#i confess i knew little about this other than the most outlandish things reported

[littlestickfish]

I have had less than charitable opinions of Burning Man largely for the environmental impact and habitual trespassing onto neighboring Native lands, irrespective of the Eat The Rich of it all. However, I'm human and a seamstress/costumer and the outfits and custom vehicles are fire, and I appreciate the work that goes into something like that, as well as the romance of Mad Maxing it up in the desert.

What this post has taught me is that we need to be able to have all parts of this conversation at once without getting sidetracked by pet issues and look at things in context.

Point: Not everyone there is insanely rich. We should be mindful that our choices in what we save for and spend on are not everyone else's. Making your moped into a giant mechanized snail would be insanely fun. Putting together a killer post-discopocalyptic costume would be insanely fun. Camping out under the stars is fun, too. It is understandable for people to want to have fun no matter who they are.

Point: We have no way of knowing the income tax bracket of anyone in attendance, and from this account it probably varies too widely for trying to get us anywhere. It is pointless to harp on this as if we have actual data because we don't.

Point: The footprint of Burning Man is not justified by the joy anyone derives from being there. It sounds like a blast, but I would never do it because it's detrimental and disrespectful to the environment. Many people have formed negative opinions of the event based on this, and that IS justified. The environmental impact of Burning Man and the waste people who have the means afford to do so up and abandon in the desert has been a problem reported on for several years now. I can't go to a jetty in the Gulf without cleaning up a bag of abandoned beer cans from the rocks, I shudder to think what that area looks like after that kind of activity.

Point: The present crisis is the product of having more fun than sense. To be that surrounded by desert requires stranding oneself in said desert, which is inadvisable unless you have survival training, and sometimes even if you do. No amount of portapotties is going to ensure you have a safe and pleasant stay in the desert, or last you long if the worst happens. As it has. I was taught this as a young girl in Scouts: plan ahead when you go into the wild, and have at least one backup plan if things go sideways. Don't get too comfortable, because the wild is bigger, stronger, and older than you are. Years and years of partying in the wild without incident led people to get way too comfortable.

Point: The "protesters" made just as much a nuisance of themselves to the Native population as the partygoers, were also a bunch of white people yeeting themselves into the desert with no plan, and deserve no more sympathy than the partygoers.

Point: The cognitive dissonance of "I am progressive because I am upset at people suffering and dying therefore I want another set of people to suffer and die" is disturbing, and in this instance the idea of an appropriate target is wildly distorted. My journey on the left has been tumultuous. I started among the socialists but grew frustrated by their outmoded tactics. I moved left to the communists who by and large were pleasant company, but more theoretical than practical. The anarchists promised action. It sounded optimal.

What I found with them was not action. It was increasingly more murderous fantasies never acted on because the fantasy was more satisfying and lasted longer. It was misdirected rage (Veterans? Really? Most of whom got sucked into it on promises of job training with civilian applications and money for college? Are we going to set retirees on fire for investing their savings in a boiler room fraud scheme over the phone on the promise of similar security in life?) reductive thinking (shut up and let me watch Nash Bridges, it's Cheech Marin, it's fiction ffs, and my blorbo is Angel anyway) and bad strategy (yes voting does help, even a dumb old liberal is going to make it easier for you to Direct ActionTM than Ron DeSantis). I'm back in communist orbit, needless to say.

At least the communists have the music.

Point: "Eat The Middle Class" doesn't have the same ring to it, does it? "Eat The Poor Who Can Budget," doesn't, either. Kids, y'all should think about that. And shit like "liberals get the wall too" should give anybody pause. Yeah, it's said in jest, but why is there a wall at all, why are we so obsessed with having a wall? It's disturbing that this is a joking matter to some and more disturbing that it might be quite serious to others.

Point: I also see young people falling into that vortex of comfortable murder thoughts that make you feel powerful and like the inevitable righteous victor and just sitting in it forever when they could be contributing to various progressive causes in much more meaningful ways, and that worries me. Young leftists becoming absorbed in fake-murderous fantasies until the actually-murderous forces of authoritarianism wipe us all out. The proverbial mantis stalking the cicada, just fixated enough on its target to not see the oriole until it's too late.

Seeing the notes on posts about the Burning Man Debacle™ and for fucks sake I am taking the phrase 'eat the rich' away from y'all until you can CORRECTLY IDENTIFY the rich

Rich is 'arrived by way of their private jet', is 'dropped $500k on a submarine ticket', is '$500 is a rounding error'.

'$500 dollars for a nine day event they must all be rich white people' no you reactionary rotten potato that is actually an entirely reasonable price for an entirely normal person to pay for an annual event! $500 over the course of a year is approximately equivalent to one big takeout a month! Being able to afford that doesn't make you rich it makes you probably not poor! The 'rich or poor' narrative is a false dichotomy that completely excludes the fact that 'richness' or 'poorness' is a SCALE! It's not fucking categorical! You don't one day magically flip a switch and go from 'poor' to 'rich' or vice versa you see incremental changes over time! Wealth distribution is a (these days, admittedly, rather wonky) motherfucking BELL CURVE! . The fact that capitalism is driving more and more people to either extreme of said curve is just evidence of a broken system, but it doesn't change the fact that most people should have a decent amount of disposable income!

The fact that many people don't have said disposable income doesn't magically make the ones that do 'rich' it makes everyone else poor. And the people at fault for the massive and growing percentage of people living below the poverty line are not the ones managing to stay above it, it's the fault of the actually rich, the ones stealing our time and our health and our wages and our future in pursuit of a number on a screen. And the rich are the only people you're helping by hating the people struggling slightly less than you.

When it comes time to 'eat the rich' you're going to be murdering dentists and librarians and scientists while the actually rich point and laugh from a safe distance as you solve their problems for them.

[justoneday-namjoonii]

Don’t Breathe 4.5 | teaser

»Genre: hitman!au || stalker!au ||

»Warnings: kidnapping, stalking, obsession, themes of potential Stockholm syndrome, mono-phobia, mature elements, yandere at some point (? i think ), themes of depression, redemption, they fall in love, lovey dovey, fluff, Disclaimer: I do not condone nor suggest stalking/kidnapping or anything of that nature, this is purely fiction ok.

»Summary: He doesn’t get shaky hands, he never forgets his gloves and he never leaves a trail. He was paid to get rid of everyone who witnessed the exchange between a gang lord and a politician, they were picked off, one by one. He found out a month later, he missed one. A young writer who attended the event where the exchange took place. He has to kill her. Can he do it?

✤ pt.1 - pt.2 - pt.2.5 - pt.3 - pt. 3.5 - pt. 4.0 - pt.4.5

author’s note: coming soon

taglist: @tangledsparkles @just-another-fangurl21 @impartoftoomanyfandoms @komorebi-unnie​ @tangledsparkles​ @yes-sol-not-soul (sorry :( tumblr won’t let me tag you) if you’d like to be added to the taglist please comment on this post💜

The sun is setting like a dream, you can’t say you’ve ever seen it shine so beautiful. The sky looks like a peach painting that shyly fades into a heavenly deep-blue. It’s a perfect evening, the air smells of the flowers growing on the porch and it delights your senses. He’s chasing you barefooted across the grassy yard, like two children playing tag at the peek of spring. Out of breath, he finally catches you and you fall back into the checkered blanket, too tired to run off again.

After seeing you enjoy the balcony so much, he introduced you to his lavish  backyard. Aside from the large stone patio and pool attached to it, the yard expands at least an acre and it’s well-groomed. Early in the evening, you moved to spend some time on the patio, a pencil and paper in hand. Taehyung had some work to do so you had a few hours to yourself, you used that time to think and write. After a few hours, you could no longer resist the urge to take a dip in the crystal clear oasis.

With a t-shirt and underwear, you eased into the cool water and breathed a sigh of relief. For what could have been an hour or two, you weren’t counting, you swam on your back, staring up at the clear sky, wondering if you’ll ever feel peace like this again. When your eyes shut, your thoughts seem to align, and for the first time since you’ve been here, you felt like you were where you were supposed to be. As much as you cherish your life alone, your independence and innate desire to prove that you can make it on your own—it seems Taehyung is worth giving that up.

That would have sounded crazy weeks ago, but it’s how you feel. That night that you confessed that you wanted to be with him, you meant it. You don’t know when it happened, maybe when you kissed him and he picked you up, when you woke up to him fast asleep with a pillow in his arms. Or maybe it was when he suggested you help him bake, since he knew you wrote so much about food in your articles, you’re not sure. But somehow, some time after learning his name, you think you fell in love.

When you were with Jin, you had similar feelings to this. You knew you were in love when you had the urge to smile even when you were hurting just to make him smile. That feeling of unexplained self-sacrifice, something as small as smile, you’d force it out if you knew it would help him. With Taehyung, it seems like he will do anything to make you smile sometimes, even when you know he’s keeping stressful things from you. Is that love? You think so.

You sigh, still feeling a bit wet from your swim a while ago but you’ve dried mostly. He fussed at you for not showering straight away but you said the sun would dry you well enough until your shower tonight. It’s dusk now, and your out in the grass, laying happily on the blanket with him. Only a few minutes ago did you find out that he had pretty lights adorning the patio. He said he’s had them for a while but hadn’t turned them on until today. It casts a warm light out into the grass, you tell him he should turn it on more often.

”You should shower before you catch a cold,” He stresses for the second time. You find his worry endearing but negotiate five more minutes, and he caves. It’s been a while since you’ve been outside like this. He knows this, that’s why he’s laying shoulder to shoulder with you as you gaze up at the night sky. “Sorry I had so much work I had to do today, hope you weren’t too bored,”

”It’s fine, I was writing anyway...”

”Really?” He turns on his side, curiosity piqued. You nod, hands searching for the pencil and pad you had on the blanket.

”I used to write poetry when I was in high school. I wasn’t very good and some of it is kind of cringe now that I look back at it, but I enjoyed it. I haven’t written in so long, I thought I’d give it a shot,” You grab the notepad and look up at it, eyes skimming over the gray hue from all the erasing. You catch him trying to peek over and you hold it to your test. You grin, “Don’t look, it’s not good,”

He pouts, hand moving to intertwine with yours.

“Come on, you’ve never shared your personal writings with me before,” He pouts, leaning closer to you in hopes that you might succumb to the allure of his gaze. “Pleeease?”

”Fine,” You sigh, “but you have to read it yourself,” You lift the notepad, handing it to him.

He sits up and the feeling of anxiousness comes to a halt when you realize one important fact; it’s Taehyung reading this. Not a supervisor critiquing your rough draft or a teacher judging your ability to recite your understanding of the class’s latest assignment. It’s him.

I’ve been given a universe, all for me. My very own stars in your eyes, I can stare at you forever. The remnants of your every gaze births a galaxy and I draw up the constellations by the reminisce of the pattern of your touch on my skin. I, too, have given my universe to you. Though I’m innocent to the stars in my eyes, the constellations I paint on your skin, all for you. No event is there more beautiful than the moment our eyes meet, our nebulae collide. A merging occurs, giving life to new stars that are our own, creating a galaxy that holds a shape that can only be defined by fate. In that sweet moment, we create an intertwined constellation, a design filled with millions of our old and new stars, shining brighter than ever,

“in your universe, my universe...” He reads the last lines softly. Setting the pad down with an expression that you can’t quite read, he just looks at you and you start to feel nervous.

