Hellcat

Chapter Thirty-Three

"Counselors, over 400 potential jurors have come through this courtroom. So, I should tell you, if you can't agree to move forward with the 12 men and women selected, I will make this trial a living hell for all of you," the judge told us one week later. That's right, one week. We barely had any time to prepare, and the last few nights had been long. We were all exhausted, but we had no choice now.

"Your Honor, New York hasn't seen a trial this divisive and this public in years. Finding an impartial jury is not easy," Matt said, standing before the judge. "Everybody has an opinion about Frank Castle," Foggy added, standing beside his best friend. "It's New York, Mr. Nelson. Everybody has an opinion about everything," the judge snapped at him before turning her attention onto the DA.

"Ms. Reyes, is the prosecution satisfied with its jury panel?" the judge asked. "Yes, Your Honor," Reyes responded. "And the defense, Mr. Nelson?" the judge continued, turning sharp eyes onto Foggy. "Uh, yes, Your Honor, we are," Foggy confirmed as he and Matt sat back down. "Thank Christ," the judge sighed with relief before informing the bailiff to let the public in. Once everyone was settled, the bailiff started. "The trial of The People vs. Frank Castle is now in session," he said before the doors opened once more. Frank was brought in, chains keeping his hands close to his waist and restricting his legs. Two armed guards escorted him in. The charges were read and everything was set to begin opening statements tomorrow.

"If I get my hands on the worthless intern who organized these files..." Karen growled back at the office. Foggy and Matt sat at the conference table, going over every file possible for their case. "Oh, I'm sure that intern's just following the DA's orders. It's not officially sabotage, just sets it back," Matt grumbled, a headphone in one ear as he listened to our recorded files. "It's a cheap trick," Karen scoffed.

Foggy sighed, interrupting her. "We got bigger problems. Like, locking a defense. M'Naghten Rule's still our best bet," he suggested. "What's that?" I asked from where I sat at the table. "The, uh, insanity plea," Matt replied simply. "Whoa, whoa, guys..." Karen started, but Foggy shut down her argument. "We need to buy a 'not guilty' verdict. My high school debate team could prove that Castle did it. We need an affirmative defense," Foggy explained. "Yeah, yeah, I get that, but I'm not so sure Frank is insane," Karen argued. "He's not," I insisted.

Foggy sighed and glanced over at me. "I'm no doctor, but I'd say he's at least driven past Crazy Town," he told me with a shrug. "Foggy, I'm serious," I said, stern voice barely hiding an edge. "She has a point. I mean, insanity only has a 0.12% acquittal rate in New York. Reyes is just gonna call in some expert shrink witness to blow our case apart," Matt defended me as Foggy held his head in his hand.

"What case?" he asked with a dry chuckle. "Look, what if we... push for a mistrial? We get more time," Karen stammered. "We talk about the DNR and the suits and Reyes' involvement. We get her kicked off the case," she suggested. I nodded in agreement, leaning forward. "She wouldn't see it coming," Matt agreed softly. I could tell Foggy had a headache over this whole thing just by looking at him. He grunted softly as he pushed himself out of his chair.

"If we go down that road now, we gotta prove, in a court of law, that the government willfully hid evidence of the Punisher ambush, and that Reyes was involved," Foggy protested. "Well, I was there and you were there, and Allison too," Karen reminded him. "We're not exactly impartial, okay? And either way, we need an opening statement tomorrow," Foggy reminded everyone. "I can open with PTSD as a mitigating factor, focus on Castle's time at war," Matt suggested. I just shook my head.

"So, you think the war is what made Frank what he is?" Karen asked. "Our only goal is to reduce the charges and set precedent. Castle made a lot of enemies, all right? If he goes into general population, he's as good as dead. We need to get him somewhere safe, where he can get help, and... citing PTSD could do that," Matt explained to her, backing up his option.