JUSTICE REBORN (A Charlie Taylor Novel Book 1) (23 page)

The Dr. Max case annoyed and troubled Emma.

She’d arrived early and paced the halls.
This new science had commanded extensive amounts of her time. She relished the
challenge, developed new procedures, and completed numerous brain scans to a
point where within a few minutes she could, in most cases, determine the
underlying memory storage patterns. Now it all appeared to be based on a faulty
foundation.

 First the damn duplicates and now Dr. Max
challenging his own system. If he could beat S1 and S2 interrogations, what
other deficiencies existed? It appears Dr. Armstrong was rather selective in
what he chose to publish. With the damn duplicates, he made sure the early
detection was well buried so no doubts would surface to challenge his
brilliance.

This unresolved rape could destroy the
entire system, S1 and S2 interrogations deemed inadmissible. These doubts would
migrate to S3 memory probes; the result would be chaos, the impact
unimaginable. All her efforts for nothing. She avoided thinking about the
prisons because those interrogation scenes swamped her in a turmoil of doubt
and guilt. Did innocent men get executed?

 She was alone in the hallway, but soon the
front door would be a busy passage as the other attendees arrived. Emma’s mood
didn’t match the desired camaraderie for a meeting of senior personnel, but
there was no option. For this emergency meeting, the Judge’s assistant had been
adamant: attendance mandatory.

Staff arrived as singles or pairs, and as
it would happen, Charlie and Jake met at the entrance. Charlie tried to avoid
him. He never had a chance. Jake walked up to him, physically bumped him and
declared:

 “You idiot. It’s only a matter of time.
Your career is destroyed. This is a promise.”

Charlie hustled to his chair next to the
Chief, who had witnessed the interchange.

“Charlie, what was that all about? If you
insulted Jacob again, you could be running out of support. Everyone knows what
he is, but his political support is strong: he can’t be budged. Best to suck it
up and let him win the exchanges or he’ll bury you. Are you listening?”

 Charlie unsure about the Chief, still
couldn’t believe the Chief had bailed him out of the basketball game incident
and then promoted him. Before he could reply, the Judge entered and immediately
went to the front of the room, and his demeanor told everyone: let’s go, no
preliminaries, no warm up topics.

The Judge’s assistant, Ann, occupied her
spot at the front table; she saw Charlie waving a negative, she understood not
to use the ‘emergency door’ as departure portal. All support staff in
attendance.

“I’ll start by declaring this a Condition
Confidential and note all recording has been suspended for the entire meeting.
We have a situation which threatens to destroy Justice Reborn and all the
advances we have made. I’m, of course, referring to the Dr. Max Armstrong case.

What happened is theoretically not
possible. Dr. Max and his accuser young Sally Grovernor have been processed
through both an S1 and an S2 interrogation; we used our best technical staff
with Dr. Kate observing the sessions and reviewing the results after each
interrogation. The results are extraordinary. Both people tell different
stories: one describing an underage seduction and the other a story of unfilled
lust but no unwarranted action, the result a young woman spurned and angry.

The point: both stories told under the
influence of our drugs in a controlled setting appear to be true. The
fundamental question: how is Dr. Max controlling the results? We know if he
finds it interesting or a challenge, this genius is capable of almost
anything.”

Around the table people shifted in their
chairs, shared disapproving looks with colleagues, shaking their heads in
disbelief, and muttered curses. All understood the implications of what they
were hearing, an absolute disaster. Doug Brewster commented.

“Judge, I think Max set this up to flash
the entire the world: see the genius. Once safe under a not guilty verdict or
plea bargain, he will confess and tell us how to fix the system and get back on
track. The bastard is all ego and needs constant attention. The more outlandish
the press coverage, the more he glows. This is a setup.”

 “Doug, I don’t dispute your character
analysis, but this seems too high a risk and too wild even for him. Are you
saying he had sex with an underage girl to prove a point?  This doesn’t make
sense. He can’t be that irresponsible. Chief you want to add something?’

The angry Chief blurted. “Judge, I know
Doug’s comments appear to be at the far end of the solutions but consider some
facts. We know Max lusted for this girl for some time. I think he did know her
date of birth. My point is all he had to do was keep his pants on for a week
and then go after her, his relationship with Dr. Grovernor no longer an issue.

 I think the girl wanted him. Why the hell
doesn’t he wait a few days?   This makes me support Doug’s theory. I think Max
planned this, but am not sure what the hell his motive is or what his overall
plan is but I’m sure the glorification of Max is part of it.”

The Judge sympathized with their
frustration. “I’m going to have to cut this off and give you the rest of the
news. I told Dr. Grovernor if he wishes to prove the charges, his only choice
is to proceed to an S3 brain scan.  Instead, he and his daughter have withdrawn
the charges and are prepared to drop the incident.

