Seven of Spades2: Trick Roller

Durham had an expression on his face that he was torturing Dominic to death in his head, but he forced himself to be calm and said, "Do you believe that 'Seven of Spades' intervened that night to help protect Officer Abrams?"

"Yes, I said in my testimony that I thought Mr Barton was trying to blame Seven of Spades for his wife's murder and that Seven of Spades was very angry with him. Officer James said he would kill Barton himself if he had any chance of getting away with it. I think 'Seven of Spades' took to himself the whole thing after seeing Barton get off guard and break into the officer's hotel room Feeling guilty, the character in "Seven of Spades" contacted me to save people. Then, just to be sure, "Seven of Spades" cut off the hotel's electrical system. This person knew that Officer Abrams was trained to do things in the dark like Barton didn't. The advantages."

"That's an interesting explanation," Durham said, clasping his hands tightly around his waist. "So, do you agree with Officer Abrams that Keith Chapman was framed and the real The 'Seven of Spades' is still alive?"

"Yes." Dominic said without hesitation.

The crowd became noisy, and Durham waited for the court to calm down and said: "You must trust your companion."

"He's just the kind of guy who's easy to trust," Dominique said.

Levi swallowed the soreness in his throat due to excitement, and stared down at his hands, but he could still see Martin smiling out of the corner of his eye.

"However, I have my own reasons for thinking so. Officer Abrams and I were two of the few people who witnessed Keith Chapman's final hours. I was there to listen to him Telling it myself, and seeing his demeanor up close, I realized he was very ill. I don't know if that would make sense to someone who wasn't there, but there's no way Chapman was 'the spade' Seven'. That is, impossible."

Standing in front of the witness stand, Durham was bewildered and seemed to have to change tactics again.

"Mr. Russo, I will not question your honesty," he said, as if he hadn't done so for the past 10 minutes. Generally, can't thank you enough for that."

"Thank you," Dominic said dryly.

"You are obviously a very noble and loyal person. But unfortunately, for a good person like you, there are always people who want to take advantage of your kindness."

Dominic looked at him blankly.

"You heard gunfire from the guest room where Officer Abrams was, but you didn't see it. All we know about the struggle is the testimony of the officer and Mr. Barton. The gun found at the scene was not registered, its owner could not be traced, and the body of the gun was covered with the fingerprints of both people."

"That's right, but after Barton was arrested that night, his hands were tested for gunshot residue."

"Is it possible that Mr. Barton shot Officer Abrams in self-defense?"

"None," said Dominique.

Durham raised an eyebrow. "That's it? Just 'nothing'?"

"That's it." Dominic's body language seemed less relaxed.

"Oh no." Levi murmured.It's not easy to piss off Dominic, but he does have a sore spot.His greatest weakness was gambling, but Durham must not have known it, or he would have brought it up.

Another weakness of his is Levy, and Durham is right on this point.

"We know from Officer Abrams' testimony that he is a highly trained fighter with the ability and propensity to commit serious violence. His obsession with the 'Seven of Spades' has made his job difficult. Meanwhile , You have deep feelings for him, you rushed to rescue him with just an anonymous text message, and you have unwaveringly supported him since then."

"Lawyer, please state your case," Sanchez said.Dominic looked at Durham coldly.

"Is it possible that, as my client said, Officer Abrams, with malice, took Mr. Barton to his guest room, and then texted you himself knowing you would not question his account ?”

"That's crazy," Dominique said, "suggesting that Levi's fake 'Seven of Spades'? You're not serious, are you?"

Durham shrugged. "It's possible that Officer Abrams is the 'seven of spades.'"

These words instantly caused an uproar in the arena.Levy seemed to have been punched in the stomach, his body swayed, and he fell heavily on the back of the wooden chair.Martin gripped his arm tightly, as if thinking he might jump, but even if he wanted to, his legs wouldn't let it.Dominic's face on the witness stand sank, full of anger.

Sanchez asked several times to follow the order, to no avail.Amid the uproar, Wu shouted: "I object, Your Honor, my God! Such speculation is crazy and baseless."

