Levine immediately jerks spasmodically to his knees and puts his hands behind his head. He looks almost practiced as he does it. Arrested before?
Bruce, the newcomer with the Australian goes down on the floor, clutching his hat and muttering.
Kitty opens her eyes in a shock... "Aw Hell..." and lays face down on the floor... somewhat resembling a cross, occasionally looking up to get a view of what is going on.
When the unusual is again introduced into the situation, Marda responds in her usual way, which is to say rather than do the sensible thing and throw herself to the floor, she goes up to the nearest gun-toting authority figure and asks if he and/or she has seen Teddy. Powers instinctively jumps up to place himself between Marda and the armed troops. "Don't move, Muffin!" he cautions the child. He leaps up, intercepts Marda, and tackles her. Both hit the floor in a lump.
More Peace Force officers enter the room on the very heels of the first, also yelling "ON THE FLOOR!" "GET DOWN!" and other similar instructions. Some of these are carrying what appear to be large bore shotguns instead of submachineguns. An officer runs up to Levine and shoves him roughly to the floor, screaming "ON THE FLOOR, ASSHOLE!" then stands aiming his gun down at him. Other officers cover Kitty and Bruce, who are already on the ground. "LACE YOUR FINGERS BEHIND YOUR HEAD! DO IT NOW!!!"
Powers on his own is large enough to rate two officers. "HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD! LACE YOUR FINGERS! NOW!!!" Marda, buried under Powers, isn't covered by anyone. Except Powers.
Ariel finds herself covered by two officers with submachineguns. "ON THE FLOOR! ON THE FLOOR! GET THE FUCK ON THE FLOOR!"
The conversation appears rather one-sided.
"I would do as they say..." Kitty then immediately laces her fingers behind her head.
Bruce moves his outstretched hands to the back of his head, dropping the wet hat in front of his face. He laces his fingers behind his head and mutters something barely audible, but sounds like " 'Stralia, 'Stralia, 'Stralia, we love you, Amen..."
Powers slowly laces his fingers behind his head while shifting his weight slightly. It wouldn't due to have saved "Muffin" only to be now crushing her with his considerable amount of weight. Still, Powers keeps enough "bulk" on the child to prevent her from moving.
Those who have gotten down on the ground each get an alert guard with a submachinegun watching them intently. Several additional officers gather in the vicinity of Ariel, who appears a bit too stunned to actually get down on the ground and taser her into submission. Once everyone is in the proper position and covered by alert Peace Force officers, someone shouts "CLEAR!" and a man in a suit steps into the room.
"David Powers?" he says.
"I'm Powers. Can someone check this child to see if she's ok?" is the large man's response.
The child manages to maneuver from under Powers' significant but now redistributed bulk to poke up her head and say, "I'm OK. Have you seen Teddy?"
"Don't move," says a Peace Force officer standing over Powers. A couple of others, fresh from tasering Ariel, trot over and ready their tasers for a repeat performance. Once they are ready, two other officers pull Marda out from under Powers and she is whisked off into the C&I offices..
Once Marda is out of the way, Powers is instructed to put his hands behind his back, one at a time, and is quickly and efficiently handcuffed. In deference to his size and bulk two pairs of handcuffs are attached to his wrists (one above the other) and his little fingers are tied together with strips of security plastic. David Powers plays it cool, keeping his mouth shut and following directions.
Once Powers is handcuffed, the officer doing the handcuffing yells "SECURED!" and the other officers seem to relax slightly. The officer in the doorway announces to the room "OK, you can let the others up," and guns stop pointing at those on the floor, save for a couple still trained in a leisurely manner on Powers. "Ladies and gentlemen, if you would follow me please," says the plainclothes officer, and turns to reenter C&I. A couple of paramedics enter and begin working to revive the stunned Ariel. Once she wakes up, they escort her from the room. Ariel moans faintly as the paramedics drag her from the room, and she starts to recover.
Bruce unlaces his hands and picks up his hat as he slowly stands up. He puts the hat on his head and brushes off the water he was just laying in. "All this for a bloody visa?" he asks, not really directing his question toward anyone in particular. He begins to follow the plainclothes officer, stepping gingerly around the security guards (and anyone still on the floor trying to get up) and tipping his hat slightly at each one he encouters, smiling a quick "excuse me just let me get the hell out of here" smile with each hat tip.
