I Fought the Law (Sean)

[Lani Hunter]

This was it. Endgame. He and Odion had come in fighting but there had been an ambush waiting. Lani didn’t know how it had gotten to this point but here he was. But a gun was pointed at Odion and Lani was pointing a gun at his boss. “Drop it!” Lani shouted sounding more bold than he felt. The planted thought of caution haunted his thoughts and made his struggling power twitch.

His boss’s eyes locked with his and Lani watched his whole body tense as his boss rose the gun he was holding up and slowly placed the gun on the ground and kicked it back, unfortunately back away from Odion where the time turner could have grabbed it.

Odion made some noise but failed at whatever attempt to get free he was working out almost immediately. The whole room seemed to hold its breath and Lani adjusted his hands. His boss took a step forward and Lani flinched.

“Stay back!” He cried, his courage quickly failing. He glanced at Ella who was nodding from behind his boss, ‘Do it’ she mouth urgently. Lani’s finger hovered over the trigger twitching every now and again toward it then immediately shying away.

“Lani, I’m so proud of you,” his boss said throwing Lani off guard. His hands were still help up and he took another step toward Lani. “I’m so proud of you, Lani. Look at how far you’ve come.”

Lani now took a step back and hovered there failing to hold the gun steady. He remembered the moments this man acted as father to him and the sound of the praise that never came from his blood father had Lani’s heart in a bind. Lani couldn’t kill him. He knew that a long time ago.

“You don’t want to be like me,” his boss continued taking another step forward. “Don’t be like me. I always loved that about you. I thought you were my protégée, but I was wrong. You’re better than all of us. I am so proud of you. You are better than me.”

Lani’s resolve crumbled and his hands dropped to his sides and his head hung. He couldn’t do it. He stiffened as his boss embraced him. “You are the son I never had and I love you.” His boss said and pulled Lani’s head close. That was when Lani felt it. Something thick and stiff beneath his boss’s shirt.

His boss whispered low into Lani’s ear. “I know he’s been feeding you lies. I won’t kill him if you come back. Shoot me, make him think that I’m gone then things can go back to normal.”

“Elle…” Lani whispered.

“Knew all along. You know what you need to do.” He backed up and raised his hands again. “I’m so proud of you.”

Lani locked his eyes onto his boss’s and rose the gun. His finger twitched on the trigger and his whole being shook. What if he missed, what if he actually hit his boss? What if he actually killed him? He glanced at Elle. She smiled behind Odion’s shoulder and gave him a wink. A gun rang out and Lani flinched looking at the gun in his hand. It hadn’t fired, Elle’s had. Red bloomed from his boss’s back and Lani stood there in shock. He dropped the gun in a panic and stared.

“Get out of here!” She hissed and Lani stood there a moment in shock until Odion grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the building.

~~~~~

Leroy Brown rose and groaned. “Thanks for that, Elle.” He took several deep breaths, he thought he’d played a very good dead person.

“No problem,” Elle said and suddenly a badge was flashed in front of his eyes. “Leroy Brown, you’re under arrest…”

~~~~~

“Who’re you texting?” Odion asked as they waited at the airport for their flight into England.

‘Nice work. the text read. Lani deleted and message and pocketed his phone. “Caroline,” he lied with a smile, “She’s demanding all of the souvenirs.”

Odion smiled. “Are you alright?”

Lani nodded, at least he was now. “I’m free and I’m with you. My life could not be better.” He smiled at his boyfriend.

~~~~~

Lani ignored the knocking at his door, he was too depressed to move. He made no sound. He’d tossed his phone in the harbor when he’s gotten back to Boston after sending his boss the updated number and a request to be left alone for a while. It wasn’t strange that there was no response. He hadn’t documented his move with Hammel and so far as he was concerned he was just going to wither away here. Odion had broken up with him and he needed some time before his boss would start sending him on jobs again.

~~~~~

Lani was feeling loads better, after talking with Adrianna and Shapiro and Avinea. He was lucky to have so many people around him. He was starting a new chapter. He texted his boss: Job?

Checking his phone every now and again Lani started to get a shiver of hope, maybe something had happened. What if he really was free? What if he could start this whole new chapter off, without Odion and without his boss? Was that too much to ask for?

Lani shrugged, either way he needed money and therefore he had shoppers to rob.

[Lani Hunter]

It was one of many times Lani wished he was in Boston. In Boston the buildings grew close and Lani could be out one window and into another and there was no problem, the mall in Pilot Ridge, though was a large flat structure with a large parking lot surrounding it. There was no cover. He’d seen the security guard sniffing at him and had hidden his bag of stolen wares in the department store fitting room ceiling. They couldn’t charge him with anything. Old habits die hard and Lani had switched into escape mode when he first noticed that he was being watched. He turned toward the door his hood shielding him from the cameras. He hissed through his teeth as a few security guards stood posted at the door. Maybe he could get back out the other way. He turned and froze, these weren’t just security guards. “Lani Hunter, you’re…” Was all Lani heard before he was sprinting in another direction.

Lani ducked through racks and tossed a few back. They should know better than to try to catch a telekinetic thief, Lani thought cockily. As he had told Dr. Neville earlier, he was invincible. Which made the police officer melting out of the wall all the more startling. “The fu—” Lani started flinging out a fist in shock. It made contact but the man caught Lani and together they fell to the ground. Lani kicked free and scrambled to his feet. He was going to change his identity, dye his hair, and escape. Lani’s power kicked in and he let down the floodgates. The detached feeling took over and Lani prepared to focus his attack. The floor started to pitch and the racks of clothing moved to his command. He would not be stopped. There was a stranger sensation that followed, Lani was pulled out of his detachment and into himself again and then everything stirred into stillness.

