Justice
Sarah let the background discussion wash over her as she worked with Grae on a rundown of Rook’s attacker. Jareth and the Guardians were debating methods of personally addressing the error of the man’s ways and for all their profanity with each other, their obvious affection was evident as they tried to mask their concern for Rook’s injury while she looked faintly embarrassed to have been involved in the drama.
The more details Sarah learned from Grae, the less it appeared that this could have been an accident.
The man was a deputy who had long used his position to conduct a campaign of assault and blackmail. As far as Grae had discovered, it was only the arrival of an outside appointment as sheriff that curtailed his behaviour. It had, if nothing else, stopped his favoured hobby of raping teenage girls. The trail of his past attacks may have been missing from the local police reports, but the hospital records told a different story.
Sarah was wondering how the man managed to have a wife and children at home, until Grae uncovered information revealing his wife was yet another of his victims. He had raped her repeatedly when she was barely a teenager and, when she’d fallen pregnant, instead of protecting her, her parents had blamed her for the assault and forced her to marry the bastard. In their tiny little minds, their betrayal of their child made them paragons of virtue. Sarah felt a burning urge to subject the parents to the Labyrinth.
Aside from rape and paedophilia, there was a pattern of suspected assaults and intimidation on those who’d threatened to report his behaviour. While the avenue of law enforcement may have been closed to his victims, he’d managed to alienate many members of the medical community who had compiled an extensive dossier of traumatic injuries that could be tied back to the man.
Sarah was taping a finger against her lips in thought when Erich derailed her train of thought. “We could let the bitier goblins play with him.” She took a moment to let the warm fuzziness of that suggestion wash over her before shaking it off.
“I have a suggestion that initially goes against an overwhelming urge to spend quality time introducing that waste of breath to medieval torture implements.” Sarah had the room’s full attention. “We release him Above unharmed.” She held up a hand to forestall any arguments. “But we give him a compulsion to not only tell the truth, but a desire to fully unburden himself. Anyone associated with covering up his crimes, like his appalling inlaws, will be similarly affected by the magic.”
Sarah squeaked as Jareth pulled her into his arms and spun her around. “I imagine there will be a lot of schadenfreude as his victims watch his life unravel at his own hands.”
“Speaking of which, I believe he owes one of those hands to Rook.”
Jareth beamed in delight. “My Goblin Queen has a deliciously cruel streak.”
labyfic - drabble #152: beam
Part of the Balance!verse
The more details Sarah learned from Grae, the less it appeared that this could have been an accident.
The man was a deputy who had long used his position to conduct a campaign of assault and blackmail. As far as Grae had discovered, it was only the arrival of an outside appointment as sheriff that curtailed his behaviour. It had, if nothing else, stopped his favoured hobby of raping teenage girls. The trail of his past attacks may have been missing from the local police reports, but the hospital records told a different story.
Sarah was wondering how the man managed to have a wife and children at home, until Grae uncovered information revealing his wife was yet another of his victims. He had raped her repeatedly when she was barely a teenager and, when she’d fallen pregnant, instead of protecting her, her parents had blamed her for the assault and forced her to marry the bastard. In their tiny little minds, their betrayal of their child made them paragons of virtue. Sarah felt a burning urge to subject the parents to the Labyrinth.
Aside from rape and paedophilia, there was a pattern of suspected assaults and intimidation on those who’d threatened to report his behaviour. While the avenue of law enforcement may have been closed to his victims, he’d managed to alienate many members of the medical community who had compiled an extensive dossier of traumatic injuries that could be tied back to the man.
Sarah was taping a finger against her lips in thought when Erich derailed her train of thought. “We could let the bitier goblins play with him.” She took a moment to let the warm fuzziness of that suggestion wash over her before shaking it off.
“I have a suggestion that initially goes against an overwhelming urge to spend quality time introducing that waste of breath to medieval torture implements.” Sarah had the room’s full attention. “We release him Above unharmed.” She held up a hand to forestall any arguments. “But we give him a compulsion to not only tell the truth, but a desire to fully unburden himself. Anyone associated with covering up his crimes, like his appalling inlaws, will be similarly affected by the magic.”
Sarah squeaked as Jareth pulled her into his arms and spun her around. “I imagine there will be a lot of schadenfreude as his victims watch his life unravel at his own hands.”
“Speaking of which, I believe he owes one of those hands to Rook.”
Jareth beamed in delight. “My Goblin Queen has a deliciously cruel streak.”
labyfic - drabble #152: beam
Part of the Balance!verse