Marda is carried through the C&I offices by a nice female officer who answers her questions, saying "Non, non, ma petite, I have not seen your teddy. Once things have calmed down I will go and look for him. " She takes Marda into a large conference room just off the C&I officers, where Marda spots Leo (rainbow suspenders and all), waiting there. "Sir," the officer says, "would you be so kind as to keep an eye on la petite? I must find her bear."
Leo nods to the C&I officer and offers his hand to Marda. "Hello, Marda. Would you stay with me while the officer goes to find Teddy? And, Marda, please, please don't get the people with guns upset anymore? They do not play nice, as you saw with Ariel. They WILL in fact hurt you if you get them upset."
Leo then takes a look around, and when he is sure that no C&I officer is looking, swipes a handful of large paper clips from a desk with his free hand. Still one-handed, he twists the wires into the sketchy shape of a bear, trying to distract the little girl. When he has three of these crude bear-shapes, he starts juggling them, still one-handed.
Whatever effect had been impressed upon Marda through the benevolent
actions of the Peace Force Officers and subsequently being tackled by the
mesomorphic Powers has dissipated under the reassurances of the nicer C&I
type and Leo's impromptu performance. Despite herself, she cannot
repress a series of giggles. Somewhere in between Marda promises,
"OK. I'll be good."
"Ladies and gentlemen, if I may have your attention please. I am Inspector Lucius Wrench of the Al Amarjan Peace Force." (He pronounces "Lucius" as "LOO-key-us".) "On behalf of Her Exaltedness and the Peace Force, please accept a humble and heartfelt apology for this recent unpleasantness. I have been authorized to offer each of you $100.00 in damages, excepting Ms Ariel Black, to whom $500.00 in damages are offered due to her additional trauma. In addition, the D'Aubainne International Airporter Hotel has agreed to extend free lodgings to you all for two additional nights, and meals will be complimentary. Finally, food has been ordered, as many of you are no doubt hungry. It should be arriving in a few minutes."
"To answer the question which is no doubt on everyone's mind, your fellow passenger, Mr. David Powers, has been placed under arrest on several charges, the most serious of which is murder. Because this crime was particularly heinous and brutal, and because we were unsure of the suspect's motives, or whether he was acting alone or as part of some sort of terrorist operation, we were forced to employ somewhat more violent methods than might have been preferred. The Terminal's resident panel of judges has been alerted, and are on their way, and we expect the trial to commence within the hour. As you are all potential witnesses to Powers' activities inthe waiting room, I must ask that all of you wait here and be prepared to testify."
"Before I continue, are there any questions?"
A female Peace Force officer enters the room, walks over to Marda, and speaks softly to her. After the Peace Force officer has spoken with her, Marda says, "Thank you," and starts grinning ear to ear - certainly not the reaction one would expect from someone after Inspector Wrench's revelation that she was tackled by an accused murderer.
Leo nearly gasps at Inspector Wrench's words. The trial will start whithin the hour? He raises a timid hand. "Sir, is this habitual procedure to start such a trial as early as, what is it now, six or seven in the morning? I mean, is this case particular, or is it just the way things work here?"
Wrench looks at his watch. "The actual time is 4:52 am, and yes, it is common for trials to begin at this or any other time. Likely the trial would have begun already if the Terminal judges weren't asleep when the crime was comitted. Her Exaltedness believes in swift justice wherever possible, and it is preferable that trials take place as soon after the event as possible. In this case, we were fortunate enough to capture the suspect quickly and in the vicinity of the crime, so it will actually be possible to hold the trial at the site of the crime itself. This will enable the panel of judges to examine the evidence firsthand, rather than relying on photographs or indirect evidence."
Levine coughs slightly. "Ah, is that one Powers?" he says, indicating the one who the officers stand nearby.
Wrench nods. "Yes, that is Mr. Powers."
Bruce slumps back in his seat, tipping his hat down over his eyes. "Strewth! We are all going to age anothe-a eighdeen yea-as befo-a we get outta 'e-a!" Bruce crosses his arms on his chest in an attempt to get some shut-eye while the party waits.
