Secondary

Lily felt stupid, to say the least. As soon as she'd opened her mouth, she wished she hadn't, but it was too late. Maybe the man was just a nervous sort of person, a lot of secs were on edge all the time so it would make sense.

When he spun around, she took a few steps back and bit onto the side of her cheek. His voice was calm and Lily wasn't sure if she wanted to push him any more than that. He was quite a bit bigger than her and he definitely had to be more experienced with casting than she was so if anything were to happen she'd be at the disadvantage at all fronts.

"Uh, sorry," she mumbled, "you just seemed really off so I was wondering if there were anti-secs around or something." She blinked up at him, "if there is though, could you let me know? I'd be absolutely screwed if there are." May as well be honest, she thought as she gave him a sheepish grin, might make it a little less weird than just randomly going up to a stranger and asking them if their alright.

"If that's it though, I'll just be on my way. Sorry for disturbing you," she cringed at herself, brushing passed the man so she could go to the checkout lane. There probably wasn't anything going with him so she felt way too embarrassed and awkward to be in a public space.
 
Olivia didn't bother replying to Matt's e-mail, but she was there the next morning, and the elf spotting him just as he crumpled up a newspaper. Frowning, "You saw the headline, then?" She asked, her own mood a little sour.

It was hard to remain positive, but Olivia was trying. She just hoped that Matt had managed to have some luck with finding a lawyer and one who could not only help Dominic, but also help with the relocation, though she understood that was a larger legal battle.

Running her fingers Olivia had to wonder if things were ever going to get better for Secs. She had a long life ahead of her, and to imagine that things were only going to get worse was a hard pill to swallow. Trying to put on a brave face, she focused on Matt. If he did know a lawyer, they'd need to go see her first.

----------

The lawyer in question was ended up a court appearance at the time that Matt was reading the new Sec headline. Quinn was a sharply dressed attorney, born and raised in the Boston area. She spent a lot of time traveling, though, and had taken (and passed!) the bar in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Connecticut, as well as Massachusetts and she practiced in all areas of law from criminal and civil.

She was packing up her brief case and advising her client as she did so, "This is your last night there," she promised. "Keep your head down, keep your mouth shut, and you'll be fine." The tired caster nodded and the bailiff was already taking him away. "You be careful," she warned the court officer, "If there is one bruise on my client I will be sure and pin it on you." The bailiff let up a little on the arms of her client and she nodded, satisfied.

She headed back to her office, just across the courthouse. Spotting a familiar face on the steps, speaking with an elf. Matt caught her eye and Quinn blinked, surprised, as he waved her over.
 
Dominic wheezed as the air was forced from his lungs. His head hit the ground with a crack and he thought he could hear it ring in his ears. He tried to glare at Harrison as his head was yanked up by the hair, but he couldn't quite manage. The world was spinning dizzily, and he couldn't get the air he needed into his lungs. All he could do was hold on and wait for it to be over.

When Harrison finally stormed from the room, Dominic collapsed to the floor, coughing and gasping for breath. He reached up with a trembling hand and winced as he felt his hair sticky with blood. Harrison would pay for this. He would make sure of it.

---

"Quinn!" Matt waved her over, smiling despite the situation. "Back in Boston, did you miss me?" He reached out to clasp her hand in a friendly handshake. "This is perfect timing, I was just about to give you a call. We have a friend, a Sec, who needs some legal help." He hesitated. "Dominic Kingston." The name had been in the papers, surely Quinn had heard of what happened at the protest.
 
Olivia looked up as Matt waved someone over. She guessed, correctly it would seem, that this was the lawyer Matt had been speaking about. Quinn was human, not one bit of magic was detected on her, and Olivia worried that Dominic wouldn't accept her help. In the short time that she she'd known the dwarf she knew that he wasn't exactly warm toward humans, even those sympathetic to the cause.

Despite how completely ordinary the attorney was, she seemed intelligent, bright green eyes were calculating as she eyed, first Matt and then Olivia. She smiled and it was warm, but there was something behind it that made Olivia really hope she was on their side.

