Chapter 44 Callisto
Chapter forty-four
Callisto
I focused on Jason Kline, the lawyer from Alpha Lodgings, so much that I didn’t take a second look at the man sitting beside him. Now that Red’s jogged my memory, he sticks out like a sore thumb. Officer McKenna something-or-other; a self-righteous prick with a chip on his shoulder.
And the man who stole him away from the local police station in such a hurry.
I dig my phone out of my pocket and shoot off a text message to Hale to find out why McKenna hates feral alphas, listing a few possibilities to get him started. The door behind me thuds as the paralegal runs out to find a quiet spot to set up his laptop.
I’ll need to stall to give him the opportunity to find something, but the other attorney will give us time by playing the prison footage.
The lawyer throws me a fake smile. “I apologize but the defendant’s counsel hasn’t seen this yet, since Alpha Lodgings barely managed to release the footage in time for this appeal hearing. Please note that what you’re about to see has violent content.”
I glance at Red, but she simply sets her jaw and locks her gaze on the big screen. Well, she’s plenty strong, and it’s probably no worse than enduring the violence in the bond the other day.
He presses play, and a prison yard zaps into focus, colors bleached to dull, grayish tones. A circle appears around a man walking around the yard with another alpha. He glances up and around, revealing his face. Zack.
The two men touch hands, and then Zack steps forward. Almost instantly a crowd of alphas surge toward him. The lawyer narrates as Zack disappears among the seething bodies. “Here we see Mr Jones inciting the inmates—”
“Rewind the tape,” I call, bristling.
He stammers. “It’s not done playing.”
“No, but you’re making unverified claims about the footage.” I swivel to the judge. “I ask that the opposing counsel rewind it and validate their statements.”
The judge nods in agreement. “Restart the footage and play it back at half speed.”
It plays again, and I watch carefully, smiling when I confirm my suspicions. “Your Honor, what grounds do they have to claim Mr Jones incited anything? It’s very clear the other prisoners run at him first.”
McKenna shoots me a death glare, but I ignore him.
The judge orders the video to be rewound for a third time.
The lawyer fumbles to defend his case. “You can clearly see Mr Jones posturing up in clear alpha challenge.”
“It’s not clear to me,” I say. Film can’t capture scent, and they don’t appear to have sound, either.
“To me, it looks like he’s getting jumped by twenty-something alphas.
An alpha can straighten his back for any number of reasons unrelated to inciting a fight.
Or do I need to get an orthopedic surgeon here to explain how the human spine works? I’m sure I have one in my contacts.”
The opposing lawyer glowers at me like he wants to peel my skin off.
The judge hums and nods. “I have to concur with Counselor Wren. Let’s see the rest of it.”
Big, burly alphas go flying as Zack blasts through the group. Alhedy runs behind him, clearly protecting his back, but I can easily make a case he’s trying to catch Zack to stop him. I’ll worry about that when I do the crime boss’s appeal.
“Here we see Mr Jones headed directly toward inmate Ray Fibbistachi, who was gravely wounded in the vicious attack—”
“Looks like he’s heading to the door, for safety,” I interject.
The lawyer whirls around. “Done interrupting, counselor?” he hisses.
I shrug and smirk. The judge gives me a pointed look, but it does nothing to quell my elation. Crossing my arms, I settle in my chair to watch the rest of the footage.
Now Rickon and Red’s paralysis makes perfect sense.
I knew Zack was a fighting machine, and personal experience taught me how intense he can be but seeing him plow through hardened criminals leaves me in awe.
I stare, spellbound, as he pushes through a pack of alphas even OCB agents would hesitate to dive into.
And he expects me to prove myself against that power? My stomach hollows out.
Digital Zack, still circled with a white ring, reaches out to snag Ray’s clothes, but they disappear off the edge of the screen. A few blurry smudges on the screen’s edge suggest elbows moving, but the bodies aren’t clear. Alhedy really found a dark spot for them.
“Is this all the footage?” I ask, my voice dripping scorn.
The lawyer ruffles. “As you can see here, Mr Jones beats down on the alpha who’s now in hospital with life-threatening injuries, and who also has a personal connection to Mr Jones’ omega.” His gaze shifts toward Red.
I raise my hand. “Objection! Without another camera angle, it’s complete speculation that he’s the alpha attached to that limb. Any of the prisoners moving in and out of this shot could have ended up there, not to mention more coming out of the door. Are we really admitting this farce of evidence?”
