Ta-da~ This chapter was a bit of a bore to write, is why I took so long :(

Chapter Ten: Verdict

Thompson stepped closer to Kurt with a knowing glint in his eyes. "Kurt, how would you describe the relationship with your mother and father?"

Okay. Easy question. "I love my mother very much. Even though I only had her for a few years, she taught me a lot of valuable things. She always said that to be a good person, I had to be selfless. And I tried to be. My father helped me along the way. He always cared for the both of us; he put bread on the table, worked very hard and somehow found the time to spend time equally with my mom and me." Kurt praised the gods above he wasn't hooked up to a lie detector. It was partly true. In the beginning toddler years Kurt remembered his parents being extremely happy together. That, he guessed, was the honeymoon phase.

"How did your mother die, Kurt?"

He bent his head. "It was a freak accident. A fire somehow started and the entire shop my dad owned burnt to the ground."

Thompson shook his head in mock empathy. "Did you ever find the man responsible for this crime?"

"No, the police never did. They couldn't even determine the cause of the fire."

Thompson let that sink in for a moment, shooting Sharikova a dismayed look, before continuing. "What was life like after the fire?"

"It was horrible. We lost…everything. My mother was gone, my dad's business was gone and there were no immediate family willing to help us." Which was actually true because Kurt never remembered having cousins to play with or aunts and uncles to buy him birthday presents.

"How did your father react?"

"He was devastated, obviously. He couldn't keep a proper job. I mean, how could someone be expected to get back on track so easily when they're going through so much emotional pain?" Kurt huffed. "No one understood that he just needed more time to recover. So I helped him in the only way I could."

"And how did you help him, Kurt?" Thompson encouraged.

"I offered to sell my body." With a little persuasion; forceful persuasion that he soon got over. Kurt softened his gaze and turned to the jury. "You have to understand, I had to help him in any way I could. My dad was lost in his despair. The accident hurt him an awful lot; more than it hurt me because that was his wife. He was angry and upset and hated everything and I couldn't stand to see him like that." This time, Kurt didn't bite back the tears. He let his eyes sting and his vision cloud. "How would you feel to see someone who's always so strong-willed and kind-hearted break down every single night because he didn't know what else to do?" Andy spent his nights at the bar and left Kurt home alone more often than not. But Andy was recuperating in any way he thought possible. "He had no job and a thirteen year old son to take care of. You have to understand there was no other way out." Tears streamed down his face. Lies, lies, lies; the Voice kept hissing yes, go on.

"Did the money you received help in any way?"

Kurt nodded enthusiastically. "We had a lot of food in the house and my dad even bought a television for us to watch together. I got new clothes and books to read."

"Do you regret your decision, Kurt?"

"Of course not," he sniffled, wiping his nose on the sleeve of his shirt. "Every morning I woke up thankful for it and how much I've helped our little family." A bold-faced lie. "I love my father and he loves me. He was only trying to help us at having a better life. If it wasn't for this, we would have been living on the streets with nothing to eat. I don't want to be sent off to some orphanage filled with strangers. We were perfectly fine before the cops came in and ruined it all. Everyone loves differently and I know how much it hurt my father to see me doing this but I had to contribute in some way." He hiccupped. "I was so happy and now I'm going to end up losing both of my parents. Please, I'm begging you, don't let them take my father away." He was truly crying now without having to force it. The reality had just sunk in. He was literally going to live the rest of his life without either of his parents.

Thompson's lips twitched. "No further questions, Your Honor."

Kurt chanced a glance at his father who had his head down but a small smile on his face. Kurt's chest swelled with pride. He imagined he'd get a pat on the head from Andy right about now. He had done well.

"Does the prosecutor wish to question the witness?"

Cooper said yes but didn't bother leaving his seat. "At what age, Kurt, did you say you first offered to, and I quote, sell your body?"

"I was twelve, almost thirteen."

"And did your father readily agreed to this idea?"

Kurt bit his lip. "It took him a, um a night or two to think about it. But he - he had no choice." Fuck, he wasn't supposed to stutter. Now they could see right through him.

"Were all the men you met pleasant to service?"

Kurt's eyes widened in fear at the war-like flashbacks he got just from the mention of the several men. He quickly tried to hide it with a forced smile. "They weren't pleasant but they weren't terrible either."

Cooper pursed his lips. "I see. Did your father supervise these events?"

He could feel the fear building up again. "N-no but if I called for him he'd come right away." Lies. Andy only came if Kurt called more than once.

"So there were instances where you had to call for him?"

It pained him to remember. "Of course there were. Sometimes it hurt really ba-" Kurt gasped and slapped a hand over his mouth. His eyes filled with water. He was a fucking idiot. He'd just given Cooper exactly what he wanted.

"No further questions, Your Honor." The judge dismissed Kurt. He got up, eyes wide open and shimmering with tears, and walked on shaky legs back to his seat with his head bowed. He didn't dare look at his dad. He fucked up. He fucked up he fucked up he fucked up. He slapped himself for being so stupid and immediately Ashley's hand gripped his tightly. She looked at him with a mixture of confusion and worry. Kurt tore his hand away and instead took to picking at the skin around his fingernail as a form of punishment. You're the worst, Kurt the Voice said. You can't even lie properly. Now your dad's going to jail and you're going to be left all alone. He started crying again and shoved a fist in his mouth to keep quiet. His shoulders racked with his sobs. The court case continued.

