“Are you willing to tutor Miranda and me on it? We both hate this class and are having a hard time keeping up.”
“Miranda?”
“Cordova, the Cadet Wing Commander.”
“I’m not sure about that,” Catie said.
“Come on, she’s nice, she just has a tough job. I’m a second-class cadet, and she treats me just fine when we’re in class or studying together.”
“I’m pretty busy.”
“Come on, just a couple of hours a week,” Yvette pleaded.
“Okay, I’ll try.”
“Don’t you have some classes you need help with?”
“I could use a way to get out of my comparative literature class,” Catie said. “I can’t believe they wouldn’t transfer credits from UCSD for that one.”
“Oh, Professor Oliver is a tough one,” Yvette said. “Oxford man. He wouldn’t accept credit from anywhere but one of the Ivy League schools, and then he’d probably make you take his test to prove you knew the material.”
“Well, he’s driving me nuts,” Catie said.
Chapter 17Freeloaders
Judge Marianna Muñoz looked at her calendar for the day. Her court clerk had circled one case, noting that it would be interesting. It was Starman’s Bar vs. four tourists. Although it wasn’t unusual for tourists to get into fights at a bar, it was unusual for those cases to make it to court. They were usually taken care of in arbitration, with the tourists paying damages, apologizing and leaving Delphi City. In this case, The Cook Islands had made it abundantly clear that they did not want the tourists back in their territory, the tourists had refused to pay damages, claiming poverty, and were even refusing to make an apology.
“Interesting,” Judge Muñoz thought. “We shall see.”
◆ ◆ ◆
After she had dispensed with the first four cases on her docket with her usual efficiency, her clerk called the Starman case. Under Delphinean law, minor crimes were adjudicated with the judge acting as the inquisitor. The prosecution or plaintiff could only ask questions after the judge was satisfied that the facts of the case were clear.
“Mr. Maguro, you own the Starman Bar?”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
“Please give me a brief summary of the events of the night of August 20th.”
“Yes, Your Honor. These four men,” he pointed at the defendants, “came into the bar at six o’clock that evening. The took a table in the corner and started drinking and watching the game. They ran up a three-hundred-dollar tab. Then, around ten o’clock, they started arguing with each other. They got very loud, so I asked them to pay their tab and leave. They said they didn’t have any money and that they weren’t going anywhere.”
“Did they cause any problems before that?” Judge Muñoz asked.
“No, Your Honor.”
“Did they interact with any of your other patrons before that?”
“Yes, Your Honor. Sydney came by and did some card tricks for them.”
“Who is Sydney?”
“He’s a local guy, he comes in most nights and cadges drinks. He does card tricks and stuff for them.”
“Okay. What did you do after they refused to pay?”
“I told them I would call the constable, and they’d get put in the slammer until they paid.”
“And what did they do then?”
“They pushed me, and then they started fighting with each other. They broke up the place pretty bad, broke my mirrors, lots of glasses. They chased most of my customers away.”
“And?”
“The constable came, they started pushing her around, so she stunned them and had them hauled off.”
“Is the constable here?” Judge Muñoz asked the prosecutor.
“She is, Your Honor.”
“Do you or Mr. Maguro have anything else to add?”
“Not at this time, Your Honor.”
Judge Muñoz turned to the defense. “Would you like to refute or clarify anything?”
“We would, Your Honor.”
“Then proceed.”
“My clients were at Mr. Maguro’s establishment for two hours, minding their own business when Sydney came along.”
“This is the same Sydney that Mr. Maguro referred to?”
“We so stipulate,” the prosecution said.
“Very well, go on,” Judge Muñoz said.
“Anyway, Sydney tricked my clients out of their money,” the defense said.
“And how did he do that?”
“He showed them some card tricks, and then bet them that he could tell them which card they had. He had other tricks he used; do you want me to explain them?”
“Are they pertinent to your defense?”
“Your Honor, the prosecution will stipulate that Sydney conned them out of their money.”
“Very well,” Judge Muñoz said. She nodded to the defense attorney, telling him to continue.
“So, by the time Mr. Maguro asked them to leave, they were pretty mad. They blame him for allowing Sydney to come in the bar and cheat them.”
“I see. And is that why they started fighting with each other?”
“Well, by the time Mr. Maguro asked them to leave, they were pretty drunk and pretty mad. So, they just lost control. Fighting was their way of relieving their frustration.”
“Let me summarize,” Judge Muñoz said. “Your clients came in the bar at six p.m. with money, had some drinks, fully intending to pay. Sydney comes along at around eight p.m. and cheats them out of their money. Am I correct so far?”
Both the prosecutor and the defense nodded.
“Then, after being cheated out of their money, and no longer being able to pay, your clients continued to drink for another hour?” She looked at the defense, expecting an answer.
“That is correct,” the defense attorney said after conferring with his clients for a minute.
“Then, at that time, they were loud enough that Mr. Maguro asked them to leave. They pushed him, then started fighting.”
“That’s correct, Your Honor.”
“Can they explain why they pushed Mr. Maguro?”
“They say he was rude to them when he asked them to leave.”
“How was he rude?”
“He called them a bunch of useless wankers and told them to piss off.”
“I see,” Judge Muñoz said. “It says here that Mr.