If Quinn was surprised to see Matt, she was also definitely pleased to see the caster. She made her way over to the pair quickly and smiled and accepted the shake. "Matt Baker, as I live and breathe." She shook her head a little, then repeated back to him, "Back in Boston, so you're here for a time, then?" Now that she was out of the courtroom a few minutes, Quinn relaxed some and as soon as she did, so did the little elf. She must have still had her lawyer face on. "Ah, Mr. Kingston I've heard about him." Out of curiosity, the lawyer had already researched quite a bit about the dwarf--it never hurt to be prepared--and happened to know at exactly which precinct he was being held. "I believed he was arrested after the rally by the Mayor's office." There was no love between her and the mayor and there might have been a little bit of distaste in her tone when mentioning Nadia.

"From what I understand, he threw the first punch at an officer. You want me to help get your friend out of jail?" The question was posed with surprise, like she hadn't considered ever taking the case, like it was barely a blip on her radar, but that was how Quinn operated, even if the charismatic politician could see right through her. She turned to the elf, "Who is your friend?"
 
"Ah, jeez, I'm sorry." Matt shook his head. "Quinn, this is Olivia Moore. She's been doing work with the Secondary resistance movement out here. Actually the one who salvaged that rally, really helped calm everyone down and get things going again."

He turned to Olivia next. "Olivia, this is Quinn, she's the friend I planned to call. We did a seminar together in college. Quinn's a full citizen, but she's sympathetic to our cause, worked a number of Sec cases in the past. Managed to get some dismissed that even I had thought were hopeless."

"But Dominic's case. Do you think it's possible?" Matt asked, the tone of Quinn's voice making his stomach tighten. She sounded like she hadn't even considered it. While that didn't necessarily mean she wouldn't try, it meant the situation was as bad as he had thought, maybe worse. "Kingston's gotta work on keeping his head, but he's got a good heart, and he's charismatic as hell. People will rally behind him, and we need that right now. We're afraid the resistance will lose any little momentum it has if Dominic is locked up indefinitely. Especially now after this." He held up the newspaper so Quinn could see the headline. "There are dozens of witnesses that saw what happened, but maybe he could still get some sort of plea?"

Matt glanced at Olivia briefly. "We've been having problems just getting the information we need. No one will tell a Sec anything important, no surprises there. We don't even know where he's being held. I know it's a lot to ask, but we could really use some help right now."
 
"Nice to meet you, Olivia offered as Quinn extended her hand and though Olivia was not very adept at the whole handshake thing, she took it and did her best to be firm but not uncomfortable. Politics was weird. The lawyer took a breath and nodded, "Yes, I think I've heard a bit about you, too."

Pursing her lips, Quinn nodded, "Yes, I saw the headline." She considered Matt's question, a full thirty seconds counted in her head--everything had to be calculated--before letting out a breath. "From what I understand, he could probably make bail with the right lawyer." Like she hadn't figured out the exact method in which to achieve this goal. "The problem would be getting the money to post bail, but I doubt he's a flight risk." She let a small smile play across her lips, "I know where he's at."

-----

The precinct she took them too was the same one Olivia had visited that had forced her out before and the elf frowned. While Quinn was speaking with the desk Sergeant, Olivia leaned over to Matt and whispered, "I know she's sympathetic and all, but those clothes aren't cheap. I doubt Dominic exactly has the money to hire her."

"Quinn," the desk Sergeant greeted and the lawyer smiled. None of the exchange was friendly, but the two were familiar. "Didn't Johnson just come back from the courthouse."

"Reynolds. I'm here to see my other client, Dominic Kingston." The Sergent blinked, a little and she nodded. "You're surprised. You didn't give him a chance to call for a lawyer, did you? I'm guessing when I speak to him nobody would have read him his rights, either? You've probably been questioning him, too, though over what, I'm not sure seeing as his arrest should have just been for assault of an officer?" she nodded again, studying the man's reactions. "Just what I thought, I'll be having a court order sent this way for all tapes of any interrogation with my client, in the meantime I would like to speak with him, please."

