Butler Boy - Chapter 11

“Mr. Shedder,” I stated, shaking the man's hand.

“Mr. Villin the Younger,” the balding Assistant District Attorney nodded, then switched to my father, “Mr. Villin the Elder.”

“I think we can be satisfied with Arden and Archibald,” my father stated, his badge gleaming on his chest as we all stepped into the station's conference room.

“I'm afraid I'll need to ask you to keep referring to me by my last name,” the older man smiled apologetically. “I don't want to present any undue familiarity with either side of things. Even if I am technically representing your family's interests in prosecuting the Baxter boys, it's best if I don't appear overly friendly.”

“We understand,” Dad stated, looking over to Officer Potter. “Hey, get us some drinks, will you Danny? Coke for my son, water for me. Mr. Shedder?”

“Water would be fine, thank you,” he gave a professional smile as he set his briefcase down and began unloading documents. “So, do you have legal representation?”

“Ah, yes,” Dad cleared his throat and frowned as he looked at his watch. “I've retained our union's lawyer, Jacob Peterson. He should be here-”

“Sorry!” A frazzled-looking younger man – well, only a bit younger than my dad, so late thirties, early forties? - stumbled through the door. “Woke up to a flat tire, whoo... can't believe I made it.”

“Mr. Peterson, I presume,” the ADA stated, extending his hand. “Karl Shedder, Assistant District Attorney for Kingsfield County.”

“Jacob Peterson, a pleasure,” Dad's union rep stated, dropping his things by the table on our side as he plopped himself heavily into a seat. “Sorry again, let me just catch my breath.”

“Certainly,” Shedder nodded, shuffling papers. “In the meantime... well, I'll go ahead and get us started. DA Rodgers is up for reelection this year. Forgive me for saying the quiet part out loud, but he's very eager to throw the book at these boys who put you down in that bomb shelter. Now, that said... we are open to the possibility of a plea deal.”

“The court system that crowded, these days?” Dad asked, frowning.

I refrained from sighing. It was an old saw with the man. Cops had a very love-hate relationship with prosecutors. Police didn't often get to pick their battles. They got called out and tried their best to deal with hostile situations every day. Granted, they often failed and made a complete mess of things, but that was neither here nor there. A district attorney or prosecutor... those were desk jobs. They got to pick and choose which cases moved forward, which were dropped, and which were offered a deal so that they wouldn't waste the courts' time.

After all, if every single criminal actually asked for a full jury trial – as they were theoretically entitled to under American law – the entire justice system would collapse within weeks from the strain of it all.

So plea deals were a necessary evil from the point of view of the cops on the street.

But that didn't make them acceptable, especially when someone got a few years probation for putting a person in the hospital.

“If we're being blunt,” Shedder stated, flipping through a few documents and nodding absently. “It's because the elections won't be for several months. The primary goal here, from a political angle, is to ensure that the opposition candidate doesn't have a weapon to use against the DA. That is, of course, secondary to seeing justice done for your son, but I'd like to ensure that every side in this matter is adequately represented.That includes the general public, who are very much worried at the events in this case and wish to see an adequate resolution, an opinion which my superior has been put in place to execute.”

“So you're pushing for a plea deal because you don't want a 'slam dunk' case to drag on in the courts and still be relevant and high-profile when your boss goes up for election, but as long as no one can accuse you of resolving the case by being overly sympathetic or soft to the criminals, the public will forget the details and just remember that it was adequately resolved. That will prevent it from being used as a weapon against your boss' reelection campaign then, won't it?”

Shedder blinked slowly behind his oversized glasses, turning away from my father and looking at me full-on for the first time.

I just cocked my head and raised an eyebrow.

“Your son is very intelligent,” Shedder stated, frowning.

“You don't skip two grades by being dull,” my dad snorted, his tone dry and slightly derisive.

At that moment, Danny knocked on the door briefly before opening it, his other hand carrying a full tray. “Uh, got your drinks. And the Baxters are here.”

