Night Critters (Collection) (24 page)

The gavel sound banged again. The computer's mechanical voice announced, “Court is in session. Warning One. Repeated violations will cause the offenders to be removed from the proceedings."

Similarly, Jiao's confession that he'd caused the disaster by cursing Staci with bad luck was turned into a terrorist act against the American city. China, now one of America's strongest allies, considered his actions a treasonous attempt to destroy Chinese-American relations. No mention was made of Jiao's mission to bring aid to the poor and hungry in China.

The prosecution's opening statements seemed to last forever. Staci's nerves twisted tighter with every word. Her life as a member of one of America's richest werewolf packs was laid out methodically, painting her as a playgirl with no conscience and a whole lot of greed. Staci was so embarrassed she had to make use of the box of tissues provided by the court to wipe away tears.

Everything she'd ever done was twisted. Even her chosen career as an independent journalist wasn't a love of the truth and history, but another bid for media attention. Sheer frustration at not being able to speak in her own defense made her shred her tissues and reach for a new one as soon as her eyes filled the next time. She wanted to shriek, “I'm not a horrible person! I'm a woman in love!"

Her wrist phone vibrated with a text message. She glanced down as unobtrusively as possible. “Sit still. All will be well. Do not answer.” The sender signed himself or herself Kitsune2450. Jiao's words “Listen to the kitsune” played through her head.

Staci swallowed and balled up the tissue in her hand. Her gaze focused on Jiao, whose one good eye stared at her intently from his chains. His lips blew her a kiss. She drew a deep breath and repeated Jiao's voice in her head to drown out the words coming from the speakers. Would this torture never end?

Jiao returned to his seat after the lunch break. Misery and pain were his only companions, and he held them tightly in check. At least the evil guard was dead, and his present guards were impassive if not kind. They'd released him from his chains after a flood of protests from many American civil rights groups jammed the UN's judicial branch communications lines, but the collar remained. He tried to wear the thing with dignity, knowing a grisly death in front of Staci's eyes would destroy her. He was nearly immortal, but losing his head would indeed kill him. Perhaps that would be better than living without Staci.

His beautiful mate entered her booth, her chin still proudly held high, belying the white pallor of her face. Someone must have given her a bracing talk, because her back was stiff, and she no longer cried. She spied him watching her and blew him a kiss, uncaring that vidcams broadcast that gesture of love around the world. Her pale pink dress and neat, unadorned braid made her look like a fragile doll.

A werewolf male in a plain gray singlesuit sat next to her, his dataport and briefcase declaring he was one of her defense team. His fingers were busy on the ‘port, and his face intense with concentration.

Jiao sighed. He didn't care what happened as far as he himself was concerned. His fate was sealed, but Staci's was not. He prayed with all his heart to the gods that someone—anyone—would prove Staci as innocent as she was.

The court called itself to order and brought forth the defense team. Jiao's hope surged. The werewolf female who stood seemed calm and confident. “Mr. Magistrate, distinguished judges and members of the court, I move that all charges against both former Ambassador Jiao Long and Miss Anastasia Thornburn be dropped, based on the evidence which I shall now present."

The speaker for the judges raised one eyebrow. “Present your evidence."

"I call forth to the witness stand Dr. Avery Brookwood.” The lawyer turned and opened the gate for the man who had been sitting next to Jiao's faithful secretary.

The red-skinned man, bent with years, shuffled forward and presented his identification band for the court records. On the screens visible throughout the room, his identity and credentials scrolled. Jiao struggled to read the words through his one good eye. Dr. Brookwood was the lead research scientist at NOAA, the American National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. What the man didn't know about weather was probably only the knowledge of the gods, and even that was within his abilities. He was the son of the American Thunderbird, bringer of weather to the American West for centuries. Staci didn't know much about the legendary Thunderbird, except it was a huge semi-divine eagle shifter that controlled the weather.

The lawyer paced in front of Dr. Brookwood, checking her notes on her wristvid. “So, Dr. Brookwood, I think we have firmly established your place as
the
premier authority for weather-related incidents in the United States."