Sec or not, Dominic still had the right to a lawyer (for now, as laws were quickly changing) and he had to admit her to see him.
 
"I've known Quinn to take cases pro bono before," Matt murmured back. "Even for Secs. We can see." It was a very real problem, though, and he knew it. And even if they did somehow manage to get Dominic off the hook, there was the matter of bail itself. The jobs a Secondary could realistically hold didn't exactly pay well. Even Matt didn't have a steady paycheck. He was always scrambling to even get a position. Matt pushed the worry out of his head for the moment. First they would get in to see Dominic. Then they would worry about what happened next.

---

The guard who came to get Dominic from his cell wouldn't tell him anything about what was going on. He fought back as his hands were cuffed behind his back, inexplicably terrified. Surely he was on some sort of record- they couldn't just make him disappear to cover for their police brutality case... could they?

"Get your hands off me," he growled, trying to jerk away as he was manhandled down the hall. "I have rights, you can't treat me like this! Where are you taking me?"

He was shoved into a little room with a table and two chairs, reminding him far too much of the interrogation room for his liking. "What is this?" he tried one last time as he was cuffed to the chair and the guard turned to leave. "Goddammit-!" The door closed behind the guard and Dominic sank back into the chair in frustration. He yanked at the cuffs once more, even though he knew it wouldn't do any good. His head was still throbbing and he closed his eyes, letting his chin fall to his chest.
 
Lloyd noticed how the other caster stepped back, and how her voice was quiet. A girl like this was scared of Anti-Secs? As far as he could tell, this girl might have just been able to blast every Anti-Sec in the Boston sky-high! If she was scared of them, then maybe he should be more scared than he already was.

He shook his head. "I've not seen any," he said, but that just meant that there were no dumb ones that were out and about. There could have very easily been some of the smarter, smaller groups. He was trying to sound reassuring, but he wasn't that good at it.

He looked the girl up and down again. She still didn't look intimidating, and her somewhat shy nature made him think that she maybe wasn't as powerful as it seemed she was. A pretty young, possibly weak caster who was out and about on her own, when Anti-Secs were probably looking for their last chance to nab a few Secs before they were all shipped off was at pretty high risk of getting hurt. He watched her walk towards the checkout lane. "Hold on a second," he said, taking a few cautious steps forward. "Are you out here alone?" He asked quietly. "I know that question sounds really bad, but seriously, you shouldn't be. Anti-Secs are going to want to get as many of us as they can before we're all relocated."
 
Lily paused, hearing him call after her. She turned back toward him, cocking an eyebrow. That certainly was an odd question to ask and Lily took a moment, taking in the man's body language. He seemed sincere enough and it Sec on Sec wasn't too common these days, so she figured being truthful probably wouldn't do any harm. If it were anyone else, though, she'd probably have made up some bullshit about being at the grocery store to meet up with friends or something.

"Uh, yeah, I'm on my own," she said awkwardly. "It's not like I live far from here, so it's really not that bad." Her mood had lightened from him affirming that there were no visible Anti-Secs around, though, so she grinned up at the man, "if me being alone happens to bug you, I wouldn't mind having someone to walk me back. You never know when those Anti-Secs will pop up."

She didn't wait for his response, spinning back around on her heels to continue on her way to the check out. Now that she knew that there were no Anti-Secs around, she didn't have much to be worried about, so she really didn't mind whether or not he went along with her. It would be nice, though, to have another caster accompany her somewhere. Maybe she could convince him to teach her a thing or two.

"Have a great day!" Once Lily was checked out, she picked up her plastic bags filled with the groceries (which would probably come in handy if any Anti-Secs decided to pop out) and looked back, checking to see if the man would be helping her out with a walk home.
 
Olivia could only hope that was the case right now because Quinn didn't even ask about payment before seeming to take the case. It would seem a little unfair if she took it without at least saying how much she was going to charge, even if they did go looking for her.

