Chapter Tried, tested, untrusted
He remembered he had put lenses everywhere on the building’s cameras therefore whatever feed Susan had been showing him was actually from the Harrison Enterprises on Hollow-E and since he did not want to jinx convincing everyone he was a legit attorney by seeing Lenny again he couldn’t confirm if Lenny was still in custody or if he had been dragged away by Dome. He needed to know if his former mimic had somehow rescued Grant for some reason. Considering his mad skillset and his nearly telepathic ability of staying in the loop with Chuck’s plans (like the first moment Chuck spoke with Eon and there was no way Lenny was eavesdropping… Until he gave Chuck to them at the coordinates only Chuck was supposed to know) the only other person to pull a rescue off seemed to be Grant- whenever he wasn’t tied up. Dome’s biometrics register- the place they assign one as a mimic for the person in the alternate Earth who shares one hundred percent of their DNA with them. All he needed was a headset to scan him and then provide a list of mimics that share his DNA on Hollow-E. If Lenny happened to be on the same Earth as Chuck then there would be no reason why he would make the list- considering the headsets are only assigned for cross-dimensional pairing. He sped over to the old site where Lenny had been building a rocket whose detonator was beside it and had used the headset to get a visual on the people that were holding Chuck prisoner earlier while trying not to get seen by any people especially the ‘Equals’ gang members because for all the public knew he was supposedly in court. When he got there he saw Lenny’s notes. They were like a log on the times Eon had been alternating between normal operation and untimely hibernation. Eon had worked perfectly when Chuck was admitted at the Hollow-E hospital until he was caught by Dome at the same time Grant disappeared. Then when Grant was found and tied up at Hollow-E’s Harrison Enterprises Eon was sailing smoothly once more. Chuck began to contemplate how Lenny knew Grant and whether the only reason he signed up for a switcheroo was because Chuck was rescuing this Grant, who even if he knew should not care about. He had actually made a watch whose function was keeping tabs on when Eon was to power off suddenly, which of course Chuck put on. Lenny had also been researching a particular ‘Virtual Reality headset’ software, which from logic Chuck deduced to be a software that makes another software of the user’s choice a mimic of the user. As annoying as it was being in the dark what he really wanted was this to be over, not for him to develop an obsession like Lenny had so he proceeded to a decaying dresser and pulled one of its drawers. His beginner’s luck scored to see the other day Chuck would be taking a swing at an investigation when he saw the headset in the drawer. He put it on and began playing with the side buttons and luckily, got it to scan his eyes. It showed no one on the list shared one hundred percent with after a lengthy search but there was one name on a side list. It said ninety seven percent of his DNA matched this person’s but it could not produce a name. Even if it was possible to pair his eyesight with this person, the details said that person’s own headset was online. Mysteriously and unfortunately the name disappeared and the watch notified that Eon was down again at the same time he received a phone call. He answered to hear Grant’s unclear voice making out that he had just escaped from Hollow-E. He added a few more words as the phone broke up and ultimately the call was cut. Tired of the confusion, he let this one slide, for he had gotten the confirmation that Lenny was still on surface Earth and as a bonus, Grant was okay and Susan’s leverage over him had expired, even though the case was already underway. The only problem he didn’t have in the bag was his alleged next of kin (probably Lenny’s doing for all Chuck knew) whose inheritance was impending receipt the next day.
Suddenly the iconic wail of police sirens closed in and a posse stepped out to confiscate every piece of evidence with no stone left behind- all of it going to the vault of the evidence room no doubt. Chuck wasn’t out of the woods yet when he escaped- he had used the law major cover to switch places with Lenny but had no intention of living that up in court. He needed to drop out and witness the procedure as part of the jury. His plan worked, since this was the case of the century and the (Black) DA would have murdered to have this case anyway and therefore was thrilled to take it despite the call being insultingly short notice. There was murmur inside the court room with Lenny sitting tight with conviction and anxiety of the plan Chuck had cooked. ‘All rise’, Chuck heard before the world’s worst case of peer pressure had everyone on their feet only to be told to sit after five seconds. Opening cases were thrown- the District Attorney’s being an effortless masterpiece, a given at this point judging from her flawless career. The time for witness testimonies succeeded and with them, Chuck’s phase three. The person that stood when called up was a White, senile, bald man in a wheelchair and at people’s first sight, synchronised gasps nearly drained the room of oxygen. Two girls fainted, five people screamed and anarchy followed not a second after for this enigma was Sebastian De Santos, aka the coffee man, here to make a statement to absolve Lenny. It was with Chuck’s glee and Lenny’s shock that they both saw the old man touch the bible and head to the pedestal. Being given the green light by the judge he began, ‘I am Sebastian De Santos and I stand before you to enlighten you that the man before you is not who you think he is.’ This statement alone had Susan ripping at her knockoff designer clothes’ seams but she had no idea what the geezer had in store for them all. ‘That man is- a terrorist! A hoodlum who would have slaughtered an old man for the thrill of it if half paralysis hadn’t caught me!’ Chuck almost swallowed his tongue watching his plan blow up in his face. Lenny was terrified if this double cross was how Chuck wanted everything to pan out. Susan was thrilled to be getting a chance to use her biological weapon, the DA had fainted and everyone was on the edge of believing him and ripping their posters. It was a disaster. Chuck’s freedom and the only person every one of every colour could believe had decided to go rogue. He added, ‘His treason and service against the world cannot be tolerated nor forgiven and as a citizen of Hollow… I mean Earth it is my solemn duty to bring this murderer to justice’, he stuttered tearfully to sprinkle his testimonial sundae. He then reached for something on the floor and held the thing up to show to the court since the person capable of objecting was conscious. ‘We cannot let someone capable of making such a doomsday device walk free to try and use it!’ he cried, holding a silver metal rectangle the shape and size of a box of cigarettes whose cap he was going to flip open. Lenny could not risk his missile being fired so instinctively grabbed a nearby, distracted guard’s gun and shot the man! Again (Not necessarily because this was the mimic)! It was the imbalance needed to tip this racial war to the only side left and the smoke screen a tearful Chuck needed to pocket what Sebastian was holding to keep Lenny from being implicated further. Not that a death sentence could be topped. That’s right- it was the guillotine for Lenny when the gavel landed.