of water from a cup on the prosecutor's table. This case against the defendant, Arthur was being tried for drug trafficking and alleged homicide. Gunshots were heard by his neighbors, but by the time the police got there, there was no body or blood to be found. What they did find was the residue of cocaine and heroin having been stored in his basement.

The courtroom was sweating from the Summer heat and sounds of breathing and shuffling could be heard echoing off the room walls. Despite the severity of the charges, there wasn't much tension to be felt in the air. Cases similar to this one have been occurring all week and to Jack, this was just another day.

"Yes, your honor." said Jack as he strode to the witness stand, adjusting his tie. His voice echoed off the walls and commanded a certain respect. This could be seen as the jury adjusted themselves in their seats to pay better attention.

"I'd like to call the first witness to the stand." said Jack as he spied the defendant.

[He's too relaxed. Been here more times than I can count, but the evidence is too good this time. Maybe this won't be as simple as I thought. Mike is infamous for representing slimy clients, but I've handled him before. I have the witness statements this time and enough admissible evidence. They should've been begging for a plea bargain before this all started.]

"Rebecca do you swear that the testimony you are about to give in this the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?" said the Judge.

"I swear" said the witness, Rebecca. Her voice was mousey, but pitched enough for everyone to hear.

[She's nervous. I'll ask simple questions for this one.]

"You may proceed."

"Thank you your honor. Rebecca do you recognize this man?" Jack asked, gesturing to Arthur.

"Yes, I do."

"And can you tell us from where you recognize him?"

"He's been my neighbor for about 5 years now."

"Can you tell us what happened Thursday, February 2nd 10:12pm?" asked Jack, exchanging looks with Rebecca and the jury.

"Yes. I was getting ready to shower when I heard a loud noise outside." said Rebecca as she started shuffling in her seat.

[Why is she so nervous?]

"Gunshots, is what you mentioned when you called the police correct?"

"It s-sounded like gunshots, but it was late and it could've been something else." said Rebecca as the pitch in her voice got progressively quieter.

On suspicion, Jack looked over at Arthur and Mike, smiling back at him. Arthur then gave him a small nod.

[Ah, so that's why they look so relaxed. When?] he thought.

[Trying to salvage the case would be difficult at this point. If one witness was compromised, it was easy to assume the others were as well.] Still he continued.

"You can relax Rebecca, no one here will hurt you." The moment Jack made that implication, Rebecca's eyes widened while the Judge narrowed his eyes.

"Objection!!" yelled Mike.

"Jack.." said the Judge.

"My apologies your honor. Now according to the police report, you said you 'heard three loud bangs that sounded like gunshots from next door.'" said Jack as he slowly walked back to the prosecution table.

"Permission to present a photo?" he asked the Judge.

"Permission granted"

"I have here a photo of our witness Rebecca having enjoyed a successful hunt." Jack walked over to the witness stand, blocking Rebecca's view of the defendant. "A deer it seems like.."

"Objection your honor! This seems irrelevant." said Mike.

"Overruled, I hope this is going somewhere Jack."

"Of course, your honor. Is this a photo of you Rebecca?" said Jack, using this opportunity to get closer to Rebecca.

"Yes." said Rebecca as she nodded her head one too many times.

Obscured from the view of the defendant, the jury and the judge, Jack gave a wink to Rebecca. Earlier, he implicitly gave her the impression that he would protect her if her testimony was used to put Arthur in prison. Retaliation in these cases was rather common, and he knew she got the message when she shook her head lightly, but slowly. He frowned.

[Seems they really have something on her. Will this have to be handled outside the court?] the look that briefly flashed across Jack's face made Rebecca miss a breath.

"Now as someone who hunts, I'd like to believe you wouldn't mistake the sound of a gunshot for anything else." Jack ignored her shock. Although he knew she was being threatened, he was confident in never having lost a witness that took his side.

"Objection, leading the witness." said Mike, sounding annoyed. Having been blocked from seeing the witness, he suspected there was a secret conversation going on between the two and it made him uneasy.

"Approved, careful Jack"

"Yes your honor"

"I'll rephrase. Would you say 'whatever' you heard scared you enough, beyond a doubt to call the police immediately?" he said with a small smile.

"Yes"

"That's it your honor."

[Fuck.]

As Jack headed back to his table, he crossed sights with Mike and then Arthur. Their smiles never left their faces. Whatever they had on the witnesses was solid this time around and would be difficult to handle within the scope of the law. He was used to handling these things on his own.

After Jack's questioning, tension grew in the courtroom, but Rebecca's posture relaxed noticeably. Mike proceeded with his part of the cross-examination.

"Rebecca, you have been a neighbor of my defendant for 5 years now. During that time, have you ever heard anything that sounded like gunshots in the neighborhood?" Mike bellowed in attempt to command the room.

"No, I haven't."

"And have you ever seen or heard my defendant here in any fights, arguments, or acting suspicious in any way."

"I can't say I have."

****

And like that the trial ended in a "not guilty" verdict. Jack hurried out of the courtroom without even looking at the defense. All three witnesses exited soon after looking relieved and dejected, but Arthur never looked happier.

[I lost. Before I even got here. This system always proves how inefficient it is. That's why I have to clean up after it or else these slugs will slither through any loopholes.] he thought as he rushed past everyone in the hall.

Jack headed through the noisy court halls, doing his best to distance himself from everyone around him. He stopped at a bathroom and made sure no one else was in it before locking the door.

Gazing at his reflection in the dirty mirror, hazel eyes he was particularly fond of, a thin nose and chiseled jaw, his appearance was relatively attractive. But with noticeable bags under his eyes, hair oily and curly from the heat and a 5 o clock shadow, he'd seen better days.

[Ugh, I look like shit.]

"Hello?" said a voice.

Jack quickly turned around and stared at the open stalls.

"What the hell?"

[What was that? A woman's voice in the men's bathroom? No, it sounded more like a girl.]

After the initial surprise, Jack ducked and checked under every stall just to make sure.

[Did I imagine it?]

"It's not working?" said the mysterious voice, just as ephemeral as before.

Jack looked around the small bathroom, shocked again. With three open stalls, one sink and a bolted ventilation shaft there weren't many places to hide here. He didn't believe in ghosts, but it was enough to speed up his heartbeat.

"A prank?" he started inching towards the door when the space in front of him suddenly rippled like the surface of a puddle. Jack was shocked in place as the center of that ripple twisted open to reveal what looked like a galaxy of stars in a black void. Then he heard the same voice, but much clearer than the ephemeral one before it.

"Found you!"

Just then his vision went dark and his body collapsed, sucked into the void. As soon as his foot crossed the threshold, the ripple cleared and the opening closed as quickly as it formed. The bathroom was silent with all traces of his presence gone.