chicago ♔ i wish you could see | how apart we've all grown

[lawofsurvival]

WHO || The Failboat, Rafael Giovanni, Isabella Alessandro, Hiro, Jaka, Burt Becksworth, DA of Chicago [closed]
WHAT || The trial of Rafael Giovanni
WHERE || Chicago courthouse, Chicago, IL
WHEN || Friday, Nov 22nd  [backdated]
HOW || Actionspam

The big day has finally arrived.  As media coverage rises to a frenzied fever pitch, Jaka's final preparations are completed, and the team assembles to head down for the trial of Rafael Giovanni.   

Large crowds are gathered outside, some of whom tote signs condemning Rafael as a murderer, others pledging their support and love for the singer.  Police officers keep order, and hold the crowds back as the stars are led up the steps and inside the courthouse.  

They'll have some time to convene with Burt and Jaka in a private room before the trial itself begins.  Unfortunately, Jaka still hasn't shared the change in plans that he and Des discussed in private... 

Comments

pre-trial (ota).

[romanticidal]

[ in a spare room, the group waits to be invited inside the courtroom, and rafael sits in a chair near a window, staring out of it. gar paces nervously, kat plays with her tablet distractedly, and mark stands against the wall, arms folded. isabella watches everyone with wary eyes, and hiro stands emotionless near the door. burt flaps his jaws non-stop to jaka, who is mostly ignoring him. ]

[graveflowers]

[ vi is sitting and stress eating, plowing her way through a bag of chocolate chips. but she'll actually share today, so get the goods while it lasts and before she has to hide them again. ]

[witchwoman]

[Myri has been keeping to herself, watching everyone but not really talking to anyone. It's like she's spending most of her energy trying to juggle her attention between them all. She hangs back near Mark for now, trying not to show just how nervous she is right now (and failing pretty spectacularly).]

[nothingsodivine]

[Des is lingering near Isabella. When did those two get so buddy-buddy? Though since he's about as disgruntled and anxious as she is wary, it's not really that buddy-buddy.]

[notaroundme]

[Elena moves to stand on Mark's other side, looking between the him and Myri as she does so with a rather forced smile. She's too anxious to feel any genuine happiness right now, but she's pretty sure the rest feel similar.]

[selfrevelation]

[ out in the hall, mr. gray waits in his impeccable suit and shiny shoes for them all to spill out before turning slowly to regard them. ]

... Ah. Excellent. All of you.

[bigbad]

[I just realized that Spike's only met Orlando Bloom!Grey, not David Anders, so I guess he just figured out that Des and Buffy acting sketchy after a random dude stared at Buffy meant other people probably couldn't see him (wis 18). If he'd done worse he was going to just be stalking Buffy so it's all for the best.]

What do you want?

[slay]

Phones work too, you know.

[ but she's out here and she's listening. that's ... something. ]

[selfrevelation]

I came to witness the trial. We're rather ... invested in its results. [ he glances over towards spike, giving him a once-over that leaves it unclear whether or not he's judging what he sees there ] How do you feel, regarding your chances?

[nothingsodivine]

Yeah, that's why you gave Rafael that envelope, which he's not gonna need. [He crosses his arms over his chest.] The case is locked up.

[He doesn't have to deal with the Grays or Linda. Or so he thinks. And damn if he's not smug about it.] You boys and Linda can have pissing contests over something else now.

the trial~

[romanticidal]

[ rafael manages to keep an impressively blank face as he walks into the courtroom, but maybe it has something to do with being dead inside. there are lots of people craning their neck to get a good look at the pop star, and the guards also usher in all of his ensemble to have seats along the bench as he moves up to sit with jaka and burt at the defendant table.

the judge enters next, and when she takes her customary position, she calls to order the people of chicago vs. rafael giovanni, and gestures for the prosecution to make their opening remarks. ]

[llllllaurel]

[Arianna gets up when indicated, smoothing her business suit down in front of her, and moving to face the jury. As she speaks, she sounds calm and collected, even entirely reasonable (diplomacy 37).]

Rafael Giovanni was a star on the rise. An up and coming record deal with Burt Becksworth's agency. A live concert event set to be broadcast around the world. He had the world at his fingertips, and all of it was cut short by a madman who tried to hurt the woman he loved, and her tragic death as he tried to protect her.

[A pause.]

Or - at least that is now the defense will present it. There is no denying that Rafael Giovanni shot Eterna Jade as she was being held hostage by Roger James. But the state intends to prove that the death of Eterna Jade was no accident. The prosecution will prove that this was a deliberate plan, crafted by Giovanni himself as well as his manager, Burt Becksworth - a man notorious for doing whatever it takes to keep his artists in the public eye.

We have the evidence to show Giovanni meeting with the mysterious man who took Eterna Jade hostage. Over the next few days we will show you that this unfortunate death is not the tragedy it is painted to be. It was a cold blooded, calculated murder.

You'll see that the only verdict is guilty.

[And with that, she'll return to her seat, waiting for the defense to present their case.]

