"No," Lucas said. Lucas was experiencing some memories of another courtroom and so he was quite tense. Both the judge and the prosecutor were friendly at least.
"If you do, I'll have to get Snoozer to protect me." The judge pointed to the back of the courtroom where the bailiff was clearly sleeping in his chair.
"A bailiff’s job can be extremely boring. Especially in my courtroom because I handle a lot of business cases. Boring, boring, boring. Even for me. Snoozer has developed the ability to go to sleep anytime, anywhere. We've been working together for a long time and I don't mind it. Poor old fellow would find other judges more difficult to work for."
Indeed, Lucas saw that Snoozer was quite old. He hadn't quite limped as he climbed down the stairs to the courtroom, but he had been unsteady on his feet and had held onto the railing.
"Mavis," he turned to the court recorder. "If you wouldn't mind."
Mavis went into a back room and soon came out with a trolley with some cups and two thermoses on top.
"Mavis and I have also been working together for a long time. We wouldn't do this in a normal trial, but I usually need a caffeine fix by this time of the day. Mavis takes care of me. I warn you, I like my coffee very strong. Mavis?"
Mavis served the judge first. "Mr. Prosecutor?"
"Coffee but give me four sugar cubes please."
She did. "Mr. Lucas? I have coffee and hot chocolate. The chocolate is quite sweet, I'm afraid."
"Hot chocolate please," Lucas said.
All three sat back and had some sips. Mavis took the trolley back to the other room and resumed her place at the little table.
"Some formalities to be completed first, I'm afraid," the judge said after putting his cup down reluctantly. "The law requires that all people participating in a trial or in a legal hearing have to be an attorney or be represented by an attorney. The exception is a witness who simply swears to tell the truth and then leaves after giving his testimony. But Lucas, you're not a witness. You've been working for the prosecution. Slider is the witness and it's his testimony that will put a certain person behind bars. I can't have an ordinary citizen participating in this hearing unless he is represented by a lawyer who could provide legal advice and act on his behalf if such were required. Prosecutor Lee here can act as your attorney. Show him the document, Mr. Prosecutor."
Lucas read the document that Mr. Lee had pulled out of a briefcase and put in front of him. It was exactly as the judge had said. Provide legal advice; act on his behalf; only if necessary. Lucas looked up before picking up the pen that Mr. Lee had put on the table for him. The judge was sipping his coffee and was on his cell phone – texting. Mr. Lee was putting another sugar into his coffee and stirring it. The court recorder had pulled a nail file out of her purse on the floor and was rounding off some sharp edges. In the silence, he could hear gentle snores from behind him. Lucas signed.
"Judge?" the prosecutor said.
He looked up from his pinky-ring. "All ready? Good. Mavis, warm up your fingers. We're starting now."
The initial part was just a bunch of stuff where the judge gave the day, the time, the courtroom, why they were there, and so on and so on. He spoke rapidly and Mavis kept up. Then it was time for the witness.
"Snoozer," the judge said sharply and Snoozer woke. "Bring Slider in."
Snoozer disappeared into the hallway and moments later accompanied the witness to the front of the room. Lucas looked up at that point, looked again, and then looked again. Slider's left leg was encased inside a cast and he was hobbling along with the help of a crutch. He had another cast on his right arm and bruises on his face. Slider tried to run away and was caught?
Snoozer brought a chair to the front of the room and helped Slider settle in, the left leg awkwardly sticking out in front of him. The cast on his left leg looked like it had already seen a lot of wear. Two long black marks extended over the shin and the cast had a noticeable dent above the inside ankle. The cast on the left arm was in better shape but Slider must have spilt some coffee on it because it had a large brown stain. The crutch was now on the ground. Snoozer stood behind him, on high alert, in case he tried to run away. Well, make that dozing alert. Snoozer might have the ability to sleep standing up. It was only a matter of time before the courtroom found out for sure.
"Where's my immunity paper?" Slider demanded.
The prosecutor held a document in the air. Snoozer showed that he was still awake and brought it to Slider, who read it and nodded.