Before Sanchez could respond, Durham said, "I withdraw." But the damage had already been done.Words spoken cannot be taken back from the jury's ears, even if the judge directs that the statement be ignored.

Sanchez eventually took control of order in the courtroom.Levy dared not look at anyone but Dominick, and Dominic didn't look back; he stared at Durham with a frown.

"You have no idea what the fuck you're talking about," he said.

"Mr. Russo, please be careful with your language." Sanchez sounded tortured.

"Sorry, Your Honor. But I can't just sit here and let this talk go." Dominique leaned over and said directly to Durham, "Drew Barton killed his wife, and Officer Abrams proved This, so Barton wants to kill him. It's that simple. He is the best person I have ever met, and you want to slander him now, just to maintain this kind of scum—"

"Mr. Russo!"

"—but you're not going to get away with it, because you're taking it too far. 'Seven of Spades' has been such a hassle for Officer Abrams, and your insinuation is the most disgusting thing I've ever heard .You should be ashamed of yourself." He sat back, folded his arms and said, "Sorry, Your Honor. This has to be said."

She nodded wearily.Listening to Dominic's speech, Durham took two steps back and glanced at the jury.

He was wrong.He angered Levi, and that anger was defensive in nature, which would have aroused disgust and even fear in some people.Dominic's anger, on the contrary, is angry for someone he cares about, and it comes across very differently.Now Dominic looks irritable, but it's all about defending her boyfriend, while Durham looks like a bully who bullies others too much.

"I'm done," said Durham.

"Very good." Sanchez tapped the gavel. "I think that's enough for today. We'll be back in court tomorrow morning and I want to hear more solid facts, not wild assumptions."

Durham returned to the dock honestly.After the judge left, Levy whispered to Martin, "I gotta get out of here." in this way.

He left from the public entrance of the District Court, where two rows of palm trees were planted along the long steps in front of the building, and he walked quickly to the shade of a tree next to the first flight of steps.Leaning his shoulders against the tree trunk, he ran his hands through his hair and took several deep breaths.

A group of police officers, including Jonah Gibbs, were standing on the side of the road, talking and laughing.Levy hoped they wouldn't notice him; Gibbs' face was the last thing he wanted to deal with right now.

"Hey," Dominique said from behind him, "how are you?"

Levi turned to face him and Martin. "Well, I've just been accused of being a serial killer in public, so, no, I'm not having a great day."

"That's not his real purpose," Martin said. "He just wanted to piss off Dominic and ruin the impression you two are giving. You can see that."

It was true, but Levi didn't feel much better.He had planned to have a few drinks after the trial, but now the desire became more urgent. "I just want you to take me home and get me so drunk that I won't recognize anyone," he said to Dominic.

"That's four—"

"Never mind it."

Durham and Barton emerged from the building, their heads together talking.Levi tensed from head to toe.

When Durham saw the group of them, he smiled and walked up to them, followed closely by Barton. "Officer, what a coincidence, I met you here."

Levy was thinking about how to respond to him other than yelling and punching him in the face, when there was a "bang" in the street, and someone slammed the car door hard, and his attention was drawn away.ABC's Vegas station's television interview van stopped before his eyes, and a reporter got out with a cameraman.In a few seconds, the cars of three other news media arrived.

"You called the reporter?" he asked in disbelief.

"My client wants to make a public statement, and that is his right."

"You can't get away with doing that to me," Barton said to Levy, but a smirk appeared on his face, ruining his image of an innocent victim.

Without even thinking about it, Levi lunged forward.Dominic took a step forward to block him, gripped his elbows tightly, and said, "No, yes, move."

"You turned this trial into a sideshow," Martin said, staring at Durham with utter disdain. "Have you no respect for your profession?"

"By respect, do you mean like some cop who beats people to the bone and knocks them unconscious?"

Levy desperately tried to break free from Dominic's grip, and Dominic shook him hard, gnashing his teeth into his ear and said, "I swear to God, if you don't calm me down again, I'll fuck your shoulders Carry it up and go."

"You can't do it." Thinking of that scene, Levi was furious.

"In order not to make you stupid and ruin your career? I really want to show it to you kid."

