Chapter 38 - A Day In Court
The sessions were going fast and furious as always. Medoferro had begun taking the customary seat for the apprentice during them, finding that they were more interesting than he originally thought they would be. With Insegniferro also taking the elder’s seat most of the time there was a full Mullinix court in session for the first time in a dozen years.
"Are you getting used to this?" Insegniferro quietly asked the young Mullinix, "You look more at ease than you used to."
"I’m getting better at telling who is telling the truth," Medo said, "And that young woman is lying through her teeth."
Usually, the case in front of them was a mundane one that had been sent at random to the Mullinix. Most of their sessions were cases like this, designed to keep them in touch with what was going on in the world. This was different as this one was a very serious case, a claim of rape that involved a child.
Rape in the empire was punished severely, with a proven victim able to claim a spouse’s benefit as if there was a divorce. The victim is entitled to half the perpetrator’s assets and a full alimony payment that can last for years. The attacker is also responsible for the support of any child resulting from the rape, which this woman was very obviously carrying.
"What makes you think she’s lying?" Iggy wondered, as he hadn’t been able to detect anything out of the ordinary.
"Several things," Medo said, "She’s protesting too much. I knew a girl that had been raped while we were in school. The last thing she wanted to do was talk about it. This girl seems to be too willing to answer questions."
"Different people react different ways," Iggy reminded him quietly.
"That was just a small thing," Medo said, "The man flinches every time the accusation is made. I’m not seeing any hints of acting either. He is genuinely hurt by the accusations."
"You’re beginning to sound like Taliaferro," Iggy told him, "He had uncanny ways of figuring stuff out."
They went back to listening to people bicker. The girl was brazen, another thing that made all three Mullinix think that something was out of place. The fact that her parents were standing in the back row behind her made them think that very possibly something was out of whack with this case.
"What do you have to say for yourself, young man?" Massimaferro asked the accused.
"I wish I’d just stayed home?" the young man claimed.
"Would you care to elaborate on that?" Massimaferro asked him, stifling his chuckles.
"I had asked her out because I thought she was pretty," the young man explained, "I didn’t know her parents were the religious zealots from hell!"
"I object to that!" the young woman’s parents exclaimed.
"I’ll keep that in mind," Massimaferro said dryly and then turned back to the young man, "Go ahead, young man."
"She and I had a great time and ended up sleeping together," the young man said, "There was no rape. There was no force. We both enjoyed it immensely."
"Liar!" the girl’s father yelled.
"Not one more word," Massimaferro said to the parents.
"We weren’t as careful as we should have been," the young man explained, "And when they found out she was pregnant her parents freaked. That’s how we ended up here."
"That boy defiled my little girl!" the father yelled, "I demand compensation!"
"Keep it up and you’ll demand an ice pack for your ass," Massimaferro said testily, "Sit down and shut up."
"Diplomacy really isn’t one of his strong suits," Medo chuckled, "Is it?"
"Never was," Iggy said, shaking his head, "It fits in this case though."
"Young lady," Massimaferro said, looking at the young woman, "Come on up here."
The girl looked frightened out of her wits, but did as she was told. Massimaferro looked her over and saw that she could easily been one of his own children had he gone that route. Medoferro looked at her and saw the shame pouring out of her. Fear was there too, but the one thing that was apparent to Medoferro was the direction it was radiated. It was radiated towards her parents and more than a little at Massimaferro.
"This is a very serious matter," Massimaferro said, standing up and using his imposing size to his advantage, "You are here in the chamber to tell the truth. Lying to me right now could have serious ramifications in your life and the lives of everyone in this room. Are you going to lie to me now young lady?"
"No," she said, "I am not."
"Good," Massimaferro said, looking at her, "I want you to tell us all what really happened."
"Um…" The girl stumbled, looking around.
"We haven’t got all day," Massimaferro said to her, "I want to know what happened. Now."
"Ok…" The girl cried, "He didn’t rape me! I did it willingly… I… I couldn’t…"
"You little whore!" the girl’s father yelled, "I ought to…"
"You will do no such thing!" Massimaferro exclaimed, "It was your prejudices that got her into this mess in the first place. There is no case for rape and there never was one but for your stupidity."
