A wreck within

Chapter 19

A guard walked in Sebastian's cell. It has been two months since they locked him up. For his safety they said. It has been two months since anyone came to see him. Freya did not come a second time nor anyone else. The last day of his hearing came up. Two days after Thanksgiving. The coldest day of the year they said on the news.
Sebastian wished that he could go out. Maybe they found out who did all those horrible things and he could go back home. But everything would be so different. Those two months in prison changed the way Sebastian looked at the world from a different point of view. There is no justice in the world. You are proven guilty until you prove your innocence.
It was two days after Thanksgiving when the young heroes had to go to the courtroom. James was feeling that everyone was pitying him, but he did not care about it anymore. He was trying to make his life go back to normal. The black marks had disappeared from his body. But every time he was staring at the mirror, he was feeling that he still had them. That the antidote was not strong enough to destroy his anger. They all sat and waited patiently for the trial to begin. They hoped that everything could ran smoothly and for Sebastian to go home. Morgan was sitting next to James. She was wearing her coat thinking what they would do if Sebastian were not able to return home. They needed Sebastian. He was a part of the family. Of the family that leaves nobody behind.
The Judge entered the room. Everyone's hearts started beating faster. "Members of the jury, your duty today will be to determine whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty. You will determine his fate based only on facts and evidence provided in this case. The prosecution has the burden of proving the guilt of the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt. This burden remains on the prosecution through the trial. The prosecution must prove that a crime was committed and that the defendant is the person committed the crime. But if you are not satisfied with the defendant's guilt to that extent. Then reasonable doubt exists, and the defendant must be found not guilty." The judge said. "What is the case for today?"
"Your Honor, today's case is The State of New York versus Sebastian Thomas Barnes. He has been found guilty on the murder of Michael Stevens and illegal use of guns." The Bailiff informed the judge.
"Defense, you may call your first witness." The judge said to Sandra who happened to be Sebastian's lawyer. She was the only one who could help Sebastian out. After Mike's death, Natalie promoted her and made her co-director of the ARK.
Sandra stood up. "Thank you, your Honor. I call to the stand James Stevens, son of the victim and close family friend of the defendant". She stated.
James swore to the Bailiff and went to the podium. Natalie did not want to stress James for any reason. James wanted to bring justice to Sebastian's case. He would have known if Sebastian had killed his father. He did not tell anyone about his suspicions. He was pretty sure that his father's murder might have been an organized suicide. But he didn't want to stress anyone out before he was 100% sure about the accusation.
"Defenses ask your questions" The Judge said
"James was there only one shooter at the night of the event?" Sandra asked.
"No, there were two shooters. One of them was used as a distraction. The second shooter killed my father. But that was not a two men operation. There might have been more" James said. He wanted everything to be over so they could go and concentrate and who wants them dead.
Sandra asked the second question; "Can you describe the shooters or the guns they used?"
James started sweating. He was staring at his hands. He was afraid that the black veins might appear again. "The shooters were hiding but I could tell that they were very young. I am sure, a girl was at the crime scene, not a boy. They used snipper guns. They did not have any experience. Their aim was poor. It seemed like they had never killed anyone before. They were making noise"
The prosecutor stood up. "Objection! The gun with Sebastian Barnes" fingerprints were on a pistol. Mr. Stevens are you lying to us?" he accused.
James was taking deep breaths.
A man from the criminology department came to the courtroom. He went to the Judge. The Judge told to Sandra and to the Prosecution lawyer to come. "Your honor we have found new evidence. The bullet that hit Michael Stevens made a 10-millimetre hole. We realized that it does not match with the gun we found. Someone called us last night. A local in Montauk. The bullet matches perfectly with the snipper gun that was found in the bushes. There is no evidence that Sebastian Barnes had any connection with the snipper gun."
There was a lot of noise in the courtroom. "Silence. Sebastian Barnes is not guilty. He is free all of the charges." The judge said.
A weight lifted of James' shoulders. After 10 minutes Sebastian was allowed to go home. James was the first-person Sebastian saw after the trial. "Thanks for believing me James" he hugged James.
James smiled "I never thought that you did it. We just needed time for them to believe it"
"I am sorry we didn't get you out sooner Seb" Liz said smiling.
"Missed me sis?" Sebastian chuckled.
Liz crossed her arms. "Not the slightest."
Sandra was making going to leave the building, but Sebastian stopped her. "Thank you" he said
Sandra smiled. "You should be thanking Nat, not me. She was the one with the idea on how to get you out." She confessed.
Why did Natalie want him out of the Juvy? Did she know about Mike's plan?
Sebastian went back home with his father and Liz. Howard and Moira went to the base.
James and Morgan were on their own. "Morgan do you want to go out with me?" He said very fast.
"What?" Morgan was astonished. Did James want to go out with her?
James felt awkward. "I know a lot is going on now. I am sorry" His face became red.
Morgan laughed. "Of course, I want to go out with you James. When do you want to go out?"
"Now?" He said with doubt.
"Let's go" She said and reached for James' hand.
"Where do you want to go?" James did not expect to get that far.
"It doesn't matter. Let us just start walking. The destination will be a surprise for both of us." Morgan smiled. The two of them became tourists in their own city.
They had one of the greatest nights of their lives. They ended up in the ice skate ring in Central Park. "I am not doing that" James said. But Morgan dragged him anyway. James was a really good ice skater. "Are you kidding me James? Why the hell you didn't want to skate?"
He dramatically flipped his hair. "You would feel intimidated by my awesome talent" He laughed.
Morgan lost her balance, but James caught her. Their faces were close to each other's. Morgan smiled.
"What?" James said and helped her get on her feet.
"You haven't changed a bit" Morgan said and kissed him on the cheek.
James smiled. "What do you mean?"
"You are the same person you were two months ago. It's a good thing"
They left from the rink. "I am hungry" Morgan complained.
They went and sat in MacDonald's. They must stay there for over 2 hours just talking. They did not talk about anything specific. They talked about life in general.
It started pouring outside. James proposed for Morgan to go at his house since it was much closer than hers. They quietly entered from the front door. They went to James' room. The couple watched a superhero movie and fell asleep in each other's arms.