“Yes! Yes! Yes!”
Again I held up my hand. “In this state we have the death penalty so you may all get your wish, but that’s exactly that…a wish. We have Judge Saxton presiding over this case and I have faith he will come to the right decision.”
“Walter Riley needs castrating.”
“Most likely.” I nodded and attempted a smile. I stepped a little farther into the crowd. A few women parted to let me through. “Your quarrel isn’t with me, or these other good police officers who’ve sworn to protect and serve you all. It’s with one man, and one man alone, whowillhave justice served.”
“What if he walks?”
“Yeah, scumbags like him have friends, corrupt friends. What if he does a deal and walks?”
I steeled myself. “He won’t walk.” The women before me were such a mixture of race and colour, but they all had the same defiant look, the same fear, the same determination to see justice done. “I’ll make you a deal,” I said, swinging my gaze around and trying to catch as many people’s eyes as possible.
“Deal?” a woman near the back called. “What deal?”
“How many of you have sons, brothers, nephews? Show of hands.”
A wave of arms lifted.
“My deal is, you all go home and speak to those young men. You tell them that no means no, that consent is everything, and that women deserve nothing less than one hundred percent respect. That is our duty as mothers, sisters and aunts, to show the men in our lives right from wrong when it comes to consent.”
“Of course we’ll do that.”
“Good.” I nodded and again managed a tight smile.
“And in return, what will you do for us?” someone shouted.
I looked at Jonathan, his eyes were narrowed, then at Ricardo, his lips were pressed tight. I turned back to the crowd. “I promise, in return, Walter Riley will be served justice for all of his crimes.”
“Fuck,” Jonathan muttered. “You can’t promise that.”
I held up my hands, my heart thudding. “We have to believe in our great city and the great men, yes thegreatmen who walk alongside us every day, to deliver us from this evil. And I, Officer Freya Sweeny, promise to uphold this. It is my word to you as a fellow female and police officer.”
Silence.
It was so quiet a feather would have been heard hitting the floor.
“Freya. Freya.” The chant started. “Freya. Freya.”
The revolving doors opened and a few women wandered out, placards held low. They were followed by more, and after only a few minutes the lobby was nearly empty.
“What the fucking hell was all that about?” Jonathan said, lowering his shield and tugging off his helmet.
“You can’t promise any of that.” Ricardo looked unusually concerned.
“Fuck yeah!” Balko nudged me with his shoulder as he walked past to supervise the last of the women leaving. “That was awesome. Girl power. I’m impressed.”
“It wasn’t girl power,” I said. “It was not wanting to be accused of siding with a lowlife like Walter Riley.”
“So instead you promise to be the dealer of justice on their behalf?” Sean said. “What you gonna do? Put him in an electric chair yourself if he walks?”
“I cleared the fucking lobby, didn’t I.” I hadn’t needed to say it as a question. It was pretty damn obvious I had.
“Can’t deny that.” Sean shrugged.
“You’ll likely get a repair bill, though.” Ricardo pointed upward.
I followed his line of sight. “Ah, shit.” My one bullet had taken out a chunk of ornate mosaic showing a set of scales and a sword. “Bound to be fucking gold-plated as well.”