privateinvestigations: (210)
Clint Zéphyr Chevalier ([personal profile] privateinvestigations) wrote in [community profile] dreamlikenewyork2018-05-26 03:25 am

"Your father's gone a-hunting."

Who: Clint Chevalier, Euan Fitzpatrick, Mark Campbell, James Campbell and Hunter Alexander
What: Revenge is best served murderous
Where: Chevalier-Cole-Ashwood joint, NYC
When: After this and this

Clint had his baby son expertly nursed against his shoulder when he opened the door to his pals. Normally, he would arrange a meeting like this away from home, but he was on solo daddy duty that evening. "Come in. Sorry, my hands are fucking full at the moment. Ange and Lex are away on some dirty lesbo weekend for an anniversary or some shit, and Linc's on a location shoot in Hawaii. I'm left holding the rugrat. Don't worry, he only understands sprog-speak, so your secrets're fucking safe. But I can't put him down, or he'll scream the fucking place to rubble. I dunno what's up with him, but he's a moody shit today."

He had tried everything since Angela and Lexie left at lunchtime, but all he had succeeded in was getting Zephyr to nap for about 3.4 minutes and crap his diaper what felt like about 12 times in the last hour. He was quiet and calm if Clint held him, and all hell broke loose when he tried to put him down for too long. But he was under strict orders to try to stick to a feeding schedule, at least, even if everything else went to shit. Clint wasn't quite as clueless of the process of parenthood as he used to be, but he still felt like his skills paled in comparison to those made to do this job. Like all three of the dudes arriving now to talk about a really fucking sensitive subject. Clint wasn't sure he would have the stamina Mark did to handle all he did with his kid. Clint felt sick to his stomach when he worried about what Zephyr might be like when he grew up, hoping like hell it was nothing like him, even if the kid was looking more and more like him by the day.

"You look rough, bud. I know it's not usually allowed on the menu, but if you want a drink, I'm happy to cough up. You look like you need it," Clint commented as Mark came in with his brother, James. This was some really fucking serious business and Clint wasn't surprised Mark needed back-up. He probably wasn't going to deal well with what Clint revealed here, that he had found out instigating some heavy digging into the situation that was the biological mother of Mark's kid. He nodded to Euan as he passed. "I take it all this is well off the fucking record?"
lovesguinness: (239)

[personal profile] lovesguinness 2018-05-26 04:25 am (UTC)(link)
It was still weird as fuck to see Clint with a baby. There was no doubting the fact he was Clint's either. For one, Ange had never been the sort to fuck around and she was hitched to Lexie. Unless they created some spontaneous freak of nature where two chicks could conceive, Zephyr was absolutely Clint's. Euan, on the other hand, was glad DNA tests existed because his own son, Ciaran, didn't look anything like him. He was fair, blonde with blue eyes. Euan had always been dark. But DNA proved he was definitely Euan's, so Euan understood what an epic life upheaval it was having a kid coming into your life. No matter what age they were. Which is exactly why he was here to offer Mark any help he needed to keep his kid safe. The digging he had done through his internal circles dredged up a hell of a lot of crap. He hoped Mark was prepared for it. Normally, Euan would be more laidback about shit, but the information he had was sickening. He was tense and stressed, but seeing Clint with his kid was a mindfuck enough to relieve some of the tension.

"Dunno if I'm ever gonna get used t'seein' ya' with a kid, bud," he said, clapping Clint on the back softly as he came inside. The bairn was awake and content in Clint's arms, though his big blue eyes were on the new arrivals, probably wondering what the fuck the cat just dragged in. He was still so wee, having been born really prematurely with serious complications that nearly took Angela's life. "Don't worry. All this is abso-fuckin'-lutely off the record. Ain't gonna get nothing if we stick to official channels. She's been coverin' her tracks well, but luckily she's locked up with some fuckin' bitches more than willin' t'spill their guts in exchange for some favours. How ya' holdin' up, mate? How's the laddie?" he asked Mark in concern. They all heard the latest turn of events with Justin.
aussielawyer: (025)