"Sign it," the judge ordered.
"With what," Slider snarled.
"Mavis?"
Mavis produced a bible for the document to rest on and a pen. After Slider signed it, she took the document and bible to the judge who placed both on the side of his table.
"I was going to get a trip out of town and a new job."
"After you testify," the judge stipulated.
"I want protection," Slider insisted.
"From whom? You're safe in this courtroom."
"Protection from him," Slider said and pointed at Lucas. "He's the one that did this to me."
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Chapter 43
Boss #2 arrived at Ranch #4's helipad in the still fully loaded second transport copter. He allowed the twenty slaves to leave the copter, but he had them sit on the ground in front of it under the watch of Boss #10. Boss #24 landed Big Daddy's copter next to the transport as this unloading was underway. He too left his copter and sat on the ground under Boss #10's watch – waiting for Big Momma to decide what to do with him. Boss #2 took a backpack out from underneath the pilot's seat in the transport copter and stood under Big Momma's balcony. She watched him approach.
"Come to the front porch," she directed. "You better have a good reason for bringing those women back."
# # # # # # # #
Big Momma had finished watching the carpenter's short video. She had also reviewed the still pictures that Boss #2 had taken of the village. They showed the debris from the shattered huts as well as the destroyed transport copter. Some of the pictures were from ground level; others were from the air.
"There are no dead bodies in your pictures," she noted.
"There wasn't a scrap left when we got there," he replied. "Blood, yes. Lots of blood in the grass or dirt. That didn't show up in the pictures. But no body parts were left."
"How long after the massacre did you arrive?"
"Boss #24 couldn't say. Half an hour? He saw the first killing; heard the rest. When he was able to look up again, the alligators were eating the remains. That finished him off. He wasn't making much sense when we arrived. I needed the video to understand what had happened. Was the destruction of the village and the massacre of the bosses a good enough reason to bring the old women back?" And then Boss #2 smiled at her.
Big Momma was sitting on the comfy swing on the front porch of the Big House. It had a nice soft pad on top of the wooden slats. The swing was close enough to the front of the porch for her to hear any report from an underling, but far enough away that they couldn't touch her. Since her marriage to Big Daddy, she had become adverse to touches from sweaty men.
Boss #1 had always stood on the grass in front of the porch, his straw sun hat in his hand. If he had to give her anything, he'd step into the dirt of the flowerbed, lean against the railing at the edge of the porch, stretch as far as he could, and hand it over. Big Momma liked his subservient attitude. He wouldn't always agree with her, but he knew his position.
Boss #2 was different. Right now, he was sitting cross-legged ON THE PORCH, right beside her swing. He had passed the bot and the pictures to her and his hand had almost touched hers. And he had smiled at her. Like they were almost equal. He had been like that a month ago when he told her that he could put a tracker into Big Daddy's copter if she ever wanted to know where he had gone. In case there was an emergency and she had to reach him. Then he had winked. That wink said that they were co-conspirators. He was co
cky. Sure of himself. She liked that.
"It was the correct decision. Tell me about Boss #24. Did he help Karita escape?"
"No. Not according to the data on the tracker in Big Daddy's copter. Here's the tracker itself. You can see the data for yourself." Boss #2 held up an electronic unit and dropped it into her open hand. "I reviewed the data on the trip back."
"Tell me what you saw."
"Boss #24 flew in a direct line from the ranch to the island. At no point in the trip did he stop flying."
"And at the camp?"
"He landed the copter outside the security fence and after that, the copter never moved from that location until after I arrived. I used Big Daddy's copter to search the island for the little girl and to take some of the pictures you've seen. When you look at the tracking data, you will see my use of the copter. Boss #24 used the copter solely as a shelter during the thunderstorm that came the night before the massacre. He told me that he tied the copter down when the wind started to gust and he stayed with it the whole night. That's what the tracking data show too. That copter never moved until I moved it."
"Why didn't he land it inside the village."
"He said that it would have made the clearing too crowded. It would be harder to unload the copter and move the food into the huts. I agree. It would have. The clearing is small."
