Izzy's knee bounced up and down as she continued to stare at her hands. "You okay?" Athena asked from the seat next to her. "Yeah...yeah i'm good." Izzy responded, looking up at the woman before letting her eyes shift to the judge on the stand.
"Next case before the court. The state of California v. Jeffery Connor Hudson. Pretrial motions. Honorable Judge Priva Atkins presiding. Bring in the defendant."
The door clicked and Izzy watched as Hudson was escorted into the room wearing the orange prison jumpsuit and his wrists and ankles handcuffed. His eyes met theirs and he shot the two women a wink.
Giggles could be heard from behind them and Lindsey clenched her jaw at the fact that this man had a fan club.
"Oh, look. His fan clubs here." Lou commented and Izzy rolled her eyes.
"We're on the record. Alright, whom do we have present?" The judge asked. "Your Honor, Ken Decker for the state."
They watched as Hudson and his lawyer were talking very quickly. Ignoring the fact that they had already begun. "Does the defense need a moment?" The judge asked. Hudson's lawyer stood up, "Your Honor, the defendant has informed me that my services will no longer be required. He just fired me."
Izzy's expression turned to shock and Hudson turned to smirk at them.
"He intends to represent himself." Hudson's lawyer finished.
"Objection..."
"What do you mean, objection? This is me trying to get a fair trial!" Hudson argued as he stood up.
The judge banged her gavel, "Settle down. Order! Mr. Hudson, if I do allow you to represent yourself, you'll do so with decorum and you'll follow the rules. Mr. Decker, i'll hear what you have to say. Everyone else, please sit down. Ms. Risco, for the time being, that includes you."
While everyone else sat down, Decker stayed standing. "Your Honor, this defendant is charged with six counts of rape. Heinous crimes that involved him stalking his victims, lying in wait inside their homes, and then viciously attacking them. In addition, he brutally assaulted an LAPD sergeant and officer. Beating one nearly to death. All of these women will be key witnesses in this trial. To subject them to being questioned by their attacker would be tantamount to allowing him to assault them again."
Izzy's eyes drifted over to the girls sitting next to them. They were anxious and scared. If this man ended up representing himself, then Decker's right. It will be like he's assaulting them all over again.
"I'd like to see counsel in chambers." The judge said as she banged her gavel.
Athena and Izzy walked down the hall, multiple coffees in hand. While waiting for the decision to be made, the two thought everyone would need a coffee. "Here you are." Athena said as they handed coffees to the girls and Lou.
"Is he really gonna get to do this? Be the one firing questions at us? Because I don't think I can take that." One of the women said. "Which is exactly what he wants. But you all are stronger than he thinks." Izzy told them and Lou nodded, "Damn right. You've already proven it."
"So let's just wait and see what the judge says." Athena told them and they all nodded.
"Oh god, look at them," One of the other woman said as she gestured to the fan club behind them, "So disgusting. Have you see their Free Jeffery Hudson Facebook group?"
Athena turned to her, "Women like that have something broken inside of them that makes them fall for psychopaths. Just don't look at them. They don't deserve any of your attention."
"Audra was so scared that Jeffrey might get out and come after us, so I sent her to live with Carlos and TK until the trial blows over." Izzy said
"Hey Athena, Izzy." Decker called as he made his way over to them. "I'm sorry. The judge is going to allow Hudson to represent himself."
Izzy let out an annoyed sigh as Athena turned back to the women, "All right. Remember what we said. He can't hurt you. Just stay strong."
"Glad to hear you feel that way. He also just filed a motion to suppress all evidence found at Studio Self Storage." Decker told them. "What? Those trophies are all we have linking Hudson back to his victims." Izzy exclaimed.
"I'm aware of that. Believe me."
"These two nearly gave their lives to get us that evidence." Lou commented. "I'm aware of that, too. And so is the judge. She's going to hear arguments next session."
Athena scoffed, "She's actually considering this motion?"
Decker nodded, "She is. And she's allowing Hudson to call his first witness...you." Athena turned back to look at the man, eyes wide.
Izzy's hand found its way onto Athena's arm. She knew Athena's been struggling with this. She almost died because of this man. "Hey, you gonna be okay?" Izzy whispered to her after Decker walked away. Athena grabbed Izzy and gave it a squeeze, "Yeah, I'll be good."
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When Izzy got home, she had Christopher go take a shower while she made dinner. Eddie came in, "Hey honey." He said
"Hey, babe." Izzy said as she gave him a kiss
"I know the judge is considering letting Hudson represent himself." Eddie said
"Yeah, I can't believe she let that son of a bitch do that." Izzy said
"I want to take your mind off the trial so, what if tomorrow you and I go out for a special dinner." Eddie suggested
"As fun as that sounds but who's going to watch Christopher?" Izzy asked
"We'll ask Buck, besides he's great with him." Eddie said
"Okay then, let's do it." Izzy said and then leans over to kiss him
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Izzy sat in her chair as she watched Athena get questioned by Hudson. "Sergeant Grant, are you familiar with a facility known as Studio Self Storage?"
