Page 24 of Saved By the Game

Brian began to put on his suit and shook his head the entire time. The mediocre suit made him question whether Craig had lost his edge or simple didn’t care anymore. It was too late now. The time had come for the judge to decide. “Brian, did you hire the hitman?” Craig asked.

“Unfortunately, I did. I regret it, but thankfully the hit man missed. I heard Adonis survived and escaped the bullet. After I ordered the hit on him, I tried to cancel it. It was too late because the killer was paid from the wire transfer to Bourbon. I prayed to God to make it the killer’s first unsuccessful hit. God answered my prayer, and Adonis was protected by the blood of Jesus. It’s the only way I can explain him missing the shot. Bourbon was confident when he proudly admitted that Joey had never missed a shot in his whole career as a hitman. His confidence in Joey’s performance as a hitman was the reason he decided to use him as the hitman.”.

“I’ll do my best to fight your case. You have my word, Brian.” Craig responded, patting his back, then helping Brian with his tie. The plain black suit felt foreign to him. He was used to flashy clothes, loud colors, and making an entrance, not blending into the background. He wasn’t happy about the suit that his lawyer brought him. He was used to expensive, high-end clothing. Craig brushed the wrinkles out of his suit with his hand once he was done tying the tie. “Now, you look like a law-abiding citizen. I need you to only speak when the court directly asks you to or when you’re testifying. Do not blurt out anything during court. Stay in your seat and remain calm.” He instructed as they walked out of the confined room. The guards placed Brian in shackles and escorted them to the court room.

Brian was shocked to see a court room filled with people. There was not an empty seat inside the court room. The Minister of Justice gave a couple accredited journalists permission to film the trial for informational purposes. The accredited journalist had NBA press cards, and the Minister of Justice made the rule that the recording is only available to the public after the case has been decided. The Cameramen were there, ready to film with their video cameras in their hand. As he went to his seat, helocked eyes on Kybella. Craig told him that Kybella requested to testify the start of the trial. Brian stared into her eyes and smiled. She looked away quickly and held Adonis’s hand tightly. Looking at her beauty up close and personal took his breath away. He sighed from the idea of losing her. He got himself together while straightening his suit, immediately taking his seat at the table with his lawyer.“Tous se lèvent!”“La cour!” The huissier d’audience instructed.

Everyone in the court stood up as the judge came in to take her seat. The Madame le president was introduced by the court at the start of the proceeding. “I will hear both sides of the case and sentence for this serious crime. In the case of la République française vs Brian Porter accused of kidnapping charges, how do you plead?” ” Madame le president asked.

“He pleads not guilty your honor.” Craig replied. Brian looked at him with a confused expression. He wanted to ask him what he was doing but he was advised not to speak out. He allowed him to lead as his attorney, but it didn’t look good. The murmurs in the courtroom were loud after Craig gave his plea.

“Order in the court!” She announced while banging her gavel. “On the charge for solicitation for murder how do you plead?”

“He pleads not guilty your honor.”

After the judge took her seat at the bench, the quiet shuffle of movement followed, everyone in the courtroom sat in their chairs. The tension in the court began to settle down. “I hope you understand the seriousness of your charges, Mr. Porter. Do you have anything you’d like to say to the court?”

Before answering the judge, Brian bowed his head in prayer. “I don’t have anything to say right now, Madame lePrésident.” He responded. God didn’t give him a word to say. His translation was it meant to remain quiet and prayerful.

“In that case, let’s get started. I want to call Kybella Vonshire to the stand.” The procureur general instructed, and Bella immediately stood up. She strutted to the stand with her head held high. As she approached the stand the sketch artists began to document the proceedings. “Please take a formal oath before testifying. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?”

“Yes, sir. I do.” Kybella replied and took her seat on the stand.

The procureurs stood up to question Kybella. “Madame Vonshire, on the day in question were you held against your will?”

“Yes, sir, I was held against my will.”

“Is the person that kidnapped you in the court room?” The prosecutor asked.

“Yes, he’s sitting right there.” She pointed at Brian.

“For the record, you pointed at the defendant Brian Porter. I have no further questions, Madame le President.”

Next, Craig got up to question Bella. “Do you have any relationship to Mr. Porter?”

“Yes, sir. He was my boyfriend at the time.

“Why did he kidnap you?”

“I previously escaped from him after beating me severely on the arrival to our room at the hotel. He found me after several days. He was angry, I didn’t want to be with him anymore. Instead of letting me leave peacefully, he abused me.

“Were there any witnesses to the abuse?”

“I’m sure the hotel has camera footage of the beating and of my kidnapping.”

“Mr. President, may I request a private consultation before this line of questioning continues?”

“Yes you may speak with me briefly.”

“We have just now received the hotel video. I am requesting that you review the video and advise me if the video can be played in the court room”

“I will review the video and advise the courts.” The judge announced.

The bailiff brought in the television toward the center of the court room. Then the procureurs spoke, “On the video Brian was seen dragging her. She fell to the ground, and he kicked her several times until he was out of breath. He then picked her up and took her into a room. The audience gasped from the sight on the television screen. “Ordre dans la salle!” the judge shouted, banging her gavel sharply against the bench as the murmurs rose. “Order in the court!”

“Okay, I’ve seen enough. Please turn the video off.” The judge announced.

Brian shook his head in disappointment and disgust. He hated to see what he did to the woman he loved. He knew what he did wasn’t right. If only he could go back in time and do everything differently. Now he had to face the consequences of his actions.

---