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My Manipulated Misfortune	By : FlayraDowitcher Category: +G to L > Hetalia: Axis Powers Views: 2030 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. This fic is for fun. I'm not making any money off of this fanfiction

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
***Warnings: Language, adult content, mentions of violence, humor

***Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. This fic is for fun and I am making no money off of it.

Chapter 14

"How is my brother?" Gilbert asked Roderich from his bed. After Ludwig's mishap, the nurses and Roderich had to force Gilbert out of his brother's room. They ended up having to sedate him with a low dose of valium, which helped him to remain calm. Eventually he had fallen asleep and woke up to find Roderich sitting beside him.

"He is in stable condition. Everything is alright now."

"What happened? Do you know?" Gilbert forced himself to sit up in the bed.

"His heart rate dropped due to something they had given him. Do not worry yourself over it. As I said, everything is fine."

"Can I see him?"

Roderich shook his head. "He is still resting, which is best for him. Ludwig is going to need all of his wits and strengths about him to get through the next couple of weeks."

Awkward silence fell between them for a moment, until Gilbert spoke. "So…we're going to be roommates?"

"Yes."

"And you know that Ludwig is mine, right?"

Roderich blinked at him, slightly surprised. "I beg your pardon?"

Gilbert chuckled. "I'm joking with you! It's just, you know, I could see someone like you having the hots for Ludwig since you're both on a smart level with each other."

"How absurd!" Roderich nearly squeaked out. "When have I ever given off the impression that I would hold interest for my friend and schoolmate? We share rent, that is all!"

"Ooooo, seems like I struck a nerve." He wiggled his brows. "If you did not care at all, then you would have given me a simple 'no'. Instead, you had to run off with diarrhea of the mouth."

"Nonsense!" He flushed an angry red. "How dare you-!" He stopped himself when he saw Gilbert's victorious smirk. "Oh!" He huffed in frustration. "There is just no use in reasoning with rabble! Good day!"

"Rabble? Who you callin' a 'rabble'?"

"You may tell your brother that I will be visiting my father for a few days to help with HIS case! Hmph!"

Gilbert waited until Roderich was far enough away to get out of bed. Carefully, he held onto the plastic bar railings while he wiggled his toes to get the blood flow back in his feet. It was not a far walk to the wheelchair, but one stumble or wiggle and he would go crashing down. He placed a gentle amount of weight on his first foot, then slowly added more pressure. He repeated the process with the other foot until he was standing perfectly erect. "Ha! I knew I could do it!"

There was still the distance from the bed to the chair he had to make. Taking a deep breath, Gilbert placed one foot forward, then the other. He grew more confidant with each little step and when he reached the wheelchair, he gave a 'whoop' of victory. Gilbert sat in the chair, unlocked the wheels, and made his way to Ludwig's room. No one stopped him and he was able to make it to the room without trouble. His chair hit the corner of the door as he wheeled in and gave a little curse.

Ludwig peeked open a blue eye at the sound of a thump in his room. Both eyes opened to look at him. "Are you well enough to be out of bed on your own?"

"I'm here to see you. Your injury is worse than mine."

"Your bandage is off of your eye. Why?"

"Ah, I took it off because it was starting to bother me. I don't really need it. Give me an eye patch instead! I bet I'd look awesome!" Gilbert said with a laugh and locked his wheels before he stood. He carefully walked over to the bed and sat beside Ludwig. "This is strange, huh? Now it's me sitting on the hospital bed next to you."

Ludwig smiled softly. "Yes. The roles are reversed. I really am alright. It is a large wound and I will be slightly bald there for a long time, but it is not life threatening."

"Uh, and what about your heart rate dropping? That's life threatening!"

"It was a bad reaction to some of the medicines, that is all. You do not need to worry. Plus, I will be out of here soon and all of you are coming with me to my apartment." He chuckled at Gilbert's massive grin. "Roderich will be there to help change my bandage and I am well aware of medical healing procedures."

"Hey, maybe I want to change your bandages! You are my baby brother after all. What kind of big brother would I be if I didn't help you out more?"

Ludwig stared at him. "I do not think of you as my brother."

