Ifucked up. Waiving my right to a grand jury was a terrible idea. In my defense, I was set on accepting the prosecution’s plea deal, so there was no need for the whole charade. By impulsively refusing it, though, I stacked the cards against me.
Now, Ms. Collins doesn’t have to convince twelve people that I might be guilty. Only one judge who somehow hates my guts. I have the feeling she could sit there perfectly silent, and the judge would still take this to trial. But she’s a shark, lethal with every one of her questions, and the judge won’t even have to make excuses for himself.
At least my counsel isn’t completely useless, but even their astute questions to Mr. Grant aren’t enough to undo the damage Ms. Collins did.
“Were you among the teams that searched my client’s residence or place of work?” Mr. Goldberg asks.
“I was at his residence when we first searched it, yes. I later joined the team that searched his office.”
“Did you find anything that indicates my client partakes in illegal activities, like you’re implying?”
“We found some evidence with the Donkey Kong machine and—”
“Those are circumstantial at best. A joke any bored employee could have pulled off. What kind of setup would a hacker as renowned as Nammota have?”
“On Nammota’s scale, I’d say a server, which could be remote, and one or more high-performance computers.”
“And did you find any of that?”
“Not yet. But Mr. Coleman has investments throughout the country and the world, so it may take us a few weeks to get warrants and search them all,” Mr. Grant explains.
“So, you don’t have actual, hard evidence that my client—a paragon of society who founded a company that aims to improve the lives of disabled minorities—is the hacker known as Nammota.”
“We’re confident we’ll find it. What we have for now is a near-perfect match between Nammota’s known code and your client’s.”
“That’s called a hunch, Mr. Grant.” My lawyer turns to the judge, seemingly appalled, and says, “Your Honor, I don’t even understand why we’re here. The prosecution’s case is so weak, it shouldn’t even have led to my client’s arrest, let alone brought us to this hearing.”
Ms. Collins stands with energy to protest, “Your Honor, we have the defendant confessingon tape.”
“A mere jest,” Goldberg counters. “A joke between lovers.”
“Should we watch it? I have it right here,” Collins confidently suggests, lifting a USB key.
“That’s enough,” Judge Ward demands, bringing his gavel down with one hard hit. “Again, this isn’t a trial, but a preliminary hearing. Although I expected the accusation to bring forth more thorough evidence, I believe there’s sufficient doubt to bring this case to trial.”
I’m not even surprised. This was so expected that my heart doesn’t sink further into my knotted guts. My body remains perfectly still as whispers erupt from behind me, the clicking of computer keys intensifying. With my eyes unfocused somewhere above the judge’s head, I vaguely listen to the charges the judge brings up against me.
Computer fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, unauthorized disclosure of classified information, espionage,transmission of national defense information… The list goes on and on, all of it sounding like it’s from another lifetime. It feels like it. A life where I had nothing to lose, so no reason to fear the repercussions. I was daring and bold, always eager to push myself further, to go bigger, to do what no one else had ever done. What no one else could ever do. All noble causes, so I could tell myself it was for the good of humanity and this country. But in reality, I was just a bored man who needed something to excite me, to give it all meaning, to leave as a legacy.
I had never, not in a million years, thought I’d find it elsewhere, in something as absurdly common as love. But then, I’d also never thought someone like Andrea could exist. Someone so painfully perfect for me, so ideally tailored to my intellect and desires, that I’d never long for anything else in my life.
She’s more excitement than I can handle, and being with her gives my entire existence meaning. As for the legacy… the life we were going to build together would have been far superior to any of this.
But again, I’d never thought I, of all people, could have that. And maybe I was right all along. It certainly looks like it’s too late for this alternate ending, for this fulfilling journey we were going to have together.
My past has caught up with me, and now’s the time of reckoning.
Chapter 03
As hard as I try, it’s nearly impossible to go on with my routine. How am I supposed to go to work, see people, and keep living? Everything is so futile.
It all feels so meaningless, given the circumstances. Chances are, Lex will spend the rest of his life in prison. And it’s all because of me. Well, me and that security guy from Evora’s hotel, who thought he’d play hero by sending that video to the cops. The office we walked into was apparently alarmed, and that drew his attention to us, leading him to hear our conversation.
My parents came to spend the weekend that followed the hearing with me, for moral support. Tammy went to stay with the guy she’s currently seeing, so we could have more space for our little Walker weekend. There were a lot of hugs, plenty of movies cuddled up on the couch, and then some tears when they left on Sunday evening. Melancholia didn’t take long to return to me, almost immediately ruining their efforts to cheer me up.
I can’t even escape my reality through work, because everyone knows about what happened to Lex, and that we’re together. Several colleagues have asked me subtle questions or even blunt ones about it. It’s hard to keep a straight face and accept this is my life now—my Lexless life.
At least, the guys from the Troll’s Lair stopped asking. But I still get looks full of pity and compassionate smiles now and then. I told them the same thing I’ve told everyone: this is a ridiculous mistake, and one day, we’ll all laugh about how completely moronic it was.