[personal profile] aussielawyer 2018-05-26 04:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Mark was struggling. Justin's latest hospital admission was taking its toll on everyone, but it was re-opening old wounds. He was taking some leave from work, and he was glad of the fact when both Clint and Euan told him they had information for him about Justin's mother, and none of it was good news. Mark knew he was at a precipice here, needing to juggle his ferocious anger at the cunt for trying to harm his son again with needing to protect Justin with his life. That meant weathering this shit while Justin was in safe hands in Four Winds. Just like he predicted, Hunter called him in the afternoon to tell him Justin requested no visitors for now. Though, Hunter admitted Justin wavered about Sasha. He seemed to want him near, but also didn't want to burden him with this. He was upset and shaken in the wake of his psychotic episode and Hunter had to break the news to Mark that he triggered a round of medical tests, include HIV screening, because he was concerned what levels Justin's self-harm might have taken while he was under the influence of drugs. He had somehow gotten his hands on Ice, which was hard enough for Mark to process in itself.

He gave Clint a faint, tired smirk as he took a seat on the sofa. "Looks good on you, mate," he said, indicating the baby Clint was holding. Looked surreal as fuck, and seeing it twisted that twinge inside Mark of the things he missed out not having known about Justin when he was a baby. Today, he was more sensitive than usual to how much the cunt mother stole from him and his son. It wasn't bitterness anymore, but absolute hatred for her. He could feel it coursing through him and he knew he had to try to alleviate it in some way. It was why he ultimately needed James to be there. Not just so his brother had an awareness of the legal side of this, but to keep Mark as rational as he could be. "I don't know how I'm holding up. Don't feel like I'm succeeding in it, anyway. Jus isn't doing well. He's poorly from detoxing, he's still severely suicidal. He's on suicide watch. He's in the best place he can be, but he's refused all visitors. I just need you both to give it to me straight. What are we playing with here? How bad is it? I'll try to hold off on the booze, for Justin's sake. Can't promise I won't do something stupid if I'm drunk and seething with anger."
agentcampbell: (013.)

[personal profile] agentcampbell 2018-05-27 12:29 pm (UTC)(link)
James had spent some time on the phone with Euan that afternoon discussing the situation of Justin's mother. He consulted frequently with Euan about cases involving children that overlapped FBI jurisdiction. Cops and the Feds might not have the best reputation of working together, but Euan was one hell of a cop and he deserved to have made it to Captain. In saying that, James also knew Euan personally, so he knew that Euan blurred the lines in cases he felt passionate about, but was excellent at keeping private and professionally separate. The only person here today who wasn't a father now was Hunter, but he had come because Justin had opened up about something and given Hunter consent to discuss it with his dad and family. Each father here today, James himself included, would literally kill to protect their kids.

As Mark's brother, James knew he wasn't doing well. How could he be? Mark tried to keep his shit together, but inside he was probably desperate for both a drink and to storm into the lock-up where the cunt was being held and crush her with his bare hands for harming his baby. Justin might be seventeen and able to fend for himself, even planned to get married some day, but he was still Mark's baby. His flesh and blood, his everything. Everyone thought Justin's story couldn't possibly get more messy and horrifying that it already had been, but here they were. Taking his seat, James saw how stony-faced Hunter was, and he could see even Euan had worry lines etched in his forehead. Clint wasn't joking or pulling the piss. It wasn't a usual fatherly-hangout they often had together. "On a scale of one to ten, how homicidal are we all going to feel after this chat today?"
livefortoday: (050)

