Fraudulent Death, Draft 01, CH 02 (Patreon)

Trembor respected lawyers. They had an important job to do, protect the innocent. His father told him multiple stories where a man like Barany, sitting next to him, going over papers he took from his briefcase, was all that stood between an innocent man being caged or going free. The judicial system could be brutal at times, caring more about clearing the boards and see full justice done.

“So our strategy will be to lean on the unreliability of their hackers who provided their “evidence”. You and one of them, a miss Jasber Braid, have a history from when you were an enforcer, so it isn’t much of a stretch to establish this was about paying you back for those times. If we can find some connection between her, or her associate, and the criminal group the evidence pointed to, that will reinforce our case, but at this stage, all we need to establish is that their case against you isn’t as solid as they’d like us to believe.”

“Only it is,” Trembor grumbled. “I already told you, they’re right, I did—”

“I’m going to stop you right there.” The armadillo glanced at the camera. It was on, to ensure nothing dangerous happened to either one of them, but by law, they couldn’t record what was happening while he was with his lawyer. “What I know, what actually happened, isn’t what this is about. It’s about what they can prove. Right now, they say they can tie you to everything. Fortunately for you, I got here before you were questioned. If you had confessed to everything, then, yes, this would be easy for them; but that is not your job. You aren’t an enforcer at the moment, you are a suspect.”

Trembor grumbled something intelligible even to himself. That was the aspect of lawyers he hated. They’d defend the guilty with as much vigor as the innocent. How many criminals had gone free because an over-eager lawyer had uncovered a procedural mistake a rookie enforcer had committed?

And now he was the criminal with the over-eager lawyer looking for any mistake, when all Trembor wanted to do was explain why he’d done it. He didn’t mind paying for what he did. He’d broken the law, he had good reasons, but he wasn’t looking to get out of it.

“How did you get here so fast, anyway?”

“Your father called me. he mentored me when I was making my way through the pit that’s evidence processing, so he knows I’m good at taking apart when they plan on using.”

And how had Torim known? Marlot was the only possibility, and it would make sense he would call for help. Trembor was mildly surprised his wolf hadn’t stormed the precinct demanding he be freed.

Another thing that surprised him was how quickly the enforcers had found Jasber. She was good, had been good when he’d been an enforcer, and had only improved over the years. It was why he’d gone to her when he couldn’t see any other way to free Bo.

“I don’t need you doing all this,” Trembor said, and was glared at.

“Mister Goldenmane—”

“Trembor, I’m younger than you.”

The armadillo sighed. “Mister Goldenmane, the simple fact you want to admit culpability demonstrate you need me.”

“But—”

“There is no but, Mister Goldenmane.”

“You sound like my dad,” Trembor grumbled, “When he keeps using my name, he’s not happy.”

“Good, then maybe you’ll listen to me as if I was him. I know that if he was still practicing, he would be sitting in this chair instead of me.”

Trembor groaned at that image. Torim Goldenmane, verbally tearing apart whoever would sit opposite them, refusing to listen to reason because Trembor would never, under any circumstances, break the law.

His father was going to be so disappointed with him when Trembor told him he had done it.

“Look Trembor. Just let me do the talking.” The armadillo’s soothing tone made Trembor suspicious, but before he could voice it, the door opened and a hippopotamus in a very expensive suit stepped in.

Barany was on his feet so fast Trembor was surprised, and the look on his lawyer’s face, as Trembor followed suit, told him he wasn’t happy about the reflex, which told Trembor this female was important.

“Sit down,” She said, in an annoyed tone.

“Ma’am,” Barany said, seating himself. “Why are you here?”

Now that he wasn’t catching up to the situation, Trembor recognized her. He didn’t know her name, but anytime the city prosecuted someone important, she was the one doing it. There was no way Trembor warranted that level of involvement.

She smiled. “A well respected RI uses his connections to shield his family from the repercussion of their crimes.”

“I—” Trembor began, for a raised hand from his lawyer silenced him. He hadn’t protected anyone from repercussions, his brother had been framed.

She smiled at his near outburst. “Did you think we’d send some subordinate to handle this? No, I’ve been telling that old Dullhorns for years we needed to clean up the enforcers, and I finally have the case I need to show our too old in the tooth city leader that this city needs a firmer hand at the control.”

Barany settled his papers. “Very well, although I’m not sure what has you so confident.”

