Chapter 9b: Dealing With the Pack part 2

"Leah Clearwater, if you please." Meredith said, gesturing to the chair beside the committee table.

"Why does the kid from Boston get to stay where he is and I have to sit in the hotseat?" Leah asked nastily.

"Leah!" Jacob barked, eyes blazing.

"Yes, Alpha." Leah cringed, making her way to the front.

"Whenever you are ready, Ms. Clearwater." Meredith said when Leah had taken her seat.

"David and I were on patrol in the Northeast quadrant, near the no-man's land when we scented a stranger on our lands. He smelled like a Cold One and didn't respond when we tried to speak with him. We felt he was a danger to us so we attacked, when he fled, we chased him. The female Cold One came for him which only confirmed our theory, then two other Cold Ones violated our boundaries. They were headed in the direction of our Alpha's home and fearing for him, I called the rest of the pack and we chased after them. When we got back, everyone but Sam hit some kind of wall and the Alpha sent us back out. That's it." Leah said.

"Amy Weber, Ms. Clearwater. Based on the maps we have of territorial boundaries, Harry would have had to pass through two other quadrants to get anywhere near the no-man's lands, and yet you say you were not alerted to the presence of a stranger on your lands?" Amy asked.

"If I may, Madam Chairwoman," Paul said, rising from his seat in the audience. "Jamie and I were at the upper end of our our patrol. Mr. Lupin-Black would only have passed through the lower portion of our zone and been too far away to scent. We were only alerted to his presence when Leah called danger, and we never got close enough to scent him."

"It was the same for us," Seth said, also rising. "jared and I were in the far eastern part of our zone, near the road to Forks. Mr. Lupin-Black would only have been in our zone for a few minutes if he was running as a wolf. We definitely would not have scented him, and we never got close enough to scent him when Leah called out either."

"Esme Cullen. I have a question for Mr. Lupin-Black," said Esme, speaking for the first time.

Jacob nudged Harry, who had fallen into a light doze.

"Huh? What?" Harry asked, slightly confused.

"Esme wants to ask you a question." Jacob whispered to him.

"Oh." Harry said, then louder, "Please forgive me, Madam Cullen, you have a question?"

"Why didn't you answer Ms. Clearwater and Mr. Bohannon when they tried to communicate with you?" Esme asked.

"I am an Occlumens, Madam Cullen. I keep my shields up at all times for my own protection and the protection of others. The only channel I keep open is for my pack. Apparently, this pack operated on a different... um... frequency, I guess would be the best word. Everything was happening so fast, I didn't have time to find the correct frequency." Harry said.

"Yet we all heard you clearly when you came in. How do you explain that?" Alasdair asked.

"I had to drop my shields completely to broadcast to so many people. I would have a killer migraine right now if I didn't hurt so badly everywhere else. I'm actually surprised nothing blew up." Harry said.

"Ms. Clearwater, when did you realize Mr. Lupin-Black was, in fact, not a vampire?" Alex asked.

"When the Chairwoman read out all that stuff about him. As far as I was concerned, he was a Cold one and it is our job to stop any Cold One from crossing our borders, by any means necessary." Leah said.

"You reacted rather violently to your Alpha granting protection for Doctor, Mister and Miss Cullen. Why?" Alex asked.

"Part of our treaty with the bloodsuckers is that they don't come on our land for any reason, so there was no reason for the Alpha to offer them protection unless they had brainwashed him or something." Leah said.

Murmurs washed through the audience at Leah's last statement, but Meredith quickly hushed them.

"Thank you, Ms. Clearwater, you are excused." Meredith said, "David Bohannon, you are next."

David's story was much the same as Leah's, except when it came time for the question and answer portion of his testimony. When asked when he realized Harry was not a vampire, his answer was damning.

"I realized right after I hit him," David said, "He smelled similar to a Cold One, but different enough that I could tell his heart still beat. He obviously wasn't one of us, but he wasn't a Cold One either. I backed off, but kept an eye on him. He could still have been a threat. I tried to tell Leah, but she had me blocked out."

"Why did you back off if you still considered him a threat?" Esme asked.

"I considered him a potential threat. He wasn't a werewolf, even though he had a wolf's form, and he wasn't a Cold One because his heart still beat. He also wasn't a true wolf. First of all because he only attacked after we did and secondly, true wolves just don't grow that big. I thought if we backed off, he would reveal himself and we could further assess the threat from there." David answered.

"One last question, Mr. Bohannon, we have heard about the less than stellar reaction Ms. Clearwater had to the Alpha's order of protection, but you seemed not to care, why?" Amy asked.

David hesitated, shooting Jacob a look that clearly said he was uncomfortable with answering the question without his Alpha's permission.

"Speak out, David, its alright." Jacob said, reassuring his newest wolf.

"Honestly, Madam Weber, my Alpha does a lot of strange things, but he keeps the peace. That's why he's Alpha and I'm not. It wasn't really out of character for him." David said, smiling apologetically at Jacob. Jacob nodded at David to let him know it was alright and Meredith dismissed him.

Alice, Edward, Bella, Billy, Jacob, Sam and Carlisle took the stand, each in turn, gave their testimonies and answered the panel's questions. Finally it was Angela's turn.

She took the stand and recalled everything form the frantic phone call from Bella and the happenings in the operating tent to the aftermath. Before she left the stand, she added one last thing.