Gilbert chuckled. "Yeah, I know. I guess I just like the idea of having a brother…because I never really had a family." He leaned down to rest his forehead against Ludwig's. "But now, I have a lover. And you are damn lucky to have me, Mr. Ludwig!"

Ludwig raised a brow. "And why is that?"

The albino tossed his head back and stood up, posing proudly along side the bed. Ludwig just blinked in pure confusion. "I am the truly awesome and magnificent Gilbert! I am a dashingly handsome and exotic male who is the perfect lover! I can sing, dance, fight, and much, much more! Men desire me because I'm so damn sexy and hard to handle! Chicks cream when they see me, for this awesome piece of Grade A German wurst is sterile, baby! I am every woman's pleasurable birth control on two legs! THAT'S what you are getting, my friend!"

"I do not know you anymore."

"HA! That's because you're a snooty school boy who doesn't know anything about gay sex or the awesomeness of a woman's-"

"That is enough!"

"Please tell me you have porn in your bathroom?"

"NO!" Ludwig flushed an angry red. "We have Reader's Digest and science magazines!"

Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Oh boy…'and fun times were had by all'."

"You are no longer invited." Ludwig firmly teased in his own stoic way.

"Oh Luddy, you're such a card!" Gilbert went back over and hugged him.

"A what?"

"Nevermind. You are such an unhip nerd."

/

Three days later, Roderich had finally arrived home after his short family visit. He stepped out of the filthy cab, eager to get into the shower and wash off the city slime. Little did he know of the mayhem that would greet him when he opened that door. Roderich entered the apartment foyer and immediately froze at the messy environment. Slowly, he stepped up onto the floor and looked around. His apartment, as Ludwig promised, was a newer version of the 'It's a Small World' ride.

In the kitchen, Antonio and Yao were having a flour fight, blowing puffs of the powdery substance into each other's faces. Arthur was in the kitchen as well, and opened their oven to release a black cloud of smoke. It filled the air to join with the white of the flour. In the living room, Ivan was gnawing on their plastic decorative plant while Kiku sat beside Roderich's large Ming vase. The Asian man seemed to be feeling the designs on the vase. Heracles had somehow fallen asleep on his piano and Sadiq was calmly smoking a hookah while reading one of Roderich's antique music history books.

Now, there was a chance that Ivan would choke on plastic, Heracles would drool on his keys, Kiku would knock over his vase, Arthur would set off the smoke alarms, and Sadiq would accidentally rip his book. But with a 'plastic' smile, he continued through the apartment. It didn't matter that Alfred was drawing on the walls and Matthew was eating a package of Oreo cookies…dropping crumbs everywhere. The important thing was that everyone was safe and sound. Now, for that much needed shower.

He opened the bathroom door and noticed that his Science and Music Weekly magazines were on the sink counter, not in the magazine rack. Calmly, he noticed the albino sitting naked on his toilet, holding a copy of the latest 'Hussler'. SOMEONE was in the shower.

"Oh, hey Rod! Welcome back! You might want to wait to shower tomorrow. Francis will eat up all the hot water."

With a twitch of his curl, he put on another plastic smile. "Oh, what a shame."

"Yeah, and hey, when you go to your school or office or whatever, think you can pick up something to get everything moving? From all those meds and crap, I'm clogged up like a bear hibernating in the winter!"

The shower curtain suddenly opened. "Do you think it is time for a trim?" He asked Gilbert.

"I think you're fine, dude. When you start looking like a long nosed Goldie Locks I'll trim it myself."

"Sorry to…interrupt your…bathroom conversation." Roderich said slowly.

"Hey, no sweat man." Gilbert grinned.

Francis held out his arm in offering. "You can shower with me if you need to?"

"How very thoughtful, but I think I will pass. Have a pleasant evening."

"You too, bro!"

Roderich slowly closed the bathroom door, while tripping over a laughing and running Alfred. He managed to catch himself with help of the wall. He looked over and shivered when he saw Ivan on the floor, peeking around the corner wall of the hall at him. Ivan stuck his hand out just a bit to twiddle his fingers in Roderich's direction. There was a loud 'DUNG' sound from his piano, which meant that Heracles had fallen off the bench, dragging fingers heavily along the keys. Roderich slowly retreated to his locked room, opening it with the door key. He did not bother to seek out Ludwig. The man probably used his skills as a doctor to sign himself out of the hospital. Instead, he locked the door behind him, dressed in his pajamas, and curled up into a tight ball on the bed.

