Secondary

She'd meant it when she said that she wasn't asking or expecting gratitude, but it was nice to hear all the same. Quinn paused at the door, "You're welcome, Mr. Kingston. I'll be seeing you tomorrow." She hoped that they wouldn't be injuring him further but the shots she had--the head wound particularly--were nasty enough to prove something had happened during that interrogation.

----

Olivia stood when Matt did, relieved to be stretching her back. She'd sat rigid and unmoving since her and the politician had claimed the bench. It had been hard to avoid eye contact with all of the officers and the pair had received a lot of dirty looks. Quinn looked a bit surprised to see them waiting there, but her face was quickly unreadable a second later. Quinn was their only hope at this point, but Olivia was unsure what to make of this lawyer. "The case is doable; definitely not the worst that I've seen." She averted her eyes, "Mr. Kingston is a little roughed up but he's as good as he can be, considering." The lawyer looked between the two Secs, "The goal is to get him out, hopefully tomorrow. I've got a lot of paperwork to do to get started, though."

It was going to be a long night for Quinn; she had her own office and paid a part time secretary, but that was all she had for staff. She received a lot of threats for the work she did and couldn't keep an associate for very long, having trouble hiring them to begin with. There were motions to be filed meaning she had a lot of work to put in, not that she would share this with either of them.
 
"Thank you," Matt said sincerely, visibly relaxing as Quinn gave her assessment. If she thought she could handle Dominic's case, he believed it. The comment about Dominic being roughed up unsettled him a little, but he decided he didn't really want to know the full story. Something told him it would only piss him off, and he couldn't afford to lose his cool. "We really appreciate it. Let us know if there's anything we can do to help." He shook her hand firmly.

---

Dominic didn't resist as he was led back to his cell. He allowed his hands to be cuffed and uncuffed again, not even reacting to the whispered taunts of the guard. If he had a chance at freedom, he would not blow it for the satisfaction of talking back. One more day. He could handle that.
 
"I'll be sure to do so. Good seeing you again, Matt. If I get word back about this hearing I'll get in touch; I'm assuming you'll want to be there." With that Quinn nodded to them both and then headed for the door. It seemed curt and a little rude but she didn't have time for niceties. Olivia looked after the lawyer and then back at Matt, "What did she mean, roughed up?"
 
Matt looked uncomfortable. "If he ticked off the wrong officer... people aren't exactly strict about police brutality laws towards Secs. And Dominic isn't the best with tact. If Quinn isn't worried, it probably isn't serious, but Dominic probably earned himself a bit of a beat down, and there isn't much we can do about it."
 
"Right." That made sense. "I wonder if there's anything she can do in regards to the relocations, though I guess getting Dominic out is our first priority..." She wondered if she should be spreading the message about him being in jail and how he's been "roughed up". People were always sharing things on Facebook. "What do we do now?"
 
Matt sighed and rubbed his temples. "I... I have no idea," he admitted. "We have to trust Quinn. At this point, that's all we can do. If anyone can help Dominic, it's her." He wished he had something better to tell her. "She'll do her best to help him, we have to strategize about the relocation. I don't think we're going to be able to get any real traction for resistance without Dominic. And with the new unlawful assembly act..." he hesitated, hating what he was about to say. "Would it be better if we actually went along with the move? At least then we could gather together without breaking the freakin' law."
 
Olivia considered and then her face lit up, "Actually... I mean, yes we should still try and keep our homes but everyone knows the effort will result in them being moved, but think about it this way. Essentially... they're gathering all of us in one place. It would be way easier to spread information and gather forces this way." The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. "Yes, all we need to do is be able to get into contact with one Sec from each of the communities in Boston, maybe each of the communities in the state and they can spread the information to the Sec's in their neighborhoods."

It was better than putting all of their plans out their on the Internet. "Matt, you're a genius."

....

Sometime in the evening Dominic will get a message that he is to appear in court at 9:15am. A police will escort him and he will meet his attorney there.
 
Matt grinned as Olivia expanded on his comment and he realized where she was taking it. "I mean, I try. I've got some pretty brilliant friends, too, I might say." This really could work to their advantage. It didn't have to be a bad thing. They would protest peacefully as they were relocated, but once the government had gethered them all in one place, they could fight back even stronger. He still didn't have any long term plans for major change, the situation was still bleak, but it wasn't as hopeless as he had initially thought. There was an upside to the relocation after all. He had to stay positive through this. He couldn't allow himself to fall into Dominic's thinking patterns. The Secs could never win a full out war, not with their numbers. They had to work within the system to get the change they needed. Other groups had done it, and they would, too, so long as they all kept their heads.
 
