#Official Misconduct

[davidbookstaber]

Police Perjury ("Testilying")

Police give misleading or false testimony under oath with such regularity that police testimony in court is often referred to as “testilying.” I previously mentioned this happening in my own case. I have direct experience with another egregious case. After police served search warrants on my residential property following the murder of a neighbor, my father-in-law who is a business attorney…

[giannic]

High crimes and misdemeanors - Wikipedia

[amazing-video-shares]

COPS CAUGHT AT HOME DURING SHIFT! Citizen Journalist Stands Up for Transparency.

[jrd-jnn]

Activism is not terrorism, why are you afraid to face our voices? Or because only the dead are silent

And we are still alive to criticise your deficiencies.

[dopaminepig]

teehee

[genderkoolaid]

Eight members of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD), including multiple sergeants, have reportedly been fired amid allegations of a coverup centering on the 2023 police beating of a transgender man. The Los Angeles Times reported last week that former deputy Joseph Benza III and seven others in the department have all been relieved of duty, according to six anonymous sources within the sheriff’s office. The firings came less than two weeks after Benza reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors, in which he admitted to following and assaulting then-23-year-old Emmett Brock for raising his middle finger at Benza while driving past him. As part of last month’s plea agreement, Benza admitted to all factual allegations made by prosecutors, including details of an alleged coverup within the sheriff’s department that began as Benza was still pursuing Brock. As he followed Brock’s car, the agreement states, Benza called another deputy and told them he was going to stop Brock because he had “just flipped him off,” even though raising one’s middle finger is legally protected speech under the U.S. constitution. After tailing Brock to a gas station, Benza threw Brock to the ground and began beating him so severely that Brock suffered “serious bodily injury,” including a concussion, heavy bruising, and cuts to his body. Brock was initially jailed on $100,000 bond and charged with mayhem and resisting arrest, but was declared factually innocent by a judge last year. When compiling his report, according to the agreement, Benza spoke with a sergeant and another deputy about what information to include. The sergeant “counseled [Benza] to omit” that he began tailing Brock after being flipped off; two other sergeants are also said in the agreement to have “counseled [Benza] to omit that fact from the Incident Report.” Indeed, Benza’s report did not mention that information or his subsequent use of force, instead “misleadingly” claiming that he stopped Brock because of an air freshener on his rear-view mirror. Later, the sergeant who first told Benza to omit information from his report also told him to “toss the phone,” which Benza understood to be an instruction to delete cell phone data prior to an investigation; Benza and other deputies are said in the agreement to have “discussed lying to federal authorities” to cover up the truth. The other conspirators in the alleged LASD coverup were not named in Benza’s plea agreement. An LASD spokesperson confirmed that Benza had been fired in a statement to CNN last week, but did not officially confirm any of the other dismissed former members’ identities or how many had been fired. (It’s possible that the unnamed deputies and sergeants could still be rehired at other law enforcement agencies, as is common even in cases of misconduct.) Benza currently faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, though his attorney Tom Yu told the Times that he will ask the court to place Benza on probation. Last September, LASD relieved “several” deputies from duty “in connection with a federal investigation” from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, as the Times also reported. It’s not clear whether those firings were related to the Brock case, or to another federal investigation; earlier that month, another LASD deputy, Trevor James Kirk, was also charged with deprivation of rights under color of law for allegedly assaulting and pepper-spraying a Black woman who was accused of shoplifting. “I just feel very lucky to have gotten justice for this when there’s a lot of survivors of that [who] don't, so I’m just greatly appreciative of that,” Brock told NBC News last month following news of Benza’s plea deal. “It’s my lifelong wish that people in law enforcement live up to their public statements that they disapprove of this kind of felonious behavior and they will hold their employees accountable, [because] I can give you 100 cases in which they said that and nobody went to jail.”

You love to see it

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

Capitol police quickly issued a warning to the protesters — which included U.S. army whistleblower Chelsea Manning alongside author and activist Raquel Willis — to disperse or face arrest, including sexual misconduct charges. Following those warnings, they were arrested and escorted from the building by Capitol police. 

The protest follows Johnson’s announcement in November that transgender women are not allowed to access women’s restrooms and facilities in the Capitol and House buildings — an announcement that was not accompanied with any information about enforcement, or how such a policy would be carried out. The group called for elected officials to block Rep. Nancy Mace’s proposed bill that would ban trans people from bathrooms in museums, national parks and other federal property and for Democratic members of Congress to filibuster and block the bill if or when it comes to a vote. 

“This bathroom sit-in sets an example of the righteous defiance and solidarity needed under a second Trump administration,” Gender Liberation Movement said in a press release, citing support from transgender and cisgender participants. The group said survivors of sexual violence also joined the protest to demand that proponents of bathroom bills stop falsely accusing trans women of endangering cis women when they use women’s facilities.  

[shefightsforall]

The attorney general publicly calling a defendant "guilty" before a trial should be highly problematic from both legal and ethical perspectives:

1. Presumption of innocence is a cornerstone of the justice system. Everyone is legally innocent until proven guilty in court.

2. Such statements could prejudice potential jurors and taint the jury pool, making it difficult to find impartial jurors.

3. It could violate professional ethics and conduct rules for prosecutors, who are expected to be ministers of justice rather than merely adversaries.

4. It might provide grounds for a motion to dismiss charges or change venue, or even support claims of prosecutorial misconduct.

5. It undermines public confidence in the fairness of the judicial process.

While prosecutors and the attorney general can describe evidence or explain charges, definitively declaring guilt before trial contradicts fundamental principles of due process. This is why official statements typically use careful language like "alleged," "accused," or "charged with" rather than making declarations of guilt.

FREE HIM.

[songmingisthighs]

Pitiful, You're Pitiful

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ch. vi

group : ateez

pairing : aged up!wooyoung × aged up!reader

genre : angst, mature

word count : 2.8 k

warning : argument, mentions of cheating, negative depiction of wooyoung, mentions of loss, calling an adulteress an assortment of names, idk what else tbh lmk if there is anything else I should add

a/n : I FINALLY UPDATED !!!!! this chapter might be slightly shorter compared to the others but trust me when I say it's very much intentional because I just want to focus this chapter on this one specific interaction. some sort of catalyst or like break from the obliteration of pyp!woo's image ig lmaooooo BUT YAY I DIDN'T FORGET TO POST PYP THIS MONTH !!!!

buy me coffee ?

After the fiasco that was your unveiling of a VERY important information about a staff of the academy, Wooyoung was immediately pulled in to get his side of the story. And of course, unfortunately, you. Luckily, you didn't get chastised by anyone because you were CLEARLY the victim in this situation. Heck, the HR team even reached out to apologize to you for the inconvenience you experienced due to their staff's "misconduct" because you're one of the founders's wives. It was an interesting way of saying that their staff is a cheating whore without any redeeming value but you'll take what you can get out of them and the situation. Which also includes his own friend group contacting you every now and then to make sure that you are okay and some (Yunho, Mingi, and Jongho) even going as far as swearing to denounce their familial relations with Wooyoung which was sweet.

