Blessed are the Meek

"ORDER," Judge Anderson yelled, banging his gavel, "ORDER IN THE COURT!"

"You can quote statutes from the law library all that you want, Mister Markinson, "Redmond hatefully sneered, "But the fact remains that you're still a trained killer, you just said so yourself."

"And you're a coward, Mister Redmond," Mason spat, "You hide behind the law in order to try to pick on people and make them look like idiots in order to free animals just like your clients."

"You need to watch your mouth, boy," Redmond growled, "You're about to open yourself to a slander suit."

"And you should take your own advice, counselor," Judge Anderson intervened, "This man is simply defending himself. Besides, he hasn't broken any laws that I know of...do you have any more questions for this witness?"

"Yes, Your Honor," Redmond evilly smiled, "As a matter of fact, I do."

"Then I suggest you get on with it, Counselor," Judge Anderson said, "I'm growing tired of your antics."

"You won the National Karate Tournament recently, Mister Markinson," Redmond stated, "Is that correct?"

"Yes, sir," Mason proudly replied, "That's correct."

"Did you, or did you not win your preliminary fights in the first round?"

"Yes, sir," Mason replied, "But that doesn't mean it was easy."

"Okay," Redmond said, "Would you mind telling us how you did that?"

"I attacked first," Mason said, "Just like my Coach instructed me to do."

"So, it's safe to say that by attacking them first, you caught them before that could defend themselves," Redmond said, "Isn't that right?"

"Once again, that calls for speculation," Mason replied, not budging in inch, "Have you ever fought in a Karate tournament, Mister Redmond?"

"No, I haven't." Redmond replied, "I didn't have the time."

Then reaching into his inside coat pocket, Mason pulled out the stat sheets on the opponents that he'd faced, and then handing them to Redmond, Mason told him, "If you'll take the time to look at those stat sheets, you'll clearly see that every single one of my opponents not only out weighed me by at least fifty pounds or more, but you'll also see that each one of them had anywhere between eight to ten inches of height on me as well, just like your clients."

"Fair enough," Redmond said, "But what does that have to do with this?"

"Just this," Mason softly replied, "I'm not the monster you're trying to make me out to be. Your clients were clearly in the wrong. They were bullying someone weaker, and/or smaller than them; and if there's one thing in this world that I will not, and can not allow is to let someone to be bullied, just because they're smaller, or weaker, or maybe they don't have as much money as someone else. Besides, Mister Redmond, I'm willing to bet that somewhere down the line in your life, someone probably bullied you; otherwise you wouldn't be doing the job that you're doing, and we most certainly wouldn't be here today."

Everyone in the courtroom had been clearly moved by what Mason had just said, and Terrance Redmond was no exception. As Mason looked at Heather, who was seated behind the table where Jane and her assistants were seated, he could see tears running down her beautiful face as she looked at him and silently said "I love you."

"Your Honor," Redmond sincerely said, "May I ask the court's indulgence to recess long enough to confer with my clients, please sir?"

"You've got fifteen minutes," Judge Anderson replied, "In the mean time, Mister Markinson, Miss Winters, would you two and Ms, Hamilton meet me in my chambers?"

"Yes, sir," Mason replied.

~~~~~~

Chapter Five

Mason, Heather, and Jane sat talking with the Circuit Court Judge, the honorable William Anderson in his chambers while the Defense Attorney, Terrance Redmond, conferred with his two clients, Biff Howard and Tad Cummings.

"You handled yourself rather well this afternoon, Mister Markinson," Judge Anderson smiled, "Let me be the first to commend you."

"Thank you, sir," Mason graciously replied, "It means a lot to me to hear that, especially when it's coming from someone like you, Judge."

"You're a nice young man, Mason," Anderson smiled, "And I wish there were more guys like you in this world."

"He really is, sir," Heather smiled, taking Mason's hand, "Maybe now ya'll can see why I love him so much."

"I'm nobody special," Mason humbly replied, "I'm just a guy who's trying to get along in the world, that's all."

"I wish you could've seen the faces of the members of the jury when you told Redmond what you did about being bullied," Judge Anderson proudly smiled, "Hell son, I thought that Terrance Redmond was going to break down and cry right there. I don't care who you think you are, my young friend, you made a very powerful impact on everyone today, And I for one, am proud to know you, son."

"I thank you, Judge Anderson, sir," Mason humbly replied, "I'm proud to know you, too, sir."