Quinn went straight to her office and began prepping for Dominic's trial. All of the necessary preparation and paperwork had already been prepared for her other clients so she was able to focus solely on Dominic's hearing. She got the motions filed just in time and passed off to the right clerk who, with a hefty donation, would make sure that the case ended up before the right judge.

Judge Noose had the highest rate of deciding in favor of Sec's rather than against. It's not that he's partial to Secs, he's just a fair guy who applies the law as it should be, regardless of a person's differences. Quinn liked the judge and tried to get before him when she could. Dominic arrived to the court house in cuffs that were removed as he crossed the threshold. A court officer escorted Quinn and her client to the courtroom. "I would have had a suit brought for you, but it's better for him to see you like this."

Wearing the same clothes he was arrested in. She did offer him a comb so it they looked like they were making an effort. Quinn was pleased with the result. The state prosecutor was already bored; this wasn't a high profile case so he hadn't had a chance to look at it until that morning. Quinn made her motion for probation in lieu of bail and the prosecution objected. Quinn adamantly explained that her client couldn't possibly afford the bail for such a charge, regardless of how minor. "Minor, he assaulted a police officer." Judge Noose looked at Quinn sternly and she nodded.

"Yessir, he did. I have a therapist ready to meet with him biweekly to work on anger management so that the taunts and belittling of our fine officers won't lead to more violence." The prosecution glared.

"Mr. Kingston is not a flight risk; he has friends and a life in this city as well as a home and a job. He has friends willing to vouch for him staying in the city." Olivia and Matt were seated at the back of the room, prepared to speak.

"Your honor, Ms. Reid's client--"

"Mr. Kingston," Interrupted Dominic's lawyer.

"Mr. Kingston assaulted an officer who was on duty."

"Your honor, Mr. Kingston is unsafe in that jail. It is not Sec friendly. Already he has been injured and assaulted. I have photo evidence of the injuries and a doctor willing to examine Dominic to tell me when the bruising and gash in his head occurred." She motioned to Dominic to stand beside her and turn so that the judge could see the dried blood. "He has not received medical attention for this head wound, or any other injury, and it is likely to occur again. Nor has he been given the means to at least clean himself." Whether or not he had, Dominic had been instructed not to clean himself for before his hearing.

"Six month's probation--"

The prosecution interrupted, "Your honor..."

"Six months probation," reiterated the judge, irritably. "If he leaves the state, let alone the city, a warrant will be issued for his arrest and he will be unable to make bail. Ms. Reid come to my chambers this afternoon to discuss probation requirements." The gavel banged. "Dismissed." There were other preliminary hearings to be held and she did not waste time in ushering her client out of the court house. Luckily the prosecutor had to stay behind.

"Probation usually requires you meeting with a PO once or twice a month. No drugs, no alcohol, and you're not allowed access to a weapon. A PO will be by to inspect your place of living," her face darkened, "Though I'm sure you'll be moving. Any alcohol, weapons, or drugs-though you don't seem the type-you might have, I would suggest getting rid of it."
 
Dominic couldn't quite believe what had happened as he was swept out of the courtroom in a sudden rush of activity. Two days ago he had been certain he was going to jail for years, maybe more. He wasn't sure what the odds had been of Quinn actually succeeding, but he knew they hadn't been the kind he would bet on. The meetings with the PO and the therapist, the therapist especially, were a bit of an insult, but one he was gladly willing to take in lieu of the alternative. He would jump through any number of ridiculous hoops so long as they were effectively harmless. The only major problem he now faced was the relocation. Dominic couldn't very well resist the move as he had planned to when his every action was being monitored for signs of deviance. He would talk with Olivia later, he supposed. He owed her and Matt one hell of an apology anyway, as well as one hell of a thanks.

Speaking of thanks. Dominic turned to Quinn, listening seriously as she gave him instruction on the coming weeks. He kept his face perfectly impassive when she mentioned weapons. It was already illegal for him to own a gun, he didn't have a permit. Now it was simply even more important he wasn't caught. Part of him felt a little guilty, jeopardizing Quinn's hard work, Olivia and Matt's trust vouching for him. But the resistance was bigger than him, bigger than any of them. Dominic's spellcasting ability was actually quite weak, nothing he could use to defend himself. He needed some sort of weapon on hand, with the world changing as fast as it was.

