“Shawn, this has not happened in the English legal system for a good four or five centuries. We do not alter course. We do not shut down the court. I will talk to the solicitor general and get extra policing lined up. But this place, this courthouse, in fact your courtroom, is the shrine of constitutionally protected freedoms. It’s what makes our country what it is. Are you okay to keep going?”
“Damn rights, Chief. Let’s get 401 put back together and restart the trial tomorrow.”
“That’s it, Shawn. Try and keep that trial under control.”
“Doing my best, but it threatens to turn into a gong show at any minute.”
“You can keep it on track, Shawn. I’ve known you since law school, and you’re a match for this. Oh. Try not to swear too much in court.”
“Fuck it, Chief. Thanks for the encouragement, though.”
57
Richard, Zak, Kumar, Dana, and a sheriff were standing in a small circle inside the wreckage of Courtroom 401, engaged in earnest conversation. The place still had the acrid smell of gunpowder, and firefighters were checking the walls and ceiling to ensure that there were no latent fires.
“We have a problem,” said Zak. “I am positive that there is going to be an attack on Kumar’s life again tonight. His testimony is incredibly important, and goes far beyond this courtroom. After what they just attempted to do, we need to be ready for anything.”
“I’m not sure what we can do,” said one of the sheriffs. “Our jurisdiction beyond the courthouse extends to moving prisoners around. That’s about it.”
“Prisoners?” questioned Zak. “Are prisoners kept overnight here?”
“Yes, we have a secure facility a couple of levels down below the parkade. It’s actually safer there than in cells somewhere else. Often we get high-profile cases in here. The chief justice lobbied hard for the facility.” “Could we spend the night there?” asked Zak.
“In cells? You want to spend the night in cells?”
“Yeah. Why not? You say you have incredibly good security. You say that you’re responsible for witnesses. Why don’t we stay here while this storm blows over?”
“You’d have to take Kumar and me, too,” added Richard. “We’re here to protect him, or at least, that was the initial mission.”
The sheriff chuckled. “We don’t get requests like that very often, but I’ve been in court the entire time and I’m concerned about that sort of thing. Let me radio the boss.”A few minutes later he returned. “Come with me, people,” he said. “There are a few elevators to go.”
“Thanks,” said Zak, motioning to Kumar. “You’re coming with us.”
They were led deep beneath the courthouse through many electronically coded elevators and multiple steel doors. Eventually they reached a cellblock. “I hope you three are having fun,” came a voice from the opposite row of cells.
“Oh, Dan, that’s you,” Richard laughed. “I hope they’re taking good care of you.”
“Wow. It’s a regular party in here,” said Zak “Lestage, too?”
“Is there any way you guys can get this pompous little fucker to shut the fuck up?” Leon asked, pointing to Dan Alexander. “Having to spend the nights with him is cruel and fucking unusual punishment you know. I’ve got rights.”
“You belong here, moron,” said Dan to Leon. “And I’m going to make damn sure that we drag your terrorist ass across the border somehow, and when I do, I will draw up an indictment of 20,000 or more murders that you’ve committed.”
“You’re awesome,” Zak laughed. “That performance in court yesterday was worthy of an Oscar.”
“You’re done, you and Richard,” Dan snapped. “Your treasonous conduct will not be forgotten. Get ready for a lifetime in Gitmo.”
“For what?” asked Zak. “Telling the truth? Bringing Kumar here to tell the truth? We all know Yousseff and what he did. You know that, Dan.”
“Sure I know it. Yousseff is a terrorist. But we have our geopolitical interests on the table. We’re at war, you fucking idiots. We have bases in Afghanistan that have incredible strategic value. You attack Yousseff, you attack our objectives and interests in Afghanistan, and that’s treasonous fucking behavior. Got it?”
“No,” said Zak. “We don’t get it. Yousseff murdered tens of thousands of American citizens. He was the man who supervised the destruction of the Glen Canyon Dam. He should be stuffed somewhere and never again see the light of day.”
“So what? It’s politics, you two idiots,” Dan ranted. “You don’t seem to get that. Deals have to be made, sometimes with people you don’t like, sometimes even with terrorists like Yousseff. It’s the way of history. This happens all the time.”
“You’re a sick and twisted little man, Dan,” Zak replied. “Some values cannot be compromised. Some lines cannot be crossed. You’ve crossed so many that you’ve lost your moral compass altogether. You would make a deal with Satan if it suited your purposes. In fact, you probably have.”
“That’s right, asshole. That’s why I’m the director of TTIC and will be president before long, and you will spend the rest of your days in some cockroach-infested prison. Now shut the fuck up. I want to get some sleep.”
The conversation ended when Lestage demanded that he either be put in solitary confinement or share a cell with Dan Alexander. Either option would solve his little problem.
58
Judge Mordecai was insistent that they begin the following day in Courtroom 401 at 2:00 p.m. Repairs to the courtroom were far from done, and both the front and rear walls consisted of temporary ply-wood partitions. Counsel tables, a new witness box, and various desks for the clerk and the reporter were brought in. The bench itself was an eclectic collection of lumber and makeshift furniture. Mordecai insisted that the trial continue in the same courtroom, primarily because it was the largest courtroom in the complex, and ironically because it was designed with maximum security in mind. The foyer roof had been covered with plastic and plywood. Repairs continued when court was not in session. The guard was doubled around all doors of the courtroom, and additional metal