This leaves us with a question as to the
efficacy of S1 and S2 Interrogations.  If these Interrogations are not absolute
or are capable of being manipulated, then Justice Reborn is finished and
previous guilty cases are in question. At this point I thought the situation
couldn’t get any worse. But I was wrong.”

 The Judge stopped, dropped his head, not
utterly defeated but close to the edge. He looked up, in Kate’s direction. “Dr.
Kate will you please inform the Board about the most recent development.”

Emma was shocked at Kate’s appearance. Her
hair was unwashed, her clothes were the same ones she was wearing for the last
two days, and the circles around her eyes were almost black. She spoke softly
with a hoarse voice; the room strained to hear her. This woman struggled
through each escalation of the case. She clenched her hands together to control
the trembling.

“When I told Dr. Max all charges had been
dropped, he wanted to know why. I told him about the results and that Sally
would not go through an S3 Interrogation. He was furious. Although speechless
for a few minutes, he soon started ranting, I won’t play the recordings for
you…… it boils down to his one decision.

Dr. Max demands he be put under the S3
brain scan to clear his name. He knows the risks but insists we can use a
30-minute clock to stop the interrogation, to ensure it doesn’t become a
prolonged session.”

 Kate continued to stumble with the
explanation and the Judge intervened.

“Allow me to continue. Our problem is we
can’t refuse Dr. Max. He’s been accused, and it’s his right. This causes our
Sector a couple of major problems: first, can he beat an S3 interrogation and
utterly dismantle the remainder our system?”

“Second, even if we keep the interrogation
under 45 minutes, there is no guarantee he will not suffer brain damage. We,
then, become known as the Sector, who destroyed a Nobel Peace Prize winner, a
man the President considers a national treasure.”

The Judge stopped and gave everyone a
chance to catch up; Charlie had a hard time suppressing a groan but only
mumbled a few silent profanities.

“We can’t stop him. I’ve been able to delay
his S3 interrogation with excuses about our work on Death Row and the
associated constraints on staff and equipment. Dr. Max has to wait. This means
we still have a small window to try and find out how he beat the S1 and S2
interrogations.

Dr. Kate is working with a scientist from
Japan. All other resources have been contacted, but many of the experts are
friends of Dr. Max and reluctant to come forward.

The expert from Japan, a yoga guru, has
agreed to submit to an S1 interrogation. The intent is to determine if he can
control the interrogation. Published research confirms his ability to regulate
his heartbeat and some other involuntary body functions. Will he be able to
establish a mindset which will allow him to lie and tell stories or will the S1
drugs control him?

I could go on, but you see the situation
and understand why I ask you to ensure your staff gets this message: if Dr.
Kate has a request it must be treated as top priority. There are no clocks.
This is a 24 hour a day operation, and cost is not a barrier.

You’re too smart for me to repeat any of
this, just make sure your staff understands. But the reasons remain top secret
and can’t be revealed at this time. Are there any questions?’

It was an abrupt ending; no one asked a
question. Everyone too stunned? Frightened? Confused? The Judge didn’t wait
long.

 “Alright, this meeting is over and let’s
hope our next meeting has some answers.” And with that comment he left, and the
rest of the team filtered out; no one went over to speak to Kate.

Charlie, a subdued detective, waited until
they all cleared the room.  Ann, the Judge’s assistant, had set up another
undercover meeting early in the day, Charlie’s instructions were to wait until
the others left before proceeding down the hall.

Ann ushered him into the Judge’s chambers
thru a side door; Stephen sat, waiting, sipping a coffee. “Charlie, help
yourself. The coffee and tea are on the table. Ann that’ll be fine; I can take
it from here. Thanks.”  Ann closed the door, and Charlie was alone, again, with
one of the most powerful men in Sector 14.

“I assume you’ve not made any progress on
Dr. Max.” 

“No I haven’t and I can’t say I feel
comfortable about this assignment, Judge. My science education stopped with
Grade 12 chemistry, and you’ve put me up against a whiz kid.”

“I understand.  I want you to go at this
problem from an entirely different angle than Kate and her team. Your technical
limits will force you to search in different directions. You know we don’t even
have a proper understanding as why this all took place. Yes, I know about Max’s
past, but the timing of this last incident bothers me. I’m convinced logic and
science will not be enough.

What about our other problem? Ann tells me
that you will be requisitioning some specialized equipment and resources. She
doesn’t understand and is concerned. Can you share with me just what you have
planned to catch our recording pirate?”

