"Oh?"
All eyes were on Tobias.
They all wanted to know what was going on in his mind as he had been quiet for a while.
"Are we gonna do anything, boss?" It was Mateo who spoke up this time.
"No. We stick with our plan A."
"We have a plan A?" Franco asked.
"Of course we do— it's making it out of here without killing someone." Luis answered and Mateo shook his head.
"It's getting Christopher Davis alone. That's what you get for falling asleep during meetings."
"Let's just go in. Everybody be at alert. Please Varo, no stabbing anyone in the eye." He added and got a nervous chuckle from the man who just dipped his head then left. His men left with him and Clara with only Luca remaining by his side.
"Should I be worried?" Eniola looked quizzically at him and he shook his head.
"No. I've got you. Remember?" He reminded and watching as she wordlessly took his hand.
"I remember. Your hands are almost turning blue." She said distractedly and he laughed.
"You're about to go face to face with Berlusconi and a state attorney and you're worried about my hands?"
"Well you said I should be worried about it. So I'll worry about you instead." She answered, leaving his hands to rummage through her small bag. "Here." They were a pair of plain black gloves.
His heart swelled with appreciation.
"Thank you." He quickly slid the gloves over his wrists, the numb hands quickly welcoming the warmth. "I'll meet you inside." Enny smiled a bit and nodded before heading in with Riccardo and Franco no doubt spewing nonsense in front.
"I want you on a look out for her, Luca." He said once she had left his view. "Focus on nothing else but her surroundings. Varo and the rest will be on Davis and Berlusconi." He instructed and Lucado nodded, leaving him as well.
He stylishly adjusted his legs to ease the slight discomfort the knives in his shoes were giving him. He was never an arms man. He always took blades to a gunfight and as stupid as it sounded, they never failed him.
And he had to be ready in case he had to skewer somebody.
He pushed another concealed spike higher up his sleeve in order to reach into his pocket for his ringing phone. Mana. The caller ID read.
"Becky, Hola." He greeted immediately he answered.
"Izan, where on earth are you? There are like a million courts in this city!" Her odd German-Hispanic accent sounded on the other line
"I told you, Becky. It's the small Magistrate court at the main street." He answered looking around as the disguised media started to make their way into the court room. The trial was almost about to start. "Just ask for directions and you'd be fine." He hung up and walked inside, taking his time to observe the top of the building that Luca had pointed at.
He could easily spot a figure that believed they were hidden. The places they hid in had darker shades compared to the other parts of the roof. Amateurs. He thought.
The court was almost full as he walked in, with the occupants turning to look at him. Seeing the owner of Ferna Buildings was not expecting especially in a simple magistrate court. He was also sure that the arrival of his men had stirred up quite a reaction from the crowd.
He slowly made his way to the front row where Luca had already reserved a seat for him just as the clerk caught his attention.
"Court!" The entire room stood to their feet as the judge, clad in his legal apparel gingerly walked to his podium and took his seat.
Tobias raised a brow.
He studied the man has he sat down as well, the rest of his men following after. The judge, Berlusconi, looked a little too young to be a judge or kingpin of whatever organisation he was suspected to orchestrate. His dark brown eyes and light moustache added to his entire boyish hue.
The judge's gaze lingered on Enny as she stood in what legal practitioners would call the dock.
That was as much as Tobias knew.
"You sure he's up to 30?" Franco voiced out quietly as he watched the young judge sort out documents that were presented to him by the clerk.
Nope. He wanted to add but his eyes wondered to Varo who had put on his reading glasses and was going through the files he too had compiled together. He didn't fail to get the words that the lawyer mouthed to him: Davis just left.
"Clara," he could to the woman sitting beside him. "Do you remember what the Davis looks like?" He asked calmly and she nodded, glancing at Varo for a second.
"He's an African-American and was in police uniform when we saw him." She replied after clearing her throat.
"On the 11th of November, Eniola Josephine Gillian allegedly struck a police officer with a bottle, attempted to resist arrest and went further to strangle a driving officer." The clerk read out.