"The defense would like to call a witness, Your Honor."

"Proceed," the judge said.

"I would like to call on Dr David Simpson to the stand." Kurt was afraid to look up to see who this doctor was because he didn't want everyone to see him crying even though they must have figured it by now.

"Dr Simspon, for how many years have you worked as a psychiatrist?" A psychiatrist? Kurt's head snapped up. A man with wild hair and wearing a lab coat with a pair of glasses tucked into the pocket was sat at the witness stand.

"For ten years."

"What was your diagnosis for Mr. Andy Caffrey?"

"Mr. Caffrey suffers from extreme clinical depression and paranoia which when existing at the same time, can lead to severe bouts of anxiety, fear and rash or deluded decisions. I'm afraid Mr. Caffrey is in an irrational state right now and has been for a while now. The stage of his depression and paranoia has proven to be quite developed, meaning he has been mentally ill for quite a few years."

Thompson nodded. "Do you think this illness could have led Mr. Caffrey to accept the idea of prostituting his son?"

Simspon reached up to nudge at the bridge of his nose but upon realizing he wasn't wearing his glasses, quickly dropped his hand. "As I said, it can lead to deluded and irrational decision making. Mr. Caffrey would most certainly not have been in the right state of mind when his son offered his body as a means of money-making."

"Thank you. No further questions, Your Honor."

"The witness is excused," Judge Miriam said. "Does the defense rest?"

Thompson bowed his head slightly. "Yes, Your Honor."

Clinical depression. Paranoia. The words rang around in Kurt's head and the more he thought of it, the more believable it became. Maybe his father had been suffering all these years and Kurt hadn't notice. He was even more selfish than he thought; anyone would be able to identify clinical depression even from a distance. He was about to slap himself again but felt Ashley's steely gaze on him.

Cooper rose from his seat. "The prosecutor would like to call a witness, Your Honor." The judge allowed it. "The prosecutor calls on Dr Sandeep Maharaj."

A short, stooped Indian man took the place of Simpson on the stand. He wore his glasses perched atop his head.

"Mr. Maharaj, how long have you been a general doctor?"

"For about seventeen years."

"When did you see my client, Kurt Caffrey?"

"About three weeks ago at the hospital. I conducted a full body examination on him when I was told that he had been prostituted."

"What were your findings, doctor?"

He listed them off on his fingers. "Several small tears in his anus with slight bleeding, chafed and bleeding wrists and ankles in the circular shape of handcuffs, teeth marks that broke through the skin all over his body as well as a copious amount of cocaine and Viagra in his bloodstream." Kurt screwed up his face. Was this doctor lying? Kurt couldn't remember snorting any coke. There was the bottle of Viagra on the floor but… If it was one thing Andy was against, it was Kurt taking drugs. He denied it to all his customers. This doctor had to be lying.

"For the sake of the jury, can you explain the use of these drugs?"

"Cocaine is typically used to get high." He used finger quotes around the last two words. "It is a dangerous, extremely addictive drug and the withdrawal symptoms are quite severe such as vomiting, violent mood swings, dizziness, just to name a few. Viagra is used amongst men usually over the age of fifty, or anyone with erectile dysfunctions who wishes to get an erection. When used by someone who gets erections easily, such as the young Kurt, Viagra sometimes has negative side effects for example painful erections lasting for several hours, _

"Was Kurt considered healthy despite those injuries listed?"

Maharaj brought his bushy brows together. "No, actually. He had iron, calcium, magnesium and B-vitamin deficiency as though he had barely been eating or had to eat the same thing over and over for a long period of time, possibly several weeks."

"What would these deficiencies have caused?"

He lifted his hand to list them off. "Anaemia, that is, a low red blood cell count that causes fatigue, poor concentration and shortness of breath, hypocalcemia which can cause spasms of the hands and feet, hypomagnesia which can lead to cramps, tremors, insomnia and a reduced ability to learn. A deficiency in B-vitamins leads to a variety of diseases such as beri-beri which includes weight loss, emotional disturbances and even heart failure and death in advanced cases. Kurt, however, wasn't in the advanced stages of any of these deficiencies but if he had not been found sooner, he would have been closer to death than he thought."

Kurt sucked in a sharp breath. The doctor was making it seem like Andy had been depriving him of proper food but really he… He paused. He honestly didn't know why Andy did that. He'd have to mull over it later.

"Thank you, doctor. No further questions, Your Honor."

Judge Miriam asked Thompson if he wanted to ask the doctor any questions. Thompson was so angry that shaking his head looked like a violent effort. "Do the People rest?"

"Your Honor, the People rest their case," Cooper answered.

Kurt could feel the court trial coming to a close. He felt the shift in the atmosphere when the jurors and the audience realized there were no other witnesses to be called. Kurt was more apprehensive than ever. Looking over at his father, Andy was whispering with Thompson but he didn't seem as fearful as Kurt expected. Maybe he didn't do so badly after all.