[personal profile] livefortoday 2018-05-27 12:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Hunter managed to get Justin to sign a consent to share any information he revealed with his parents, carers and guardians. Even though Justin had a psychotic episode, he wasn't psychotic when Hunter assessed him, so he was of sound mind enough to still retain some agency over his decisions. For Justin, the worst of it for him would be having to repeat anything he revealed, so the onus was on Hunter to give him avenues for the best care possible. With what he revealed, Hunter had to take the information back to Mark. He had asked Justin if there was anyone he specifically didn't want the information to go to, but he was okay with his family knowing and anyone his dad needed to know. Justin was too ill to rationally engage with repeated interrogation. They were keeping him sedated for now to get him through the worst of the Ice detox and hopefully rest his body to alleviate his stressed mind. He didn't want any visitors, though Hunter had been able to see that was more because he was so distressed from exhaustion that even trying to be okay to interact with others was too much. He had to recover in the episode a little first.

Hunter took one of the armchairs and flicked through his notes with a sigh. They weren't the hospital's clinical notes, just what he had scribbled down afterwards. "I'm not sure one to ten is enough of a scale," he admitted and shook his head. "Look, I'll just lay the biggest cards on the table so you at least know what you're dealing with from a clinical standpoint. My priority is making sure Justin's mental health is secured to keep him safe. It's not at the moment. He needs help. As a nursing practitioner, I have no doubt in my mind that if he hadn't been admitted with us, he would've completed. The first thing he said to me was his mother tried to kill him. I think what he was indicating was that she used to drug him and let men have access to him. More than one. There's been a shift from one perpetrator to multiple, I don't know how many. She did it enough times that he got hooked, so the addiction centre of his brain would've been triggered from an early age. Explains the drugs, the alcohol, the self-harm. I think she drugged him and took payment off men to do whatever with him. He just blocked it all out before. I don't know specifically because he was all over the place, but I think he found out what she was doing and wanted to get rid of him. The information is really patchy, but he was terrified he was really schizophrenic and misdiagnosed as bipolar."
lovesguinness: (036)

[personal profile] lovesguinness 2018-05-27 06:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Once Clint started to get his information out, Euan could see the moment Mark was about to lose his shit. He didn't really think Mark would do something without thinking like hitting Clint, but there was no guarantee he wouldn't smash something, throw something, storm out and speed over to the prison to choke the life out of the cunt. Which is exactly what it seemed like he would when he went to jump up. Euan quickly put a hand on his friend's shoulder, trying to both stop him doing something stupid and grounding him. Euan got it. His own kid had been raised by a drug addict, in a drug house, and had been neglected. But Ciaran had been sexually abused as a child, so there was a whole other level to Mark's utter fury and revenge here. "Easy, mate. Ya' gonna wanna try t'keep a level head here. Don't think we don't get it. If we all wouldn't end up in the fuckin' slammer f'it, we'd drive ya' over there ourselves and cheer ya' on while ya' took her out. But that ain't you. The laddie needs ya' t'try and go 'bout this in the way that's gonna keep him the safest. Not just now in the short-term, but longer down the track. Fuck knows, we know how long scars stick 'round."

He kept his hand on Mark's shoulder, making sure he backed down again. Then he took the seat on Mark's side to James. It was a show of solidarity and support as much as it was trying to block him making any bad moves. The kid didn't need his dad in prison. That's what stopped Euan doing a whole lot of stupid shit when he first got Ciaran and heard what a shit mother he had. "I had a word t'a few o'my connections. The story she's constructed is that she thought he was gonna try't kill her 'cause he was mental. Said he was violent with her and she got scared, tried t'poison him so he wouldn't hurt her. Didn't all ring true or make any sense. The story was full o'fuckin' gaps. So I did a wee bit more diggin'. She had a pimp who had a book full o'clients willing t'pay f'kids. Ya'll don't need me t'fill in the gaps. But what another snitch revealed was the kid lost his shit one night at one o'the blokes. Attacked him, probably in self-defense. Threatened t'go t'the cops and tell 'em everythin'. She had a plan t'get rid o'him, but before she could do anything, he disappeared. She wouldna known where he went, 'cept he soon got some fame and she saw a whole new chance o'makin' cash off him."
Edited 2018-05-27 18:20 (UTC)
aussielawyer: (045)