“I just,” You bite at your lip and look up at the night sky that’s beginning to show the stars, “I had this idea about space, it’s a little different but it took me hours to come up with...I’m rusty.”

He props himself up and leans over you, gaze searching for yours with a tender close-lipped smile. He holds his hand to his heart, “That was so beautiful.”

You cringe, pushing his chest so he can roll back on his back. “Oh stop, now I wish I wouldn’t have showed you,” It’s hard to tell if he’s praising you or teasing, it seems like it’s one in the same sometime.

“I’m being serious, I can feel the emotions you’re conveying in your words, I really get it...” He looks a bit surprised that you’d think he was teasing you about this, he leans back over you. 

“You mean it?” You look into his eyes, wondering how anyone could be capable of making you feel so special, like you’re the only person in the world. Without a word, he presses a firm kiss to your lips and you sigh, he means it.

*  *  *

“How’s the investigation going? Jin told me you reached out the other day,”

The busy lawyer sits his freshly ordered coffee in his cup holder as he drives off to his highly-decorated firm.

“I did, the case is more complicated than I initially thought,” Yoongi poured the subpar coffee in the Styrofoam cup, it’s 6am and he’s trying not to be grumpy, “if I’m right about my suspicions, it’s a fucked up situation.”

“What’re you thinking?”

Yoongi looks around, seeing that the only person around was the woman at the desk. “The girl, along with the other individuals at that conference, were targeted. I got the names of the parties at the conference, they’re politicians of course but the details of the meeting was never released. I have a theory,”

He lowers his voice, looking around one more time before sipping his coffee, “I think someone at that conference had those other reporters killed. I went over each autopsy file and those people died from unusual things, but not unusual enough to suspect at first-glance. Most of them dies from too much of a medication that they were already taking, things like that. But this girl, unlike everyone else, she was abducted and I don’t know why.”

Jungkook makes a thoughtful noises. “What’s different about her that not like the others?”

“She went missing a little over a month after the others were found dead. It looks like a mistake to me,” He paces, “I don’t know if I’m being too outlandish, but I have a feeling she’s alive, we just need to find her,”

Jungkook responds with how he feels about it but Yoongi has to cut him short when Eunwoo walks into the station.

“You’re here early, Min,” Eunwoo smiles, beckoning Yoongi to follow him to his office, “I have some good news, and some bad news, which do you want first?” Eunwoo leads Yoongi into his office and sets his briefcase down so he can pull what he needs out.

“Surprise me.” He deadpans.

“Well, last night, we found out that the infamous Hwan Group could be apart of this. You know that group, they’ve been under the radar for years, you can’t catch’em. But there’s a chance they could be the force behind this, they have assassins for hire from what I’ve heard,” He takes a seat, opening one of the Manila folders.

“And the good news?”

“It took a lot to pin him, but we’re bring one of the parties in for questioning today,”

“Good, I think they know something that they’ve been trying to keep under the rug.”

“Yeah, I agree.”

Yoongi gets up, hand tight on the flimsy cup, “If you could give me a call after the questioning, I’d appreciate it. I’m gonna do a little digging into this Hwan Group, see if I can get some info that’ll help,”

Yoongi leaves the building with a to-do list but little does he know, detective Na Jaemin, knocking on on Eunwoo’s door.

“Come in,”

“Hi,” Jaemin slips into the room, an unusual grin on his face, “how are you?”

“Um,” Eunwoo looks around, not understanding why he’s approaching him like this but he shrugs, “good, is everything okay, detective?”

“Everything's fine,” Lies, “I just had a question about that PI, Min Yoongi,”

“Shoot,” Eunwoo awaits his question.

“Why is he so adamant on keeping this case open? I mean, I’m a detective on the case and I think we should start searching for the body,” His tone sounds innocent but he’s trying to sneakily plant this idea in Eunwoo’s mind, “we could be wasting precious time, the family deserves closure and we’re just dragging it on.”

“Detective Na,” Eunwoo stops looking through the folder, “given the other related cases, we have reason to believe she might be alive. Not every abductee is killed, even if that tends to be the case.”

Jeamin swallows, trying to think of how to save himself, “I know, I’m not saying that we should be pessimistic but realistic, rather.”

“I get what you’re saying, but on what prescient you’re saying it, I don’t know. I, and many of the others on this case, have reviewed the evidence and compared it to the other cases, it doesn’t add up. After the questioning today, we’ll talk, until then, your efforts need to go towards finding her alive and well,” Eunwoo walks past Jaemin and the detective gets the memo to get out of the office, “Understood?”

With a feigned grin he stands up straight. “Absolutely, sir,” 

[cleverbxrd]

          When Tim submitted his Patrol Report, he left out the part about his emotional compromise.

          His jaw hurt. He was probably still clenching his teeth as he typed and retyped up the note to send to his boss, his ‘dad’, for an impersonal briefing. His ears were covered by rounded, black headphones that deafened any noise of celebration outside, not that Gotham was one for much celebration. (New Years Eve, Calendar Man could be out and about)

          The music was supposed to numb his skull, or at least it was an attempt to. He’d experienced the worst of the worst on the grime-covered streets of his hometown, but his heart and his head still ached. It was a dull pain, but it flared every so often, and he wished he’d just stop overthinking. He knew that was impossible, that was his thing, his use. He was the Thinker, the smart one… so, do your thing. With a hefty sigh, his shoulders digging into his desk chair, he closed his eyes, the bass thumping against his brain goading his thoughts to puzzle themselves together as he rationalized what happened, and why he felt so strongly. Sure, he was a piss-poor counselor, but he was a pretty damn good detective.

          Check the report. At what time did this happen?

          Time was really irrelevant to the bat. You try to live life in the daylight, follow the cape-tails by night’s shadows, you forget where the days end and begin. The numerous restless nights he was prone to staying fully awake for didn’t help much with that either, neither did working on holiday. Tim didn’t mind patrolling New Years Eve, he felt he didn’t have anything better to do. It was either make his rounds or watch on a computer screen how much fun it seemed like the rest of the world was having. He opted to actually do something with his night when he didn’t have to worry about classes in the morning. 

          Mistake number one. 

          He was halfway done, circling the shared bay shoreline when he’d gotten the text. It made his heart flutter as the words stretched into his vision, the small heads up display mounted on his white lenses causing more of a distraction than he thought. He’d nearly forgotten he was free-falling, catching himself out of breath from landing hard on rooftop concrete. Conner. Cassie. They were there. He tried not to go, tried to stay away from New York, from the Brooklyn borough, from that warehouse lot decked to the 9s for the turning of the decade (which… in all technicality, it was not.)

          Mistake number two. 

          He’d sat in the shadows, perched high above, scanning the area for familiar faces, heat signatures, anything matching databases he’d had on file. He wasn’t getting anywhere, doubted why he was even there, watching the party goers with the eyes of a hawk. 

          He lied to his best friend, saying he was still on patrol, saying he’d come out if he found the time to, and of course he believed him. Lying came so easy to him, too easy. He didn’t think about it too much, might scare him. It was part of the job, he couldn’t afford to be 100% truthful. No time to worry about the morality of white lies, just keep thinking about where it started, why it started. Find the source of the feeling.

           His memory flashed forward.

           Civvies were ridiculously hard to vacuum-pack into a utility belt, but somehow he’d managed to shove a few things from his wardrobe into the small compartments of the crossed belts. It was always just in case, just in case he needed to suddenly become part of the crowd, just in case he needed a change of clothes that wasn’t shredded, just in case he needed to attend a surprise party where his friends were having fun.

          Fun, now there was a word. When was the last time he’d been fun? Sometime before the first red and black suit, muddled in there with the green tights and ninja boots. He’d tried to be a mini-Bruce, but the physically youngest, and usually shortest, member of their old team acting like the sternest leader of the League had only caused humor from his teammates. He abhorred it at the time, but thinking back he would give anything for that friendly teasing again, for him to accept it with a smile instead of the nearly trademarked scowl he still wore.

          The slightly over-sized sweater covered most of the costume almost perfectly, the cape wrapped tightly around the cinched and belted waist of his Kevlar-spandex suit. It really was the final piece of the puzzle, a disguise over a disguise. Deceit blanketing a lie. So many lies, too many to count, why did he feel like he had to lie so much? To Him? To Himself?

          He’d only go in for a moment, only stay and say hello to the people he knew and leave before people noticed one of the Wayne sons was there. That was the plan, and he wanted to stick to it. His emotions told him otherwise. He’d been brave enough to come all this way, his subconscious rationalized. He felt something bubble up in his stomach, a smile stretching his pale cheeks as he pulled the cowl off of his overgrown hair. To Hell with it all, it was New Years Eve, if he remembered correctly. They were both there, he was in there. He could confess, get it off of his chest, never have to say another word about it. If his hypothesis was correct, they’d both simply forget about it the next morning, or laugh it off like the bird himself had gotten too wasted to care.

          If they didn’t think too hard about it, it could just go away and Tim wouldn’t have to worry about losing his best friends to his infatuation, his desire.

          But it wouldn’t be that simple. Not by a long shot.

          Mistake. Number. Three.

          What a sucker, he’d been. What a fool.

          He’d forgotten to note the time, or maybe was too ignorant of it to try to check. He was already numb from sitting alone outside of the festivities, all noise was white noise. He didn’t even notice Cassie, if she was even at her position when he sheepishly wandered in. Immediately, as always, he felt out of place, uncomfortable in his own skin as the world slowed down around him. Rich boy galas were one thing to attend, nearly pinned into a tight tux with a tie that felt like it could choke you the minute you proposed some outlandish idea to the wrong funder. City-wide parties were an entirely new beast, like a Gotham bar on Saturday night with a little less violence and a little more in the population. The drinking seemed to be of the same caliber, he could smell it radiating off some people who passed him by, taking little to no notice of him. He was probably drunk off his ass too, the party boy, Casanova, tail-chaser. Observing the other attendees led him to believe that Conner wouldn’t even remember he was there, or the texts they’d sent just minutes ago. He was about to simply leave and try his Hallmark speech of love some other time when he saw-

          The sharp pang in his chest lit like a fire again. Tim nearly doubled over in his chair, clutching at his shirt and gasping for air. Don’t panic, don’t do this. You’re breathing, your heart is beating. You can feel your floor under your feet, the clothes on your back, your face, your hair, you’re still there, still here. Tim found his hands gripping at the raven mess on top of his head, slightly skewing the headphones gripping tight around his ears. He roulette-wheeled through his various breathing meditation techniques and found himself filling his chest with oxygen once more, the faded world around him coming through clearer instead of the molasses he felt like he’d just jumped into. He tried to settle himself back into the chair, slumping further down as his pulse pounded against his ribs, almost like it was trying to run away from the husk it sat inside. He was starting to believe that vital organ was more of a nuisance for rattling his core.

          Don’t focus on that, you need a distraction. Remember the night. You’re a Detective. Start asking questions.

          What happened?

          I don’t...I don’t want to talk about it.

          When did it happen?

          New Years Eve. Stroke of midnight. It’s all in the briefing, you wrote it.

          Who was there?

          Probably half of the population of New York City. And Him.

          He’s important to you.

          You don’t get to tell me what I already know. Keep digging.

