Page 9 of Contention

Somehow, she’d imagined he’d be Rugby. Hulking and aggressive. Not…sleek and cultured looking.

Judge Canry doesn’t look impressed in the least, seemingly muttering something under his breath. He gestures with his hand absently, as if dismissing Calais entirely.

Then, the proceedings begin.

Kara watches as Derrick gives his opening arguments, standing with a certain elegance as he speaks to the crowd and the jury. He’s serious, earnest, and paints the defense in quite the terrible light. “To summarize,” he concludes, “I’m going to prove that the defense took advantage of their power, especially in Mr. Dotaire’s case, to rape Debra Mills. Not only was she taken advantage of, but theDark Miragedid not step in or protect her person when she screamed for help. What sort of establishment hires people that torture others for enjoyment? And I don’t mean ‘torture’ with the crack of a whip or slap of a flog; I mean hanging someone from the ceiling with a hook in their anal cavity as they scream to be let down, only to be raped once released from suspension. TheDark Mirageis grossly negligent and is well aware that many of their employees have criminal records. Thank you.”

The Judge inclines his head, “Thank you, Mr. Benson. Well spoken.”

As Derrick returns towards their table, Trouble stands up to replace him in the front of the room. With a shark grin, he wiggles his eyebrows at Derrick in passing, head turned so the Judge can’t see. Derrick scoffs.

Where Derrick is elegant when giving statements, this man is electric and Kara can’t take her eyes away as he passionately states his piece for the defense. She tells herself she’s only paying such close attention because it’s her job to, but there’s something about him that’s magnetizing.

That, and he’s absolutely awful. Awful, because he’s spinning his tale like Debra is crying rape after being ashamed of what she did with her Dom, that’s she’s a known masochist, that Trouble’s got pages of her blog printed out to share with the jury, things written in her own words about how she enjoys ‘the lifestyle’ she’s found in theDark Mirage.

But, damn, he’s good at making it sound like the reality. Kara feels her stomach sink slightly; Derrick wasn’t joking when he said this case would be tough.He’s smooth. He could talk his way out of a dark alley mugging.

Chapter 4

The proceedings drag on through the day. Pieces of evidence presented, arguments and outbursts prevalent.

Sunshine is currently up front, schmoozing his witness; a young woman who holds a ‘gold membership status’. Also known as, she frequents the forty-first floor, where all the freaky and absolutely unusual shit occurs at the club. The floor is only open to those who pay the exorbitant membership fees of theDark Mirage.

If one didn’t pay those membership fees, one could only access the fortieth floor, or the general lounge of the private club. If one wanted a fetish met, one needed to pay for the fucking privilege. Literally.

As in, one thousand dollars per month. Seriously obscene. The things people will do to get their rocks off…

The witness is drawling on and on about the club and her positive experiences, Sunshine clearly leading her by the nose. The more the witness talks, the more it sounds like the club is going to be dismissed from charges. It’s giving Kara heartburn.

Shifting through the papers, Kara finds herself caught on an oddity that the inspector called out on theDark Mirage’sfinancials. In red pen, they circled a few numbers. Every few months, there would be a large sum of money, with a bogus note explaining it away, deposited in different accounts.

It could be fraud. Embezzlement. Or. OR.

It could be payoffs…

In small letters,‘hush money???’ was written out on the paper.

Meanwhile, Sunshine is leaning against the witness stand, sympathetically cooing with the girl there. “So, what you’re saying is, you’ve never felt unsafe at theDark Mirageor to that extent, with Max Dotaire?”

The girl, or woman rather, hidden under all her dark makeup, nods earnestly. Sunshine smiles gently, “Please, use your words, Miss Farnsworth.”

The witness flushes, eyes wide and adoring as she looks at him. “Oh, yes, Sir. I’ve always felt safe at theMirage. Maxy is one of the best Doms I’ve worked with.So professional. He always knows just what you need.”

It’s gag worthy and Kara is going to say something if Derrick and Bob won’t. Debra looks ill, watching the scene unfold in front of her.

Sunshine clearly isn’t done with his obscenely flirtatious conversation with the witness. “Miss Farnsworth, you earlier mentioned that Debra Mills was struggling to pay her monthly membership fees and had an argument with Paxton Brooker over them. Now, in your opinion, is it possible that Debra Mills is looking for the ultimate payday-”

Oh, get the fuck down, boy.

Kara stands up, one hand slamming flat on the table loudly.

“Your Honor, this is absurd,” Kara says as she gestures at the scene before them with a zigzag motion of her free hand. “Our client not swimming in cash does not preclude an elaborate scheme to bankrupt Paxton Brooker. We are here to discuss whether a rape occurred and what theDark Mirage’sinvolvement is. In fact, we have found record of unusual payments being made to multiple different accounts sporadically. We’ve been told anyone who abandons their membership at the club must sign an NDA. I guarantee there is a pattern of abuse here and we can prove it as we move forward. TheDark Mirageis shielding abusers from justice.”

Judge Canry purses his lips, giving her a blank look that makes her guts quiver with the urge to release. Did she speak completely out of turn? Or…? “I imagine the prosecution will intend to bring forth such witnesses to support this claim that NDA’s are hiding abuse?”

It’s then that Kara feels all eyes on her, the Judge staring at her intently. She feels like a fish out of water, gasping for air. “Ah,” Kara utters lamely, “Yes. We will. That’s all, your Honor.”

Crap, why did I speak up? I probably sounded like a fool.She keeps replaying every word over at the speed of light in her head, feeling nauseous. She should have let Derrick speak. Then-

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