-----

Quinn was allowed into the room a minute after Dominic had been shoved into the room. The cameras were off, it was just the two of them. Inside the attorney shut the door, rolled her eyes at the guards, and then turned to face her new client. This was the first time she'd seen Dominic in person and she took a second to assess the dwarf: fear and anger were the first two things she noticed. He was not the first Sec, let alone the first dwarf, that she'd worked with whose dominant emotions were fear and anger, usually followed by distrust.

"Dominic Kingston." She took the seat across from the dwarf, "I'll get straight to the point. My name is Quinn Reid, I'm an attorney and I work with Secs and humans alike, and I'm here at the request of your friends Matt Baker and Olivia Moore. You don't have to like me, you don't even have to trust me, yet," the trust would be necessary if she was truly going to help his case and it would have to be mutual, "but I am here to help you."
 
Dominic looked up as a woman entered the room, eyes narrowing suspiciously. He knew he was going to get a lawyer, it was still technically his right, but the Sec attorneys appointed by the state were a joke. He had heard most didn't even meet with their clients before court. So he didn't exactly jump to trust the mundane woman sitting in front of him to be much good at all, even if she did speak to him like a real person, rather than 'just' a Sec. But when Quinn mentioned Matt and Olivia, he did a double take. "Matt and Olivia hired you?" he asked, clearly confused. "They don't have the money for a private attorney, neither do I." Why any mundane would take a Sec case pro bono was beyond him. Something wasn't adding up.

It didn't matter. If Quinn was setting him up, some sort of plot to get incriminating testimony out of him, so be it. The American judicial system was nothing more than a kangaroo court anyway. "Well, I don't know much about the legal system of our great nation," he started sarcastically, "but I'm pretty sure it's gotta be some sort of illegal for a cop to throw me to the ground and pin me there during an interrogation. Even if I am a Secondary Citizen. They never treated the cut he gave me on the back my head, and I'd bet money it could have used stitches." He leveled a cool stare at Quinn. "That's how I was treated by the last mundane 'sympathizer' I had contact with. So yeah, forgive me if I'm not throwing myself at your feet with gratitude. When shit hits the fan, you'll side with your own kind and throw me to the dogs like everyone else."
 
"Well, not hired exactly," Quinn winced, "Most of my Sec cases are pro bono as generally they can't afford to hire a proper attorney. State appointed attorneys are a joke and they usually don't give a shit. Anyway, Matt is an acquaintance and a good guy. I trust his judgement and he thinks you're worth helping." Quinn was of the same opinion but she wasn't here to endear her client to her, just explain why she was here.

There was more anger there than Quinn had anticipated, but it was nothing new. Secs were often angry folks, rightfully so. "Excuse me, Mr. Kingston, but I am not here to offer you sympathy nor did I ask, or expect, any gratitude. I might support your cause, but I don't think sympathizer is the right descriptive. At any rate, I am here to do my job and currently my job is to be your advocate. Shit has already begun to hit the fan, Mr. Kingston, as you'll soon find out. As I said previously, I'm not asking you to like me, just let me work. It's completely your choice: you can hire me as your lawyer and start telling me about what happened, beginning at the riot, or you can take your chances with a state attorney who you will likely only meet at your court appearance." Quinn took a card out of her briefcase and placed it on the table. "If you're not sure about making a decision right now, that's fair. You're not a trusting person and your situation is an ugly one. Feel free to think on it, but let me tell you this. I want to help your cause, whether you believe me or not, but I'm not going to force my services upon you. If you decide that you need to take some time, I have two Sec client's in this jail as we speak. You can get their opinion of me as they have seen me work."

She stood, prepared to leave if that's what the dwarf asked. Helping Sec's was always difficult as many of them had this attitude that she is only there to make their problems worse. She has to let him make the decision.
 
"No... stay." Dominic spoke down to the table, not up to Quinn. He didn't trust her, not really, but it hit him as she stood to leave that he didn't really have anyone else in his corner. If he wanted any chance of getting out of this mess, he had to work with her. "I guess I'm not exactly in a spot to be picky about people willing to help me." He tried to smile but couldn't make it happen.

