Then her vice president—a handsome, blue-eyedofficial—was summoned by the panel.
“Oh, wow,” Zia whispered. “He looks sopowerful. But sweet too. Just like Rem.”
Humber nodded. “Listen to his words.”
Aengus Stone was as eloquent as Elena hadbeen, but in the opposite direction. He was convinced—or so hesaid—that the GARD system would lead to disaster. It needed moretesting. It wasn’t secure enough. It insulted alien cultures thatmight stumble upon Earth in search of an ally, only to be blastedto bits by an automated, mindless defense system.
But his primary contention was the lack ofsecurity. According to Aengus Stone, it would be child’s play toinvade the system, steal the codes, and evade detection. In fact,he boasted that he could do that himself with nothing more thangood timing and a standard locksmith’s kit.
“And then that’s what he did,” Zia whispered.“He broke into the command center and stole the codes. And whenthat guard saw him, Aengus panicked and shot him. Oh, Humber . ..”
“Such a tragedy,” the ambassador agreed.
“But Rem’s right about one thing. It’s nottreason. He wasn’t trying to sabotage our planet. He was trying tosave it!”
Humber’s eyes were warm with sympathy. “Yousound like your mother. Watch this. It is the trial. Listencarefully to her testimony.”
A courtroom appeared on the vid screen, andthere was Elena again. This time, she didn’t need tricks to obscureher youth or beauty. There were dark circles under her eyes, andshe looked as though she had the proverbial weight of the world onher shoulders. “I was in my office at the command center. It wasafter midnight. I heard sounds, so I walked into the hall. I saw aman in a mask run out of the GARD room. He didn’t see me, but hedid see the security guard who tried to confront him. Themasked man fired a shot right at the guard’s chest. Then he ranoff.” Elena turned her attention from the prosecutor and stared upat the judge. “I’m not saying it was Aengus Stone. You understandthat, don’t you? I still can’t—I still don’t—believe Aenguscould do such a thing.”
The judge frowned. “That isn’t the issue,Madame President. Mr. Stone has already admitted that he is the manwho put on a mask, broke into the command center, and stole thecodes. The question for you is, was that the end of it, as Mr.Stone claims? Or did he willfully shoot the guard?”
Panic showed in Elena’s golden eyes. “Itwasn’t treason. I know that for a fact. If Aengus fired that shot,it was because he panicked. He was stealing the codes to make apoint. That the GARD system wasn’t secure. And I agree with thatnow! I’m convinced. I only wish I had listened to him sooner.”Turning her attention to the defense table, she insisted in asob-filled voice, “Forgive me, Aengus. You tried to warn me.”
The judge pounded his gavel. Then the imagedisappeared.
“Wow,” Zia murmured. “I never got it untilright now. Rem says my mom was the eyewitness, but that’s not true.She never identified the intruder as Aengus Stone.”
Humber nodded. “Aengus identified himself.Watch.”
The ambassador reactivated the image, whichnow showed a grainy security tape of a man in a ski maskapproaching a control panel. The man checked his watch, thenpunched in a series of numbers on a keypad. A compartment openedand the man removed a one-inch diskette and tried to pocket it, butit slipped from his fingers and fell to the floor. Retrieving itquickly, he ran out of the room with the disk still in his hand,only to be confronted by a security guard, who ordered him to halt.The disk slipped to the floor again as the masked man pulled ahand-blaster and fired at the guard. The guard fell, and the manpicked up the disk and ran down the hall.
Humber cleared his throat. “This security vidwas authenticated by the government, by independent testing labs,and by Aengus’s own experts. Ironically, Aengus corroborated ittoo. He admitted he was the man in the vid. But he claimed that henever saw—much less shot at—any guard. So his defense was that thefirst part of the vid was genuine, but the last portion wastampered with. That testimony doomed him.”
Zia licked her lips. “If only he had justadmitted that he panicked. That he was trying to do a noble thing,and it backfired.”
When Humber didn’t respond, she turned tostudy his impassive face. “Humber?”
“I knew Aengus well. He was not the type topanic,” Humber told her, adding quickly, “But you are correct, Zee.If he had simply admitted it, he might have been convicted ofmanslaughter rather than murder and treason. It was his refusal toconfess to the shooting that gave the prosecutor so much power.Your mother begged him to admit the truth so that she could pardonhim—”
“What?”
“It’s true. In fact, I believe she would havepardoned him anyway, even for treason. But he killed himself beforeshe could decide whether she dared do that.”
Zia sat back against the bed pillows anddigested the information carefully. Then she told Humber, “Remthinks Mom lied. He thinks she framed his dad. That’s seems crazy,doesn’t it? She was so upset. So desperate to help him. And whatmotive could she have had for wanting him convicted?”
When Humber looked down at the floor, shewhispered, “Tell me, please?”
“I will never believe your mother framedAengus. But if she did—which is impossible—it was becauseshe wanted a life term as president.” The ambassador cleared histhroat, then explained. “When Daniel Quito died and Elena becamepresident, she and Aengus announced that they intended to share thepresidency. To take turns, more or less. She was nearing the end ofher term, and so logically, it would have been Aengus’s turn next.But during those last few months, Elena and he diverged in theirintergalactic policy. She believed she was right—that her policywould protect Earth, and that Aengus’s would endanger it.”
“And Aengus believed just the opposite,” Ziawhispered. “Believed it so passionately, he broke into the commandcenter to steal the codes. He admitted that much. The real issuewas, what did he intend to