          Your memory stopped at a particular moment. How did that moment make you feel?

          He slingshot himself back into the exact frame, frozen in time, zeroed in through a telescopic lens. How did he feel? It was such a simple question, but the answers sat brewing in his head before he could find the names.

          Name the first feeling. Now!

          Anger.

          At Conner? Never, not truly. He’d get annoying, but at a point it had become almost charming. At himself? Of course, he was always angry at himself in one capacity or another. Tim was far from a perfectionist, but a people pleaser he certainly was. The need for approval always egged him on, even if he didn’t want to admit it. When he’d given arm and leg without any hint of positive effect, it brought him down. He was too smart not to recognize his own faults, he couldn’t afford to look at himself as perfect. Quite the opposite actually.

          Damn. You’re good.

          I know, keep looking. Name another one.

          Remorse. 

          He didn’t say anything sooner. Maybe he’d be there earlier, snagged that picturesque moment for the few seconds he’d bore witness to it. Why did that matter? A strange tangent from his current thought process, his usual pinched thinking face further pointing into a tight squint. He thought they were looking for a feeling, a clue to this confusing panic he was putting himself in. But… why did it matter?

          Keep. Looking.

          Sadness. 

          It caked every bone in his scrawny little body, soaked into the trained muscles that he hid from his non-heroic acquaintances. He’d been sad for a long time, and he blamed no one but himself. The lingering tears that always dared to fall at a moments notice, the silent sobs he wished he could give sound to, the will seeping away as he would give into what felt like his whole core. There was a word for that, something any normal psychologist would smack him with until he exhausted his resources. Tim knew he was depressed, knew it wasn’t going to go away any time soon, and he didn’t need a therapist telling him over and over again. He just needed to talk, they’d say, about the trauma. They wouldn’t understand, couldn’t understand.  What was the fucking point? Regardless, something that rooted couldn’t have just popped up so suddenly.

          Dig deeper.  What are you feeling now?

          Things.

          Be specific, damn it. You were before, don’t shut down on me.

          Bad things.

          Bad… the word echoed as his all of his mental visuals faded away. They were replaced by a flurry of clues, piecing together strange mental ‘evidence’ that somehow was his key to cracking his head case. He sat bolt upright, his eyes wide as he stared at his glowing computer screen, his mind’s eye making a cork-board with red rope, not too dissimilar to his walls in the dark room he was sitting in. One by one, the items tacked themselves in random orders, random places.

          A question mark, a bloodstained cloak, neon signs, tights and gloves, pixie boots and scaly spandex, hair that flew away from a sickening smile as if the locks themselves were scared of its owner, an alien’s toxic rock. It hit him like a brick.

          Green. Envy. Jealousy.

          How could he not have seen it immediately?

          Jealousy. 

          The same fire that festered in the pit of his stomach when the title he used to wear like a badge of honor was given without question to the ‘true blood son’. The same stabbing coolness when blue birds were let loose to fly free and he was caged for the mishaps of the past. The same rope, choking his words when he sees what he thinks are shattered hopes of something finally good in his Roman Tragedy play of a life.

          A shocked breath comes out in a staccato heave, hands losing their grips on arm rests and hanging limp as the realization washed over him like a sign from some god out there somewhere. “Of. Fucking. Course.” The words came out of his throat slow and hoarse, and they almost surprised him. He’d nearly forgotten how to speak over the blare of noise in his ears.

          Timothy Jackson Drake, you’re a selfish, jealous bastard.

          Another groaning exhale, and he brought his limp frame back to sitting up again, an impulsive urge to throw his head through his keyboard growing stronger by the ticking seconds. Emotions running wild were bad, very bad. It jeopardized the Mission, that’s what he was told. It’s what got him into this mess, every mess, in the first place, basing things on emotions. Somehow, giving names to them all didn’t make it better, and he felt his stomach drop again.

          So, Detective, you’ve found a conclusion.

          A diagnosis / analysis .

          What do you suppose we do about this?

          Turn into a robot.

          Negatory.

          Turn someone else into a robot.

           Double negatory.

          An audible sigh, brows knitting together as he started to get annoyed with himself. One hand floated up to press under the messy locks falling at his temples, the screaming in his ears nearly matching volume with what he felt in his chest. Shutting his mind out for a moment, he carefully listened to the sounds actually coming through the headphones. He’d thrown on a shuffle, his own mind-melting playlists that bombard his senses with overblown guitar rifs and rapid drum beats. Okay, they usually numb him out. What was he even on?

          Oh. Of course.

          He nearly smacked the cold coffee mug off the desk, throwing his hands on top of his face and rocking back yet again with a muffled scream. Back again, a pendulum in a clock, he caught his reflection in the screen. Dark circles made a mask around his icy eyes, a second mask to hide the horror he had become. Catching himself staring back was shocking, but he was transfixed and couldn’t move. When was the last time he really took a look at himself? And why the hell did it have to be over something as stupid as a kiss? He found his hand tracing the almost domino-shaped outline, wondering if it was a trick of the dim light, or possibly residual gunk from under the cowl. He could hope for the best possible outcome, but hope was yet again his downfall. Permanent. Dark. Hard as he tried, his thoughts and the mask just wouldn’t go away.

          Another breath. Root. You’re solid. He’s solid. His feet planted on the ground as he pushed up and away from the desk, stumbling to the discarded costume on one of the mess piles. Specific mess piles, weakly placed where could find things in seconds regardless of the disaster it seemed (that sounded familiar…). Alfred, neat freak of a butler he was, wouldn’t dare disturb Tim’s organized chaos. This room was like a safe cell for Tim, and he was an adult damnit, he could make as much of a mess as he wanted. He dug one hand under the lazily thrown cape, finding the smooth metal of the collapsed staff just where he’d left it, and it felt surprisingly light in uncovered hands. Unlatching it from the bandoleers splayed out like spider legs, he tossed the short tube around until it landed firmly in his left palm. His knuckles stretched white as his grip tightened. A lifeline, a grounding wire.  

          Tim ripped the headphones off of his head, tossing them haphazardly on his desk. He hit delete, omitting nearly an entire 30 minutes of time in his notes he was just going to blame on travel time. Bruce would have to believe that, especially if he’d ceased radio signals the minute he’d stalked the event. He sent the page away, encrypted thrice and swinging through two secure data waves just for safe-keeping. He may be out of his goddamn mind and feeling things out his ass, but he knew better than to send anything to the big data store without preparing for any intercepting forces. He stalked out of his personal cave and wandered into the other one, the bigger one set under the manor, as deep and dark as the nearly permanent markings under his exhausted lids. It was big enough to make any super man feel small, maybe a super boy even smaller. His feet hit the training deck without him really noticing where he was, a faceless body facing him and his trustworthy staff.

          The familiar, echoing clicks with the smallest flick of his wrist was too satisfying to say. He situated himself against the motionless statue, a one sided versus match. He wasn’t going for grace, he wasn’t going for style, and he certainly wasn’t going for finesse. He was going to channel his muddled emotions into one. Build the pressure and release, the extended staff a vessel for the pain he felt clawing at him inside. A release valve, a bomb fuse.

          No faces, no names, no underlying motive.

          Make it brainless, give yourself a break, give way to the horrible things you could do and focus them on one, non-harmful target.

         Just hit shit.

[throughthedirt]

Season 1: Chapter Nine

Previous Chapter — First Chapter

Miles

It didn't matter that I was just shy of turning 44 years old. The University of Oregon campus was nearly 300 acres of property housing nearly 23,000 students from around the world. Sure, the majority were teens and young adults, but there was no shortage of older individuals seeking education. More so, I didn't have to be a student. I could be a teacher, a maintenance worker, the IT guy, even a fuckin' janitor. For all anyone knew, I belonged here. And the way I walked through those grand, window-framed doors - people knew. I had a purpose. Showing no signs of hesitation, fear, or confusion, I waltzed my way throughout the campus. For nearly an hour, I roamed the campus freely and without even batting an eyelash to any other person. I was mostly ignored by those who did notice me. But for most, it was like I didn't even exist - just like the rest of them. I was just another body in a mass of humans. But I was here for a reason, and that was to fulfill a job and keep a promise; an agreement that got me freedom in 6. Kyle Turner. Kyle fucking Turner. "Fuckin' football prick raped my niece and got off scot-free," as Correctional Lieutenant Dave Ward would say. The very first words of his that changed the course of my history at Oregon State Pen. And I had read the reports, the articles, the media frenzy - all in prison. I knew what he had done, and he was guilty. But a fully-paid scholarship and a hell of a lot of "hush-money" got him nothing. Not even a smack on the wrist. He walked. Went free. And Ward's niece? Well, things didn't go so great for her. Fearing him, she refused her admittance into UofO, afraid she would see him again. So the fucker had to die. And now it was finally time. 