"His actions during the first day?"
"What they should have been. He repaired the bridges connecting the huts so that they could take the weight of the men distributing the food. I saw some evidence of those repairs in the debris of the huts. He took a backpack of carpentry supplies and equipment with him in case repairs were needed. He wasn't told to do that. He took the initiative."
"Not even a hint of being in a plot to free Karita?"
"No. As I said before, he had no reason to and no opportunity."
"Is he worthy of promotion eight levels up?"
"I know he's smart and he plans ahead. He's also literate. So yes, he should be promoted. He handled himself well, in my view."
"And Karita? Did you find her?"
"I used Big Daddy's copter to search for signs of her. I found this."
Boss #2 pulled an orange, sodden onion sack out of a backpack that he had brought with him from the copter, showed it to her, and then placed it on the porch. "This sack was caught on some weeds close to shore at the opposite end of the island from where the camp was. When I saw two alligator snouts in the water, I used a long branch to bring it to shore. These scissors were inside." He put them into her outreached hand.
Big Momma had a close look and handed them back. "Pililiani let her use these to cut paper."
"She may have taken them for a weapon. I searched the surrounding area. I found these in a dry piece of land a short distance from the river." He held up two used Ranch #4 blankets. "I also found two empty glass bottles and some food litter. I didn't bother bringing those back with me. I returned to the destroyed slave village, gave the slaves in the transport a bathroom break, and came home."
"Your conclusion?"
"Karita is dead. Taken by an alligator, perhaps when she went to the river to get water. She wouldn't have known about them."
"You may be right. I have to think on it."
"Have you ever seen that old woman in the video before? The one doing the cursing?"
"She used to be Ranch #2's housekeeper. They found her preaching a religion and asked us to strand her on our island. That was 14 or 15 years ago."
"She couldn't have survived that long. Could she be somebody else who looked like her? One of ours?"
Big Momma noticed Boss #2's use of the word ours. She approved. "No. She did my hair for years. I recognize her voice. It's Marie, no question."
"Will she be a problem for us? She said that you and Big Daddy were going to join the bosses in the afterlife."
"Safe Haven will be a problem for us. Not Marie. She has no idea where this ranch is. Plus how would she get here? Fly across the country on her broomstick?"
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Chapter 44
"Protection from him," and Slider pointed at Lucas. "He's the one that did this to me."
Lucas shook his head, No. That made him dizzy and the courtroom moved around in his head. The judge left his chair and approached him, looking closely.
Lucas tried to deny that he had beaten Slider, but his voice wasn't working. There was a tingling in his legs and it was climbing up his body. He was about to activate the weapons in his sling, but in his somewhat muddled mind, he could hear Theo's voice. Think it through, Lucas. At least he thought it was Theo's voice. But why was Theo speaking with a girl's voice? With what little mental capacity he had left, Lucas realized that they were going to find the filaments on his body. He sent the un-tether command to his sling. He tried to lift his hands to the back of his head to unscrew his brain-plug, but he couldn't move his arms.
"And 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1," the judge counted down. He lifted Lucas' hand off the table and let it go. The hand fell with a slap on the table.
The judge went back to his own table. "Mavis, we've had a brief recess and we're now ready to resume."
"Lucas Wiltz, I have sworn testimony from a man named Slider, a Top Hat carriage driver who claimed that you beat him severely on December 8th, 2085 in an attempt to compel him to lie to this court that a Dr. Leonard Sandman employed him to kill a dancer name Sparkle. To avoid further beatings, he agreed to do that, but he spoke privately with the prosecutor's office to warn them of your intentions. The prosecutor's office agreed to provide Slider with protection as well as immunity from any further harassment regarding the death of this dancer which had already been ruled as an unfortunate accident by this court back in April 2071."
"I am looking at Slider in this courtroom. His left leg is in a cast as is his right arm. He has bruises on his face. The man was clearly beaten. I am hereby charging you, Lucas Wiltz, with vicious assault on Slider. How do you plead? Your attorney is present if you wish his advice. Mr. Lee?"
