Chapter 5: Trial by Combat
Abraham Lincolns truck hauled through the streets, swerving through traffic, AC/DC blaring over the system. Lincoln tapped the steering wheel, humming along to To Those About to Rock (We Salute You) The U.N. building loomed, foreboding on the horizon, Lincoln frowned, he supposed it would be best to have some idea of what was going on in the world if he was about to discuss it. He flicked off his CD player and the Radio News Station (Radio News AM 78.6, listened to by all of three people, one of whom must be checked for vital signs every half hour). The announcers monotone came crisp over the speakers.
For those of you just tuning in, Lincoln marveled at his luck at picking the precise moment when the dialogue would be easiest to write, The past day has seen the death of a second world leader, Shaka of the Zulu was assassinated in his Ferrari yesterday following a meeting of the United Nations, though the meeting was scheduled to last another two hours it was adjourned early by U.N. Chairman and alleged president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Lincolns role in the attack is being investigated, it is a dark, dark day in the history of international relations.
Abraham shook his head, pulling into the U.N. parking lot with practiced ease, though he shuddered at the thought. What if there was a murderer waiting in there for him? These might be his last moments alive, he flashed his identification to the security guard, who nodded him in.
MURDERER! shouted Elizabeth, who was only now pulling herself out of her Austin Healey 3000. Yesterday Abraham would have responded in like, but after listening to the radio he was unsure of how seriously she meant it.
He turned from her and walked briskly inside, his suitcase full of evidence in his defense in Joans murder tapping against the side of his leg.
-
The Judge, a long faced fellow who appeared far older than the oldest of the others in the room, pounded his gavel down, Mr, Lincoln, Mr. lAne, I suppose you will have some evidence in your defense.
Abraham stood up, Indeed we do.
Nodding to Pierre he stepped forward to look at the jury, what remained of the U.N. Zululand had yet to replace Shaka, Bismarcks replacement, Dietrich Dambach, who had been beforehand his most trusted aide and the only one from whom it was believed that Bismarck could hear about the attack on Berlin without killing himself, looked unsteady in judging the other delegates. Pierre held his head in his hands back at their seat, Abraham opened up his briefcase and, putting his Clue worksheet to the side, placed out several files.
My friends and fellow delegates, we are afraid.
Assent spread through the crowd like wildfire, nods back and forth, Catherine was pale, Elizabeth looked hungry, angry, ready to attack any small threat before it became too strong for her to handle, Hiawatha was quiet as he always was, but shuddered frequently in his seat.
Two have died, two of us, Abraham waved his arms for effect, We are respected, revered, we, surrounded by our bodyguards, have a sense of invincibility, or at least we did two weeks ago. Now we are weak, vulnerable, now we dart from shadow to shadow, now we hide and flee. We are not leaders any longer. We bicker amongst ourselves, we fight and we watch as others die. It could be worse, we could have nuclear bombs going off in the backyard as Otto did, we might be the victims of this witchhunt.
I am afraid, my colleagues, not of the death that awaits us, but of the fear that it instills in each and every one of you. I am afraid.
Abraham paused and turned to the judge.
The judge leaned forward, Charming story, Mr. Lincoln, what relevance does it have?
Lincoln paused, turned to Pierre, who shrugged at him.
The jury applauded, Lincoln sat down.
Do you have any evidence Mr. Lincoln?
Abraham looked over at Pierre, who shrugged, Not really.
In that case we move over to the Prosecution. Mr. Ahaz, have you any witnesses or evidence?
Mr Ahaz looked evasively at the floor, Not really.
The judge rolled his eyes, his only consolation was that at least these trials would go by quickly. The jury has fifteen minutes to convene and decide.
Elizabeth stood up, Is that really enough time with a case of this import?
The judge panicked, his eyes darted around the courtroom for anything, Ummm
.
Elizabeth smiled, the other jurors followed her lead.
Ms, the judge stuttered, Rather Queen Elizabeth, I would just as soon not hold you in contempt of court, dont force my hand.
Silence swept across the courtroom, one could taste Elizabeths wrath in her stare.
The judge swept his hand across his sweaty brow as the jury filed out of the room.
-
In the case of Temujin versus the United Nations we are left with little recourse but a verdict of innocence on the behalf of Temujin. On this trials jury awards we award Ms. Catherine of Russia with Best Hairdo, Mr. Lincoln with Best Dressed in the Male division,
I coulda won if Id wanted to, grumbled Hiawatha.
The other awards were similarly stupid, however Lincoln planned to spend his three-dollar gift certificate to the Dollar Marte as soon as the session let out, the other leaders had likewise ambitions towards their rewards.
The judge, gritting his teeth after what had been an exceptionally long day, hammered his gavel down, This court is adjourned, may God have mercy on your souls.
-
Abraham stood in front of the small crowd, The official inquiry into the murder of Shaka begins today. The Inquiry is not to be confused with the trial. We have established the inquiry in order to tell if there is sufficient evidence for trial, do we all understand?
Nodding pervaded the room, The first piece of evidence, which is to be examined for relevance and accuracy, are the videos from the parking lot security cameras, Abraham looked up as a projection screen rolled out above him and returned to his seat as the video began. Dietrich sat next to him, smiling as Abraham sat.
As the video progressed, though the camera was situated in such a way that the gunman showed only his back, the only mark of any distinction being a black bowler, Dietrichs eyes widened, and he was silent.
As the Video came to a close Abraham stood up, turning to the crowd, Lacking a clear view of the gunman, this evidence is of little use, I move that it be stricken as irrelevant.
Catherine stood up, she wanted the nice judge-man to return and realized that he would do no such thing without evidence, I like it.
Why? Lincoln asked.
Catherine sat down.
Any other objections? Lincoln asked.
