Dark Light Present Today: Book Two of Forever Tomorrow Volume One of The Book of Tomorrows, Page 2
Alexander Ulysses Thor
CHAPTER TWO
CHEF ON A HOT TIN ROOF
1
The surreal image of the silver Eco-SUV moving slowly down the road, surrounded by four security patrol cars with flashing red lights and sirens blaring, appeared to be happening in real time as indicated by the word LIVE on the upper left-hand corner of the large monitor. On the bottom of the screen, the headline for a breaking news report on the Search and Capture Operation for wanted fugitive Warren Stacy, simply read; MERRY CHEF ON LAM, GETS GOOSE COOKED.
A news-anchor reported how the Western Territorial Security Police took control of the stolen vehicle using the computer override switch built into the GPS units on all modern forms of transportation, and they were currently in the process of escorting the fugitive into custody.
The image froze on a close-up of Warren behind the wheel, holding his hands up to his forehead, visibly distraught, and tearfully sobbing. Pointing a remote control at the large screen, Ricardo put the video of the three-week-old news story on pause. He was playing the video for the court in the trial of Warren Stacy and Owen Sandy on charges of improper physical conduct, manslaughter for the death of Larry Barbra, and treason for the attempted murder of Guardian Administrator Cain V. In showing the news report to the court before his opening statement, Ricardo attempted to bring to light the effect the defendant’s disease had on their minds.
“I just don’t get it, nor do I understand it. There is really something wrong going on around here when well-respected men, pillars of the community, can fall from grace so hard and so fast without any warning of their impending mental disabilities. It is an epidemic we need to eradicate before it infects us all.” Ricardo began his opening statement with the sound and fury of a bible-thumping preacher condemning Warren’s and Owen’s sexuality and blaming it for their crimes—a sound and viable approach to win over the courtroom without alienating the judge and jury.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, members of the court, honorable Guardian Administrator Cain V, and fellow citizens of New America bearing witness to these proceedings, I am here today to prove to the court the undeniable guilt of the defendants. I felt it necessary to show this footage to demonstrate how Warren Stacy’s sexual psychosis caused him to flee, exhibiting the same cowardly weak will he displayed when plotting against the life of Guardian Administrator Cain V.
“Unlike many religious beliefs from the past, which considered homosexuality to be a grievous sin against god, we now know the condition to be a malady of the mind and not an act of eternal damnation. In doing so, we learned to treat the sickness as you would any mental disorder, with psychological therapy and psychiatric medicine, instead of praying for a cure.” Ricardo explained the modern day thinking on the subject.
“Unfortunately, like a malignant tumor, once the cancer spreads throughout the body, it is too late for a cure. This virulent disease infects the mind with a distortion of reality similar to what some past serial killers suffered after living through unbelievable physical and/or emotional abuse as a child until their sanity finally broke, and what remained was something less than human. You may very well feel sympathy for the poor, helpless child, wishing there was a way to go back in time to prevent the abuse from ever happening, but once they become a monster you have to treat them as you would a rabid dog before they bite you. This homosexual disorder works on the mind in the same manner.” Ricardo tried to win over the jury by expressing compassion for the inflicted, while damning their mind-altering illness.
“This gay disease perverts the mind along with the flesh, motivating good people to do terrible things they normally would never do. It was one of the most pervasive symptoms for the fall of civilization at the start of the 21st century, manifesting a moral decay rotting away at society until it finally collapsed into total chaos. We used to live in a disinformation age that broke everything down into meaningless entertainment to satisfy the gluttonous appetites of couch potato minds, while also saturating them with endless pornographic depravity on the worldwide web 24/7. Once at the forefront of many great innovations, inventions, and technological achievements, America de-evolved into a morally bankrupt nation. Somewhere along the way, we stopped thinking for ourselves. We embraced religious myths to make some of our most important decisions, while turning a blind eye to the escalating immorality over the so-called progressive years. By the end, we were electing our leaders based on how they believed in god. Or, if they were somebody who we could share a beer. There were some who even denied the evolution of life. Saying things like, ‘I don’t come from no monkey’, then go out and build creationism museums with cavemen riding dinosaurs. We became a nation of idiots, a society of ostriches with our heads stuck firmly in the ground.”
Taking a moment’s pause in his opening statement tirade, Ricardo took a sip of water from a glass on the prosecutor’s table as he tried to gage the jury’s reaction to his poignant words. He glanced over to Jacob, who was sitting with Warren and Owen at the defendant’s table, and took note of the non-reaction to his denunciation of previous degenerate malcontents, most likely waiting for him to connect it to his client’s sociably unacceptable behavior.
“This was why at the start of New America, to help regain our humanity, we instituted the Great Purge—a systematic search and destroy mission to remove all pornographic material from the internet, along with any website dedicated to racist hate speech or memberships in previously legal organizations catering to the perverse fetish needs of psychologically damaged people. We then had to root out and dispose of every hard copy, digital recording, video tape, magazine, or any other inappropriate depravity, including hateful symbolic emblems representing the memory of past glory days of racist organizations.”
Looking over at Jacob with a clever grin, Ricardo exuded a sly confidence, knowing the next part of his statement would hit him where it hurt—his pride.
“Even the landmark work of my learned, opposing counsel supports my argument. His first, highly acclaimed special, called The Elusive Gay Gene, established the present day thinking on homosexuality, even going so far as to calling it a psychological disorder. This is what the defendants suffer from and what led to their irrational plot to overthrow the government. During this trial, I will present incontrovertible evidence that will prove beyond a shadow of doubt the guilt of the defendants on the high crimes charged against them.”
Ricardo felt quite proud of himself after giving his opening statement. He sat down at the prosecutor’s table, wanting to tilt his chair back, with his feet propped up on the table, and his hands clasped behind his head. He fought back the urge, sitting up straight with folded hands. So sure the power of his words won over the jury, he felt if this were the Wild West they would be stringing up Warren and Owen out in front of the courthouse about now.
The trial of Warren Stacy and Owen Sandy took place at the Colorado State Capitol building on a mid-morning Monday in early December. Built in 1890, intentionally reminiscent of the United States Capitol, the venerable, old building was located near the downtown Denver civic center, and now served as the New Nation’s Capital and Supreme Court of the land. Sticking with the philosophy of throwing out the bad and keeping the good, they decided to leave the legal system structured according to tried and true methods, but with some minor changes. A judge and twelve member jury system was kept intact, except now potential jurors submitted their names for consideration and had to prove they were qualified to sit on a jury. Ignorance was no longer bliss. Of course, a potential juror could not have specific knowledge of the case, but did need to be familiar with the type of crime committed; i.e. in the trial of someone charged with computer hacking, the people passing judgment on the offender should know something about computers. In the past, many guilty people went free while some innocent ones went to prison, sometimes on death row, simply because one or more of the twelve did not understand the evidence presented to them.
