"So, you wish to speak about 'KK', do you? What do you seek exactly? Do you think that you should suddenly be given custody of her because you've been well behaved for a few months? What about the years preceding your prison term? The crimes you committed? The people you hurt?"
"I was arrested for my crimes and served my time, Your Honour. I'm living my life according to the Law, and the stipulations that you set."
"Oh please! We all know what you were arrested for was barely the tip of the ice berg as far as your crimes are concerned!"
"That is mere speculation, Judge. What is cold, hard fact is that I served my time for my crimes."
"Nobody, and I mean NOBODY whose Alignment is Blood Red has ever stopped at a few robberies and non-fatal assaults! You are just trying to use the system to try and live a decent life after ruining the lives of many others. Do you honestly think such a person is fit to raise a child? You live in a halfway house, you are still technically unemployed, and even when you have that job, do you think that will be enough to support both you and a child? What if past colleagues or enemies from your past were to show up while you were at work and she was at home? What would happen then? Do you really think you are fit to take the child, just because you've been good for a few months?"
Nisha was just going off and barely taking a breath. The few that were in the court all just looked at her with wide eyes as she spoke, and even after she finished talking, there was a lingering silence that caused them all to feel awkward. Well, almost all of them.
"We did not say we sought to get full custody, Your Honour. I know better than anybody else that I'm not necessarily fit to live with KK, under any circumstance at the moment. However, I do believe that I should at least be allowed to see her. I don't care if the visits are to be done in public places with police escorts, or even in this very courtroom, with you and the police present, I really don't. All I seek to do is spend a little bit of time with her – that's all."
"And what makes you think you're entitled to even that?!"
"I am her father." Visuveus replied, voice cracking ever so slightly.
"You are PURE EVIL!"
"And what does that have to do with anything?"
Visuveus asked this as he slammed his open hand down against the podium and glared at Nisha. The glare only lasted for a second, but she definitely noticed and felt it as a chill ran across her skin.
"Alignments are based off of one's propensity to commit certain deeds. If all I seek to do is spend time with my own child, and to achieve that goal, I have become a Law-abiding citizen, shouldn't the 'Lawful' part take precedence over anything else?"
"That would be the case, IF you were Lawful-Evil right now – but you aren't! You're currently listed as the worst type of evil there is, and there is absolutely no way I could entrust a child to you – however brief the period said child would be in your custody would be!"
Visuveus looked at Nisha in silence for a few moments before taking a deep breath, seemingly calming himself down.
"Then if I gain the 'Lawful' tag, would that be enough for you, Your Honour?"
"Absolutely not." Nisha retorted. "Along with being Lawful, you would have to completely see out your parole period, have your own accommodation, be self sufficient and have held down a job for at least half a year. You have to prove that you will not endanger any child that comes into contact with you just by being in your presence."
Visuveus was standing at the podium with both eyes closed, trying to maintain his composure.
"Also." Nisha said as she intended to continue. "All parolees have the three-strike allowance. As much as you have them too, and have yet to use any of them, in your case specifically, violent acts will immediately count as three strikes, and you will be thrown back in prison."
"That is extremely harsh, Your Honour!" Steve bellowed as he stood up. "Objection!"
"There are no objections allowed in a sitting such as this, Mr. Pickering." Nisha said as she shook her head incredulously.
"Nonetheless, taking his past into account, my client could be attacked at any given moment by people from said past. Surely, there should be allowances for self-defense!"
Nisha looked at Steve, and then at Visuveus. She appeared to be deliberating on something internally, before finally speaking.
"Mr. Pickering, you do have a point there. But we can't reward your client for having a violent past which could dig up old adversaries. However, in light of him having actually done his best to meet the conditions of his parole, I will add three separate strikes to the parole – those of violent incidents. Mr. Vincent, you are allowed three self-defense related strikes, in addition to the three strikes for general violations. If you exceed these three however, and there is a fourth violent strike, the remainder of your strikes will be included and you will go back to prison. In summary, complete the remainder of your parole with the added stipulations, all without voiding your strikes and you can come back to see me about visitation."
The sound of Nisha's gavel echoed throughout the courtroom, and those who weren't already standing did so as she left the courtroom. Visuveus quietly stepped down from the podium and together with Steve and Sonny, made his way out of the room. One of the officers of the court returned the documents to the trio, and they walked out of the Courthouse. Steve was trying to be positive, speaking about how things went better than he expected, but Visuveus clearly wasn't having it.
"Are you sure you didn't do something to Nisha in the past, Vincent?" Sonny asked as he looked at Visuveus.
"Completely."
"Then why… she actually made things even harder for you. Tacking on extra conditions, essentially making you jump through even more hoops."
"Yeah, but I have no choice." Visuveus said as he clenched his fists. "I have to jump through them."
"Yeah, for the promise you made, right?"
"Yeah."
"This 'KK'… she's yours?"
"Yeah." Visuveus confirmed. "Her mother died shortly after giving birth to her and made me promise to take care of her just before I went to prison."
"…I see. Makes sense." Sonny said as he looked at Visuveus. "Few promises are heavier than those made to the woman you love."
"…yeah." Visuveus said under his breath.
"Look, thanks for everything, Sonny, Steve. I'm just going to go home and try to get some sleep."
"Do you need me to drop you off at the bus stop?"
"No thanks, Sonny. I'll use the walk to clear my head and calm down. I'll report to work and see you first thing in the morning."
Visuveus didn't wait for Sonny's reply as he just started walking down the road.
"Hey, Vincent!"
"Yeah?" Visuveus replied as he stopped walking and looked back at Sonny.
"Don't do anything stupid, Kid."
"…that's the goal."
Visuveus then turned around and disappeared down an alley, while Sonny got into his truck and drove off, leaving Steve Pickering standing there alone in the dwindling like.
"…I would have liked a ride." He said as he looked around.