The strange sensation of being snapped into himself stunned him long enough that he was brought to the ground. “Get off me!” Lani screamed, “I didn’t do anything!” Well if that wasn’t a bald-faced lie, Lani thought ruefully. He growled as his arms were twisted painfully and secured in cuffs. They lifted him to his feet and Lani tried to shake off the hands but they only twisted his arms to get Lani into submission. The officer from before called his attention. “Lani Hunter, you’re under arrest for failure to appear in court…” Lani shook his head, “The hell are you talking about?!” “Let’s go ahead and add resisting arrest on that account.” Lani gaped at the officer in disbelief but he couldn’t help the rush of relief that swam through him that he wasn’t being arrested for theft. The man read Lani’s Miranda Rights and Lani went into his backup plan and sealed his lips.

Oh fuck, how the hell am I gonna get out of this one? He thought helplessly as he stared around the bland cell. He shook his head. “I’m telling you, I was in Europe with a friend, you can check the tickets! I didn’t know I was supposed to be in court!” The Officer, Officer Matthews by his badge didn’t seem to want to give Lani any sympathy. Admittedly, Lani recalled, it was probably cause he’d given an officer a rather nice black eye. Lani turned to Matthews, “Hey, I get a phone call don’t I?” The officer held out his phone and Lani dialed the number. It was a desperate move but Lani didn’t know who else to call. The phone rang and Lani’s heart thumped along with the bells. He breathed a sigh of relief when the call was answered. “Hey Dr. Neville,” Lani said with fake cheer.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean Neville was a man of his word.

From the first moment he and Lani had interacted by the bus stop, he had offered the boy his assistance, should Lani need it. He had given the young telekinetic chances, beginning with when Lani had lifted his billfold, which he had never reported to anyone. The boy had not disappointed, since he had returned it sometime later, and nothing had been missing. In the intervening time, he had managed to coax Lani out of his shell, to get the telekinetic to confide the problems with his boss, with the fear he had for his sister due to the blackmail, the details of the whole, sordid affair. A complicated situation that involved organized crime, extortion, secrets, lies, thievery, and the legitimate fear of violent reprisal against either Lani or his loved ones.

The psychiatrist had worked with Lani to get the District Attorney involved, and to involve the police force with an undercover division. He had worked as the intermediary so that Lani and his informant friends wouldn’t have to risk themselves, since Sean had tangoed with worse people than a crime syndicate before and had fewer concerns. He did have a strong sense of right and wrong.

The psychiatrist had watched Lani graduate from Hammel, and he had remained in touch with him. He wanted the telekinetic to be safe, and he wanted the boy to be able to put this horrible situation behind him. Eventually, Lani had gone to Boston with Odion, which, while not entirely off Sean’s radar, had caused them not to interact for a while.

As a relatively law-abiding man, Sean had few reasons to interact with the police. He was no stranger to posting bail, sometimes for situation about which he would prefer never to think again, but he knew the one telephone call procedure. At least around here, as opposed to in New York City, the officers seemed to be good about actually providing that to those under arrest. From those past experiences, he recognized the phone number as belonging to the police station when it popped up on his caller ID.

That was not what he had been expecting. Certainly not since Josh was home and he had spoken with Greg since the blond man had moved away. Immediately, after answering, he recognized Lani’s voice, which opened up an entirely different can of worms. “Hello, Lani,” he replied, since he had manners.

However, he did not want to pretend that all was well, given what he could discern from technology. As such, he asked, “What happened?”

[Lani Hunter]

If Lani could get bailed out of here he was going on the run. He just needed a window of opportunity and he would be gone to the wind and never heard from again. Despite his calm demeanor and humorous tone Lani was shaking with terror. He tucked his hands between his knees to hide the shivering and did the best he could to still himself from making outward signs of nervousness. Nerves indicated guilt and while Lani was guilty in all senses of the word he was not going to let them know that. If so many months ago he had thrown out Dr. Neville’s card instead of tucking it into his pocket, how would this moment be different? It probably would never have come to pass, and, Lani reflected, he probably wouldn’t have been alive to see it. As much as Lani wanted to shove Dr. Neville and his help away it was really in truth the telepath who had not abandoned him. Not yet at least.

Lani’s bright voice didn’t translate into a smile on his face as he held the guard’s eyes glare for glare. Neither of them wanted to be there, Lani didn’t want to be locked away and Lani was pretty sure that Officer Matthews did not want to be babysitting some punk. Things would be so much better if their paths hadn’t crossed. Lani’s frown deepened when his name was called through the receiver. Not thinking clearly or logically in his state of suppressed panic Lani wondered if Dr. Neville’s telepathy worked through phones. That might be terribly inconvenient. Then that begged the question: was every meta human in a certain radius suppressed or was it just Lani specific. Lani ground his teeth in thought, they knew his name. They knew his face. This was worse than he thought. Someone had identified them, then someone else knew that he was a telekinetic and had the tools to bring him down. It was more than a little discerning for the paranoid thief.

