Stupid Cathryn Humphris.

[clex_monkie89]

She sucks. Seriously. I have spent the last two days trying to rework my Big Bang plans to coincide with the The Usual Suspects ending.

I had always thought that at the end of TUS Dean was left with his two new murder charges (Anthony and Karen Giles) and a shiny, new cop killer charge on him. But no, while trying to remember exactly how Sheridan (Bad!Cop) died I found the following exchange:

DEAN
So, uh. What now, officer?

BALLARD
Pete did confess to me. He screwed up both your cases royally. I'd say that there's a good chance that we could get your cases dismissed.

SAM
You'd take care of that for us?

BALLARD
I hope so. But the St. Louis murder charges? That's another story. I can't help you. Unless... I just happened to turn my back, and you walked away. I could just tell them that the suspects escaped.

SAM
Wait, are you sure?

DEAN
Yeah, she's sure, Sam.

SAM
No, it's just, I mean, you could lose your job over something like that.

Keep in mind that she just shot her partner in the stomach and then shot him in the back --through the heart while she was sitting and he was standing-- with his own gun. Ballistics can show all this.

In the community college that I go to one of the first things we learn in nearly every class (And definitely every time we talk about use of force) is that if you shoot someone in the back don't expect to have a job anymore. Your only way to explain it would be to say they were fleeing and that's so very much not an excuse. You don't shoot unarmed people. It gets you fired.

He was shot in the back, through the heart at an upward angle. If he were escaping she would be aiming for the legs or such.

He was killed at night and she called it in when it was daylight out. There's a lot of missing time there.

The chained and cuffed [possibly serial] killer has vanished mysteriously without a trace.

If Detective Ballard were to tell her superiors that her partner confessed to everything he did --and keep in mind he's killed everyone who could provide any kind of evidence-- and then turned on her and she shot in self-defense she would not be believed. Especially with Dean, the one they have the Giles' murders pinned on, gone into thin air.

If Detective Ballard went through with what she said here at the end she would likely be out of a job. Hell, all this is before I.A. (Internal Affairs) even gets a hold of her. Once that happens she's a fucking goner.

If she went back on her word, which would make more sense, she could easily say that Sam kidnapped her and cut Sheridan off at the path. Sam and Dean and Sheridan fought, Sheridan went down and Sam and Dean left. That's completely plausible.

But she obviously didn't do that because when Hendrickson is listing Dean's crimes in Nightshifter "cop killer" isn't in there anywhere. And that's not like arson or trespassing, that's not something you forget to mention.

So instead of writing my Big Bang I've been tweaking all the parts that heavily involved Dean being an accused cop killer, trying to completely redo the previously planned scene with Hendrickson and Ballard, and double and triple-checking Dean's accused crimes.

I had totally fucking hoped to hit 7k today and 10k by the end of the week. One didn't happen and the other probably won't now.

Comments

[resounding-echo.livejournal.com]

I love the way your mind works.

Also? Any chance of you ignoring canon? 'Cause I think it much cooler to add that shit to Dean's record. :nods:

[unperfectwolf.livejournal.com]

Seconded! Yes!

[clex_monkie89.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

And the problem with ignoring the canon is that in this case it would mean I would have to put an AU tag onto this. Right now I'm trying to work my way around this, like maybe Hendrickson thinks that Ballard is covering for them. If I go that route then he has to interview the deputy from The Benders before he interviews Ballard.

[resounding-echo.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes. I understand about not wanting to label it AU. But if you do, you could always have a disclaimer that the work is technically AU, but only because the writers were too sloppy to research the finer points of how the law actually works (or you know, in language that makes sense because I know even less about law than...well, most).

[clex_monkie89.livejournal.com]

I'm actually kind of surprised at Kripke an co; they're usually very good at catching this stuff. Part of my hesitancy to AU it is because I almost wanna say that this could be an important point they may come back to later.

[xingou.livejournal.com]

Well, you also have to remember that she has the body of a dead convict now wearing a necklace that was special ordered by Pete. It might help her case.

[clex_monkie89.livejournal.com]

You also have to remember that Ballard has the exact same necklace also ordered by Pete. That could be enough to give her motive to kill him in cold blood (Which would make anything else she claimed be less credible).

[xingou.livejournal.com]

...oh. I would never get away with a murder.

[astrothsknot.livejournal.com]

I'd thought the end was a pile of shite as well, for much the same reasons as you. Ignore canon and go with what you originally had.

[clex_monkie89.livejournal.com]

The problem with ignoring the canon is that in this case it would mean I would have to put an AU tag onto this. Right now I'm trying to work my way around this, like maybe Hendrickson thinks that Ballard is covering for them. If I go that route then he has to interview the deputy from The Benders before he interviews Ballard.