Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Twelve Angry People ❯ How to use a gun ( Chapter 7 )

CHAPTER SEVEN

 

A small crash of thunder was heard from outside. Mimi joined Tai by the window to cool off, “It's going to rain…”

 

“No, you think…?” Tai said jokingly. “Say… how come you changed your vote?”

 

Mimi admitted that all through the debate she went along with the others, until now when she decided to think for herself. “It seemed that there was room for doubt. Besides… there were a lot of details that were never gone over.”

 

“Oh, what are you saying…?” Matt grumbled as he crumpled his water-cup in his hand. “You're just getting mixed. Like the rest of them” then he headed for the men's room.

 

“Loudmouth…” Mimi muttered under her breath.

 

“Wow, is it ever hot.” Kari said softly as she fanned herself with her notepad. Then she noticed, “What's the matter Joe… don't you sweat anymore?”

 

Joe smiled softly, “No… not like that anymore. That Joe Idha's long gone.”

 

Another crash of thunder rumbled, and it began to pour so hard that Tai nearly got his suit wet. Izzy turned on the lights in the room, and then went over to help Tai and Davis close the windows. “Wow, what a storm.” Izzy said. “Reminds me of the time this thunderstorm caused a huge blackout, and my computer shutdown and I forgot to save my data.”

 

“I hear you…” said Davis. “It happened to me with my video-games once. So I had the nerve to start practicing soccer in the rain so I could be a stronger player.”

 

With the windows no shut, the room became even warmer. Everyone was sweating so much that you could start to see the wet marks on the suit, and their faced were all shinning under the lights. “Hey what is it with the air-conditioning?” Tai complained.

 

Then all of a sudden, it began to feel cooler in the room. The air-conditioning had finally kicked in “Hey, what do you know…” Sora said. “Guess we just had to ask it.”

 

Everyone kicked back and let the cool air stir though the room. Joe even went to the water cooler for a drink. “Well how do you like it?” TK said to him. “Tied six to six, and no way around it?”

 

Joe nodded, “Well I suppose it is going to be tough.”

 

TK then went on about how Davis was trying to bait him earlier, and insulting him. “Who does he think he is, calling me a public-avenger, a sadist? Anyone would've snapped like I did.”

 

Joe threw away his cup, “Well… if you ask me… I think it served you right.”

 

As everyone took their seats again, and Matt cam out form the washroom, “Right I've had enough of this nonsense.” He said. “I suggest we wrap it up and declare ourselves a hung-jury.”

 

“Yeah, I'm for that too…” Tai said. “Why not let twelve other people take this case. We're obviously not going anywhere; nobody's going to change their vote.”

 

Many of the others weren't up for that idea. “Tai, you still don't think there's room for any doubt?” Kari asked. “No, I don't.” her brother answered.

 

“Uh, Tai…?” Ken asked. “I don't think you understand the terms of why we're here.”

 

“Hah!” Tai mocked, “Ken, if there's one thing I don't need it's you telling me what I should do or not.”

 

“Okay, will you guys knock off with the arguing?” Izzy said irritably. “Now who's got something constructive to say?”

 

Davis stepped forward. “Now there was this deal about the boy being at the movies, and yet he wasn't able to remember what movies he saw or the stars that played in them.”

 

Joe nodded in agreement. “That's right. It was the only alibi he had to offer, and he had no details to back it up with.”

 

“Well, try and put yourself in the boy's place.” Davis suggested, “Do you think you could really remember things like that after a very upsetting experience like being beat up by your father?”

 

Joe believed he would be able to, “Like I said before… the boy couldn't remember the movies he saw because he never went that night.”

 

Davis pointed out that there was more to it than just being beat up. “The boy was question by the two detectives while his father's body was lying dead in the bedroom, and only a few shattered remains of his father' Digimon were scattered on the floor of the living room.”

 

“You can't possibly expect us to believe that he could've remembered the movies he saw under emotional stress like that.”

 

Joe still wasn't convinced, and even with all the experience he had dealt with patients who were under emotional stress whom he helped. Davis decided to ask, “When was the last time you went to the movies yourself?”

 

Joe thought it over, “Me…?” he asked. “It was… last Monday night. My wife and I went to the movies.”

 

“And what did you see…?”

 

Joe hesitated for a moment or two, “I… I don't really remember.” he said, “I don't remember any of it, or who stared in it either. I was busy for the next two days at the office, and helping my patients.”

 

“But you weren't under emotional stress…?”

 

Joe sweated for the first time ever since he first sat down, “No… I guess I wasn't.”

 

“Well, I think the point is made.” Cody stated.

 

“No it isn't…” Matt said. He coughed once. “Joe's a busy guy, and he's got people to look after. This kid's nothing more than high-school drop-out he couldn't even get a job in a junkyard. He's got nothing to distract himself, understand?”

 

“Matt, stop it!” Sora said to her husband. “You'll make yourself sicker with all this ranting.”

 

A small rumble of thunder boomed outside. “Boy, look at that rain…” Yolei said. “There's goes your soccer-game, Tai.”

 

Tai shook his head, “It's only a shower. Besides… they got the roof-doors closed.”

 

Mimi then asked if she could see the revolver for a moment. Davis got up and gave it to her kindly.

