One Step Ahead

Doubt

      "Just answer one question honestly for me, Keith," he said sadly, "I've been turning my brain inside out trying to find an answer, and I just need to know, for my own peace of mind: Was it something I did wrong that turned you into what I see now? Did I fail as a father somehow?"

      "NO!"

      The word fairly exploded from Harris' lips as he strained against his captors, trying to stand. "You were the best dad any kid could've asked for, all we ever wanted to do was to make you proud of us! Why is it so wrong for me to not want other people to have to go through what we did? To try to take some of the pushers and whores off the streets where they can't do any more harm to innocent people?"

      "You mean innocent people like the families who have to grieve for their loved ones that you decided you had the right to kill?" Martin fired back. "Like that poor young girl who had to see the way you left her mother, who was supposed to be your friend? Or the people who will spend the rest of their lives carrying the scars from your car bomb? Or the young lady sitting behind you, who lost her leg, and almost her life, because you felt like you had something to prove? If you truly wanted to protect innocent people from the 'pushers and whores', as you so eloquently call them, all you needed to do was do your job! Or, if that wasn't enough, try to work yourself into a position where you could change the laws, become Governor, or maybe run for Congress. But instead, you decided that you had the right to decide whether they lived or died."

      By this time, tears were trickling down the old man's cheeks, and his voice cracked as he continued. "And you didn't just kill these people, Keith, you tortured them! You savaged them, and then you dumped them like garbage for someone else to find. And since that was hardly necessary to take them off the streets, I can only conclude that you must have enjoyed it, which makes you no better than the ones you hold in such contempt. So tell us, Keith, how does it feel to know that you've become the thing you claim to despise the most?"

      Keith Harris went still, his expression one of shock and despair as the only father he had ever known once again turned away from him, wheeling himself back to join Lee and Tyler, both of whom were openly weeping. He offered no further resistance as the officers wrestled his bulk up from the table and hustled him back through the door which led to the prisoner transport exit. 

      Judge Pearce, who had been pounding his gavel on the bench for several minutes in a futile attempt to restore order to the room, finally managed to regain everyone's attention by placing two fingers in his mouth and emitting a sharp, piercing whistle. "All right, everyone quiet!" he shouted. "Order in the court!" Once everyone was giving him their full attention, he gazed out over the room, shaking his head in exasperation. "All right, everyone, given the unexpected turn of events that has taken place, we obviously can't continue with the proceedings, so I'm dismissing everyone until nine AM tomorrow morning. Court is adjourned."

      The reporters were the first ones out of the room, virtually stampeding through the doors in hopes that they would be the first to bring the news to the waiting public. Everyone else filed out more slowly, still rather stunned by what had occurred. Briar, Ashley, Wiley, and Cody were among the last to leave, and as they made their way to the parking garage, Ashley said, "I'd be just about willing to bet that things end up getting put off longer than just tomorrow, because I'm pretty certain that he's gonna have to find a new lawyer after this."

      Briar rolled her eyes at his words and snorted, "Babe, once the media gets wind of this, that'll prolly require an act of God to accomplish. I doubt that any attorney in their right mind would touch him with a bargepole after what happened to Hardesty in there. Granted, the woman's a sleazy, obnoxious harpy, but even she didn't deserve that."