One visible change in all legal proceedings and practices was the removal o
f the word god from every court document and quoted doctrine engraved in the hallowed halls of justice, including the oath people swore to tell the truth on, no longer done on a bible, but The Book of Tomorrows, instead.
Back when the world reverted into a savage land, the only law and order to be found, aside from survival of the fittest, came from whoever was in charge of whatever city, town, village, or any other kind of settlement people carved out for themselves. Usually ruled by some half-baked despot their tenure of rule depended upon having the force of strength to keep it.
Then the Prophet Warrior came along with The Book of Tomorrows and put an end to all that, bringing about peace, prosperity, and justice for all.
Well, maybe not all.
Warren sat at the defendants table wishing the whole nightmare were over, taking some comfort in seeing Owen for the first time since the horrible mess began. Owen’s presence was the only thing keeping him from falling apart. He was the rock that held him together, much in the same way he enabled Owen to stay in touch with his sensitive side, something only Warren seemed to be able to bring out in him. If Owen had been there that day, he would never have run off. Well, drove off in poor Michael’s car. They had been through so much turmoil already and didn’t need his headaches, too. But after the warning call from Hanna, of all people, he was too frightened to think straight and running seemed like a good idea at the time.
While he remained grateful for Hanna’s timely call, even if he could not understand why she did it, Warren had doubts as to where Jacob’s sympathies lied. Owen and Warren were living in their apartment for almost a year before Jacob moved in, with Michael following soon after. Their two previous roommates moved on after successful matches by the SBP, giving them the opportunity to get to know one another. In the time they had alone together, Warren and Owen became close friends despite being as different as night and day. They developed strong feelings for each other, only not with the heated passion of Michael and Eve. Theirs was more a compassionate understanding for the needs of the other. They were the perfect odd couple.
A month before Jacob moved in, Owen came home late one night from covering a boxing match and found Warren terribly upset over something he saw on television. Jacob’s first special, The Elusive Gay Gene, premiered that night, something everyone was talking about, saying how this Rose guy would be big one day. Warren thought it might answer some questions about these strange feelings he had whenever alone with Owen. Instead, it left him thinking he suffered from some kind of mental derangement. He wasn’t going to say anything. Except when Owen asked him what was wrong, it all came pouring out of him. What the special said, how he felt, and how he would understand if he repulsed Owen and he wanted him to move out. But a miracle happened instead. Owen understood. Even better, he felt the same way, but was too confused to say anything about it.
They spent their first night together comforting each other with words as they stayed up talking about how they each wanted to say something to the other, but had no idea how to broach the subject. Then when Jacob moved in, real panic started to set in again. Warren could not understand why they sent him there. Not that celebrities garnered special treatment, but Jacob’s star was on the rise, and the GAC was supposed to be a big fan. Even Jacob seemed a little bewildered by it when first moving in, but just thought his mentor father figure—who had been guiding his career for as long as he could remember—wanted to give him a lesson in being humble so he wouldn’t get too caught up in the big talk going around about his new nightly talk show. It wasn’t until Michael moved in a few weeks later when Warren finally began to relax.
Jacob held Michael in high regard from the day they met, and in a weird way, he looked up to him. When Jacob was first starting out, he was unsatisfied with the material provided by his head researcher, Franklin Harriet. Michael, who was only an intern at the time, overheard Jacob complaining about not getting the whole picture for his next special and suggested another perspective in which to present the material. From that day on, Michael became his top researcher and best friend, which gave Warren peace of mind in knowing people rarely caused trouble when content with their own lives.
Warren knew he could trust Michael to do the right thing, but he did not feel so sure about Jacob. It was what made him run after Michael said he would give him a call. Based on his special, he believed Jacob biased against him.
Although sitting at the table with Jacob ready to defend him, Warren now understood he had figured him all wrong. Just as Michael said, Jacob was doing everything he could to help as he prepared to put his reputation on the line for them. He never questioned whether or not they were innocent. He just accepted it as fact.
Jacob stood up to defend his friends with less concern than Warren for his public approval ratings. He planned on using his opening statement to sweeten the bitter taste left by Ricardo’s harsh words. By forcing his hand with what he knew must be fabricated evidence, someone made it personal. It was a big mistake he would make the true villain soon regret, especially after unwittingly providing him with the opportunity to turn the whole situation to his advantage by publicly declaring it time to overhaul the SBP system.
“Distinguished members of the jury, honorable Guardian Administrator Cain V who graciously offered to sit in judgment over these proceedings, and the faithful officers of the court, I want to thank you for your time and patience during what I am sure will be some trying moments for you to have to sit through. But the truth can sometimes be a hard thing to bring out into the light, especially when so many shadows have been cast around us.”
Walking around the table, Jacob gave the GAC an encouraging nod and a sly wink as he moved by him, making his way over to address the jury.
“Since the prosecuting attorney has decided to base his case on gossip, innuendo, rumors, and distorted evidence, I feel it is only proper to redress some of these slanderous allegations. The first thing I have to dispute is the prosecutor’s deceptively revisionist view of history.” Pausing a moment, he gave Ricardo a quick, determined glance, imparting a silent message letting him know it was his turn now.
“Some people say I am a bit of an expert on the subject, when in truth I have the best researcher on the planet working for me, and I may even call him as an expert witness.”
The jury box set on the right side of the courtroom next to the prosecution’s table with the defendants sitting across from them on the left. The judge sat front and center of the attorneys with the witness box located on the jury’s side. Jacob walked back and forth in front of the twelve dutiful citizens, gauging the most advantageous position to stand. He found a spot in full view of the jury that obscured Ricardo from their sight as he continued rebuking the validity of the prosecutor’s statement.
“The real beginning of the end came for our old world after the nightmarish terror attacks on September 11th 2001. From that day on, we started to destroy ourselves from the inside out, tearing apart the freedoms we built this country on. It spawned a paranoid dread the terrorists never even imagined. Almost overnight, the world changed around us. A fearful ignorance spread out as the global market expanded, with many jobs previously done by Americans becoming either obsolete or more cost effective to outsource to other countries. It bred a racial hatred in the minds of those who never knew hunger. Soon after, anyone who didn’t fit in the all-American-apple-pie-mode was no longer considered to be a real American, even if their families had lived here for generations or their son grew up to become President. Hateful racists started pointing righteously arrogant fingers at anyone who was different, blaming them for destroying their American dream. They yearned for the golden years when foreigners knew their place and racial segregation ruled over our schools, workplaces, businesses, and major league sports. They longed for a time when the gays stayed in the closet, when homosexuality was something every race, creed, color, religion, majority, and minority could equally hate, believing it to be the greatest threat to their morally righteous
lives. But their hypocritical cries for preserving the sanctity of marriage were in direct contrast with reality, or should I say reality TV shows like Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire, The Bachelor, or any other number of bottom feeding programs promoting the commercialization of love and marriage.”