 

The vote was still tied six-six, and wasn't it ironic that it was 6 pm in the evening? Some of the others suggested they get some dinner, but others suggested they wait for another hour.

 

Mimi stood up, and decided to speak about something she had just come to realize. “I've been thinking about the gunshot, and how the Digimon was shot right in middle the chest… but I'm wondering something. The Digimon was only about two and a half feet tall, and the boy was at least five feet. Well I think it's a very awkward thing to shot someone in the chest who's less than half your height.”

 

TK stood up and grabbed the gun from her hand. “Well why don't we test it out…?” he suggested. “I'll give you a demonstration, somebody get up…”

 

Only Davis was still standing, “Okay then… now I want to watch this carefully.” TK said. “Davis, you crouch down…”

 

Davis got on his knees, and made himself look like he was half TK's height. “Okay… now if I were the boy, here's what I'd do.” replied TK, and he cocked the gun, even though it wasn't even loaded, aimed carefully with the gun in both his hands, and pointed out. “See this is how I'd shoot someone shorter than me. Look at the angle, right in the middle of the chest.”

 

“Now tell me I'm wrong…”

 

Yolei came over and tried it herself and she held the gun exactly like TK did with both hands. “Right in the middle… I guess he's right.”

 

Just then Kari got up and walked over to Yolei and Davis saying, “Wait a minute…!” She took the gun from Yolei, and shivered slightly as she hated holding firearms. “I just thought of something…” she replied. “Davis and I went to the arcade a couple of times in high-school, and one of our favorite games was a shooting game where we'd have these fake guns and have to shoot cardboard cutouts…”

 

Davis smiled as he got up off the floor. “Those were great times.” he smirked at his fiancée.

 

“Well how would you use a gun…?” Yolei asked.

 

Kari explained and demonstrated, “Well you'd never keep in your jacket-pocket, you'd lose too much time getting it out and taking proper aim with both hands. Now here's the right way to do it…” She gave the gun to Davis who demonstrated that he kept the gun in his pants-pocket, and grabbed it out with only one hand which allowed him to aim quicker. “Now I don't think the boy could've shot his father's Digimon any other way, but it was told that the killer was seen using both hands to hold the gun.” he then said.

 

“How do you know that…?” TK asked. “You weren't in the room when the Digimon was killed, and neither was anyone else.”

 

“What do you think Yolei…?” Davis asked.

 

Yolei still wasn't sure, “I don't know.”

 

“What do you mean, you don't know?” TK grumbled.

 

“I just don't know.” replied Yolei, “You know I've never been a person who can make quick judgments.”

 

Davis walked Kari back to her seat, and then questioned Tai, who was sitting awkwardly as if he was bored out of his mind. “What do you think Tai…?”

 

His brother -in-law looked up, “I don't know about the rest of them, but I'm getting fed up with all this blabbering and yakking, we're not getting anywhere. Someone's got to break this up, so I guess I'll do just that. I'm changing my vote to Not Guilty.”

 

“You what…?” TK asked.

 

Tai checked his watch for the umpteenth time, “You heard me. I'm finished. I've had it.”

 

“What do you mean, you're finished?” That's no answer.”

 

Tai sighed irritably, “Listen, you go about it your way, and let me go about it mine. You got that…?”

 

“Tai, TK's right…” Ken said with a strange look on his face. “That wasn't an answer. How can you act like this? You sat there, and you voted guilty quickly because you just want to leave here and go to the soccer-game, and suddenly you decide to change your vote because you say you've had enough of all this chatting?”

 

The two men got up, “Now listen Ken…!”

 

But Ken, with his anger starting to show, and his voice deeper, “Who tells you that you can play like this with somebody's life! Don't you care--”

 

“Hey, hold up!” Tai snapped. “You can't talk like that to me.”

 

“Oh yes I can.” protested Ken. “You're acting almost as worse as I did when I was evil, but at least I mended my ways and everything was made up for, but you…? If you want to vote Not Guilty with us, then you do it because you're convened that the boy is innocent, not because you've had enough… and if you think he's Guilty, then vote that way… but don't you have the nerve to do what you think is right for the boy and not for yourself?”

 

Tai was really getting irritable, but Ken wouldn't let him speak by cutting him out, “Guilty, or Not Guilty?”

 

“I told you…” Tai snapped. “I changed my vote. Not Guilty.”

 

“Why…?”

 

“Hey! I don't have to--”

 

“Yes you do. You have to say it. Why…?”

 

Tai shrugged his shoulders, “I don't think he's guilty. You happy now…?”

 

Ken sighed softly and then went back to his seat. Then Davis stood up, “Since Tai's changed his vote, I think we should take another group-vote.” he said to Izzy.

 

Izzy agreed, “I guess we'll do it by a show of hands.” he suggested. “Now all those voting Not Guilty, raise your hands.”

 

He counted the hands as they went up, “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.” Yolei slowly, as she was hesitating, but then firmly raised her hand. “Eight…”

 

Izzy was nervously twiddling his fingers, and then raised his own hand. “Uh… Nine.” He said shyly. “All those voting Guilty…?” TK, Joe, and Matt raised their hands. “One, two, and three...”

 

“Well, the vote's nine to three, in favor of acquittal.”

 

The voting had now tipped in favor. But regardless of whether or not those voting Not-Guilty now had the upper hand, if the vote was still not unanimous, then it would all be for nothing.