A sigh escaped Lani’s lips, ‘what happened’. Now that was hardly fair, but then again if Lani was calling then it couldn’t come off as a good thing to Dr. Neville. Damn telepath, jumping to conclusions. Correct conclusions, Lani reasoned, but he was a little insulted that he would only be assumed to have been in trouble. Lani brushed that thought off for later, at the moment he needed to focus. “Hey, in my defense it wasn’t my fault.” He rolled his eyes at the officer who decided that was a good moment to snort. Unfortunately, Lani’s pride was deeply wounded by his capture and he hated authority by his very nature and his mouth started working without his permission. “I’m really sorry to ask this Dr. Neville,” he began and started to rub the stress headache away, “But I am currently a captive of the establishment because apparently they can just arrest anyone off the streets now…” The officer gave him a sharp look and Lani took the hint. It was the same hint he’d been given by people on the opposite side of the law. At this moment in time he needed help and mouthing off was only going to cut his plea for help short.

The feeling of powerlessness invaded his whole being the moment he realized he really had about as much control over this situation as a grain of sand does on a current. It did nothing to sooth his nerves or his temper. “Point is: I need a little help.” It was a lot to ask and chances were it would be a lot of money. Lani would pay Dr. Neville back either via cash or favors but this good deed would not go unrewarded. The more Lani sat the more his nerves were starting to break down, the more old night terrors started to become waking nightmares. The more he thought of life behind bars the more Lani’s throat started to close and terror shook his nerves making it almost impossible to hide the shaking. He wanted to get up and walk, to run actually away, far away from everything. “Please,” Lani pleaded his blood rushing and his skin itching to move to be out and away.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

The entire situation was complicated. Sean was willing to make that mental declaration, even though, at the moment, he had relatively few facts surrounding Lani’s current predicament. It was enough that the boy was calling from the location from which he had called, at this hour of the night. Particularly when viewed against the backdrop of their current endeavor and the entire history of their past interactions. The psychiatrist supposed that something had gone awry. He hoped that was the case, as opposed to Lani engaging in any sort of backsliding.

Sean had a complicated relationship with the criminal justice system. He disapproved of the Prison Industrial Complex and of the school-to-prison pipeline, which was why he was a fierce advocate for protecting students at Hammel when they could be protected. As a liberal, he was a harsh critic of the PATRIOT ACT, and he opposed the erosion of due process rights and the militarization of the police across the country.

At the same time, he knew that civil liberties still existed, and he suspected that there was more to the story that Lani had articulated. While false arrests happened, they varied by demographic, and, given the fact that the telekinetic had been working with the District Attorney through Sean, it was unlikely that he would be a target for that.

Which meant that there was another situation at hand. The psychiatrist could call the District Attorney’s office – although not at this hour – in order to inquire into the exact situation, since he had to be armed with knowledge. Knowledge and perhaps the ability to provide context such that Lani could be released on his own recognizance. But there were potential reasons.

Sean had gathered that the boy was in trouble long before Lani had made his admission. After all, caller ID was a wondrous invention of which the psychiatrist availed himself and his home, and there were only so many reasons that a person could be at the police station and holding pen. Still, the older man considered it progress that the telekinetic would even make that admission, so early in the conversation. He took that as a sign of their growing rapport, even if, as the psychiatrist knew, Lani still had reluctance with trust.

He didn’t want the telekinetic to beg for help, since Sean found that dehumanizing. Asking was different, as asking was a necessary skill in order to maintain and acknowledge other people’s boundaries and to create a non-demanding dialogue.

The dialogue was important.

Holding the phone in one hand, the psychiatrist reached for the pen and pad that he kept near the phone. “Do you need bail?”

That was a reasonable assumption. That was, in fact, one of only two reasons for which he could conceived of this phone call. Either Lani needed bail, or Lani required monitoring by an adult guardian, and since the telekinetic had graduated from Hammel already, Sean was the only person to come to mind.

Either would require him to go to his car and drive downtown.

[Lani Hunter]

Clueless to the arrest and the fact that the police had kept moving even after Lani declared he wanted out, Lani couldn't fathom why he'd had a warrant for his arrest.  It didn't make any sense!  He was too careful for this!  And after he'd given the invisible wall jumping officer no one was inclined to tell him.  Lani wasn’t apologetic, if he hadn’t startled Lani he wouldn’t have a black eye. Simple as that. And to ambush him in the mall, well that was just rude. What Lani wasn’t thinking about was that if he had just listened to the first officer in the first place he wouldn’t have had his power shut down and he probably wouldn’t have even had to be handcuffed. Problem was, you set a police officer in front of a thief and it didn’t matter if he wanted to ask a question or if he wanted to arrest them, said thief ran in the opposite direction. What hurt his pride was more than just being caught, it was the fact that they’d been prepared for it and brought people who wouldn’t let a meta human get out of it. Lani shook his head, it probably had something to do with the report from Boston about the telekinetic who escaped. They wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. Bastards. And worse it spoke of how dependent he was getting on his power. They were simply asking for him to practice harder. He would not let this happen again.

Admittedly part of why Lani had called Dr. Neville was so that he didn’t have to call his father, and he didn’t have many friends who had bail money just sitting around. At least none that would come anywhere within a three mile radius of this place. As he spoke on the phone he looked around for some form of an escape. It wouldn’t be hard, this place was not airtight. He was still small enough to wriggling through air vents and his hands were hooked in front, if he knocked out Officer Angry, he could do it. But then the damage was done. He was in the system. It was a terrifying reality. In the system! He was in the system! Lani’s vision blurred as his eyes started to water with terror and his heart thumped. He gripped the phone like a lifeline and covered his face. His life was over. The sound of Dr. Neville’s voice called Lani’s mind back a little from the edge.