“Hmm... a shame, I thought we'd have more time. It seems they're early,” Shedder murmured as he adjusted his glasses.

Jacob, who had fully recovered in the interim, leaned over and began whispering to my father; the two of them having a few last-minute consultations.

“Archie,” Benjamin Baxter said, his brother and their lawyer following him inside.

“Ben, Camden,” Dad nodded, then looked at the lawyer. He kept his tone level, but there was a bit of frostiness to it. “Edgar.”

The man in the slick suit smiled back, his expression sharper and a bit cutting. “Archie, you're looking well. You too Nicholas.”

Shedder, if anything, looked more irritated than my father at the defense attorney's appearance, answering only with a grunt.

“I am, thank you,” my dad nodded, frowning before turning back to the ADA. “I think that's everyone. I'll get Danny to do another drink run, but if we can go ahead and get this over with?”

You know... for some reason I'd imagined this as a lot more formal and procedural... maybe I've been watching too many court room dramas?

Well, I had been binging some of the trashiest American cinema during my recovery period.

“I think it's a good move not to waste anyone's time,” Shedder stated, looking around the room before taking out a voice recorder – a move that was likewise copied by the other two lawyers. “So, the accused are Kevin and John Baxter, whose parents are with me here today, along with Edgar Reims, the legal counsel that they've retained. Also in attendance are Archibald and Arden Villin, the latter of whom is the victim in the crime being discussed and is present with the consent of both parents. Their legal counsel, Jacob Peterson, is also present. Time and date are...”

The man adjusted his glasses and read off the relevant information as he squinted at his watch.

He cleared his throat and took a drink of water while I brought the can of coke under the table and cracked it gently to keep the noise from getting to the microphones.

There was a flickered-look of approval from the balding ADA. “So, I'd like to start off by saying that nothing discussed in this meeting will be binding. I'm here representing the DA's office and District Attorney Tyler will have final say in what gets approved as far as deals go. Even then, the judge who gets assigned the case has the authority to throw it out, though that rarely happens. So, before we formally begin, I'd like to establish any and all preexisting relationships to know what we're working with, here.”

“Benny and I used to play football in high school,” Dad stated, leaning back. “I've known him and his cousin since middle school, at least. I think we went to the same elementary, but...”

“We knew each other on sight, I think, but weren't really friends that far back,” Benny nodded, his expression dismayed. “Camden wasn't as close with Benny, but we all hung out together often enough. Still get together for drinks on occasion. Or, well, we did until recently.”

Camden Baxter nodded slightly, rubbing at his too-long stubble. “That's about right. Sorry my son's such a jackass, Archie. For what it's worth, at least.”

“It's more than nothing, at least,” Archie sighed, then cleared his throat and forced himself to perk up. “In the interests of full disclosure, Edgar Reims and I have been on the opposite side of a court room more times than I care to count, but that's a purely professional relationship.”

“I can agree with that,” Edgar nodded. “The Chief and I don't exactly go out for beers together, but we do have each other's contact information given how often we need to get in contact with each other. Same with Mr. Peterson, for that matter, although it's a less frequent association we've been known to work around and within the same cases.”

Jacob offered his own affirmation regarding that, then the ADA nodded and looked up from where he'd been taking notes. “Is there anything else?”

“Ah...” I spoke up, resisting the urge to raise my hand as if I were in class. I colored slightly as the room turned towards me. “Benjamin Baxter and I have had a business owner-client relationship in the past.”

Even Dad blinked at that, while his friend blushed and cleared his throat as several of the men turned to him. “Ah... right, forgot about that. Yeah, the kid wanted to buy some car parts for his brother's Delorean and swore me to secrecy.”

Dad stared at his long-time friend then snorted and clapped me on the shoulder. “I'd always wondered about that. Well, that's one mystery solved. How'd you get his number, Arden?”

“You had me help you clean out your desk last year and I pocketed one of the old business cards I found,” I replied with a shrug. “I figured he was trustworthy enough if you two were friends.”

