Ties That Bind -- Chapter 13
Another chapter, I hope you like it. :) Chapter 13 Ben-Gali paced about the conference room waiting for Tygra to get there. He had a meeting with his brother tiger and what he had to say was going to have a huge impact on the way things were. After a few more minutes of pacing the architect walked into the room. He locked the door and then sat down at the table. “Please tell me you have good news.” Tygra said. “I wish.” Ben-Gali replied as he took a seat next to his comrade. The orange tiger closed his eyes and let out a sigh. “I printed some stills for you to see.” The blacksmith continued as he pulled the photos out of the folder he held. Tygra took them and flipped through them. “This makes no sense.” He said. “That’s what I thought. I know that all the cameras were working before Lion-O went on shift but when I took a look at the cameras I got nothing but snow from the one that views the hallway near the control room. I have no image of Lion-O ever leaving the control room but I do have images of him entering and leaving Leanna’s room.” Ben-Gali shook his head. “Let’s say for hypothetical purposes that he shut off the camera in front of the control room. Why would he leave on the other cameras that he knew were there? That and when Leanna reported the crime, he knows that we would look at the tapes first thing, so if they had been shut off we’d suspect something.” The orange tiger said. “Exactly. There is no way to cover his tracks so why would he even try? I just don’t see him being able to cheat on Cheetara or hurting Leanna either. So what’s next?” The blacksmith wondered. “Well I’m afraid that my news isn’t any better. Pumyra looked at Lion-O’s mouth and took a photo and a mold to match it to the photos of the bite mark on Leanna and it’s a conclusive match.” Tygra told him. “So the bite mark matches and we have no way to confirm his story of being in the bathroom except for the fact that Panthro punched him as he exited the room. The worst of it is the photos prove that he was in Leanna’s room.” Ben-Gali heaved a sigh and scratched the back of his head. “The next step is to hold a counsel meeting to decide Lion-O’s fate. After which I will have to inform him of our decision.” The orange tiger explained. “Good luck getting an unbiased vote out of that. I can tell you right now Cheetara, Snarf, Pumyra, and I will be very hard pressed to believe he did it. It’s not that we don’t believe Leanna but we just don’t see Lion-O being capable of something like that. Panthro won’t give you a good vote either. That leaves the Kittens, Snarfer, and you. An even number makes voting very difficult that and I doubt that anyone will actually want to convict the Lord of the ThunderCats.” Ben-Gali pointed out. “So what should we do? If I take this public and have a jury of Thunderians judge him that will ruin Lion-O if it turns out to be untrue. However if I handle this internally and the news leaks then it will look like we’re trying to hide something, especially after Lion-O is dethroned.” Tygra put his head in his hands, his head hurt. “I wish Lynx-O was here, he’d know what to do.” The white tiger sighed. “He certainly would. Well I think the next thing we should do is hold a meeting. Lay the evidence out so that Lion-O understands the charges and the evidence we have and then hold a vote of those who believe they can be unbiased.” The architect nodded firmly. “And what if no one thinks they can do it?” Ben-Gali wanted to know. “Then I have a big decision to make.” Tygra half-smiled and stood up. “Have Pumyra gather everything and we’ll hold the meeting in here in about twenty minutes.” He continued. The blacksmith nodded and left the room to find his wife. It wasn’t long before the group gathered inside the counsel room. Panthro held onto Leanna and led her to a seat as the others gathered. The last ones into the room were Lion-O and Cheetara. She refused to believe what she had been told and stood by her mate. Tygra watched as the lion passed by Leanna. He was surprised that the lioness didn’t try to get away from him or even turn to Panthro for emotional support. The thoughts left him as he addressed the group. “We all know why we’re gathered here. Leanna charges that Lion-O assaulted her and with the evidence collected it is time for everyone to know the case before us.” The orange tiger then proceeded to show all the evidence to everyone and once that had sunk in he turned to his comrades. “First, Lion-O do you understand the charges and do you understand that if found guilty that you will be stripped of your title and rank and will no longer be a ThunderCat?” Tygra asked. “I do.” The Lord of the ThunderCats answered. “Second, I now ask of those present, who believes they could be completely unbiased when weighing the evidence?” Not much to his surprise, no one in the room raised their hands. “Then the next course for us is to take this to the Thunderian court system and have Lion-O judges by a group of his Thunderian peers. Before we adjourn, Leanna would you like to say anything?” Tygra wondered. The lioness nodded and shakily rose from her seat. She walked over to the lion and placed her hands on his massive arms. Everyone in the room was shocked by this and waited with bated breath to see what would happen next. The lioness looked into Lion-O’s sad eyes and saw what she was looking for. She turned to the group and said, “He didn’t do it. These are not the eyes of the cat who attacked me.” Silence filled the room and no one noticed the fly on the wall fly from the spot on the wall into the air duct. To Be Continued…