Speaking of Wooyoung, he had been shoved into the heap of horseshit that he had piled on himself. You honestly have never seen him so down because he was "suggested" to take an extra two weeks of break to "settle down from the issue" which was really code for HR still having to clean up his mess because Harin decided to not go quietly. From what you heard from a reliable source (Jongho over pastry and coffee after he ditched his vocal classes to gossip), Harin came back the day after she officially got fired and made a ruckus. Literally, she went crazy and made a mess of the lobby; throwing chairs and tables around, scattering pamphlets, breaking vases, and screaming random weird things like how the company is a misogynist for firing a woman for something that was beyond her control. Safe to say, because Harin refused to move to a quieter spot, Hongjoong had to step in and reiterate all the mistakes she had made including but not limited to her having an affair with a married man who was her boss. Hongjoong had even told her that while there was another party involved, another party that acknowledged the mistakes that he had made and agreed to accept whatever disciplinary actions were required, it was also her choice to partake in such behavior. Long story short, a student uploaded the whole thing on YouTube and as of today, there were 15 different TikTok remixes ranging from EDM, screamo, and even a Donald Trump edit. Without Jongho pointing it out, you could imagine that Harin's career in South Korea was over, not because of the cheating, but because of her disorderly conduct.

You found yourself spending time rather peacefully in recent times which was surprising since your house seems to always be in a state of chaos. For once, Wooyoung didn't try to make you talk to him or about him. In fact, he had the decency to be very considerate of you and your feelings, particularly about being in the same room as him. It made you feel slightly bad to be honest because although you both were going through something, he was in the middle of being the butt of the joke and jab by everyone at the company. It was sad and pathetic but also very much deserved. Sure you sometimes found his isolation to be sad, pathetic, and downright pitiful, but then you remember what he did and you remembered how he put himself in that position without even considering the repercussions.

The same could be said about Dayoung. Well, only in the sense of her isolation seemingly from the rest of the world. Your outgoing, extroverted daughter seemed to spend a good chunk of time locking herself inside her room after school. Usually, you would have to turn into a negotiator three times a week just to get your daughter to come home right on her curfew. This time around, you had a worse time trying to get her out, even making her run some errands just so she could get some fresh air. It wasn't until a while later that Wooyoung clued in on why Dayoung was acting like that. The way you went off on Wooyoung for breaking the news in such a manner without you present or even consulting you. You did try to understand that maybe he just... slipped or that he was so emotional that it just slipped out but the point stood that he waited until you were trying to piece things together to finally tell you. Yet another secret he kept from you. Considering the frequency of things he said but hid away from you, you had to think if this was some sort of behavioural pattern that he hadn't exhibited even if you both had been married for quite a long time. Maybe he had became a master a suppressing it and all it took was you forcing the truth out of him to make said behavior to come back to the surface.

On the other hand, Woohyun was turning into a more mature and responsible version of himself. the day you both came home from confronting the slut, Woohyun became so very helpful towards you. The first thing he did was took your bag and brought it over to the kitchen table before he dashed to the bathroom to wash his hands, cleaning himself up before you had to tell him to. Then he made himself very available for you by making sure that he spent almost every single waking or available moments with you. When you;re in the kitchen doing the dishes or cooking, he would be on the counter or the dining table doing his homework. Sometimes he would even try to do chores like one time he tried to help you bringing his sister's laundry basket from the second floor and he ended up scattering everything down the stairs. Woohyun was upset and worried that you would be mad but instead, you laughed it up and helped him clean up before teaching him how to carry items that are heavier than him down. Although you couldn't find it in yourself to bring it up in case you ended up accidentally telling him yourself, you had a feeling that Woohyun was trying to distract you from the reality of what was going on with your husband in his own way. One of the things that solidified your assumption was the fact that Woohyun had limited contact with his dad significantly. The two of them used to spend time together playing games or pulling pranks on one another and even on you or Dayoung but he had suddenly refuse to spend elective time with Wooyoung no matter how much Wooyoung tried to negotiate with him with everything that he got. Despite that, Woohyun dudb't lose respect for his dad.

"Mom?"

You almost dropped the plate you were washing when you heard a voice come up from the doorway. It was surprising to see Dayoung standing there, timid like a deer because she was always happy, lively, and rambunctious, even straight-up disrespectful to you, your space, and your boundaries. But never this. She had been so... quiet for a week and it would've made you freak out had it not been for Wooyoung letting you know that Dayoung knew. That was all he said, she knew. You did not know what had gotten over you to not deck Wooyoung right then and there but he should absolutely consider himself a lucky bastard.

The sight of your own daughter standing there made you feel... anxious. You probably (most likely) should not be afraid of a bitty teenager, but how can you not? It's not like you thought that she was going to attack you or worse, ask you to give Wooyoung a sponge bath. But you just never saw your daughter this... Muted. It was as if she had stepped into an old TV where there was nothing but black and white. You silently wished that Woohyun had not gone to the zoo with his playdate friends because he would be a great buffer. Or witness for whatever that was bound to happen.

"D-do you need help with the dishes?" She asked, stepping closer to you slowly. At first, you were surprised, not exactly expecting that the first thing she would say was an offer to help you with a chore. But, you welcomed her with a smile and nodded, stepping to the side so she could come next to you and start wiping down the washed dishes.

There were no words exhchanged between the two of you for the first five minutes or so but it wasn't awkward. It was the first time that the silence was peaceful when it was just the two of you. Usually, the silence would always only come from Dayoung and it was because she was mad at you for something. Not at you and Wooyoung, just you. You were always the receiver of her animosity even when she was mad at her dad for whatever insignificant reason there could be, but this time was different.

"Mom..." she called you suddenly but what came next surprised you instead, "I'm sorry," she started, not looking at you which was unfortunate because you were staring at her with a very priceless dumbfounded expression. "I- I- what?" "I'm sorry for... This, my part in... Whatever's going on with you and dad. I'm really sorry for making you take care of him. Had I known, I wouldn't have made you take him in," she confessed and you could see that she was starting to tear up. Your heart broke and you really wanted to pull her in and give her the biggest hug that you could muster just to show your support for her but you knew that it would just make yourself feel better for accomplishing something and not actually help her feel better. So you took a step closer to her and breathed out a sigh of relief when she didn't push you away. "I'm really, really, REALLY sorry mom. He's the worst husband ever," she sniffed which made you chuckle as you blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall, "Well, I would say that Emperor Peter, Catherine the Great's husband is a far worse husband than your father."

Your attempt at making light of the situation was met with Dayoung squinting her eyes at you. "Mom, I'm serious. I've heard about my friend's dad cheating but not like this. Not in your situation, and not with someone dumb enough to think she can substitute a hand wrap for martial arts with boob tapes," she scoffed, annoyed. You sighed and shrugged, "Well, people are complicated, sweetie. I... I'm not mad, annoyed, or angry that you wanted me to take care of your dad because, in retrospect, it WAS the absolute right thing to do. I mean, your dad was injured and he's facing such a hard time at work. It would be absolutely wrong to just toss him to someone else. Who would we even toss him to? His friend? His parents?" "His whore, mom. We could've tossed him out and have his whore handle him."