[personal profile] aussielawyer 2018-05-29 02:59 am (UTC)(link)
There were a lot of things Mark felt like doing in that moment, none of which were any good for the health and safety of him, his son, his entire family. The first response was to attack. What parent worth anything didn't feel that when their kid was being hurt or at risk of harm. He was grateful for Euan and his intervention. He was grateful for all the guys here with him right now, but fury was raging inside him, storming along with wanting to break down and cry... or reach for the nearest bottle of booze. He wanted to get so blinded, he didn't have to feel a thing. But at the same time, he wanted to feel everything so his kid wasn't alone. It killed him knowing his genes had been passed onto Justin in this way. He was the reason Justin had an exacerbated mental illness, he was the reason Justin had addictions. Or, at least, that's how it felt. To hear all this, his brain was trying to shut down, because it was too much to handle.

Feeling like he was about to vomit, he leaned over, pressing his hands against his face so forcefully, he felt like he was bruising his cheekbones. One thing was beginning to make sense, though. How trashed Justin was the night he showed up on Mark's doorstep. Justin had been so off his face, he was near-projectile vomiting and struggling to form words, let alone coherent sentences. He had hitchhiked from Chicago to New York, something he didn't reveal until months after he got here. He could have been murdered. Now Mark was realising that he was almost murdered by his own mother. No wonder the kid had a long history of disassociating with many gaps in his memory. No wonder he had used drugs and alcohol to try to self-medication, at fucking 13 years old. Mark wondered now if the reason Justin came to him when he did was because he had read online about Mark being an attorney who had one some really high-profile national cases. That was how Justin found him, reading media online. "What can you do, when can you do it, and how fucking much pain can you inflict on that cunt when you destroy her?"
agentcampbell: (097.)

all 5 assignments submitted - semester break/tags officially incoming! \o/

[personal profile] agentcampbell 2018-06-04 01:57 pm (UTC)(link)
James sat there, numb and feeling sick inside. He had a long career in the crimes against children sector, but never could he have anticipated that his own flesh and blood would be a victim. Protecting children was his passion, why he got into the area in the first place, and he had work some horrific crimes. Especially where drugs were involved and children's live destroyed because of the vile decisions of their parents. He was a father himself, and he knew the murderous thunder inside Mark would be experiencing hearing this bombshell. James felt exactly the same way, but he had to make sure Mark didn't make any bad decisions and put himself at risk of harm when his kids needed him, especially Justin. Jamie was one of the easiest kids in the whole world. She had a big heart, she was smart, and content. But Justin's survival was dependent on Mark caring for him. That wasn't even an exaggeration, and it was evidenced by the fact Justin was currently an inpatient in a youth mental health facility as they spoke.

James had put both hands up to his face, fingers pressed against his lips as he listened to Euan and Clint confirm what Justin's mother had done to him. They already knew how messed up from trauma Justin was, from sexual abuse when he was a child. They also knew there was always a chance he hadn't revealed everything or quite possibly dissociated. He had all the signs of it, but it was a difficult thing to prove. He had psychotic breaks from trauma triggers, though, which was a huge warning bell for dissociating serious things. When Mark spoke, James put his hand on his shoulder, a helpless attempt to try to keep him grounded but remind Mark he wasn't alone. "I know how the minds of evil disgusting bitches like her work. What are the chances those letters to him were threats of blackmail? I know my nephew, and he's a peaceful kid. The only time he's ever been known not to be is when he was psychotic and attacked the cunt who was harassing him at the theatre. And maybe the same pattern to what he did with the pedo paying to get his rocks off with him. There is absolutely no past evidence he is violent simply because he's mentally ill and fuck, Mark can mount a case for slander if that happens. So, what in those letters push Justin to breaking point? Is she going to try to say he did something back in Chicago to fuck up his public reputation? Because that'd explain why he's trying to pay Clint to put a hit out on her. It sounds like he's trying to stop her doing something. As much as I'm all for immediate action to destroy her, I think we've got to think about the why behind Justin's actions here so Alec, Hunter, and everyone else on his clinical care team can make sure this doesn't damage him anymore than he already is. How fucking at risk is he of his illness exacerbating to the point he can't function if he has a hit of on his mother on his conscience for the rest of his life? Sparky, I want her to hurt too, but it might be better to wait and make it look like natural causes in a couple of months so it can't be linked to him."
livefortoday: (067)

