Rebellion

The Trial

The Trial

​His boots clicked on the floor as he paced in his room. He didn't know what to do. He was going to be the leader of Chester Bennington's trial today and he was stressed out. He had a man's life in his hands here. He was not cut out for this leadership stuff. He sighed as he started going over the options for Chester's punishment. There was the death penalty, jail time, civil services, or Mike. He knew he couldn't just let Chester off the hook. Austin had already been given his civil services task since he'd just been a scientist and hadn't really killed anyone. Chester was a different matter. He sighed softly as he pulled on his jacket and headed out of the room. He saw Chester's kids sitting outside his office.

​"Can I help you boys?" he asked. The older one stood up.

​"Hi Mr. Farrell, it's about my dad."

​"I figured as much."

​"Are you going to kill him?"

​He was a bit taken aback by that blunt statement, "I don't know."

​"Oh."

​"Is that all?"

​"Can we come to the trial?"

​"Any family is welcome yes. You might as well head down. We're getting started soon."

​"Okay."

​The two boys headed off down the hall. Dave sighed as he waited for Bono. The Irish man said he would walk down with him. The people present at the trial would be himself, Bono, Larry, Jeremey, Mike, Brad, Joe, and the two boys. And then whoever wanted to come and watch. The public knew.

​"Hey Dave."

​"Hey. You ready for this?"

​"Yea," Bono sighed as they walked down the stairs, "What are ye thinking it'll be? I've honestly got my cards on his death."

​Dave nodded slightly as they neared the doors to the room. It wasn't even a court room. It was like a lecture hall area. He walked in and saw everyone was in there already. The whole room was full of people. He walked to the front and sat down at the desk facing the room. He sighed softly and then nodded to Bono. The army man walked out of the room and returned with Chester. His hands were chained and he walked forward slowly. His eyes were red and Dave had a feeling he'd been crying. He swallowed but watched as the man was sat down at a table in the middle of the room and his chain was hooked to the table.

​"We are here today to decide the fate of Chester Bennington," he said loud enough so everyone heard, "Mr. Bennington, you've been accused of the murder of thousands of people, the sexual assault and torture of Mike Shinoda, and being in league with Mark Wakefield. Are all these statements true?"

​"Yes," Chester said softly. It was so quiet that Dave barely heard him.

​"Are you aware that the fact that you were under the influence of the brainwashing drug does not give you a pass through this?"

​"Yes."

​"I'd like to allow anyone in the box to come forward at this time if they have something to say."

​He saw his friends lining up. It was no surprise that Mike was first in line. He would be voting for Chester's death of course. He sat back in his seat as the people turned their attention to the men at the podium.

​"It hasn't been long since Wakefield died," Mike began, "The president is dead, yet his successor is still alive. Do we want to live in another world like the one we just escaped? This man is a danger to everyone while he's alive. You've seen what he is like. He's the spawn of the devil. He'll kill anyone. I'm honestly surprised we're all alive. He tries to convince you he's a good guy by saying he's sorry. He tries to fake innocence, blaming it all on the drug. But the drug just shows what he can do. He can kill and he will enjoy doing it. No one is safe with him alive."

​"I object," Dave turned to see Jeremy standing at the other podium, "I'm sorry Mr. Shinoda but I do object."

​Dave was surprised to see Jeremy standing there. The blonde had become a very vocal person when it came to Chester.

​"I'd like to explain something to all of you because I don't think Mr. Shinoda realizes what the drug does even though he was put under it himself. The drug is not something easy to overcome. It takes every memory you have and erases them, shoves them into the very back of your mind where you cannot remember a single part. From what Mr. Bennington has told me, he woke up after being given the drug and was told by Mark Wakefield that his family, including his two sons who are here today as well, were murdered in cold blood by rebels. Having none of his memories, he believed it. He believed Mark Wakefield to be his friend since he had no recollection of his memories from before. He was easily roped into the government because he simply thought it was what he'd been doing all his life. This drug, can only be countered when a certain memory for that person is triggered. This trigger causes the amnesia of the drug to be broken, therefore returning all the memories to the person. This trigger, for Mr. Bennington was his boys who were kept locked up in a prison for two years by the president," the crowd was listening to him talk, "Therefore I conclude, Mr. Bennington was not in a conscious state. It was obvious there were flaws with the drug since at times, the person influenced with the drug would seize up, stutter, randomly forget what they were saying, or something similar. It was controlling his mind. He cannot be guilty for crimes that he had no idea he was committing. Manipulation is a powerful thing and Mark Wakefield used a lot of it to create his special team."

​"That's a load of bullshit," Mike snapped into his microphone, "You're only trying to cover for him because you were under the drug yourself. You're trying to cover your own ass."

​"Mike please," Dave said, shooting the young man a glare. Jeremy continued talking.

​"Mr. Bennington and I have been going through many therapy sessions together and I know an innocent man when I see him. Therefore," Jeremy took a deep breath, "I would also like to clear the names of both Austin Carlile and Scott Weiland, who were both under the influence of the drug as well. Sadly, only one of them is alive."