"Mateo, go find Davis. Take Clara, Riccardo and Franco with you. Go now." He instructed just as the men stood separately and left. It remained him, Luis, Miguel and Luca with Varo who was sitting rather leisurely at the bar.
He looked over to see a man with a bandage wrapped around his head now standing at the witness box and he rolled his eyes. This is going to be good.
"Your honour, I was only doing my job and asked Miss Gillian to freeze which she didn't and I became a victim of the rather unfortunate incident." The man concluded and Tobias realised he had missed the entire pity party speech.
"As you can see, my lord. My client was viciously attacked by that woman for no apparent reason—"
"It was self defence!" Enny interrupted the prosecutor mid-speech.
"Order." The judge called but Eniola shook her head.
"Listen here Judge Judy."
Tobias couldn't help but chuckle alongside with Varo muttering a "That was a great show.".
"That big ass bandage wrapped around his fat head is fucking fake. I didn't even smash the bottle. It was just a light-"
"Gillian?" Varo called from his seat.
"Yeah?"
"Shut up." He said flatly and she just rolled her eyes. The woman was the most stubborn person Tobias knew. Loveable but extremely stubborn.
"Carry on, your majesty." She added with an exaggerated bow.
Tobias silently watched as the prosecutor came up to present evidences supporting the officer's claim and frowned as he brought out a hospital test stating Eniola was sober throughout the entire ordeal.
"Objection!" Varo suddenly called.
"Go on, Barrister Montez." Berlusconi lazily called and Tobias couldn't help but notice how normal the man was. He didn't seem like the money hungry man Paulo had described to them. He rather seemed like a young family man who couldn't wait to get back home to his wife and kids.
"But my lord, I was not done—"
"Sit your ass down, Sinclair." Enny called again receiving a loud bang from the judge.
"Your honour, I am not completely dismissing the alleged assault but I have to mention suspicion of foul play." He started, making his way to the clerk in front of the judge, successfully grabbing the attention of all. It was not everyday you saw a man as beautiful as he was breaking a sweat to defend such a minor case. "I understand that it would seem like all her actions were deliberate but I have evidence that begs to differ." He adds. "If the court will permit me, I want to bring forth an eye witness, Deanna Green." The entire court turned to the woman that emerged from the very last row of the court.
Tobias recalled that she was the host of the party and tried to fight back a grimace. She started the entire mess.
She guiltily made her way to the witness box, sending a small smile Eniola's way.
"Deanna Green?" The clerk called and she nodded.
"The witness here hosted that party and is still serving community service as a crime for her trespassing and she witnessed all that happened there." Alvaro said and Deanna nodded.
"Do you swear to narrate all that happened with truth and nothing but the truth?" The clerk asked again, her hand placed on a Bible after she pledged her faith and she agreed.
"I invited her to my party and she agreed to come. She funded the entire thing out of the goodness of her heart and did not know it was a restricted area until she came in."
"Objection, my Lord!" The prosecutor called again.
"Objection overuled. Let her speak." The judge cut him off .
"Yeah, shut the fuck up, Sinclair." He heard Varo mumble to the man who just glared back at him.
"I was there when the police came in and when a blonde man dragged her away from the rest of us. They later returned and by then I noticed she was acting funny and getting aggressive." Deanna added and Varo nodded, probably having heard the story before. "That is all I saw, my lord."
"The prosecutor may ask his questions."
Tobias zoned out again as he saw Eniola leaning against the dock. Her eyes were also on Deanna as she listened to all the answers she gave. She seemed calm which was a surprise and was satiated by Deanna's words.
"Thank you, Green. You may leave the box." Alvaro chipped in, turning to the judge again.
"My lord, I had my sources carry out three completely independent tests and came to a conclusion that the initial test results were falsified. My client was in fact drugged with Rohypnol." He dropped, earning a few gasps from the audience. He passed the results to the judge through the clerk and continued to pace dramatically in front of the court. Tobias rolled his eyes. "This is a kind of drug that affects a person's consciousness and reasoning and forces them to think irrationally and act abnormal until they eventually pass out and lose their most recent memories and that was exactly what my poor client had taken. The alcohol in her system was too low to have this kind of effect."
