Tortuous

Conviction

Then he passed out and the ambulance and the rest of the police force finally arrived at the scene. I explained to them that fields was a rogue cop and he had been selling government secrets. That he tried to kill me so his secret wouldn't be found out. I didn't tell them that what had actually happened because I didn't want Nico to go down for killing a police officer. I knew if he went down for the other killings that he could plead self defense and only get a short time.
"Nico, welcome back." The doctor said.
"Back? Where am I?" He said.
"You're in the hospital, you got shot and there was no serious damage." The doctor said.
"I have to go." Nico said.
"Nico,You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you." I said as I put the handcuffs on him.
"You know, this is worse than killing Emilio. You can't come back from this." Nico said.
"I knew that when I shot Emilio."
I leaned over and tried to kiss him one last time. He put his hands around my neck and I could feel me running out of air. This is what it took for me finally to fear him. His reputation definitely perceived him that he was someone people feared. I never knew I would. I wanted to see him as I once saw him, but he choked me. He had every right to because I betrayed him. How can he forgive that? I never thought that I would lose so much of myself and my relationships in one day.
"I was just doing my job." I said.
"You weren't that good at it. You can't kill me because you're in love with me. If you were a real cop you wouldn't fall for anything or anyone." Nico said.
"I tried to save you but you were to far gone into the life of the mafia.
"You were only protecting yourself. I was the one protecting you from yourself." Nico said.
"From myself?" I said.
"Yes, yourself! Because you're afraid that one day you won't be able to remember my voice, my touch, my kiss, my face, and the way I made you feel. And That connection that you think is so fake, you will come to realize that it was the only thing real out of all your past relationships. And Losing that would destroy you! Because all you did was listen to yourself that allows you to self sabotage all of your relationships that are real. That part of yourself threw my feelings right out of the window. You betrayed everything we stood for. And I still love you in spite of that. But if you let that part consume you. I'll hate you for it and never talk to you again. Dealing with the fact that I'm gone is the second hardest thing you'll have to do but the first is trying to coexist with that part of you and what you have done. You'll never be happy carrying those things with you. Congratulations you have succeeded in fulfilling this Kathy."
"We couldn't be together anyways, you're a monster and I'm on the side of the hunters bringing people like you down."
"I'm the monster, I think you should rethink which one of us is the monster."
"I can't do this anymore."
"I hate you for this. I will never forgive you for making me fall for you and not someone else."
Those words broke my heart into a million pieces. I felt pain. I felt the betrayal Emilio and Nico felt. I would've gave everything up to be with him and to love him but instead I chose to stay silent and walk away from him. I knew when I walked away from him that, I lost a part of me. It hurt me the most because no one would ever understand the pain, I was going through. Even if I told them, they wouldn't get it. The heartbreak I have has no soul, no conscience, it is here only to destroy, it leaves me dying inside, while it eats up my soul, and I'm left losing control. The kind that leaves me to try to release the slightest bit of agony by crying. As I was walking away I could overhear Nico trying to wrap his brain around why things had to end for us.
"Why couldn't you see that she was just like the rest, just out to destroy you?" Nico said.
A week later, It was Nico's court hearing and the courtroom filled quickly with people. It was like the whole school was here. I thought to myself was it to watch Nico be sentenced or for them to come see the traitor, me. Of course Nico pleaded not guilty for 2 counts of third degree murder and evidence tampering. It was already an hour into the trial when his lawyer had called me up to the stand. I placed my right hand on the bible.
"Do you solemnly swear that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God?" The man said to me.
"I do."
"Please state your name for the record."
"Kathy Daniels."
"Can you please confirm that you are the respondent in the court file 21332.
"Yes I confirm I am a respondent."
"Okay you may proceed."
"You were an undercover cop for four years right?" Nico's lawyer asked me.
"Yes that's right."
"A simple yes would've been fine."
"Ok--ay."
"Moving on, Is it true that you and my client were romantically involved emotionally and physically?"
"I eject,your honor, there's no actual relevance in this question." The defense attorney of the police officer station said.
"Actually, your honor, it allows us to see the credibility of the witness." Nico's lawyer added.
"I'll allow it, skip to the relevance of this question."
"Yes." I answered.
"Is it true that you loved my client?"
"Yes."
"So would you say that you compromised your undercover job by loving him?"
"No my job came before love."
"You testified in direct examination that you killed detective fields and that you shot him with your gun. Is that correct?"
"Yes it is."
"Please look at the report from forensics that I handed out, It says that the fingerprints of Ms.Daniels did not match the fingerprints found on the gun. So you lied to protect my client because he's the one that shot the gun to save you. Is that correct?"
"Ye--s." I said with hesitation
"Why would you lie if you as you said earlier put your job before love. So you indeed were compromised from the first time my client ever told you he loved you. Is that correct?"
"No. No that's not true."
"What's not true you being a corrupt cop or you sending an innocent man to jail because he saved you not once but twice? No further questions your honor."
I step down from the stand in tears because everything Nico's lawyer said to me was true. I was sending a man that loved me to prison and I was corrupt. I deserve to be behind bars for the crimes I have committed. Another hour later the trial was coming to a close and the closing statements that sealed Nico's fate were up next. After the defense attorney of the police station said their closing, Nico's lawyer was up next.
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, My client is only guilty of being there for the people that he loves. Imagine if he was you and the person that was in trouble was your son or daughter and someone had paid people to kill them. They only could think of you to call so they did. You heard them begging for their life and you could hear the terror in their voice. They have a gun to the person you love the most in this world head and Bang. They're dead because you didn't pull the trigger. But Imagine if you did pull the trigger and now you are put on trial because you saved your son or daughter. Kathy Daniels walks free even though she killed Emilio Apollo in cold blood and lied about the events that happened that day. Cops kill people all the time, you sentence people to die ultimately killing them what makes you or them different from my client. An innocent man being judged by the guilty and being sentenced to die by hypocrites because he loved too much. I didn't know that was a crime." Nico's lawyer rested his case.
Four hours later, The jury was back with the verdict.
"We find the defendant not guilty of two counts of third degree murder and guilty of evidence tampering." The jury said.
"Given the overwhelming evidence shown to us in court I hereby sentenced Nico Gambino to a year in prison without parole." The judge added.