Flesh-Stick: CAUSE INTENTIONS MATTER! IF HE DIDN’T GO IN THERE WITH THE INTENTION OF KILLING THE (INNOCENT) PEOPLE THERE, AND THEY DIED BECAUSE THINGS WENT WRONG, THAT’S NOT MURDER, IT’S MANSLAUGHTER, OR GROSS NEGLIGENCE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. MAYBE STILL A CRIME, BUT NOT MURDER.
YOU GOTTA PROVE HE WENT IN THERE INTENDING TO KILL THEM IF YOU WANNA CONVICT HIM OF MURDER.
ALSO, AREN’T YOU A PROSECUTOR? OR HASN’T THAT BEEN INVENTED YET?[/quote]
"Thank gods for your powerful lungs. Mine weren’t up to the task."
“Elias Lowe stands accused of many things, murder only being among the least serious.” The Persecutor bares his teeth. “He is here for starting to the most effective terrorist cell in the city, which can deliver attacks nearly anywhere in London. He is here for sewing seeds of chaos, disorder and sin among the people of The South Side. He is here for the militarization of an entire neighborhood, which now stands as fortress, a massive threat to the good Gentlemen in Blue as well as the ones in Black.”
Amelia is gone of course before she can be inquired by the blonde. She’s at the edges of the crowd, watching this public execution while turning to familiar faces. Though everyone had been voicing similar but different ideas, it seemed to her the majority was out for his blood. But why? Eli seemed like a saint among criminals. Always trying to shed blood to those he deemed fit for it while supplying homes for those that needed to hone their skills. Wasn’t she the most hated? (Well… second hated since she’s certain Passionario will always steal the first place spot.)
Her brows furrow in thought as she tries to figure it out. This trial? execution? This would have been done after the incident occurred. Why now? Slowly it dawns on her as she looks to the crowd, sees the certain colors of Neath among them. "Scapegoat," she whispers. She shifts deeper into the crowd but this time to stay hidden.
The Judge does not seem like a very happy person, but neither is he revelling in the hatred spewing from the audience. Nearly half of the jury is either on the fence or defending Eli, but that might now be enough.
"Any who wish to take the stand to speak in favor of Eli or condemn him must do so soon. The final sentence shall be held within the hour and the appropriate punishment shall be meted out to both Elias and his fungal accomplice.
((That will be roughly 24 hours from now. I hope no-one has voted until the judge calls for sentencing, unless they’re pretty damn sure of Eli’s guilt/innocence. People who take hardline stances can vote early if they wish.))
Eli looks about the court room as if he has forgotten where he is, but his eyes suddenly lock with the figure who is managing to stay faceless in the crowd with the grace that only a pickpocket would possess. His eyes widen. Fear. He shakes his head at her. Nothing else is evident.
Flesh-Stick: MURDER IS THE MOST SERIOUS CRIME HE IS ACCUSED OF. THE OTHERS ARE JUST INCONVENIENCES TO YOU AND YOUR MASTERS. SO SORRY IF THE REST OF US DON’T GIVE A SH*T ABOUT YOUR STUPID PROBLEMS. WHERE WERE YOU AND YOURS WHEN THE PEOPLE OF SPITE HAD PROBLEMS OF THEIR OWN AND NEEDED THE GENTLEMEN IN BLUE TO SAVE THEM?
TAKING BRIBES TO LOOK THE OTHER WAY, THAT’S WHERE!
BOOO! HISS! DOWN WITH CORRUPTION! DOWN WITH THE MASTERS’ BOOTLICKERS! AND DOWN WITH THIS FARCE OF A JUSTICE SYSTEM!
She sees the glance her way a bit confused. Was it to the rather large bloke next to her? She was certain he saw him in the Hills. Though the longer she locks eyes with Eli, the more she realizes it is to her. It causes her facial expression to shift from a neutral one to one of disgust. She mouths off a voiceless ‘why?’ before turning her attention to Flesh Stick. She expects more from the crowd to sway now. But her gaze returns to Eli and she shakes her head at the man.
She makes a gesture of a crab, pinching tightly with her hands before pointing to the door where Ezekiel was being hold. That was her secondary plan but if she’s reading things right than she’s utterly confused by Eli’s intentions.
Eglantine looks through the list of victims. Their eyes widen. “I recognise this description… that’s Sweet Lisbet, the mushroom-seller!” They call the realisation loudly. “She had a sister on Ladybones Road who was desperate for news of her. She had a name, a family, a life. All that was taken from her. She was a person, no less valuable than any other in the world.” Eglantine’s face becomes nearer to a snarl of anger. “The dead have been mocked and dismissed, their names ignored. People have said they didn’t matter. Well, I speak for Sweet Lisbet, dead at nineteen, who sang and smiled and saved scraps of food just so she could feed cats and see them happy.”
The din picks up, but for some reason that will forever be unknown to the two of them, she could hear him with absolute clarity.
“Stay safe, Amelia.”