Approaching the glass doors of the Performance Center, I made a fatal mistake. Reaching my hand out to pull on the handle, the door stayed shut. It creaked as I tried to open it - but it was locked. "Uh, hello?" A large football player called to me in his confusion, his mouth agape and his eyes squinted as he made his approach. He was as heavy as he was tall; his long, afro-style hair alone adding inches to his height. "This building is for authorized personnel only..." He said to me, pulling a plastic card from behind him and slipping it through the swipe-pad beside the door. The pad flashed green and the door clicked. Unlocked. This place was advanced, way more security than I could have ever imagined. University of Oregon had changed in the last 6 years. Turning to him, I gave a toothy grin and begin to chuckle. "Boy do I feel old, huh." He looked at me, cautiously as he stood before the door. But I didn't let him disappear into the building before I extracted needed information. "I'm actually lookin' for someone - maybe you can help me..." I iterated, "One of your football mates, Kyle Turner." The player gave me a saucy eye glare. "What about him?" Pausing, I conjured the biggest load of shit I could muster up in 0.2 seconds. "My niece, you know-" I started to chuckle, so much so that it interrupted my speech. "Ah man, this is embarrasing on her part, but she's... she's a HUGE fan of his. And I mean HUGE. She has posters of him all over her room, you know?" "Uh-huh..." Little interest from him. Only suspicion. But I didn't let him get another word in. "I mean she's just nuts for college football. Strange for a girl, no? I guess the world is changin' and I'm far behind. Heh, heh, heh." I chuckled again, trying to fluster the boy with too much information for him to process. "But ANYWAYS -" I continued, "Her birthday's comin' up and I was hopin' to get maybe a... you know... surprise appearance from him?" There was a look of confusion on the poor boy's face. "WITH COMPENSATION, of course." Another smile. "Uhhhhhhhmm, righttttt." He replied. "Let me..." He struggled to respond. Possibly the weirdest request he'd ever received, surely. "Let me go see if he's here. I'll be right back." "Sure thing, but ah-!" I held my hand up, a signal for him to stop as he reached for the handle. "Allow me," Taking the door by the giant O shape in its handle, I pulled the steel frame open to allow for the jock to head in. In respect to him, I closed it behind him, locking me out of the building once more. I stood there waiting. Waiting patiently. With my hands stuffed in my pockets, I casually swayed my body and whistled a chirpy hymn. To my surprise, it took only minutes for the door to open again. And out came Kyle fuckin' Turner in the flesh. And he wasn't a teenager anymore. No... He was a man, now. "Uh, hi-?" Kyle would greet me, without so much as a formal introduction. Fuckin' millennials. It took me a moment to sink in his appearance. Tall, 6'1, still shorter than me. A big guy, no doubt. But size didn't matter when it came to murder. Only intent, motive, and calculation. "Yes! Kyle Turner." Pulling my hand from my coat pocket, I extended it to him. "My name is Angelo Rossi. It's great to meet you!" Turner took my hand, shaking it as firmly as I was squeezing. But as he had taken my hand in his, I had also raised my other free hand to firmly grip his bicep. A sort of gesture of greeting, but it secretly to scope his muscular size. "Yeah, thanks." The fucker would respond. Yeah, thanks? Really? Really. Releasing his hand, I returned my superior 6 foot 3 stance to it's upright position and gave a fake, cheery smile. "My niece, she's a crazy fan." Pulling for my wallet, I slipped out a photograph of a teenage girl. "Her name is Nakoma. She's... half native half Italian, like me. Heh." Kyle took the photo in his hand, his eyebrows raising at the beautiful young lady he saw in the picture. Perfect, interest. "A looker, I know. Causes me more problems, ya know?" I chuckled, taking the photo back. "So listen, I came here hopin' I could hire you. For a job, of sorts." Kyle crossed his arms before him and looked at me curiously. "Oh yeah?" "Yeah, man. I'm organizing Nakoma's 16th birthday and I really want to make it special. She has posters of ya' all around her room and I thought, pffftttt, what better to surprise her with her favorite football player? Every teenage girl's dream, right?" I laughed again, thinking the idea is silly, but might actually work. "Nothin' major. There's be about 30 of her girlfriends there hangin' around the pool-" Realizing it was January, I instantly corrected myself. "Indoor pool, at her father's place. Big place, you know?" Kyle's head was nodding - Still interested. "Figured you can drop by for an hour or so, or even less if you're in a crunch. Sign some autographs, take some pictures. Grab a bite to eat, whatever you want. There'll be plenty of food, cuz, well, Italians, am I right?" Laughing again, Kyle's interest seemed to only be piquing the more bizarre and outlandish the story got. "Sounds fun." He smiled, bringing his fingers to his lips as he pondered the thought of 30 hot teenage girls in their bikinis. "But uh-" He started to sway. "I don't know-" "I'll pay you $5,0000. Cash." I confessed. His eyes widened. "$2,500 for showing up. $1,500 for autographs and another $1,000 if you take some selfies. You know' - the girls thing. Selfies, heh." I paused, my eyes growing darker as they remained hidden behind Aviator shades. "What do ya' say? We got a deal?" Swiftly changing tunes, "You know what, don't sweat the decision now. There's a lot of politics in sports, I'm old. I know it." I waved my hand in typical Italian fashion. "You gotta' business card or somethin'?" "Uh, nah but I can give you my number-" Perfect. A rich white kid, hot-shot jock, AND a moron. This was too easy. Handing him the photo, he retrieved a pen from his pocket and jotted down his digits. "Wow, thanks man. I appreciate you considering this." I waved the photograph of "Nakoma" and slipped it back into my wallet. "I'll give you a call something this week. Talk it over with your coach or manager or whoever you kids report to, heh." I put my hand out for him to shake again, "And nice meeting you again."

—   —   —  

I found myself roaming the halls of University of Oregon on my attempt to exit the campus. My curious mind sent me further and further into the campus maze - a prestigious multitude of buildings and intricate floor plans; each with its own purpose, meaning, and unique design. Deep in UofO, I stumbled upon the Department of Fine Arts. The halls were brimming from floor-to-ceiling with murals and artwork. Slowing my pace, I stopped to appreciate the work. I had always had an affinity to for paintings. My eye had always found itself drawn to the color red. Red. My dark irises wandered the walls, finally pulling towards a large, 5 foot canvas. It soared above me - dazzling in its ocean of red. The painting was of a woman, presumably dripping in blood. A sort of, Queen of the Damned. Intrigued, my eyes shifted to the small plaque stuck to the wall by the corner of the artwork. Nicola Strom. My stomach sunk as my heart skipped a beat. "Crucifixion." The words rolled off of my lips. My head retracted slowly as my eyes closed. "Mmmm."

—   —   —  

January 20th, 2018 - Five days after release. Eugene, Oregon had been unusually warm for January. For the most part, it was sunny and rainy on-and-off, with an average high temperature of 45 degrees F. Too warm for snow. At least, not enough sub-zero temperatures to keep it for more than a couple days, anyways. Luckily for this lovely Saturday evening, the rain had stopped early morning and the skies were greeted by a brightening sun. Kyle parked his Trail-Rated Jeep cruiser in front of the colonial-century home, red-bricked mansion. He ducked his head, looking over the place with his pale eyes as he took in the sheer size of the place. Although Eugene was home to old money - big money - it was also commonly inhabited by the middle class. Whoever owned this place... wasn't a white-collar, middle class citizen. Exiting his truck, he approached the front door, which was lavishly decorated with a Sweet-Sixteen balloon bundle. A clear indication he was at the right house. As he rang the doorbell, it only took a few seconds before he was greeted by a familiar face. "Mr. Turner." I said, standing tall with my hand cemented firmly on the back of the door. It was the first time he was seeing my hazel-speckled brown eyes. It was also the last. "Cute." I blurted, subliminally mocking his uniformed self as my eyes gazed over his full-football get-up. Shredded sleeves to show his pectoral muscles. How sleazy. Helmet and all. How sweet. "Come join the fun." I smirked, guiding him through the front door. "But maybe take off the helmet." Chuckling, Turner cracked a smile as he took a step into the house - which was, unsuspectingly, filled with the sound of laughing girls. "Too much, huh?" Kyle joked, unclasping the helmet and slipping his head free. His back was to me as I closed the door. "I thought mayb-" The moment he turned to face me, my hand - hidden behind the door the entire time - swung straight for his head. A thin medical syringe pierced into the side of his neck - administered by my right hand - Gloved. Protected. Injecting the cocktail of muscle relaxants, Kyle quickly deteriorated in a matter of seconds. His initial reaction to grab for my hand, but by the time he could react - it was already too late. He was losing almost all of his muscle ability. One. Two. Three. He hit the ground, unable to move, unable to moan, unable to call for help. With his body curled in the middle of the hallway, his eyes remained open - panicked. Looking down at his 6'1, 200 pound physique - which had been reduced to nothing in just seconds - I shook my head. Pathetic. His eyes followed my every move. He was conscious. Awake. Aware. I stepped over him and walked past him like he didn't even exist. Stepping into my living room, I smiled at the sound of giggling teenage girls filled the open-concept space. Walking over to the stereo system, I grabbed the remote and clicked - Off. Silence. Girls? What girls. There were no girls. Returning to his paralyzed figure, I crouched down to brood over him. I tilted my head to the side and grabbed his face between my gloved thumb and fingers. Squeezing his limp cheeks between them as I leaned his head to look at me. "Oh, Kyle." I made clicking noises with the back of my tongue. "Remember her?" Pulling a photograph from my back pocket - Sarah Ward. "Yeahhhhh." I flicked the photo in his face, nearly submitting to my urge to spit on him. "You're gonna die tonight." There was a dark, unforgiving grimace that crept my cheeks. "And it's gonna fuckin' hurt." Two, single-drop tears fell from the corners of his eyes. Hours had passed. Daylight turned to dark as night loomed over the city. Darkness was here. And it didn't come from the sky, nor the sun. Using Kyle's keys, I exited the mansion on the quiet, quaint street. E 22nd Avenue - a large strip of homes graciously spread apart; separated by the comfort of many, decades-old trees. I pulled the vehicle into the long driveway, reversing it rear-forward all the way to the side of the house. Two garage doors welcomed the Jeep, closing behind the front of it. It remained utterly hidden, safe within the confines of the home's garage. It would remain there until 3:45 in the morning, and a storm was brewing. The sound of the garage door sliding gurgled as it swayed open. Keeping the lights of the Jeep off, I placed it into drive and pulled it out of my driveway. The garage door closed behind me automatically, dismissing any evidence it had ever harbored a crime scene. My heart remained regular - beating as it would driving any other vehicle, on any other day, under any other circumstances. Humming, I drove the few blocks between the mansion and the University Campus. The Jeep came to the vehicle entrance of the Oregon Autzen Football Stadium. Like everything within the Performance Center, it required a swipe card to be unlocked and accessed. Holding out Kyle Tuner's card, I flicked it between the pad and waited. Flashing green, the gates to the field slid open. Although forbidden to bring any vehicles directly on to the terrain, it was 3:50 in the morning, on a Saturday. Too late for any players to be hangin' around during off-season, and too early for any maintenance workers or cleaners to begin their services. It was pitch-black, and between the sticky snow and the blowing winds - visibility was poor. Reversing the trail-rated wrangler, I slowly backed it up on to the field, parking the trunk of the vehicle directly in front of the brightly-yellow painted goal-post. Exiting the vehicle, I was dressed from head-to-toe in Kyle's football uniform, with the addition of a black long-sleeved T-shirt underneath. No tattoos were visible. Virtually nothing about me was recognizable. For all intensive purposes, I could very well be Kyle Turner. Unlatching the trunk, it swooshed open. There lay the true Kyle Turner. The flesh and blood. And there was a lot of blood. Taking the thick, twisted rope in my hand, I ran it from the back of the truck to the goalpost. Tossing it over the post's T-center, I caught it back in my hand and ran it back to the truck. The end of the rope was supported by a curled grappling hook. Kneeling behind the trunk, I fastened the hook to the hitch on the Jeep and found my way back to the driver's seat. Pushing the gears into drive, I slowly began to inch the vehicle forward until the rope strained - pulling viciously with the weight. Metal to the floor, I forced the truck into overdrive, suddenly gunning it forward and sending the object in the trunk to veer out of the vehicle. Decelerating the tracks, I watched in my review mirror as the item - two strong planks of crossed wood - reeled up against the T in the yellow goalpost. As it mounted to perfect height, I slammed the Jeep in park, and swiftly - excitedly- hopped out of the truck. It started slow at first, my heavy, rumbling laughter. But it evolved, soon developing into a magnified, thrill-infused maniacal cackle. Victory.