Jacob moved around to the front of the prosecutor’s table and looked at Ricardo as he made his next poignant remark. “We always fear what we do not understand.”
Like an actor hitting his mark, Jacob returned to obstructing Ricardo’s view in front of the jury.
Hanna, Eve, and Jean were sitting quietly in the back of the courtroom with about twenty-five other observers and court reporters. The three of them watched the trial in a silent bond of unity, not knowing how close a connection they had to each other. Caught off guard when Eve discreetly thanked her for the warning call she made to Warren, Hanna was reluctant to admit to it at first, feeling she might be taking an unnecessary risk, but felt she could trust Eve.
“One thing I am as certain of as I am of my client’s innocence is the equal rights allowing homosexuals to get married did not cause the breakdown of our old civilization. Any more than it would have an effect on our present society.” Jacob continued denying Ricardo’s inciting allegations without refuting his client’s sexuality.
“Good people of the jury, being gay or lesbian did not have anything to do with the destruction old world. The real culprit was corporate greed subsidized by corrupt politicians. At the end of the 20th century, we opened up a Pandora’s Box of technology so revolutionary that once turned on, it could never be shutoff. Because once invented that thing can never be un-invented it, or I am sure Oppenheimer would have unmade the atom bomb. And while I will never claim to be an expert at something I’m not, I can honestly say, and I believe many people around the country and in this room here would agree, I am a well-practiced authority on human behavior.”
Almost as if the trial was a live television broadcast of one of Jacob’s specials, everyone in the courtroom impulsively started clapping in agreement with the court’s pseudo-host. The GAC even put his hands together for a few seconds of obligatory adulation before catching himself.
“This homosexual phenomenon has been around since the beginning of human history, with famous figures like Plato and Alexander the Great having a proclivity for the act. Many ancient cultures thought of it as a viable alternative for people in position of power to use to dominate others, whether they were willing participates or not. They did not consider it a sin or morally wrong.
“So after subtracting religion from the equation, we are then left with only three theoretically credible answers to account for the anomaly, which is what it is and not an immorally aberrant act, unless done against ones free will. Yet the real question is why does it happen? There has to be a reasonable explanation for the continued existence of this anomaly in our species over the centuries. Out of the three, the first has given so-called normal people the most comfort in believing it could never happen to them, because they must be freaks of nature, a biological mistake. The second theory I personally endorsed in my aforementioned television special called it a mental disorder, which has become the standard explanation for the condition. It is also the one that strikes the most fear in people, believing it could happen to anyone of them, at any time, and without warning. But once new information is introduced to the equation, you may calculate a different conclusion and to blindly continue with the same view would be as much of a hypocritical farce as this trial.”
“Objection. Opposing counsel is making a mockery of these proceedings,” Ricardo indignantly rose to his feet shouting out his disapproval of Jacob’s attitude. “He is treating this trial as a joke.”
“Sit down, Ricardo. You had your chance to pollute the minds of the jury with your ludicrous claims,” Jacob said in objection to his objection.
The sound of the GAC banging down his hardwood gavel on a sounding block got everyone’s immediate attention.
“Overruled,” the GAC judged. “I gave you some latitude in presenting your case, Mr. Danielle. It is only turnabout fair play to grant the defense counsel the same opportunity. I am sure the fine, intelligent members of the jury will be able to separate fact from opinion when deliberating the evidence.”
Ricardo begrudgingly sat back down, unsatisfied with the ruling. “Thank you for those clarifying remarks, your honor. Because Guardian Administrator Cain is absolutely right. These are only theories. But one thing is perfectly clear. The continued existence of homosexuals throughout time without any deviation in intelligence or physical deformity, often seen in the children of incest or people with psychotic tendencies from untreated mental disorders, would seem to rule out it being either a genetic mistake or a psychological illness. Leaving only one other conclusion to draw. It must be part of our DNA, a built-in mechanism in our genetic code to thin the herd, so to speak.”
Muttered laughter echoed out in the courtroom at the animalistic comparison of our species behavior, but fell to a hushed silence as Jacob’s next sentence got their full attention.
“Now, I would like to talk about sex.” Jacob said taking a moment’s pause for effect. “I want to discuss two very different schools of thought on the subject. One is the narrow-minded view of sexual intercourse being for the sole purpose of procreation. If that is true, then homosexuality was something never meant to be. Of course, we were never supposed to fly, either. Nor was mankind meant to be able to travel long distances to far off places at great speeds in the air, on land, and above or below sea. So we do not want to get too caught up on what is or what should never be; the world has always been what we made it.” Jacob said before starting to walk away, but turned on his heel to face the jury to make another intriguing point.
“The alternate philosophy we must acknowledge is the powerfully instinctive, universal need in almost every animal on the planet to be compelled by the pleasure factor. In order to prevent a species from dying off, sex had to be an insatiable desire built into our biological natures, driving every creature during a certain time of their life to seek out and find sexual gratification. It reminds me of the joke asking that age old question, how do porcupines do it? The answer simply is, any way they can.” Jacob said as everyone in the court, including Ricardo, got a kick out of that little tidbit.
“It is part of the circle of life, sometimes by any means necessary. Male animals in season will fight off other males to get to a female in heat. There are some who will even go against the grain in an effort to get back to where it all began, even if they have to die trying, like Salmon swimming upstream of raging rivers to spawn where they were born. A good friend of mine is fond of saying how you can learn a lot about life from old television shows, movies, music, and literature. I do have to admit, I never really agreed with him until the other day. He told me about an episode from an old television series featuring a half-alien crew member whose race dedicated their lives to logic and reason to the point of suppressing all emotions, but finds himself driven to the extreme act of attempting to hijack their spaceship so he could get back to his home planet of Vulcan to mate once every seven years, or else go insane. This driving passion made me take a broader look at sex without being influenced by close-minded, puritanical thinking.”
A blushing smile crossed Eve’s lips at reference to Michael’s favorite old show. Hanna was not in on the joke, having never heard Michael’s Star Trek theme song ringtone.