/

Ludwig lay calmly in his bed, waiting for the pain pills to put him to sleep. His bed had to be pushed to the far wall so that Gilbert's hospice bed could be properly placed. When the door opened and Gilbert walked in, Ludwig sat up immediately. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Gilbert grinned. "A little whoozy."

"You need your medicine. Dress into your sleepwear and get in your bed before you collapse."

"Yes doctor." Gilbert followed the orders, dressing and settling himself into the bed. He pressed the button to lower the bed back to a comfortable position. He watched as Ludwig prepared the I.V. needle and bag. Gilbert looked at his left hand, counting the pink spots on top of the faint blue veins. "Ludwig…how long will it be until I won't need those things?"

"It will only be for a bit longer, then we will move to simple injections. Please bear with it a little longer. Give me your hand."

Gilbert relaxed his hand on the side bar and hissed slightly when Ludwig stuck the long needle into the middle vein. No matter how often he had these damn things, they always threatened to make him vomit. Ludwig covered it with the clear protective sticker.

"You are set for the evening." Ludwig gave him a simple smile. "We have to appear in court tomorrow. Are you prepared?"

Gilbert closed his eyes. "Damn…I was trying to forget, but now you made me remember. I guess I am. I want to see those damn doctors fry! Are you sure you are okay for this? You are very calm at escaping death."

"I am simply thankful to be alive. I know this issue will be settled in court, so I will not let it bother me. And, you will have your chance to see those doctors punished."

"On a happier note, when will you be healthy enough for sexual activity?" Gilbert asked with a pout.

"Please, let us get the first court day over with. It will be here before we know it." He gave Gilbert a kiss on the forehead. "Sleep now, Gilbert. You need your strength for tomorrow."

"Yeah…goodnight Ludwig. I love you."

"…I love you too."

Gilbert knew emotions were difficult for Ludwig to express at this point, but he knew the man was sincere in his own quirky way. Pale lips smiled at the figure settling into the bed next to him. How he wished he could lay with Ludwig right now. Sleep would come hard to him for the courtroom trial had him worried.

Gilbert imagined himself in that courtroom and in what seemed like a few seconds, he was there for real~

"I shall like to call my first witness to the stand, Gilbert Beilschmidt." Ludwig's father called, his voice echoing in the large room.

Everyone's eyes followed Gilbert as he stood on wobbly legs and made his way to the stand. An officer helped to guide him up and the albino took the seat with a heavy sigh of relief. Gilbert's eyes met Ludwig's and his brother nodded to him. Gilbert looked to his father next, who wore a mask of pure seriousness.

"Mr. Beilschmidt, how long do you think you've been a patient at VOX?"

Gilbert counted on his fingers as he thought. "Um…I'm not sure but I would think about a couple of months…maybe half a year?"

"And in that time, could you explain to the court what procedures were done to you? Keep in mind that medical knowledge is not necessary in your explanation. Just try and describe everything they did to you from your point of view."

Gilbert looked over to the defendant's table where Dr. Carty sat very still, staring intently at him. "Well…when I first arrived there I had no clue what it was. In all honesty, I thought I was safe because they took me away from a prostitution ring. They were going to take my best friends away because they had medical issues and I begged to go with them. The doctors said they were going to help all three of us and I believed them."

"So you willingly went along because they provided you with an escape from the sex ring."

Gilbert nodded. "Yeah. Then we were all split up and put in different rooms. Then they started coming in and doing things to me. Taking my blood, poking me with needles…" Gilbert felt the courtroom start to grow hot. "They…uh…they didn't like how I would fight and curse at them so…so the third day I was there they…they decided to break my ankles so I was more controllable."