She looked at the papers in disdain as she pulled her pad for her jacket and read from it. “Evidence tampering, hiring hackers to plant evidence, paying said hackers—”

“I’ll stop you right there, Ma’am, there is no evidence such transactions took place.”

“I have the transcript of the interrogation of the criminal in question.”

“As do I,” Barany move a few pages to the top, “and all I read here are claimed unsubstantiated by any evidence.”

“It’s only been a few days, but you know as well as I do, that we will find the money trail, we always do. It doesn’t matter if they rely on old hard currency, the trail is there. We’re going to link your client to the withdrawals he did at the few remaining places dealing in hard currencies, and they’ll total the amounts that he paid the criminals.”

“I know no such thing,” the armadillo said, “because my client didn’t do the think the criminal in question claims. If you read the file in its entirety, you know Miss Jasber Braid was arrested multiple times by my client while he was an enforcer. His interference in her criminal enterprises impacted her productivity rating, put her life at risk. It’s entirely reasonable to suspect she would hold a grudge.”

“So what? You expect to convince a judge she acted to protect Bolifen Goldenmane, your client’s brother, just so she could frame your client? I thought you were a lawyer, not some fiction writer.”

“I don’t have to speak to Miss Braid’s motivation,” Barany answered calmly. “All I have to do is show that the evidence against my client isn’t as damning as you want him to think. And that, Prosecutor Flattooth, I can do rather easily.”

“So that is how you want to handle this? I came here to help your client resolve this quickly without the publicity a trial will bring. To give him a chance to shield his family from the blood that’s splash over the good Goldenmane name.”

“Don’t you—” Trembor was on his feet, ready to lay into the female, but Barany pulled him back down in his chair. The lawyer was stronger than he looked. Trembor noticed the disappointment on the hippopotamus face and realized she’d almost goaded him into doing something that would see him caged regardless of the lawsuit.

“That was uncalled for, Prosecutor,” Barany said sharply.

“All I did was point out the reality of a trial. I advise you to reconsider, Mister Goldenmane.”

Barany glared at Trembor as he opened his mouth, and he closed it like a chided cub. He just wanted to get this over with. Settle his affairs and move on.

He was guilty.

The silence stretched until she sighed. “Very well, have it your way. Your client’s bail has been set; he’ll remain caged until the trial. As I expect the precinct will have better use of theirs than holding him, I’ve started the arrangements to have him transferred to the DownStream complex.”

“That’s unreasonable!”

Trembor stared. DownStream was for criminals deemed too dangerous. Hunters who were caught instead of killed during the chase ended up there.

“It’s the only complex able to take your client on short noticed,” She answered smugly. “I’m sure it will only be for a few days, until one more suited to him can make arrangements.” She fixed her gaze on Trembor. “There is still time to resolve this quickly, Mister Goldenmane.”

“No deal,” Trembor said before Barany stopped him. He wasn’t going to be bullied by her, not by someone willing to be as dirty as the criminals she was supposed to be putting in cages.

Barany’s surprised morphed into satisfaction, then concern.

“Very well,” she said, standing. “Enjoy your stay at DownStream. I’m told it’s very exciting there for anyone with connections to the enforcers.” She left the room.

Instead of talking to him, Barany hurried out of the room too, taking his pad out and leaving the papers on the table. A cheetah in enforcer uniform looked in.

“I take it the interviews over?”

Trembor shrugged.

“Come on, Trem, you don’t need to stay in here if they’re going to leave you unsupervised.”

“Isn’t that your job, Spotter?”

The cheetah smiled. “Yeah, but it doesn’t mean I have to do it here, right? And the more of us watch over you, the less chances you’ll run, right?”

More preferential treatment. That one he could only blame on himself. He’d gotten to know just about everyone in his time at the academy, and he kept in touch, stayed friends, and made more friends through them. He wondered he there was even one enforcer in the precinct who didn’t know him at least indirectly.

He looked at the papers his lawyer left, the transcript of Jasber’s interrogation. He probably shouldn’t have access to it. He shouldn’t have any of the niceties offered to him. He was a criminal.

“Just take me to the cage.”

“Trem.”

“I don’t feel like being among people right now, Spotter. I just want to be alone.”

The cheetah nodded. “Alright, come on then.” Trembor offered his hand to be cuffed, and the cheetah rolled his eyes. “Don’t be an idiot.”

And Trembor crossed the precinct more like one of them than the criminal he was, and felt dirtier for it.