The Oval Office ✓ (Book One)

Chapter Sixty Two

  James clears his throat, looks at the opening script his lawyer's written for him, and crumples it up, earning a side eye and a "the fuck are you doing" look.

  "I stand here before.. all of you today knowing that I am one hundred percent guilty of every accused charge. " there are whispers amongst members of Congress. "I know that there is nothing I can say or do now to take away from the fact that I kidnapped the First Lady of the United States."

  He pauses for a second. "But Lauren, I had the privilege of calling you my friend for three years- and I want every single person in this room, and in the world to know that what I did kills me every single day. I know that I'll never be able to take it back; that what happened to you wouldn't have happened without my involvement. I know that... I don't deserve to be alive."

  Don't feel bad for him don't feel bad for him don't feel bad for him- godamnit fuck my empathetic tendencies.

  "But I do have one request." He says. I can hear one of the camera's zooming in on his face. "... though I understand that I don't even deserve that. While I may be guilty and a traitor, need I remind the judge that the death penalty has not been used in years. Ma'm, I hope that you will find it in yourself to follow the precedence that those judges set, even with the matter at hand being unprecedented." He sits down, having said what he needed to say.

  I take a deep breath, realizing I've forgotten to breath at all the past two minutes. Well fuck. I have the upper hand here. I could add " and as a victim, I request that the death penalty not be used" to my opening statement. Then again, when he had the upper hand, he chose not to use it to tell the terrorists group to kindly fuck off.

  "But he's saved your life more times than he's risked it." I wrestle with myself. I wish I still had it in me to be a good person, but when I'm asked to read my statement, I say it word for word.

  Now we're even.

  Now the courts get to decide his fate.

—-

There's been a one hour recess while the jury is supposed to be deciding whether or not he's guilty, though we all know he is. That's not even a debate. I imagine them sitting around with their lunches, playing among us or BitLife.

Our team's now in a room on the top floor, some eating- some patiently waiting. Kyle and I sit in silence on one of the couches, my hands shaking. Joe's tapping his foot, his fist pressed to his mouth. Ella's watching her work phone like a hawk, her finger positioned over it. So when it rings- a call from a fellow agent that it's time to return to the courtroom, we jump up.

  I know what to expect. There are only two ways this can end for him, after all. I feel my heart beating faster and faster the closer we get, even more as everybody else begins to get seated again. When the judge brings down her gavel, it threatens to jump out of my chest. My breath completely stops for a second even with Kyle's hand on mine. What happens today will set a precedent for decades to come.

  "What is the jury's verdict?" The judge says, tired like everybody else in this room because we know what the fuck it's going to be. It's the judge's sentence that's making my heart do this again.

  A member of the jury stands up, reading off of some notes app on her iPad. "We the jury find... James.." The ringing in my ears becomes so loud that I barely hear the rest of her sentence, and my arms begin shaking too. "With all charges occurring in the past three years, guilty on two counts of high treason. Guilty on one count of treason. Guilty on a hundred and seventy two counts of first degree assault and battery. Guilty on forty nine counts of first degree murder. Guilty on one count of kidnapping. Guilty on one count of conspiracy to kidnap the First Lady."  The juror sits back down.

    "Well shit." The judge takes a sip of water. "Do you have a final statement to make?"

  "No Ma'm." James shakes his head. For the first time ever, he looks scared. This is the first time I've even seen a hint of fear in his eyes. It wasn't there whilst he was taking multiple bullets for me- when I shot him, or when he learned that him pushing me caused me to lose my baby. That time, there was just overwhelming guilt in his eyes.

  "Alright then-" the judge pushes herself up, looking straight at him. "The crimes you have committed are well past the threshold for the death penalty."

  The entire courtroom stops breathing at one time, even the secret service agents who are just as invested in the tea as the ones watching at home. Half of them are hoping he dies, the other half- like me, insisting that no matter the crimes,the government doesn't have the right to kill people.

  "However-" James looks back up, his eyes previously looking down. I realize now that he was praying. Now that's a sight. "I must consider the fact  that our First Lady may not have made it out alive if it weren't for your actions towards the end of her capture. I'm reminded of the 'life for a life' figure of speech now."

  I grip the table, my anxiety starting to get the better of me as my entire body starts shaking. Kyle holds on to me, a look in his eyes that says "godamnit just say it and get it over with so we can leave."

  "And so- James, I sentence you to life in an undisclosed location... maximum security prison."