Another good chapter, Terry.
Lois closed the folders before her and pushed herself away from the desk. She loved what she did, truly, but sometimes things just piled too high and toppled over on her. She was being asked to increase the size of the Saturday edition once again, but no additional money was being allocated for more writers. She had three choices: to do the additional writing and reporting herself, put the burden on her existing employees, or try to scare up some freelancers who were willing to write more for the recognition than for the pay. None of those choices appealed to her, but that’s all she had to work with.
She sighed and rubbed her eyes, feeling old and worn. She’d figure it out somehow. She always did.
This is moving. Lois is honestly being overwhelmed by the demands made on her, and she is feeling "old and worn". But she hasn't lost her optimism; she will figure it out, because she always does.
The knock on her office door startled her momentarily. She groaned and called out, “Come in unless you have bad things to tell me.”
So funny and endearing.
Connie Hunter opened the door. “Is this a bad time, Lois?”
Lois stood. “No, of course not. Come on in. Is Blair with you?”
Connie pushed the door shut behind her. “Not today. She’s taking a well-deserved day of rest.”
“What about you? Don’t you get to rest up from your labors?”
She smiled. “Sure. I’ll take my vacation when you do.”
Very nice.
“Blair’s going to interview the jurors instead of me.”
Lois leaned back in her chair and tried to relax. “Any particular reason?”
“A couple of them.” Connie shifted in the chair and set her foot up on the seat, putting her knee beside her face. Then she wrapped her arms around her leg, as if she were holding a comfortable teddy bear. “She has more recent jury experience than I do, and she’s a bit more personable than I am. Also, if we hit any potential jurors who are uncomfortable talking to a young black woman, I don’t want them voting on the guilt or innocence of an alien from outer space.”
Good thinking. I approve.
Lois leaned back and put the pencil between her teeth. “Y’nw – “ she stopped and pulled the pencil out to look at it. “Oh, good, I’ve traded chewing my fingernails for chewing pencil erasers.” She leaned over the wastebasket and spat out eraser fragments. “And they’re almost as tasty.”
So funny, but in my opinion, the erasers taste better. But then, I've never chewed my nails.
Connie laughed lightly. “I used to do the same thing.”
“How’d you quit?”
“I removed the source of the stress.”
“How did you accomplish that feat?”
“I quit doing courtroom trials.”
Lois nodded slowly, then picked up a fresh unsharpened pencil – with an intact eraser – from her desk drawer and offered it to Connie. Connie leaned her head back and laughed aloud, then took the pencil and stuck it behind her ear. “I’ll eat it later.”
Just lovely.
She drained the glass and set it down in front of her. “Aren’t you nervous, Superman?”
“Yes.”
She lifted both eyebrows in surprise. “You don’t show it.”
He leaned closer and spoke in a conspiratorial whisper. “Would you trust a nervous man to lift a car off your family?”
She grinned. “Good point.”
He nodded. “Same goes for lawyers, I would think.”
She lost her grin and grasped her hands together in her lap. “You’re saying I need to get hold of myself, right?”
He patted her shoulder. “Just be as good as I know you can be.”
Very good conversation. Clark is so likable here.
“Thank you. May I propose that Superman remain in court while the trial is in session unless he feels he needs to respond to an emergency involving the saving of one or more lives? In which case, he will indicate this to me or my associate and we will request a recess while he deals with the situation. Is this acceptable to the court?”
I like this good and practical solution to the problem of Superman's constant presence in the courtroom.
“Good. Now, the district attorney is almost surely going to ask you this question, Mr. D’Angelo, and you’ll have to answer it truthfully. That question is this: Can you render a judgment in this case based on the facts in evidence, the law, and the testimony of the various witnesses, despite whatever personal feelings you might have for or against Superman?”
Arthur nodded soberly. “I think I can, ma’am.”
“Are you sure? Because we all want to get to the truth here, and we all want a fair and just verdict in this trial.”
He nodded again, more energetically. “Sure! I understand. We don’t want to lock up a hero who can help us if he’s not guilty. We also don’t want a murderous super-powered vigilante running around loose. I got a family to look out for. I want the truth too, and I’m tellin’ you that I can give you an unbiased rendering of the evidence.”
