vague memory of a bully (Amerricaaa!)

[Deleted]

"Tough break" That was what Ben had been told for the past several hours. He could easily say that he was rusty. He hadn't taken a case in a few weeks. The reason he was now? To get away from Jonathan. He knew he couldn't stop what was happening. He had tried, and he had tried to put an end to the abuse. It just made it worse. Ben felt helpless. So, he needed an escape, and he found it in his cases. He had devoted all of his time to this case. And what had happened? He had lost.

It wasn't a complete failure. The words not guilty never rang out. Instead, it was a mistrial. There was a problem with one of the witnesses. The Judge decided that she was pressured into giving the statement that put the guy in jail. It especially didn't help that she retracted it. That made them question every other piece of evidence. Because, it was her statement that led to the collection of everything else. It was a big mess.

He mainly blamed the detectives. He didn't know what went on during the investigation. Maybe the witness was playing them all. That could very well be possible. But, he found it easier to blame Kennedy and McKay.

He stared at the beer. What was it? His eleventh? Twelfth? Something like that. Slamming the mug down, he pointed to it. He wanted another one, dammit. "Keep it comin, Mister Barrtender" he slurred out as he got his next beer. He guzzled a third of it down before setting the mug down. "Fucking detectives. Bastards."

[America Kennedy]

Once a case went to trial, it was out of his hands. At that point, he was helpless to what happened next. Sometimes, it was hard to watch, because you wanted the guy to meet justice. America wouldn't stand behind an arrest unless he believed in it. And when they had a suspect that made it all the way to that process, at that point, he was more than positive of the arrest. There was conviction behind what he did and working in homicide, of course he wanted the person to go away for a long time. At the end of the day, he did this because he didn't want scum like that walking around. People deserved to have some safety and while he couldn't help a victim after the fact, because in homicide, most of the victims he would deal with were going to be dead already, he could give their family some justice. And he could keep the bastard from hurting anyone else. But, that wasn't his job to do. He got the person off the streets, he made sure the evidence lined up and then it was up to the courts to make damn sure that justice was served. And it was a flawed system, like it always had been. But, today he felt those flaws a little more. The case was lost. And it frustrated him, only because he was so damn sure of it. And for it to be a mistrial, that made it that much worse. It meant that fingers were going to get pointed at them, which he thought was ridiculous. There was no pressure involved. Nothing more than the usual questioning techniques.

When he approached the bar, he didn't at first recognize who he sank down onto a stool next to and instead focused on the bartender, ordering his drink. As soon as it landed on the table, he picked it up, slamming back a drink before his eyes turned to the mumbling man just a seat away from him. "Oh, look who it is." He noted, because of course he blamed the lawyer for it. The prosecutor was the one that was supposed to prove the case, and he hadn't. "Drowning in your fucking failure?" He asked, because, yeah, he was annoyed. And America, while professionally tried to be polite sometimes, wasn't exactly known for shutting up when he should. No, instead, he was the type that was more than ready to open up and say whatever the hell was on his mind.

[Deleted]

Once more, her phone vibrated. He looekd down at it and scowled. Jonathan. He was due home hours ago. Which meant, Ben was going to be wearing shades for the next several days. Ben knew his life was fucked up. What could he do, though? Abuse wasn't easy to deal with. Ben would rather not right then. He was with his best friend: beer. And the two were going to be hanging out for a while. Because, it wouldn't make things worse at all. It was already going to be bad. So, he might as well act like he didn't care.

When he heard Kennedy, Bens eyes raised and scoffed. "This is no place for twelve year olds. You better get on home, it's past your fucking bedtime." He thought it was appropriate. When Ben first met him, he had called him a kid. Now that he had messed up this case, it was that much more appropriate. He didn't want to be bothered by the juvenile delinquent. If he wanted to deal with kids, he would have gone home to Megan, Hayleigh, and Matt.