"Intimately." She answered.
"And on the evening of May 4, 2020, did you and your partner have occasion to enter this facility?" Hudson asked.
"We did." Athena answered
"And who granted you access to this business?"
Athena shook her head, "No one. I just walked in."
Hudson took a step closer, "You just walked in? With a warrant?"
Athena's eyes met Izzy's for a moment before looking back at Hudson, "No warrant was necessary." Walking a little closer, Hudson asked, "Really? And why's that?"
"I observed that an outside door had been suspiciously wedged open. So we conducted a business check."
Crossing his arms he said, "Right, right. Business check. That's, uh, one of those phrases cops deploy when they want to get around pesky things like warrants."
Decker stood up, "Prejudicial. Your Honor."
"Mr. Hudson, let's keep it in check." The judge told him.
Hudson took in a breath before saying, "Did anyone else see this suspiciously wedged open door, Sergeant Grant?"
Athena's eyes met Lindsey's again, "Yes, my partner, Isabelle Reyes also saw the door wedged open." Hudson's jaw clenched and he looked back at Izzy who sent him a small smirk. "And did you turn on your body camera when you entered?" He decided to ask.
"I didn't get a chance to. I was attacked...by you."
Hudson wore a surprised look, "That's your version. I remember it the other way around." Izzy turned to Lou and furrowed her brows. She wasn't sure where he was going with this.
"Officer Reyes saw and as I recall, a lot of people heard it over the radio." Athena said. "Officer Reyes didn't see the full thing and didn't even give me a chance before attacking me." Izzy's eyes widened at his words. "As for the people listening, I'm sure they heard you identify yourself as police, hm?"
"I followed procedure."
Hudson nodded, "Of course." He turned around and started to go through his briefcase. "Sergeant Grant, how many times have you been put on restricted duty for misconduct?"
"A few." Athena admitted.
Hudson looked through the file in his hand, "How bout five times?" Athena's eyes stayed on Hudson, "I'm good police."
"No. My, uh...my personal favorite is the time you threatened a teenage girl you felt was bullying your daughter and officer Reyes's daughter." He said as he walked right up to her.
"I felt? That girl drove my daughter and Izzy's daughter to attempt suicide." Athena said
"So you and officer Reyes arrested this minor, and you threw her in jail. You know, some people might consider that an abuse of power."
"She had drugs on her person." Athena said.
"She said they weren't hers." Hudson argued.
"They usually do." Athena said
"And sometimes police plant evidence." Hudson said
"Your Honor!" Decker said as he stood up again.
"Mr. Hudson, are we approaching a point?" The judge asked.
"Given that the state's entire case against me rests on this so-called evidence obtained by an illegal search by two rogue cops, one with a history of misconduct, I would move that all items claimed to have been found at Studio Self Storage be suppressed and not considered evidence in this trial. Thank you."
Izzy's jaw clenched as she watched Hudson take a seat. Murmurs filled the room. Her eyes met Athena's and she could see the fire in them.
The gavel was banged and the judge said, "All right. Let's take a recess while I consider my ruling. You may step down, Sergeant Grant."
Izzy stood up from her seat like everyone else as the judge walked into the room. Once she was seated, everyone else took a seat.
Phones began to ring. Lindsey felt her phone buzz and she looked to see she was getting some kind of alert but it didn't say what it was. She turned to see Athena had gotten the same thing. The two shared a confused look, "I know I turned this off."
A buzzing sound was heard and the door unlocked. Another prisoner and security guard walked in. "Hey, you're not my judge." The man said. "Deputy, what are you doing? We're in the middle of a proceeding." The judge asked. "Sorry, Your Honor. The computer told me to bring him up. Must be a scheduling mixup."
Another door was unlocked and two more prisoners walked in with security. "What is going on?" Izzy muttered.
"Does someone want to tell me what the hell is going on?" The judge asked
"I don't know judge."
The judge sighed, "All right, I want this courtroom cleared now! Now!"
"No way! I know my rights! I want my day in court!" A prisoner yelled as he ran forward. Then all hell broke loose. The prisoners started to run, security was trying to keep them in control. Everyone else was freaking out.
Izzy and Athena immediately stood up. They saw two prisoners making a run for the door and they stepped in front of them. Blocking their way. Guns pointed right at them. Two security guards grabbed them and dragged them out of the room.
"Order! Order! Order!" The judge yelled as they got all the prisoners out of the room.
Izzy sighed as she put her gun back in her holster. "All right, everybody, please take your seat. Is the defendant-" She stopped and they looked to see Hudson was no longer there. "Where's the defendant?"
Athena, Izzy, and Lou all ran out of the courtroom. Lou went one way while the two women went another. They pushed past people as they ran. "Move! Move!" Lindsey yelled.