The footage plays on. After only a few seconds, Zack and Alhedy stumble back into the frame, collapsing on the ground as prison officers swarm. Rain blurs the rest of the footage, but I can see Zack panting as he lies face-down in the dirt.
I contain a smile along with the urge to march over and tell Zack atta-boy!
“Motive is clear,” the lawyer says. “And at the start of the film, we saw Keith Alhedy pass the sharpened implement found in the victim’s body to Mr Jones.”
I scoff. “Your Honor, the amount of conjecture here is sickening. How about we ask Mr Jones what really happened?”
“I’ll allow it,” he says, twirling one finger. Surely he’s as sick of the wild speculation as I am.
I march over to the dock. “Zackary Jones, why did your cellmate, Keith Alhedy, whom you know as ‘Al’ touch your hand in the prison yard?”
Zack cocks his head. “Damn fly.”
I clench my teeth to stifle a laugh. “And why did you run through all those alphas in a straight line?”
He glances over at the paused footage. “Door. Zack want to go back to cell when alphas attack him. Me.”
I nod to him and spin. My phone vibrates, but I can’t afford the distraction just yet. “There we have it, Your Honor. And if I may have the floor for a moment, I’d like to make one more thing clear.”
I turn back to Zack. “Mr Jones, before you met your omega, your job was to fight in challenges against other alphas, is that correct?”
He cocks his head, eyes boring into me. “Yes. Zack fight a long time.”
“And when you fought, what was the outcome of those battles?”
His back straightens with instinctual alpha pride. “Zack won the challenge.”
“All of them?”
“Yes.” He nods emphatically.
“How do we know you never lost one?”
He frowns. “Lost challenge . . . means stop breathing. Kill.”
“Thank you, Mr Jones.”
“Zack,” he grumbles.
I chuckle and turn back to the judge. “Your Honor, the fight rings Zack came from pitted two alphas together in matches to the death. The records recovered by the OCB suggest Zack was a captive there for at least five years, which tells us something about his ability to survive. It’s clear he had a dangerous past, and that’s why we had a rehabilitative program in place, as well as additional security measures. ”
I shoot my eyes toward the sweating man at the other bench. “Attorney Kline, please tell me how many of the inmates are dead?”
The man blanches. “One is at death’s door—”
I’m getting sick of this. My irritation comes to the boil, lacing my tone with a sharp edge. “As of this moment, how many are dead?”
“None,” he mutters reluctantly.
I nod. “Despite Zack’s proven ability to kill, which was not his fault, by the way, he didn’t kill a single alpha among those who attacked him.
The only thing this man has done is defend himself from the hostile environment Alpha Lodgings dragged him into.
And further, I contend that this is a personal grudge to set Mr Jones up based on a vendetta. ”
The judge lifts his brows in surprise. “Do you have any evidence besides the OCB investigation into the courthouse assault?”
“Yes, I do.” At least I hope I do. I turn back to Zack. “Zackary Jones, have you ever seen the man sitting at the desk over there before?” I point to the man sitting beside the Alpha Lodgings lawyer.
McKenna flinches as Zack swings around to assess him.
“Yes, Zack knows.”
“How do you know him?”
“Alpha from prison. Think called Mack-henna.”
I nod. “Zack, you’ve been in two prisons.
The one you came from today is called Laversham prison.
The other one you were at before was Darinian prison.
Which prison do you recognize him from?” I pull out my phone and scan the text from Hale, hoping he’s sent me enough to continue my line of inquiry.
“Objection. This isn’t relevant,” Kline whines.
I cock one shoulder and throw the judge an exasperated look. “Opposing counsel cited a personal grudge between my client and Mr Fibbistachi. They seem very happy to drag personal connections into this hearing.”
The judge’s mouth twitches. “Since this is a character case, you may continue.”
I nod in gratitude and turn back to Zack. “Where did you first meet that man?”
Zack rises and leans into the bars to get a better look. His eyes fill with questions as he glances back at me. “Tell the truth,” I say.
“Dar-in-ee-an guard. Zack crack bones in his side when I in that prison.” The chained alpha places his hands together and bows his head forward. “Zack sorry. I not know law say don’t attack then. Please don’t keep Zack from his pack because of side pain.”
My throat swells around my next words. Look how far Zack’s come, to reflect and apologize, and even to understand the nuances of this court setting.
“Have you seen him anywhere else?” I ask thickly.
“Yes.” The big alpha nods, and his eyes narrow in anger. “In cell when I bond my omega and again when Mack-henna dragged Zack from cell to Laversham Lodgings on day of danger and smelly oil.”