I like this juror myself. Interesting, the way he's putting the question of Superman's guilt. Apparently this trial is not about establishing what Superman actually did to Billy Church, but more about establishing whether or not he's likely to turn into a loose cannon, a dangerous vigilante who can never really be trusted. Well, if that is what the jury is asked to decide, then I, too, would almost certainly have found Superman not guilty.
Melanie stepped closer to him. “Do you think he’s innocent or guilty, Mr. D’Angelo?”
“You’re askin’ me to vote right now? Where’s the paper so’s I can mark it?”
Melanie smiled as a chuckle trotted around the gallery. “No, sir, no one’s asking for your vote right now. I only want to know if you have a bias to either convict or acquit the defendant.”
“Okay, okay. Look, you’re gonna hafta work hard to convince me Superman’s a bad guy, but if you got the goods on him, lay ‘em out so’s we can all see ‘em. If he did the crime, lady, he should do the time.”
Melanie hesitated for a long moment, then nodded. “Very well, Mr. D’Angelo. Your Honor, the prosecution has no objection to this juror.”
Love the way Arthur D'Angelo is answering Melanie's questions.
Judge Fields looked pleased. “Very well. Mr. D’Angelo, for better or worse, you’re in.”
For better or worse... was that intentional, Terry? It seems to me that you are reminding us of the fact that Lois and Clark are not married at a time when they really should be.
“We’ve seated seven jurors already, and it’s fairly late in the day, so I think we need to resume this process at nine o’clock tomorrow morning. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury pool, we need you to be back in your places with bright shining faces at that time.” A low groan rolled around the prospective jurors. “Hey, hey, hey! None of that, now, none of that! You folks be back here at nine sharp or I’ll have no choice but to issue a bench warrant for the arrest of anyone who isn’t here on time.” He whacked his gavel on the bench. “This court is now adjourned.”
This judge is really likable.
Lois glanced at the wall chronometer and saw Mickey’s big hand point to the six and his little hand point between the seven and the eight.
Can't help it, I love the fact that Lois has a Mickey Mouse clock. And I don't even have any Mickey Mouse stuff at all myself.
At nine-thirty-eight AM, her phone rang. “Lois Lane, Daily Plan – “
A harsh male voice interrupted her. “Ms. Lane, we need you here at one-thirty this afternoon.”
“No problem. Where is ‘here’ and who are you?”
“Oh. Sorry. This is District Attorney Jack Reisman. You need to be here at one-thirty this afternoon, ready to testify in Superman’s trial.”
She blinked. “You’re kidding, right? The jury’s already seated?”
“We’ve got two more jurors and two alternates to go, so yes, I’m sure we’ll have a full jury by this afternoon. I don’t want to delay this trial any more than necessary, so we’re calling all the prosecution witnesses to be ready today.”
This came as a shock to me. Lois is going to testify so soon?
It is scary that she is going to have to testify while at the same time she is going to be forced to lie. I would absolutely hate being in this situation myself.
“Do you have any advice for me?”
Jack’s frown came through the phone line. “Tell the truth, Ms. Lane. That’s all I ever want a witness to do.”
I just hope she'll be able to do so without giving Clark's secret away.
Lois tried, but she couldn’t eat her lunch. Her stomach was roiling like greasy pork in a hot wok. It was all she could do to keep down the antacids she’d bolted as she sprinted into the courthouse.
I love this imagery, and I can totally sympathize with Lois's nervousness.
That Randy Parker was a terrible pain in the neck (and in other parts of Lois's anatomy, I'll bet). I love the fact that she snatched his recorder away from him, and I love the fact that the bailiff stomped on it. I just hope that this Parker guy won't cause Lois (and Clark) a lot of trouble in the future. Anyway, I love Lois's closing words to Randy Parker:
“First lesson, kid, and it’s free. Don’t mess with Mad Dog Lane.” The doors began to close. “And don’t EVER call me ‘babe.’ Not if you want to see tomorrow.”
Love it!!
Good chapter, Terry.
Ann