“Alright... but we'll need to have a talk about it later,” Dad stated, not unkindly, but serious at the same time. It was plainly apparent that, while I wasn't actually in trouble, he'd also want to give me some advice on calling up random people that I found business cards for, no matter how much I assumed they could be trusted.

“If that's everything?” The ADA asked, getting nods all around. “Good, now... we'll cover John Baxter first, as he's the simpler of the two-”

Camden, the boy's father, sat up straighter.

“-John is being charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment, conspiracy to commit the aforementioned crimes, and attempted extortion by way of torture-”

Mr. Reims snorted at that, interrupting the official. “That'll be thrown out and you know it. Putting aside the idea that school assignments legitimately meet the value necessary to consider the charge-”

“Then you can have it thrown out in court, Mr. Reims,” Shedder scowled at the man. “Which we are not currently in. It's entirely your purview to recommend a course of action to your clients and I recognize that, however we are here today to discuss the charges my office is capable of bringing against your clients' children. We are not here to allow you to interrupt the proceedings. If you'd rather we move straight to an arraignment instead of hashing this out now, that can be arranged.”

Reims grunted, though he didn't look at all chastised. “Very well, my apologies. Please continue, Mr. Shedder.”

“As I was saying, the DA's office is looking at the possibility of charging John as an adult, but provided he can be reasonable in agreeing to accept punishment in the crimes he committed – with a full confession – we'll drop him down to being charged as a minor, which will likely result in juvenile detention until he hits majority with the possibility of a few years' probation after that.”

Just as Reims leaned over to whisper in Camden Baxter's ear, I realized what was happening.

Sometimes the basic plays were the best, and there was no more basic than 'divide and conquer.'

That was a deal for John, not Kevin.

“We want to hear what you're putting out there for Kevin as well,” Edgar Reims stated firmly, Camden nodding as he looked to his brother.

Shedder frowned slightly, but flipped the page in his notes. He probably didn't have anything detailed on their relationships, so it wasn't unreasonable to expect a rift to have formed between the siblings over this. Still, it didn't look like there would be any such luck.

“Kevin is a more complicated matter,” Mr. Shedder stated. “He's over the age of eighteen and has been for several months. In practical terms, he's closer to nineteen than eighteen. I'd like you to face the fact that there's no way we'll be accepting any attempt to try the boy as anything but an adult. Kevin will be facing all of the previous charges as well assault and attempted negligent manslaughter-”

Reims jerked, but visibly held his tongue.

“-and while my office does acknowledge that neither Kevin nor John were acting in any official capacity nor had any formal duty of care towards young Arden,” the ADA nodded in my direction, “we're still interested in highlighting the callousness of the crime to potential jurors. Manhandling a student significantly younger than either of them into an environment where he cannot acquire adequate food or water – to say nothing of air quality – is sufficient for the charges to bear some weight.”

“I can't think of a judge in Colorado who would tolerate that kind of legal fiction,” Reims stated bluntly.

“It's up to your clients whether they want to roll those dice,” Shedder shrugged carelessly. “Now... we will be willing to drop that charge on a plea deal. We'll also be willing to push for a minimum security prison sentence of ten years for Kevin, with the possibility of release with oversight after seven.”

My dad shifted as if he were about to speak, but Peterson reached around behind me and put a restraining hand on his shoulder.

Shedder took a moment to take a drink of water, then continued. “We are being quite realistic with the consequences, you'll find. Arden Villin is very much alive and has made, what I am informed of, is a full recovery. I'm given to understand, as well, that Mr. Reims is fond of playing up the angle that 'boys will be boys,' but rest assured that will not gain the traction you believe it might in this instance. Your children have committed serious crimes – kidnapping being the most significant under Colorado law, which will stick – and there is ample proof as well as witness statements that we'll have no problem bringing forward.”

“That's only if I can't get the entire thing thrown out based on the fact that the victim's father was overseeing the case and has been the one holding the boys in jail ever since,” Reims responded, looking at my father pointedly. “If that's not a conflict of interest, I don't know what is.”