​Dave saw Chester's head shoot up at that name. Scott had been under the drug as well? What else didn't they know? Jeremy nodded his head once and then walked off the podium and back to his seat.

​"I'm not sure if death is the answer, if we killed him, we'd be no better than the previous leaders," Brad said from his spot, "Punishment is inevitable as he has killed many people but I don't think death can be the answer. He has a family."

​"It's not like he cared about people's families," Mike hissed into his microphone, "He's probably taken the life of someone from each of yours. He's probably ripped apart every family in the world. Why not rip apart his too?"

​"Please, don't hurt my boys," Chester whispered.

​"Shut up!" Mike snapped.

​"Everyone stop!" Dave called, "We're here to discuss, not argue."

​"If I may speak.....," a familiar Irish accent drawled into the microphone from the other side of the room, "and ye are quite finished, Mr. Shinoda, we are looking to start a new nation, one that is united under a code of ethics. In our previous world, we had a law, that stated that the death penalty was inhumane. We want to go back to a world where we can live in peace, where we aren't trying to kill one another. This is the first step. Yes, Mr. Bennington has committed unforgiveable crimes but we need to think this through. If we get caught up in a bloodlust, we will not succeed in creating a safe new world."

​"A safe world? With him in it?" Mike countered, "That's the one thing we're forgetting: not killing him means he's still able to cause harm. He's still able to hurt the people we care about."

​It was deadly quiet in the room for a few minutes as everyone glared at one another. Dave was about to call the conversation to a close when a small voice spoke up from the other side of the room. Everyone turned and Dave saw the older of the two boys standing there.

​"If it's not too late to add something," the boy said quietly, "I know my dad, probably better than any of you. I knew him growing up and he was anything but evil. He was kind, loving, and caring. The things that the president did to him are not his fault. He was hurt and forced into carrying out his tasks in fear of being punished if he didn't fulfill his duty. He is truly sorry for what he's done and he would do anything to go back and change it. I know he would."

​"Your father," Mike growled, "Is a lying bastard. He pulls off the innocent act. He can cry a river but no one is going to forgive him. He can beg all he wants that he was innocent but no one is going to care."

​"Mike," Dave hissed. He was getting sick of the younger man's attitude, "This is a child you're talking to."

​"It's okay, Mr. Farrell," the boy said softly, "I can take it. I understand that Mr. Mike is angry. My dad killed his family, I would be angry too. The only reason I know this is because my dad wakes up every night screaming and crying and begging to be forgiven. He sees it happen every night in his nightmares because he can't bear the fact that he's done something like that. He's told me so many times how sorry he is that he ever did it."

​"At this time," Dave said, "The accused may say anything before we make our decision."

​Chester looked up at him and swallowed, "All I want, is that my boys will not be harmed."

​Dave walked away from the bench and headed down to the table where the votes were being cast. They had taken a group of people who were indifferent on the fate of Chester Bennington. They had not been affected by him in any way. They were conversing and writing things down on slips of paper. Joe brought him the final tally and he looked down at the paper. He stared at it for a moment. There wasn't a tally, there were words. He swallowed and walked back to the desk. He saw Chester looking up at him. The two boys were standing next to each other and the older one was crying. He took a deep breath and leaned forward to the microphone.

​"It has been decided that Chester Bennington will be sentenced to Corporal Punishment in two days' time. The exact details will be discussed and released on the day it will take place. It will last an entire day......he will suffer for what he's done," Dave said, "Until then, he is to be locked up and allowed no visitors."

​Chester's eyes widened as he was picked up from the chair and unlocked from the table, "Wait....wait, let me say goodbye. Let me say goodbye!"

​But he was dragged away from the room by Bono and Larry. Dave sighed softly as the people started exiting the room. Mike stalked up to the desk and slammed his hands down on the table.

​"What the fuck!?" he yelled angrily.

​"It wasn't me," Dave said, "You can read the note yourself."

​Mike pulled at his own hair in frustration, "You mean he won't die?"

​"No. He won't die. He'll be publically humiliated for an entire day which is probably worse than death in my opinion."

​Mike sighed and shook his head, "I should've given up a long time ago. There's no point. I was never meant to get my revenge."

​"You did Mike. You had him to yourself for that time before the execution. That was your revenge."

​"Whatever," Mike sighed as he walked out. Dave watched him go before standing up himself. It was time to get back to the office and start thinking how he could torture Chester Bennington further. He headed up the stairs when he heard footsteps. He turned around and was surprised when he felt four arms hug him.

​"Thank you, for saving him," the older boy said, "I know what happened was unforgiveable but thank you for saving his life."

​"You make quite a convincing argument," Dave said smiling slightly, "After this whole thing is over, I'd like to talk to your father."

​"I'm sure he would do anything for you. You spared his life."

​The two boys pulled away from him and gave him one last smiled before heading back down the steps. Dave walked into his office and yawned before going into his room. He sat down on his bed and put his head in his arms. He could not wait to be done with being the leader.