This was the conversation Charlie hoped to
avoid; his philosophy being: it is easier to beg forgiveness after the fact
than to try and get clearance ahead of time. How would the Judge react? He
could stop the entire process. “Judge, I wonder if it would be better if you
let me proceed and if it doesn’t work, take the lumps?”

 The Judge thought it was time to press.
“No, I have to know what you have planned, and how I fit into this operation. I
need to hear and I mean all the details.”

For a few minutes Charlie stumbled, but
once warmed up, he explained his approach and the rationale behind it. It
didn’t take too long. The Judge always a good listener, meant there was no need
to repeat either the rationale or the details. The Judge looked at the
detective for a long time.

 “Charlie, remind me never to play poker
with you.”

A sliver of sun flickered on the horizon,
an unusual time for a meeting.

 Jake insisted it could not wait, and
Stephen accommodated him with this dawn meeting. The Judge waited for his
visitor to begin.  Jake appeared nervous, an unusual state, because with so
many well-placed friends he rarely worried about the Judge’s opinion or
assessment of his performance. Nevertheless, Jake started on a shaky tone.
“Judge, I promised to inform you of modifications being discussed for the
Citizen Team. If there continued to be disagreement, I believe you wanted a
chance to address my working group.”

 “Jacob, I hope your group is still open to
alternatives. I want to be sure your group is aware of all the legal
implications and Sector limitations.”

“Judge, you know most of this, but there
have been some changes; so let me summarize our current situation. Since juries
have been dropped from our legal system and the death penalty demanded by
society, the Region decided citizens should participate in executions, in other
words, become the execution team.

On each Citizen Team, we have three members
of the public; they all push their button on Legal’s command, but only one
button releases the fatal dose, and no one knows which button is fatal. We’ve
not had a problem, as some pundits thought, filling individual teams; in fact,
we have lists of volunteers, some prepared to pay to get named on to a Citizen
Team.”

While Jake searched his material, the Judge
was getting impatient. “Then I don’t understand the problem. I know you have
been allowing some to be exempt on various grounds. It looks like a smooth
operation.”

“On the surface the process looks solid but
it’s after an execution when problems surface. A number of people began
suffering from a type of guilt complex.  After an execution, some participants
complained about depression, problems sleeping and doubts about the role they
played. We’ve stopped the news media from playing it up, but with another set
of mass executions the complaints may become more strident.

Our new proposal is:  the Citizen Team be
provided a large wall mounted monitor. Once the crime scene has been isolated
and Legal has certified the situation, the crime scene is to be played out for
the Citizen Team, on the big screen, in full color.

Before the execute command, the Team will
witness the crime unfold, watch from start to end. Many of these scenes are
extremely gruesome. They’ll see it all and hear it all. Our belief is once they
see the victim and all the suffering, it’ll be difficult to feel any sorrow or
empathy with a killer, no matter how handsome he is or repentant he appears.
I’ve run it past a couple of psychologists and they aren’t 100% convinced but
are prepared to support the change during our death row sessions.”

Jake stopped; he knew the Judge needed time
to consider all the implications, “Jacob, I will need some time to think about
this change, but I agree. Let’s use this approach at Fort Green but be sure
there is a solid follow up. Now there must be something else for you to demand
this early meeting.”

Jake stood up and handed the Judge a video
package.

“A few days I was insulted in a public
place by Charlie Taylor. This’s a copy of the event as captured by the security
camera in the lobby. You'll be able to see and hear most of the incident. In
addition, my package includes the sworn statements of my assistant and two
security guards who were in the vicinity when this all took place. I know the
Chief thinks he needs this character, but his behavior doesn’t warrant the promotion.
In fact, I don’t see how you can avoid demoting him down to the lowest rank. I
recommend you demand his resignation.”

Although surprised, the Judge maintained
his composure, but his succinct reply sounded inadequate.  “Leave it with me,
and I’ll give it my immediate attention.”

 “Stephen, I know where I stand in your
assessment, and I also know you’re one of Charlie’s supporters, but I want to
make this very clear.  I came to you first, because I want to ensure that this
complaint didn’t get side tracked by some legal process. If you aren’t prepared
to bury Charlie, I will take this matter all the way up the chain. This isn’t a
threat; it’s a fact.

I want you to understand if you’re going to
stand by this guy, you’d better be prepared to go all the way because his
behavior will bury you as well. I look forward to our next conversation.”

The Judge watched Jake leave. The video
package and witness statements remained on his desk. He could not begin to
guess the contents, but apparently it contained an ugly scene, a bizarre insult
with three independent witnesses and a public confrontation.  Jake would not
relent. Would a demotion off the Board be enough to satisfy him? Probably not.
Would he press for a complete resignation off the force?

There may not be anything he could do to
save Charlie.