—   —   —   January 21st, 2018 - The Discovery. The lights to the stadium flickered on - lighting the dark early-morning. The sun would not rise for another hour. And for a group of football jocks mucking their way to football practice, it would be a morning they would never forget. Wailing. Loud, incessant, uncontrollable wailing. The sound of screaming echoed throughout the stadium; hair-raising in its velocity, and intensity. The scene brought a grown, 21-year old man to his knees. Vomit projected from his chapped lips as he puked vehemently on the immaculate, freshly-snowed grass - staining it flaxen. It brought a wave of nausea to the entire team. Some cried, some collapsed, some gagged, heaved, hurled. But most... most stood in shock. Hailed before them was the body of Christ - a crucifixion of their most valued team member. There lay the body of Kyle Turner, naked and colorless, with only the stain of bleeding red that covered his postmortem flesh. His genitals were mutilated. His penis split in three different directions. He had been completely castrated; his balls were absent entirely from his groin. An indescribable amount of blood has been loss at its expense, leaving a blood-pour of red human serous to cascade down his legs. Cause of death? Blood loss. Slow, agonizing, harrowing blood loss. The cross hung from the center of the goalpost, the snow beneath his purple-faded feet red with blood. His hands were staked on either side; his ankles crossed and tied. His neck - the same color as his bruised toes - was mounted by barbed wire. His head bore the same fate - crowned like that of Christ with blood trickling from his scalp. RAPIST - Carved with a knife in to his forehead. SINNER - The words dripped from his abdomen in crusting blood, beginning to harden... but still moist. Fresh. —   —   —   "Shocking news this morning on KVAL-13." Smitha George - Live News Reporter, would announce on national television. "A tragedy has occurred at University of Oregon. Senior Football Quarterback Kyle Turner, Star of the Oregon Ducks, was found brutally murdered at the campus stadium." She would go on, standing unshaken in the parking lot of the Performance Center. "Police have ruled the case a homicide after teammates found Tuner's mutilated body crucified on the goal-post of the end field." Spilling too much information for her own good - reporters classically interfered with investigations; often jeopardizing their efforts. "His hands and feet were reportedly pinned to a wooden cross, and his head wrapped in barb wire. Teammates report that the words "Rapist" and "Sinner" were carved on his body..." "... And that his eyes and lips were painted red, with blood." "Turner's vehicle, a Black 2017 Jeep Wrangler - was found abandoned at the scene. Police are looking for any information that may aid their efforts in solving this terrible case." She paused, staring into the camera as her words fed into the lives of millions of Oregon residents. "I'm Smitha George, reporting LIVE for KVAL-13 News." The clip ended.

[airoasis]

The Real Saul Goodman from 'Breaking Bad' and 'Better Call Saul'?

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/the-real-saul-goodman-from-breaking-bad-and-better-call-saul/

The Real Saul Goodman from 'Breaking Bad' and 'Better Call Saul'?

Hi there Dan this is for excuse for safety legal professional Alan Greenberg how’re you advocacy is such a neat dense subject I mean I suppose it’s witchcraft it is deep it’s it is alchemy there are not any ethical victories of this industry should you do not win it’s a disaster for the man or woman well you must win them see if he’s coming by means of on something or did he come by means of on a warrant last night time in the words of Jesse Pinkman you do not need a crook lawyer you need a crook attorney and so we get Saul Goodman Breaking unhealthy’s quick-speakme lovable scumbag of an lawyer final season on the true warmth find a real-lifestyles Walter White so this 12 months we puzzled if there were any real-world counterparts to his legal professional to once we asked across the the big apple legal world about who used to be probably the most outrageous most boundary-pushing a most powerful crook safety attorney in the market everybody told us one thing higher call howard greenberg nobody is fairly as outlandish as how it’s you just about guess however what what what you see popping out of his mouth I had a nephew that acquired in quandary with the police and how it was the first legal professional I inspiration of if I ever acquired into problem how it is the one that i’m calling name Reed how are you hi how are you to meet you yeah this is what Professor van Helsing looks like it you understand a van Helsing I do I do the Vampire Slayer okay so this is your crash pad my crash pad i’m sorry to say does not reside in a nail salon in the back of nail salon – oh right Saul’s office yeah good that is my dwelling away from residence four days a week many satisfactory victories were crafted edited and tweaked on this house right in the back of you is the next one it is a excessive-profile sex trafficking case and you recognize i am working it up right here so you have never been put able where you need to defend someone who’s genuinely responsible it is it’s beside the point to me I select they tell me but i do not care i’m more petrified of the government than i am of some members come again who I represent tell me about your every day so that you get up at what time I rise up five six the first thing I do is figure out I don’t know if I look it but beneath it is a finely tuned computer then i have coffee then shower after which I get going if i’m in courtroom or or get to work if i am no longer in courtroom so let’s talk about what you’re gonna wear in these days i don’t believe i’ll wait i do not believe i’m gonna wear this shirt however a number of suits placing verify this up I imply you understand that you could earn the proper to wear something that would in any other case appear foolish you you saved someone can however however i have if i’m phase to a jury the impression that if their ass was once in a sling they’d need me sitting subsequent to them i will be able to do anything the i need okay k yarn it hard work in this trade makes up for a lot of sins good let’s go get them let’s go get him i am not gonna let the federal government crucify my guys power Greenberg’s report of courtroom victories is rivaled handiest through the rap sheets of his customers in his 25 years of practice Howard has been a relentless and unapologetic suggest for humans accused of the whole lot from homicide to medications to weapons to intercourse trafficking defending the likes of the so known as Lolita lawyer who confessed to paying a lady to have sex with her teenage daughters and rapper Bobby shmurda an alleged chief of the violent gs-9 gang but even more than his clients its his ruthless and outrageous courtroom tactics that have made him a darling of the local press nobody i understand how to depend Dench cash for extra history on Howard’s larger-than-life status we reached out to some of his former opponents and longtime allies to get a primary-hand account of what it can be like to observe him work are you able to inform me about some of your first encounters with Howard um I do not forget him once I first got here to the place of work I consider the object I take into account most about him is you under no circumstances knew what was going to come back out of his mouth and oftentimes it was once very individual to you adore if you tried to argue a few case in front of a choose he would probably attack you Howard did it to each person there may be practically an endearing exceptional now while you seem back at it given that the he noticed was once hysterical after I began at legal aid I began as a public defender and i simply take into account coming to grasp him from seeing him inside and outside of courtrooms you know it’s a loopy man with the jet-black hair plugs welcome to the court docket you already know he is uh he’s no longer easy to clutter he would not look like a natural attorney simply between like the hair and the way he strikes and the way he speaks he quite knows learn how to push the envelope with a variety of a number of men and women but not force the line the place he would emerge as getting himself into quandary there was a prostitution case of Howard’s that acquired quite a few coverage can you tell me just a little bit about that it used to be a case where two men they have been accused of jogging a prostitution ring and he used to be giving summations and in it he was saying things to the result that he would like to be like a ho working for them that you realize if he made as a lot cash as them he could be doing it too that’s sort of method he rolls i’m telling you he does matters that that most of the relaxation of us would on no account do like you’re move-analyzing a sufferer and in our theft correct and you can say good it was middle of the night proper yes it used to be dark in any respect proper correct there were no streetlights have been there no the normal process me believe it do not ask a different query and then you just sum up and say there is not no means that witness might have seen who robbed her given that it was darkish out there were no streetlights you heard it from her own mouth but what you do not ask the witnesses so you couldn’t see the man or woman who robbed you might you on the grounds that for those who ask that best question it may best go flawed but Howard will ask the ideal query and then ask it 5 more ways and 5 extra instances and make them cry Howard the Vampire Slayer the legal professional we have an appointment what are you in a different lawyer’s administrative center ok whatever price he bills you i’m going to beat it k and by the way you must you should appear at my report earlier than you rent any individual and if his file is better than mine when you compare the 2 you should rent him that’s not possible I realize it’s not possible however when are you gonna be here in quarter-hour k excellent boy and i do know you wouldn’t stand me up k over the path of the years I’ve discovered to develop an awfully thick dermis with him he is very blunt and direct and that’s what I feel numerous people rather like about him is the fact that with him you are not gonna get the frills and the dress-up and the lollipops and the sweet canes you’re going to get the very easy facts and he quite really fights for the usual excellent which is what I fairly give to him he places his heart and soul into what he does considering that he knows what it’s like if in case you have the backing of the state of latest York or the backing of the federal executive towards you and your this one individual seeking to combat to your existence so inform me what you’re working on working for this colossal intercourse trafficking case in big apple County how long do you see this trial happening for probably three weeks 4 weeks you know common we’re looking to flip selling prostitution into intercourse trafficking well the change between intercourse trafficking and prostitution i will offer you one instance you inform me okay sexual slavery intercourse trafficking now you provide me one she’s a prostitute out of her possess free will that is now not sex trafficking however they constantly tried in some bro to opine that there’s no such factor as free will and no girl can come to be a hoe due to the fact that she wants to and if she’s making ten or twenty thousand a week that’s intent anybody made her do it and do you know that almost all instances with John’s they simulate the act that’s how silly John’s are oh yeah without doubt of path every person is aware of they need to be faking it no so i’m talking about faking having intercourse Wow they showed us how they do it good provide an explanation for it you need to be on your belly you ought to get your hand like in between your legs even as you’re to your belly uh-huh and you have to get the schmeckel for your hand and just stroke that factor you’re smack oh wow i’m no longer hurting that John snake they may be getting some thing some thing when they’re not even getting any so i’m going to do with you the actual ultimate argument that was on the earth known as jury decision that I intend to do in that case ok I appear out at this room stuffed with people and that i say to myself they’re right here to be brainwashed with the aid of me repeat after me do okay you folks are going to make a decision you people are gonna decide whether the defendant whether or not the defendant is a intercourse trafficker is a sex trafficker or whether or not he’s an innocent individual being falsely accused which is what I intend to prove or whether he’s an harmless individual being falsely accused which is what I intend to show now let’s continue do any of you good humans see pink while you hear the phrases intercourse trafficker any stealth jurors yeah any with a hidden agenda what about memberships you ever heard of a group called reasonable ladies anybody here read Nicholas Kristof’s college he has an obsession with sex and the subject of sexual slavery and and individuals being compelled to do matters towards their will neither of which I ought to inform you applies in this case my door did I inform you the girls if they are bloodless they’re gonna be witnesses you get the idea and that’s how it is going to go hi hello Kim i am Marie Greenberg inform your beautiful to satisfy with me that is our eating room we have many parties right here how did you guys meet we met in courtroom I was a court reporter ok and Howard was once an legal professional who labored for authorized aid and we just kind of like hit it off and it can be been that’s been some proper and the way lengthy in the past is that that was once 24 years in the past Wow we’re married 14 so Howard says that you helped variety him oh come on is that what he stated yeah never lets me sort him I desire daily lets me type him he has a first-class eye however no longer for himself so that you certainly met Howard in his position of labor yeah what do you suppose about his occupation he does his job very good and he he isn’t prejudiced in any respect he simply feels that every body will have to have a shot at being defended the proper way does that bother you though if like a person relatively is guilty and