Vigilare (23 page)

“Happy to do it, Ms. Raines,” he humbly ducks his head, oddly enough.

“How long have you known Ms. DeLuca?”

“About a year. Since she hired on with VPD.”

“I understand you were hesitant to be partnered up with her,” Aubrey says, a friendly smile surfacing.

He grins, shifting in his chair. “You ever try and put two alpha dogs together, Ms. Raines?”

She shakes her head enthusiastically, encouraging him to continue.

“There’s a reason everyone isn’t a born leader. Betas partner best with alphas. When you put two alphas together, it’s like a tug-of-war, they dig in with all they’ve got, but rarely get anywhere because both want to lead. Occasionally,” he says, his focus shifting to and remaining on Gina, “you put two alphas together, and instead of pulling, they push one another...to be better.”

“So your hesitancy had nothing to do with her qualifications as an officer?”

“If you’ve talked to my counterparts, then you know I have one of the most hardcore reputations when it comes to standards, worthiness. It’s a pride thing. I expect the best, of myself, and anyone who’s assigned to my unit. If I had my choice of partners, I’d pick Gina DeLuca every day of the week. Hands down.”

Mr. McVain rolls his eyes dismissively, wondering when the love fest will end and the real questioning will begin.

“On the night in question, at Randall Barnes’ apartment, when you walked in on Gina...Vigilare and Randall. Can you describe the scene?”

“Gina...Vigilare had chased Randall from Tessa’s bedroom into the living room. She had plenty of time to run. Save herself from getting caught, but she didn’t. She couldn’t leave Tessa.”

Aubrey circles in front of the witness stand, her eyes searching from Tony to the jury, attempting to read their interpretation of his testimony. “So she was there, in the apartment when you broke through the door?”

“Yes.”

“Was Randall harmed in any way, at that point?”

“Not physically, no. Scared out of his mind, maybe, for getting caught with his pants down,” Tony scoffs.

“Objection,” Mr. McVain states.

“Objection, my ass! Hell, I think the city ought to hire her.” He motions to Gina.

“Detective,” Judge Carter warns, “clean it up.”

“Yes Ma’am,” he quickly acknowledges. “That’s what these guys need. Imagine, every time someone in the city thought about raping a kid or a woman, and they get a little visit from a kick-butt female vigilante,” his voice on the rise simply by the excitement of such a premise. “Bet we’d have a lot fewer predators lurking around the streets.”

Aubrey nods affirmatively, redirecting him, “Once you entered the apartment, did she come at you in a threatening manner?”

“No,” he answers quickly. “I hemmed her up in the kitchen. Fight or flight kicked in, and she chose to fight. Fair and skilled, I might add.”

Mr. McVain tosses his pencil into the air, allowing it to plummet down onto the prosecution table, completely annoyed at Tony’s continuous defense of Gina’s actions.

“How long did this go on? The two of you squaring off ?”

“Long enough for her to tell me about Tessa, in the bedroom, and what Randall had attempted to do to her.”

“She had the opportunity to run, escape, but opted not to for the safety of a young girl. And even amidst a sparring match with you, endangering her life as well as her identity, her main concern was to inform you about Tessa?”

Tony nods. “Sounds real dangerous, doesn’t she?” he dismisses sarcastically.

“How did you get away from her?” Aubrey leads.

“I didn’t,” he exclaims, a smile forming. “She had me in a choke hold. Told me all about it. How I would feel a little pressure and then I would be out, just for a few seconds, and she would be gone when I woke. Felt like I was talking to the anesthesiologist right before going under for surgery,” he jokes, receiving yet another scattered round of chuckles from the courtroom.

“Objection,” Mr. McVain intervenes. “You can’t compare a murderer to a Doctor of Medicine.”

“Sustained,” Judge Carter upholds. “This is not Comedy Central, Detective. Please refrain from ad-libs.”

Tony nods, answering directly, “Randall shot her, in the back. That’s how I got away from her.”

“She went down?”

“No. The gunshot stunned her, momentarily, but within seconds she had this power, like nothing else,” Tony testifies with wonderment as if he still can’t believe it.

“Power?” Aubrey inquires.

“Yeah. It was like the gunshot made her stronger. And her eyes sparkled, luminescent emerald green. I know it sounds crazy,” Tony addresses the jury. “I wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t see it with my own eyes.”