The gentleman nodded, his eyes twinkling merrily. “You might say that, ma'am. Would you like a demonstration?” Thunder rumbled outside, loud enough to penetrate inside the thick walls of the UN building.

The werewolf lawyer started and fumbled with her wristcom. “Thank you, Doctor, but no further evidence is needed in that regard."

The doctor smiled and settled back in the comfortable chair. “Good. Jerhattan is scheduled for warm, sunny conditions for the next three days. I do hate to interrupt my staff's hard work. Weather control is a very finicky business, as you can well imagine."

The lawyer entered something in her wristcom. “So, you're saying the weather control systems are less than perfectly managed?"

If it was possible, the good doctor's face turned a brighter shade of red. “Now, see here, young woman! There is no way to completely manage the weather. All we can do at present is attempt to mitigate storms so they are less deadly.” He pounded the arm of his chair. “We refuse to be gods, nor can we be. Humankind has bollixed up the weather because of the pollution and melting of the polar ice caps to the point where we have difficulty even predicting more than a few months out."

Smiling, the lawyer held up her hands in a conciliatory gesture. “Peace, Dr. Brookwood. I am attempting to establish exactly what you just said, that weather is uncontrollable despite our best efforts. Is that a true statement?"

"Yes. That would be true.” Dr. Brookwood subsided back in his chair.

"So, even predicting storms can be a chancy business?"

"Yes."

The lawyer slid a datadisk into the courtroom vid. A storm of huge size formed in the Canadian north and raced down across the Great Lakes. Before the eyes of the audience, it changed from a relatively mild cold front to a monster storm before landing squarely over the Jerhattan area. “Would you care to describe what we are seeing and why the storm changed, Doctor?"

"Certainly.” The doctor rose from his seat, whipped a laser pointer out of his pocket and ordered, “Stop the vid at 1600 on the twenty-fourth of May, please."

A technician stood and keyed in the command when the judge nodded at him. “Stopped, sir."

"Thank you. As you can all see, the storm is a mere cold front, but of unusual size. As per procedure, we broadcast the image to all meteorological stations that might be affected, based on the projected path data. This included Jerhattan."

"When did you transmit this broadcast, Doctor?” The lawyer seemed more interested in her wrist data than his answer.

Jiao tried not to be annoyed with the lawyer. Which side was she working for? Up to now, her questioning seemed to lead everyone to believe that the storm had strengthened because of his curse. Perhaps it had. He didn't know science, nor did he care. His curses worked however the gods saw fit.

"Hmph. We sent it at 1630 on the twenty-fourth. May I proceed?” Dr. Brookwood seemed annoyed with her interruption. He turned to the technician. “Please move forward to the same time period on the twenty-fifth."

The vidscreen rolled forward to the point where the storm settled over the Great Lakes. The cool blue color representing the front now had distinct spots of purple in its center, directly correlating to the placement of the lakes beneath it. Dr. Brookwood's laser pointer touched each purple mass. “As you can see, the lakes had an effect on the front, causing convection such as is normally seen over the ocean when we refer to hurricanes."

"Why would this happen, Doctor?” One of the judges, French by the flag in front of him, leaned forward. “I own properties in the Caribbean, and I recognize that signature. That's cold air moving over warm water."

"Exactly so, Monsieur. The Great Lakes have warmed over six degrees on average in the past two decades as a result of global warming. What spawned there on the twenty-fifth of May was nothing less than a weak hurricane. We immediately reported it as such to all local authorities of Jerhattan, the military, and utilities, as per procedure.” Dr. Brookwood nodded at the judge exactly as a professor would who is pleased with a particularly intelligent answer from his students.

The defense attorney held up her hand to stop his lecture. “I put before the court that the date was the twenty-fifth of May, as stated by our expert witness, Dr. Brookwood. Computer. Please enter the data displayed as Evidence A."

The feminine voice of the computer responded, “So noted. Admitted into evidence. Proceed."

The attorney smiled and produced another data disk. “This is Ambassador Jiao Long's entrance visa, travelogue, and the airline manifest.” She removed the first data disk and replaced it with the new one. The airline manifest listed Ambassador Jiao Long in first class, along with the next name, Ngu Po, Kitsune, staff member. “Please note the date of the manifest."