“Because it feels so good and can be a wonderful stress reliever, along with a pretty good cardiovascular workout, we should not judge our ancestors too harshly for being conflicted in trying to live according to their god’s laws, when they possessed the freedom of choice to do whatever they wanted. So if someone wants to have sex for the pure pleasure of it, who is to say what is right or wrong, natural or unnatural, normal or abnormal, as long as it takes place between consenting adults. Since being recently matched to a beautiful, kindhearted, bright young woman, I
can personally testify to gaining a fresh perspective on the subject.”
It was Hanna’s turn to blush from the personal joke only she and Jacob were in on, simply because they decided to follow Michael’s and Eve’s thought process in waiting until they got married before consummating their relationship.
“How sex has been viewed over the years often depended on when and where you were living at the time and judged from within that narrow perspective. For example, if someone were able to travel forward in time from 1870 to 1970, the sight of women wearing bikinis, hot pants, and tank tops, along with the sexual revolution in full swing as longhair hippies went around preaching the gospel of free love, getting high, and rock music, they probably would have had a heart attack from the shock alone. And if someone told those same hippies living in 1970 what the future would hold with internet pornography, people e-mailing each other naked pictures, and then posting them online, they would more than likely ask what you were smoking.”
After postulating the response of his hypothetical hippie stoner, Jacob took a moment to check his watch to see how much time had passed and if he needed to stretch his opening statement, something that shouldn’t be too hard for a talk show host to do.
“This was why when first starting over we needed to purge our baser natures of graphic depictions of sensual stimuli, and what we did then was right for the time in which we lived. We had to change our way of thinking to prevent suffering from the horrors of starvation. We needed put an end to violent abusive relationships, along with the insanity of some medieval religious practices. We had to put an end to hating others who were different from us, and most of all, we had to stop being our own worst enemy.
“But now that we have evolved beyond our baser instincts, these harsh measures are no longer necessary and have become obsolete. People should be given the opportunity to choose when, where, who, and also how and why they might want to bond with another person and to what purpose. I am not saying we should abandon the SBP system, just expand the parameters to include programs for same sex matches, while also allowing people to select their own mate to run through the system to see if they are compatible.”
As Jacob finished his sentence, Ricardo stood up to object, but was throw off by the last part about selecting your own mate. After realizing he was standing there for a few seconds before saying anything, he stuttered through his objection.
“Wh-what is the defense counsel admitting his clients are homosexuals?”
The words, ‘it is about time,’ quickly ran through Jacob’s mind.
“I’m not saying that at all. What I am saying is it does not matter if they are.” Jacob was glad Ricardo took the bait before returning his attention back to the jury. “I am not saying you have to understand homosexuality. I do not fully understand it. Then again, I don’t have to understand it. Since, I do not have those types of feelings nor am I hardwired that way. We just have to accept that sometimes the bond between two people is so strong it defies logic, like the old oxymoron about how opposite attract.”
Heads turned as the courtroom door opened, and Michael discreetly entered the room, gently closing it behind him. Eve sat in back of the court closest to the door. Trying to remain inconspicuous, Michael only had time to blow her a quick kiss. He gingerly walked over to the defendant’s table and quietly sat down next to Owen and Warren. He gave them positive, silent nods, while holding up his hands for a patient refrain.
Jacob thought Michael’s entrance well timed, hoping he came with news also well suited to their purpose, as he finished his opening statement.
“I would like to conclude by saying not only will I prove my clients innocent of the heinous charges against them, but I will also root out and expose whoever is really behind these despicable acts and disparaging lies.” Jacob said in closing before addressing the GAC. “Your honor, I was thinking this might be a good time to adjourn for lunch.”
“Yes, I agree. A break and some fresh air will do us all some good,” the GAC said, believing the last thing on Jacob’s mind was food. “Court is adjourned. We will meet back here in one hour.” The GAC dismissed court with a bang of his gavel.
As everyone got up to leave, Owen and Warren waited for Jacob to join them before trying to pry any information from Michael.
“So tell us, what has happened? Did you find something?” Warren asked in a hushed voice.
“Come on now, don’t leave us hanging?” Owen said.
“Patience, my good friends, patience,” Michael said. “Do not worry. Everything is going to be fine. ”
Outside in the courthouse lobby, SI Chandra and Det. Archer were waiting with perceptively different reasons pertaining to their motives for being there. GP Sally only had one reason.
Exiting first, Ricardo stayed over by the door as the court reporters hurried out behind him to get the breaking news story to their perspective editors. Instead of heading toward Det. Archer, he signaled Samantha over with a wave of his hand.
“Excuse me, sir,” Det. Archer said in an officious manner as she walked over to Ricardo just as Michael and Jacob stepped out into the lobby.
SI Chandra already deduced where Det. Archer’s loyalties were, and pleased it would get her out of the way. Jacob headed towards him as Michael veered off to tell the girls something.
“Is everything settled?” Jacob asked Michael after he joined them.
“No problem, the girls are taking Owen and Warren to lunch, so we are good to go.” Michael explained the arrangements made to give them time to go search for clues.
“Okay then, let’s go check it out,” Jacob said.
“I think we might find what we need there, except none of us has the clearance to access it.” Michael said as they left the courthouse.
Meanwhile, Ricardo and Samantha found a conference room for a private conversation to discuss their next move. Ricardo still had the part from Jacob’s opening statement about letting people choose their own SBP mate floating around in his head. The thing he wished for the most and been covertly working towards all this time. But he already played his hand and bet big with people who would not take it too kindly if he turned his back on them now.
“Tell me what they are up to. Why did they take off in such hurry? What does Chandra think he has found?” Ricardo asked about any pertinent information she might have overheard.
“They are definitely up to something, but Chandra’s not telling me anything. Kept me busy doing reports all morning while he and that ex-roommate of theirs went out looking for something. Whatever they were trying to find has to be close.” Samantha told him everything she thought could help. He might be able to read something between the lines she was not seeing.
“I don’t trust them. They are up to no good.” Ricardo said.
“What is the press all excited about? Is it in response to your opening statement? Did you win over the jury and the press with your stirring indictment showing how their mental psychosis could happen to anyone, even respected figures like the men on trial? I knew everyone would hear the urgency in your words and take immediate action when you read it to me the other day. If you cannot win their respect with a valid argument, then maybe fear is the next best thing.”
Ricardo felt things did not go quite as planned. By the time Jacob finished his opening statement, the momentum seemed to shift in his favor.
“I do not have time to think about that right now, or some slick-tongued orators’ mesmerizing effect on public opinion. He is overreaching, and it is going to cost him. I know there is nothing to find,” Ricardo said confident Jacob was picking at straws.