1/2

[romanticidal]

[ with a 31 bluff check, rafael manages to keep an incredibly impressive poker face, and so does burt as he glances back over his shoulders to count how many cameras are visible. yep. ]

[lawofsurvival]

[ a tiny smirk plays across the corner of the dark elf's lips as she sits, as if jaka knows something she doesn't - or is dismissing her credibility as amusing. either way, he smoothly draws to his own feet, and stalks around the table with a deliberate, even pace, turning to survey the jury, and then look back at rafael. ]

The prosecution paints a truly interesting portrait of intrigue, almost as romantic in its appeal as the idea of a pair of lovers torn apart by tragedy. However, what the defense seeks to present are facts, not melodrama, and the grim reality underlying this very unique case has little to do with either honor or greed.

[ he paces across the floor, indicating rafael ] I wish that I could paint our defendant as the dashing hero, rushing to the defense of an innocent woman. But the truth is much darker, much more complex, and much further-reaching than any could have guessed. We're dealing with a man whose already fragile psyche was pushed to the limits when he discovered the truth about the woman he had held as an angel in his eyes, a truth his conscious mind was not equipped to handle. A truth that drove him off the brink of sanity, causing him to be responsible for her death - in a moment of temporary insanity that indicates a diseased and fractured mind that can be healed, not the cunning, calculating greed of a would-be murderer seeking the fast track to fame.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, [ he turns to them with an oily smile, and spreads his hands ] Mr. Giovanni sits here before you today to prove himself a victim of temporary insanity, the only sensible verdict in a case which I imagine will shock many people sitting here today. [ his 42 diplomacy check certainly leaves a lingering sense of suspense and mystery in the air. rafael's brows are furrowed as he watches the lawyer, but he doesn't betray whatever he's thinking as the drow comes around to have a seat, indicating the other lawyer. ] Prosecution may call its first witness. [ and with that smug air, he has a seat next to burt, who casts him an inscrutable look ]

[llllllaurel]

[Insanity defense. Lovely. Arianna simply gets up and moves on because she isn't really surprised.]

The prosecution calls Officer Grant Morrison to the stand.

outside the courtroom (vi & buffy).

[slay]

How much of that did you hear?

[ she spots vi when she exits the courtroom, and approaches with a small degree of awkwardness, though she doesn't bother with much smalltalk and quickly shifts to a scowl that covers up the red rimming around her eyes, the only sign of the full-out distress this is all causing her. ]

It's like they all completely lost it and forgot who we're even trying to help in all of this. [ like wow rafael did not need help walking off the insanity cliffs. ]

[graveflowers]

[ her listen crit fail and the way she's rubbing her eyes would lend to the idea that she was sleeping until buffy stormed out. which she was. because fuck this noise. ]

...yeah, I missed all that.

[slay]

Des is letting them call Jade the Black Scourge. [ because vi will understand her outrage. all of buffy's discomfort with how close vi had gotten to jade in an instant while buffy had befriended her over time is gone in an instant, because this is shared pain. shared betrayal. and neither of them can even imagine the pain that rent rafael. ]

[graveflowers]

[ her eyes widen and then squeeze shut. she can understand the idea behind it -- jade is a scapegoat, putting the blame on her takes away from the blame on raf and what wouldn't jade do for raf, herself? -- but it makes her want to vomit a little and she slumps against the bench. ]

Um, how...? Rafael would never let anyone say that about her.

[slay]

They've already convinced the entire room he lost it months ago. You really think anyone's listening to what Rafael has to say? They covered everything.

buffy and rafael (closed).

[slay]

[ she heads down to the room that nym had indicated as rafael's side room, casting shifty glances on either side and exchanging a few short words with the guard before slipping in to shut the door behind herself.

she spots rafael pacing beyond the table, and a grim, sympathetic look creases her brow. this isn't right. he's caged up like some animal because he's guilty of loving jade far too much to be able to let her go. des and jaka did get one thing right - the only person rafael is a danger to is himself.

well. and possibly them, after that performance. ]

It's me. [ she announces herself in a quiet voice, moving to approach him with caution. ]

.

[romanticidal]

[ he looks up at the sound of her voice, expression strained, and troubled, one hand shoved in his pocket as the other clenches and unclenches involuntarily. it's hard to tell whether he's relieved or not by her appearance, and he looks away sharply. ] Buffy...

[ he cuts off. WHAT CAN HE EVEN SAY ABOUT ALL THAT. ]

[slay]

[ she rests her hand briefly on the back of his upper arm, ready to offer sympathy, but the tension in his voice snaps something within her, and as he turns away, she realizes this isn't a distraught hug it out moment. she drops her hand and lowers her head. ]

I'm sorry. You have to believe me, I - I had no idea they were planning that. I wouldn't have let them.

[romanticidal]

[ his arm is tense under her touch and when she removes her hand, he turns towards the wall and slams a fist against it. ] He claimed to care for her, and this is what he does to her?

[slay]

[ buffy doesn't jump, precisely, but she does tense instantaneously upon impact. the tendons of her neck become more visible, and her fists clench - but only briefly, while she squeezes her eyes shut. when she opens them again, she's at ease - but merely wary. ]

That's Des for ya. Guy wouldn't know a good decision if it broke all his fingers. Which, believe me, is on my to-do list. [ she grinds her jaw, because it's not like she's thrilled about this turn of events either. ]