~~~~~~

Once court had reconvened and Judge Anderson was seated, Terrance Redmond stood and said, "After conferring with my clients, Your Honor, they would like to change their plea to guilty and are willing to throw themselves upon the mercy of the court...with your permission, Your Honor.

"I accept their plea of guilty, and do hereby dismiss the jury," Judge Anderson replied, "However, before I pass sentence on Mister Howard and Mister Cummings, I would like to speak Miss Winters once the jury box is empty...

~~~~~~

"Miss Winters," Judge Anderson said, "Before I pass sentence on the two defendants, I would like to hear what you think I should do with them."

"I don't really want to see anybody go to jail," Heather told the Judge, "But I also don't think they should be let go free and clear either."

"Mister Markinson," Judge Anderson said, looking across the courtroom at Mason.

"Yes sir," Mason said, standing up, "What can I do for you, Your Honor."

"I ask you the same question," Judge Anderson said, "What do you think I should do?"

"I can only give you my opinion, Your Honor," Mason humbly replied, "But Mister Redmond said that the two defendants were throwing themselves at the mercy of the court, therefore I think the word mercy is in order, sir."

"I see," Judge Anderson knowingly smiled, "I'm interested in how you think that mercy should be applied?"

"It's like this, sir," Mason began, "Biff got his arm broken and Tad got a concussion because they were both being stupid. I believe that everyone has the right to be stupid at least once in their lives. Therefore, and this is just my humble opinion, sir; I think that maybe probation accompanied by a very stiff fine would be in order here; because like my fiancée, I don't want to see these guys go to jail either. Id like to see them finish college and clean up the mess they've made of their lives before it's too late. But like I said, Your Honor; that's just my opinion, sir."

"You're a very wise young man for your age, Mister Markinson," Judge Anderson smiled. Then he looked at the defendants and said, "You two will rise as I pass sentence on you."

Once the two boys were standing, Judge Anderson said, "I find the both of you guilty as charged; and I sentence you both to ten years of supervised probation. You will be tested randomly for drug use, and if either on of you fail, the both of you will go to prison for a term on no more than fifteen years, and no less that ten. Also, you will pay the court a fine of no less than ten thousand dollars. Do you both understand the terms of your probation?"

"Yes, Your Honor," Redmond said, They fully understand everything you just told them."

"Is there anything else, Ms. Hamilton?" Judge Anderson asked, and when she shook her head, he smiled at Mason and said, "In that case, court is adjourned."

"ALL RISE," the bailiff announced, as Judge Anderson made his way out of the court room.

~~~~~~

That evening, after all the dust had settled and the day's events had come to a close; Heather and Mason were back at our apartment. He was in the kitchen making dinner when he heard a knock at the front door, and after a few moments, he heard Heather calling his name, asking that he come into the living room.

The moment he walked into the room Mason saw Terrance Redmond standing there with a warm smile on his face.

"I hope you don't mind that I just showed up like this, unannounced," he replied, "But I came to offer not only my most sincere apologies, but also my warmest thanks."

"Your apology is accepted," Mason smiled, "But what are you thanking me for?"

"Its going to take a few minutes to explain," Redmond replied, "Do you mind if I sit down?"

"I've got a better idea," Mason replied, winking at Heather, who, she herself was grinning from ear-to-ear, "Have you eaten yet?"

"No, not yet," he replied, "Why do you ask?"

"We were just about to sit down for dinner, "Mason warmly smiled, "And we'd be honored if you'd join us."

"Oh, no," Redmond tried to beg off, "I really couldn't."

"Please, Mister Redmond," Heather sweetly asked him, "There's more than enough...please?"

"Are you sure?" Redmond asked, "I don't want to impose."

"Please," Mason smiled, "You're not imposing on us, Mister Redmond."

"Okay," Redmond grinned, "I'll join you if you'll call me Terry, okay?"

"Good enough, Terry," Mason chuckled, "Heather, would you set another place at the table for our guest, sweetheart?"