WINNING AT LIFE, BB! \o/

[personal profile] livefortoday 2018-06-04 02:20 pm (UTC)(link)
All this cop, FBI, criminal mastermind, justice stuff was over Hunter's head, but he was grateful they were at least speaking in Laymen's terms so he could follow what they were talking about. It would ultimately help with keeping Justin assessed and compiling the best care plan for him. He was Justin's Caseworker, and worked closely with the hospital doctors regarding Justin's clinical management. But they worked one-on-one with Justin's family and established care team. But Mark was the apex of the whole care structure built around Justin. He was the one who had the ultimate final say on everything. James was right, they had to tread carefully because Justin needed his dad so much. He would for the rest of his life. He was clinically disabled and he wouldn't be cured. "Look, there's something else I need to table here. Because it's not just Justin's wellbeing to consider. To be honest, seeing how severe this episode is for Justin and listening to his speech patterns, extracting why he is saying certain things, in certain ways, it wouldn't surprise me if she was trying to blackmail him. The whole time I've had Justin as a patient, he has never reacted to a situation by wanting to hurt anyone else. It's always been hurting himself. I don't think that dramatic change in wanting his mother dead is just an added symptom. I think it's a cause."

"But, Justin used hard drugs this time. He had Ice and Coke in his system, granted, it wasn't a lot. I think it's likely he only did it that one night. But took both and we don't know if it was injected because he can't remember. We also don't know what he was cutting himself with, but there were infected lacerations. We know he has a history of using whatever he can get his hands on to cut, to release the endorphins and intercept the pain receptors. And I really need help from all of you, because this particular part is on the clock. He was psychotic and can't remember what he did. We can't rule out the chance he used a dirty needle or cut with something dirty. We're running full blood panels and we've taken the first HIV test and put him on PEP. Is there a chance he might've had sex with Sasha that same night? Or do you think he was too sick for it?"
lovesguinness: (031)

[personal profile] lovesguinness 2018-06-04 03:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Hunter's revelation cut close to the bone for Euan. His adopted son, Noah, was Positive and an addict. He was on a good run right now and after a serious relapse that nearly took his life, he was clean again and doing pretty well. He had bad days, but who didn't. Euan was equipped to weigh-in on this whole thing not just as a NYPD Captain with a long history of being a cop and a detective, but also as a father of a kid with issues similar to Justin. There was no way to ever know if Noah got infected by a dirty needle or unprotected sex, because when he was homeless and trying to harbour a drug addiction, he prostituted himself to pay drug debts. He wasn't much older than Justin, so Euan was understandably shaken with what Hunter said too. Even though Noah's HIV was really well-controlled with meds and as stable as it could be with little viral-load, no one would ever wish it on anyone, let alone a young person. He hoped Mark had the strength to hold up here, but Euan wouldn't blame him if he wanted to hit the bottle with this amount of horrible shit coming at him hard and fast. Not just the HIV, but now James and Clint putting Euan's own concerns out there as he had been planning to do. Blackmail was one, but revenge was what he had been learning towards, especially after reading through the woman's criminal record. She had prior convictions for drug possession and prostitution, but they hadn't been able to nail her with drug trafficking due to lack of a chain of evidence.