Massimaferro watched them for a moment and determined the best way to bestow judgment in this case. Iggy and Medo were both wondering what he would come up with that would punish all parties properly.
"Young lady," Massimaferro said, "Is it positive that this young man is the father?"
"Yes Mullinix," the young woman said, "There was no one else."
"He needs to marry my daughter!" The man exclaimed, to which Massimaferro reacted harshly.
"He will do no such thing!" Massimaferro growled, "Do you want to doom him and your daughter to a marriage they are too young for and will fail miserably?"
"I…" the man said.
"My judgment is as follows," Massimaferro said, "As the child is obviously the result of the union between these two children there should be an order of joint custody and support. The rape charge is nullified as of now as it was groundless in the first place."
All parties sat quietly as the Mullinix made his decision. Massimaferro looked around, making it the usual show that he did. He looked like he was almost to the point of enjoying it, though both Medo and Iggy knew that it was only the next part he was going to enjoy.
"Now because you brought this up here when it didn’t need to be," Massimaferro said, "There will be appropriate sanction. This young man had his reputation sullied when it didn’t need to be. If he had shirked his duty to the child, he could have been liable, but since he never had that chance it is going to remain that way.
"To avoid problems and bad blood between the families, there will be no joint custody. The young man is absolved of his parental duties to this child and of the support. The girl’s family will be required to support the girl and the child until the child’s eighteenth birthday. This will be enforced by your local Colonel, who will check both the girl and child out every month to ensure that no abuse results from this."
The girl’s family was bubbling with rage, but knew better than to say another word. They realized, far too late, that angering a Mullinix was a bad idea. Medoferro and Insegniferro had trouble keeping from laughing.
"You brought this on yourselves," Massimaferro said, waving his finger, "And I swear to you that if you harm either your daughter or the child resulting I will hear about it. Do you understand me?"
"Yes," the family said, knowing that they lost and lost big.
"Good," Massimaferro said, "We will resume session in a half hour. I need some coffee."
The horns played and the litigants were led out. The three Mullinix headed back to their office where the coffee was waiting for them. Marina and Marianna were sitting in the room as well when the three men sat down.
"That was fun," Medo said sarcastically, "Good god are people always this stupid?"
"It’s a strange world, Medo," Iggy said, "That’s one thing about being a Mullinix. You will see any number of things that you don’t want to and yo
u will know more about the people in this land than you ever wanted to."
"I’m well on my way there," Medo said, "I’ve been doing this for nearly a month now and I think I’ve seen every piece of perversion known to man. I’m almost getting the hang of telling liars too."
"I think I’m going to need it with the next case," Massimaferro grunted with his coffee, "This next case is going to be a pain in the ass."
"What is it?" Iggy asked, "I didn’t even read the session log for today. Figured I wouldn’t be taking any of it, just sitting in the back to give advice if needed and sleeping if I wasn’t."
"Selenia Slasher," Massimaferro said, tossing the file across to Insegniferro, "This is probably going to take a chunk of the afternoon."
"I read about that one," Medo said, "Twenty-two corpses in the past two years. They found it was a drifter about a week ago. I’m still rather shocked that he made it this far. I thought sure he’d have been hanged before the secret police could get him this far."
"They slid him out quickly," Massimaferro told him, "He’s been in a cell here for a week while they got the evidence out here."
"Anything you want me to do?" Medo asked Massy.
"Keep your eyes open," Massy told him, "If you see anything untoward I want to know about it. These cases tend to bring out the worst in people."
"I can do that," Medo nodded, "Any protocol I have to follow to talk?"
"Nope," Massimaferro said, "I have final say on the sentence, being the current Mullinix, but if you have questions that will clarify things feel free to say it. I can’t think of everything."
"It sounds like an open and shut case," Iggy said, flipping through the file, "I hate those."
"Why?" Medo said, "Aren’t they easy?"
"No," Massy said, shaking his head, "Usually it means something is too pat. Keep your eyes open because the locals tend to want to push these cases under the carpet."