The very second the words left Dayoung's mouth, your eyes widened and your neck snapped in her direction to see her frowning, staring up at you. "He's a cheating bastard and we have the right to not even be in contact with him anymore," she curtly stated. "Jung Dayoung," you started shakily. Dayoung simply shook her head to cut you off, "No, mom, oh my God, you need to stop being a doormat." "Dayoung!" you exclaimed, surprised that she was able to say such a thing and perhaps slightly offended. "It's true! God, mom, how long have you known that he has a side piece who's as dumb as a bag of rocks? How long have you held everything in and just let him walk all over you? He fucking CHEATED on you mom! When you were so down in the dumps to the point that you couldn't even take care of yourself properly! You used Woohyun and I as a distraction, shoving all the attention and care to what, fill in the void over the loss of my would've-been sibling? And where was he? He was with some other woman because he is the worst of the worst and I will never forgive him for what he did to our family!"

Maybe it was the volume of her voice or the massive weight of her words but you felt your blood boiling and before you even realized it, you had shoved a plate into the sink and you were huffing, "Jung Dayoung that's enough, you should not talk about your father that way." "Why? Why shouldn't I, mom? My God, this is the first time in like, maybe ever that I'm standing up for you, this is me protecting you and yet you're still trying to make excuses for that pathetic son of a bitch who betrayed his family!?" "He did not betray our family, okay? He betrayed me, Dayoung!"

Just like it was the first time Dayoung defended you, you had experienced your first time screaming at her and to say that she was scared was an understatement. Dayoung shut her mouth and stared at you with sadness in her eyes because she had yet to comprehend why you were still trying to stand up for your cheating husband.

"Your dad did nothing to our family, sweetie. He did this to me," you sighed, closing your eyes and exhaling shakily as you used both of your hands to hold onto the counter to stabilize yourself. "Sure, he might have altered the dynamic and whatever else in our family but he... What he did was nothing against our family but it was just against me. At least, that's what I think. I don't think I have it in me to find out exactly why he did what he did because I'm weak, Dayoung. I'm a coward like that." you turned to her and shed a tear, breaking Dayoung's heart as she realized just how strong you were all this time.

"Then why, mom? Why are you still letting him off?" Dayoung asked, her voice cracking. You tearily chuckled and shrugged, "Who said that I am? I'm doing this, ALL of this, not because I want to. I did it, because for the longest time, that was what we have agreed on in our marriage. He deal with the monetary stuff and I deal with the family stuff. As much as it hurts, no matter if I like it or not, he is still my family because his behavior be damned, he... He gave me you and your brother and that is something I would never regret. For that, I will always be thankful to him and that is also why you should still respect your father. You can be mad at him, you can be hurt by what he did, but your respect should be non-negotiable not because he deserved it, but because your dad an I taught you better than that. He truly loves you, Dayoung. He might not love me anymore but you and Woohyun are the apples of his eyes, you are his stars in the dark night sky, and you are the best thing he had and would ever achieve. Do you understand me?"

Dayoung groaned and dropped her head on your shoulder as she wrapped her arms around your waist. "Damn it mom, why do you have to make it hard for me to unleash my wrath on him?" You couldn't help but chuckle and return her hug, "Sorry sweetie, part of my job is to make sure you grow up to be a decent human being and sometimes I have to make or say things you don't like," you chuckled, making Dayoung roll her eyes but nudge her hips with yours.

As you spend a heartwarming moment with your daughter, you can't help but let your mind slip and travel somewhere else. You couldn't help but think about how you and Dayoung would probably not have experienced such a changing moment in your life. So as much as you hate it, there was a silver lining in this whole shenanigan.

Beyond the heartwarming scene in the kitchen, alone in the dark and cold emptiness of the living room, Wooyoung stood with his back to the wall. Having come down when he heard the commotion, Wooyoung initially thought he might have to step in to get Dayoung off your back. But when he heard you yell back at Dayoung, he stopped in his tracks and debated If he should stay or leave until his interest was piqued and he ended up listening in on the conversation which left him feeling broken down. Despite the gnawing pain that made him feel like he couldn't breathe, he knew he deserved that and more. He should not complain and instead, he should just accept the harsh truth. Not just the facts that you laid out to Dayoung, but also the truth that your action further proved that he was truly the devil in this equation. And perhaps he doesn't deserve to be forgiven.

network :

@cultofdionysusnet @sandsofire @kflixnet @pirateeznet

taglist :

@atinyreads @strawberry-yeo @soobiverse @vixensss @smally97 @maidens-world @yunhoswrldddd @imcoenffl @nescaffei @miaatiny @showmehoseok @tmingi @wlv-asteria @sunwoosbaby @hyukssunflower @remi-young @roguesthetic

@staytiny816 @dearinsaniiity @scentednerdenemy

permalist :

@kodzukein @phenomenalgirl9 @skzatzloveismonsterous @memorymonster @surveilenceysystem @dreamlesswonder86 @maddiebabyxoxo @imababywolf @do-you-actually-care @marievllr-abg @ilsedingsx @wasteitonserendipity @bbymatz @noonaishere @honeyhwaaa @ateezourstars @yoonjunshi @yoongiigolden @camillelafaye @charreddonuts @kpopnightingale @starryunho @atinct @mirror-juliet @hyuckilstan @jayb17

[davidbookstaber]

Why Chester County Cops Dislike Me

When I lived in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, a neighbor was murdered in her home. I had installed a video surveillance system around my house when I first bought it 6 years prior. (My house was isolated from the street and backed up to a county trail that I thought could be a source of trouble, but to that point nothing bad had happened.) When detectives came knocking I suggested that my video might…

[the-august-one]

