> > Well technically all Chiaki did was pull the fire alarm. Even if they had video, which they don't, that's the only thing there could possibly be physical evidence of. The argument in court would be whether she knew it would cause a prisoner release. They know it was premeditated because she made an appointment to visit them.
>
> That argument would't protect Chaiki in court though. "All I did was pull the trigger. It was the bullets that killed him."
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If she says nothing, though, a defense lawyer could claim that there's no way she could have predicted that the Safe had such lax security procedures in case of a fire emergency. The point being that Chiaki wasn't entirely to blame for the escape. That's called reasonable doubt.
Also reasonable doubt, technically the presence of explosives in the prison
is an emergency. It's possible Chiaki responded to it appropriately by pulling the fire alarm, with the reasonable expectation of an orderly evacuation, which would normally save lives.
> Chiaki could certinly wiggle free from the charges because of lack of evidence. The dilemma comes when Jay asks her if she did it, and she had to tell the truth or lie. And if she tells the truth Hatty would arresat her. And if she lies (or even tries to deceive) then something sours in their relationship.
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Lack of evidence, and lots of doubt as to her motives.
You'll see in my next posted story that Chiaki takes a creative route to saying
something to Hatman, because if she just hid from him, he'd assume she's guilty. Hint: She tells him something about it without actually being there.
> Chiaki's problems would come if the LL began investigating with the weird resources people like Al, Dancer, and Hatty himself in his Sherlock Holmes deerstalker could bring to bear.
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Not if they're redirected to investigate something else.
> > Theoretically a good defense lawyer could say she pulled the alarm because she noticed some undetermined danger. That would be reasonable doubt. Also the defense lawyer could go on the attack against the Safe, because they didn't have a decent security staff procedure in case the fire alarm was triggered (it releases the prisoners to avoid the liability of having them burn alive).
>
> Prosecution questions: Did you know about the explosive charges? Did you go to the Safe intending to free prisoners? Who else knew what you had done?",
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It would be difficult to get her on the stand in such a case. A smart defense lawyer would avoid it completely. Not because of what she might say, it's a simple courtroom tactic - keeping your client mute means they look more sympathetic. Once they're on the stand and speaking, the jury starts to form opinions of them, and usually not good ones.
> > Legal arguments aside, though, this is why Chiaki has always been very careful about what she says about this incident, and also what she says about Akiko, in Hatman's presence. He probably knows that too - that saying too much to him is like pushing him into a corner, where he's forced to take action. She's sparing his feelings as much as her own.
>
> Hatty wasn't alone in deeming the Safe release as a serious offence.
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Chiaki is going to try redirecting the investigation.
> > > But duty would win out. This is a man who chose to erase a happy relationship with the woman he loved and their unborn child to instead do the right thing for the world.
> > That's why she hasn't told him anything. She literally doesn't have the confidence that Hatman will spare her.
>
> Wise.
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I'm sure if she told Hatman as much to his face, it would break his heart. That's why she'll also never say that. Liu Xi, on the other hand, is someone who speaks her mind.
> > Chiaki also believes that the only Hatman hasn't turned in Liu Xi for the people she's killed is because of a horrible paradox in his own philosophy. He does want Liu Xi to pay for her crimes before she's given another chance; but that payment is her death at the hands of the justice system, and he couldn't bear to send a friend to die. She believes that to this day, Hatman is still torn by it, and she keeps an eye on Liu Xi in case Hatman changes his mind and tries to convince Liu Xi to trust the justice system and turn herself in.
>
> In Liu Xi's case, no crime committed in Earth jurisdiction would have sufficient evidence to convict her.
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Maybe so, but then there's the point that Hatman hasn't even attempted to. If he was really dedicated to brining Liu Xi to justice, he would have talked to Commissioner Graham...probably looked like a bit of an idiot, when Graham told him there's no way Liu Xi can be charged on Earth. It did seem like Hatman didn't want the chance of some world court deciding his friend is too dangerous and needs to be put to death.
> > And that's why Chiaki doesn't trust Hatman in that regard. She knows he has misplaced faith in the justice system; and if it fails his trust, he'll still stand by it. Meaning she could be in the Safe for 15 years, and Hatman would simply shrug it off as the price she has to pay.
>
> The price she had to pay for committing a serious federal crime.
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I guess you can call that a flaw, in a sense, that Hatman stands by the justice system even when it can be unfair. Either that, or another related flaw, where Hatman believes a friend becomes "tainted" when convicted of a crime; they're no longer a friend of his, just a criminal like any other, and deserve any punishment he or the justice system choose to dole out.
If Chiaki senses that in him, there could be trouble. If she would sense he doesn't care, she would stop pleading and start fighting back instead. That's not personal against Hatman, though. She already knows that at any time, Akiko could abandon her friendship with the Samurai - and if that happens, Chiaki is prepared to fight back against that too.
> > As an aside, that particular scenario also instills fear in Chiaki for two reasons: Most of the population in the Safe doesn't particularly like her, and it would be dozens of powerful meta against one disarmed Samurai; and because she knows herself, and fears she'll be seething hatred toward Hatman for doing that to her.
>
> Indeed. And the the Hood would consider recruiting her.
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He might be considering it already. Though before that, Chiaki does have other resources she can use. Remember, she's the holder of someone's secrets, who takes a dim view of anyone who might use her incarceration to access them.
> > The witch hunt part is where it goes from minor charges to the maximum penalty simply because public opinion and political turmoil wants someone to nail to the cross for allowing a dangerous prisoner escape. The judge who sentences the Psychic Samurai to jail for 15 years is going to be front page for sure.
>
> Freeing top security metahumans prisoners is never going to be that minor a charge.
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It's comparative negligence once the public outcry dies down.
> > Generally when something like that happens, the public wants everyone's heads. They'd want to see Doorman locked up, and the Psychic Samurai, and also see the warden of the prison fired, along with anyone else involved. At least until the subject fades from the news, and everything seems safe now.
>
> Remember that as far as the world knows the fake Hatman was a Space Fandom.
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But first someone has to prove he was even there. If that happens, Chiaki may simply be very lucky, because then the focus would be off of her and the charges dropped.
> > > There's no statute of limitations on organising a jailbreak.
> > No, but there is one on top stories in the newspapers. Chiaki doesn't want her day in court to be a top news story, because that would encourage the maximum penalty to set an example. If she does eventually turn herself in, it'll be when her case is just a footnote of history - then she'd likely just get probation.
>
> Capture and trial of a suspect in the case would bump this right back into the headlines.
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True, but they would be page 2 after multiple investigations show multiple failures at the prison.
> > > > I originally picked Paradopolis U because it has its own neighborhood, probably its own character, and definitely is a large place for exploration. As weird as it is, Liu Xi can only explore the Lair Mansion so much before it starts to feel a bit like a prison.
> > > It remains one of the places in Paradopolis most in need of fleshing out.
> > I'd have to work on that slowly. I see Paradopolis U as a combination of ultra-modern and old and broken down.
>
> We could all have some fun fleshing out bits of that Campus. Hallie's a student there and Al B.,s an alumni and Wrichards is a fellow.
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Liu Xi is going to get a really nice apartment overlooking the campus soon.