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” She smiles.

“Mesmerizing,” he confirms. “Literally. I couldn’t look away. I tried, but when she locked her eyes on mine, it was like she was getting a read on me.”

“Where was Randall when all of this was taking place?”

“Watching, from a distance.”

“So he saw her eyes, the light? You can’t miss it if you’re in the same room,” Aubrey reasons knowingly.

“Oh yeah. She’s the one who pulled her eyes from me to him. She could’ve killed me, but she didn’t. She went after Randall. That’s why I’m convinced she is no cold-blooded murderer. She delivers retribution. An eye for an eye, so to speak. Evil for evil.”

“Objection,” Mr. McVain spews. “Speculation.”

“Overruled. Continue,” Judge Carter allows curiously.

Aubrey beckons Tony to carry on.

“She looked up from me, kind of like she didn’t find what she expected to find. And as soon as she locked eyes on Randall, she lunged at him. From me to you,” he addresses the jury, pointing out the distance. “Her mark, spot on. She had him up against the wall, her eyes locked on his. He couldn’t close his eyes or pull them away from her. I surely couldn’t get her off of him. Whatever she was looking for, she found it in Randall. In his eyes.”

“The window to the soul, so they say,” Aubrey concludes.

Tony nods his head. “Must be the blood loss from her shoulder wound was too much to sustain the energy she was exerting, because she fainted. Fell to the floor, her hold on Randall released.”

“And when you took the mask off, she was unconscious?”

“Yes.”

“And when you brought up the episode, during her recovery at the hospital, what was her reaction?”

“No recollection,” he confirms. “Total confusion and disbelief.”

Aubrey digresses, “She’s been your partner on the case, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Eight of the fifteen homicide scenes have resulted in evidence of her DNA?”

“Yes.”

“What about the remaining seven scenes?”

“Still unclarified.”

“There’s been a lot of press around this case. Public outcries and support of Vigilare. Is it possible to have a copy cat, of sorts?”

“Certainly. That’s always a possibility.” Tony leans forward, his forearms resting on his knees, his time in the witness chair beginning to wear on him. “Civilians getting fed up, waiting for the system to deliver. Those looking for their fifteen minutes of fame. Opportunists, hopeful someone else in the spotlight will take the fall for their actions. We see all kinds.”

“How will we know?”

“There are no guarantees. I guess, you have to ask yourself, do you feel safer as a community with Gina DeLuca locked up, or not?”

“A woman, who in the midst of ridding the city of rapists and child molesters, saved my life, and recognized you as an
off-mark
, a good guy. A vigilante with a conscience,” Aubrey reasons.

Tony nods affirmatively. “Just imagine, if Vanguard had its very own Batman...woman,” he says with a smile. The idea processing and registering in a few hopeful faces of the jury and courtroom at large.

“Jesus,” Mr. McVain mutters, pushing himself back into his chair, kicking his legs up onto the table as if he is removing himself from the scenario, simply unable to tolerate anymore garble.

“That will be all, Detective. Thank you,” Aubrey dismisses him. She looks to Judge Carter, who gives her a nod while multi-tasking a cautionary gesture to Mr. McVain causing him to quickly pull his legs from the table, sitting upright. “Defense calls Dr. Gerald Godfrey to the stand.”

Chapter 16

DR. GODFREY’S STEPS are short and casual, his round face happy, the white lab coat swallowing his small, slightly stooped frame. Upon nestling into the witness chair, he scrunches up his nose assisting his glasses to the appropriate eye level.

“Dr. Godfrey, could you summarize your specialty for the jury?” Aubrey asks, her voice kind and gentle, reciprocating the face looking back at her.

“I’m a hematologist. A blood doctor, basically. I study the blood...its components, both healthy and diseased.”

“Do you work for the federal government, the ETNA division?”

“No. I’m what we in the business call a ‘freelance vampire,’” he chuckles with the blood reference. “I’m an independent contractor, Ms. Raines. Anybody can hire me.”

“Not just
any
independent contractor,” she notes. “The best, according to the latest poll in the Journal of Hematology.”

“Ah, they simply needed a new name to top the list this year,” he excuses. “I do tend to hire out to rather high profile cases. Those are the most interesting, I find.”

“ETNA hired you?” Aubrey clarifies.

“Yes.”