he’s this kind of proficient attorney that he gets them off and then they walk free does it hassle me perhaps possibly 2 or three times it has however the opposite times no I’ve labored with so many attorneys in my lifestyles none of them I favored him he grew up very in a different way he is not irritated about that he is grateful about that and i don’t consider many people can say that tell me a bit of bit about your upbringing you erased on the reduce East facet it is actual we lived in a slum it was three of us my father used to be mentally ill my grandmother who raised me as a moms and dads and me my father used to be very violent it was once a everyday incidence and to behave out and beat up my spindly old grandmother one time he snapped her forearm right in entrance of my face however I used to be a baby what might I you already know what could I do to particularly guard him I mean appear what might I do about I mean our children do not even understand this after I left I obtained a full scholarship to Cornell college which I quickly threw away then I floundered for decades I met a gal and discovered alongside the way in which that her father was a Mafia don k and mr.Giuliani’s office exceeded up an indictment within the case that was once captioned the USA of the us versus Badalamenti a defendant in that case was once my wife’s my then wife’s father the day before today’s arrests and expenditures reveal an extra heroin operation run via Sicilian immigrants using pizza parlors as a front for trafficking in significant quantities of medicines that case devolved within the public intellect into something that was once known as the Pizza connection case it grew to become the longest federal trial up to that point in the historical past of the USA of the us however it was once on that day with the sellers and the drug sniffing dogs crawling all over me and the men and women I cared about that I’ve to become a crook safety legal professional I used to be enrolled in Fordham regulation university three months after graduating i’m a employees legal professional on the authorized aid Society you comprehend it’s hard for me to be politically proper but on the legal aid Society they emasculate lawyers why did they try this due to the fact that they’re so concerned about retaining the report making an attempt the case for the appeal but legal professionals who are trying the case for the attraction are gonna lose how do you try the case I are attempting the case to win I left the authorized help site I did fulfill my commitment I went into personal follow whereupon Herbert stern taught me the way to grow to be a excellent trial legal professional he wrote a series of books entitled trying cases to win and that i grew to become him does it offend you when humans endorse that you’re like Saul on the grounds that he’s a bit of a sketchy personality in some ways as well as being quirky no on no account i don’t have to cheat to win okay I’ve acquired a procedure that seems to work and i can teach any attorney if the battle of the federal government to a standstill win a pair of doses we reached out to a couple of of Howard’s former consumers about their experiences with him and one jumps Felix agreed to go on digicam Jem’s was charged with felony possession of a weapon a cost carrying as much as 15 years in prison Howard took the case to trial and came away with a full acquittal besides the fact that children that the cop mentioned shemp’s had confessed to the crime so I was going through seven seven to 15 years Wow essentially saved my lifestyles he proved he proved my innocence when I used to be a young person I was convicted of possession of a weapon i am achieved with that part of my existence except like that what i am looking to do is simply find a job have some children you know somewhat standard life I imply however on the grounds that of my prior historical past they they are trying to frame have you ever ever had any dealings with any attorneys prior towered is right here first kind of your first man he is hostile to Lloyd had money to pay for my prior legal professionals in any other case employed I had like a authorized help and of path legal age they work with the method they receives a commission by way of you copping up I mean I was fortunate ample to to be equipped to pay Howard Greenberg to prove my innocence once I was once at trial he fought with the spirit of a warrior but he fought like I used to be like I used to be his son hiya good that is why I own golf all how did you meet Felix at the start how did he to find you his squeeze gave me a call and told me you desire a lawyer whilst you first met him and what have been your first impressions of him did you think it is a just right kid topic what I suggestion it was once obviously prick I failed to like him haha k ok however I but I grew to love him okay k if he notion he was a surly prick than intelligent you would not want to represent him for the reason that I if I take your money you get all of me that’s why and i want to win k you may have iced coffee i do not make it from dishwater does that happen a lot that you just enhance a sort of shut personal relationship with your purchasers I just Shutt subsequent yeah no it can be not that ok it can be no longer just a little individual however it’s a love and affection for anybody whose lifestyles you saved so you will have stated that if any person will pay you they’ve your loyalty i ponder I ran the carrier for money that you would be able to threaten to kill me and my family and that i render provider for money that a guy threatened to kill me and that i obtained him acquitted and that is just the best way it is why hello how would you reconcile that to our fears you’re gonna take you worry them you for the higher higher method the mayor and i can not blame a man who’s rotting in jail for announcing whatever and the easiest target is the attorney k come on after spending extra time with Howard I developed a better working out of his belief that every person deserved a zealous safeguard but various his cases still relatively afflicted me and none more so than his defensive levee Aaron back in 2011 Howard joined the safeguard workforce for one of the surprising murder circumstances in recent big apple historical past where the defendant levy Aaron confessed to kidnapping killing and dismembering an eight yr historical boy legal professional Howard Greenberg is in a position to be hated for his patron at the same time looking to guard confessed little one killer levy Aaron to fully grasp the morality of defending someone who had confessed to horrible crimes I reached out to big apple ethics lawyer Nicole Hyland I believe it’s essential for people legal professionals and to realise that actual-world ethics is not the identical as legal ethics there’s some overlap however there are quite a few things that attorneys are obligated to do and expect it to try this particularly don’t must do with morality a criminal legal professional goes to still guard a customer even supposing they know the consumer is responsible and so i can suppose that in particular instances where you’ve gotten a defendant who’s accused of relatively horrific crime the general public would feel there may be something immoral about that about staying silent while you recognize your patron is guilty you realize individuals perpetually say oh how can how will you safeguard those these guilty folks and i’ve customers accused of terrible terrible disgusting horrible things and that is my job to protect someone’s got to at the back of them you understand an oncologist job is to beat the melanoma and a criminal safeguard attorneys job is to to be the prosecutor a consumer is entitled to zealous advocacy there might be whatever that said or performed that the external world could take offense to but that may be a safety attorney rightfully fighting for his or her purchaser when Howard first bought on the levy Aaron case one in every of his defenses he determined was once going to be that levy Aaron who used to be in a rather ultra-orthodox Hasidic community that his safety was going to be that probably he used to be inbred and for that reason that brought about him to have some type of madness that brought on him to commit this horrible crime and so on the time dov hikind who used to be a big a part of the Jewish community in Brooklyn used to be relatively up in palms to practically blame the Jewish community for actions of this one man or woman he needs to preserve LaVey Aaron he has every correct to do this but to attack insult degrade an entire group my neighborhood someone’s community that’s no longer what this case is all about so I talked to Julie Rendell in she was a difficult son of a bitch of the go I might tell you that particularly and we had some knockdown and drag our baddest what tell me about that well my merrily with the butcher of Bensonhurst suppose I heard any person who I think like conceptually I failed seeing that he took a plea and i am used to profitable instances but the law says the defendant makes that call now not the lawyer I feel that had we tried that case he would were located no longer guilty by way of rationale of madness considering if he wasn’t crazy no one’s loopy you without a doubt feel he used to be insane don’t you chopped somewhat kid into pieces and put 1/2 of it within the freezer and the opposite half in the garbage you tell me oh thanks quite a bit to a rock what do you think would were the quality effect he went to trial after which he after which what there was no excellent effect he would have wound up within the loony bin for the rest of his existence right had he gone to trial would have been in from would were wonderful for me because the story would were in the papers every single day for 3 months at any time when in exceptional terrific industry for you super publicity it can be something like the levee or in case of massive the money came three or is it with that more like a profile factor I did that case free of charge particularly and the reason I did it without cost was once considering that I had learn within the paper that the judge used to be given the security attorneys a tough time has there ever been a point where you are up in court docket where you think like might be you are just about crossing the line I simply stick with the advocacy you realize so maybe in case you say the complaining witness is a lying sack of that frightens folks in case you say the complaining witness acquired what he deserved that frightens persons do you feel prefer to be a good criminal safeguard attorney you need to push boundaries as much as the line on the very at the naked minimal up to the strains generally over the line depending on the case and depending on the reason are you capable your sight i’m loaded for bear i’m equipped the reason for my look here in these days as i’m slated to a high profile sex trafficking trial a trial that I frankly assume to win by way of the first three paragraphs of phrases that I utter to the jury it is beautiful replica it can be a process that seems to work do you are gonna give me just a little of a taster of your opening argument yeah i will give you the whole thing yeah i’m excited to hear it i’m going to be standing at a lectern how about this Norman to get behind a rock treated as a lectern yeah seem there we go so i’ll with the with the steeple gesture of my palms and then and the next time i modify a action i will shift the fingers faraway from the physique after which once I relatively get going i’m going to begin you’re stipulating like Donald Trump incidentally before I get to some thing to do with the hand gestures when the judge it invites me to stand up and do this the first thing I do is freeze in my chair and and that i could freeze for up to 30 seconds and the purpose for that’s there is no more awareness-getting factor you are able to do in a court then take a seat definitely still that’s to say freeze to the factor the place i want humans to be uncomfortable questioning what is he waiting for then I upward push slowly after which I transfer briskly to the lectern simply assume me relocating briskly to the lectern then I savour the second with this gesture i’m relishing the second after which I get out the sledgehammer and start to wield it so i will say as follows anything else used to be this fax pattern it was no longer sex trafficking and i’ll prove that this fax sample was fabricated from hookers rendering sexual favors if that for US foreign money to John’s and that is historic John’s incidentally are among the many dumbest folks strolling the face of the earth the young females i will show work this hos which is what they name themselves because they desired to and if that appellation is good adequate for them it’s just right ample for you and it can be good sufficient of me and i’ll prove that they got here and went as they please i will show that the words just for instance i’ll kill you or their equivalents are included free speech no matter how hard or tender the half-baked prosecution knowledgeable witness tries to ram an uninformed opinion down anyone’s throat it’s going to now not trade the fact that by their possess lights the girls are not quote victims unquote you can also good as the case unfolds witness the spectacle of the supposed victims seated in the audience backing us up and cheering us on it can be now not your job to render a verdict that tells them easy methods to reside their lives in the event that they wish to promote their our bodies to the tune of ten to twenty thousand every week then so be it eventually that is a quite simple case selling prostitution and that’s all does no longer equal sex trafficking and someone with a half of a mind is aware of it i’m going to ask you to come a verdict of now not responsible on each rely of sex trafficking it can be the one fair correct justified verdict the proof in the case will help and pause i am gonna seem at each this kind of individuals after which i’m gonna say and i consider we realise each different and that is how it’s executed there’s no such factor as a useless case hello Felix smile you’re on candid digicam all correct child i really like you who’s your daddy put mayonnaise on each food I can not consume this i’ll wrap it up and go to my wife get us in there what style of digicam is that this proper how about a little flash

