Meeting The Past...

Posted on Fri Mar 25th, 2022 @ 6:53am by Private Mattias Tonelly

Mission: Echoes of the Past
Location: Nassau County Courthouse
Timeline: TBD

Mattias had been dreading this day for weeks now. It was the day he would face his attacker, the high school senior, football linebacker, that had crippled him back in the woods that day. The legal process had been slow, at first, but now it felt like things were speeding up.

"Mama," he asked quietly from his chair, which was locked in, in the back of the specially designed van. "D-do I have t-t-to talk in court t-t-today?"

Baeryn turned in the passanger seat to face her son, and gave him a sad smile, as she replied to his question. "I'm sorry, honey, but both our lawyer, and his, will have questions for you about the attack and the rest of the day. All you have to do, is be honest."

"Your mother's right, Matty." Mattias's father, David, spoke up. "Some of the questions will be hard to hear. However, no one can harm you there. The court, and your mother and I, will keep you safe. You understand?"

Looking a little crestfallen, the young man replied to his father. "Yes, Sir."

Hearing the tone in her son's voice, Baeryn said, "How about this, honey. After the hearing, we go get dinner wherever you want to go?"

This gave Mattias some pep back. "Can we go to the Library Cafe?! I have a hankering for their Buffalo wings and quesadillas!"

"Of course we can, Sweetheart!" Baeryn beamed at her son.

This put an actual grin on the teenager's face. Dinner decided, he was able to use the thought of delicious food to build a few mental defenses against what was about to happen.

***Twenty minutes later***

The Tonelly's were waiting quietly in the pews of the court gallery, waiting for their turn in front of the judge. After two quickly decided cases, that time arrived. Mattias and the family's lawyer, James Hurin, Esq, moved up to the prosecutors table, his parents moving to sit in the first pew, directly behind their son.

A side door opened and the boy reponsible for today was brought in, shackled and cuffed, wearing a bright orange jumpsuit. He was escorted to the defendants table and his shakles were undone from his waist, only to have them reattached to the floor under the table.

The whole time, he was smirking at Mattias, who was holding his stare, mostly. "Poor little cripple. I shoulda stomped your head in, then I would'nt be here!" He flinched towards Mattias, only to be instantly restrained by the corrections officers that entered the court with him.

The sound of a gavel being hammered down filled the courtroom. "Mister Douglasson," the judge spoke quietly, but with authority. "One more outburst like that, or anything else, and I will hold you in contempt. Is that clear?"

Turning a bored look towards the judge, he shrugged, completely unconcerned. "Sure, Your Honor." He then dropped his heavy frame down into the cheap wooden chair. He then slumped down in it, completely unconcerned with what was going on.

The judge was very annoyed by the teen's surly attitude in her courtroom. She had pretty much already decided about the ruling she would give for this case. Hearing the upoming testimony was a mere formality. However, she made sure that she projected a neutral demeanor.

"Prosecution," she said, looking over to the counselor that was seated next to Mattias. "You may proceed."

James stood and straightened his suit jacket. "The state calls Mattias Tonelly, your Honor."

Swallowing the nerves that were jumbled inside his whole body, Mattias moved his power chair over to an agreed spot in front of the witness stand. When the baliff moved over, Mattias rose his left hand and swore to tell the truth.

For the next hour or so, Mattias answered the questions posed to him from both his lawyer and the defense lawyer. To say that it was an emotional testimony would be an understatement. Not a single person sat unmoved by Mattias's words.

Well, almost no one.

Douglasson actually smirked as Mattias spoke. He felt zero remorse for his actions and it showed.

After Mattias finished testifying, the judge told him to return to his place at the defense table. The judge then called on the defendant to speak. Douglasson stood and continued to smirk. "I don't need to testify. The cripple deserved what he got! I'm only sorry the little prick survived." He sat back down as the judge banged his gavel to silence the sudden uproar from the audience.

The jury was sent away to deliberate the case. Their decision was quickly reached. They came back with a unanimous verdict of guilty. Douglasson was immediately sentenced to twenty years, without the possibility of parole.

Mattias felt elated. It was finally over! Now he could just focus on the life that was in front of him!

After a few final legal dealings, the relieved family left the courthouse, taking the first steps to the new life of freedom.

~OFF~