Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
Since no one in their right mind would refuse a polite request from the Praetor himself, Sin felt confident he would be proven to have acted with justification.
To make sure Rissa could act as a witness, he made a call to Daniel Briggs and apologized for any inconvenience this would cause.
Then he waited, staring at the walls of his apartment while the rest of the day dragged by.
The hardest part was not knowing. There was no hint of what would come next, which angle Joshua was planning to use in his prosecution, or how the other priests would feel once they had the whole story.
About the only thing Sin was sure of was that this was about to become a very impressive shit-show.
Something bigger was going on, something Sin couldn't fully wrap his mind around, and if he didn't get this right, he was going to bring about the downfall of his own church.
To distract himself, he called Davis and made sure things were in progress for the safe house.
Next, it was Rob. If the trial dragged on for days and Rissa had an assignment, Sin wanted to make sure someone could cover for him.
When all of that was done, all he had left was to lie in his bed, staring at the ceiling while he fought through the mess this had all become and pretended to sleep.
Needless to say, he had a very restless night.
The next morning, Sin was up early, clean-shaven, and dressed in his finest robes.
He'd even gone so far as to take off the pendant he always wore, storing it safely in his apartment.
While he didn't want to use the word nervous, he certainly wasn't looking forward to this ordeal.
It was nothing more than Joshua's attempt to prove the enhanced were dangerous.
Sin had absolutely no interest in being used to make it easier to hate others.
When he reached the Legion, his first stop was the cathedral.
A few turned to look at him. Most wore expressions of shock, making it clear the news of his trial had spread through the church as only rumors could.
Sin ignored it all as he headed to the eye at the back.
The moment he reached the first step, he knelt and bowed his head.
"May I serve only the power of God, and do Your will as only You can see best," he breathed, pressing two fingers between his brows.
Then, in his own mind, he added a prayer for deliverance, because he had a feeling he would need it.
While he sent his thoughts to his God, the other priests watched.
He could almost feel the weight of their eyes on his back, but his first loyalty would always be to his God.
That was his purpose, and his purpose gave him meaning.
It was why he kept pushing himself to keep going, even when things got hard—like today.
Eventually, he stood. Then, without a word, Sin turned and marched toward the Hall of Judgement.
As he passed people, they stopped. Some turned to watch him pass.
Others dropped their eyes to the ground, refusing to even look at him.
And there, outside the main door, Sister Julie paced the length of a single bench.
Her lips moved like she was offering her own prayers, and from the way she kept clenching her fist at her side, she was even more nervous than he was.
"Julie," Sin said when he was close enough.
She turned to him and sighed in relief. "I was so worried you'd oversleep, skip town, or do something else stupid. Thank God you're here."
"Where's Benedict?" he asked.
Julie pulled in a deep breath. "He is going to collect your witness. I've been asked to stand as your defense until he returns. We have everything set up for a data transfer if necessary. Sin, the bigger problem will be the questions."
"I can handle the questions," Sin assured her. "So let's do this and get it over with."
She reached over to grab her things, and then the pair of them walked through the large open doors to the Hall of Judgement.
Since this was a public hearing, the seats were filled, but not everyone in the room wore the trappings of a priest. Sin saw Ordanes, Centurions, Signifers, and plenty of journalists.
Each one was looking back at him, but neither he nor Julie stopped until they stood behind the table for the defense.
Directly across the room, Joshua and another priest waited in the place for the prosecution.
At the back of the room was a long desk with multiple chairs behind it.
That was where the ten Tribunes would sit, the ten priests who would decide Sin's fate.
Guilt and innocence required the unanimous agreement of them all, but lower crimes could be considered if the Tribunes couldn't come to an agreement.
But where was Benedict? Looking across the room, Sin found Jaime, the shop owner who'd helped him out of the alley.
His testimony would be nice, but Rissa's would be even better.
Glancing the other way, Sin looked at the large clock that hung on the wall behind where the Tribunes would sit.
Three minutes, and every single second felt like it took an eternity with the entire room watching him.
"Are we supposed to start this without her?" Sin asked.
Julie leaned towards him slightly. "If we have to. Just tell the story as you remember it, and do not let the prosecution make you look angry or frazzled."
"Easy."
But that was a lie. He was angry. This entire ordeal was insane, and everything was pointing to it being little more than the tip of the iceberg.
The Legion had a cancer growing inside it, and it felt like this was the first time the rot was willing to show itself.
The simple fact that a priest had attacked another's angel?
If Sin could somehow point out the problems with that, he knew this case would be decided in his favor.
Unfortunately, he had no clue how to do that without looking like he was scrambling to hide his own guilt.
Even worse, he didn't know which of the thugs who'd jumped them had been the priest - and that was going to make it harder to defend himself.
Or had that been the plan all along? No, Joshua wasn't that foolish. Likely, he was just using this coincidence to his favor - but the Censor clearly had a plan. He was going to do something to make sure Sin looked like he was the problem, but how?
At the exact second the clock reached the hour, the door at the back opened and the ten Tribunes filed in.
Each one claimed a seat. All of them were older priests, increasing the chances they had experience with trials like this.
Then, when the group was settled, the man in the middle picked up a gavel and struck it once.
"This hearing is for the case of the Imperator, Brother Sinclair Cassis, in the death of Brother Paul Allston of the Signifers," the man announced. "Legate Sinclair, you are accused of killing another priest in cold blood. How would you like to plead?"
"Innocent," Sin announced, making sure he sounded both proud and confident.
The man dipped his head in acknowledgement. "Understood. Censor Joshua will be leading the prosecution against you. Censor, the floor is yours."
One side of Joshua's lips curled higher as the man stepped around his table to take his place in the center of the room. "Legate Sinclair, is it true that on the night in question, you killed Brother Paul?"