They ran out of the building to see that the whole city was in chaos. Lights were out, cars everywhere, sprinklers spraying, people in panic, and horns being honked. They crossed the street, eyes searching for Hudson.
Izzy's eyes fell on a man in a suit, "There!" She said to Athena.
Hudson turned around to see them and immediately took off running, the two women right behind him.
Screams and banging was heard from behind them and they turned to see a car had driven itself onto the sidewalk and was heading straight for them.
"Clear the sidewalk! Clear! Clear!" They yelled as they motioned for people to get out of the way.
Izzy saw an older woman struggling to move. She immediately ran to her and pulled her off the sidewalk right as the car drove by. "Are you okay?" Izzy asked her. "Yeah, thank you!"
An explosion was heard and Izzy jumped at the sound. She quickly ran over to Athena, "What is going on?!" There was another explosion behind them, and then a third explosion not far down the road.
Izzy watched as the people around her continued to panic. Athena turned to her, "Insanity."
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"What do you mean gone?" Colleen, one of the women asked. They were standing in the police station where things were getting out of control. "Systems all over the city were hit in one mass attack. Not just the court house. This police station, trains, I hear they're even having trouble at the zoo." Athena told her and the other woman.
"Those aren't the cages I'm worried about. I mean, he's out there now. He's really out there." Colleen said.
"We will find him." Izzy reassured her.
"What if he finds us? He knows where we live."
Izzy nodded, "Which is why I don't think you should go home. Not for a while." Athena added, "Stay with friends, family, get a hotel. We'll let you know when it is safe."
After leaving the two women, they made their way over to Lou who was talking with Hudson's lawyer. "He can't stand it if someone else does, especially a woman." They heard the lawyer say.
"I've noticed." Izzy commented, "He planned this whole thing, I just know it."
Athena asked, "What can you tell us about these women? His fan club?" She gestured to the board with the women's photos. The lawyer stood up to take a look. "Any chance any one or more of them would shelter him if he knocked on their door?" Athena continued to ask.
Lindsey understood what she was getting at, "Visitors log at Mens Central."
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"Athena, Lindsey. How close are you two to the Little Tokyo address?" They heard Lou's voice through the phone.
"We're close. Trouble is, nothing's moving. Traffics a nightmare." Athena told him.
"Listen, I'm almost at the Echo Park address. Cynthia Walden. Why don't you let me check it out, and I'll meet you guys in Little Tokyo."
"You want us to wait for you? No. We aren't letting this dirtbag get away again." Athena scoffed
"I need to remind you, the last time you guys faced this guy alone in a blackout, it didn't go so good."
"Well that's not gonna happen again. We'll be okay Lou." Izzy said
Deciding she didn't want to wait around any longer, Athena turned on the sirens and started to drive the car onto the sidewalk.
Walking into the apartment complex, Izzy grabbed Athena by the arm, "We don't split up this time, got it?"
"Sounds good to me." Athena said
All of a sudden the lights went out. Athena let out a sigh, "Of course." And the two turned on their flashlights.When they got to the door, they immediately pulled out their guns. Before Izzy could knock, the door opened.
Athena said, "LAPD, put your hands up."
"Relax," The red head woman said, "I saw you through the peephole."
"Step back! Keep your hands up!" Athena told her.
"You can't come in here without a warrant." The woman said
"If we think you're harboring a criminal, we absolutely can. Move!" Izzy said as they stepped in the house.
"You're wrong about him, you know? Jeffery would never hurt a soul." The woman said as they checked her house.
"You're telling that tale to the wrong woman." Athena said.
"Tell that to the scar on my face." Izzy said
"Ah, right. That fight you lost to him. He said it was a misunderstanding," The woman then turned to look at Izzy, "And he said you attacked him. He said he was defending himself."
"Is that what he said?" Izzy asked, her brow raised and jaw clenched. "Jeffery always has to defend himself. That's why he had to fire that bitch lawyer. He blamed her for everything. He said it was all her fault." It dawned on Izzy.
They were looking at the wrong house.
Pulling out her phone, she sent a text to Lou. They needed to get to the lawyer's house.
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They were in the car when they got the call from Lou. "Gotta hand it to you, Reyes. When your instincts are right, they are very, very right."
"You got him?" Athena asked.
"We got him."
Both women let out a sigh of relief, "Praise the lord."
"How's the lawyer?" Izzy asked
"A bit shaken up, but she'll be fine. Jeffery's big adventure is done. He's going back to lock up."
A smile found its way onto Athena's face, "I know some people who are going to be very happy to hear that."
As they called the women to tell them the good news, it felt like a weight was being lifted off their shoulders. "It's over!" Athena said and Izzy smiled.
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4 hours. The Mikaelson's were on their private flight for 4 hours and 28 minutes. It took a further hour to drive to the local hotel they had booked a room in as they waited for their house that Elijah had brought online.
They all decided that tomorrow they would begin their journey to find her.