Right! Dr. Neville! If he could get out on bail he could go anywhere. No one would be able to find him, he’d fly with the wind and he’d change his name and dye his hair. “Uh…” Lani paused they hadn’t actually told him all the details. “’Ey Lurch, I’ve go bail, right?” Lani called to the officer, determined to be not be the only pissed off person in the room, they couldn’t pin anything on him for being rude, could they? He smiled in a mock innocent way as Officer Matthews glared at him. He nodded. “Yeah, turns out they still ransom people in this country.” Lani’s agitation was coming in thick and as it did his harsh Bostonian accent slipped into his voice and came off even harsher.

Lani smiled at Matthews. Matthews was not pleased and took a step forward. “The phone is a privilege, Mr. Hunter, and you just lost it,” Officer Matthews, Lani decided was a snake in another life as the Officer gave an impish grin that rivaled Lani’s own. “Say what you need to say, Mr. Hunter in 3…” Lani gaped and it took the countdown to ‘2’ to get him to react. He let the phone drop against his shoulder, he didn’t want Dr. Neville to hear him beg for the phone. “I’m sorry! It won’t happen again. Promise.” He said. Matthews sighed and held up his fingers. Two minutes. “I need bail… holy shit! That much!?” He asked in shock as Matthews wrote on a note the amount and showed it to him. “Fuck. Dr. Neville they want five thousand. Matthews here thinks that’s just fuckin’ hilarious.” Lani said coldly glaring at the officer. Matthews wrote something else labeling the reasons it was so high. ‘Suspected theft, assaulting an officer, resisting arrest, not showing up in court’. Lani sighed and didn’t mention those to Dr. Neville. He did feel like he was being ransomed. “I’ll pay you back as soon as I can,” Lani added in a rush, “Just get me outta here.”

He didn’t know anything about needing monitoring or anything to prevent him from running but he was going to get out of here as soon as he could. He was terrified and he felt exposed, too exposed. He felt like a cornered dog, terribly afraid and panicked. He couldn’t be in jail. He couldn’t be in here! He needed to get out. He was having a hard time holding it together as his mind panicked and told him he’d be locked up forever. He bent his head over the table so he could put his face in his hand as he waited for some sort of confirmation from Dr. Neville. He couldn’t let anyone see how hard he was trying not to cry. All he wanted to do was run and hide. He honestly hoped that if Dr. Neville came that the good doctor didn’t want to talk. Lani was never really in the mood for talking, but especially now he just wanted to curl up inside himself and shut out everyone.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean supposed it spoke to his character that so many people around town viewed him as the person to contact in a crisis. Perhaps he should worry about his reputation, if people also viewed him as the ATM from which to withdraw bail money, but that was a matter for another day. In general, he didn’t think that sitting in lockup was conducive to achieving any goal beyond incapacitation, and the situations under which individuals required incapacitation were limited to posing a danger to others, to themselves, or when they were a flight risk for future requirements.

They would have to sort all of this out at the station. Which, based on the murmurs he heard over the telephone – although they were muffled and the psychiatrist had to strain to hear without guarantee that he would hear clearly – would entail quite a bit of discussion on his part. “That much” was always an ominous description, and given what had happened the last time he had needed to bail someone out, Sean could only imagine the amount that the police and judge had set.

At least there was exactly zero chance that Lani’s situation would end the same way the last one had. And at least they had been cooperating with the police and the District Attorney, which gave them a bit of wiggle room. Sean had friends with the District Attorney’s office now, which also might benefit them.

“I’ll bring my checkbook,” he promised the boy over the telephone. “And I’ll be there within the next half hour.” That would give him time to organize himself and drive over to the police station where they kept their overnight holding cell. It would also give him time to double check his funds before he left the house. Even with the surprise boiler expenses and the holiday splurging, he maintained the bail account just in case. “Just in case” meant that he didn’t dip into it, so, all factors equal, it should be where it was last time. He simply hoped that the bail demanded didn’t exceed what he kept in the account.

“Hang on until then,” Sean instructed Lani. “Ask for a lawyer, invoke your right to remain silent, but otherwise cooperate.” Since the psychiatrist was not a lawyer, that was the best advice that he could offer. Particularly since Josh was not involved in this situation at all. But that was standard advice for protests, and it should apply now.

Although he could only imagine the reasons behind Lani’s arrest, in terms of the actual facts. Charges aside, he needed to find out, specifically, what had happened. But they would do that at the police station.

“I’ll see you soon.”

[Lani Hunter]

Lani supposed he would have fit into the flight risk category if he even had an idea what he was here for. They hadn’t approached him about stealing anything, so Lani figured it couldn’t be that, but it was driving him nuts that they arrested him for ‘not appearing in court’ like hell! How was he supposed to know he was supposed to be in court and why would he have to be there in the first place? He probably wasn’t helping his case by mouthing off to authority. Lani wasn’t intending to just take from Dr. Neville, he meant what he said, he would pay Dr. Neville back, one way or another. He felt terribly helpless and guilty asking Dr. Neville to pay for him to get out of here, Lani had funds of his own but he couldn’t rightly tell Dr. Neville about them, much less in the presence of the law.