Ricardo purposely didn’t mention Jacob’s revelatory news causing the big media buzz, figuring she would hear about it soon enough. He could just see the headline now: NUMBER ONE CELEBRITY IN COUNTRY ENDORSES RIGHT TO CHOOSE OWN SBP
CHEF ON A HOT TIN ROOF
1
The surreal image of the silver Eco-SUV moving slowly down the road, surrounded by four security patrol cars with flashing red lights and sirens blaring, appeared to be happening in real time as indicated by the word LIVE on the upper left-hand corner of the large monitor. On the bottom of the screen, the headline for a breaking news report on the Search and Capture Operation for wanted fugitive Warren Stacy, simply read; MERRY CHEF ON LAM, GETS GOOSE COOKED.
A news-anchor reported how the Western Territorial Security Police took control of the stolen vehicle using the computer override switch built into the GPS units on all modern forms of transportation, and they were currently in the process of escorting the fugitive into custody.
The image froze on a close-up of Warren behind the wheel, holding his hands up to his forehead, visibly distraught, and tearfully sobbing. Pointing a remote control at the large screen, Ricardo put the video of the three-week-old news story on pause. He was playing the video for the court in the trial of Warren Stacy and Owen Sandy on charges of improper physical conduct, manslaughter for the death of Larry Barbra, and treason for the attempted murder of Guardian Administrator Cain V. In showing the news report to the court before his opening statement, Ricardo attempted to bring to light the effect the defendant’s disease had on their minds.
“I just don’t get it, nor do I understand it. There is really something wrong going on around here when well-respected men, pillars of the community, can fall from grace so hard and so fast without any warning of their impending mental disabilities. It is an epidemic we need to eradicate before it infects us all.” Ricardo began his opening statement with the sound and fury of a bible-thumping preacher condemning Warren’s and Owen’s sexuality and blaming it for their crimes—a sound and viable approach to win over the courtroom without alienating the judge and jury.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, members of the court, honorable Guardian Administrator Cain V, and fellow citizens of New America bearing witness to these proceedings, I am here today to prove to the court the undeniable guilt of the defendants. I felt it necessary to show this footage to demonstrate how Warren Stacy’s sexual psychosis caused him to flee, exhibiting the same cowardly weak will he displayed when plotting against the life of Guardian Administrator Cain V.
“Unlike many religious beliefs from the past, which considered homosexuality to be a grievous sin against god, we now know the condition to be a malady of the mind and not an act of eternal damnation. In doing so, we learned to treat the sickness as you would any mental disorder, with psychological therapy and psychiatric medicine, instead of praying for a cure.” Ricardo explained the modern day thinking on the subject.
“Unfortunately, like a malignant tumor, once the cancer spreads throughout the body, it is too late for a cure. This virulent disease infects the mind with a distortion of reality similar to what some past serial killers suffered after living through unbelievable physical and/or emotional abuse as a child until their sanity finally broke, and what remained was something less than human. You may very well feel sympathy for the poor, helpless child, wishing there was a way to go back in time to prevent the abuse from ever happening, but once they become a monster you have to treat them as you would a rabid dog before they bite you. This homosexual disorder works on the mind in the same manner.” Ricardo tried to win over the jury by expressing compassion for the inflicted, while damning their mind-altering illness.
“This gay disease perverts the mind along with the flesh, motivating good people to do terrible things they normally would never do. It was one of the most pervasive symptoms for the fall of civilization at the start of the 21st century, manifesting a moral decay rotting away at society until it finally collapsed into total chaos. We used to live in a disinformation age that broke everything down into meaningless entertainment to satisfy the gluttonous appetites of couch potato minds, while also saturating them with endless pornographic depravity on the worldwide web 24/7. Once at the forefront of many great innovations, inventions, and technological achievements, America de-evolved into a morally bankrupt nation. Somewhere along the way, we stopped thinking for ourselves. We embraced religious myths to make some of our most important decisions, while turning a blind eye to the escalating immorality over the so-called progressive years. By the end, we were electing our leaders based on how they believed in god. Or, if they were somebody who we could share a beer. There were some who even denied the evolution of life. Saying things like, ‘I don’t come from no monkey’, then go out and build creationism museums with cavemen riding dinosaurs. We became a nation of idiots, a society of ostriches with our heads stuck firmly in the ground.”
Taking a moment’s pause in his opening statement tirade, Ricardo took a sip of water from a glass on the prosecutor’s table as he tried to gage the jury’s reaction to his poignant words. He glanced over to Jacob, who was sitting with Warren and Owen at the defendant’s table, and took note of the non-reaction to his denunciation of previous degenerate malcontents, most likely waiting for him to connect it to his client’s sociably unacceptable behavior.
“This was why at the start of New America, to help regain our humanity, we instituted the Great Purge—a systematic search and destroy mission to remove all pornographic material from the internet, along with any website dedicated to racist hate speech or memberships in previously legal organizations catering to the perverse fetish needs of psychologically damaged people. We then had to root out and dispose of every hard copy, digital recording, video tape, magazine, or any other inappropriate depravity, including hateful symbolic emblems representing the memory of past glory days of racist organizations.”
Looking over at Jacob with a clever grin, Ricardo exuded a sly confidence, knowing the next part of his statement would hit him where it hurt—his pride.
“Even the landmark work of my learned, opposing counsel supports my argument. His first, highly acclaimed special, called The Elusive Gay Gene, established the present day thinking on homosexuality, even going so far as to calling it a psychological disorder. This is what the defendants suffer from and what led to their irrational plot to overthrow the government. During this trial, I will present incontrovertible evidence that will prove beyond a shadow of doubt the guilt of the defendants on the high crimes charged against them.”
Ricardo felt quite proud of himself after giving his opening statement. He sat down at the prosecutor’s table, wanting to tilt his chair back, with his feet propped up on the table, and his hands clasped behind his head. He fought back the urge, sitting up straight with folded hands. So sure the power of his words won over the jury, he felt if this were the Wild West they would be stringing up Warren and Owen out in front of the courthouse about now.
The trial of Warren Stacy and Owen Sandy took place at the Colorado State Capitol building on a mid-morning Monday in early December. Built in 1890, intentionally reminiscent of the United States Capitol, the venerable, old building was located near the downtown Denver civic center, and now served as the New Nation’s Capital and Supreme Court of the land. Sticking with the philosophy of throwing out the bad and keeping the good, they decided to leave the legal system structured according to tried and true methods, but with some minor changes. A judge and twelve member jury system was kept intact, except now potential jurors submitted their names for consideration and had to prove they were qualified to sit on a jury. Ignorance was no longer bliss. Of course, a potential juror could not have specific knowledge of the case, but did need to be familiar with the type of crime committed; i.e. in the trial of someone charged with computer hacking, the people passing judgment on the offender should know something about computers. In the past, many guilty people went free while some innocent ones went to prison, sometimes on death row, simply because one or more of the twelve did not understand the evidence presented to them.