He nodded and cleared his throat. "I was gonna put the revenge thing out there. But if I had t'put m'money on mountin' a case here, I'd go both. I think she's threatened the kid with blackmail, probably some demandin' some substantial amount o'cash 'cause she knows he's loaded from what he's achieved, but I think she's threatened t'take Mark down f'somethin' unless he coughs up the money. Makes sense she'd make it as filthy as she can 'cause she'll want t'try and make it stick aimin' at an attorney. She'd only get one chance. She knows what Mark's capable of, he got the book thrown at her with a maximum sentence. It's probably why the poor kid got so spooked and it messed him up mentally. It ain't a secret he's always been terrified o'losin' Mark. He ends up having a bad episode every time Mark's been poorly. Somethin' like a pedophile accusation sticks f'life, whether ya' innocent or not. She mighta told him it's what she was gonna do. Somethin' 'bout this whole thing has made him remember these parts o'his past now. And honestly, I think the first thing ya' gotta do, Mark, is get on the phone and ask Sash if he had sex with Justin that night. He's only got a small window for PEP. Chances are slim, but these slim chances ya' don't wanna fuck 'bout with."
aussielawyer: (036)

[personal profile] aussielawyer 2018-06-05 06:08 am (UTC)(link)
There was a lot to talk about, but Mark was reeling and his head was spinning. "Fuck, I want to say no, but Sash nearly did lines with Justin to try to ground him again. He challenged him, said whatever Justin was going to do, he'd match it. It worked. It shook Justin enough to knock him off course of taking more drugs. Fuck..." He got up, digging his phone from his pocket and went out onto the connected balcony, already dialing Sasha's number. There was no guarantee he would answer. He hadn't been sleeping well since all this happened with Justin, so his folks, along with Mark and Gen, had been encouraging him to sleep if he felt tired when he was home. The summer school break was nearly here. It was just biding his time for a couple more weeks.

Sasha answered. "Mark? What happened, is Justin okay?"

"Sash, I need you to sit down, mate. I've got something serious I need to ask you and it's going to be a bit of a shock. But I don't want you to panic that I'm calling because something has happened to Jus. His condition hasn't changed. I've got Hunter here with me right now. Are you at home?" Mark asked him.

"I've just pulled up at Mom and Dad's. Whatever it is, I can take it."

Mark closed his eyes. He tucked the phone in between his ear and shoulder and grabbed the packet of cigarettes on the outdoor table. He put one between his lips and lit up with the accompanying lighter. He didn't generally smoke. He might have one socially, but usually it didn't bother him. But if he couldn't have a drink, he needed something to try to get through all this. There was a fury bubbling under the surface because his child was not just under threat, but being used as a weapon against him. None of this was going to end well. "Sash, they don't know what Justin did while he was psychotic. There is a whole gap of time no one was with him and he doesn't know what he did either. He can't remember taking the drugs, much less where he got them from. He's blocked it all out. The concern is, if he injected it, he may have used a contaminated needle. Or if he was cutting while he was psychotic, if the implement was dirty. He has lacerations but he doesn't remember doing that either. Hunter said they're testing Justin and started him on post-exposure medication just in case. But I need to know, kiddo, if you had sex with him at any point beyond his during or beyond his psychosis. Because if you did, we need to get you to the hospital straight away."

"I..." Sasha paused and Mark felt his gut give a sick lurch up towards his throat. He leaned on the railing, the cigarette nestled between his fingers. "He wanted it. I thought it'd help him..." Sasha soon added. Panic could hear the panic in his voice.

"It's okay, kiddo. It's probably just a very tiny risk, but we have to cover you anyway. Can you get your mum to take you to the hospital or even to Walker's clinic? You just need to have the initial test and explain the situation. They'll give you a strong medication to combat it, and reduce any chance you might have. Okay? I can come get you and take you if you need me to," Mark offered. If Sash needed it, everything else could wait.

"I-I'll do it. I'll go now. Fuck. I'm leaving now." Sasha ended the call.

