Counsel

"Your lawyer is here to see you," is a good thing to hear when you're cooling your heels in a cell... Isn't it?

It can be unnerving, though, when you don't have a lawyer. It's understandable, then, that Lorin is feeling a bit torn.

She wipes her sweaty palms on her jeggings and tries to think positively.

"My friend came through for me, that's all," she murmurs to herself. "This is actually her lawyer, or she's found someone who can help..."

Lorin wonders who will be footing the bill, and then pushes the thought away. Plenty of time to think on that once out.

She huffs her blonde fringe out of her eyes and peers around the dull little room. A table and a couple of chairs are the only things in it. That is, if you don't count the whiff of bad coffee overlaid with stale air and antiseptic.

The door opened, and her lawyer walked in. Lorin hisses a shocked breath in.

That's my lawyer? I'm screwed...

"You're not a l-"

"I advise you to be quiet, Ms. Blackwell," he said.

"I don't trust you! You're not even a per- "

"Come, now, Ms. Blackwell," he said with a wide grin that showed every tooth, "I assure you, lawyers are as human as you are. Hurtful remarks serve no one. Let's keep this professional. I can facilitate your immediate release, but not if you say something... untoward."

Immediate release immediate release immediate release

Lorin shrank into her generous black cardigan.

"I'm not a criminal," she mumbled, "I just wanted-"

"Let me do the talking, Ms. Blackwell... Ahh, officers. Good evening," This last to the two who had just walked in. One was a walrus in a sweaty blue shirt behind an oversized ginger moustache, and the other was a female officer with black hair in a regimented bun.

"I'm here to facilitate the release of my client, Ms. Blackwell," he placed his briefcase on the table with deliberate calm. “Under the Emergency Counsel Provision, specifically the 2027 amendment to the Civil Contingencies Act, Ms. Blackwell qualifies for expedited releasee.” He flipped open the case, and handed the file to me walrus, who bristled.

He stepped forward, dragged by the weight of his glorious moustache. “AI flagged cognitive instability. That doesn’t mean she’s fit to leave.”

“That’s exactly what it means. Section 22-B allows for temporary release if a registered proxy assumes legal responsibility. I’ve filed the paperwork.”

The officer leafed through the papers with a small frown.

"She hasn’t signed."

"A formality I'm here to put right."

"But this... This waives her right to a formal hearing!"

"Yes. It confirms she accepts counsel and consents to discharge under emergency protocol."

Lorin leaned forward, eyes scanning the page. “This is real?”

Jac nodded. “Real enough to get you out.”

She looked at the officers. “You’ll let me go if I sign?”

The shorter one shrugged. “If the paperwork’s clean, we don’t have grounds to hold you.”

Lorin’s fingers hovered over the pen. “Why should I trust you?”

The man in the suit didn’t blink. Lorin couldn't think of him a lawyer.

“You don’t have to trust me. You just have to choose: stay here and wait for a hearing that might never come, or sign and walk out.”

She signed.

+

Thank you for reading!

Edited to fix a few typos. I can't believe I actually finished this one, I was so tired I could hardly keep my eyes open. I'll come back shortly with an A/N.