I held my tongue as I considered the matter while the adults argued.

I certainly felt a great many things about John and Kevin, the latter more than the former. John was an irritant, but had never actually gotten physical. Well, beyond a 'clumsy' brush in the hallway or two, but that level of dickishness was something I could ignore.

Besides, I wouldn't even have to ignore him anymore. Both were already expelled.

That, functionally, put them out of my life. Potentially for good.

That was the blessing and curse of public education, it put you into contact with thousands of people you'd never otherwise interact with over the course of your required term. The Baxters still lived in town, though that might change sooner rather than later. We weren't a big place and news traveled fast. It would be a big ask for their families to live under a blanket of suspicion now that John and Kevin had thrown someone in the school's basement to die.

The court of public opinion had already convened and decided that, after all.

But what did I want?

What was 'justice' in this situation?

“You can try to fight this in the courts, but even if you do get the manslaughter charge thrown out, first degree kidnapping can carry charges of life imprisonment,” Shedder stated firmly.

“In a case like this? Even if he's past the age of majority, it's barely so. He might be close to nineteen, but he isn't there yet. You can't believe a jury would put a stupid kid like Kevin away for life just because of a mistake like this,” Reims responded coolly.

“A mistake that almost got someone killed and did put them in the hospital,” Peterson replied, speaking up for the first time. “Arden showed incredible determination to remove himself from a situation in which he'd have otherwise suffered much more severe harm, up to the possibility of expiring before anyone found him.”

Yeah, they'd tried to kill me.

But they hadn't.

The point of society's response shouldn't be to punish John and Kevin. It should be to prevent such a thing from occurring again. That put the objectively correct move as something that sent a clear message to the boys that this wasn't acceptable. There was also the level of societal deterrence to consider, but I wasn't naive enough to really think that publicizing a case like this would convince anyone to change their mind and not kidnap/torture/kill someone.

The people who would commit those crimes were stupid, violent, or desperate enough not to care about the punishment they faced if they got caught.

Besides, I was a thirteen year old boy. Regardless of anything else, it wasn't my job to be concerned about that.

“-regardless, it's the school's fault this happened in the first place,” Reims interjected, waving a hand. “My clients are already putting together a case against the county school system. A highly publicized civil suit finding the institution liable for negligence in their oversight of the students and the state of the old bunker underneath should be more than enough to bring the charges you're talking about into question.”

“If I speak on their behalf, will you not sue the school?” I asked, bringing attention back to me.

“Arden,” Dad sighed. “It's not that simple-”

“We can be convinced,” Reims stated, leaning forward.

“Mr. Villin,” Shedder began, frowning.

“The staff and teachers don't deserve to be dragged through the mud like that,” I shook my head, cutting him off. “They don't deserve to be treated like pawns in a political game to deflect blame from what two stupid students decided to do. The basement's been like that since before most of the current teachers were even hired, anyway, it's not their fault.”

Shedder grimaced. “That being said, you shouldn't give in to demands like this simply because of empty threats. Edgar Reims might believe he could make such a case gain traction, but there's every likelihood it would simply get thrown out instead.”

“Which is why I'm also doing this because I don't think Kevin deserves to spend ten years in prison for what he did, let alone a lifetime sentence,” I stated, finding the words to be true as they left my mouth. “Even seven years... spending that long around hardened criminals... I'm concerned that putting someone like Kevin into the system will teach him all the wrong lessons.”

Benjamin and Camden looked exhausted by their relief.

I tried to ignore how smug Edgar Reims looked.

“Recidivism is another matter entirely to ensuring appropriate punishment,” Shedder shook his head, obviously dismayed by the way this discussion was going.

“I don't think the justice system should be retributive in nature,” I replied. “Given that Kevin Baxter has a family willing to stand by him and support him, now that they're aware of his criminal inclinations, it's my opinion that a shorter prison sentence and subsequently remanding them to their custody would be more likely to ensure a proper rehabilitation.”

“I see.” Shedder narrowed his gaze at me, drumming his fingers on the table in a long silence. “Is that the opinion of the entire Villin family?”