Dietrich looked up at the bowler, damnably frozen onto the screen.
And there was silence.
-
Lincoln looked out the window at the setting sun, it had been a long day of viewing evidence, he sighed.
One last matter, unrelated to the rest of the days work.
The crowd turned its weary eyes on him.
The trials to ascertain the murderer of Joan of Arc failed to produce a murderer, we need a new system to determine the murderer.
Hiawatha raised his hand, as the crowd groaned Lincoln recognized him, I recommend we play dice for it.
Elizabeth stood, We shall have no such thing, such important matters should not be determined by random chance, everyone nodded, and clapped their hands politely.
What do you recommend? Hiawatha asked.
Why
she thought for a moment then, shruggung, Trial by Combat used to work quite nicely in Medieval Britain.
There was an utter, dominating silence in the room, Temujin stood tall, with a cruel glint in his eyes, I second the motion.
Chapter 6: Sedition
Mao, with a beard that was all too quick to reveal his identity, pulled up his chair while looking around.
Were supposed to be disguised, Lincoln, who was dressed as a large Oriental man, noted angrily.
Mao nodded, causing his tall, black hat to fall off, he scrambled to pull it off of the floor, I know, I tried. Lets get to business.
The waitress approached, Can I get you gentlemen anything to drink? She had a Southern Twang to her voice and the words were so sugar coated that men better controlled by their emotions would have scrambled for the most expensive drink on the menu.
Water, please, Lincoln waved her off, Mao growled something savage.
We dont serve that here, she said to Mao
He growled again, A Strawberry Daiquiri then.
She smiled and walked off to the kitchen.
Now, to business, I see that our first matter has been accomplished, Mao said.
Certainly seems so, but it seems theres another player in our little game, Lincoln nodded.
You mean that you didnt order Shaka shot?
Lincoln shook his head, Shaka wasnt the target yet.
Damn, who was it?
Lincoln smiled and leaned across the table and said with supreme calmness, I have no f***ing clue.
Mao pulled back, Motherf***.
Lincoln smiled at him, Look at it as a challenge, not as a threat. Sure, this kid might kill one or two people, but thats not really much when you compare, is it?
I dont like challenges that can kill me.
Lincoln laughed, sitting back, If Motherf***er gets that far, let him, but he aint playin hardball yet.
Whats the next step?
Lincoln lit up a cigarette, a Marlboro, smiling, Russia.
-
An Iroquois jet sped overhead, the makings were clear, almost exaggerated, Nina Tolstov was used to the noise by now, she gave it a cursory glance, for some reason the design seemed different, fatter than usual, Nina Tolstov turned back to the plow, returned her attention to the field as overhead the jet sped towards St. Petersburg.
As she turned her plow to return home, it was a poor family, they could only afford a thin track of land, she saw the jet, now a distant image, and then she saw the flames rushing towards the heavens and she heard the distant wail of fire engines.
-
Napalm, Motherf***ing Napalm, do you have any idea how many conventions are being violated? Catherines plump face turned red as she screamed at the crowd, There are blocks of Petrograd that are still on fire.
Lincoln slammed his gavel down with authority, he was without fear now, he was no longer only a nominal head of the UN, his powers had grown, his authority had expanded with every attack, with every bullet fired, Catherine, I must ask you to sit.
She sat, obedient, We have no leads on the attacker either; my top analysts tell me that the paint is no indication, the markings were mildly incorrect. I do know this, Russia is being placed under martial law until this passes, I recommend the rest of you do the same if you want to be safe from this.
Dietrich shuddered in his seat, his health seemed to be waning, bags had appeared under his eyes since the fruitless hearing of Shakas evidence. He was skittery, and his name was coming to be mentioned in several of the myriad conspiracy theories that floated through the U.N.
Thats quite enough! Lincoln demanded from his podium. Silence pervaded the room.
Mandu, the man who had replaced Shaka after his demise, stood to be recognized. He lacked Shakas eloquence and charisma, but was a competent trustworthy sort.
The chair recognizes Mandu of the Zulu.
Mandu rose, My fellow delegates, fear controls this room. We dash about, pointing fingers, screaming of our losses. We want to reap our revenge, but we dont know to who. We are afraid to follow in the footsteps of my predecessor. I am not afraid, my friends, I am not. There is no warriors bravado, but I do not fear this that I cannot fight, I consign myself to my fate, and hoping the best I make the path for a fate of greatness, but I do not fear the grave. I assure you that worry will not lengthen your days, nor will hatred increase your hours. Let us not give way to fearful attacks, let us be orderly and calm.
He managed to strike a common key somehow with his simple rhetoric, all stood and applauded, Mao met eyes with Lincoln, they sneered together while applauding.
Yes, Lincoln realized, something would have to be done.
-
The parking lot was empty now, while Mandu strode out to his simple Honda, looking quietly around for shooters, he had stayed long after the others had left to catch up with paperwork that the Zulu were behind on.
Hello Mandu, Lincoln smiled mischievously, appearing from behind a pilliar, Excellent speech today.
Mandu smiled back, it was a timid smile, Yes, thank you Mister Chairman.
You know, I think thats exactly what we needed to hear in order to become effective again.
Mandus smile grew a bit, Whatever it takes to help, sir.
Lincoln frowned, What Im worried about is that you arent helping, I remember the days before this, everything was much harder for me. Im afraid that I cant have you calming them, they turn to me in their panic, I am sorry.
Mandu frowned, You cant silence me.
Lincoln pulled his handgun out of its holster, I am sorry, he assured his victim.
After the shots stopped reverberating through the parking lot Lincoln walked back over to the camera and plugged it back in, then, as calm as though nothing had transpired, Lincoln returned to his truck and returned home.
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great story good read. Keep writing.