"Do you really think there's a chance?" he asked, looking up to the lawyer. "I mean, I imagine this has been all over the news. And they've been looking to pin me with something for years now. I have a lot of minor infractions stacked up, curfew breaches, overnight lockups, that sort of thing. Now they can really pin me with something concrete, they're gonna slam me."
 
Letting out a breath, Quinn sat. She wanted this case, for a lot of reasons and so she was grateful that Dominic hadn't told her where to stick it. Not that she could blame him. Now that they had a bit of an understanding, Quinn was all business. "It won't be easy, I'll admit especially with your bit of a record, but it's doable. The main goal right now is to get you probation. I won't presume to know your bank accounts but experience tells me you won't have bail covered, which is a good thing. We can argue bail if it's too high. You're not a flight risk and if we can get someone to vouch responsibility for you, probation is likely. If not, I know a bondsmen who is willing to foot the bill, it's the paying him back part that will take some time but he's decent enough and he might be willing to work with you."

She paused, giving Dominic a chance to take in everything she said. "You're case is far from hopeless and I've done miracles with hopeless cases." It was stated as a fact, not an attempt to brag. "I'll meet with my bail friend to get something set up if worse comes to worse, but if all goes according to plan we're looking at getting you out of jail before the end of the week... I imagine if the case gets put in front of the right judge we can have your first hearing tomorrow morning. The fight isn't over then, but at least you're not stuck behind bars. It looks to me like your friends out there could use you." Another pause. "I need to know everything that's happened from the moments leading up to your arrest until I walked in that door."
 
Dominic nodded slowly as he took the information in. He didn't know how seriously to believe it, but Quinn sounded like she knew what she was doing, and she seemed like she was genuinely invested in the job. If she couldn't get him out of it, at least she knew what she was doing. It was a shot he was willing to take.

"I was at the rally," he began, sighing and adjusting his position in the chair as best as the cuffs would allow. "It was a peaceful protest, so we were checking people for weapons as they came in. The police showed up, they already had guns drawn, they were shoving our people around. I tried to ask what was going on, and the cop wouldn't call his people off. He was goading me, trying to get me to react. The police say they didn't want trouble, but they came looking for a fight." His jaw worked. "He called me a mutt."

Hesitating a bit, Dominic continued. "I did throw the first punch," he admitted. "But before the fight could get really ugly, Officer Young pulled us apart. I went back into the crowd to try to break up the riot, but I got pulled into another fight. There was a cop kicking this woman on the ground, I couldn't not help. But when someone helped her up, she dropped a knife, she must have snuck it in somehow. I picked it up, b-but I didn't use it. I told the group to stand down. That's when I was arrested.

"They've kept me in this place ever since, in a holding cell. I haven't seen anyone outside law enforcement, not even the others who were arrested. I didn't even know everyone from the rally was alright until Young started questioning me."

Dominic's face hardened again. "Young wanted to get me to sell out Sec resistance groups, he said he would be able to get me out of this mess without much more than a slap on the wrist if I did. When I refused is when he assaulted me. I know they film the interrogation sessions, but I suppose they're letting it slide because he's a full citizen. Can get away with just about anything if you hold the right cards." The last part was muttered under his breath.
 
Lloyd's eyebrows raised in surprise at what the girl said. It didn't 'bug' him, per se, but he didn't want to open the paper the next day and see her face in it with the sort of pathetic news coverage that a Sec death would usually get. If the governments really had their way, Sec deaths wouldn't even be considered for a tiny section of a page. Once she said the last part, he felt a lot more obliged to do it. After all, you never do know.

He rushed to finish the rest of the shopping then went to the check out. The other caster was just finishing up her own things when he got there. "Hold on. I'll walk you home," he said, quickly scanning everything. His bargain hunting came out successful; there was a bit of money left over that they could lose for other things. He stuffed the change in his pocket and then went after the other Sec.