The courtroom gasped and the defendant's lawyer shot up. "Objection, your honor! Permission to clarify the statement!" The judge gave permission. "Mr. Beilschmidt's 'memory' of this incident stems from heavy drug withdraw. When he was taken from the ring, the pimps there had everyone high as kites on a daily basis. It made sex with customers easier. Mr. Beilschmidt started to suffer from massive hallucinations, in which he thought the doctors were attacking him when in reality they were trying to calm him. In his mass hysteria, he broke his own ankles."

"YOU'RE FULL OF SHIT!" Gilbert shouted at the other lawyer and the judge hammered his gavel.

"ORDER! Mr. Beilschmidt, you will refrain from such language and outbursts while in my courtroom!"

Gilbert gulped. "Y-Yes sir. Sorry. I didn't know that." He gave a sheepish smile.

Ludwig had to bite gently on his fist at the assumption, hoping the jury would not buy into something like that.

"Proceed." The judge waved for Ludwig's father to continue.

"Aside from the incident you just spoke of, what began to follow in the upcoming days?"

Gilbert felt himself growing anxious. All eyes were on him, some pitying, some judging. "Um…after that I guess came experiments. They always told us that these experiments would help a vast number of people get better. I was temporarily blinded before since they wanted to see if the pigment or whatever could come back into my eyes. Recently, Carty blinded me in my left eye with my own I.V. needle!" He unconsciously brought his hand up to rub at his eye. "They took away slices of my skin, pulled out my back teeth without Novocain, beat me black and blue…and would often…have their way with me."

"And all this in the name of medical science." Ludwig's father said to the judge.

"Objection your hon-"

"Silence." The judge pointed the gavel at the other lawyer. "Before you make a statement yourself, I would like to hear what all the other patients have to say. Mr. Beilschmidt, you may continue."

Ludwig's father nodded and turned to Gilbert. "Thank you for your part in this, Mr. Beilschmidt. You may leave the stand." The same officer helped Gilbert down the steps and Francis was called next. "Mr. Bonnefoy, you have shared in many of the same experiences as Mr. Beilschmidt. Tell the court how your experiences have differed because of your condition."

Francis cleared his throat. "Well, to start, I have a bad heart and only recently had a pacemaker put in to regulate it. But when I was in the sex ring with Gilbert and Antonio, the illness continued to spread and became worse. I was unable to perform the acts necessary because they were too strenuous. Instead of killing me, as the ring leaders had done to many others, they sold me off to VOX, along with Antonio and Gilbert. There, they did many types of procedures on me. I had at least two open heart surgeries where NOTHING was fixed, mind you. I don't know what they were doing, but it wasn't healing me. Also, they had me doing stressful activities…like forcing me to run on a treadmill, dropping me into water, purposefully trying to suffocate me, all the while saying that my suffering would help many others with my condition."

"What about rape? Were you a part of that too?"

Francis pushed some hair behind his ear. "Everyone was. The sex was just more of the 'experiments'. Every once in awhile we would get some type of drug to make us more…excited."

Dr. Carty whispered to his lawyer and he shouted out again. "Objection! Mr. Bonnefoy was one of the patients whom enjoyed the intercourse and it was never rape."

The judge halted the lawyers and looked to Francis. "How do you wish to respond?"

Francis shrugged his shoulders. "Anyone who was swept up in the underground sex world knows that it's easier to lie there and let them have their way rather than fight it. If you fight it, you only end up hurting yourself in more ways than one. Just give them what they want so they leave faster…and close your eyes and think of something else."

Ludwig's father spoke up. "Regardless, it is unethical for doctors to have intimate relationships with their patients of any kind!"

Ludwig slumped slightly in his chair, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He was guilty of THAT. He felt someone behind him tap his shoulder and turned to see Heracles leaning forward.

"Don't take it seriously. You're technically not a doctor yet, so it doesn't count. You're more of a…caregiver."

"And just how is that any better?" Ludwig whispered back.

He frowned. "I guess it isn't. Sorry." Heracles sat back down and Ludwig sighed softly. He lifted his head and nearly yelled when he heard his father call Ivan's name. "EXCUSE ME!" He shot up from his chair. "Mr. Braginski is not capable of testifying due to his mental issues and-"

"It's okay, Ludwig!" Ivan said happily and practically skipped onto the stand.

Ludwig took a heavy sip of water. "We will hear a story about vanilla pudding and pipes!"

