Marvin's bluster ground to a halt. So did his phony accent. "Wait, what?"
“10 am, Tuesday, Los Angeles,” Castillo repeated.
Marvin blinked nervously. "Ten in the morning?" He swallowed, looking to Lopez on his left. "They can do that to me?"
Lopez gave a bit of a nod. "The regular courts run on regular schedules. This is the only court in the nation that accommodates supernatural conditions."
"None of the other courts fucking know about supernatural conditions!"
Again, Lopez nodded. "It's a problem," he sniffed.
Marvin looked from the judge to the lawyer and back again. "Uh, Judge... I think... I think I'll take this court. And, uh, this lawyer."
"Understood. I hereby appoint Michael Lopez to represent you. Is defense counsel prepared to proceed with the arraignment?"
"Yes, your honor," Lopez answered.
"Are you correctly named in the indictment? Would you like me to formally read the indictment into the record?" He took his cues from Lopez's short, quick replies. "How do you plead?"
Lopez glanced at Marvin, who looked back at a complete loss for words. “Your honor, my client pleads not guilty,” Lopez announced.
Castillo's attention turned to the prosecution’s table. "What is the government's position on detention?"
"Your honor, the defendant struggled violently against arrest, assaulting several Federal agents," the prosecutor explained. "His health conditions require the ingestion of warm blood, and he has shown every willingness to commit assault to attain it. He has also demonstrated extraordinary strength, speed and stealth, and is largely unharmed by most weapons carried by police or the general public. It is the government's position that he is a severe flight risk.”
"Very well, Counselor Oswalt," Castillo nodded, "Mr. Kowalski will remain in Federal custody until trial."
“What?!” Marvin burst. “That’s it? That’s my bail hearing?”
“Yeah, they always screw my clients on that one.” Lopez glanced at his watch. “Look, you’ll get two liters of fresh chicken blood every night.”
“Chicken blood?!”
Behind him, the suited man rose and turned for the door. He was a trim man in his early thirties, tall and clean-shaven. He held the door for the younger woman who followed him out while Kowalski unleashed a torrent of worried questions on his attorney.
“That one’s gonna be a slam dunk,” said Agent Paul Keeley.
Agent Amber Maddox was not so comfortable with all this. It showed on her young, pretty face. Her pantsuit did little to show off her athletic figure, but that was how she preferred it in these environments. It was hard enough to be taken seriously when she looked even younger than she really was. Waiters and bartenders routinely double-checked her driver’s license. Dressing in anything but the most conservative styles at work typically drew the same reactions. Tonight, at least, she could accessorize with the small gauze pad taped over her temple. Kowalski’s arrest had not gone as smoothly as anyone had hoped, but in the end the Bureau got its man.
Kowalski had been her first supernatural encounter. Up until now, she had focused purely on learning the ropes within the task force, building an airtight case and making the arrest. Thoughts of what would come after that had to be put on hold, but now those concerns were front and center. “What makes you say that?” she asked. “I mean, Kowalski is obviously not all that bright—“
“Dumb as a box of rocks,” interrupted Keeley with a wry grin, “if you want to be charitable.”
“—and his defense attorney might not be the most energetic I’ve seen—“
“Lopez knows how to pick his battles,” Keeley shrugged. “He’s good at his job. Knows a shit case when he sees one. Not all those charges will stick.”
Amber paused, wondering if she should say something about being allowed to say her peace. To his credit, Keeley caught onto her understandable frustration immediately. “Sorry,” he grunted, “it’s late. Go on.”
“Like you said, not all the charges will stick,” Amber said. “I mean, he gets a full jury trial, right? You said this is done by the book, secrecy notwithstanding?”
“Well,” Keeley shrugged, “they’re entitled to a jury trial. Doesn’t mean it actually happens. Remember what we told you about the loyalty oaths? Swearing fealty when they’re given the big bite and such? Secrecy is the most important aspect. Every vampire is brought in promising to keep their existence secret, even at the cost of their lives. They enforce that on one another brutally.