Finding a chair, Kitty sit down as if she had just gotten on a horse, back of chair against her stomach; she folds her hand across the top and lays her chin on her arms. "Mmmm, food, I'm starved! How bout a nice..." she looks around, recognizing that her voice has become too loud. "Steak," is said in a soft mouse hush. She then spends her time staring at the door that they just came though a look of grumpiness and compassion washed across her face.
"If there are no further questions, I will let you all settle down and relax until the judges arrive." Wrench picks up his clipboard and moves off to confer with one of the Peace Force officers. Fifteen minutes later, food arrives.
Its pizza, but not the sort of pizza that you get at "Round Table". More the sort that you get and very expensive (and trendy) italian restaraunts. Instead of being large pizzas, there are numerous individual pizzas, with various toppings ranging from cheese (with feta), to vegetarian to combo to all meat. Coffee, tea, and soft drinks are also served. There is quite a bit of food, and even the Peace Force officers and Inspector Wrench snag a couple of slices.
Leo almost licks his chops when he smells the appetizing food. He looks at his diminutive companion. "Wanna come over and get something to eat, Marda?" asks. He expects a six year old to be pretty much bottomless, but he also noticed (from her sticky hands) that she's had some candy recently... (And one can also expect six year olds to be contrary!)
Marda nods enthusiastically in approval and after making a few vain attempts to reach one of the round appetizing grails on her own, turns to Leo and asks, "Could you get one for me?"
Leo clears a little spot on the edge of the table, then lifts Marda so she can sit there and reach her choice of goodies. He snags three of the pizzas, making sure there are no onions on them (as everyone knows, adults love onions but young persons can't stand them). Deftly switching them from hand to hand, he waves them under Marda's nose.
"What will it be, mademoiselle? Artichoke hearts, pesto and mushrooms? Basil, shrimps and tomatoes, perhaps? Or maybe chicken, green peppers and herbs?"
Even as he tries to make Marda smile after the rather frightening events of a few moments ago, he darts somewhat wary glances in the direction of the Peace Force officers and their hulking charge. Every time anyone twitches in that corner, Leo seems to brace himself for more mayhem.
Marda impetuously grabs the first pizza that enters her reach and begins munching voraciously, still avoiding the numerous Scyllas and Charybdides placed on the pie by the evil minions of Haute Cuisine.
Kitty looks back and forth from Leo to Marda and then examines the pizzas as if she hadn't eaten for weeks. Looking over the veggy pizzas, she frowns and actually licks her chops when she sees a pizza with nothing but meat and cheese. "OK, this one is mine..." She wraps her arm around the pizza box and winks playfully. Kitty smiles and sets the box down and grabs two slices.
Bruce opens one eye as the pizzas are brought in and gets up. He stretches for a second and walks over to the pizzas, eyeing each. He seems to catch his breath for a second when Kitty grabs the entire meat lover's pizza, as if to say "Hey wait a minute there, mate!". He relaxes as she only takes two slices from the box, and reaches over to get his. "This is the strangest brekkie I ev-a 'ad. Never ate bange-as like this befo-a!", and goes in search of a cuppa.
Over the next thirty minutes or so much pizza is consumed, many cups of coffee/tea/soda are drunk, and the group (Powers excepted) generally gets to relax and decompress after having large numbers of guns pointed at them (*WHEW*). Then Lucius Wrench's portable telephone rings and he speaks into it for a moment, then nods and puts it away. His announcement to the group comes at a most opportune time, since Bruce and Kitty are just preparing to battle it out for the last slice of all-meat pizza.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the judges have arrived. Judge Fang wishes to address you for a few moments prior to beginning the trial, in order to explain your rights and responsibilities under Al Amarjan law."
Powers has by this time been carted into the room and plopped in a chair,
still guarded by a pair of alert Peace Force officers.
"Good morning," he begins, in an accent that is pure New York City, "I am senior judge Fang. These are my two assistant judges, judge Foo" (he indicates the hooded man) "and judge Ming" (indicating the woman). "Before we commence with the trial, you need to be briefed on the workings of Al Amarjan law so that you may participate fully in the proceedings."