"Last one I dealt with was ten years ago," Iggy told him, "That was a nightmare."
"The Butcher of Macmanite," Massy nodded, "I remember that. You and Tali were dealing with protocol for a week."
"I’m hoping that we don’t have to go that long this time," Iggy said, "You have the benefit of having been through that mess."
"There will be no grandstanding this time," Massimaferro promised, "That was where you went wrong. You let them talk too damn much."
"It’s going to be standing room only," Marina said, walking into the room with more coffee, "A couple of the civics classes have come in to this one. Miranda and Stacy are with one of them."
"Great," Medo chuckled, "They get to sit and watch me shut up."
"Somehow I doubt that," Marina chuckled.
"Let’s get this over with," Massimaferro grumbled, "I intend to have this done by dinner."
"I admire your optimism," Insegniferro said, brandishing a large smile, "And am glad it is not my problem."
Massimaferro flipped the older man an obscene gesture and walked out into the hall. Marianna and Sascha put the ceremonial robes on Massimaferro as he was presiding over a major capital case. Medo and Iggy went in first, taking their recessed seats and looking at the crowd. Miranda and Stacy had managed to get a front row seat on Medo’s side, waving to him when he came in. He gave them a smile and a nod, the most he was allowed to do, and sat down in his chair.
Massimaferro came in, walking slowly and evenly, looking out at the people but remaining somber. There were a lot of traditions involved with murder cases and everyone involved considered them a somber responsibility considering that the defendant’s life was in jeopardy.
"Bring the defendant out," Massimaferro said, "This case shall be heard in front of a full Mullinix court, let the truth reign supreme and all lies be left outside."
The defendant was not particularly clean or even really sane. He was mumbling to himself and snapping at people as he was led into the room and placed in a cage that was brought out for cases such as this. The Mullinix were surprised to find that the drifter didn’t look much older than Medoferro.
"I thought you said you had the slasher," Massimaferro said, looking at the defendant, "This is a child."
"This man is twenty-eight years old," the representative from Selenia said, "He doesn’t look it due to the state of malnutrition and dehydration."
"Does he even know where he is?" Iggy asked the representative.
"This is the first I’ve seen him since getting in this morning," the middle aged man shrugged, "I have my evidence ready."
"Let us begin," Massimaferro said, knowing that this was going to be a long one.
The representative from Selenia began showing the evidence that had been amassed by the Mullinix Guard in Selenia. It was long and tedious, but some of it was actually pretty good evidence. The only thing they couldn’t explain was why the killings had taken place at all.
Miranda watched from the side and thought that the man looked rather familiar, despite the fact that the killings took place on the southeastern coast, nowhere near the northwestern border village near Skolnik that she grew up in. Stacy saw the look on her face and wondered what was up.
"What is it?" Stacy asked her, "You’re deep in thought."
"I recognize the madman," Miranda told her quietly, "I don’t know why or where from though."
"They seem to have documentation that he’s from Selenia," Stacy said skeptically, "You think he’s from your neck of the woods?"
"They don’t know where he’s from," Miranda reminded her, "He showed up in Selenia a few years back. I think I remember him from something."
"This could be important," Stacy said, "Think hard on that. I can always go to someone and tell them. It could be important."
"It will come to me," Miranda shrugged, "Eventually at any rate."
The defendant spent a lot of his time in the cage trying to get out. He wasn’t completely out of it and knew that there was quite a bit of evidence against him. He was, however, completely insane and figured that he could get out of the charges if he could get out of the cage. He started banging against the sides trying to get the bars to give on the cage.
Medoferro watched the insane man carefully, watching the way that the magnetic forces of the area interacted with him. The reactions were wildly different, as the brainwaves were so erratic that they were almost blinding to look at. It was as if there was no order there at all, which pretty much proved to Medo that the man was insane.
Massimaferro was trying to keep order, which was not the easiest task considering the different people in the room, some of which couldn’t keep restrained. When you had this many victims you had a potential for disaster, which was this was heading quickly towards.
"Will someone shut him up?" Massimaferro yelled, "I’m trying to listen to the evidence."