[batterymonster2021]

The Real Saul Goodman from 'Breaking Bad' and 'Better Call Saul'?

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/the-real-saul-goodman-from-breaking-bad-and-better-call-saul/

The Real Saul Goodman from 'Breaking Bad' and 'Better Call Saul'?

Hi there Dan this is for excuse for safety legal professional Alan Greenberg how’re you advocacy is such a neat dense subject I mean I suppose it’s witchcraft it is deep it’s it is alchemy there are not any ethical victories of this industry should you do not win it’s a disaster for the man or woman well you must win them see if he’s coming by means of on something or did he come by means of on a warrant last night time in the words of Jesse Pinkman you do not need a crook lawyer you need a crook attorney and so we get Saul Goodman Breaking unhealthy’s quick-speakme lovable scumbag of an lawyer final season on the true warmth find a real-lifestyles Walter White so this 12 months we puzzled if there were any real-world counterparts to his legal professional to once we asked across the the big apple legal world about who used to be probably the most outrageous most boundary-pushing a most powerful crook safety attorney in the market everybody told us one thing higher call howard greenberg nobody is fairly as outlandish as how it’s you just about guess however what what what you see popping out of his mouth I had a nephew that acquired in quandary with the police and how it was the first legal professional I inspiration of if I ever acquired into problem how it is the one that i’m calling name Reed how are you hi how are you to meet you yeah this is what Professor van Helsing looks like it you understand a van Helsing I do I do the Vampire Slayer okay so this is your crash pad my crash pad i’m sorry to say does not reside in a nail salon in the back of nail salon – oh right Saul’s office yeah good that is my dwelling away from residence four days a week many satisfactory victories were crafted edited and tweaked on this house right in the back of you is the next one it is a excessive-profile sex trafficking case and you recognize i am working it up right here so you have never been put able where you need to defend someone who’s genuinely responsible it is it’s beside the point to me I select they tell me but i do not care i’m more petrified of the government than i am of some members come again who I represent tell me about your every day so that you get up at what time I rise up five six the first thing I do is figure out I don’t know if I look it but beneath it is a finely tuned computer then i have coffee then shower after which I get going if i’m in courtroom or or get to work if i am no longer in courtroom so let’s talk about what you’re gonna wear in these days i don’t believe i’ll wait i do not believe i’m gonna wear this shirt however a number of suits placing verify this up I imply you understand that you could earn the proper to wear something that would in any other case appear foolish you you saved someone can however however i have if i’m phase to a jury the impression that if their ass was once in a sling they’d need me sitting subsequent to them i will be able to do anything the i need okay k yarn it hard work in this trade makes up for a lot of sins good let’s go get them let’s go get him i am not gonna let the federal government crucify my guys power Greenberg’s report of courtroom victories is rivaled handiest through the rap sheets of his customers in his 25 years of practice Howard has been a relentless and unapologetic suggest for humans accused of the whole lot from homicide to medications to weapons to intercourse trafficking defending the likes of the so known as Lolita lawyer who confessed to paying a lady to have sex with her teenage daughters and rapper Bobby shmurda an alleged chief of the violent gs-9 gang but even more than his clients its his ruthless and outrageous courtroom tactics that have made him a darling of the local press nobody i understand how to depend Dench cash for extra history on Howard’s larger-than-life status we reached out to some of his former opponents and longtime allies to get a primary-hand account of what it can be like to observe him work are you able to inform me about some of your first encounters with Howard um I do not forget him once I first got here to the place of work I consider the object I take into account most about him is you under no circumstances knew what was going to come back out of his mouth and oftentimes it was once very individual to you adore if you tried to argue a few case in front of a choose he would probably attack you Howard did it to each person there may be practically an endearing exceptional now while you seem back at it given that the he noticed was once hysterical after I began at legal aid I began as a public defender and i simply take into account coming to grasp him from seeing him inside and outside of courtrooms you know it’s a loopy man with the jet-black hair plugs welcome to the court docket you already know he is uh he’s no longer easy to clutter he would not look like a natural attorney simply between like the hair and the way he strikes and the way he speaks he quite knows learn how to push the envelope with a variety of a number of men and women but not force the line the place he would emerge as getting himself into quandary there was a prostitution case of Howard’s that acquired quite a few coverage can you tell me just a little bit about that it used to be a case where two men they have been accused of jogging a prostitution ring and he used to be giving summations and in it he was saying things to the result that he would like to be like a ho working for them that you realize if he made as a lot cash as them he could be doing it too that’s sort of method he rolls i’m telling you he does matters that that most of the relaxation of us would on no account do like you’re move-analyzing a sufferer and in our theft correct and you can say good it was middle of the night proper yes it used to be dark in any respect proper correct there were no streetlights have been there no the normal process me believe it do not ask a different query and then you just sum up and say there is not no means that witness might have seen who robbed her given that it was darkish out there were no streetlights you heard it from her own mouth but what you do not ask the witnesses so you couldn’t see the man or woman who robbed you might you on the grounds that for those who ask that best question it may best go flawed but Howard will ask the ideal query and then ask it 5 more ways and 5 extra instances and make them cry Howard the Vampire Slayer the legal professional we have an appointment what are you in a different lawyer’s administrative center ok whatever price he bills you i’m going to beat it k and by the way you must you should appear at my report earlier than you rent any individual and if his file is better than mine when you compare the 2 you should rent him that’s not possible I realize it’s not possible however when are you gonna be here in quarter-hour k excellent boy and i do know you wouldn’t stand me up k over the path of the years I’ve discovered to develop an awfully thick dermis with him he is very blunt and direct and that’s what I feel numerous people rather like about him is the fact that with him you are not gonna get the frills and the dress-up and the lollipops and the sweet canes you’re going to get the very easy facts and he quite really fights for the usual excellent which is what I fairly give to him he places his heart and soul into what he does considering that he knows what it’s like if in case you have the backing of the state of latest York or the backing of the federal executive towards you and your this one individual seeking to combat to your existence so inform me what you’re working on working for this colossal intercourse trafficking case in big apple County how long do you see this trial happening for probably three weeks 4 weeks you know common we’re looking to flip selling prostitution into intercourse trafficking well the change between intercourse trafficking and prostitution i will offer you one instance you inform me okay sexual slavery intercourse trafficking now you provide me one she’s a prostitute out of her possess free will that is now not sex trafficking however they constantly tried in some bro to opine that there’s no such factor as free will and no girl can come to be a hoe due to the fact that she wants to and if she’s making ten or twenty thousand a week that’s intent anybody made her do it and do you know that almost all instances with John’s they simulate the act that’s how silly John’s are oh yeah without doubt of path every person is aware of they need to be faking it no so i’m talking about faking having intercourse Wow they showed us how they do it good provide an explanation for it you need to be on your belly you ought to get your hand like in between your legs even as you’re to your belly uh-huh and you have to get the schmeckel for your hand and just stroke that factor you’re smack oh wow i’m no longer hurting that John snake they may be getting some thing some thing when they’re not even getting any so i’m going to do with you the actual ultimate argument that was on the earth known as jury decision that I intend to do in that case ok I appear out at this room stuffed with people and that i say to myself they’re right here to be brainwashed with the aid of me repeat after me do okay you folks are going to make a decision you people are gonna decide whether the defendant whether or not the defendant is a intercourse trafficker is a sex trafficker or whether or not he’s an innocent individual being falsely accused which is what I intend to prove or whether he’s an harmless individual being falsely accused which is what I intend to show now let’s continue do any of you good humans see pink while you hear the phrases intercourse trafficker any stealth jurors yeah any with a hidden agenda what about memberships you ever heard of a group called reasonable ladies anybody here read Nicholas Kristof’s college he has an obsession with sex and the subject of sexual slavery and and individuals being compelled to do matters towards their will neither of which I ought to inform you applies in this case my door did I inform you the girls if they are bloodless they’re gonna be witnesses you get the idea and that’s how it is going to go hi hello Kim i am Marie Greenberg inform your beautiful to satisfy with me that is our eating room we have many parties right here how did you guys meet we met in courtroom I was a court reporter ok and Howard was once an legal professional who labored for authorized aid and we just kind of like hit it off and it can be been that’s been some proper and the way lengthy in the past is that that was once 24 years in the past Wow we’re married 14 so Howard says that you helped variety him oh come on is that what he stated yeah never lets me sort him I desire daily lets me type him he has a first-class eye however no longer for himself so that you certainly met Howard in his position of labor yeah what do you suppose about his occupation he does his job very good and he he isn’t prejudiced in any respect he simply feels that every body will have to have a shot at being defended the proper way does that bother you though if like a person relatively is guilty and he’s this kind of proficient attorney that he gets them off and then they walk free does it hassle me perhaps possibly 2 or three times it has however the opposite times no I’ve labored with so many attorneys in my lifestyles none of them I favored him he grew up very in a different way he is not irritated about that he is grateful about that and i don’t consider many people can say that tell me a bit of bit about your upbringing you erased on the reduce East facet it is actual we lived in a slum it was three of us my father used to be mentally ill my grandmother who raised me as a moms and dads and me my father used to be very violent it was once a everyday incidence and to behave out and beat up my spindly old grandmother one time he snapped her forearm right in entrance of my face however I used to be a baby what might I you already know what could I do to particularly guard him I mean appear what might I do about I mean our children do not even understand this after I left I obtained a full scholarship to Cornell college which I quickly threw away then I floundered for decades I met a gal and discovered alongside the way in which that her father was a Mafia don k and mr.Giuliani’s office exceeded up an indictment within the case that was once captioned the USA of the us versus Badalamenti a defendant in that case was once my wife’s my then wife’s father the day before today’s arrests and expenditures reveal an extra heroin operation run via Sicilian immigrants using pizza parlors as a front for trafficking in significant quantities of medicines that case devolved within the public intellect into something that was once known as the Pizza connection case it grew to become the longest federal trial up to that point in the historical past of the USA of the us however it was once on that day with the sellers and the drug sniffing dogs crawling all over me and the men and women I cared about that I’ve to become a crook safety legal professional I used to be enrolled in Fordham regulation university three months after graduating i’m a employees legal professional on the authorized aid Society you comprehend it’s hard for me to be politically proper but on the legal aid Society they emasculate lawyers why did they try this due to the fact that they’re so concerned about retaining the report making an attempt the case for the appeal but legal professionals who are trying the case for the attraction are gonna lose how do you try the case I are attempting the case to win I left the authorized help site I did fulfill my commitment I went into personal follow whereupon Herbert stern taught me the way to grow to be a excellent trial legal professional he wrote a series of books entitled trying cases to win and that i grew to become him does it offend you when humans endorse that you’re like Saul on the grounds that he’s a bit of a sketchy personality in some ways as well as being quirky no on no account i don’t have to cheat to win okay I’ve acquired a procedure that seems to work and i can teach any attorney if the battle of the federal government to a standstill win a pair of doses we reached out to a couple of of Howard’s former consumers about their experiences with him and one jumps Felix agreed to go on digicam Jem’s was charged with felony possession of a weapon a cost carrying as much as 15 years in prison Howard took the case to trial and came away with a full acquittal besides the fact that children that the cop mentioned shemp’s had confessed to the crime so I was going through seven seven to 15 years Wow essentially saved my lifestyles he proved he proved my innocence when I used to be a young person I was convicted of possession of a weapon i am achieved with that part of my existence except like that what i am looking to do is simply find a job have some children you know somewhat standard life I imply however on the grounds that of my prior historical past they they are trying to frame have you ever ever had any dealings with any attorneys prior towered is right here first kind of your first man he is hostile to Lloyd had money to pay for my prior legal professionals in any other case employed I had like a authorized help and of path legal age they work with the method they receives a commission by way of you copping up I mean I was fortunate ample to to be equipped to pay Howard Greenberg to prove my innocence once I was once at trial he fought with the spirit of a warrior but he fought like I used to be like I used to be his son hiya good that is why I own golf all how did you meet Felix at the start how did he to find you his squeeze gave me a call and told me you desire a lawyer whilst you first met him and what have been your first impressions of him did you think it is a just right kid topic what I suggestion it was once obviously prick I failed to like him haha k ok however I but I grew to love him okay k if he notion he was a surly prick than intelligent you would not want to represent him for the reason that I if I take your money you get all of me that’s why and i want to win k you may have iced coffee i do not make it from dishwater does that happen a lot that you just enhance a sort of shut personal relationship with your purchasers I just Shutt subsequent yeah no it can be not that ok it can be no longer just a little individual however it’s a love and affection for anybody whose lifestyles you saved so you will have stated that if any person will pay you they’ve your loyalty i ponder I ran the carrier for money that you would be able to threaten to kill me and my family and that i render provider for money that a guy threatened to kill me and that i obtained him acquitted and that is just the best way it is why hello how would you reconcile that to our fears you’re gonna take you worry them you for the higher higher method the mayor and i can not blame a man who’s rotting in jail for announcing whatever and the easiest target is the attorney k come on after spending extra time with Howard I developed a better working out of his belief that every person deserved a zealous safeguard but various his cases still relatively afflicted me and none more so than his defensive levee Aaron back in 2011 Howard joined the safeguard workforce for one of the surprising murder circumstances in recent big apple historical past where the defendant levy Aaron confessed to kidnapping killing and dismembering an eight yr historical boy legal professional Howard Greenberg is in a position to be hated for his patron at the same time looking to guard confessed little one killer levy Aaron to fully grasp the morality of defending someone who had confessed to horrible crimes I reached out to big apple ethics lawyer Nicole Hyland I believe it’s essential for people legal professionals and to realise that actual-world ethics is not the identical as legal ethics there’s some overlap however there are quite a few things that attorneys are obligated to do and expect it to try this particularly don’t must do with morality a criminal legal professional goes to still guard a customer even supposing they know the consumer is responsible and so i can suppose that in particular instances where you’ve gotten a defendant who’s accused of relatively horrific crime the general public would feel there may be something immoral about that about staying silent while you recognize your patron is guilty you realize individuals perpetually say oh how can how will you safeguard those these guilty folks and i’ve customers accused of terrible terrible disgusting horrible things and that is my job to protect someone’s got to at the back of them you understand an oncologist job is to beat the melanoma and a criminal safeguard attorneys job is to to be the prosecutor a consumer is entitled to zealous advocacy there might be whatever that said or performed that the external world could take offense to but that may be a safety attorney rightfully fighting for his or her purchaser when Howard first bought on the levy Aaron case one in every of his defenses he determined was once going to be that levy Aaron who used to be in a rather ultra-orthodox Hasidic community that his safety was going to be that probably he used to be inbred and for that reason that brought about him to have some type of madness that brought on him to commit this horrible crime and so on the time dov hikind who used to be a big a part of the Jewish community in Brooklyn used to be relatively up in palms to practically blame the Jewish community for actions of this one man or woman he needs to preserve LaVey Aaron he has every correct to do this but to attack insult degrade an entire group my neighborhood someone’s community that’s no longer what this case is all about so I talked to Julie Rendell in she was a difficult son of a bitch of the go I might tell you that particularly and we had some knockdown and drag our baddest what tell me about that well my merrily with the butcher of Bensonhurst suppose I heard any person who I think like conceptually I failed seeing that he took a plea and i am used to profitable instances but the law says the defendant makes that call now not the lawyer I feel that had we tried that case he would were located no longer guilty by way of rationale of madness considering if he wasn’t crazy no one’s loopy you without a doubt feel he used to be insane don’t you chopped somewhat kid into pieces and put 1/2 of it within the freezer and the opposite half in the garbage you tell me oh thanks quite a bit to a rock what do you think would were the quality effect he went to trial after which he after which what there was no excellent effect he would have wound up within the loony bin for the rest of his existence right had he gone to trial would have been in from would were wonderful for me because the story would were in the papers every single day for 3 months at any time when in exceptional terrific industry for you super publicity it can be something like the levee or in case of massive the money came three or is it with that more like a profile factor I did that case free of charge particularly and the reason I did it without cost was once considering that I had learn within the paper that the judge used to be given the security attorneys a tough time has there ever been a point where you are up in court docket where you think like might be you are just about crossing the line I simply stick with the advocacy you realize so maybe in case you say the complaining witness is a lying sack of that frightens folks in case you say the complaining witness acquired what he deserved that frightens persons do you feel prefer to be a good criminal safeguard attorney you need to push boundaries as much as the line on the very at the naked minimal up to the strains generally over the line depending on the case and depending on the reason are you capable your sight i’m loaded for bear i’m equipped the reason for my look here in these days as i’m slated to a high profile sex trafficking trial a trial that I frankly assume to win by way of the first three paragraphs of phrases that I utter to the jury it is beautiful replica it can be a process that seems to work do you are gonna give me just a little of a taster of your opening argument yeah i will give you the whole thing yeah i’m excited to hear it i’m going to be standing at a lectern how about this Norman to get behind a rock treated as a lectern yeah seem there we go so i’ll with the with the steeple gesture of my palms and then and the next time i modify a action i will shift the fingers faraway from the physique after which once I relatively get going i’m going to begin you’re stipulating like Donald Trump incidentally before I get to some thing to do with the hand gestures when the judge it invites me to stand up and do this the first thing I do is freeze in my chair and and that i could freeze for up to 30 seconds and the purpose for that’s there is no more awareness-getting factor you are able to do in a court then take a seat definitely still that’s to say freeze to the factor the place i want humans to be uncomfortable questioning what is he waiting for then I upward push slowly after which I transfer briskly to the lectern simply assume me relocating briskly to the lectern then I savour the second with this gesture i’m relishing the second after which I get out the sledgehammer and start to wield it so i will say as follows anything else used to be this fax pattern it was no longer sex trafficking and i’ll prove that this fax sample was fabricated from hookers rendering sexual favors if that for US foreign money to John’s and that is historic John’s incidentally are among the many dumbest folks strolling the face of the earth the young females i will show work this hos which is what they name themselves because they desired to and if that appellation is good adequate for them it’s just right ample for you and it can be good sufficient of me and i’ll prove that they got here and went as they please i will show that the words just for instance i’ll kill you or their equivalents are included free speech no matter how hard or tender the half-baked prosecution knowledgeable witness tries to ram an uninformed opinion down anyone’s throat it’s going to now not trade the fact that by their possess lights the girls are not quote victims unquote you can also good as the case unfolds witness the spectacle of the supposed victims seated in the audience backing us up and cheering us on it can be now not your job to render a verdict that tells them easy methods to reside their lives in the event that they wish to promote their our bodies to the tune of ten to twenty thousand every week then so be it eventually that is a quite simple case selling prostitution and that’s all does no longer equal sex trafficking and someone with a half of a mind is aware of it i’m going to ask you to come a verdict of now not responsible on each rely of sex trafficking it can be the one fair correct justified verdict the proof in the case will help and pause i am gonna seem at each this kind of individuals after which i’m gonna say and i consider we realise each different and that is how it’s executed there’s no such factor as a useless case hello Felix smile you’re on candid digicam all correct child i really like you who’s your daddy put mayonnaise on each food I can not consume this i’ll wrap it up and go to my wife get us in there what style of digicam is that this proper how about a little flash