Across the room, Staci sat upright in her chair, her eyes wide.

The magistrate leaned forward and shoved his glasses further on his nose. “The court notes that the ambassador arrived in the U.S. on May twenty-sixth."

The defense attorney coolly proceeded. “So you see, your Honor, the ambassador had not even arrived in the U.S., much less cursed Miss Thornburn, when the hurricane formed. As stated by Dr. Avery Brookwood, the storm was already predicted to move onto Jerhattan two days before Ambassador Long arrived. Therefore, Ambassador Long did not cause the storm.” She stood behind the defense team desk and leaned forward. “In fact, the amount of damage and loss of property could be attributed not to Ambassador Long, but to the authorities of Jerhattan who did not respond to the warning provided by NOAA long before the ambassador arrived."

Surprised and angry murmurs rose from the audience until the decibel level triggered the automated systems to sound a gavel and announce that unless respectful silence was restored, the courtroom would be cleared. The audience subsided, but every reporter now tapped frantically on their dataport.

In the meantime, the judges all turned off their microphones and leaned in to form a semi-circle around the magistrate. Each spoke in turn, with the magistrate acknowledging. All looked grim and returned to their seats, except for the magistrate. He drew out an ancient wooden gavel and banged it once on its base. “Case dismissed. All charges are dropped. Free them both."

Jiao lifted his face to blow a kiss at Staci, and watched her slide under the table in a faint.

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The emcee of the huge multi-national gala at the UN stepped onto the dais and waited with a smile until the glittering assembly of politicians, heads of charities, businesses, and socialites all gave him their full attention. He nodded toward the back of the room. “And now, gentlebeings, the moment we've all come to see—Will the UNESCO Ambassadors to China and the U.S., along with the heads of state of China and the U.S., please come forward to sign the World Disaster Treaty?"

Staci choked back tears of joy as her husband and mother, arm in arm, processed behind the President of the U.S. and the Chairman of China to the triumphant march. The triumph threatened to overwhelm her as the scratching of the pens made history. She rubbed her pregnant belly to comfort and steady herself.

The President and Chairman shook hands, smiling happily. The friendship between the two great nations had now borne the best kind of fruit—mutual cooperation and benefit for the entire world. The two superpowers pledged to aid all nations in the event of disaster, and orphaned children worldwide would be put into a multinational database where homes could be found for the children wherever they were wanted by loving adoptive parents around the world.

The leaders of smaller nations were queuing up to sign the treaty, patiently waiting their turn, but the Chairman of China was not done with his turn in the spotlight. He turned to Jiao and bowed. “I understand felicitations are in order, Ambassador? You have a new name and children due in a few months?"

Jiao bowed in return, slightly lower than the Chairman to show his respect to the great man, who was a former Buddhist monk. “Yes, Chairman Han. My new name is Jiao Long Murphy, to remind me to keep my curses to myself.” Jiao waited with a huge smile on his face while the assembled throng burst into laughter and applause. “According to the doctors, my wife will give birth to her first litter in early May."

Staci proudly opened her faux fur mink a bit more, displaying the baby bump of her four pups, and patted her tummy for those who turned to look at her.

Her mother swept back her purple hair and winked from behind President Gates’ shoulder. Charm Thornburn had reacted with delight to the news of Staci's pregnancy and insisted on being called by the Chinese term for grandmother,
Za
.

Lucky Thornburn slipped over to Staci's side, wrapped his arm around her, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Your mother doesn't look like she'll be a grandmother by spring, does she? She's as beautiful as the day I met her."

"At least she dresses better as the ambassador now, huh, Daddy?” Staci sniggered. Charm's couture evening gown in classic black velvet was a far cry from her usual hoyden's appearance. “I'm glad she'll come to China, where she'll scandalize fewer people. The Chinese are so much more forgiving than the staid old Americans."

Lucky chuckled warmly. “Yes, we'll be there in time for you to give birth. Are you both still bent on living in the mountains so far from Beijing?"