"Mr. Braginski," Ivan had a big closed mouth smile and sat perfectly still in the chair. "Can you tell the court the 'bad things' the doctors did to you?" Ludwig's father dumbed it down.

"Oh, they did a lot of bad things! They're big bullies and I beat up bullies!"

"What kind of things?"

"They put a plate right here," He pointed to his head "They say it was to keep me from being bad because I'm not a nice person."

Carty's lawyer spoke up again. "This man should not even be allowed to take the stand! Mr. Braginski was pulled from a Russian mental asylum for the criminally insane! He murdered hundreds of people with nothing more than a water pipe! My clients were working hard for the hope of returning a troubled, mentally disabled person into a proper functioning human being."

"It made him worse!" Ludwig's father countered. "The same goes for the rest of these patients whom you brutally took advantage of! Your honor, some of these men have come out of VOX worse than they did when first entering! Mr. Braginski and Mr. Beilschmidt are living proof of it. Dr. Carty and the leaders of VOX travel the world and kidnap people who they see as useless. They take people that won't be missed so they do not leave a kidnapping trail! Instead of leaving Mr. Braginski at the Russian ward to be treated, they buy him as a test subject!"

"The Russian asylum offered him first!" The other lawyer spoke.

"On what grounds? Where is your proof?"

"No further questions."

"Silence!" The judge banged his gavel again and Ivan looked at it.

"Mr. judge, sir?" The judge looked at him. "That's a nice hammer. May I have it?" Ludwig slapped a hand to his face.

"And for what reason?" The judge asked. Ivan smiled.

"I want to beat up the bad guys!" he pointed to Carty's table. "Those bad guys! They are mean to me and they make me very angry to where I hurt people. I don't want to hurt people. Only bad people. They hurt my head and make me do dirty things. You know what else? I have to clean the ashes and the bones from the big furnace after they burn the dead people."

Ludwig's father stood in front of Ivan. "Mr. Braginski, why did they burn the dead people? Do you know?"

Ivan nodded seriously. "They are the patients like me and the others that don't make the doctors happy anymore. No body likes playing with toys that don't work." He smiled happily. "But then Ludwig came and made everyone happy again and beat up the bullies! He's going to take me out for ice cream and a Ferris wheel ride!"

Ludwig leaned in to Gilbert. "I never said that." Gilbert chuckled.

"Just wait until he brings up the rubber duckie and bath tub. Be prepared to defend yourself against THAT. Remember, that's IVAN up there. A couple of days ago he was talking back to his rice krispies."

"You have made your point." Ludwig thought for a moment. "Rice krispies do not talk? They make those 'snap, crackle, pop' noises." Gilbert rolled his eyes.

"Are you saying that you don't think Ivan could form words out of sounds?"

"Fair enough."

"So they do not dispose of the bodies properly." Ludwig's father said to the court. "If you can, Mr. Braginski, could you tell us if those patients were alive or dead when burned?"

"Ah, always dead, I'm sure. I know why though! I know why! The vents get stinky when bodies are burning and they put them in dead because the screaming would be too loud."

The judge hammered his gavel. "I have heard enough." He said with a heavy sigh. "Take your seat, Mr. Braginski."

Ivan looked at Ludwig for clarification and permission to move. Ludwig nodded, ushering for the other to come down, which he did. Ivan skipped back to his chair.

Kiku was called next but he did not want to testify at all. It was still a miracle that they were able to remove him from the hospital room to the apartment, and then to the courtroom. Antonio offered to speak next and he was called to the stand.

"Mr. Fernandez, is it true that you were near death before you were rescued from VOX?"

"Yes. I had massive kidney failure that VOX never seemed to fix or care about. I have reason to believe they had some way of just keeping me alive so they could continue on experimenting. Almost every day there was pain for me." He said the last part softly. "If Ludwig hadn't saved us, I would probably be dead."

"And how are you feeling now?"

"Oh, much better ever since I got a new kidney!" He responded happily. "But unlike the others, most of my torturous experiments consisted of drugs and shots. I may have had a few surgeries, I don't remember. They would just…leave me in pain and no matter how much I begged and pleaded they did nothing! They did it on purpose because they thought it was funny!"