"I do not know," Sin answered, keeping his responses short as Benedict had directed.
"How can you not be sure?" Joshua pressed.
"Because I did not know Brother Paul," Sin replied.
"Did you kill anyone on the night in question?" Joshua snapped.
"Yes, Censor," Sin said, enjoying how his short, calm answers were making Joshua the one who was frustrated.
"And would you like to tell us about that ordeal?" Joshua asked.
Sin nodded. "I was taking my assigned angel to her drop point.
I noticed someone following us. After a moment, I realized it was more than one.
Because of the area, that could've been coincidence, but as my angel has been threatened before, I had reason for suspicion.
I moved us to an area with less foot traffic, at which point I could identify four people who were definitely tracking our movements and trying to intercept.
Without any other means of defense, I had my angel take shelter behind a metal dumpster and encouraged the attackers to leave. They chose not to."
Joshua ran his tongue over his teeth behind his lips. "Could they?"
"Yes, Censor. My angel and I were the ones with our backs to the wall.
They had an open street behind them. When the assailants brandished their weapons, I used mine.
Then, when the apparent leader said I couldn't dodge all of their bullets, I decided to even the odds. That is when the shootout began."
"So you fired first?" Joshua asked, his eyes sparkling as if he'd just hit on something.
"When a Legate's assigned angel is threatened, we do have the responsibility to remove the threat, even if no action has yet been taken," Sin said, paraphrasing the Legion's laws.
But Joshua merely turned to casually pace towards the desk of Tribunes. "And this man you shot, was he enhanced?"
"I am unsure," Sin replied.
"Were any of them obviously enhanced?" Joshua tried next.
"I am unsure," Sin said again.
So the Censor spun back to face him. "How can you be unsure if someone is enhanced, Sin?!"
"Because all six of the attackers wore something to cover their faces, long sleeves, pants, and clothes that covered their bodies.
Most also had Kevlar or other outerwear as armor.
I was not close enough to determine if their eyes were cybernetic, as many of the newer generation options mimic natural eye color very well, and their eyes were all I had to judge by, Censor. "
"If they were enhanced," Joshua tried next, "would you still have shot them as easily?"
Was that where he was going with this? Was Joshua really hoping this trial hinged on the fact it had been normals against enhanced?
Sin had to clench his jaw to keep from showing any reaction.
Beside him, Julie was making a note on the paper she'd brought, but Sin didn't need help.
He just needed to make sure he kept his calm, stoic attitude.
"Censor Joshua," Sin finally said, "as a former Legate yourself, you know that when we serve as the hand of God, our responsibility is to protect one who is deemed unable to protect themselves.
That person is assigned the title of 'angel,' and our vow is to die—or kill—to ensure their safety.
So yes, I would kill anyone, enhanced or not, who tried to harm my angel. "
"Because your angel is enhanced," Joshua stated.
"Objection!" Julie called out. "The prosecution did not ask a question and is instead making assumptions."
Joshua just lifted a finger as if he could agree with that. "Is it, Brother Sinclair, because your angel is enhanced?"
"No," Sin said. "I accept this vow for all of my angels, and I do not ask their status beforehand."
"But should you?" the Censor taunted. "Is it not your responsibility to make sure those receiving the help of the Legion, especially with our most elite branch of priests, isn't a sinner who cannot appreciate what they have?"
"No," Sin said, and this time didn't elaborate.
When Joshua sucked in a hard breath, it was almost gratifying.
"And why not?!" he demanded. "Why are you, one of the few enhanced Legionnaires, so devoted to someone who so blatantly broke the first precept?
In protecting a sinner like her, you have killed a devout priest. You cut short the life of a good man who could have climbed the ranks and ended up the next Praetor, for all we know!
How can you justify this, Legate? How can you claim this is what our faith should be used for? "
"Because I am not aware of any precept considered more important than any other," Sin told him.
"According to the Good Book, we should follow all ten, not pick and choose.
The first precept says to respect life, Censor.
It does not tell me to judge life. It does not tell me which life to respect.
It merely says to respect it. Should I value one sin over another?
Are the enhanced not alive and thus also included in the first precept? "
Joshua opened his mouth as if to interrupt, but Sin just kept going.
"Tell me, Censor, is having an enhancement truly more atrocious than trying to kill a defenseless woman, as Signifer Paul Allston tried?
And was he attacking her because of her enhancements or something else?
Which option is the more egregious sin against the first precept: modification or murder?
Should we ignore the second precept and not care about the will others had in choosing to sin or not?
How are we, mere sinful mortals, supposed to know the answers to these things?
Or should we simply do the best we can to fulfill our vows to God without casting judgement so that we will not break the eighth precept?
Isn't that the very definition of faith? "
"Objection," Joshua said to the Tribunes. "The defendant is not here to ask questions."
Oh, but Sin was, because every journalist in the room was recording him, and he had a funny feeling this would be what the news led with this evening.
Not the death of a priest. Not the charges against him, but the debate about the first precept.
Rissa had said to make the conflict public, so Sin just had.
The only way to heal the division in the church was to stop pretending like it didn't exist. Staying silent about it hadn't worked. Trying to reassure people hadn't worked. So, all that was left was admitting that not even the Legion could agree on this one thing.
But Joshua had picked the wrong man to accuse if he was trying to put enhancements on trial rather than the death of that priest. From the moment Sin had woken up after surgery, he'd asked himself these very same questions.
Over and over, he'd tried to find the balance between respecting life as God made it and the benefits of enhancements.
There wasn't an angle to this debate Sin hadn't faced down, and he wasn't ashamed to admit it.
And now he was going to let everyone in New Cincinnati decide for themselves.