One visible change in all legal proceedings and practices was the removal o
f the word god from every court document and quoted doctrine engraved in the hallowed halls of justice, including the oath people swore to tell the truth on, no longer done on a bible, but The Book of Tomorrows, instead.
Back when the world reverted into a savage land, the only law and order to be found, aside from survival of the fittest, came from whoever was in charge of whatever city, town, village, or any other kind of settlement people carved out for themselves. Usually ruled by some half-baked despot their tenure of rule depended upon having the force of strength to keep it.
Then the Prophet Warrior came along with The Book of Tomorrows and put an end to all that, bringing about peace, prosperity, and justice for all.
Well, maybe not all.
Warren sat at the defendants table wishing the whole nightmare were over, taking some comfort in seeing Owen for the first time since the horrible mess began. Owen’s presence was the only thing keeping him from falling apart. He was the rock that held him together, much in the same way he enabled Owen to stay in touch with his sensitive side, something only Warren seemed to be able to bring out in him. If Owen had been there that day, he would never have run off. Well, drove off in poor Michael’s car. They had been through so much turmoil already and didn’t need his headaches, too. But after the warning call from Hanna, of all people, he was too frightened to think straight and running seemed like a good idea at the time.
While he remained grateful for Hanna’s timely call, even if he could not understand why she did it, Warren had doubts as to where Jacob’s sympathies lied. Owen and Warren were living in their apartment for almost a year before Jacob moved in, with Michael following soon after. Their two previous roommates moved on after successful matches by the SBP, giving them the opportunity to get to know one another. In the time they had alone together, Warren and Owen became close friends despite being as different as night and day. They developed strong feelings for each other, only not with the heated passion of Michael and Eve. Theirs was more a compassionate understanding for the needs of the other. They were the perfect odd couple.
A month before Jacob moved in, Owen came home late one night from covering a boxing match and found Warren terribly upset over something he saw on television. Jacob’s first special, The Elusive Gay Gene, premiered that night, something everyone was talking about, saying how this Rose guy would be big one day. Warren thought it might answer some questions about these strange feelings he had whenever alone with Owen. Instead, it left him thinking he suffered from some kind of mental derangement. He wasn’t going to say anything. Except when Owen asked him what was wrong, it all came pouring out of him. What the special said, how he felt, and how he would understand if he repulsed Owen and he wanted him to move out. But a miracle happened instead. Owen understood. Even better, he felt the same way, but was too confused to say anything about it.
They spent their first night together comforting each other with words as they stayed up talking about how they each wanted to say something to the other, but had no idea how to broach the subject. Then when Jacob moved in, real panic started to set in again. Warren could not understand why they sent him there. Not that celebrities garnered special treatment, but Jacob’s star was on the rise, and the GAC was supposed to be a big fan. Even Jacob seemed a little bewildered by it when first moving in, but just thought his mentor father figure—who had been guiding his career for as long as he could remember—wanted to give him a lesson in being humble so he wouldn’t get too caught up in the big talk going around about his new nightly talk show. It wasn’t until Michael moved in a few weeks later when Warren finally began to relax.
Jacob held Michael in high regard from the day they met, and in a weird way, he looked up to him. When Jacob was first starting out, he was unsatisfied with the material provided by his head researcher, Franklin Harriet. Michael, who was only an intern at the time, overheard Jacob complaining about not getting the whole picture for his next special and suggested another perspective in which to present the material. From that day on, Michael became his top researcher and best friend, which gave Warren peace of mind in knowing people rarely caused trouble when content with their own lives.
Warren knew he could trust Michael to do the right thing, but he did not feel so sure about Jacob. It was what made him run after Michael said he would give him a call. Based on his special, he believed Jacob biased against him.
Although sitting at the table with Jacob ready to defend him, Warren now understood he had figured him all wrong. Just as Michael said, Jacob was doing everything he could to help as he prepared to put his reputation on the line for them. He never questioned whether or not they were innocent. He just accepted it as fact.
Jacob stood up to defend his friends with less concern than Warren for his public approval ratings. He planned on using his opening statement to sweeten the bitter taste left by Ricardo’s harsh words. By forcing his hand with what he knew must be fabricated evidence, someone made it personal. It was a big mistake he would make the true villain soon regret, especially after unwittingly providing him with the opportunity to turn the whole situation to his advantage by publicly declaring it time to overhaul the SBP system.
“Distinguished members of the jury, honorable Guardian Administrator Cain V who graciously offered to sit in judgment over these proceedings, and the faithful officers of the court, I want to thank you for your time and patience during what I am sure will be some trying moments for you to have to sit through. But the truth can sometimes be a hard thing to bring out into the light, especially when so many shadows have been cast around us.”
Walking around the table, Jacob gave the GAC an encouraging nod and a sly wink as he moved by him, making his way over to address the jury.
“Since the prosecuting attorney has decided to base his case on gossip, innuendo, rumors, and distorted evidence, I feel it is only proper to redress some of these slanderous allegations. The first thing I have to dispute is the prosecutor’s deceptively revisionist view of history.” Pausing a moment, he gave Ricardo a quick, determined glance, imparting a silent message letting him know it was his turn now.
“Some people say I am a bit of an expert on the subject, when in truth I have the best researcher on the planet working for me, and I may even call him as an expert witness.”
The jury box set on the right side of the courtroom next to the prosecution’s table with the defendants sitting across from them on the left. The judge sat front and center of the attorneys with the witness box located on the jury’s side. Jacob walked back and forth in front of the twelve dutiful citizens, gauging the most advantageous position to stand. He found a spot in full view of the jury that obscured Ricardo from their sight as he continued rebuking the validity of the prosecutor’s statement.
“The real beginning of the end came for our old world after the nightmarish terror attacks on September 11th 2001. From that day on, we started to destroy ourselves from the inside out, tearing apart the freedoms we built this country on. It spawned a paranoid dread the terrorists never even imagined. Almost overnight, the world changed around us. A fearful ignorance spread out as the global market expanded, with many jobs previously done by Americans becoming either obsolete or more cost effective to outsource to other countries. It bred a racial hatred in the minds of those who never knew hunger. Soon after, anyone who didn’t fit in the all-American-apple-pie-mode was no longer considered to be a real American, even if their families had lived here for generations or their son grew up to become President. Hateful racists started pointing righteously arrogant fingers at anyone who was different, blaming them for destroying their American dream. They yearned for the golden years when foreigners knew their place and racial segregation ruled over our schools, workplaces, businesses, and major league sports. They longed for a time when the gays stayed in the closet, when homosexuality was something every race, creed, color, religion, majority, and minority could equally hate, believing it to be the greatest threat to their morally righteous
lives. But their hypocritical cries for preserving the sanctity of marriage were in direct contrast with reality, or should I say reality TV shows like Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire, The Bachelor, or any other number of bottom feeding programs promoting the commercialization of love and marriage.”
