Life of Lies

Chapter 25-Unspoken Truths

Elizabeth POV

I walked as close as I could get without being seen. I could hear Kade talking to Jack. As much as I would like to see her fall from a 20 story building, I had to listen intently and hold back my thoughts.

"So, the moment of truth." Kade declares to Jack.

Jack stopped pacing to face Kade. Jack clears his throat and replies,

"If I only knew what the truth was."

Kade smiles slightly and says,

"There's nothing wrong with your instincts."

It was then that people from another courtroom walked out and filled the hallway with a loud noise. Soon after, I was trying to get close but was pushed by several people trying to leave the courthouse. My efforts were pointless. It was then that I saw Jack looking in my direction, and I hid behind one of the pillars. My heart was racing. I didn't want for him to see me eavesdropping on his conversation with the spawn of Satan. It was then I decided to walk away quickly and try to head back to where my courtroom was. Unfortunately, I bumped into the last person I wanted to see. It was Hannibal, looking smug as always.

"Elizabeth, you look lost. May I escort you back to the courtroom?" Hannibal asks.

"No, I'm fine. I was trying to find the bathroom and was led in this direction. I can find my way back, thank you." I answer.

As I attempt to walk around Hannibal, I feel a slight tug on my arm. Hannibal was trying to hold me back from walking away.

"We never got to finish our conversation from last time. Maybe, we can finish what we started." Hannibal says to me.

I push Hannibal's hand away and scurry away before I say anything. I know we must be in the same room, but I would feel safer staying seated than wandering around in a courthouse with multiple unoccupied rooms. I finally got back to my room, where the next witness that was called to the stand was Jack. My heart was racing. I felt like my stomach had dropped and was ready to regurgitate. I was almost tempted to faint, but I'm not that dramatic. I saw Jack walk up towards the witness stand and take the oath. I know Jack, and he would never lie on the witness stand. He knows what kind of trouble he would be in. It was then that the prosecutor, Wendy Vega, asks Jack,

"How did you meet Will Graham?"

"I met him at the opening of the Evil Minds Research Museum. He disagreed with what we called it. He told me that the title mythologized banal and cruel men who didn't deserve to be thought of as supervillains."

Jack replied. I chuckled because it was my exact thought when that ridiculous but informative museum opened to the public. Prosecutor Vega continued her questions.

"And what was your first impression?"

Jack then says,

"He was intelligent and arrogant. And very likely on the spectrum-"

"Which is why he wasn't real FBI. He didn't pass the screening procedures." Vega interrupts.

"Yes," Jack answers.

The questions continued.

"But you felt that he was qualified to work in the field."

"Under my supervision," Jack says firmly.

"And you believed that he was valuable because he could think like a killer." Vega smartly hashes.

"He could think like anybody," Jack says in a defensive tone.

Chuckling, Prosecutor Vega says,

"Sounds like a supervillain. Five horrendous murders, over forty different pieces of forensic and physical evidence that tell us that Will Graham can think like a killer because he is one. Rather than feel tormented by the work he did, Will Graham enjoyed the cover his role at the FBI gave him to commit his terrible crimes."

Jack looks down and softly mutters.

"I don't believe that to be true."

"Agent Crawford?" Vega asks.

Jack looks up and says in a loud but firm voice.

"Will hated every second of the work. He hated it. He didn't fake that. He hated it, and I kept making him do it."

"Why then is it that when you offered him an opportunity to quit, he refused?" Vega asks.

Sighing softly, Jack says,

"Because he was saving lives. I had been warned by more than one person that if I pushed Will, I'd break him. I put those checks and balances in place, then ignored them. And here we are."

The audience was quiet. The only audible sound was the sound of Kade Purnell abruptly storming away from the courtroom. She took one last look at Jack and left the room. I was so tempted to follow her and possibly push her down a flight of stairs. She never cared about Will or anyone else. She only cared about her own goddamn agenda. The court was called for a recess, and I sat there as I watched Jack leave the stand. As I was getting up, I saw Hannibal going. My hands were shaking from the anger that I felt against Hannibal and how he knew that Will wasn't ready for this job. I know I'm young and inexperienced, but I know a liar when I see one. This will either end with one of us losing our job or our life.