Game of Riches (ONC)

The trial.

The day of the trial rolled around and my father left with a worried look and a kiss to my forehead. Just because everything was falling apart in my world, did not mean he got time off. I waited until the front door clicked shut and then I pushed out of bed and padded down the hall. This house was new. He'd moved in the time I'd been in space. Maybe the old house held to many painful memories. The pictures still remained of us smiling, together, all those years ago. The first day here, I'd picked one up of my mother and me and stared at it until my father came home and gently tugged it away. He never pushed. He knew I needed time.

Today, that time was over. It had to be. There had to be some way to prove that Evan was innocent in the eyes of the law. I stepped into the kitchen and open the draw under the kitchen sink, stuck my hand to the back and pulled out the gun my father had stashed there. He'd told me it was there, for just in case. He knew I wouldn't use it if I didn't have to.

It was heavy in my hand and I check for bullets before pushing it into my hand bag and stepping out into the busy street. There was one person I had to visit today. The last person who might have the answers I needed. The questions had been eating away at me for the last few weeks. He had been there from the start. There had to be something to that.

My father had informed me that he'd been set up in a small prison facility. It wasn't much of a prison though. They'd tried to keep my promise to him as much as possible. When I walked in, there were two guards at the door and that was it. They took a moment to look at my face and then waved me past, satisfied with the knowledge that I was my father's daughter.

I found Danyon sitting in a chair, book in hand, next to a window looking out on a small courtyard. When I sat down opposite him, he turned to see who it was. His eyes widened with recognition and he flipped the book over and rested it on his lap.

"Ah, Cora. It's so good to see you." He said and I nodded.

"I didn't know you read."

He laughed. "There's a lot of things you don't know about me." That's what I feared. Who was the man I'd placed my trust in. His hair was growing back in, not much longer than a finger's width. He was still in a prison uniform - a dull, grey tracksuit. "What brings you here?"

"It's Evan's trial today." I fiddled in my bag, covertly turning on the recording device inside, just in case. His eyes followed my hands.

"Yes, I'm sad to hear that. If there's anything I could do, I would." He waved his hands about him. "But it seems I am stuck here."

"Why did you speak to me that day?"

He frowned. "You looked lost."

"But there were a thousand other people there that day. Nobody else took any notice."

He waved his hands about again. "I'm a kind soul." He said as if that was all the answer required. 

"Yes, but why?" My voice rose with frustration. "You owe me."

"I'm still in prison."

"You call this a prison?"

He laughed and looked around. "True." 

I pulled the gun out just a fraction. He'd know what it was. 

"You're going to shoot me in a prison?" He whispered, eyebrows raised. 

"Yes."

"Just my luck you got over it only to shoot me." He muttered.

"Tell me."

He took a deep breath. "You're not going to like this..."

"Tell me." I said firmly.

"Prisoner's don't...I wasn't in any position to refuse him. And neither was the man your boy killed." He grimaced. "He ordered me to get you onto the ship one way or another, or else he would have my head. I didn't put it past him to go through with it."

"The man that attacked Evan's sister, the man he killed, was all to get me to come on the ship."

"We knew you had no means to get off otherwise. So we just set out to make it as unbearable as possible. I wasn't sure which path would work. Which would be the last straw, so to speak." He looked out into the courtyard. "I had no way to know what he was planning. If I had, I might've just let him kill me. Seems he planned to kill me, if indirectly, anyway."

I stared out at the courtyard as well for a moment. It was a peaceful place and I tried to absorb that atmosphere and still the disquiet inside. "Thank you for telling me that." I mumbled as I stood and turned to walk away.

"Good luck, girl." He said after me. "You'll need it."

The jail was considerably less tranquil. 

As I walked inside, the first thing they did was take the gun off me. The lady officer gave me a strange look.

"I'm here to see Evan."

"I know who you are girl. The whole station's heard of your escapades."

I laughed nervously.

"Go on then." She waved her hand and I stepped towards the doors, not sure whether she was being serious. She didn't stop me. Instead, she followed me through and pointed out his cell. This one was considerably less fancy than that on the ship. It had a stock standard gate with a lock, but at least these ones actually had beds. 

Inside Evan was staring at the ceiling. For a moment, I thought he was asleep. Until he turned to look at me. His eyes were full of a bitter rage that hadn't been there when I last saw him. He looked me over then turned back to stare at the ceiling without speaking. That was all the acknowledgement I got.

I glanced back at the woman, searching for some sort of answer for his sudden strange behaviour. She shrugged and stepped a few feet down the hallway.

"Evan?" I said and took another step towards him. I was too afraid to close the gap though.

"About time you showed up."

"What?" I asked and my voice cracked. Pain arced through my chest, but not from a wound. 

He sighed and sat up to look at me. "You're the only person I know here Cora. I haven't seen a friendly face in three weeks."

"Oh...I'm sorry."

"Why are you here now?"

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner." I shuffled my feet. 

He took a couple deep breaths, then shuffled back into the corner and patted the spot next to him. "I'm sorry. I'm not mad at you, I'm just angry in general."

I went to sit by him. "I get that."

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and we sat there together for some time. "Why are you here?" He asked again, but this time softer and more upbeat.

I dug into my bag and pulled out the tap recorder. "I have this. I think it might help." I handed it to him and he pressed the play button. We sat in silence as the whole tape played.

He laughed once it ended and stared at the opposite wall, eyes spaced out. "I can't believe this." 

"It was all one big game to him."

"It was." He muttered. "Hopefully they might take pity on me."

I nodded. "We can only hope now."

I sat with him as long as they would allow. After that, I could only watch the proceedings from the sidelines. The trial lasted many hours and eventually my father came to sit with me and watch. 

"It's good to see you out of the house." He whispered in my ear.

At long last, the judge gave his decree.

"I can't exonerate you completely. You did still commit murder. But on the knowledge of this tape, and under these extraordinary circumstances, I can reduce your sentence to just ten years."

It was bittersweet. But at least it wasn't life.

Words: 1380

Total word count: 18,926