Chapter 69
The jury watches as a policeman walks up to the stand and takes a seat.
A bailiff walks after him, standing in front of the policeman.
"Raise your right hand."
The officer raises his right hand.
"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"
"Yes sir." the officer responds as he sits back down.
The judge asks for Harold to come forward to start questioning the officer.
"Good afternoon, sir. I wanna start by asking you if you ever saw officer Teriston make any inappropriate gestures towards Mr. Cizetto. Such as any acts of violence."
"Well, a few kicks to the stomach, but I assumed they were both just horse-playing."
"The night of the assault, did officer Teriston seem to be in a good mood before his little run-in with Cizetto?" Harold asks, walking back and forth.
The policeman shrugs.
"Well, sure."
"And can you recall for me what officer Teriston first told Mr. Cizetto that caused him to brutally beat Mr. Teriston?"
"Something along the lines of being a strong samurai, I believe." the policeman replies.
Harold lightly chuckles.
"And did Cizetto say anything after that?"
The policeman nods and looks up at the ceiling.
"Yes, he said something about how he hoped officer Teriston would die while responding to a call."
"In your opinion, do you think Teriston was just foolin' around?"
"I mean, he's known for being a jokester and even physically joking with his fellow officers, so yes. He's just very old school, nothing anyone should be offended by."
"Thank you, that's all I needed to know." Harold says, putting his clipboard down to his side.
He goes to sit back down as the judge calls for Alexei.
"Sir, I'd like to start off by asking you who did you see start the altercation first?"
"Well, I'd have to say it was, uh...
The policeman looks around the room, making eye contact with his fellow officer, who raises a brow.
"If you don't remember, we can play the provided bystander phone camera footage." Alexei says, following the policeman's eyes. "The only ones that are unedited."
"It was officer Teriston, sir."
"Are you sure?"
The policeman nods.
"Yes, but I do believe Mr. Cizetto went in over the top in his reaction."
"And is it not the police officer's duty to just give the person you're detaining their Miranda rights without any further conversation or physical altercation unless the suspect is acting unruly?" Alexei asks.
"Well, I suppose."
"I need a yes or no, sir."
"Yes." the policeman replies, sighing.
Alexei looks down at his piece of paper.
"Did you hear Mr. Teriston read Mr. Cizetto his rights?"
"No, not that I can remember."
"Why didn't you pull officer Teriston off of Mr. Cizetto as soon as he started to physically assault him?"
"Because I was in shock." the policeman replies. "I mean really, we don't see this everyday."
"Is it not your duty as an officer to remain calm in each and every situation no matter how high the danger levels? Was that not included in your training?"
"It was, but you have to remember that we're only human. Our bravery only goes so far."
"So then if your bravery only goes so far, why'd you sign up for the job?" Alexei asks, shaking his head. "As a police officer, aren't you all supposed to "serve and protect" even if it means dying in the line of duty or has that expression been thrown out of the window? That's like telling a soldier on the battlefield to abandon his injured comrade and-
"Mr. La'rine, your time is up." the judge interrupts.
Groaning, Alexei sits back down and the policeman quickly walks off of the stand.
After a few more witnesses, the judge concludes the trial for the day.
"Tomorrow, we'll be hearing from Mr. Teriston and Mr. Cizetto, followed by closing arguments and jury deliberations. Court adjourned."
The jury and spectators slowly get up, making their way out of the courtroom.
"You impressed me very well, boy. I want to give you my congratulations."
Turning around, Alexei gives Harold a small smile.
"Thank you, but I'm not accepting any congratulations from a man who probably would've held me in captivity 400 years ago."
"Now, son. You know I was just joking!" Harold says, running after Kazimir and Alexei. "Y'all must not take jokes from where you two are originally from."
"Well sir, not everyone is in the mood to be joked with. Just look at my client here."
The two young men walk out of the courtroom and down the steps, immediately being greeted by Kazimir's mom.
"My sweetie boy! What in the world has gotten into you?! I want an explanation right now!"
"It's fine, mama."
"No, it is not fine! Do you realize you could've gotten yourself killed?!" Mrs. Cizetto screams. "You've committed a felony in a different country, do you know how much time you could spend in jail for that?!"
Kazimir nods.
"Yeah, but you have to understand that the officer was the one who started it."
"Honey, all you had to do was ignore the man's words and just go along with it."
Kazimir's jaw slightly drops.
"Go along with it when the clown made fun of me when he's supposed to help me? Go along with it when he started to kick me in the stomach causing further damage to my already broken ribcage? Mama, whose side are you on?"