"I understand," he said, nodding and sticking out his hand. "Thank you again, Ms. Reid. I truly appreciate all your work with my case, and I'm sure there was even more behind the scenes I didn't see." He looked up to see Matt and Olivia fighting their way over through the crowd. "I got pretty damn lucky, and you're pretty damn good." He hadn't been entirely sure if he could trust Quinn, but he was sure glad he had.

---

Matt sat tense through the trial, hands tucked tightly by his sides. They had gotten a good judge, he knew from a bit of digging, and Quinn knew what she was doing, but still. He couldn't get himself to relax past keeping his leg from bouncing up and down.

When the court was dismissed, Matt let out a sharp laugh of relief and disbelief. He turned to Olivia, a broad grin on his face. "She did it! I told you she was the best!" He stood, grabbing his bag. "Come on, let's get ahead of the crowd and get over there."
 
The difference between Quinn and most sympathizers is that the latter are still, mostly, afraid of the Secs. They see a Sec and they shy away, they limit their contact. It's not even intentional, but most Secs recognize the sudden flinching behind the eyes, the way they hesitate to make physical contact. For the lawyer there was nothing in the eyes, nothing in her body language that the idea of shaking hands with a dwarf was uncomfortable. Dominic stuck out his hand and she took it in hers, using the same firm handshake she'd been taught to do as a kid.

"Just stay under the radar for the next six months, hmm?" She looked up seeing Olivia and Matt heading over.

Olivia was stunned. She'd never actually sat in a court room before and being more Elf than anything else, she didn't exactly blend with those sitting in the benches. It took the girl a second to realize that Dominic was going to be free. Blinking in surprise she hurried to follow Matt out of the courtroom and into the hall.

Everything she knew about the justice system in regards to Secs had told her that even with the best legal help, Dominic didn't have much help on his side. She was still angry at the dwarf, but at the moment she was euphoric. She wanted to hug him, and Ms. Reid, and Matt. She wanted to hug everyone. Instead, she kept her arms tight at her sides and smiled. "He lives," she joked with Dominic instead, the second they were within earshot.
 
At Olivia's comment, Dominic managed a smile, but it was weaker than before. "Something like that," he chuckled uncomfortably, going to rub the back of his head but wincing as he forgot about the lump there. "I'll feel more alive once I get a decent shower and change my underwear."

He hesitated, unsure how to continue. "Um... Ms. Reid told me you were the ones who got her on my case." He looked from Olivia to Matt, making sure his sincerity was felt. "Thank you both. I- I know I screwed up, I screwed up bad. I never meant- I hadn't been planning- I mean..." All his usual charisma was failing him. It had always been hard for Dominic to swallow his pride, and he found the whole thing even worse in front of Olivia and Matt, the closest people he had to actual friends. They could have left him out to dry after what he'd done, and he wouldn't have blamed them. Looking down to his feet and then up again, Dominic found his words. "I jeopardized the protest and our whole movement by not keeping my cool, I realize that. I know you don't have reason to trust me, and that's not what I'm asking. I'll step back some, let you set the pace while doing what I can to keep people behind us. It isn't the time or the place for a war. If we pick a fight now, we are not going to win."

While Dominic truly meant his apology and everything he said with it, the admission was difficult. Though the riot had shown him clearly that open rebellion was not -as of the moment- a feasible solution, he still wanted nothing more than to take that which was rightfully theirs. He would have to be patient. The moment would come, he was sure, but until it did, he would watch and wait and allow Olivia to try things her way.

Matt listened quietly, looking sideways to gauge Olivia's reaction. He believed Dominic was sincere, though he privately wondered how long the hot-headed rebel's resolve would truly last. It didn't hurt to have cautious hope, he supposed. "Is that an actual apology, from Dominic Kingston?" he teased, the familiar banter assuring Dominic that the situation was at least forgiven. "I never thought I'd see the day."

Dominic colored slightly but to his credit, held Matt's gaze. "It is. I'm sorry for my actions at the rally and all the trouble they caused. I'm only glad no one was seriously injured." To Olivia, he gave a slight nod. "It was a good thing someone was there to take charge of the situation and get it back on track."
 
Quietly Quinn slipped away. Her work was done. Dominic had her card and Matt had her number if either of them needed something. She had other clients to help, at the moment and she allowed the little trio their moment.