Here’s how to share sensitive leaks with the press

Published Oct. 16, 2019 Updated Jan. 31, 2025 / Freedom of the Press Foundation

[please take a moment to click the links at the bottom to give this website traffic if you can. the only reason I am copy pasting it here is for those who can access tumblr but not necessarily that site.]

~~~

Over the years, we have witnessed abuse and mismanagement in the government and private sector — sometimes bad and sometimes worse — that need to be brought to public attention. For those who would leak information about such misdeeds to the press, giving tips to journalists can be risky and may violate previous legal agreements with the leaker’s organization, such as a nondisclosure agreement or contract. But sometimes, it can also be an effective and courageous way to call attention to misconduct.

This guide describes basic steps for minimizing potential risk when sharing sensitive information with a news organization. We want to be clear that no piece of software, nor security recommendation, will be 100% effective, and the decision to blow the whistle may invite scrutiny or retaliation. At the same time, it may be a choice that drives necessary institutional change. Before reaching out to the press, think carefully about what you can do to minimize that risk and stay as safe as possible.

Before moving ahead, do you have a strong tip?

A good tip requires clear evidence and should be the basis for a story that the broader public needs to know about.

So, for instance, whether or not you have evidence, the broader public might not need to know that a neighbor refuses to pick up after her dog on the morning walk. On the other hand, allegations of corruption or illegality among public officials are certainly newsworthy, but those claims will not make it into a published story without verifiable evidence.

Who are you leaking about and how might they respond?

Think about the sensitivity of the information you’re sharing, and who might be willing to investigate the source of the leak. What are the organization’s capabilities? What resources (e.g., attention and legal, financial, or technical) can it invest in discovering the source? And how likely do you think it is that it will actually investigate?

If you share information about a large, well-resourced organization that requires discretion from employees, such as a government agency, it may have enormous legal, financial, and technical resources available for investigating a leak. If you’re sharing information about a small organization, such as a local restaurant that muzzles workers, its resources are much more constrained, and it may not have the capacity or willingness to investigate. Act accordingly.

Proceed with caution

Be cautious about behaviors that could make you readily identifiable as a source.

Keep all of your leaking activities outside the view of your organization. That means no calling from work, no emailing from a work email address, and staying off work devices or wireless networks.

It's common for well-resourced organizations to keep logs of activities on employees’ workplace devices and online activities. Likewise, sometimes workplaces have “BYOD” (bring your own device) technologies that could allow them to log your activity on your personal device. So if you work at a large organization and you're reading this article on a workplace device or Wi-Fi network, chances are your workplace already has a log that you've accessed this page. Similarly, a visit to a news organization's tip page (like https://www.nytimes.com/tips) may be logged by your workplace. This is why it's so important to limit your leaking activities to devices and networks that your workplace doesn't control.

Has your workplace ever required you to install monitoring software (or software of any kind) on your work or personal device? If so, you probably don't want to use those devices for any whistleblowing activities.

Be cautious about giving tips on anything that only you could know or materials that only you could access. And consider whether the increased risk of being caught sharing these kinds of materials is worthwhile, or if you feel you have a strong moral obligation to do so.

If you are the only one at your organization surfacing a specific grievance, and information about that grievance is later reported by the press, it may give your organization a strong hint about who shared the information.

Don’t tell anyone about your leaking activities (even perhaps the journalist or news organization you’re leaking to), except where absolutely necessary and in cases where you may want legal advice from a practicing lawyer.

Reporters generally take their commitment to protecting your identity very seriously and will do everything in their power to fight potential legal requests for identifying information about you. But often, it’s safer not to give your identity if you don’t have to. Keep in mind that journalists prefer to have proof of your claims and information to demonstrate your identity is a part of that.

Tactics for minimizing risk

There are a lot of ways to minimize the risk of a tip being tied to you, like potentially through your continued communications with reporters.

Send your materials through physical mail. You can mail electronic documents (e.g., on an SD card) or physical documents through ordinary mail. Be warned: The U.S. postal service takes pictures of the exterior of physical mail. So don’t use a return address that is associated with you and instead mail it in from a sidewalk mailbox in a location you don’t usually frequent. If you have a particular reporter you want to look into your story, copy them on the envelope.

Call from a phone number unconnected to you. For example, go to a business you don’t usually go to and ask to use their phone. You can also buy a cheap cell phone and a prepaid phone card that cannot be traced back to you. But know this involves several careful steps: You must pay with cash, and if your organization can have access to phone location records, it’s best to only turn on the phone in locations unassociated with you. That also means using the phone in locations separate from your permanent phone. If you can, remove the battery when it’s not in use.

Use Signal for private messaging. Signal is a secure, free, and open source messaging app for iPhones and Android devices. Signal gives you end-to-end encrypted messages and phone calls, and only retains your phone number, your signup date, and when you were last active. In Signal, you can also make messages automatically self-destruct for everyone in the conversation after a set amount of time. This makes it significantly harder (but not impossible) to eavesdrop on your conversations. If you want help getting started, read this beginner-friendly guide on using Signal. Note that Signal allows usernames, so you do not need to give your name or phone number to media organizations unless you choose to. Make sure your username is enabled and understand that Signal is not designed for complete anonymity.

Before looking into news organizations, consider using the Tor Browser for greater privacy. Tor Browser is a modified version of Firefox. Tor encrypts and tunnels your web traffic within a global network of computers before connecting you to your final destination. When you access a website through Tor (for example, Amazon.com), you will appear to connect from a remote location — likely another country. Again, don't use a work device or network for this kind of research.

Use a whistleblower submission system. Tools such as SecureDrop can provide protection by allowing you to share documents and communications through an anonymous and encrypted drop box.

More technical, but more secure: SecureDrop

With SecureDrop, which is maintained by Freedom of the Press Foundation, not even the news organization knows who you are unless you choose to tell them.

A growing number of news organizations (e.g., The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Intercept, The Guardian) are using SecureDrop to allow sources to reach out and share files or communications anonymously. With SecureDrop, not even the news organization knows who you are unless you choose to tell them.

You can access a news organization’s SecureDrop page through Tor Browser.

People on your network can’t see what you’re doing on Tor, but it’s still possible to tell that you’re using Tor. With that in mind, do not use it at work. For greater security, consider using Tor Browser only over a Wi-Fi network in a location that is not tied to you (perhaps a coffee shop you don’t normally visit) and pay with cash.

As opposed to a “.com” web address, you get to SecureDrop through a unique .onion web address, which can only be accessed through Tor.

Using SecureDrop is fairly easy

Follow the directions to download the Tor Browser at torproject.org and install it.

Launch the Tor Browser application and click "Connect" to log into the network.

Click the shield icon in the top corner > Advanced Security Settings… > Safest

Within Tor Browser, navigate to the SecureDrop directory and search for your preferred news organization: securedrop.org/directory

