After Before and After

Phase 4: Chapter 47

January 6, 1993. 1:52 PM.

Jack Merridew watched with an alarming level of focus as the court's most recent witness stepped down from the stand, ventured back down the aisle, out the courtroom doors, and back into the world on the other side.

Lucky bastard, he thought.

Court was just over three hours from being finished for the day, and Jack couldn't wait. At the front of his mind was the new gaming station, the Sega Genesis, he got for Christmas; the one he packed in a bag and brought with him to Savannah. Along with it, he got over a dozen different games for the new console, all of which he also brought with him to Savannah. With Evan staying in another room and Paige going back and forth between the two like a pinball, Jack got away with spending most of the last couple nights after court playing games on his new Sega Genesis system.

The thought of which presently made the hands on the clock look like they were ticking in slow motion.

Not long before the hour hand would strike two o'clock, Dana Barnes called for her next witness while Jack's eyes remained on the wall clock.

"The state of Georgia calls Cheryl Evans to the stand" Barnes loudly announced.

At first, Jack was too preoccupied with thoughts of crushing the next stage of Streets of Rage 2 to realize that the name Barnes just called ended with Evans. It wasn't until everyone around Jack turned around almost at once that he was broken out of his trance. Turning and staring was a big no-no in the court world, especially if you're one of the defendants, Jack knew. But everyone, former cadets and innocents alike, all turned their heads.

More than a beat late, Jack turned around to see the woman who was once sitting beside Larry awkwardly pushing her way out of the row the Evans family sat in. As it was the second last row in the back, it took a long and horribly silent minute for Cheryl Evans to make her way up the aisle, through the gate, and up onto the chair in the witness stand. Jack noticed how unsettled and nervous she looked, like she was afraid one wrong move could end her life.

But it could end her son's, Jack considered, which to most mothers was basically the same thing.

All but Jack's own mother, that is.

After being sworn in by Bailiff Boland, Cheryl Evans tensely took her seat again, nervously swallowing the saliva in her mouth as she did so. She looked so obviously anxious. Though, Jack wasn't sure whose case that would benefit.

"State your full name for the record, please" Barnes confidently began, much more confident than her witness clearly was.

"My name is Cheryl Evans" the nervous woman answered, her voice small and unsteady.

"And what is your relation to this case?" Barnes asked in the sure tone she used when she already knew the answer to her own question.

"I'm Larry's mother" she responded with a weak smile, one that was seemingly directed at her son.

"Can you confirm for the record that in your reference to Larry, you are referring to Larry Evans, Subject 0008 on the defendant roster?"

"Yes" the woman answered in her very small voice.

"Thank you, Mrs. Evans" Barnes smiled as she turned to face the courtroom and the jury for a brief but very intentional moment. "Tell me about Larry. Who is Larry, in your eyes?"

"Larry's one of the sweetest boys you'll ever meet. He loves his family, has a handful of good friends, and was always a very happy boy. He loved swimming, it was his favorite thing to do even as a baby. He splashed his little hands and laughed the whole time I had him in bathtub when he was little. When he was a toddler, he filled the sinks up with water and played boats for hours. He would've let his hands prune until they shrivelled right up if I let him. Larry also loves being with his friends. He's always had so many. He's been a social butterfly forever. Larry is the greatest blessing in my life" Cheryl explained.