"VOX was abusing their power." Ludwig's father corrected him. "Which brings up another issue that shall be brought to the court at a later day. For you see, it would appear that the government is dishing out hundreds and thousands of dollars for medical research that is possibly being embezzled and used dishonestly."

"Objection!"

"Overruled!" The judge said loudly. "Stick with the current case, Mr. Beilschmidt."

"Yes, your honor." He turned back to Antonio. "You mentioned they gave you drugs often. What kind of drugs were they? Did the doctors there ever tell you?"

"Sometimes they did because they wanted me to report my symptoms. I can't tell you how many times I grew deathly ill because of some strange pill they had given me. I think they just tried whatever they wanted on me to see if it cured my disease. All it did was make me sick."

"And you were raped often as well, correct?"

"I was…and to tell you the truth, I used to think it was my fault that it all got started. Well, I thought it was really Gilbert, Francis, and myself since we were prostitutes to begin with. Then they started to pursue the others, but I've come to find out that it is not true, that they have always been doing it."

"Did you attempt suicide at one time to escape the pain?"

Antonio nodded. "That was one reason…but the other reason was…I found out that the doctors were going to kill my friend and his brother. Both men are suffering from cancer and were in comas, but the doctors were going to just kill them rather than help. But they are safe now!"

"Yes, because they are receiving proper medical care by doctors that want to heal them." He told the court. "Thank you, Mr. Fernandez." He waited for Antonio to leave the stand before calling Yao, who was the last to testify. Arthur would not be able to since he was unable to speak and the court would not recognize the boys' testimonies as of yet. "Mr. Wang, please approach the stand."

Yao took his place on the seat and fixed his hearing aides briefly. He did not give Ludwig's father a chance to speak or ask a question. "My experience was very much like Antonio's. I was given strange drugs, but mostly in the form of ear drops."

"And what effects would these experimental drugs have on you?"

"Terrible! Never did the medicines give any sort of real relief! It would feel like liquid fire inside my head and it would burn! I was often gagged and held down while I screamed. And I know for a fact they used to tamper with my hearing aides just to be jerks!" Yao grit his teeth at Carty's table. "Ludwig was always able to fix them. Now, I have new ones and they work great!"

"We are very pleased to hear that you and all the others are recovering well. And on the accounts of rape, were you involved with that as well?"

"Everyone was. It was like a harem there. More so than a research facility!"

"I'm sure many here would agree with you on that, Mr. Wang. No further questions your honor."

The judge hammered his gavel. "We will take a short recess while the defendant's statements and your own are prepared."

Gilbert turned to Ludwig then. "How do you think we did?"

"Let us wait to ask my father." Ludwig turned to his father the moment the lawyer sat down. "So, how are things looking for us?"

"We're off to a good start." His father straightened some papers. "The only issue we face is Carty's explanations of why the experiments were done. He may blame it on the other doctors, saying that most of it was not to his knowledge. Either way, we have the advantage. Roderich's father has already spoken to the proper governmental figures about the case, which they have started to look in to. They will be checking for the money, of course. They will want to see where it has been going, into Carty's pocket or to experiments. That may take a short while."

"So then Carty is still free to walk the streets?" Gilbert asked and his father nodded.

"That's correct. Unless the jury chooses to expand the case, which would mean they would find Carty guilty on the suspicion of medical misconduct. If that is the case, then he will be arrested and held in custody, but will not be placed in jail. Once more evidence is gathered from the governments' side, then we can proceed with the case."

"What more can we do?" Ludwig asked. "What else is needed?"

"At this point, really nothing. It is up to the lawyers now. What I want you to do, Ludwig, is get your ass back into school and start studying again. If you want to run VOX, you will need to educate yourself fast. I know you just adopted nine some patients in your apartment, but I want you to get back to your studies."

"Yes sir." Ludwig said firmly. "However, I fear that someone from Carty's side will attack all of them while I am not there."

"Tell Roderich you need some policemen or armed guards there while you're at school. He'll let his father know. We have this all under control, Ludwig. So do as I ask without complaint or question."

"Yes."