Before the two of them could say anything, a group of noisy reporters and cameras flashing non-stop filled the steps.The police officers on the street noticed the commotion here, but they only observed from a distance.Levy tried to pull out, but reporters surrounded him on all sides, causing him to be squeezed next to Barton, with Dominique on his other side.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming," Durham said loudly. "Across the country we've seen signs of corruption within police departments; we've seen unprincipled officers abusing Intimidation, harassment, and even physical violence against innocent citizens they protect.

"My God, no," said Martin.Hearing a rich white man describe another rich white man in this way, Levi can only imagine how angry Martin should be.

"However, I personally cannot tolerate such injustice. My client has been unfairly targeted—"

boom!

Barton's head exploded, spattering Levi with blood and bone fragments.Before he could flinch, Dominic threw him to the ground and shouted desperately: "Sniper!"

On the steps in front of the courthouse, there was a sudden commotion.There were frantic screams, and everyone fled in all directions, so scared that you pushed and shoved each other, trying to escape from here.One reporter stepped on a fallen camera, crushing it to pieces; another slipped and fell heavily in Barton's blood.

Levi didn't move at all, and Dominic pulled him cat-likely behind the palm trees that barely provided cover.Crouching behind a nearby tree, Martin spoke eagerly into the walkie-talkie while holding a gun in one hand.The gunshots came from an indoor parking lot on the diagonally opposite street, and the police officers here took cover as much as possible and fired in that direction at the same time.

"Don't shoot if you don't see a sniper!" Dominique yelled at them. "There's someone in that building! Idiot!"

Levi stared at Barton's body slumped on the steps.Surrounding sounds faded into the background, like the roar of a distant ocean.

"Levi. Levi!" Dominique patted his face. "They wouldn't let me bring my gun into court. I didn't have a gun with me."

Levi didn't hear what he was saying.There was only one sound he was still listening for, but hadn't heard yet—the second shot.

Dominique called his name a few more times, but Levi didn't answer, so he said "I'm sorry," then reached into Levi's jacket and pulled the gun from its holster.He checked the magazine and asked, "God, Martin, don't your guys know how to deal with urban snipers?"

"Only the theory," she said bitterly, "they haven't seen anything like this before." She began barking orders, ordering the deputies to follow standard procedure by breaking up into squads and outflanking potential sniper positions from multiple angles.

Levi stood up.

"Wow!" Dominic reached out and grabbed his wrist decisively. "Levy, what are you doing? Get down!"

With a simple defensive move, Levi broke free from his wrists—as naturally as breathing—and walked over to Barton's body.Blood trickled down his face and into his mouth, and he spat on the ground, but didn't stop.

Without cover, he was completely exposed in the open, but he didn't care.Regardless of whether the "Seven of Spades" shot himself or hired someone to shoot, its purpose has been achieved.

Barton's head was like a blasted melon, and the paste was scattered all over the concrete floor, which was even more messy than Keith Chapman's brain-splattered suicide scene.The Durham man was gone.

Dominic yelled and ran out, blocking Levi and the indoor parking lot.Levy knew that the danger had passed, so he didn't stop him.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"It's all right," Levi said, and he could hear the numbness in his tone. "Barton was the only target. The shooter is gone."

"you do not know--"

A terrified yell came from behind, and the two turned sharply, but the officer who yelled was not injured.She pointed across the street.

A few months ago, a number of three-sided kiosks that played simple video ads on a loop were installed on some streets in the city.At this very moment, they saw each side of each advertising kiosk on Lewis Avenue being extinguished one by one, and replaced by the same image: a rotating 3D-style "Seven of Spades" card against a black background.

Levy was overwhelmed by the sense of unreality, and he slowly walked up the steps and came to the sidewalk, getting closer and closer involuntarily.Barton's blood was still hot, covering his face and chest, but the discomfort seemed far away, as if his consciousness was suspended outside his body.Dominique and Martin stood on both sides of him, and he stopped, waiting for the follow-up.

The whole street was silent.

A line of shiny gold words appeared on each display screen at the same time, facing the bottom of the card:

Gambling reopened

-The End-

[1] KTNV, a television station under the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that mainly covers Las Vegas and the rest of Nevada.