This seemed to push the insane man more. Miranda and Stacy watched the spectacle with unease, knowing that something wasn’t going well with this. They saw Medoferro studying the insane man while he slammed against the bars, wondering what he was trying to do. The insane man finally stopped for a moment and looked up at the girls, which let Miranda get a full look at his face.
"I know who he is!" Miranda exclaimed, "He was from my village! He killed six kids and was supposedly killed in a fire five years ago!"
Medoferro watched the insane man as he pulled in some of the power around him in a way that he’d only seen Simon and the old man do in the training room. It wasn’t a controlled method of using power and it was quite obvious that the insane man didn’t know what he was doing, but it did the job quite well. He used the power to launch himself at the bars he’d already weakened and crashed over the cage.
"He’s escaping!" someone in the crowd yelled.
The guards were up in seconds, moving towards Massimaferro, Medoferro and Insegniferro. Massy and Iggy got ready to leave, not willing to take on a madman. Medo shrugged off the guards and watched the insane man attack t
he prosecutor. Miranda rushed the front and jumped over the cordon between her and Medo.
"Come on, Medo," Insegniferro said, "Let the guards do their job."
"He’s insane, Medo," Miranda told him, "He’s a child killer that escaped years ago. Everyone thought he was dead…"
"He is dead inside," Medo said, still looking, "Get out of here, Miranda…"
"You see something, don’t you," Massimaferro said, "With that sense that the old man awakened."
"Yes," Medo nodded, "That is where he’s getting the ability."
"What are you talking about?" Miranda asked him, slightly worried.
"It’s ok," Medo said, smiling, "Go on and wait for me outside, Miranda. I’ll be out in a bit."
Miranda looked dubious, but followed instructions. Insegniferro started to say something, but Massimaferro put a finger to his lips. Medoferro wasn’t watching either one of them by this point as he was trying to determine what the insane man was doing. He was able to see the power flow, something that Simon still wasn’t able to do.
"We’ve got to get out of here," Insegniferro said, still not quite sure of what was happening.
"Go ahead," Massimaferro said, smiling, "Let Medo follow his instincts though. The old man’s training is about to come into play, I think."
"We need to get you three out of here, sir," one of the guards said to them, "We’ll get him rounded up…"
The guard was speaking very optimistically as the inmate was fighting five different Mullinix Guards and not doing very badly. Medo could see that the insane man was pulling power that was giving him speed and force that he wouldn’t have had otherwise.
"You aren’t rounding anything," Medo said, pushing his fear back, "Clear the building."
That was an unnecessary order as the crowd had largely left. Massimaferro and Insegniferro went out of the room and headed back up and around to the overlooking balcony that had been one of Taliaferro’s favored places, watching below as the insane defendant continued pummeling the guards.
"Get Simon down there," Massimaferro said to their guard, "Medo could use him."
It was an unnecessary order as well, for as soon as word had reached Roland and Simon they had gone running towards the building. Simon wasn’t as good with the power as Medoferro was, but he’d be more help than any of the guards were. Simon pushed through the guards and ran into the building.
"Simon," Medo said, "Can you see the power that guy is pulling?"
"I can’t see it as well as you can," Simon said, "But I can see something is off balance."
"His mind is completely off kilter," Medo told him, "I don’t think he knows he is doing it."
"Any ideas?" Simon asked him, "You know me, I’m blunt force. You can do control better than I can."
"Pull power," Medo said, "I want you ready. We’re going to see if we can put a force shield around the lunatic."
"Encase him?" Simon asked, "That’s going to take some serious power…"
"I’ll shape it and set it to do a power drain," Medo told him, "You just pull power and feed where I tell you."
"I’m following you, buddy," Simon nodded.
Simon pulled power from his surroundings while Medo used his mind to shape an energy shield. Simon got ready and waited for Medoferro’s instructions. Massimaferro and Insegniferro, from their elevated positions, saw little but a bit of glowing from Simon’s hands.
"I’ve got the power ready," Simon said, his hands heating up, "Where to?"
"I’ve made it easy," Medo said, straining to push power to where he wanted it, "Guards! Get out of the way!" Then he turned to Simon again, "Throw it forward, as hard as you can!"