Eyes shifted to my father, mine among them.

His expression was... unhappy, but not upset, if that made sense. “It's definitely not the opinion of my wife, if I'm being honest. She's out for blood. Personally, I'm a believer in a strong punishment as an incentive for someone to learn the proper lesson... but as the wronged party, we'll respect Arden's wishes on this matter.”

He clapped my shoulder once, squeezing it. “Is that what you really think, son?”

I nodded, sighing in relief. “Yes, that's what I think. And I'll say it on the stand, if I need to.”

Shedder grunted, his brows furrowing. “You do understand you're making a hard-fought court battle a more attractive option to my office? While I consider your viewpoint to be compassionate and well-intentioned, the justice system has also has to consider the strong possibility that these young men will reoffend in the near future should we be too gentle with them. As representatives of the public, looking after their safety is more of a consideration than what you – personally – would consider the correct course of action, Arden.”

“That's his way of saying you're a thirteen year old child and don't understand how things work,” Reims chuckled, leaning back contemplatively.

“You need my help, Mr. Reims, not the other way around,” I stated, intensely disliking this situation already. “Please cease your attempts to foment friction between myself and the ADA.”

Shedder, who I'd marked as an overly serious, blunt, and borderline rude man... seemed to suffer some sort of facial tic as his lips spasmed once before returning to their downward pitch. Reims, meanwhile, looked like he'd been smacked in the face with a fish as my dad coughed heavily into his hand.

“Alright, I'll bite. Out of curiosity if nothing else,” Shedder stated, rubbing at his chin and peering at me with a more analytical gaze. “Why should I entertain your bid for leniency?”

“Because you can use John and Kevin to do community service instead,” I shrugged. “Recontextualize the case. Right now it's a matter of two bad apple students acting out in isolation, but this incident had roots in academic underperformance and bullying, not base criminality. The Baxters aren't hardened convicts, they're very stupid schoolyard bullies who thoughtlessly escalated when they didn't get what they wanted. Part of any kind of plea deal should absolutely retain them on a public speaking tour of Colorado schools to speak out against this kind of treatment. How's that for a PR win?”

“Suboptimal, frankly,” Shedder hummed, frowning. “The kind of logistics that would require... such things are difficult and time-consuming to arrange for prison inmates to go through.”

“An investment which you are disinclined to acquiesce to,” I nodded.

“It's an unnecessary security risk on top of significant expense,” Shedder pointed out, quite reasonably. “Beyond simple transport, we have to get a police escort for the inmate, the schools have to agree to it, it takes time out of the classroom for students... what you're suggesting isn't uncommon, but it's only something we offer as part of community service, not for inmates still serving sentences. For John? Perhaps. There are fewer legal hurdles and security concerns to go through for juvenile delinquents. If Kevin were to serve a stint in good behavior, that would be an enticement to allow him supervised release several years down the line.”

I pursed my lips and looked over to the Baxters, who seemed disheartened and unhappy. Reims was visibly thinking things over as he looked at his notes.

I fingered the piece of paper sticking out of my pocket and thought about what it contained. A small, vindictive part of me was glad the ADA had turned down my opening gambit given that it justified the use of my ace in the hole. It'd be better than them serving a prison sentence, at least.

I took the folded set of sheets out of my pocket and, maintaining eye contact with Shedder, I flicked the small stack over to Reims.

“Let's see...” Reims blinked as he started skimming the first sheet, his eyes widening subtly as he read the attached notes I'd included from the boy's teachers.

Shedder started to look a bit concerned as Reims began smiling wider. “I think... you've given us a lot to think about, Mr. Shedder. We're setting bail next week?”

“Yes...” The ADA stated slowly, his gaze sharpening. “Am I to take it you don't want to avail yourself of the deal on the table?”

“It looks as though I need to explore a few more... esoteric applications of law that have just come to my attention,” Reims smirked, motioning confidently to his clients. “My office will be in touch. I assume the current deal will remain on the table?”