Olivia hadn't known Dominic long but she knew him to prideful and, occasionally, arrogant. It was... good for him to admit his mistake and she nodded. As much as she wanted to stay angry, there was nothing more she could say that he didn't already know. "We're just glad you're safe," she admitted, the worry in her eyes still evident. "If it weren't for Quinn I don't think we would have ever even found out where you were." She sighed and looked around at other families and friends talking quietly in the halls. "Let's head outside." She started to lead the way. "Lunch maybe? We have a lot to talk about."

Dominic would be unable to resist his relocation. He couldn't risk it with the probation, but as they sat at an IHOP (employee discount) and Matt and Dominic covered what they'd decided upon in regards to the relocation, she hoped that he would be on board. It wasn't an ideal situation, but they could make the most of it.
 
It wasn't like Lily hadn't made the trip from the covenant home to the grocery store on her own multiple times before without any scuffles, but even so, she felt a bit relieved when he called after her. She waited for him before walking out of the grocery store and off into the direction they'd come from.

She inwardly cringed when he asked where she lived and continued down the street, "uh, I live at the covenant house a few blocks away." She left it at that, swinging her groceries back and forth in an effort to make things seem less awkward. "If you don't mind me asking, how far away do you live? I'd feel kind of bad if I were taking you in the complete opposite direction."

She took a turn back down into the alleyway that she'd noticed him from, though this time it was less empty. There were a couple men near the entrance, but she thought nothing of it as she walked through it with the other caster by her side.

"It's sort of weird we've come all this way without knowing each others names, isn't it? I'm Lily."
 
Lloyd walked by the busy haired girl's side. For a moment, he considered the idea that maybe she was leading him to some mugging place, but he knew that area like the back of his hand. He'd know if she was leading him anywhere shady. He quirked an eyebrow. He knew where the covenant house was, but that had meant that this girl had probably also been kicked out by her parents. Or they'd been killed. He didn't risk asking.

"No, I live just a block down from the house, actually," he said, shifting his grip on the shopping bags in his hands. "It's no problem."
He chuckled a little. "Yeah, that is pretty weird," he commented, carefully watching a shady looking figure that passed them. If they had bad intent, they didn't try it. "Lloyd." If she was only going to give her first name, that's all he was going to give too.

"Are the covenant houses as bad as they used to be?" He asked. "I lived in one a few streets over when I was fourteen or fifteen," his face turned sour. "The food was bad and the people were worse. The normal kids there would bully us, even though there were more of us Secs," he said. He chuckled a little, face full of mischief. "Me and three of my friends stole some stuff and ran away."
 
Lily noticed Lloyd's silence after she mentioned the covenant house. She knew he wanted to ask why, the curious nature of humans (mundane and sec) was to. He didn't though, and Lily appreciated that. She was never quite sure what to say since it was pretty weird to say something, anything, along the lines of: oh, yeah, my parents tried to exorcise me various times because they thought I was possessed and then kicked me out when they realized that they couldn't get it out of me.

She nodded up at him when he mentioned living near the covenant house, as well as when he told her his name. Lloyd. Wasn't really a common name, but that was cool. She'd always felt sort of disappointed that her name was Lily. It was boring and common and also made her sound about 80 years older than she really was.

"The covenant houses are still horrible. This one is one of the better ones, but I wouldn't say I'm lucky to be here," she snorted, but perked up a little bit. She wouldn't have thought that he had been in a covenant house. "The food's okay when they let you make your own stuff, but normally they just give us all the same ol' slop. It's not the kids you have you worry about anymore, the staff are the ones you need to keep an eye out for. They'll use any excuse just to beat on a Sec kid." If Lily had anyone in the house, she would've peaced out with them long ago.

They were approaching the house, but before they got too close Lily stopped. "Can't let you come too close," she sniggered, "they probably wouldn't be too happy with that. But thank you for walking me back." She grinned at him and then made her way to the door, stopping momentarily to give him a wave. "See ya around."
 
Lloyd sighed and shook his head. "I'm not sure what I was expecting," he muttered at her description of the covenant house. The only good part about his old house had been the food; the chef knew what he was doing, and that was the only reason Lloyd and his friends stayed for as long as they did, out of fear that if they left they'd never taste a good lasagna again. The chef got fired for feeding the Sec kids extra and for being an unregistered caster himself and once that happened, the four boys were gone. "Get yourself some friends and run off. Or if they don't know your birthday, just fake you've turned eighteen."