He would have offered to take her shopping bags, but despite his height he wasn't really that strong. "Where do you live, then?" He asked. She probably lived with her parents; she was definitely too young tohave her own place.
 
Digging out a legal pad and a ball point pen, black if anyone was wondering her ink color preference, and started taking notes. She prodded a few times with questions to expand on certain things and nodded along, writing pretty much everything that Dominic said. "Sometimes the deck is stacked against you," she told him in response to people holding the right cards. She checked her watch, "I have to go. If we're going to get you out by tomorrow I have some motions to file. Unfortunately you're going to have to stay here another day."

Quinn began packing up her things telling Dominic, "They might try and bring you back into an interrogation room. The only thing you tell him is 'I want my lawyer present' and nothing else. I understand you are deeply angered, and I don't care what they say to you, what they call to you: your only words should be asking for your lawyer or nothing at all." She was firm, but not entirely unkind. "It will not be easy because a lot of these guys are really good at goading."

A cloud passed over her face for a moment before returning to the here and now. "I am giving you this advice for the benefit of your case." Out came her smart phone and this was the first time she seemed uncomfortable since walking into the room. "I need to take a few pictures of you; any injuries from the earlier encounter. It will be hard to prove how you looked when you came in, but if anyone touches you from now until tomorrow we'll have proof." It was a bit invasive, but necessary.
 
Dominic nodded, pursing his lips as Quinn warned him not to react. "I can do that," he said with a sigh. It would be hard, but Dominic could control himself. He wasn't a total child. The rally had been a lesson he wasn't likely to forget anytime soon. "I don't even know what I've already said, honestly. I may have already messed up without realizing it." Now that he actually had a lawyer and stood a fighting chance, the idea worried him a lot more than it had before, when he'd been sure he was going to prison.

Dominic frowned slightly at the comment about pictures, but he recognized the necessity. "Do what you have to do," he conceded. "Uh... how much do you need pictures of?" He would take any advice given to him, but he preferred to keep as much of his dignity intact as possible.
 
"I should be getting the tape of your interview this afternoon, so I'll see what you've said. If you said something incriminating, it doesn't make you a lost cause. As for the pictures," she considered, "Torso, arms, face--front and profiles." Police brutality was unlikely to be toward the legs so she'd leave it at that for now. "The altercation with Officer Young, did it leave a bruise?" She could maybe get a doctor to look him over and determine when the injury occurred.

It was unlikely that they would be needing expert witnesses at this stage, but Quinn was always a forward thinker and a planner. She wasn't worried about the officer's career; messing around with a Sec in custody got you maybe a couple days suspension, if that. The problem was she didn't think she could get Harrison to admit what happened. He's an experienced officer and he's generally, in her experience, been sympathetic. Whatever happened between him and Dominic, he isn't going to be proud of like a majority on the force would be.

Taking the photos, Quinn was very clinical and allowed Dominic much of his dignity as she could while having him remove his shirt, making it as quick as possible, too. "Let's just hope we don't need these." She told him.

Provided he had no further questions, she exited the meeting room and went back to the front of the precinct, oddly surprised to see Matt and Olivia still there.
 
"Yeah, a bruise on my stomach from his boot, and then the cut on my head from when I hit it on the floor." Dominic let her see. Without proper mirrors, he hadn't really been able to get a gauge on how bad it was. He knew head wounds always bled a lot, but he had definitely still been able to feel the gash in the skin, and he guessed it might have been worth it to get stitches. Now, though, there was really no point, not when the wound had already been open so long.

"Thank you, Ms. Reid," Dominic said before she left the room. The words felt a little awkward in his mouth, he wasn't used to being grateful towards a mundane, but they were needed. He didn't know why Quinn was taking his case, but he did know that his chances were looking far better with her in his corner. Maybe he actually stood a fighting chance here after all.

---

Matt stood from the bench in the hall as Quinn came back out. "How is he? What do you think about the case? Is there anything you can do?" He hated feeling so helpless, but politics was his arena, not law. Quinn had always been difficult to read, and now more than ever, it frustrated him to no end.
 
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