“Okay,” Lani said nodding and tried to keep himself from falling to pieces all at once. He took a deep breath and swallowed his fear with a great deal of effort. But there was a little bit of hope now, Dr. Neville might not be happy he had to come retrieve the telekinetic but at least he was coming. Lani could make it up to him later. It would honestly impress Lani greatly to know that Dr. Neville actually had a separate bank account reserved for emergency situations. Lani was sure that if anyone was asked in the town no one would have a bad thing to say about Neville, he was just… he was always there to help. Lani wondered what had made Dr. Neville reach out and touch so many lives.

Lani nodded and took a deep breath. Lawyer, silence, cooperate, got it. “Okay,” he said again, he was terrified but at least he didn’t feel so alone anymore. “Thank you. Okay, bye.” He said quickly as Matthews hand went for the receiver. He sat back and frowned at Matthews. “I want a lawyer.” He said and he saw the annoyance flash across Matthews face. Matthews tried to coax Lani into speaking but the telekinetic decided Dr. Neville was a smarter man than he was and sealed his lips. Finally Matthews took him back to the holding cell and hovered just outside the door while Lani paced within. Every now and again Lani tested his power only to find it still rendered useless. It felt very strange to not have the constant pressure and the constant feeling in his skull.

He tried to sit and he couldn’t keep himself steady so he stood and paced a little more. Sean had said a half hour. Had it been a half hour yet? This had to be the longest half hour of his life. He started looking around the cell for some way out, whoever was keeping his power down would eventually get tired, so he thought, and then he could blast himself out. All of his supplies had been taken from him and he was stuck without tools, without power in a cell that didn’t have any way out. Not even a vent, the vent was outside in the hall just out of reach of the bars, which was annoying since he wouldn’t have been able to squeeze himself through the bars anyways. Matthews occasionally threatened Lani with having to stay overnight if he didn’t calm down, which worked for a little while until Lani got antsy again. It didn’t help that asking for a lawyer at this time it would take the lawyer just as long as Dr. Neville to get here.

He really wished Dr. Neville would hurry his old fears were starting to be revived and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep it together. His pride was already wounded by the fact that he’d gotten caught at all and his mind was starting to play tricks on him, the cage was getting smaller, it was full of scorn and the bars laughed at him. He gave a kick to the bars once in frustration only to get a bad backlash from Matthews. Lani couldn’t settled down, he wanted to but there was too much making his heart high-strung at the moment for him to accomplish that task. Then after what felt like a millennium they finally took him out and told him someone was here to get him.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Once Sean had Lani’s agreement and understand, insofar as the minimal legal instructions he had provided as well as the reassurance that he would be there soon enough, the psychiatrist felt comfortable ending the call. At least he could be reasonably sure that the young telekinetic would be safe –or as safe as one could be – in a jail lockup while waiting for Sean’s arrival. The last thing that he wanted, or needed, was for Lani to find himself in greater jeopardy while the psychiatrist was in the midst of gathering his things or driving to the police station.

Hanging up the telephone, Sean alerted Josh that there was an emergency to which he needed to attend. He spent a couple of minutes assuring his partner that it was not the type of emergency about which Josh needed to worry, and he promised to return home as soon as he could.

With that, the psychiatrist began the task of dressing himself to go out at this late hour. Of checking his online banking statements to make sure that he had money in the discretionary emergency account. Of gathering his checkbook, his wallet, his keys, his cell phone, and the other accoutrements that he required when leaving the house and driving his car.

Once he was out of the house and in the car, but before the car was in motion, he placed a call to his contact in the District Attorney’s office. Unsurprisingly, given the late hour, he was met with a voicemail message rather than the District Attorney himself. Patiently, Sean left a message – detailed enough to emphasize that this was an emergency but not so detailed as to reveal unsafe details or to turn the voicemail into a matter of legal discovery. At the end, he requested that the District Attorney call him back as soon as he could, and then he ended the call.

Then, he set his cell phone in the cup holder and drove out of the garage, off his property, and onto the street that intersected the cul-de-sac. Fortunately, it was late enough that there was little traffic, not that Pilot Ridge had a large amount of traffic during its busiest hours. He would make it to the police station soon, and then, dressed professionally as he was, and arriving without a criminal record and a fair bit of local authority, and with the connections he had, Sean hoped that they would be able to sort this matter out quickly. Quickly and without Lani having to spend the night in lockup.

If they were fortunate, then one of the officers with whom he was friendly would be on duty tonight.

When Sean arrived, he saw that they were not quite that fortunate, as the officer was not one that he immediately recognized. However, the psychiatrist explained who he was, laid out his credentials, and then provided Lani’s name and a physical description, in case there was more than one young man in holding tonight. Unlikely, but it was always best to be prepared.

The officer went through the paperwork with him, as well as a description of the charges and an explanation of the circumstances and bail situation. Finally, Sean was allowed in the back to speak to the boy, while the officer worked on the exit processing.

As soon as the officer was out of earshot, the psychiatrist remarked, “You missed a court date.”