"Of course I will," Heather grinned, taking Redmond by the hand, "Right this way, Terry."

~~~~~~

"Holy cow," Terry grinned, once they'd finished eating, "I don't know who cooked this roast beef, but they did a damn fine job, if you'll excise me for saying so."

"I cooked it," Mason chuckled, "I'm glad you liked it."

"I'm impressed, Mason," Terry smiled, "It seems that you're a man of many talents."

"Nah, not me" Mason humbly replied, "I was lucky enough to have a girlfriend that cooks better than I do, and she showed me how."

"Seriously," Terry said, "You kicked my ass in court today, Mason, and that's never happened, not once in the fifteen years that I've been practicing law."

"I wouldn't go so far as to say that I kicked your ass," Mason knowingly smiled, "I just wasn't about to let you get me rattled, that's all."

"Either way," Terry honestly told him, "You were a great witness, and I've got the feeling that you'd make a fantastic attorney. What do you think?"

"Maybe," Mason replied, "But if I were to go into law, I would want to be the kind of attorney that put bad people in jail."

"I understand that and I can appreciate it, too," Terry told him, "But you'd make more money being a defense attorney."

"I mean no offense Terry," Mason said, "But the money doesn't matter to me. I still have to be able to look at myself in the mirror every morning, and being a defense attorney, I wouldn't be able to do that because my conscience would eat me alive."

"I'm not offended at all, Mason," he said, "And that's the reason I came here to thank you this evening."

"You lost me," Mason said, "I don't understand what you mean."

"Look, Mason," Terry explained, "I've made enough money in fifteen years to retire a hundred times over. What I'm trying to tell you is that you opened my eyes up today, and made me remember why I wanted to become an attorney to begin with."

Okay," Mason replied, "So what're you going to do now?"

"I don't want to work for the D.A.'s office," Terry laughed, "Because as you can clearly see, old Judge Anderson hates my guts so; that's why I'm going to go into corporate law instead. Besides, I always did well with contracts, much better than what I'm doing now, and that way, I can still practice law keep a clean conscience in the process."

"Good for you," Heather smiled, "I know that you'll do well."

"I think so, too," Terry grinned, "Now, I want to know when you're going to fight in another one of your Karate Tournaments, Mason. I can't wait to see if you're as good as I hear you are."

"My fighting days are over with, my friend," Mason humbly grinned, "I think that I might become a teacher instead."

"Oh, wow," Terry excitedly smiled, "Are you going to open up your own school? Because if so; I want to be one of your students."

"I don't know," Mason smiled, "I need to graduate from college first."

"I can understand that," Terry chuckled, "Let me know when you do, and I'll do anything I can to help you, Mason. I mean that..."

~~~~~~

TWO MONTHS LATER

Mason and Shaun Powel were walking down the hall of the English building having just finished class. Mason was supposed to meet Heather back at their apartment in an hour so; figuring he had enough time, he took time to talk with Shaun for a few minutes. After all, not only was Shaun one of his fraternity brother, but he'd also become one of three of Mason's best friends that year. The two of them were walking and talking, when all of a sudden; Mason felt someone shoving him hard enough to knock him to the ground.

When he got back to his feet, Mason came face-to-face with a guy named Alvin Townsend, president of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, who had eight other guys, all the same size, standing behind him.

"What's your fucking problem?" Mason angrily asked

Alvin stood at a height of six feet five inches tall, and weighed at least two hundred and sixty pounds, as he looked at Mason and growled, "You're my problem, you little bastard. Because of you and your little slut bitch, two of my brothers are doing ten years probation, plus they had to pay fines that were so stiff, it almost bankrupted their families. Now the time has come for you to pay for it, asshole."

"Is that right?" Mason confidently laughed, "And I suppose that you're the one who's going to make me pay?"

"That's right," he sneered, "Meet me at Hippie Hollow, tonight at midnight, and you better God damn well come alone, you little punk."

"Look, man," Mason tried to reason, "I'm telling you right now; you don't want to do this."

"And I'm telling you," Townsend growled, "You'd better show up, or the next time we meet, I'm going to blow your fucking head off, asshole...Hippie Hollow, midnight tonight...and don't be late, asshole, or else your next breath will be your last."

"I'll be there," Mason growled, "But if you wanna do this, it's going to be hand-to-hand, man-to-man. The first time you pull a weapon, you're a dead man. Do you understand me, asshole?"

"Whatever, fuck face," Townsend laughed, "Just make sure you're there, or else," and then he turned around and walked away.

"Jesus Christ, Mason," Shaun gasped, "I'm warning you right now, you don't want to fight that guy. He's an asshole that fights dirty, and he's dangerous."

"I want you to do me a favor, man," Mason said, "Please?"

"Of course," Shaun agreed, "I'll do whatever you want, bro; you know that."