Jacob moved around to the front of the prosecutor’s table and looked at Ricardo as he made his next poignant remark. “We always fear what we do not understand.”
Like an actor hitting his mark, Jacob returned to obstructing Ricardo’s view in front of the jury.
Hanna, Eve, and Jean were sitting quietly in the back of the courtroom with about twenty-five other observers and court reporters. The three of them watched the trial in a silent bond of unity, not knowing how close a connection they had to each other. Caught off guard when Eve discreetly thanked her for the warning call she made to Warren, Hanna was reluctant to admit to it at first, feeling she might be taking an unnecessary risk, but felt she could trust Eve.
“One thing I am as certain of as I am of my client’s innocence is the equal rights allowing homosexuals to get married did not cause the breakdown of our old civilization. Any more than it would have an effect on our present society.” Jacob continued denying Ricardo’s inciting allegations without refuting his client’s sexuality.
“Good people of the jury, being gay or lesbian did not have anything to do with the destruction old world. The real culprit was corporate greed subsidized by corrupt politicians. At the end of the 20th century, we opened up a Pandora’s Box of technology so revolutionary that once turned on, it could never be shutoff. Because once invented that thing can never be un-invented it, or I am sure Oppenheimer would have unmade the atom bomb. And while I will never claim to be an expert at something I’m not, I can honestly say, and I believe many people around the country and in this room here would agree, I am a well-practiced authority on human behavior.”
Almost as if the trial was a live television broadcast of one of Jacob’s specials, everyone in the courtroom impulsively started clapping in agreement with the court’s pseudo-host. The GAC even put his hands together for a few seconds of obligatory adulation before catching himself.
“This homosexual phenomenon has been around since the beginning of human history, with famous figures like Plato and Alexander the Great having a proclivity for the act. Many ancient cultures thought of it as a viable alternative for people in position of power to use to dominate others, whether they were willing participates or not. They did not consider it a sin or morally wrong.
“So after subtracting religion from the equation, we are then left with only three theoretically credible answers to account for the anomaly, which is what it is and not an immorally aberrant act, unless done against ones free will. Yet the real question is why does it happen? There has to be a reasonable explanation for the continued existence of this anomaly in our species over the centuries. Out of the three, the first has given so-called normal people the most comfort in believing it could never happen to them, because they must be freaks of nature, a biological mistake. The second theory I personally endorsed in my aforementioned television special called it a mental disorder, which has become the standard explanation for the condition. It is also the one that strikes the most fear in people, believing it could happen to anyone of them, at any time, and without warning. But once new information is introduced to the equation, you may calculate a different conclusion and to blindly continue with the same view would be as much of a hypocritical farce as this trial.”
“Objection. Opposing counsel is making a mockery of these proceedings,” Ricardo indignantly rose to his feet shouting out his disapproval of Jacob’s attitude. “He is treating this trial as a joke.”
“Sit down, Ricardo. You had your chance to pollute the minds of the jury with your ludicrous claims,” Jacob said in objection to his objection.
The sound of the GAC banging down his hardwood gavel on a sounding block got everyone’s immediate attention.
“Overruled,” the GAC judged. “I gave you some latitude in presenting your case, Mr. Danielle. It is only turnabout fair play to grant the defense counsel the same opportunity. I am sure the fine, intelligent members of the jury will be able to separate fact from opinion when deliberating the evidence.”
Ricardo begrudgingly sat back down, unsatisfied with the ruling. “Thank you for those clarifying remarks, your honor. Because Guardian Administrator Cain is absolutely right. These are only theories. But one thing is perfectly clear. The continued existence of homosexuals throughout time without any deviation in intelligence or physical deformity, often seen in the children of incest or people with psychotic tendencies from untreated mental disorders, would seem to rule out it being either a genetic mistake or a psychological illness. Leaving only one other conclusion to draw. It must be part of our DNA, a built-in mechanism in our genetic code to thin the herd, so to speak.”
Muttered laughter echoed out in the courtroom at the animalistic comparison of our species behavior, but fell to a hushed silence as Jacob’s next sentence got their full attention.
“Now, I would like to talk about sex.” Jacob said taking a moment’s pause for effect. “I want to discuss two very different schools of thought on the subject. One is the narrow-minded view of sexual intercourse being for the sole purpose of procreation. If that is true, then homosexuality was something never meant to be. Of course, we were never supposed to fly, either. Nor was mankind meant to be able to travel long distances to far off places at great speeds in the air, on land, and above or below sea. So we do not want to get too caught up on what is or what should never be; the world has always been what we made it.” Jacob said before starting to walk away, but turned on his heel to face the jury to make another intriguing point.
“The alternate philosophy we must acknowledge is the powerfully instinctive, universal need in almost every animal on the planet to be compelled by the pleasure factor. In order to prevent a species from dying off, sex had to be an insatiable desire built into our biological natures, driving every creature during a certain time of their life to seek out and find sexual gratification. It reminds me of the joke asking that age old question, how do porcupines do it? The answer simply is, any way they can.” Jacob said as everyone in the court, including Ricardo, got a kick out of that little tidbit.
“It is part of the circle of life, sometimes by any means necessary. Male animals in season will fight off other males to get to a female in heat. There are some who will even go against the grain in an effort to get back to where it all began, even if they have to die trying, like Salmon swimming upstream of raging rivers to spawn where they were born. A good friend of mine is fond of saying how you can learn a lot about life from old television shows, movies, music, and literature. I do have to admit, I never really agreed with him until the other day. He told me about an episode from an old television series featuring a half-alien crew member whose race dedicated their lives to logic and reason to the point of suppressing all emotions, but finds himself driven to the extreme act of attempting to hijack their spaceship so he could get back to his home planet of Vulcan to mate once every seven years, or else go insane. This driving passion made me take a broader look at sex without being influenced by close-minded, puritanical thinking.”
A blushing smile crossed Eve’s lips at reference to Michael’s favorite old show. Hanna was not in on the joke, having never heard Michael’s Star Trek theme song ringtone.
“Because it feels so good and can be a wonderful stress reliever, along with a pretty good cardiovascular workout, we should not judge our ancestors too harshly for being conflicted in trying to live according to their god’s laws, when they possessed the freedom of choice to do whatever they wanted. So if someone wants to have sex for the pure pleasure of it, who is to say what is right or wrong, natural or unnatural, normal or abnormal, as long as it takes place between consenting adults. Since being recently matched to a beautiful, kindhearted, bright young woman, I
can personally testify to gaining a fresh perspective on the subject.”