[Lani Hunter]

Lani felt like a rat caught in a trap, he wanted to attack but at the same time he was scared and unable to land an attack. Matthews stuck around for a bit and Lani was starting to assume that he might have something to do with the prevention of his power but then he had a better idea it was something in the building as Matthews left and Lani was still as incapable of using his power as he had been before. He paced and couldn’t keep himself from trying his power now and again. It was a strange sensation that he’d felt only a few times before. It was detaching and Lani almost enjoyed the absence of the headache he knew should be raging. He was almost wondering how fast it would come back once he did get his power back.

It was taking Dr. Neville about as long as he’d claimed but it felt like hours to Lani, especially since everything he’d had on him, his phone, wallet and keys. He was just lucky he’d dumped his loot and any fake IDs as soon as it seemed they’d been suspecting him. It was only luck and foresight that had allowed him to remain relatively safe in that regard, there was still the issue of the guy he’d punched and probably the fact that he’d run at all. Lani didn’t think that could exactly be his fault, he was only reacting to something that startled him. It was a long and boring wait. He tried to sit on one of the benches but his legs were too antsy for him to rest at all. He nearly jumped with excitement when someone came to tell him someone was here to get him.

Dr. Neville arrived and Lani could have hugged him. He refrained, but he was close. It was so good to see the telepath, despite all of the things that had transpired between them the telepath was still here for him and Lani couldn’t help but feel something akin to hope and happiness at the sight of the psychiatrist. He was eager to get out of here and it seemed that they weren’t actually able to leave yet as they let Dr. Neville in and didn’t let Lani out. Lani opened his mouth to thank Dr. Neville for coming but the older man beat him to the punch. “I… what? What?!” Lani asked perplexed and even more confused than he was to begin with and it took a good while for it to actually sink in. All the while Lani stared in confused disbelief at Dr. Neville his jaw hanging a little slack.

When it finally sank in and relief turned to rage. “What the fuck are you talking about?! What court date? For what? Why? I… Dr. Neville what’s going on?” He was spitting fire because the calmness with which Dr. Neville spoke made Lani assume that Dr. Neville knew what this was about and wasn’t surprised by the fact that that was why Lani was here. Lani’s mind reached for his power in anger and for once he was glad it was locked away from him or something bad might have happened. Maybe it was a bad idea to get angry at the person who had gone out of their way to come rescue him, but that was what was starting to happen.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Now, actually face-to-face with Lani, as opposed to having a brief telephone call devoid of context and background information, Sean could get a read on the boy. He appeared genuinely confused as to why he was here, which implied ignorance of the underlying situation. That put Lani had a grave disadvantage when dealing with police, and so Sean hoped that the telekinetic had heeded his advice and invoked his constitutional rights.

“You missed a court date,” the psychiatrist repeated. “That’s why they arrested you. They dropped a bench warrant when you didn’t come to court, because they decided you were a flight risk.” That was the information that the officer had provided to Sean, when the older man had inquired into the underlying charges against Lani. After all, the boy had been cooperating up until then, and they had an agreement with the District Attorney, which the psychiatrist had been willing to trot out in lieu of bail, if such connections had any intrinsic value as the behind the scenes machinations of the legal system.

Sean had tried. As he was not an attorney, everything he knew about the law came from Josh or from his media consumption, a bit from civics classes decades ago and the well-worn procedures for protests. The only areas of the law on which he was current, although not an expert, involved the intersection of medical and psychiatric ethics with the law, as well as those governing education in the State of Vermont. Given that this was wholly outside of his realm, he had done his best.

Lani would probably need an attorney of his own for this. The boy could deal with that once he was no longer in this jail cell.

At the profanity, the psychiatrist offered a reflexive, “Language” admonishment. Lani was in college, no longer under Hammel purview, and he was legally an adult. However, Sean didn’t abide by profanity directed towards him even when it was careless and not deliberate. If the boy wanted to ask a question of him, he could do it without the casual swearing, even if he used it during other parts of this conversation or his reactions to his current confinement.

The psychiatrist let his arms drop to his sides. “I’m not a lawyer,” he reminded the boy for what was probably the hundredth time since they had begun this phase of their mentorship. “I’m bailing you out, but you need to make sure that you go to court on whatever underlying matter you have, so that they’ll let you go. Not from this cell right now, but from the rest of it.”

The rest of it was Sean’s priority, even more than getting Lani out of this holding cell tonight.

“I called the District Attorney; I’m waiting for a return call so that we can sort this matter out for you.” That was all of the news that the psychiatrist could offer Lani at the moment, since this was outside of his realm of knowledge and far beyond his professional influence. At least they had the District Attorney to call in the first place.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani might have tried but he was an idiot and spent too much time fighting authority to act rationally or smartly in the clutches of the establishment. It was probably a very good thing that something or someone was locking down his power or someone would really get hurt. His confusion was not faked as Dr. Neville pointed out what his flaw was. A court date? A flight risk? Lani’s confusion ebbed as he worked through what Dr. Neville was saying. Why on earth would he be called to court? He hadn’t done anything… well, that the law knew about. As he paced he stopped suddenly and turned to face Dr. Neville in disbelief. He gaped at the telepath. He was not going to be a happy telekinetic if this had anything to do with Boston.

“Son of bitch!” Lani swore and severely wanted to hit something. Instead he was forced to pace like an animal in a cage as his mind worked through it. He’d been working with the District Attorney, but then he’d stopped and put an end to it. Or so he thought. “Dr. Neville, if this has anything to do with Boston…” The moment he spoke it he knew that was the end of it all. “No. No, no, no, no. I never agreed to that!” That was not part of the deal. The deal was of the last time he’d spoken to his boss, what Dr. Neville had was enough to get his boss arrested he knew, he’d been paying attention. But he’d never agreed to go to court. No wonder they thought he was a flight risk. If he knew anything about the case he’d have run months ago.