Find the .onion URL for your preferred publication (e.g., The New York Times: securedrop.org/directory/new-york-times), then copy and paste it into the address bar in Tor Browser.

From here, you can leave messages and files that the news organization will check from time to time.

You will be given a random “codename” for continued conversation with the news org. Keep this information safe, and don’t share it with anyone. If you lose your codename, they can’t reach you anymore.

(For more technically adept users, consider accessing SecureDrop through an operating system designed for privacy and anonymity, such as Tails.)

Dealing with file metadata

Sharing information may be less risky than sharing documents because they can be embedded with information about the file, which we call metadata. For example, if you create a .docx file, it may have identifying information about you embedded in the file. Consider carefully whether you really need to share files or just the information.

To deal with hidden metadata, rather than sending the file itself, consider taking a picture of a document with an old-fashioned camera (not a smartphone), or taking a screenshot of the document. On most operating systems, screenshots come with little useful metadata. For more technical users, you can find metadata removal tools here.

Where do you find a news organization's contact details?

First, be careful where you reach out.

Freedom of the Press Foundation maintains a list of organizations that support the secure communications practices outlined above, and how you can contact them. Such practices are becoming standard, and we hope other news organizations looking for great tips will follow suit.

Freedom of the Press Foundation hosts a directory of SecureDrop and secure tip pages for dozens of news organizations around the world. Whether you want to reach out to The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Intercept, or others, you can find their information here: https://securedrop.org/directory. (We would not recommend investigating this at work.)

If not you, then who?

Sharing information with the press is not always an easy decision, but your information can help to hold powerful people and institutions accountable. Just be sure to move ahead with a strong understanding of your organization’s capabilities and how to share tips safely.

https://freedom.press/digisec/blog/sharing-sensitive-leaks-press/

https://bsky.app/profile/freedom.press/post/3lh2rgopf5225

[amazing-video-shares]

This citizen journalist is a legend. Confronting cops at home during their shift and refusing to back down. #PoliceAccountability #FirstAmendment #Badass https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8SMRRSeWbM

[tinfoil-jones]

Jerk Ford AU: Hate Speeches

Having had at least two hate clubs dedicating to hating and/or wanting to end him, even across the multiverse itself, Jerk Ford has dealt with haters from all walks of life and occupations. All sorts of angry mobs, bounty hunters, contract killers, government officials, assassins, and Stan Twins alts have faced him.

However, this happens so often that a lot of encounters tend to blur together regardless of who, what, when, where, how, and how many, happen to be angrily chasing, shooting at, stabbing, or throwing a live crab at him this time.

He's heard everything that could be said to him about his misconduct and misbehaviour by the time he finally goes back to his home dimension.

Bounty Hunter: I'm here to stop your senseless frenzy of jackassery.

Jerk Ford: Ninety-two.

Bounty Hunter: This has gone on for too long. And now, you're going to pay.

Jerk Ford: Three hundred and fifty-five.

Bounty Hunter: I am-, I-. What are you...?

Jerk Ford: No, go on. Don't mind me.

Bounty Hunter: And I am the one who will stop you-.

Jerk Ford: Four hundred and nineteen.

Bounty Hunter: That's-. What the hell are you doing?!

Jerk Ford: I hear these hate speeches so often, I keep a mental list of how many times I've heard certain lines.

Bounty Hunter: I'm so sick of your shit!

Jerk Ford: One thousand two hundred and fifty seven.

Bounty Hunter: You-! You insane bastard.

Jerk Ford: One hundred and ninety.

Bounty Hunter: Yeah? Well, uh, I'm going to... F**K YOUR FACE!

Jerk Ford, sarcastic: Oh, ouch.

Jerk Ford:

Jerk Ford: Twelve.

[Reference Below]

[Video from Andrew D. Marco-Jones. Original by TeamFourStar]

[jjmcquade-misc]

FBI and CIA agents accused of election interference

It’s theoretically possible for FBI and CIA agents to face accusations, investigations, or charges, the likelihood is low without concrete evidence of criminal activity, the U.S. legal system, intelligence agency protections, and political realities create significant barriers. Charges would require extraordinary proof and political will. Intelligence agencies operate with significant legal protections, and their actions are often classified, making it challenging to build a public case unless declassified evidence is overwhelming. For example the high-profile cases where investigations into intelligence or government misconduct, e.g., the Russia investigation, Hunter Biden laptop, or January 6 Capitol riot, have resulted in limited or no prosecutions of senior officials, indeed for many crimes may have expired or be close to expiring, further complicating prosecutions, the legal system move slowly, especially in national security cases. However, committing crimes against the President or the U.S. government e.g., treason, conspiracy, or obstruction, carries severe penalties under U.S. law, including lengthy prison sentences or, in extreme cases, the death penalty, for treason.

[beardedmrbean]

A New Jersey teacher accused of sexually assaulting a teenage boy reportedly exchanged 25,000 explicit texts with the victim, say prosecutors.

Former Freehold Intermediate School teacher Allison Havemann-Niedrach, 44, of Ocean County, Jackson, was charged Tuesday with first-degree aggravated sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child via the manufacturing of child sexual abuse materials, two counts of second-degree endangering, official misconduct, and sexual assault, as well as third-degree endangering, according to a Monmouth County Prosecutors Office release.

Havemann-Niedrach, a special education teacher, is alleged to have abused a 15-year-old boy since the beginning of last year. She was formerly arrested in June 2024.

Upon handing his mobile phone over to authorities, police discovered over 25,000 lurid photo and video text exchanges between him and Havemann-Niedrach, according to Asbury Park Press.

Crucially, a video was found of the pair engaging in sexual conduct.

The alleged victim told investigators that the sexual relationship began in January 2024 with incidents taking place both at Havemann-Niedrach’s home and in hotels.

Authorities were reportedly able to corroborate the alleged events by tracking cell phone data and financial records, according to assistant prosecutor Danielle Zanzuccki.

Alarm bells initially rang out when staff members at Freehold Intermediate noticed the 44-year-old woman bringing the teenage boy food and sitting with him daily for lunch in a classroom, shared Zanzuccki.

Zanzuccki, who heads the Special Victims Bureau, previously said Havemann-Niedrach was “obsessed” with the teen during a detention hearing in July 2024.

One teacher reportedly saw the suspect touching the alleged victims’ back, neck, and leg, and said the interaction between her colleague and the eighth-grader had been “flirtatious”, according to Zanzuccki as per Asbury Press.

A vice-principal raised the suspicions to the police at the start of June 2024.

Later, as authorities investigated the matter, the alleged victim’s mother disclosed to investigators that she held concerns about her son’s sudden inwardness.

The 15-year-old would reportedly sit inside Havemann-Niedrach’s car, according to his sister, and was frequently staying up late to go on his phone, shared the assistant prosecutor.

He also reportedly told a friend he had been dating a teacher, as per Asbury Press.

Yet upon being confronted about the matter, the boy denied all involvement and tried to deflect from the allegations by stating he had been dating Havemann-Niedrach’s daughter, shared authorities.

The police then witnessed the barrage of text exchanges on his device.

Days later, the victim’s mother alerted authorities that her son had confessed to being in a sexual relationship with the teacher, 30 years his senior.

The alleged victim was taken to hospital for evaluation following concerns over his mental health, shared Zanzuccki.

At her second court appearance in August 2024, the disgraced teacher was reportedly accompanied by her husband and elderly parents, all of whom sat in silence during the legal proceedings, reported local outlet Jersey Shore online.

Before facing the allegations, Havemann-Niedrach was an active member of the local community. In 2017 she was one of ten young female leaders awarded by the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore as “Phenomenal Women Under 40”, reported the outlet.

A spokesperson since relinquished any ties with the suspect since the allegations arose, writing: “We want to make it unequivocally clear that Ms. Havemann-Niedrach is no longer associated with Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore.”

