Luke switched on the tv in the conference room and pulled the blinds shut. Tom and Sophie sat at the table, holding hands and waiting. This was it. Sentencing day.
The trial had been set and the witnesses called. Sophie being one of the main ones, since it was her initial testimony that had led to him being charged. She knew she had no choice, to refuse would have led to her own imprisonment for contempt of court, but she had asked to testify via video link, hence the set up in their conference room.
Sophie hadn't in the end, needed to see him again. At the eleventh hour, just before the whole three-ring circus was due to kick off, he pled guilty. To all charges, in full. Nobody had seen that coming. For the previous weeks he'd not made any statement, just that it was in the hands of his legal team. Then, quietly, he'd put in a plea of not guilty. Tom had been overseas and Art knew it.
No-one really knew why he'd changed his mind at the last minute. Was he really trying to avoid media scrutiny? Was he too ashamed to face his victims? Or was it that someone had persuaded him that to plead guilty was the "right" thing to do? It appeared he'd suddenly grown a conscience from somewhere.
There was only one person in the room who knew the truth and he wasn't about to be overcome with needing to share that particular morsel.
As they waited, the three of them hardly spoke. They watched as the court officials filed in, as Art was brought from the cells where he'd been held after arriving this morning, and then as everyone stood for the judge.
The camera lingered on Art's face and Sophie wanted to look away but, shored up by the support of the two men who mattered most to her, she stared him down. He couldn't see it of course, he would never see it, but she knew she'd done it and that was what counted.
There was the usual legal preamble, the reading of the charges and the official pleading of guilty. The judge made his comments, extensive and very very damning. Then it came to the crunch point. What would he get?
"Arthur Alan Gardiner, you have pled guilty to all counts without remorse or regret. You have shown yourself to be a man of a nature who should be kept away from not just the female population on whom you have prayed, but also the wider population who should not have to share the same space with you. Taking into account the gravity, the repeated nature and the apparent lack of any remorse, for the 3 counts of rape and 12 of sexual assault, I sentence you to a period of 20 years incarceration. You will serve no less than fifteen years before you will be considered eligible for parole on licence. " the judge paused then brought his gavel down with a thump. He looked at Art steadily, coldly and said "Before you are taken down, I am not normally given to making personal remarks, but in this case I feel I should. I would like to pay tribute to the women who stepped up and revealed your true nature. You abused your position to the utmost and believed yourself untouchable. I hope this proves to you - and any others who would come after you - that no-one is above the law. Take him away."
Luke stood and cut the feed. He turned to face Tom and Sophie, who sat white faced and shaking. "Well, you did it!" he said quietly, walking over, arms outstretched, "You sodding well did it! He'll be kicking 90 before he gets out!" now an enormous smile split his face.
Sophie looked up at him, then at Tom. For a second, she said nothing, just looked then she stood up, "Excuse me for a minute will you?" she left the room. Tom and Luke shrugged and stared after her.
Sophie walked to the ladies, coolly, calmly and with no air of urgency. She walked in, chose a stall, knelt and proceeded to be very, very ill. It was all the stress, the angst, the sudden knowledge that it was all over. It would be in the press soon enough, including some of the more lurid details no doubt, but even that didn't bother her. It was as if someone or something had been clutching her, dangling her over a dark pit and now? Now she was suddenly free. It was just overwhelming. Once she'd finished, she stood up and went to wash her face. Rinsing her mouth she popped a mint in from her handbag. Looking in the mirror, she extracted her lipstick and reapplied it carefully.
With a final smile, she walked back out, head held high. As she walked through the office, the rest of the staff - few though there were, started to clap. She smiled and stopped, "Thanks everyone, it's been hard but it's over at last. It's all over." As she turned away, Tom and Luke appeared at the door of the conference room. She walked over and hugged them both, kissing Luke on the cheek and Tom softly on the lips.
"How about I take my two Guardian Angels for lunch to celebrate? Don't know about you two but suddenly I seem to have lost my appetite and found a horse's instead!" she giggled and Luke shook his head.
"What did I tell you?" he rolled his eyes a Tom "EVERYTHING ends up about food with this one!"
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Feelings
FanfictionTom and Sophie hated each other. He was rude, loud, and made fun of her. She was spoiled and childish and made him want to be sick. At least, that's what they thought thirty years ago. Then Tom went away to boarding school, and they never saw e...