"So, Barrister Montez, are you saying that it was not Miss Gillian that did all of those things?" Sinclair interrupted and Varo sighed heavily.
"This man won't fucking shut up." He muttered before facing him. "No, Sinclair. I am saying that she was drugged and was not in her right state of mind when she did all you are accusing her of doing. Now shut the fuck up and sit down." He lowered his voice just enough for Tobias and the rest of the bar to hear it as the prosecutor hesitantly sat down. "Good boy."
He smirked.
"and the results weren't the only things falsified." He said, rolling his eyes and Tobias looked down at his phone that had just had a notification. I'm here! He read silently just as the door burst open to reveal his sister.
"Ma'am, you cannot go inside-" A security guard tried to reason with her as she blatantly ignored him, searching for Tobias through her dark shades.
Her red bottom shoes clacked on the marble floors as she strutted past many gaping people, adorned in a red coat that sharply contrasted her skin. She had a red fur hat to match and shade her head full of long curly black hair.
Tobias sent her a leveled look.
Rebecca had always been obsessed with proving that every other breathing human was beneath her and for the non-breathing ones, it was literal.
She immediately grinned as she spotted Alvaro, winking at him before seeing her brother.
"Izan, I have missed you. Luca, hola!" She smiled widely pinching Luca's cheeks and patting her brother on the head before taking her seat.
"Hola, aunty."
Fortunately, the court broke from it's daze and resumed its activity.
"I honestly wish I could say the same." He answered quietly and she laughed turning to face the session.
"Is that her? She is just as beautiful as in the pictures. And she has a big butt! I can see why you're so whipped, gatito. I would be too, you know?" She nudged him as she took off her gloves. He did admit Eniola looked good in her small skirt and turtleneck sweater and boots. He was always appreciative of a little skin being put on display. He would have felt a bit better if it was for only for him to see.
He shook his head at the stupid possessive thought.
"Tell me. What is going on? Is she winning? I don't get this court shit."
"No conozco. They've been going back and forth since the last hour." He said tiredly.
Rebecca frowned, readjusting her hat. "That sounds boring."
It is.
"The jury has agreed to announce its verdict after an official and completely independent test has been taken. The court is adjourned until 3 in the afternoon." The judge slammed his hammer against the pad and stood up, the entire room standing up with him.
Tobias blinked.
He had hardly paid attention to the entire session.
"Princess." He called as she smiled curiously at Rebecca.
"Becky?" She asked and he nodded with her immediately grinning.
"Hello, I'm Eniola. It's really nice to meet you." She stretched out her hand for a handshake but was encased in a hug.
"I have heard so much about you. And you're so pretty in person." Rebecca smiled back as she pulled away. "And your outfit. I swear I just saw it at the Paris fashion week!" She exclaimed and Eniola gasped.
"Don't tell me I missed fashion week. I've had the craziest few weeks!" She added and Rebecca shook her head.
"No no, that won't do. You have to go to London with me in December. You can't miss another week. Did you go for the one in New York? I hear it's always big but my brother didn't let me borrow the jet on time and I just lost interest."
"Ask for mine anytime. I rarely make use of it. My manager Anthony doesn't let me go anywhere unsupervised."
Tobias sighed as his suspicions were correct. They would bond well. He could already see himself chasing after them as they rode gold horses into the sunset.
"Ah, it's the Queen of England!" Rebecca called to a Clara who just paled and shuffled closer to Mateo.
"Jefe." Mateo started, with Clara and the other two men by his side. "We couldn't find Davis." He announced and Tobias could immediately feel Eniola shuffle closer to him.
He looked down to her to meet with her worried eyes.
"Who's Davis?" Rebecca asked just as Alvaro appeared. The man had just finished having a discussion with Prosecutor Sinclair who looked deathly pale as he walked passed them.
"The man that works with Berlusconi." He answered and Rebecca's brows furrowed in thought before she nodded.
"What now, boss?" Mateo asked and all of their attention was shifted to Tobias again. What now? Davis isn't here any more. I have to go for the most obvious option- Berlusconi. No matter how out of place and unusual the judge seems.
"I want you to get Berlusconi after the afternoon session."
Yes, he could start with that.
~~~