While he’d been in Europe with Odion… Lani closed his eyes and frustrated, pushed away thoughts of the redhead for the more pressing matter. He ground his teeth as he struggled between the onslaught of emotions. How could he be so stupid? He couldn’t trust Odion, he couldn’t trust anyone. The law wanted his boss, the law wanted him. Well, he wouldn’t let himself be handed over, he’d been in chains once, and he hadn’t broken them to jump into another set of shackles.

Lani scoffed at Dr. Neville’s scolding but silently apologized. He knew Dr. Neville hated swearing, okay, maybe one or two things Dr. Neville went on about had gotten through to Lani. At the current moment in time, Lani was not in any sort of position to argue at the moment and a faint voice in the back of his head reminded him that Dr. Neville didn’t need to be here, he could very easily just leave and let the telekinetic seethe in a jail cell until he decided to be more polite. But then again, they both knew that would do nothing to solve the problem. “Sorry,” Lani spat out finally, clearly not very sorry at all. Dr. Neville was going to have to take what he was given, Lani was in a jail cell, he was not inclined to be polite. He was scared and he was lashing out, being polite was the last thing on his mind. He’d be thankful when he was out of here and on his way.

The telekinetic ground his teeth in frustration and he shook his head. “I am not going to court!” He declared, “This was never part of the deal! You never said that I’d have to face him in court.” And really that was the crux. Lani wasn’t sure that he could. He didn’t want to face his boss. The man who was more like a father to him than his own had been, at least at the beginning. Even in handcuffs and controlled Lani feared his boss more than anyone else. Why the hell had no one thought to ask him how he’d feel about testifying? Lani’d given them what they needed to bring him down, couldn’t they get someone else to face him and put him behind bars for the rest of his life. Also, how the hell was he supposed to say anything without getting himself locked away forever. Lani turned away from the telepath, somehow thinking that would help him hide his fear. He was nearly having a panic attack being stuck in this cell for an hour, he couldn’t handle prison for the rest of his life.

He was again trapped. Locked away and forced to act in a way he didn’t want to. Once again someone was using him as a means to justify an end. He took a deep breath and crossed his arms, turning back to Dr. Neville. He eyed the older man warily and nodded. He forced himself to calm down. He looked up and met the man’s eyes. “Thank you. And thank you for coming,” he didn’t remember if he’d said that yet. Lani shivered and he dropped his eyes. “Can we just get outta here, now?” This was too much to take in such a shook period of time, he needed a minute to think.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Lani was not the first student, or former student, of Hammel’s or Sean’s that found himself in trouble with the law. However, he was the student with the most complicated situation, absent Gabriel Underwood – who had created his own meta-human supremacy group, Anastasia van Drakke – whom the psychiatrist was sure was, or had been, up to something but had enough money to hide her connections, and Delilah Pryce – whose memories Sean had seen (and rectified) firsthand. There was little that Hammel could do to prepare students for the situation in which Lani had found himself, particularly given the aspects that had predated his manifestation and recruitment to Hammel. Still, the psychiatrist wished that they provided more practical civics lessons. Not that he had the credentials necessary to treat history or civics, but if left in charge, he wanted to give a brief overview of civil rights and how they intersected with the court system, in anticipation of situations like this.

Because of the irregularity of the situation, and understanding Lani’s frustration, the psychiatrist let the next bit of profanity slide. There were more important and pressing matters on which to focus at present. “I don’t know if this has to do with Boston or with something else,” Sean replied honestly. As he was not a lawyer, and he most certainly was not the District Attorney, he could not provide any further details. He knew only what he had been told when arranging to pay the telekinetic’s bail, and, unfortunately, as a layperson himself, he was very much in the dark as well. This was Josh’s realm, not his.

“I know that you don’t want to, and that is something you have to work out with the District Attorney. I don’t have any power here.” Sean needed to emphasize this. He was happy to listen to Lani’s frustrations and to provide the boy with guidance and assurances, but he could make no promises. He had no experience navigating the legal system to this extent, and all of his authority was bound up in Hammel politics and the mental health system. “But this is how bail works: it’s a security to make you go to court. If you don’t show up, they keep the bail money. Then, if and when they find you, they lock you up again and either put so much bail on you that nobody can afford it, or they hold you without bail and take you to court themselves.” This much, the psychiatrist could explain.

Fortunately, Sean had excellent coping skills, and thus he was able to remain calm under pressure. It helped that, at the end of the day, he was only assisting this situation; he faced no jail time, and although he could find himself facing retribution from Lani’s boss, he was a resourceful adult who could hold his own, and he was only tangentially affiliated with this. He had the luxury of remaining calmer than the telekinetic did, coupled with decades more maturity and life experience.

