Rogue Justice (46 page)

As their story unfolded, Jia-li took copious notes and asked a lot of questions.

Then Houdini told
his
incredible tale, beginning with detailed narratives of the spiritual encounters between the Old One, Chief Raven Claw, and the rogue whales. Next he vividly described his own remarkable encounter and what he believed the whales' message to be. When he stopped talking, Jia-li held his gaze, making no attempt to hide her amazement.

Zora understood. Hearing all this a second time hit her even harder.

Finally, after several moments of silence, Jia-li set down her pen. "Can I just say that this is the most extraordinary story I've ever heard. Nothing else even comes close. It's going to rock the world. I can't thank you enough."

Houdini eyed her a bit skeptically. "So you plan to hold nothing back?"

"Not a thing!" Jia-li said, glancing around the table. "Maybe it will help if I tell you a little story of my own. Other than my fiancé, I haven't told this to another living soul. So please bear with me." She then recounted her own life-altering experience with one of the giant orcas, just minutes after she and Jason had been saved from certain death at the hands of the pirates. When Jia-li finished speaking, she added, thoughtfully, "You know, I've had the privilege of interviewing some of the most brilliant minds on the planet, but the wisdom and intelligence I saw in that animal was truly something special. I know you speak the truth, Houdini. And soon the world will know it, too."

* * *

One week later, the heavily promoted, two-hour special entitled
Rogue Justice
aired live in prime time in the U.S. It was seen by nearly three billion people around the globe, the most watched television show in history. Millions more watched on handheld devices.

The story hit with explosive force, its impact immediate and profound, both at home and abroad. At noon the following day, Governor Spencer Ryan of Washington resigned in the wake of evidence so meticulously researched and documented, he was left with no other choice. Criminal charges were pending. Ryan's brother-in-law—along with one of his lieutenants at Data-Locke Corporation—was promptly arrested for destroying evidence material to a homicide investigation. An hour after that, Jake Towers was indicted on multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy. The entire SIU unit was immediately suspended, pending further review by the woman who had taken over the state's top job: the lieutenant governor.

That same afternoon, Colby Freeman and Robert Dean—a.k.a. Iago—were also arrested and taken into custody by authorities. So was Darnell Atwater, identified by Zora as the gun-toting thug who had accosted her outside Mickey's place. Each of the men faced prison time for their roles in the Samson cover-up, the illegal capture of an orca, and the deaths of Katrina Kincaid and Stella Flynn. But the DA promptly dismissed the involuntary manslaughter charges against all three suspects. Rosekrans had explained to Zora and Mickey that the charges would be tough, if not impossible, to prove in the absence of any hard evidence. Neither of them took issue with the decision, applauded it in fact. The real villain, they said, had paid the ultimate price.

Leanne Bucaro and Big Boy Medlin were not implicated in any crime, leaving Savannah Sokolov as the only wild card. And Savannah immediately came forward, confessing everything she knew. She told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth and Rosekrans believed her. He decided not to file conspiracy charges, recommending instead probation and community service for her role in the cover-up.

The following day, a memorial service was held inside a private club not far from the Capitol Building in Olympia. Despite Mitchell Chandler's inglorious fall from grace, a large contingent of colleagues and employees gathered to pay their respects. The eulogy, delivered by the company's CFO, began
with these words,
"When Mitchell walked into a room, he didn't ask a question, he made a statement..."
It was a somber affair as these things tended to be, yet the only tears shed were those of a stunning woman dressed in designer black.

Savannah Sokolov arrived alone and left alone.

Five days later, it was announced that Savannah had been named CEO at Chandler Global Enterprises, as specified in the living trust of the man she'd loved and lost. Her first order of business was to gather together all KOS employees worldwide, via teleconference. At that time, she introduced sweeping changes to be implemented at each of the company's fifteen theme parks. The changes, she said, had been discussed with Mitchell Chandler prior to his death. The fact that he'd only alluded to them in a general sense didn't really matter. The overall reaction among the rank and file was upbeat and positive. In Seattle, Big Boy told everyone who would listen every word of it was true.

The press release issued from the new CEO's office read, in part:

I am happy to announce that beginning today we are implementing a number of new initiatives designed to revolutionize our Aquatic Theme Parks Division.

First, killer whale performances at every KOS park worldwide will cease immediately.

Second, all breeding programs involving orcas have been permanently suspended.

Third, killer whales currently in captivity and able to survive on their own will be released into the wild, pending examination by a team of seasoned veterinarians.

Fourth, animals with serious health problems, or otherwise unreleasable, will be retired to large, netted sea-pens located in coves or bays with floating docks, facilitating close observation and expert medical care. In these instances, each whale will be teamed with at least one other companion, allowing them to live out their lives in a more natural, less stressful environment.

Fifth, a whale-adoption program will be implemented to further enhance the emotional and educational benefits, and to help drive and sustain the momentum.

Sixth, an Oscar-winning team of documentary filmmakers has been retained to track, via satellite, the movements of those whales returned to the wild. This will be accomplished by mounting tiny, unobtrusive HD cameras at the base of the dorsal fins. This ground-breaking program will enable people the world over to travel with the orcas, hear what they hear, see what they see, all the while providing scientists with invaluable research data.