Lucas' attorney leaned forward in order to hear Lucas as he whispered his answer to him – at least he probably whispered his answer. Lucas' voice didn't make it into the record. His lawyer's voice did. "My client pleads Guilty, your honour."
"Mavis, please record the accused's response."
# # # # # # # #
The judge continued. "I have a sworn affidavit from a teenager named Basher that you cracked his ribs when he attempted to buy some chocolates from a store in which you were employed. We found a witness to this violence – a man named Nod who has also provided a sworn statement. Lucas Wiltz, you are once again charged with assault. How do you plead? I remind you again that you have an attorney present if you wish to consult with him."
"My client pleads Guilty, your honour."
"Mavis, please record the accused's response."
# # # # # # # #
"Lucas Wiltz, I have sworn testimony from a man named Blinker who saw you in the early hours of Thursday October 4, 2085 enter your chocolate store and place explosives within it. You watched your store explode from across the street. The prosecution's office has verified that an insurance claim was made for the damage that your bomb caused. Lucas Wiltz, you are charged with arson, using dangerous explosives in a way that could harm the public in the area, and fraud. How do you plead? I remind you again that you have an attorney present if you wish to consult with him."
"My client pleads Guilty, your honour."
"Mavis, please record the accused's response."
# # # # # # # #
"Recess mode please, Mavis. Snoozer, please bring me the pinky ring on Lucas' right hand."
Snoozer removed Lucas' ring and during his walk to the judge's table, he put Lucas' ring on his own right hand. The judge met him partway. The judge stuck his face out. Snoozer swung at the judge, and in doing so, Lucas' ring cut the judge's cheek. Snoozer gave the ring to the judge and both returned to their previous positions.
> "Back in session now please, Mavis. During this recess, the defendant, Lucas Wiltz, tried to flee from this courtroom. I managed to block his way and he swung viciously at me with his right hand. I, the bailiff, and the prosecuting attorney managed to subdue the defendant with no further harm to anybody. This record will include a picture of my face that will show the results of that assault on a city judge as well as the sworn statements of all present in the courtroom at the time. I am keeping the defendant's ring as proof that he attacked me. It has my blood on it. Lucas Wiltz, you are charged with felonious assault on a court official and attempting to flee the jurisdiction of this court. How do you plead? I remind you again that you have an attorney present if you wish to consult with him."
"My client pleads Guilty, your honour."
"Mavis, please record the accused's response."
# # # # # # # #
"Lucas Wiltz: This court acknowledges that all of the charges against you must be adjudicated in a court of law and that you are innocent until proven guilty. However, the assault on me falls within the law covering Contempt of Court. Your vicious assault on an officer of this court certainly qualifies as contempt. Under this law, I am able to summarily rule that you are guilty of Contempt of Court and I am permitted to incarcerate you until you apologize to this court. I advise you that while the prosecutor's office works on the other charges facing you, it will be necessary to confine you on those charges until the cases can be brought against you. But that trial is for another day. For now, you're sentenced to jail for contempt. Court is adjourned."
# # # # # # # #
Lucas was still in his chair behind the prosecutor's desk. The judge was sitting next to him, talking conversationally, one friend to another.
"You don't have to worry about those other charges, Lucas. We won't be pursuing them. Snoozer will take you to the basement where he'll stuff you into one of the old cells. Nobody uses them any more, so you won't have to worry about other inmates keeping you awake. The walls and the floors in the basement are exceptionally thick. You won't be digging your way out, even if you could move, which you can't. Nor could your voice be heard calling for help, if you could call out, which you can't."
"The beauty of the drug that Mavis slipped into your hot chocolate is that we know the timing on it. We know how long it takes to suddenly strike and we know how long it will last. We also know that all signs of the drug will disappear 24 hours after the last dose. No coroner, for example, would ever be able to find evidence of it after those 24 hours. Mavis will be down to your cell every day to keep you paralyzed. Snoozer will bring food and water to you every day. It's unfortunate that you decided to go on a food and water strike during your incarceration. Not a good idea, Lucas. But that was your choice."