She was released from the Monmouth County Jail in July and placed on home detention, reported the Asbury Press.

A judge reportedly barred her from having any contact with any minors, except her own two young daughters. When the allegations broke, and Havemann-Niedrach was arrested, her husband Eric Niedrach launched a desperate plea for funds titled “Help provide normalcy” to keep the family afloat.

However, his plea for emergency funds has been unsuccessful and only $75 of his $4,000 target has been raised since it was launched on July 27 2024. Eric Niedrach also shared in an update in October that one of the girls had been placed in the care of her biological father and he was granted weekly visitations while court proceedings were ongoing.

His wife was also prohibited from accessing computers to remove any possibility of communication with the alleged victim.

An investigation by the Special Victims Bureau of the prosecutor’s office and the Freehold Police Department is ongoing.

Anyone with information about Havemann-Niedrach’s activities is still urged to contact MCPO Detective Dawn Correia at 800-533-7443.

[targaryenrealnessdarling]

Nova Genesis

Part One

Summary: tensions rise as strangers board the ship and turn Dibs' entire operation on its head to obtain critical evidence. But not everyone feels the same at the prospect of returning to Earth | Word Count: 4.5k~ | Warnings: mentions of Ettore's crimes, swearing, mentions of violence, threatening behaviour, masturbation (m)

A/N: A birthday present for @dreamymoomin @in-a-mountain-pool, my fellow Ettore fucker (affectionate 😘). Have a very happy birthday <3

For the last several days, Dibs was irritable. There was something she wasn't telling them, and none of them had the interest nor the energy to ask. But something had spooked her, and that was never good. She stopped the weekly examinations for the females, and started destroying the samples from the males. Both of which were things she previously cherished as part of her twisted experiment for a child.

The rest simply followed their daily routine as usual, just without the lingering, judgemental glances from Dibs, replaced with a sense of unease and confusion when she’d shut herself in her office for days on end. It was a good and happy coincidence that at least without her help, they knew how to look after themselves. 

Loud alarms startled their otherwise quiet lunch. Some didn’t move an inch and others merely looked around, eyes wide with fear, not knowing what to do with themselves. And the second they felt the ship quite literally jolt, as if something had docked against them, Ettore had a sense of where the situation was headed. No more than fifteen minutes later, the doors where they had boarded the ship, opened once again, revealing quite shockingly a band of official looking people.

Several armed guards stood like pillars beside the army of lawyers and technicians, prepared to both shut down the operation and steer the spacecraft back towards Earth. They held their weapons casually, their gazes insistent that violence would occur should the team be threatened in any way.

“If you all know what's good for you, you'll let them do their work. And you'll all get to go home.”

Ettore watched with a stoic expression, as if uncaring and neutral at the idea of returning. He highly doubted that everyone shared the same opinion about the prospect of returning to Earth, to their prisons, where they all knew too well. 

His eyes watched with a deep interest as the team split off to start their investigation around the prisoners, starting with downloading the encrypted files Dibs had attempted to hide. Each one potential evidence for the twisted doctor's misconduct.

He watches one of the lawyers particularly closely, unable to admit to himself exactly why he finds her interesting to look at. They all wear casual clothes, something he has not seen since leaving Earth in the first place, and now something that seems so undeniably foreign and alien.

Her lanyard displayed both her name and her title. Legal Representation.

She started by organising individual meetings with the prisoners, for them to air their grievances, with evidence of course. Documenting each one regarding their treatment, health and level of punishment. Some were forthcoming and some, predictably, were not. And could she blame them? For so many months, years even, distrust was just another fact of life up here. 

Dibs watched with frustration her life work being dismantled and dissected. At first her attempts at justification were met with cold looks and shakes of their head from the legal team, eventually turning into silence. They were there not to debate ethics but to enforce the law and protect the rights of those who had been under her control.

The little lawyer, Ettore so affectionately named her in his head, was diligent about her work. And when he spotted her next, she was deep into downloading onto an external hard drive the encrypted data on Dibs' computer in the infirmary. He couldn’t deny, it was strange to have other people wandering the ship. The otherwise wide and meandering hallways now felt cramped, with barely two people able to stand side by side while letting another pass. It felt suffocating. And he knew it was only a matter of time before someone snapped. 

His jaw clenched as he watched her from the doorway, attempting to make sense of the software Dibs' had so often fiddled with to make it near impossible to infiltrate. And he wondered with a sense of defensiveness and perhaps immaturity, or naivety, that this woman was pushing change, and he wasn't sure if he liked that.

She let out a pleased sound when she cracked the last layer of security, and Ettore laughed through his nose.

“Suppose she didn't account for someone like you, hm,” he mused dispassionately and somewhat uninterested. A flash of irritation gnawed at him when she didn't look up from her work to address him.

“‘Dr Dibs’ didn't account for a lot of things,” she started, her tone neutral, “nevermind taking accountability.”

His eyes darkened, roving over her form behind. She was easily smaller. If he really really wanted, she wouldn't be able to fight. But did he want her to?

She finally paused and swivelled on her chair to face him, her expression insistent, making his darkened thoughts pause for just a moment.

"You don’t seem too thrilled about the prospect of going back to Earth. Most would be eager to leave this place.”

It wasn't a question, but he could smell that she wanted an answer. And normally, he would have entertained her. But her expression, coupled with her expectancy for him to bend, made him huff and turn away.

“Content with staying here and giving Dibs sperm samples for the rest of your life? Not that I think that's the part you dislike.”

She mumbles that last part under her breath, turning back to the computer to check its download progress. And while her back is turned, something is stoked in his eyes. That was an incredibly dangerous thing for her to say. Especially to him. To someone like him.

He shoves his hands in his scrub pockets, mostly to touch himself.

“And what is there to go back to?” He inquires, watching with interest when she turns back to him halfway. He raises his eyebrows, tone somewhat mocking, “something about the devil you know.”

She gives a breathy laugh, “suppose it's comfort in its own way. Wouldn't you rather live than just survive?”

He narrows his gaze, stubbornness enhancing his disbelief.

“You really believe that it's just step off this ship and poof, everything's fine?”

“I didn't say that.”

“Why would I want to go back to a world that forgot me the second they sent me up here?”

She sighs. “It'll be what you want it to be, if you keep thinking like that.”

He has to resist the urge to roll his eyes. These lawyer human rights fucking types will always cling to some kind of hope, however naive. It was a word long flung out of Ettore’s vocabulary, not that he was usually the hopeful type. She sighed through her nose at his lack of response and turned back around, typing quickly and practised on the keyboard. Her messy, plaited hair fell down her back, and for a brief, fleeting moment, he thought of what it would have been like to grab the end, and twist it over his fist he’d be strong enough to subdue her, that was for sure. Even thinking about it, he ran his tongue over his teeth.

He wondered if she knew what he was here for. Did she know the ins and outs of what the jury said about him? Or what the judge condemned him to? Or was he just another tick box on her list, just another name? Did she either understand the man he was now, or what he was capable of? It both thrilled and unsettled him in equal measure. He watched her slender fingers move across the keyboard, thinking, how would she react when she knew how dangerous he really was. 

Would she still carry that same determination, or would fear finally colour those idealistic eyes?

He smirked slightly, thinking that he had met many women like her that used her indifference as armour over her, shielding her from the darker truths of the world, or perhaps, just the darker truths of his world.