Mark had heard he was shaken. He was relieved the poor kid was at his parents. He would call them in a short while to make sure he got there. He finished off the smoke and stabbed it out in the ashtray before going back inside. "I want the cunt gone. I could take her for attempted murder, but it'll take too much time. Get it done. I don't care how. I'm not letting her harm my son again."
agentcampbell: (093.)

[personal profile] agentcampbell 2018-06-05 02:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Never had James hoped a kid's sexuality could play more in his favour than right now. Sasha had been well and truly part of their family by the time he officially came out as on the asexual-spectrum, so a lot of them had done their learning about it right along with him. James was no exception. He talked to Sasha a lot about it, and had learned some days, Sasha had a general desire for sex with Justin, but other days, he didn't really have any urge for it at all. Things like porn or extended sex scenes in movies made him uncomfortable, and you'd never find him in a strip bar. His exception was Justin, everything else he had no desire for, and never had. But it wasn't the asexual side of his sexuality James was hoping would win out here, he was hoping the part where he only had a desire for Justin might have been dialled down the night Justin was psychotic. In saying that, he had heard the way Sasha had tried to intervene on Justin with the drugs, so he was pretty sure he would've done anything if he thought it might help prevent Justin getting more hurt than he already was. He watched Mark out on the balcony, and as soon as he saw him light up that cigarette, he knew his big brother wasn't coping with any of this. He would keep holding it together as long as he had to, but James knew he had to make sure Mark had any help he needed too.

He didn't ask what Sasha said because he knew Sasha would probably be mortified if he thought anyone was discussing his sex life in any significant way. It would've been why Mark left the room to make the call to start with, and as awful as the situation was, it didn't matter to why they were meeting here today. That was collateral damage to what Justin's mother did, not the root cause of anything. "I care how. I agree, get the bitch burned, but I don't want it coming back on Justin or Mark. Our fucking family have been through enough. It's got to look like natural causes, and I want both your snitches, or connections, or whatever else you have tapped into for information bled dry so no one can put it back on either of them. I'd say aim to make it look like suicide, but nothing would be more o fa kick in the guts to Justin's suffering than that. Natural causes, or find someone willing to go down for the murder to reduce a plea for a loved one. Not an accident, it can be tracked. Not suicide. And I want to be kept informed the whole way. But I don't want anyone else in our family dragged down to it."
livefortoday: (089)

[personal profile] livefortoday 2018-06-05 03:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Hunter wasn't qualified to weigh in on any of this, but he was no wilting flower. If someone did to the people he loved what Justin's mother had done to him, he would be shelling out whatever it took to get them gone too. But he had to intercept here. "Okay, sorry, but I need to butt-in for a minute because I have to go back to the hospital and care for Justin's mental health, so I need to know firstly, what Sasha said, and secondly, if any of the outfall of this will filter back to him in a certain way so I can pre-empt the best care for him. If he and Sasha had any sort of unprotected sex, I'm going to have to tell Justin about it. He's already seeming like he's going to ask to see Sasha when we thought he might not want visitors. I need to know from Mark the best way to go about navigating that with him because we all know blindsiding him is the worst thing we can do. My duty of care here is to Justin, and he's currently in primary mental healthcare on suicide watch. I don't want anyone here to think I'm palming off the rest of the stuff. I'm not. But his life is immediately in my hands here, and Sasha's by default."