And finally, all Samson Stadiums will be systematically converted into IMAX 3D Dome Theatres to showcase films created from the footage captured by our documentary team, along with other productions featuring some of our most treasured cold-weather and deep-water species, including polar bears, dolphins, and sharks.

Activists and animal lovers everywhere rejoiced at the news. Some expressed skepticism, but most agreed the new CEO's commitment was genuine and sincere. It was one final announcement, however, that put all doubts to rest. Following an emotional meeting with Zora, Houdini, Mickey, and leading environmentalists, Savannah unveiled the "Kincaid Initiative," a series of ambitious research projects funded by KOS to "better conserve and manage the resources of the oceans by deepening knowledge through advanced scientific studies."

As exciting as all that proved to be, even more heat was generated by Houdini's astounding "prophecies." During the TV special, Jia-li Han had recounted them virtually word for word as described to her at North Beach. The following day, two skeptical pundits nearly burst into flames defending their "doubt and denial" campaigns against global warming. They summarily accused Jia-li and network executives of "reckless reporting and shameful exploitation by promoting a bunch of Indian hocus-pocus."

But, as severe weather continued to hammer the globe—and dire predictions mounted—many of the most obstinate critics threw their support behind stronger measures to protect the environment. And for the majority of scientists already on board, the truth, scope, scale, and full impact of the climate crisis had been dramatically and convincingly reaffirmed.

The debate, they proclaimed, was finally over.

There was, however, one sobering footnote to the extraordinary hubbub. Just days after the television special aired, one of Jia-li's producers surreptitiously obtained copies of Top Secret government documents pertaining to the Old One's meeting in the nation's capital in October, 1999. The transcripts revealed that he had predicted a series of four catastrophic events occurring on the east coast on the same sun-drenched, summer's day early in the new Millennium. The attacks, he'd said, would come from the skies.

In late August, 2001, the documents resurfaced.

Few Washington bureaucrats took the ominous warnings seriously.

The counter-terrorism czar was one of them.

The president was not.

Chapter 50

23 April, 8:15 PM PDT

Port Townsend, Washington

It was raining outside and chilly inside, though the warmth of the blazing fire in the open stone fireplace had begun to take the edge off. Zora relaxed on the sofa in Mickey's cozy den, staring into the dancing flames. The sounds and scents were about as soothing as anything she could think of right now. She was dressed in a cotton sweater and corduroy jeans and wore no makeup. Her hair was still damp from the long, luxurious shower she'd just taken. She leaned down and scratched Vera's chin. The elegant gray tabby was splayed out in full regal manner, fast asleep, on the soft edge of a colorful, hand woven area rug.

Mickey walked in from the kitchen moments later, a bottle of red wine in one hand, two glasses in the other. He was barefoot, wearing blue jeans and a black T-shirt. "Vera has the run of the joint as if you couldn't tell."

"No kidding. She's a real charmer, isn't she?"

"Yeah, that she is." Mickey said, easing down next to Zora. "And what about you, Zora? You doing okay?"

"Yeah, fine, just a little tired is all."

"Sure you're not hungry? I can whip something up if—"

"No, the wine's perfect, Mickey."

He nodded, popped the cork, and poured the wine. For a long moment they sat quietly, without saying a word. It had been nearly two weeks since they'd met with Jia-li Han at North Beach. Mickey had done his best to convince Zora to stick around after that, if only for a few days. He said he would take her camping into the meadows and mountains of the Olympic Peninsula, a world away from the camera crews and reporters still lurking about in the area.

Zora had wanted to stay too, torn between her head and her heart. In the end she'd said, "No," and reluctantly Mickey had driven her to the airport. They spoke little during that drive to Seattle and embraced awkwardly outside the terminal, unable to look each other in the eyes. Back home in Sitka, local cops cordoned off Zora's street, keeping a pack of still-hungry reporters in check. And for the next several days, she avoided everyone except a trusted neighbor. The only television she watched was the blockbuster special, after which she'd called Jia-li Han to congratulate her on a powerful and refreshingly honest report—a Pulitzer Prize-winning piece of journalism if ever there was one. The announcements from KOS that followed were a bonus. Zora liked that woman—Savannah Sokolov—imagined her as the older sister she never had. Maybe one day they could be friends?

But nothing seemed to placate the hollowing sadness Zora felt over the loss of her mother.

Then toward the end of the week, as she sank deeper into despair, something extraordinary happened. Zora dismissed the first night as a fluke. She did the same on the second night. But at 4:00 a.m. on the third night, she awakened a surprised Mickey out of a dead sleep, asking him if his invitation to escape into the wild was still on the table.

Despite the ungodly hour, his answer was an enthusiastic, "
Yes
."

Late that morning—
this
morning—she'd taken an Alaska Airlines flight back to Sea-Tac wearing her trademark baseball cap and sunglasses. Only this time, she'd added a blond wig to the get-up. It was part of a Marilyn Monroe costume she'd once worn on Halloween. She felt ridiculous, but it worked. No one had bothered her during the flight. Mickey met her at the airport sporting a killer smile and two dozen yellow roses. He made no attempt to push any of her personal buttons on the drive north. She liked that. He seemed to know instinctively what mattered and what didn't. For once in her life, she felt like she could let her guard down.