"If it please the committee," she said, "I would like to enter into evidence a memory, taken from Mr. Lupin-Black upon his arrival on our operating table. It details the event directly preceding the attack and the attack himself. It is the reason I called for the investigation. Please be aware that it is graphic and will be difficult to view." With that, Angela touched her wand to the Pensieve and an image, much like a movie projector would produce, appeared above it. Another tap from Angela's wand and the memory started to play.

When it had played through, Angela drew the image back into her wand and placed it in a vial, which she then placed on the table next to Percy. She walked back to her seat beside Jacob and Harry amidst silence from both the panel and the audience. Harry, by this time was, thankfully, asleep, held safely in Jacob's arms and had missed the end of Angela's testimony. The tent was totally silent for a few more minutes, then Meredith cleared her throat.

"That concludes testimony into this matter. The panel will now deliberate. Alpha Black, we invite you to join us, as is your right." Meredith said.

"I concede my right, Madam Chairwoman," Jacob said, "this matter is out of my hands. The committee ruling is final and will not be contested by either Quileute Pack or Tribe."

"As you wish, Alpha Black. We will put up the privacy spells now. A chime will sound when we are ready to render our verdict." Meredith said.

"Let's put Harry back to bed, Jacob. It could take a while. Maybe Harry will stay asleep this time." Angela said.

Jacob left Harry in Angela's capeable hands, and made his way back outside. He would have liked to stay with Harry, but he couldn't dump all of the hosting duties on Sam, that would be rude. He nodded to Sam and Bella and they headed inside to find refreshments. When they were past him, Jacob whistled for attention.

"I've got snacks and drinks coming, and I would like to extend hunting privileges to those that would prefer to hunt. Please mind the borders and do not stray into the Outlands. They are clearly marked. Animals only, the bear is particularly good this time of year." Jacob said, "Also, please stay with a member of the Quileute Pack, Edward or Alice Cullen so we can call you back if you have not returned by the time the committee has voted. Leah, you stay here."

Jacob jumped off the tree stump he was standing on and watched his pack disburse with most of the visitors. The Cullen's he noticed stayed close to the house and Bella. Jacob took a tray of sandwitches and drinks to the tent where Meredith took them with a grateful nod. When he turned back to the house, he was astonished to see a tiger, cougar, Paul and Jamie dragging two bear carcasses out of the woods with the rest of the pack, howling with wolfish laughter following.

"Careful guys, this one's still alive, only stunned. We brought it for the vampires." Said the tiger, resolving its-self into Coryn, "The other one is to share. Butcher it or dig in, either way works."

"Thank you, but things might get messy if this thing wakes up, and it's not pleasant to watch a vampire eat moving prey. It might be best to butcher this one too." Carlisle said.

"Hang on. Hey, Angela, will a sleep spell work on a bear?" Jacob called.

"I doubt it, but I know something that will." Angela said.

"Well?" Jacob said.

"Oh, keep your pants on, I need my wand." Angela said, picking up her wand from the ground where she had been sitting. "Ursa Mortis!" She said, aiming at the bear.

The bear, who had been starting to wake up, went still. The only indication that it was still alive was the steady rise and fall of its chest.

"Ha!" Angela laughed, "It won't be waking up from that, and unlike a Petrificus, you can still get the blood out."

"Cool," said Jasper, "You know when we are done, you can still eat it. There will be enough blood left in the meat that its not dry and cooking it to medium denatures our venom. Makes it completely harmless."

"Good to know." said Jacob.

Angela and Jacob wandered off to talk with the other guests. Now that the initial confusion was over, Jacob was much more interested in talking to them. He was deep in a conversation with Coryn and George about Animagi and the acquiring of an animal form when a chime sounded through the yard signaling the end of the committee deliberations.

The committee sat behind the table, their expressions betraying nothing as everyone took their seats. When the audience stilled, Meredith rendered the committee's verdict.

"It is the opinion of this committee that, in the matter of the attack on Harry James Lupin-Black, David Bohannon was justified in his actions, and as he halted his attack when Mr. Lupin-Black proved not to be a viable threat, he shall be dealt with as his Alpha sees fit." Meredith paused to let the murmuring die down.

"It is the further opinion of this committee that, in the matter of the attack on Harry James Lupin-Black, Leah Clearwater did knowingly and willingly continue to attack Mr. Lupin-Black after he was revealed as a non-threat, despite her packmate's warnings, in an attempt to take Mr. Lupin-Black's life.

"We have hereby decided, in a unanimous verdict, that Ms. Clearwater shall be taken from this place, in the custody of the DMA, to Alcatraz Island, along with testimony and evidence presented here today, there to be held pending trial with veritaserum, in accordance with FBMI rules and regulations on the charge of Attempted Murder. If convicted, she shall serve a sentence of no less than 15 years in maximum security on Alcatraz Island. Does Alpha Black wish to contest the verdict as it has been rendered?" Meredith asked.

"I have no idea what I would be contesting. Could you repeat that in English?" Jacob asked.

"What it boils down to is this:" Alex spoke up from behind Meredith, "David is innocent, do what you want with him."

"Yeah, I got that part, what about Leah?" Jacob asked.

"We think she's guilty of attempted murder. We want to arrest her and hold her for trial under truth serum. If she's convicted, she will serve at least 15 years in a maximum security clink. You wanna contest the verdict?" Alex explained.

Jacob thought for a minute. Fifteen years was a long time, but the violent tendancies and the insubordination Leah had shown to him and to Sam made Jacob wonder if anything he could do, short of killing her outright, would have any affect on her. Jacob nodded to himself. He had made his decision.

"Let the verdict stand." Jacob said.