At the other question, he nodded solemnly a single time. “The bail should go through, so yes. The officer will come let you out, but you have to promise me that you’ll cooperate. I can do what I can to help, but your bail wasn’t cheap.” The psychiatrist had disposable income, but he was not independently wealthy. Between this and the water heater...However, he did have enough to cover the security for now.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani didn’t think there was a class out there that was made to prepare someone for this kind of situation. All he could do was take it one step at a time, day by day. Being in a jail cell really put a damper on that. It infuriated Lani even more than he got caught for an outstanding warrant. Honestly if Lani was going to be arrested for anything he would almost wish it was something worse so that he could at least have a reason to be in here that wasn’t the fact that someone had recognized his face. Speaking politely was the last think on Lani’s mind, he didn’t swear a lot, but levels of high emotion definitely pulled profanity out of him. Lani huffed, unhappy with the answer but he knew that was all Dr. Neville could do. If this had something to do with Boston and Dr. Neville knew about it, well it simply wouldn’t make sense to keep it from Lani. Unless Dr. Neville was trying to teach some lesson, in which case Lani was not amused.

A sigh escaped his lips and Lani practically squirmed, he leaned against the bars and felt a sick lump in his throat and a twist in his stomach. He was locked away like an animal, and the only thing he could do was wait and the only think Dr. Neville could do was to provide bail. Beyond that he couldn’t do anything. For some reason Lani had started to believe that Dr. Neville’s power and influence went beyond that of a normal man. Lani was powerless and he’d never felt so helpless in his entire life. This was a mess and it was on top of everything else. His heart was broken and he was at odds with most of the underworld of Boston and Lani had never felt so alone. He just didn’t want to tell his dad about this, he would be furious. So long as he could keep this to himself it would be fine.

He looked up and took several deep breaths trying to keep himself calm and keep himself from having a panic attack. What Dr. Neville told him gave the telekinetic no hope and his heart fell through his shoes. He groaned and slammed his head against one of the bars, this was not good, not good at all. Lani’d shaken loose of one set of shackled but under the help of another master he’d been again caught in chains. “Dammit,” he muttered and Lani tried to trigger his power but his mind glanced against whatever border they had between him and his power and nothing happened. They could take away his power, they could locked him up, they could destroy him. No one would remember he existed. His father would think this was what he deserved. His mother would be too distraught to see him. He’d just fade from the life he’d had.

Lani’s throat closed and he closed his eyes tightly, fighting against the tears threatening to spill. Lani was terrified and it was getting hard to breathe. Get it together, he told himself. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. And now he was going to have to face his boss in court!? “How am I supposed to do this?” He said it before he could stop himself, “How am I supposed to face him?” This was too much, too much pressure, too much responsibility to put on one person. Lani wasn’t one to wallow in self pity, he needed to do things, but this task… this task was too much. It was too big. It was impossible. Lani listened to Dr. Neville and shook his head. Promise to cooperate? How could Lani do that? Dr. Neville was right, he didn’t have to be here and he was using his own money to help him. A police officer came through a door and seeing his chance Lani nodded. “Okay, okay, I promise,” Lani said but all that was on his mind was running as fast as he could once he was outside.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Unfortunately, as much as Sean might benefit from the impression that he was omniscient, this was not the case. He did not know everything that Lani had done in Boston, which resulted in a dearth of knowledge. If he knew full details, then he would have more of a solution.

Unlike characters in comic books, Sean’s telepathy was not as strong as to influence powers or to sense them. However, he could hear Lani’s frustrated and desperate thoughts and that, rather than the failed attempt to use his powers, caught the psychiatrist’s attention. “You can’t get ahead of yourself, Lani. If you start to think about the future being hopeless, then that leads to self-fulfilling prophecy. The first step is to get you out tonight, and the next step is to find out what happened so we can rectify it.” The older man could always count on his innate calm in stressful situations.

“I don’t know if you have to face him.” Sean had been honest throughout the conversation about how he did not know the underlying reason for the bail jumping charge. For all he knew, Lani had been expected in court for an unrelated matter and that, rather than anything pertaining to his boss, had been the cause of the warrant. Since they had no answers, it was best not to panic. “That’s something for us to talk about in the morning, when the District Attorney calls us back and explains the situation.” That was all that the psychiatrist could offer at the moment, since this was beyond his realm and out of his hands.

However, as he could see and sense the boy’s distress, Sean reached into his pocket and pulled out the handkerchief that he carried. His hands were too large to fit through the bars, but he held the cloth aloft, so that the tails fit through the bars, should Lani wish to avail himself of it. “We can get the answers we need, and I’m sure that we can work something out that won’t involve you putting yourself or your family further at risk.”

After all, he knew that Lani’s motivation was to protect his family. It was important not to jeopardize that.

Lying to a telepath was a poor idea. Sean would not allow Lani to languish in this jail cell, and bail had already been tendered. However, the psychiatrist intended to have a long talk with the boy on the ride back to his home, so that they could reach an understanding. “I have your word then?” Sean had heard what the telekinetic had said to him, but he wanted to hammer in that Lani was making a promise to him, so that whatever sense of pride and integrity that the boy had would take effect.

Soon enough, the police officer came back to the holding cells. He had processed the bail that the psychiatrist had posted for Lani, and he had both a receipt and information regarding the telekinetic’s next court date. The officer was cordial to the psychiatrist, primarily because Sean had not been arrested and had no criminal record, and also because he had been courteous to the officer in return.

The telepath stepped aside to allow the officer access to the cell. He unlocked it, allowing Lani out although he gave him a few words of warning, specifically about attending court and watching his mouth. Then, with a last glance over his shoulder, the policeman left Sean and Lani alone.

“I can drive you back,” the psychiatrist offered. That would give them the opportunity to talk without worrying about police surveillance.