Simon did what he was told, using his best talent of pushing power and pushing it hard. Medoferro, who had a lighter touch with it than Simon did, made a power funnel, that directed the raw force where he wanted it to go. From up on the balcony it looked like a light show. Down on the floor it was nothing but sheer power.
The light surrounded the insane man as Medoferro’s power construct surrounded him and started making a power vacuum in the area around his body. The insane man felt the power being drained from him but still tried to fight. This is where the second part of Medoferro’s construct came in. It solidified the air around him making it impenetrable. The insane man continued fighting for nearly three minutes until his body finally collapsed from the belated fatigue.
"When I let the shield down bind him!" Medo yelled at the guards, "Simon, Stop pushing power!"
Simon complied happily and with the loss of the raw power Medoferro’s power construct collapsed, letting the guards in to bind the insane man up in chains. Simon dropped to the floor, his hands hurting and looking burned. Medo went over to check him out.
"You ok?" Medo asked him.
"Yeah," Simon groaned, "Need some salve. Just a little burn."
Massimaferro and Insegniferro were down like shots and looking at the team, both looking really impressed. One of the guards who doubled as a medic took care of Simon’s burns while Medo sat down in one of the nearby chairs.
"You ok, Medo?" Massy asked him, "You look beat."
"What exactly did you do?" Iggy asked.
"Removed the power that was keeping him going," Medo told him, "It was one of the tricks that we practiced with the old man, just in a much larger scale."
"What is wrong with that man?" Massy asked Medo, "Could you tell?"
"He’s completely insane," Medo said honestly, "I couldn’t tell you why, but there is something seriously wrong with him. He was using the power though I doubt he knew it."
"I’ll get the old man over here," Massimaferro promised, "He’ll be able to sort that part out."
"What about session?" Insegniferro asked, "We never got to make a decision."
"Miranda said something about him being a child killer from her village," Medo said, "Check the records from her village and see if they match. If it is him…"
"Then I think they proved their case," Massimaferro finished, "I’m declaring him guilty now. We’ll wait for the old man to give his view to impose judgment."
"Simon," Medo said, trying to cover the fact that he was still shaking, "How bad are the burns?"
"No worse than grabbing a hot pan," Simon shrugged, "I’ll be fine in a week. It’ll get me out of being beat on for that long."
"I’m sure that Sascha will give him some tender loving care," Roland chuckled, walking into the room, "Not that it is going to get you out of lessons with me, Simon."
"Wouldn’t hear of it, Roland," Simon said, "But will it work for the rest of the day?"
"Go on, get your pity," Roland chuckled.
"You need to be careful with that," Insegniferro said to Medoferro, "Someone could have gotten hurt today."
"Someone would have gotten hurt if I didn’t," Medoferro said, looking up at the elder, "I couldn’t do nothing, could I?"
"No," Massimaferro smiled, "Of course not. Go on out and see Miranda and Stacy. They’re probably wondering about you."
Medo nodded and went out there, dragging along as he was a lot more fatigued than he knew. Insegniferro looked at Massimaferro and had a very worried expression on his face. He had no idea what to do with someone who could do what Medo and Simon could.
"What do we do about this?" Insegniferro asked him, "That just isn’t natural…"
"Your prejudices from Southern Mullinix are showing again," Massimaferro told him, "Taliaferro could do the same things when he was younger and you know it. The old man says that Medo is at least as good as Tali was at his age. You shouldn’t be surprised by this."
"True," Iggy said, shaking his head, "I just never saw Tali use the offensive portion of it."
"Life is an adventure," Massy said, clapping his smaller counterpart on the back, "Be glad Medo was able to put a lock on the lunatic. We’d still be trying to take him down otherwise."
"LaPorte is due to call in an hour," Iggy said
, "Do you want that or the cleanup?"
"I’ll take the cleanup because I don’t want to have to referee a fight between you and the old man later," Massy said, "If Paulus is there get him to tell us what is going on in that hole."
"Will do," Iggy nodded, "I’ll leave this mess to you."
The Mullinix Book 1: Ascension Page 40