Judge Fang holds out a hand and raises his index finger. "First and foremost, Al Amarjan law is not based on that of the British judicial system that most of you are familiar with. Al Amarjan law is based on the Napoleonic Code, and the court is modeled after the french tribunal system. The most important implication that this has for the accused, and for you as witnesses, is that there is no presumption of innocence intil guilt is proven. Instead, the opposite holds true - the accused is presumed guilty unless proven innocent. Also, unlike what many of you may be familar with, there is no trial by jury. Instead, three judges hear the case and render a verdict. In this particular instance I am the presiding judge. Judge Foo will take the part of the prossecuting judge, and Judge Ming will record the proceedings."
Another finger goes up. "Second, unlike most courts throughout the world, those of Al Amarja make every effort to mete out justice swiftly. It is for this reason that Her Exaltedness maintains tribunals of judges throughout the island to deal with criminal cases. In this particular case we are fortunate in that the accused was apprehended soon after the crime was comitted, and near the scene. This allows us to hold the trial at the prefered location - the place where the crime actually occured. In this way, we can examine the evidence in situ. Needless to say, in cases where forensic or technical analysis is required, we are forced to delay the trial and hold the accused until all the evidence can be introduced."
Yet another finger. "Third, the appeals process has been streamlined here on Al Amarja. The accused receives a trial, and in the event of a 'guilty' verdict, has the opportunity to appeal. In order to be found guilty either the presiding judge - myself - or both of the assisting judges must declare the accused guilty. None of the judges may abstain from the decision - all must enter a verdict of guilty or not guilty. If found guilty, the accused receives a number of appeals equal to the number of judges who voted 'not guilty'. The first appeal is to the Al Amarjan Court of Appeals located in Freedom City. The second and highest appeal is to Her Exaltedness, Monique D'Aubainne herself, or to an appointed representative."
One more finger. "Finally, a few words on the crimes comitted and the penalties. The accused," he waves a hand in the direction of Powers, " is, in this case, accused of assault on a government official with intent to comit murder, and of murder of a government official. Sentence for both crimes is death by hanging."
Judge Fang clasps his hands behind his back. "Now then, do any of you have any questions before we adjourn to the murder site?"
Leo raises his hands, and uses it to point at the little girl sitting on the edge of the table, gnawing on pizza. "Your Honour, couldn't Marda - this young lady - be excused? The scene of a murder hardly seems the place for a child."
Kitty raises her hand. "I second that comment, the child has been through too much trauma already, sir".
Judge Fang nods sagely at the questions posed by Leo and Catherine, then replies: "I am afraid that the child is a witness, and because of this she must participate in the trial to the extent of giving testimony. However, in deference to your concerns, I will call her as the first witness after the defendant. Is this acceptable?"
Leo seems to hesitate a bit. He glances at Kitty, grimaces, shrugs. "I guess we can't really dictate conditions..." he murmurs.
Kitty nods in agreement. "I wish to suggest that she should not hear the verdict personally."
Judge Fang turns to Marda. "And how do you feel about this, little girl?"
Marda looks down at her feet while the legal conversation goes on around her. In response to the judge's question, she looks up and answers, "I guess that's OK. I've never seen a real trial before."
"Very well," comments Judge Fang. "Are there any further questions?"
Bruce gets one more cup of tea and on his way back to his seat stops for a second and says, "Pa-don me Judge, but how long is this trial gonna take? I'm still wet from the trip and would like a showe-a sometime in the nea-a futu-a." He asks the question as he makes his way to his seat and sits down, keeping in eye contact with the Judge.
He decides that asking to be excused from the trial (since he doesn't have a clue who Powers is) would be ignored the same way tourists try to ignore his warnings about how they can't go stand next to the crocodiles for a picture. Especially since they won't even excuse a little girl...
"Long enough for all the witnesses to give testimony," answers Judge Fang. "Once that is finished, you may all be excused - with the exception of the accused, of course."
After a moment or surveying the silent, rather exhausted travelers, Judge Fang nods. "Since there do not appear to be any more questions, let us adjourn to the scene of the crime and get the trial underway."
The three judges turn and exit the conference room, and two Peace Force
officers haul Powers to his feet and lead him off as well. As the
newly arrived tourists shuffle out behind, it becomes evident that several
members of the C&I staff are heading in the direction of the judges
as well. Dinesh Rajpal, the woman with the long earlobes, and a rather
small, clerkish looking man head down the hall behind the judges, and enter
a room marked "Interview Cubicle #12".
To Be Continued...