Two large doors open and a blood-curdling scream fills the courtroom. Held by four special constables armed with ratting guns and chains bring in the writhing form of Ezekiel the Unfettered. It thrashes and fights at first, but slowly ceases to move. A bag is over it’s head, but everyone even close the building could hear the churning and smell the stinging scent of iron and copper in the air.
The Persecutor gestures to Ezekiel. “This is the beast that assisted Eli in the massacre. During it’s examination, it was found to have fragments of human bone and hair in it’s digestive system. This is the type of ‘employee’ that this murderer brings to the light?! They are one and the same: bloodthirsty animals!”
Flesh-Stick: HE WAS TRYING TO HELP HER BY STOPPING THE CRIME LORDS. IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! HE DIDN’T GO IN THERE TRYING TO KILL HER, HE WAS TRYING TO SAVE HER. THAT’S MORE THAN ANYONE HERE DID FOR HER, INCLUDING US!
"He is a crime lord! And she didn’t need saving!" Eglantine growls in frustration. "The man uses children as lookouts for his band of criminals. He knows damn well the kind of men his followers are, why doesn’t he kill them too? Because they obey him, so they live, right up until they disobey him. Then they die, as horribly as he can contrive, when he is responsible for their deeds in the first place! He gave them power, positions to use. The blood they shed is on his hands."
Flesh-Stick: EVEN IF HE IS A HYPOCRITE, HE’S NOT ON TRIAL FOR THAT. HE’S ON TRIAL FOR KILLING PEOPLE, INCLUDING YOUR FRIEND. WHICH HE DIDN’T DO! HE WAS TRYING TO STOP THE PEOPLE WHO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF PEOPLE LIKE YOUR FRIEND! SOMETHING THAT NOBODY ELSE WOULD DO, ESPECIALLY NOT THE MORONS IN BLUE! IT WENT WRONG AND SHE GOT CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE, BUT THAT ISN’T MURDER! HE DIDN’T GO IN THERE SAYING “I’M GONNA KILL THE MUSHROOM SELLER!” HE’S GOTTA DO THAT IF YOU WANNA CONVICT HIM OF MURDER!
She’s confused by hearing Eli’s voice so clearly before she hears the scream. She turns sharply to the source, seeing the jolly fungus giant come out. Special constables. She should have expected that before.
Her attention returns to Eli with disgust once more but she shakes her head at him. She’s not stupid. She won’t attempt that until the opportunity arises. So she tips her bowler to him before dipping into the crowd again. But even gone she can smell the putrid air and she can tell the people closest to the monster look close to retching in their spot. Better to pinch some silk before hand, she thinks.
(( Not my image, but the Clickers from "Last of Us" are a little too similar at this point. ))
When he has been situated, the hood comes off.
Ezekiel is different from last time he was seen. His infection has grown immensely and he is now no longer recognizable as a human being. He cries out in panic.
"Sir! Sir! Failed! No mercy! SKIN!"
A man in the front row faints, the persecutor is holding a kerchief to his nose and someone is vomiting somewhere. Ezekiel is different than he was before.
The Persecutor turns to face the stands. “This creature was once a living human being, before Elias Lowe infected him with a parasite which devours his organic tissue and makes him a bitter and unwilling slave!”
Eli is shocked when he sees EZ. “What did you do to him…”
“This is not merely a crime against London, but a crime against NATURE!”
Flesh-Stick: GOING BY ELI’S REACTION, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU GUYS DIDN’T EXACTLY TREAT EZEKIEL WITH KID GLOVES EITHER.
ANYWAY, IS HE ON TRIAL FOR WHAT HE DID TO EZEKIEL? IF SO, WE NEED TO HEAR HIS AND EZEKIEL’S SIDES OF THE STORY! IF NOT, THEN DRAGGING EZEKIEL OUT HERE FOR EVERYBODY TO POINT AND VOMIT AT PROVES NOTHING!
Mr. Poole interjects to make a gently pedantic remark.
“Actually, I believe that the man whom the HORRIBLE BLASPHEMY we see before us once was, was not intentionally infected by Mr. Lowe.”
Resuming a patient, bloodthirsting tone, Mr. Bertrand Poole goes on:
“However, allowing a horrible Cordyceptian abomination like this to progress in it’s infection, and to use this abomination as a terrible, formidible, uncanny, and very likely anthropagus servant, is a contemptable, unforgivable act on Mr. Lowe’s part.”
Having been quiet for most of the trial, the unusually hard-eyed Lt. Saqui wasn’t aware of the people or events involved before today. Which is why when faced with the sight of the monster that was once man, she doubled over and retched. After she manages to control herself a little better, she reaches into a pocket to pull out a cloth to wipe her mouth, shivering a little as she steels herself to get a better look, before turning her eyes away once more.
"Maybe… maybe he should be put out of his misery."
The Game-Carver sits in thought at their seat, before turning to one of the most primal methods of making people see your stance as valid - ‘Financial Encouragement’ - or as it’s known throughout the masses - Bribery. A pouch of echoes exchanges hands and the bloodthirsty voices of ‘GUILTY!’ quieten, even if slightly.
[Seriously, if someone RPs into this, I’m sending them 30 First City Coins, up to a limit of 2 people.]