“You’ve read my file, haven’t you.”

His voice was low, almost a growl, daring her to acknowledge the monster many believed him to be. She paused, her fingers halting mid-type, and her lips parted. For a moment he thought she might turn around again, but she wet her lips and continued typing.

There was a firmness in her voice that surprised Ettore. “I've read your file, yes. I know what you've done.”

“And?”

“I’m not giving a glowing review on your crimes.”

He gave a huff of a laugh. “No need to get antsy, sweetheart.”

She turned her head, her face calm with an expression that belied any fear in him. “My job isn’t to judge, it's to defend human rights, yours included.”

Ettore's smirk widened, his eyes narrowing as he processed her words. "That's a neat way to put it. Defending human rights, even for someone like me? Must make you feel pretty good, huh?"

Her expression remained unchanged, her resolve as firm as ever. "You think I do this for my health?"

Before Ettore could respond, the sudden clang and shout from the other end of the corridor cut through their conversation. Both turned toward the noise. A group of guards hustled past, their faces tense, moving toward the source of the disturbance.

Ettore's attention briefly flickered to the commotion, then back to her, a victorious smirk on his face. "Looks like not everyone's as cooperative as I am."

She cocked her head, “and you’re being cooperative are you?” she asked firmly, with a harsh rhetorical edge. “Anyway, it’s not about that. It’s about your safety as a whole-”

He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a whisper that carried an unmistakable edge. "And what if I wasn't safe? What if I was the one out there causing trouble? Would you defend me then?"

She met his gaze, unflinching. "I defend the rights of all prisoners, no matter their crimes."

"Theoretically, right?" Ettore pushed back, amused.

"Practically."

Their intense exchange was suddenly interrupted by the return of the guards, escorting a handcuffed prisoner between them. The man was shouting, struggling against the restraints, his eyes wild with desperation.

"Fucking assholes! You're all just dressing it up as justice!" he yelled as he was dragged past them.

Ettore watched the scene unfold, his expression unreadable. Once the noise had died down, he turned back to her, his voice low. "Not everyone believes in your justice. Being out here…it changes people, makes them into monsters."

“I don’t believe that.”

Ettore's smirk faded, replaced by a contemplative frown. "Maybe you should. The monsters are real. And sometimes, they're closer than you think."

His words lingered in the air, thick with an ominous undertone, he turned and walked away, his steps deliberate and heavy against the metallic floor. She watched him go, his broad silhouette gradually merging with the shadows of the spacecraft's corridor. It was only when he disappeared from view that she realised she'd been holding her breath, her chest tight with apprehension.

She exhaled slowly, trying to dispel the tension that had coiled inside her during their conversation. The exchange had revealed layers to Ettore she hadn't fully appreciated before, depths of cynicism and a hint of something darker, perhaps a warning or a challenge. His parting words echoed in her mind, a reminder of the complex human narratives woven into the fabric of this mission.

Her eyes lingered on the corner where Ettore had vanished, the unsettling feeling of his presence still palpable in the air. She was left with a profound sense of the weight of her task, not just to administer legal justice but to understand and navigate the human elements at play. The reality of Ettore's warning, that the monsters might indeed be closer than she thought, settled heavy on her shoulders as she turned back to her work.

The mission to dismantle Dr. Dibs' operation continued, but a quieter but equally dangerous plan was brewing among a faction of the prisoners. These were men and women who, for various reasons, fears of retribution on Earth, lost ties, or simply the terror of facing their past crimes, had decided they were better off lost in space. They saw the arrival of she and her team not as a rescue but as a threat to the precarious stability they had found, or rather forged.

Ettore, caught between his newfound interest with his little lawyer and his inherent distrust of returning to a world that had discarded him, found himself pulled into this group’s orbit. Monte led the group, not particularly charismatic but he was seen as trustworthy, had quickly identified Ettore’s influence among the prisoners and sought to leverage it, despite their dislike for each other. There was something in Monte that was also as antsy as Dibs, as if he feared returning to Earth not because of the consequences, but because it meant confronting ghosts he had long buried.

With them, huddled in secret within the confines of the storage room, Mink leaned, arms crossed, as if she were still on the fence and could be persuaded. 

“This ain’t redemption,” Monte started, his eyes firm, “up here we’re forgotten, nothing but fuckin’ dust. Back there, we're monsters on display.”

Ettore scoffed lightly, “and what? Hijack the ship? You think that ends well for any of us?”

“You know Dibs wants ‘em gone too.”

“We’re not killing them,” Mink interjected.

Monte glared at Mink, his frustration evident. "You think I don’t know we can’t kill them? We take control, redirect the course. We can find a place out here where they can't just drag us back to face whatever hell they've cooked up for us on Earth."

“So they’re hostages,” Ettore added bluntly. “They’re not like us. They'll come looking for them."

Monte nodded, his voice steady. "Then we make it too costly to come after us. We send a message back, make it clear we’re not their lab rats anymore, not their spectacle."

Mink shifted uncomfortably, her arms still crossed, her gaze flickering between Monte and Ettore. "Okay, stop measuring dicks for one second. We're talking about potentially starting a war here. What if they send the military after us? We're equipped to handle guards, maybe, but not a fucking assault."

The two men beside her fell quiet, and Ettore glanced down the hallway as if to check they nobody was listening in.

Mink filled the silence, her decision torn in two different directions, “And what about the others? The ones who might want to go back?"

Ettore rolled his eyes slightly. "Sometimes you gotta make the hard choices for people. Look at where trusting Earth got us in the first place." 

His point didn’t at all mean to sound like he was supporting Monte, so he hated the little nod of agreement he gave. The way his eyes lit up.

But Monte caught it, misinterpreting Ettore’s reluctant agreement as support, his own resolve hardening. "We were discarded, forgotten. If we don't take a stand now, when will we ever?" he speaks erratically, as if even now pleading his case, “I killed a man. His family won’t rest until I’m buried. Talking won’t change that.”

Mink and Ettore remained silent. But their expressions could not be any more different.

“It won’t change it for you two either,” Monte added with venom, “You think any of us got a fair shot down there? You really trust this lawyer, these people, to make it right? Open your fucking eyes. She's here to make herself feel better, not to save anyone."

Ettore, who had been following the exchange silently, felt a surge of concern. His thoughts briefly flashed to his little lawyer, her conviction that the law could serve justice, her determination to fight for their rights. It contrasted starkly with the raw survival instinct that drove Monte.

“So that’s it then,” Ettore mused, “you want violence.”

Monte turned on Ettore, his gaze fierce. "If it’s violence they understand, it’s violence they’ll get."

Ettore met Monte’s fiery gaze with a steely resolve of his own. The tight confines of the storage room seemed to shrink further, suffocating under the weight of impending decisions. Decisions that could very well define the fate of everyone on board.

“You want to lead us into a war we can’t win,” he countered, “you’re gonna fuck all this up, and for what?”

Monte's breathing was heavy, his chest heaving with each breath, his fists clenched tightly at his sides. He looked as if he wanted to say more, to argue that his plan was their only chance, but the fight seemed to drain from him second by agonising second. 

“Fine. We’ll see what your lawyer can do. But if it doesn’t work, if they don’t listen...” His voice trailed off, leaving the threat hanging, an unspoken ultimatum that they all understood.

After a week of tireless work aboard the spacecraft, tension simmered under a deceptive calm. She and her team had catalogued countless files and dismantled numerous experiments, yet they were still not close to gathering all the evidence they needed before the planned return to Earth. The ship was suspended in the vast silence of space, a temporary lull in their journey both literally and metaphorically.