"Thanks, man," Mason replied, "I need you to go pick Heather up and take her to the frat house. I'll meet you both there..."

~~~~~~

"YOU'RE GOING TO DO WHAT?" Heather asked, tears beginning to fill her eyes.

"I don't have a choice, baby," Mason replied, "If I don't he said that he was going to kill me, or God forbid, maybe even you...and I WILL NOT allow that to happen."

"I know who he is, Mason," Heather cried, "And he's dangerous, please don't do this...please, baby."

"Whoa, wait a minute," Mason said, "How do you know who he is?" He didn't do anything to you, did he?"

"No, not me," Heather told him, "But do you remember my friend, Shelley Gladston? She was the girl who dropped out last year."

"I remember her," Mason said, "Didn't get hurt riding horses, or something?"

"She got hurt, alright," Heather quietly replied, "But it wasn't from riding horses...not like she told everybody anyway."

"Then how did she get hurt?" Mason insistently asked, "And I want the truth."

"Well, she got invited to a party over at the PIKE (Pi Kappa Alpha) house," Heather began, tears starting to fall down her pretty cheeks, "And then someone slipped something into her drink...and they pulled a train on her, Mason."

"A train," Mason asked, "What the hell is that?"

"A gang bang," Heather cried, "She was the victim of a gang bang," and then she continued to cry, making Mason take her into his arms as she continued, "And Alvin Townsend told her that if she told anyone that he'd kill her whole family. That's why I don't want you to do this, because they'll end up killing you, baby...please, don't go."

"Fucking animals," Mason angrily growled, "Townsend's days of terrorizing the girls on this campus have come to an end."

"Holy shit, Mason," Shaun gasped, "What're you gonna do, man?"

"If I don't tell you," Mason said, "Then you can honestly say that you didn't know anything, Shaun."

"Oh, no," Heather began to hysterically cry, "You're gonna kill him, Mason...no, please, baby. Don't do this, baby."

"Relax, my love," Mason quietly soothed her, "I promise you that I won't kill him...but I'm going to make damn sure that he'll never be able to use his dick again, that much is certain."

~~~~~~

The time had arrived, and Mason stood alone, waiting at the appointed time and place that Alvin Townsend had told him.

"Where in the fuck are you," Mason called out, "You piece of shit?"

"I'm right here, asshole," Townsend growled, stepping from behind a tree, revealing himself to Mason, "It's time to meet you maker, motherfucker."

"Fair enough," Mason spat, moving into a defensive posture, "Come on, then."

Townsend made the first move, taking a swing with his left hand, and of course Mason sidestepped him, delivering a hard side kick straight of Townsend's ribs, knocking him to the ground.

"Get up, asshole," Mason growled, "We're not done yet."

Townsend tried to throw a handful of dirt into Mason's eyes, however, he was ready, and stepped back far enough to kick Townsend in the face, knocking out his two front teeth.

"YOU KNOCKED OUT MY TEETH, YOU MOTHERFUCKER," Townsend screamed, "YOU'RE A DEAD MAN," pulling a knife from his belt behind him, as he took off at a dead run, waving the knife in front of himself in order to kill Mason.

"You just gave me the excuse I was looking for, asshole," Mason laughed, "It's over now, motherfucker," and then he ducked underneath Townsend, and delivered a hard uppercut, knocking Townsend backward into the air, landing on his back with the wind knocked out of him.

While Townsend was lying on the ground trying to regain his breath, he managed to cut Mason's arm when he got too close. Of course Mason took this opportunity to not only disarm Townsend, but also roll him over onto his face, and then Mason jumped straight up into the air, and landed hard, with both of his knees in the center of Townsend's Lumbar vertebrae, crushing every bone between the L-5 and L-1 levels, permanently crippling him from the waist down and making him scream as if her were being murdered.

All of a sudden, Mason heard a loud, resounding, BOOOM!!!, getting his attention long enough to see ten guys, one of which was holding a shotgun, trained on him, but all of them wearing the red, with white piping, tee-shirts, indicating that they were, each one of them, members of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity.

"Don't fucking move, Markinson," the guy holding the shotgun said, looking at Townsend lying on the ground, screaming in pain, yet not moving from the waist down.

"You motherfucker," the guy wielding the shotgun, who later was identified as Randy Ponder, fearfully said, "You've killed Alvin, you asshole."

However, before he could make another move, Mason saw a hardball come sailing through the air, hitting Ponder right between the eyes, and dropping him to the ground, and then suddenly, fifty Alphas, his brothers, all appeared out of nowhere, each one wielding a club, a baseball bat and/or a tire tool.