He let out a noiset hat was half-laugh, half-scoff. "I'm going past to get back to my apartment, anyway. Can't tell me off if I'm just walking past," he said, tone teasing. He did just that, not stopping until he was sure no one inside - Sec or non-Sec - would see him 'loitering'. "Bye," he said casually. He was going to just turn around and walk away, but paused. Would kids in a covenant home try to resist relocation? The police would just beat them to a pulp. His face screwed up in thought, and he decided to say it. He rushed forward a few steps so that he could speak quietly. "If you're hearing about this whole thing with resisting the relocation," he said, "don't do it. It's way too dangerous." He was very aware of his burning hypocrisy, but didn't let it show.

"Bye now. For real." He chuckled a little as he turned away and walked back to his apartment. Once he was in, he packed away the groceries and left the money he hadn't spent in Liam's room. The painkillers were starting to wear off and his legs and back were really feeling it. He was ready to go and take a nap in the hopes of sleeping it off, when he heard something come through the letterbox in the door. He groaned - whatever it was, he couldn't bothered with it - but went to the door anyway. It was a letter addressed to the entire household, rather than just one specifically. Lloyd trudged to the couch and lay down to open it.

His eyes widened at the contents. Written on plain paper, printed in dark ink, was the date they were set to be uprooted, and chuckled into a grisly animal pen. Lloyd scowled at the date: 30th August. It was pretty soon. There would be some people who wouldn't get their chance to pack, for one reason or another. With the time most Secs had to work just to survive, he wouldn't be surprised. They wouldn't be one of those people, though; they would have plenty of time to pack. They just...wouldn't. If they did, it would just be a tiny bit, just in case they were dragged out. Which, with how much they planned to resist, would probably be what happened.
 
Second notices of the relocation dates were sent out and Olivia noticed that hers was fast approaching. She knew others had already been forced out of their homes and some were still to come. Between her, Matt, and Dominic they had done the best they could to get the word out about the positive side of their relocation, but she still hoped that people would resist.

Her roommate, Sandra, had already moved out. Wanting to prevent the scene that would come she had voluntarily gone, early, to her relocation home. It also happened to be separate from Olivia's and, frankly, the elf was glad.

Two weeks. She had two weeks before her entire life was going to be uprooted.
 
Harrison sighed and rubbed his cheek, the punch from yesterday had bruised. After his promotion to Deputy Commisioner in the city, with the previous commissioner finally retiring two days ago he had quickly set out to help Secondary citizens with their relocation efforts, using his newfound power to gather other likeminded officers and ordinary civilians, trying to promote a message of peace and unity. Unfortunately it hadn't worked out that well.

The Secondaries had, naturally, taken to offence and outrage as they learnt of the move required of them. As they should have. There really wasn't much Harrison could do to defend the city officials this time. It was a mistake. He was sure they thought it for the best, after all they weren't in that position for nothing, but he thought that they needed to spend a bit more time (or any really) among the Secondaries to really understand.

Looking down at his sheaf of paper, he scrolled through the crossed out names until he came to the next one on his list. He and the other volunteers had split up all over the city to cover more ground. He certainly hoped that others were having more luck. Or at least, the few pessimist secondaries that had joined them. Re reading over his list after realising he had zoned out, he looked at the name once more before knocking on the door. Here's hoping this one won't recognise him.

"Hello, I'm here for a Mr. Lloyd Johanson? It's about the secondary relocation."
 
There wasn't any answer to the door for a couple seconds. On the other side, however, Lloyd stared, wishing desperately that they had a peephole. Shit. He backed away from the door. He was the only one in. Two of his flatmates were at work - Robert, who had attended the rally with him, had decided to leave early so that he wasn't caught up in the mess that one of the other flatmates, Liam, wanted to cause.

He had hoped he wouldn't be alone when the time came to leave. But here he was. He huffed a little, looking to the backpack that he had packed in secrecy, so that Liam didn't know about it. He had been furious when Robert had left without telling anyone, only leaving a note. He called him a traitor and all sorts of nasty stuff. Lloyd didn't want to be on the side of that rage when it could be properly taken out.

The caster locked the deadbolt, but opened the door carefully. He peered at the officer on the other side, eyes squinted behind his glasses. "This is me being moved then?" He asked, the deadbolt keeping the door mostly shut. "What happens if I don't come along?" He dared to ask. He was half expecting the officer to crash his door down, now.
 
Back
Top