Judge Miriam cleared her throat. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I will now read to you the law you must follow in deciding this case. To prove the crime charged against the defendant, the prosecution must prove three things to you: First, the defendant wilfully prostituted his son between the ages of twelve and sixteen. Second, the defendant used the illegal drug cocaine in the presence of a minor. Third, the defendant intended to continue prostituting his son unless authorities had arrived. If each of you believe that the prosecution has proved all three of these things beyond a reasonable doubt, then you should find the defendant guilty. If you believe the prosecution did not prove any one of these things beyond a reasonable doubt, then you must find the defendant not guilty. Proof beyond reasonable doubt does not mean beyond all possible doubt. It means you must consider all of the evidence and that you are very sure that the charge is true."

The judge looked at Cooper and Thompson. "Are you ready with your final arguments?" Kurt's heart skipped a beat at the word final. They were almost finished.

"Yes Your Honor," they both answered.

"Proceed."

Cooper stood up and faced the jury. He flexed his hands and loosened the tie around his neck. "Your Honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury: the judge has told you I must prove these three things. As heard in Kurt's testimony, he had offered himself up for prostitution at the age of twelve, almost thirteen and has been doing so until a couple weeks ago when he was found and had been sixteen already. Mr. Caffrey had agreed to prostitute Kurt, as his testimony goes, and if I have to remind you, prostitution is an illegal act and child prostitution has even more severe consequences.

"Secondly, Ms. Sharikova and the police squad that accompanied her have testified that when they entered the apartment, they found Mr. Caffrey administering the illegal drug cocaine onto himself and as Dr Maharaj stated, they found the same drug in Kurt's body, most likely gotten from Mr. Caffrey himself.

"Thirdly, again taken from Kurt's testimony, Kurt himself had said that if the police hadn't entered, they would have been happy on their own by continuing to sell Kurt's body because the money received helped them to keep them off the streets and buy the food."

Cooper paused to take a breath. He hadn't paused once while proving the evidence, eyes glinting and wild. "According to what the judge told you, that is all we, the People, have to prove. Based on the evidence, you must find the defendant guilty. Thank you."

He returned to his seat, the fire dying down in his eyes, but he had a triumphant look on his face. Kurt was screwed.

It was Thompson's turn. He stood and faced the jury. "Your Honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury: Mr. Caffrey has been deemed mentally insane by Doctor Simpson. Therefore, he cannot be held completely accountable for his actions as they had been rash and deluded, as described by Doctor Simpson. The prostitution of his son, his one and only son, thus, had been unwilling because of the ill state of his mind. The three things the prosecution had to prove to you should not determine what happens to this man. In my honest opinion, Mr. Caffrey should be admitted into a care facility for psychiatric evaluation, therapy and treatment instead of serving jail time. The defence pleads guilty but mentally ill."

Kurt's head got caught in a vice-like grip where it was hard to think. His father was insane. He was going to a mental asylum instead of jail but Kurt didn't know which was better. Would he be able to see his father in the asylum or were the rules for that strict? What if Andy was no longer allowed to see Kurt because he would reverse the mental progress made in the asylum? The more questions he asked himself, the more his head pounded.

"Will the judge foreperson please stand," Judge Miriam said. "Has the jury reached a unanimous verdict?"

"Yes," the foreperson answered and handed the clerk a piece of paper.

The clerk read from the sheet, "The jury finds the defendant guilty but mentally insane."

Kurt was at a loss. He didn't know what to say, how to act, what to feel. He had gone through everything in this one trial: pain, relief, anguish, hope, despair, fear, hate until finally those emotions were indistinguishable and he just felt numb. Cooper and Ashley were grinning next to him.

"The jury is thanked and excused. Court is adjourned." The pound of the gavel felt like a hammer nailed him right on the head. The overlooking officer walked over to his father and escorted Andy out by the handcuffs. Andy looked quite pleased with the verdict. Then again, he must be knowing he wasn't going to jail anytime soon. But he wasn't going to get to see his son which left Kurt devastated and wondering why Andy wasn't similarly affected. He must have been hiding it; he must have known that to break down now was a sign of weakness that vultures preyed on.

And Kurt had broken down. He was weak and selfish and now he had to pay for the consequences.

"Kurt?" Ashley asked. "It's over. We have to go now." He ended up outside only because she and Cooper half-lifted half-dragged him out of the court room. The fresh, slightly chilly air made him draw his arms around himself. Ashley was having a conversation with Cooper about the verdict but when she noticed how still and silent he was, she placed a finger under his chin and lifted his head.

"I want you to know something, kid. Your father was never going to be proven not guilty. It was either prison or the mad house and somehow they found a doctor to do just that. I'm afraid your sob speech didn't have the desired effect you wanted. It just made you seem like you were just as crazy because of what your dad did to you."

"Don't you think you're being a bit too harsh, Ashley?" Cooper intervened, pushing his larger body between the two. "He's hurting right now. Give him some time, okay?"

Ashley rolled her eyes. "He'll come to his senses eventually. Now, let's get out of here. I'd love to have a Big Mac right now."