“At my discretion, yes,” Shedder stated.

That seemed to quickly wrapped things up despite the lack of a conclusive answer. Soon enough, an unhappy ADA and a much more amiable asshole in a suite were walking out, Dad shaking the Baxters' hands as they left... before turning to me.

“Do I even want to know what you passed that sleazeball?” Dad sighed.

“Enough to muddy the waters,” I shrugged, then nodded as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Fine, fine... John and Kevin read and write at a seventh-grade level. Their math skills are about the same. That's not 'bad student' territory, that's 'mentally deficient' territory.”

My dad made a hissing sound as he sucked in a deep breath. “That's... okay, that could be a pretty powerful card to play. I see where you're going with this.”

“If Reims looks into what I told him to, the Baxter kids might end up being legally categorized as minors until they're in their early twenties,” I explained, because it turned out that a court could entirely postpone your age of majority for a few years if you couldn't handle being an adult in various ways. “It depends on how they do on their evaluations.”

“Shouldn't the school have spotted that, though?” Dad asked, frowning.

“They did,” I sighed, rubbing at my head. “But the recommendations for special education programs only came in when they were freshmen. After that, they started being bad enough nuisances and acting out enough that no one really wanted to put in the extra effort to help them.”

“So why didn't anything happen with it, then? And how do you know about all this?” Dad asked, surprised.

“I'm not entirely sure why nothing happened, but from what I can tell, their parents didn't like the idea of pushing John and Kevin into a special needs class or forcing them into remedial tutoring,” I explained. “As far as how I found out? A lot of the teachers were really sympathetic with everything that happened, so I just had to ask the right questions. Teachers love to gossip, it turns out.”

Dad snorted. “Well, I don't entirely agree with how you went about it, but... if what you're saying is true, I think those boys might have gotten dealt a bum hand. Doesn't excuse what they did to you, but... they're not going to get off entirely, right?”

I shook my head. “No, the best Reims can do with what I gave him is probably put together a case for 'diminished capacity,' but even that's a long shot. He's more likely to argue extenuating circumstances. If a judge does decide that their evaluations justify extending their time as minors under their parents' supervision, they'll probably both end up in juvie for a few years, three or four at least. But it's better than seven years in prison.”

Archibald Villin sighed. “Your mother isn't going to like this. She was looking forward to seeing them in jail.”

“Tell her that, this way, their parents have to admit to having failed their kids and admit that they were partly responsible for what happened,” I told him, reaching over and draining my coke in a large draw from the bottle. “And, besides, it's not like they won't be behind bars for a few years anyway. This just... it means they'll have a chance to put their lives back together again, when they get out.”

My dad looked down at me and nodded. “For what it's worth? You stood up for what you believed in, Arden. That takes a lot of guts, and you made me proud.”

My cheeks colored as the larger man drew me into a hug. “Thanks, Dad. But, uh... I'm really tired of pretending to be an adult now, can we go get ice cream and maybe rent a movie on the way home?”

Dad snorted and I felt his torso shake against me as he patted me on the back. “You know what? Sure. That sounds great. I'll even pick up some cheesecake for you mother, maybe it'll make her less irritated about the whole thing.”

When we got in the car, I discreetly shoved the two silver tickets I'd found on the table into my back pocket.

Those would be for later.

Then, as we began to pull out of the station, Dad turned to me and blushed slightly.  “Ah… do me a favor and don’t tell your mother that I called Edgar Reims a sleazeball in front of you, okay?”

I almost choked on my laughter, the stress flowing from my body.

~~~

In writing this chapter, I have learned an important lesson.

I hate doing legal drama, at least for this story. This chapter was just... painful. Ugh.

I don't know what it was in particular, but it was just an incredible slog to actually get everything down. And, I made things worse for myself by making this one of the long ones to get the scene done and over with.

But, it's finished.

I hope everyone enjoys it and it brightens up your week. I'm... off to something else. Maybe Mind Games. I need something that'll flow easier. Might try the Kim Possible chapter instead.