It was Hanna’s turn to blush from the personal joke only she and Jacob were in on, simply because they decided to follow Michael’s and Eve’s thought process in waiting until they got married before consummating their relationship.
“How sex has been viewed over the years often depended on when and where you were living at the time and judged from within that narrow perspective. For example, if someone were able to travel forward in time from 1870 to 1970, the sight of women wearing bikinis, hot pants, and tank tops, along with the sexual revolution in full swing as longhair hippies went around preaching the gospel of free love, getting high, and rock music, they probably would have had a heart attack from the shock alone. And if someone told those same hippies living in 1970 what the future would hold with internet pornography, people e-mailing each other naked pictures, and then posting them online, they would more than likely ask what you were smoking.”
After postulating the response of his hypothetical hippie stoner, Jacob took a moment to check his watch to see how much time had passed and if he needed to stretch his opening statement, something that shouldn’t be too hard for a talk show host to do.
“This was why when first starting over we needed to purge our baser natures of graphic depictions of sensual stimuli, and what we did then was right for the time in which we lived. We had to change our way of thinking to prevent suffering from the horrors of starvation. We needed put an end to violent abusive relationships, along with the insanity of some medieval religious practices. We had to put an end to hating others who were different from us, and most of all, we had to stop being our own worst enemy.
“But now that we have evolved beyond our baser instincts, these harsh measures are no longer necessary and have become obsolete. People should be given the opportunity to choose when, where, who, and also how and why they might want to bond with another person and to what purpose. I am not saying we should abandon the SBP system, just expand the parameters to include programs for same sex matches, while also allowing people to select their own mate to run through the system to see if they are compatible.”
As Jacob finished his sentence, Ricardo stood up to object, but was throw off by the last part about selecting your own mate. After realizing he was standing there for a few seconds before saying anything, he stuttered through his objection.
“Wh-what is the defense counsel admitting his clients are homosexuals?”
The words, ‘it is about time,’ quickly ran through Jacob’s mind.
“I’m not saying that at all. What I am saying is it does not matter if they are.” Jacob was glad Ricardo took the bait before returning his attention back to the jury. “I am not saying you have to understand homosexuality. I do not fully understand it. Then again, I don’t have to understand it. Since, I do not have those types of feelings nor am I hardwired that way. We just have to accept that sometimes the bond between two people is so strong it defies logic, like the old oxymoron about how opposite attract.”
Heads turned as the courtroom door opened, and Michael discreetly entered the room, gently closing it behind him. Eve sat in back of the court closest to the door. Trying to remain inconspicuous, Michael only had time to blow her a quick kiss. He gingerly walked over to the defendant’s table and quietly sat down next to Owen and Warren. He gave them positive, silent nods, while holding up his hands for a patient refrain.
Jacob thought Michael’s entrance well timed, hoping he came with news also well suited to their purpose, as he finished his opening statement.
“I would like to conclude by saying not only will I prove my clients innocent of the heinous charges against them, but I will also root out and expose whoever is really behind these despicable acts and disparaging lies.” Jacob said in closing before addressing the GAC. “Your honor, I was thinking this might be a good time to adjourn for lunch.”
“Yes, I agree. A break and some fresh air will do us all some good,” the GAC said, believing the last thing on Jacob’s mind was food. “Court is adjourned. We will meet back here in one hour.” The GAC dismissed court with a bang of his gavel.
As everyone got up to leave, Owen and Warren waited for Jacob to join them before trying to pry any information from Michael.
“So tell us, what has happened? Did you find something?” Warren asked in a hushed voice.
“Come on now, don’t leave us hanging?” Owen said.
“Patience, my good friends, patience,” Michael said. “Do not worry. Everything is going to be fine. ”
Outside in the courthouse lobby, SI Chandra and Det. Archer were waiting with perceptively different reasons pertaining to their motives for being there. GP Sally only had one reason.
Exiting first, Ricardo stayed over by the door as the court reporters hurried out behind him to get the breaking news story to their perspective editors. Instead of heading toward Det. Archer, he signaled Samantha over with a wave of his hand.
“Excuse me, sir,” Det. Archer said in an officious manner as she walked over to Ricardo just as Michael and Jacob stepped out into the lobby.
SI Chandra already deduced where Det. Archer’s loyalties were, and pleased it would get her out of the way. Jacob headed towards him as Michael veered off to tell the girls something.
“Is everything settled?” Jacob asked Michael after he joined them.
“No problem, the girls are taking Owen and Warren to lunch, so we are good to go.” Michael explained the arrangements made to give them time to go search for clues.
“Okay then, let’s go check it out,” Jacob said.
“I think we might find what we need there, except none of us has the clearance to access it.” Michael said as they left the courthouse.
Meanwhile, Ricardo and Samantha found a conference room for a private conversation to discuss their next move. Ricardo still had the part from Jacob’s opening statement about letting people choose their own SBP mate floating around in his head. The thing he wished for the most and been covertly working towards all this time. But he already played his hand and bet big with people who would not take it too kindly if he turned his back on them now.
“Tell me what they are up to. Why did they take off in such hurry? What does Chandra think he has found?” Ricardo asked about any pertinent information she might have overheard.
“They are definitely up to something, but Chandra’s not telling me anything. Kept me busy doing reports all morning while he and that ex-roommate of theirs went out looking for something. Whatever they were trying to find has to be close.” Samantha told him everything she thought could help. He might be able to read something between the lines she was not seeing.
“I don’t trust them. They are up to no good.” Ricardo said.
“What is the press all excited about? Is it in response to your opening statement? Did you win over the jury and the press with your stirring indictment showing how their mental psychosis could happen to anyone, even respected figures like the men on trial? I knew everyone would hear the urgency in your words and take immediate action when you read it to me the other day. If you cannot win their respect with a valid argument, then maybe fear is the next best thing.”
Ricardo felt things did not go quite as planned. By the time Jacob finished his opening statement, the momentum seemed to shift in his favor.
“I do not have time to think about that right now, or some slick-tongued orators’ mesmerizing effect on public opinion. He is overreaching, and it is going to cost him. I know there is nothing to find,” Ricardo said confident Jacob was picking at straws.
Ricardo purposely didn’t mention Jacob’s revelatory news causing the big media buzz, figuring she would hear about it soon enough. He could just see the headline now: NUMBER ONE CELEBRITY IN COUNTRY ENDORSES RIGHT TO CHOOSE OWN SBP
