T. Bunn - The Great Divide

An older woman with a tightly seamed face approached the stand and was sworn in. Charlie took his time as he went through the routine of establishing her as an expert witness on modern-day China. Marcus listened and was pleased with his decision to have Charlie handle her. Sara Seymour held to the tedious monotone of someone who wished to be elsewhere. But Charlie’s unfeigned interest not only drew her out, it helped to hold the jury’s attention. Charlie knew nothing about Chinese power politics. Whatever she said, however cut-and-dried, he found fascinating. And so did the jury. Charlie drew from her the critical information-that in China, power was power. Business or government, money or politics, courtroom or backroom or military, there was little or no difference. The professor became gradually caught up in the process of teaching, and added a touch of academic energy to her explanation of how such a system utterly lacked any form of checks and balances. Why? Because the people who held political or military power used their might to gather business connections and property and licenses. For them, profit from bribery and the sale of corporate rights was merely an acceptable perk of holding high office. Since their tentacles stretched out in so many directions, any attempt at reform was hobbled by entrenched self-interests and greed. And because the process of reform was so hampered, the laws and the courts could not keep up with the rapid transformation of commerce and industry. Thus China’s business environment was almost medieval in its approach to workers’ rights. Charlie Hayes took his time and showed deep gratitude for anything the professor wished to say.

Throughout the testimony, Judge Nicols cast occasional brooding glances at the defense table, which was perhaps why Logan Kendall offered no objections to Charlie’s rambling discourse. When Charlie rested, Logan avoided meeting the judge’s eyes as he rose and offered a halfhearted cross. He finished in record time, drawing from the professor the single admission that there was indeed a court system in China, with laws governing both commerce and crime. One that conceivably could be used to try a case such as this one.

Yet when Logan returned to his table, Judge Nicols merely excused the witness and continued her glaring inspection of the defense team. Every eye in the courtroom was drawn to the tableau, unchanged from the first day. Logan sat in the far-left chair, followed by Suzie Rikkers and three or four dark-suited associates. Behind them and next to the railing were the two New Horizons vice presidents. Two secretaries huddled next to them, flanked by boxes of documents and law books.

Judge Nicols allowed the moment to stretch until the jury was shifting uncomfortably and observers were exchanging glances and whispered queries. She finally turned to Marcus and said, “Well?”

Marcus rose slowly, trapped in the amber of his own imminent demise. He did not need to look toward Suzie Rikkers to know what was coming. And there was no way to stop it. None. “The plaintiff rests, Your Honor.”

The judge merely nodded and turned back to the defense. Finally she said, “We seem to be missing a defendant, Mr. Kendall.”

“Your Honor.” Logan rose with the reluctance of an attorney who could neither anticipate nor control what was coming. “I have this morning received a letter from the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. The government of China has officially responded to your request.”

“Have they, now.” The tone was even more threatening for being so muted. “They have officially responded to my request. ”

“The government of China takes great offense at this subpoena, Your Honor. They remind this court that General Zhao Ren-Fan is a man of immense power within their regime, a member of the military’s central command. They refuse categorically to submit to such an affront.”

“An affront.” The murmur was scarcely audible.

“They declare your request contrary to international law and demand that it be withdrawn.” The letter rattled in Logan’s hand. “They warn that a serious diplomatic breach could result.”

“Do they now.” She held out one black-robed arm. “May I see the letter, please.”

She took a long moment to read the letter, then set it down and said to Logan, “All right. I’m listening.”

“There is a serious jurisdiction issue here, Your Honor. This court does not hold authority over a Chinese owner of a Chinese factory.” Logan stepped around the table and took a solid stance. He was practiced, he was ready, he was on the offensive. “Even if this court could assert jurisdiction, which I submit is impossible, the defense attaché to the Chinese embassy is not a necessary party to this case.”

Judge Nicols picked up the letter once more, dividing her attention between the embassy’s words and Logan’s. The defense attorney continued, “Furthermore, we are already too far down the road in this case to add an additional defendant. We would have to declare a mistrial and start over.”

“Would we,” Judge Nicols murmured.

“Yes, Your Honor, we would. This case, were it to include a senior official of a foreign sovereign power, would be a matter for Congress or the State Department to resolve. Not this courtroom.” Logan punched the air between himself and Marcus. “If this is what the plaintiff wants, if he wants to turn this into a political trial, and if you think the court can establish jurisdiction in this matter, fine. Then we don’t have a dog in this fight. We move to dismiss.”

Judge Nicols drew out the moment before quietly demanding, “Are you done?”

“Yes, Your Honor. We hereby move to dismiss.”

“Your motion is denied.” She swung her gaze toward her chief clerk, who stood ready and waiting beside the court reporter. “I hereby issue a bench warrant, a writ of habeas corpus for General Zhao Ren-Fan.”

Logan took the news as he would a hammer blow to the chest. “Your Honor!”

“I hereby order the U.S. marshal to escort this man into court.”

Logan struggled to recover. “He’ll bolt, Your Honor.”

Her eyes swiveled back with the smoothness of matched gun barrels. “Is that a fact.”

“Absolutely. He’ll flee the country and you’ll be left with a huge political mess on your hands.”

“Fine. In that case, this court has no choice but to protect the plaintiffs’ interests in the event the jury finds in their favor.” She hefted the letter from the Chinese embassy. “As their government has chosen to declare itself officially involved, and as this man is now recognized as a senior member of their government and is acting in an official capacity, I am hereby freezing all assets of the Chinese government now held by any and all United States financial institutions.” She hammered once, not even trying to still the uproar, merely shifting her glare to some unseen point toward the back of the court and saying, “One final point, Mr. Logan. The defense is hereby requested to present to the court someone who holds the power to respond to questions about New Horizons’ international activities. That sounds like a reasonable request to you, now, doesn’t it?”

Logan replied weakly, “Yes, Your Honor.”

“I’m so glad.” Her smile was truly awful to observe. “Court is now adjourned until nine o’clock Monday morning.”

As Marcus stood with the others, Alma used the moment of confusion to ask, “Did you know this was going to happen?”

“I assumed General Zhao would not show. And the judge would feel forced to respond.”

Charlie almost shouted to be heard, “The Chinese government weighing in like that-now, that was a gift from on high.”