Still, he was trying to keep up with what was going on here. "My question is, Justin already asked Clint to get rid of his mother, and he's an intelligent kid. Really intelligent. Some people, for some abhorrent reason, think mental health means brain damaged or intellectually incapacitated, and nothing could be further from the truth in this case. I think the fact he even approached Clint in the way he did without going to anyone else here in this room is indicative of how smart he is, because each of you have professional ladders to tumble a significant distance from. He wasn't psychotic when he asked Clint to do this. I've asked Clint about Justin's demeanour during that meeting, and even if he was spiralling, he had complete clarity in what he was requesting. You don't think he's going want to know what happened if she suddenly turns up dead? I don't know enough about his history with her to know how this will impact on him and his mental health is extremely volatile right now."
lovesguinness: (188)

[personal profile] lovesguinness 2018-06-09 05:18 pm (UTC)(link)
"Aye, look... I gotta kid who's Positive, and I can tell ya'll that I went t'hell and back w'him when w'were findin' out, and that was before he was even m'kid. I get what it's like t'have sick kids and it's seriously the fuckin' hardest thing a parent can do. Ya' fuck it up all o'er the place tryin' t'just get it right, and even then, ya' got no clue what should be right and what shouldn't. And I know the fuckin' justice system in this fuckin' country is up the fuckin's shite and then some. The cunt's always gonna find a way t'try t'fuck him up. I think it's revenge she's wantin'. And probably fuckin' money. Kid's loaded, she'll probably be thinkin' he owes her. I don't think it's gonna get us any further forward if we sit back and let the system take o'er. So, even if I'm gonna turn a blind eye, ya' don't need me t'tell ya' what I'd do if I was in this position, mate. I done the same f'my kids. And I'd do it all o'er again if I had't." Euan shook his head, because it was atrocious they even had to be discussing this at all. As if the kid's potential self-imposed death sentence wasn't a battle enough for him to cope with.

He gestured to Hunter. "Hunter's right. I've seen horrifically fucked up kids been through less trauma than this kid, and there'll never be goin' back f'em. Right fuckin' messed up, some o'em endin' up rapists or mass murderers 'cause they didn't get the help for the mess in their heads when they needed it the most. That's the difference here. The kid has bucketloads o'help and many folk who love 'im dearly. That's gonna keep him alive the best it can, but I don't think he's gonna survive draggin' the cunt through another court case. Months and months on end o'im tryin' t'wait out the end result, just t'see if she'll get some fuckin' extended sentence. Then what? She tries to fuckin' get t'him again in another year? Make whatever call ya' need t'make as a dad, mate. Forget the fact ya' a fuckin' attorney. That ain't the more important job here. Justice ain't the most important outcome. Ya' kid still havin' life's breath is. Alright? We've all got ya' back. And if ya' want Clint t'take care o'it without ya' input t'focus on ya' kid, just say the word."
aussielawyer: (018)

[personal profile] aussielawyer 2018-06-10 06:06 am (UTC)(link)
Mark had gratitude beyond words every day that he had mates who understood the difficult task of parenting a kid with issues. There were many times they offered sound advice when he was poised to fuck up out of anger or plain distress about missing so many years of Justin's life. Years that were filled with abuse and neglect, and pain that kept an undiagnosed mental illness exacerbated and life-threatening. He knew it was a miracle Justin ever found him. Barely hanging onto his life, but he was one of the best things Mark ever did. But Justin's batshit crazy mother stole those vital years from him. He could've known the kid since he was born, but she chose to instead take her fucked up anger towards him out on the kid. He was starting to realise there was a reason he didn't remember sleeping with her, even if she had a reputation for being a slut on campus. There was a good chance she roofied him, he knew that. And closing in on two decades later, he still felt stupid for it. But he was a cocky SOB back then, basking in the glory of being the top of his Ivy League class and destined for greatness. He shouldered the blame that was his.

He nodded, trying to form some semblance of organised chaos on his head. But maybe it was impossible to organise because it was so fucking incomprehensible that someone would want to harm an innocent child. That would always be an incomprehensible fact. It just made you lose your shit and cripple your brain from working succinctly when the innocent child was yours, that you made and would sacrifice your own life to protect. "Okay. Get it done. And if it can be a slow and painful death, even better. Not that anything will make up for torturing a kid for fifteen straight years of his life, but small mercies. Make it clean and untraceable. I want to know when it's done."