Cold Hard Courage

[22] - Fact

[Tobias Eaton]

Amar stands from his seat, nodding at Lauren then to Zeke and I. He grabs his legal pad and flips to his note page. He looks up at the Jury, then at the judge.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, my name is Amar Green. This is my legal partner, Lauren Meyers. Together, we represent Detectives Tobias James Eaton and Ezekiel Tristan Pedrad in the trial of their lifetimes. Ladies and Gentlemen, not just of the jury, but everyone in here today, I ask you all to close your eyes and imagine the scenario I lay out before you. Imagine getting the tragic news that the love of your life, your Husband, your wife, your Fiancé, your partner, has gone missing. The police have zero leads to where they met have disappeared to. The man assigned to find your partner has gone missing too and has been replaced by another member of the Police. The man who has replaced the first man is known to have a bad history with your partner and closes the case after searching for less than a month for both men and declares them dead. A few days after the funeral, a man now presumed dead and honored in a large memorial service is heard speaking through another Officer's intercom—the intercom of the Officer now assigned to the search and Rescue's squad car radio. He begs for help and claims that they don't have much longer, then the audio cuts." Amar says.

Darren jumps to his feet, pointing aggressively at Amar and Lauren.

"Objection! Your Honor, Mr. Green is twisting the facts to make my clients look bad in the eyes of the jury." Mr. Russel says.

Amar shakes his head, holding his hands up in surrender.

"No, Daren, I'm not. I'm just explaining the facts as they were presented to me by the Chief of Police, Max Walker." Amar explains. "Your Honor, May I continue?"

The judge looks at Daren then down at Amar.

"Overruled, Mr. Russel. You may continue, Mr. Green." He says.

Amar nods at the judge, smiling back at me.

"Thank you, Judge Clark." He says, returning to the Jury, flipping his legal pad back open. "In closing, I implore you to think of the trauma these two brave men, as well as their families and friends, have had to endure in the last few months and think of what you can do that may give them tranquility."

He returns to his seat, looking at Zeke and I coolly. Most attorneys don't seem to understand that their opening speeches impact how the entire trial will turn out. Their opening speeches impact how the jury and audience feel about them. Amar keeps his speech short but impactful. Mr. Russel, however, bored the audience for forty minutes with the facts the already knew. Zeke leans over, an eyebrow raised.

"That was very professional," He whispers. "Sounds like we've got ourselves a good representative team."

I nod, smiling at him. Judge Clark clears his throat and looks over at Daren.