Placing a hand on Kazimir's shoulder, Alexei shakes his head.
"Mr. Cizetto, don't say that. You know she's on your side, she's just trying to give you some ad-
"Just save it, Alexei. Neither of you know what it's like to be already injured and the person who signed up to protect others doesn't even give a damn if you die or not! Put yourself in my shoes and try to imagine."
"Well, I don't really have to do much imagining." Alexei replies. "However, there will be times where you'll have to be a stronger person, even if it means tolerating disrespectful behavior from others and teaching them a verbal but respectful lesson afterwards."
The young detective groans.
"I don't think you understand what I'm saying. I do not care if you're a damn 2-year old, no one should be fucking disrespected because some dumbass refuses to use simple manners. It's people like you two who can keep making up for other's bad habits and that's the main reason why we won't see this shit come to an end."
Alexei and Mrs. Cizetto watch as Kazimir furiously walks over to his car, cameras following after him.
"I want to thank you for helping my son, Alexei. After this all ends, you can just send your fees to my address. Here, I'll write-
"No, no, no, dear. It's perfectly fine, no need for that." Alexei interrupts. "Actually, I'd like to discuss some things for the case regarding Kazimir's past. Why don't we discuss this over lunch? Your pick."
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"Caio!"
Looking up at his twin brother, Caio gives him an angry expression.
"What, Dayne? What do you want?"
"I asked you to pass me the folder on your left. For the sixth time."
"It's your office. Get up and get it yourself." Caio says, rolling his eyes.
"And as long as you're sitting in it, you'll do as I say. Pass me the fucking folder, Caio."
Sliding the folder to his brother, the older twin groans.
"Are you still hung up on Nia?" Dayne asks. "It's been a week now, man. Face it, the girl moved out of your place; she won't be coming back."
"You know how many men she could have coming over to her house in a week?!"
Dayne stays silent for a few seconds and nods.
"You're right, Caio. She definitely has the time to sleep with other men on top of being a detective assigned to work secretly as a teacher at the local elementary school."
"She could be meeting little children's fathers, smartass. Think outside the box for once." Caio says.
Dayne rolls his eyes in annoyance.
"And how about you think about some work for once? Nia Ellison isn't even the reason why we're in this stupid city. From the time we've been here, you've barely did anything but cause chaos in the woman's life! Everything you've ever done was for one person and it wasn't her."
"The hell are you trying to say?" Caio asks, standing up.
"I'm saying stop being a selfish, little guy and man the hell up. Now listen, I'm investigating Pierre Richano for suspicion of illegal drugs. Hasn't he been interested in Nia once?"
Caio nods, taking a few papers from his brother's hands.
"Yeah, he has."
"Then why don't you use your private investigator skills and follow him around?" Dayne asks. "The quicker we get him thrown in jail, that's one less man going after your future wife."
Laughing, Caio shakes the papers in his hand.
"Oh, I see what you're trying to do. Now that you see I'm at my lowest point in life, you think you have the willpower to go around and control me. I will deal with that annoying brat on my own time, but you can do this damn work yourself."
"Then what about Kazimir Cizetto? I've heard you complaining about him more than anyone else."
Caio looks at Dayne through his peripheral vision.
"What about that bitch?"
"Back when the Claiza City Police Department was its own department, a police officer was murdered late one night in the break room. His cause of death was rat poison." Dayne replies, handing his brother a piece of paper. "When asked if she saw anything out of the ordinary, the woman working the front desk that night described a tall man with fair-skin, white hair, and seemingly bloodshot eyes. She told us that in her five years of working there, she'd never seen that person. Said he almost didn't look real. Richano was supposed to take the case, but that lazy bastard gave it up."
"It definitely does sound like him." Caio says with a chuckle. "I guess I'll start doing my investigating if he ever comes back."
Dayne watches as his brother leaves the room and slams the door behind him.
Taking out his phone, he dials a number and waits for the other line to pick up.
"Hello?"
"Mihajl Hatmanu?" Dayne asks, looking out of the window.
"Yes. I believe I recognize your voice from somewhere."
"Well, you're probably mistaking me for my brother. I don't think we've ever met."
Mihajl chuckles.
"Oh, so the both of you speak with a Portuguese accent; yours is just slightly deeper with a hint of British. You must be Dayne. What can I help you with?"
"I want you to kill Nia."
The line goes silent for a moment and Dayne rolls his eyes.
"I'm sure you get calls to kill people on the daily, Mr. Hatmanu. Why're you acting surprised? Isn't that your job as an assassin?"