Ettore leaned against the doorway, the threshold between their ship and the prisoner's felt so inescapable. The distance between their daily lives aboard the ship was not lost on him, and a cynical remark bubbled to the surface, and he couldn't help but run his eyes over her as she made her way past him to go to her own quarters.

With a sardonic twist to his lips, he approached her, his voice carrying just enough edge to be provocative. "You look tired, sweetheart. Must be tough, being so close yet so far from all the answers you need.”

She merely glared at him sideways, and despite her composed exterior, there was a fatigue in her eyes that spoke volumes about the strain they were all under.

“It's part of the job. And Dibs hasn't exactly made it easy.”

Ettore chuckled softly, the sound more mocking than amused. "Sure, but at the end of the day, you get to retreat to your safe corner of the ship, away from all of us. Sleep better thinking you’re not surrounded by monsters?”

Her face remained impassive, but her eyes hardened slightly, a hint of steel beneath the surface.

He huffs. “Maybe one night you should try sleeping over here, see how dangerous we really are. Maybe then you’d get all your evidence faster.”

There was a moment of silent acknowledgment between them. It was a threat. One meant to hit deep. If she was smart, she'd see the larger threat beneath it.

"Just remember, justice feels different depending on which side of the ship you sleep on.”

She cocked her head at him, but not in question, her eyes remained steadfast and firm. It was as if she merely wanted to see a different angle of him.

“Maybe it’s less about where I sleep,” she muses, “maybe it’s understanding the lay of the land, hm? Knowing where the landmines are buried.”

Ettore’s expression shifted only barely, whether she caught it or not, he couldn’t tell. She had obviously been interviewing all the prisoners. And if he had to guess about who was likely to blab about this plan Monte had cooking, it was most likely Boyse. They’d notoriously disliked each other.

But a subtle smirk rose to his lips. She was trying to prod him, thinking he was the leader in all of this. Where she could not be more wrong.

“You’re barking up the wrong tree, sweetheart.”

Her jaw tightened at that. And his warning was cryptic enough and yet clear enough to read the hidden meaning beneath. There were dangers lurking within the ranks. Uprisings. That not only jeopardises the mission, but their lives as well. She felt her heart thud hard in her chest, feeling right now more than ever, that she did not belong here.

With a thick swallow, she sighed, trying to appear calm, “I appreciate your concern for our safety.”

Ettore gave a half-smirk, recognising her diplomatic reply. And though he was tempted to say more, to see how she’d squirm, he pushed off the wall and turned his back to her. He recognised he had shared too much with her, a crucial piece of information, but something that also revealed a concealed trust for her. 

When he turned back to glance at her, he felt a smug pride in his chest, she was still watching him. And her eyes flickered upwards when she felt she had been caught. And the little lawyer scurried away back to her haven, with not another word.

She returned to her quarters, the sound of the door sealing behind her echoing slightly in the compact, utilitarian space that served as her temporary sanctuary. She slipped out of her shoes, feeling the cool metal floor beneath her feet, a small comfort after another long day of navigating the tight corridors and tighter tensions of the spacecraft.

After a long and decompressing shower, she moved to her small desk, where she activated her datapad, to record her nightly entries for the team back on Earth, to update them on the progress.

Day 23.

Looking at herself on the screen, her hair wet over her shoulders, she felt she looked tired and more weary, compared to when she first arrived. And wondered briefly how the prisoners had not yet gone mad. 

“The evidence we need to solidify the case against Dr Dibs is…extensive and…elusive. She’s trying to hide things, which doesn’t help, behind walls of useless other data she thinks we’ll miss. The crew’s morale fluctuates, as expected. They are under immense stress, given that the cooperation of some of the prisoners has been divisive at best.  Boyse’s interviews are particularly interesting. She’s afraid of going back to Earth, seeing as there is little support for her. But she seems rather excited to see Dibs see justice for the horrendous things she's done to them. She made me aware of a former prisoner, Elektra, who died shortly after childbirth due to lack of proper care. The baby... also did not make it. Boyse has made it very clear that the experiments and examinations on the women have both become more frequent and more desperate after this incident. Mink tells a similar story, albeit with some details redacted. Unfortunately, Dibs disposed of the bodies shortly after their deaths, so they won’t be recoverable.  They both heavily dislike most of the men on board, with the exception of Tcherny. He seems keen on returning to Earth. Mostly because he has nobody there to judge him anymore. Monte…has refused interviews. And too refuses interaction with any of us. Ettore. Well, he was cryptic today, as usual. I believe he is the type of person to lure people in just to watch them try and escape him.”

She paused, with a heavy sigh, running her hand through her hair. Stress gnawed at her temples. And something else tugged at her gut. Something she could not mistake as sickness.

“He refuses to say anything outright. But we must tread carefully. It’s clear some, if not most, of the prisoners do not wish to return, fearing retribution and violence, or whoever awaits them who will not share in our opinions of them. I can’t help but…wonder why we are here.”

She couldn’t concentrate after that. Her thoughts involuntarily drifted to Ettore. There was something undeniably compelling, beyond the complexities of his personality. Her racing thoughts could not keep up with her mouth, it felt.

“He’s an enigma. He has strong features but…manages to control them under a mask. And yet, there’s an intensity in his eyes that’s so piercing. The way he looks at me sometimes…it’s unsettling. And yet I can’t find it in myself to look away. And his voice, even when he whispers it’s…”

“The monsters are real. And sometimes, they're closer than you think."

She swallows, her fingers resting on her throat as if to feel her own pulse.

“It carries a weight, one that commands attention. Like a threat but also…like he’s testing me, measuring my reactions…”

“Maybe one night you should try sleeping over here, see how dangerous we really are.”

“...like a predator.”

She paused, clarity rushing back to her like a wave, pulling her under and robbing her of breath. With a quick flick, she turned off the video, taking a moment to really consider her words and her runaway thoughts. Why was she focusing so much on his physical details? She argued perhaps that it was the amount of time she’d spent with all of them. But she shook her head slightly, trying to steer her thoughts back to reality.

After a moment of pressing the heels of her hands against her eyes, the stress and internal conflict caused her to hastily climb into bed, hoping perhaps that the sweet escape of sleep might rid her of these thoughts. As she lay back in her bed, staring up at the ceiling of her quarters, the ship's constant hum a soft backdrop, she couldn't help but replay their interactions. There was an undeniable tension there, something that went beyond the usual professional dynamic. Was it just the stress of the mission making her over analyse, or was there something more, something real and tangible in the way he moved and spoke that kept drawing her thoughts back to him?

Ettore too, lay awake, lost in turbulent emotions. His mind replaying his interactions with her, each moment etched into his memory. The way her eyes narrowed in concentration, the subtle shift in her posture when he spoke of their harsh conditions on the ship before their arrival, and particularly, the flickers of fear when he would tread into dangerous territory with his words alone. Not even having to be near her. He was captivated by those expressions, those nuances, and the challenges they presented. 

In the quiet solitude of his cell, Nansen asleep in the top bunk, he allowed his hand to slide beneath his scrubs, eyes slipping shut as his hand lazily stroked his length to full hardness in no time at all. He indulged in the image of her. Her intelligent, alert eyes seemed to follow each word he said. Always evaluating.  Evaluating him.

And fuck, did it feel good to be picked apart by her. 

He returned to the same recurring thought he’d had every night, that if he pushed her boundaries, how would she react when truly tested? He wanted to see her rough, unguarded. Would she shrink or rise to the challenge? The mere thought of breaking through those defenses to a place where she might react out of sheer instinct, rather than reason, was intoxicating. 

With a stuttered moan, and coming hard into his hand with a jerk of his hips, the challenge was set, and Ettore was eager to see it through, to discover just how deep the layers of his little lawyer went.

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