Gilbert said nothing to his father, but did turn and look at the man when he tapped at his shoulder. "Gilbert…I just want you to know how happy I am that I can do this for you. I mean…I know it doesn't fully count for all those years you have suffered, but I think it is a good start."

"Yeah…thanks." Was Gilberts only response. He still felt extremely awkward around the man. Their father said nothing more until the court was called back into session.

"Time to sum it all up." He pat Gilbert's hand and took the floor at the judges' command. However, Ludwig grabbed his wrist to stop him from proceeding. "Ludwig?"

"I ask for permission to speak. I want to represent my patients. We have spoken about it many times, father. I am fairly certain I know what to say."

"Are you sure?" The judge interrupted them and Ludwig's father raised his hand. "Your honor, my son wishes to take the floor. I give him permission to speak in my place if you so allow it?"

The judge looked at Ludwig. "You are our hero of the hour, Ludwig Beilschmidt." The other lawyer tried to intervene but the judge silenced him. "I will allow it. Mr. Ludwig Beilschmidt, you may take the floor."

"Thank you, your honor." Ludwig looked at Gilbert for a moment before he stood in the middle of the courtroom floor. "Ladies and gentlemen of the court and jury, we have heard some terrifying tales today. Not only have these nine known patients suffered under horrifying medical conditions, but also many others whom are being treated as we speak. We cannot even begin to imagine the extent of the horrors these people endured at the hands of doctors that were supposed to heal them. It would appear that our tax dollars have been funding a set for a horror movie rather than searching for cures for multiple diseases. This is a classic showing of a large conglomerate company gone evil.

Your honor, we only wish to expose the wrong doings of a handful of evil men. The picture of VOX that was first painted to me was one of pure hope and medical opportunity. I was going to be part of a large research facility where I could possibly aid in the findings of a new cure or vaccine. Instead, I was greeted with horrible sights and daily suffering from the patients there. All the while, Dr. Carty and the others were always coming up with excuses for why such things were happening. The more cruelty I witnessed, the stronger the need grew to protect these people from harm.

Now, no one is saying that such facilities should be shut down, for there is much need to continue medical research. VOX Corporation has the proper funding for such experiments and studies to be preformed and conducted. However, it is the cruel and inhumane way these current doctors are going about their research. They are abusing their power and praying on sick people that had no other choice. The ways of VOX has to change, your honor. Medical science needs volunteers who are willing, and the doctors must be ready to do all they can to ensure their patients' safety. Our jobs as doctors and medical scientists consist of finding solutions and curing the diseased. With the right staff working and the governments money being put to proper use, I know we can move forward. I appreciate you allowing me to speak, your highness."

The judge gazed upon him, strict poker face. "That was quite a speech, Mr. Beilschmidt. Are you certain you wish to be a doctor and not a lawyer?" Ludwig wasn't sure of what to say so he gave an awkward little laugh, which was a social norm for such a question that was meant to be funny. "I see that you are also accusing Dr. Carty of attempts of assassination. That is for another court day, but will you be representing yourself then? I am curious."

"I…I am uncertain, sir. I suppose I could, but right now that is a minor issue for me. I am sure many would think it should be a bigger issue, since I was shot, or rather grazed, in the head. But the safety of my patients is much more important."

"Quite honorable." The judge was ready to lay his gavel down when Carty's lawyer raised his hand. "What is it?"

"Permission for my client to speak momentarily?" Ludwig's eyes darted to the defendant table and his blood turned to ice in his veins. He was certain that he knew what the man was going to say.

Gilbert reached over to Francis and squeezed his hand, holding his breath. He too feared what Carty was going to speak of.

"Your client has barely spoken in his defense. What would he have to say now?"

"May he speak?" The judge nodded and Carty looked straight at Ludwig and gave a calm smile.

"Ludwig, a promising and diligent student that every parent wished they had. So many of your testimonies have been taken out of conduct. I do believe that when you knew of these so called 'rapes', you did little to stop them. Instead, you jumped right into the hospital bed of your brother, Gilbert." The courtroom started to murmur and gasp. "I thought doctors are not allowed to do 'that' with their patients?"

End Chapter 14 TBC
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My Manipulated Misfortune