“Do you agree with Dr. Shaw’s evaluation of Ms. DeLuca?”

“In terms of the psychological evaluation, I’m afraid I have no authority in that jurisdiction.” He smiles. “However, as a hematologist, I can say blood constitutes seven percent of the human body. And if it is abnormal, it most certainly could affect every other aspect of bodily functions to include the psyche.”

“You concur, Ms. DeLuca’s blood is unique?”

“The most peculiar I’ve witnessed thus far in my career.”

“Without getting into too many specifics, could you help us understand the significance of her blood type and how it may lend itself to her Vigilare persona?”

“After intense study, I would theorize that Ms. DeLuca’s blood, when exposed to external oxygen, morphs into something catastrophic to her entire system. It changes her DNA, her strength, her abilities, everything, to which she is fully unaware.”

“As Ms. DeLuca testified, do you believe she does not recall when she transforms from her current self,” Aubrey pauses, motioning in her direction, “into Vigilare?”

“Would bet my life on it,” he says astutely.

“Could you elaborate?” Aubrey leads.

“While in my care, Ms. DeLuca had several amnesic episodes and flashbacks. My theory is that she is experiencing a mixture of severe post-traumatic stress, accompanied with dissociation when her sympathetic nervous system is fully engaged. The sympathetic nervous system jolts the body, propelling it to fight or flight—enhanced heart rate, respiratory rate, strength and keenness of senses.” Dr. Godfrey begins to talk with his hands now, the subject quite exciting to him. His animation pulls in the jury, as well as the rest of the courtroom. “When Gina transitions to Vigilare-mode, all of these things increase tenfold, brought on by the exposure of her infinitely unique blood to the external air. The severe change in her physical self, combined with the dissociation to her mental self, most likely brought on by a past traumatic experience, results in inability to recall herself as Vigilare. A blackout, so to speak.”

“Can she learn to identify and control the transformations?”

“Essentially,” he says, a poised index finger appearing to further explain. “She will have breakthroughs, as anyone experiences with any trait, talent.”

“Objection,” Mr. McVain calls. “Since when did a mental disorder become a talent?”

“Overruled, Counselor,” Judge Carter quiets his challenge, respectful of Dr. Godfrey’s perspective.

Aubrey spurs him along.

“My point,” he continues. “An olympic athlete does not simply become an olympic athlete. They train, prepare, identify, acknowledge, rally and regroup, until they figure out the winning combination. Ms. DeLuca has a lot of work ahead of her. Her power, her gift is untapped. Would be a shame to see such potential go to waste in a jail cell.”

Mr. McVain rolls his eyes.

“Were you able to witness her transformation into Vigilare during your evaluation?” Aubrey follows up.

“Unfortunately, no. The medications administered to maintain life often counteract natural trends in the body. It would be inhumane to force her to transform simply for our observation.” He gives Dr. Shaw of the white coats a reprimanding glance.

Aubrey pats the railing between her and Dr. Godfrey. “Thank you,” she says before returning to the defense table beside Gina.

“Mr. McVain,” Judge Carter beckons, sitting back in her chair, reviewing the witness list, pleased only one name remains.

Mr. McVain smirks, making his way to the witness stand while fingering his perfectly fluffy locks. “Inhumane,” he says. “Did you not observe Ms. DeLuca in a controlled environment, Dr. Godfrey?”

“Yes, the environment was controlled.”

“Then, why not a simple cut...a paper cut, if you will, to witness her
transformation?
”

Dr. Godfrey crosses one leg over the other, shifting in his chair. “It’s not that
simple
, Mr. McVain.”

Mr. McVain appears purposely and condescendingly perplexed, looking back and forth from Dr. Godfrey to the jury. “You said the key to Ms. DeLuca’s transformation was the exposure of her blood to external oxygen. A paper cut on one’s finger would expose the blood to external oxygen. Would it not?”

Dr. Godfrey leans onto his elbow against the armrest. The usual easygoing soul, slightly stirred by Mr. McVain’s arrogant presence. He forces a smile, attempting to feel the gesture. “Gina’s blood is not solely responsible for the transformation. Something inherently worthy of such a response has to trigger the transformation, in addition to the exposure of blood to oxygen.”

“Inherently worthy?” Mr. McVain prods.

“Something that causes the sympathetic nervous system to engage. Fear, anger, competition, intense exercise.”