[nirah10]

So in Salem Kel decided some of the people who accused Bridget were fine and some he decided had to die. How did you, as the author, decide which ones you saw as legit and which ones you didn't? As all of the claims were pretty out there and far fetched. So how did you decide?

I basically just read up on the trials in general and picked out patterns. I found a list of the victims and then started looking up individual cases--who accused them and what exactly did they accuse them of? What did they do and say in the courtroom? What information was available on the person accused?

I quickly discovered that most of the people who were accused tended to be disliked by people for some reason or another. Giles Corey is reported as being an unpleasant man in general, but he had money and good land. The fact that they tortured him to death trying to force him to make a plea and that he refused and even egged them on until he was literally dead tells me that he knew full well they only wanted him to make a plea because it would forfeit his assets to the church. I feel quite confident that Corey knew they were going to kill him anyway and, if he just refused to plea, that he could at least make sure his wife and children inherited his assets. Bridget was very disliked because she was a very strong-willed woman who dressed provocatively, drank, swore, and basically lived her life the way she wanted to. Accounts make it sound like Tituba was accused for no reason other than that she was native and people were horribly racist. Sarah Osborne didn’t go to church and had a feud with people in an influential family. Lots of people like that. So pretty quickly I got the sense that at least some people were lying their asses off to get rid of people they don’t like.

So next I looked at the accusers, especially Bridget’s accusers because hers was the trial we’d be dealing with. I did adjust some accusations to better suit my story (for example, Tituba did accuse some people of being witches, but I don’t think Bridget was one of them), but most of what was in the story was what they actually accused her of. William Stacy claimed that things Bridget said “tormented him”, John (and his son William, whom I left out) Bly claimed that Bridget bewitched their cat and did state that they found poppets in her home. Elizabeth Hubbard did claim that she saw apparitions of Bridget though little information was given on her testimony other than an emphasis that she accused a lot of people, especially people she was known to dislike. Shattuck, Lewis, and Walcott were all kept true to their real life claims.

Finding the link between Samuel Parris and Elizabeth Hubbard was interesting and gave me a tip as to how I wanted to handle. The two little girls were the “first accusers” according to the records, falling ill and “going into fits”. They were taken to see Dr. Griggs for treatment who did happen to have adopted Elizabeth Hubbard, so I figured I would use that as a link to the people who weren’t simply friends of Hathorne.

At this point, I was looking at a bunch of people who said or did ridiculous things for seemingly no reason other than for the sake of drama or feeling important. But there were some who either sounded like they did what they did innocently, giving testimonies that were simply facts that were then twisted or they were in vulnerable positions, which leads me to believe they acted out of fear. Betty Parris and Abigail Williams sound like they did genuinely fall ill but then are recorded to have fallen into “fits” every time Bridget looked at them in the court. I did not want to have two small children end up on Kel’s hit list and I did want to show people who made accusations who were still innocent, so I decided that, for them, I would simply make it the story of a concerned father/uncle being taken advantage of and having a wicked person convince him that Bridget must have been the cause. For Tituba, the records show her giving very specific details in her accusations, but she was accused first. She confessed to witchcraft and then quickly began pointing out the “other” witches in town and giving super detailed accounts that seemed to match up exactly with what the authorities wanted to hear for a guilty verdict. In her case, from what I read, I feel confident that she knew she was surrounded by a bunch of white people that would kill her for no reason other than to watch her hang and she was desperately trying to save herself by going along with them.

Stacy, Bly, and Shattuck didn’t have much about them that stood out as good reason to suspect they'd want to kill an innocent person, but all three did claim that they witnessed Bridget bewitching others. I couldn’t dig up any reason as to why they may have made those claims, whether it was out of malice, confusion, or fear. I decided all three of them would be friends of Hathorne and that their accusations were to earn favour or maybe even money from him. The three girls seemed like blatantly obvious liars and they were friends, which made me think that it was something they were in on together. Elizabeth Hubbard sounded like she was accusing anyone who ever looked at her wrong (to the point that it doesn’t seem that anyone bothered to record her actual claims), while Lewis and Walcott told such outlandish, dramatic stories that I feel confident they were made up for the sake of being dramatic and catching attention. I believe all three were known to throw fits in court whenever the “witch” spoke or looked at them. Especially considering their ages, all being around 18/19 at the time, I think they literally did it for no other reasons than to feel important, to have something to do, and to get back at people they didn’t like.

Finally, of the two judges present for Bridget’s trial, I decided that Hathorne would be my villain. By all accounts, he was an asshole. He was noted to have been very harsh in his lines of questioning, specifically with Bridget (the moment when Bridget says she doesn’t even know what a witch is and he then asks how she can say she’s not a witch if she doesn’t know what a which is was real), he tried to promote the trials, and apparently never expressed any remorse for the trials at all. He was a very wealthy man who took his inheritance from his father and built “a small empire based on land and merchant trade”, and was known to have expressed interest in acquiring more land. That made me think that he may have been financially driven, aiming at people like Bridget and Giles Corey because they were known to have valuable assets. I don’t know how or if at all Hathorne could benefit from people losing their land and assets to the church but, as I explained with Giles Corey, there was some real fishy circumstances that made me think money was a motive at times.