Veil (76 page)

“It was through a technological innovation
that the Great Widow Tsay, Dr. Ken Wise, Dr. Hunter Kennerly, Mr.
Brock Elsbeth, and Mr. Royce Houze could track the killer, at which
point they brought him to our attention,” one of the Surveillors
informed the court.

Not to be out-shadowed in the highest profile
case of anyone’s career in the entire history of the Surveiled
Court, the other Surveillor chimed in, “And as you will learn
through Veiling with Surveillor McPeak and myself, our Surveillance
of the Accused—of Lundy—proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that he
was the one and only person responsible for the murder of the Great
Dr. Jin Tsay, the Almighty Father of Veil.”

“Jurors,” Judge Jacobsen instructed, “please
begin the transfer of your Witnesses over to Surveillor
Benhoff
,
in order to begin Veiling his
testimony.”

The testimony of the Surveillors took nearly
four times longer during the Tsay trial than all his other
ninety-nine trials, which was no surprise to Lundy. He knew they
were going to drag out everything and make the trial as much of a
spectacle as possible. The court even installed six additional
press chairs, and the Tsay Trustees were allowing the press to use
the vNet in order to stream the trial.

The court proceedings were essentially being
Veiled live to anyone hooked up to the vNet during the trial—or
basically, Lundy figured, to the entire fucking world. One of the
guards at the jail informed Lundy there were rumors Judge Jacobsen
was actually considering allowing the press to remain, so they
could witness and broadcast the Veil Atonement
.
Something for which there was absolutely no
precedent.

After the jury completed Veiling both
Surveillors, the two men took their places on either side of Lundy,
with their scripted questions in hand. The judge instructed the
jurors to transfer their Witnesses over to the Lundy to begin
Veiling the testimony of the Accused. Lundy’s vPort beeped after
all twelve jurors uploaded their Witnesses onto him and their
shadowing began.

The trial of General Hoffman and Lundy’s
first trial for the murder of Jackson Page provided Surveil
Enforcement with enough information to question Lundy in such a
manner that would cause his mind to recall absolutely every single
detail of the Tsay assassination, including the events leading up
to it. Not only that, but they also had information from the widow
of Scot Helmke, Lundy’s plastic surgeon; from the widow of Private
First Class Gary Austen, the soldier who helped Lundy move Tsay’s
body out of the lab; and from Royce Houze, a security guard from
the hospital where Tsay worked. Combining all their witness
information—plus what they could garner from Surveillance on Lundy
himself—they possessed enough detail to script out an entire movie,
let alone obtain a guilty verdict.

Jurors witnessed as Lundy met with Jackson
Page, who acted as his contact and liaison for the job. The jurors
learned how the Tsay assassination wasn’t Lundy’s first military
job and that all his military jobs were arranged through Page. The
fee Lundy charged for eliminating Tsay was three-and-a-half million
dollars, which was to be transferred to his account on the day of
the elimination. Lundy was provided with a dossier by Page, which
was prepared by General Eugene Coffman, who was already executed
for his involvement.

Lundy smirked when he testified that Page
failed to inform him the job was not only for the elimination of
Dr. Jin Tsay but also that of his wife, Suren Aksu Tsay. He craned
his neck to look at Suren during that part of the testimony,
expecting to see a reaction to that news. He hoped to see the shock
of her hearing how close she came to death. There was no reaction;
there was no shock.

Suren learned at the outset of her hunt for
Jin’s killer that she was also an intended target. During the trial
of the General, in fact. Suren had to sit and listen to the General
as he expressed his disgust over the fact that, despite his wishes
and his careful planning, Suren Tsay continued to live and to
possess Jin Tsay’s research. Having not gotten the reaction he
hoped, Lundy returned his gaze to the jurors.

The questioning led the jury through Lundy’s
reconnaissance for the job as he cased the hospital, followed Jin,
and familiarized himself with the hospital floor plans and Jin’s
routine. The jurors lived each moment through Lundy’s eyes as he
inserted himself into the hospital atmosphere and practiced how to
make himself less noticeable, less visible, less suspicious—more
natural. They experienced it as Lundy spoke with the Great Widow
Tsay herself once and as the Surveillors pointed out, she had no
idea she was greeted by her husband’s future killer.

The timeline and all the details of the case
were unfolded, and the jury experienced each through Lundy’s mind,
as if they were Lundy themselves. There was no point in Lundy
attempting to hide or deny anything. The jury would simply live out
the entirety of the crime for themselves, as if they were all him.
Even if Lundy wanted to lie or hide, he was too exhausted to put up
any kind of fight.

When the Surveillors arrived at the point in
Lundy’s testimony that coincided with the day of the Tsay murder,
Suren Tsay rose to her feet. She leaned down and whispered to Ken
that she would be in the hall, and he was to retrieve her after
that part of the trial was over. Ken nodded.

Judge Jacobsen, partially concerned but
equally aware of the appeal of the case and not wanting to forfeit
the chance for dramatics, stopped the questioning and asked the
Great Widow Tsay if everything was all right. Suren responded
quietly and gracefully that she would not allow that man, that
killer, the satisfaction of filling her mind with the images of her
husband’s murder, so she was excusing herself, for the time
being.

The judge told her to explain no further and
nodded in acknowledgement. Although Suren could not hear it, around
the world billions upon billions of people clapped and cheered in
support of the Great Widow Tsay. Unbeknownst to her, that one small
act of elegant protest created the largest and loudest worldwide,
simultaneous display of unity and support in the history of
humankind.

Approximately twenty minutes later, Ken
popped out his head from inside the courtroom. His drying eyes
found Suren, who was seated on a bench in the courthouse hallway.
She was facing forward with her legs crossed and was mindlessly
wringing her purse as she struggled to keep from crying. When she
looked at him, he nodded and she slowly rose to her feet, smoothed
her dress with her free hand, and entered the courtroom.

After Ken and Suren returned to their
positions on the courtroom bench, the judge asked the jury if they
reached a verdict. The presiding juror rose and announced that the
jurors reached a unanimous verdict. There was a momentary pause
while the judge instructed the press to Veil the presiding
juror.

The juror then reviewed the details of
Lundy’s crime, announced the jury found Lundy guilty, and stated
the sentence the jury recommended was daily Veil Atonement for
life, in addition to life imprisonment. Combining all of Lundy’s
trials, that equaled one hundred daily Veil Atonements for life and
almost five hundred years of imprisonment, plus an additional life
sentence.

After the sentence was approved and handed
down, Judge Jacobsen dismissed the court except for the guards, the
court doctor, the Tsay Trustees
,
and
Lundy. With Suren’s permission, the judge allowed one member of the
press to remain. All the Witnesses shadowing the other press were
then transferred over to that press member. The courtroom cleared,
and the judge came down from her chair atop the pedestal. She
walked past Lundy and took a seat on the bench in front of the Tsay
Trustees.

“Widow Tsay,” Judge Jacobsen conferred with
the five of them, “will you be acting as vAtoner for the
Accused?”

“No, I will not. I do not want any part of
that man near me, let alone inside of me,” Suren replied sternly
but quietly.

“I understand.”

“I will be acting as vAtoner,” Ken
announced.

“Ok Dr. Wise, I’m sure you’re familiar with
the process.”

“Yes, your honor, I am. I’ve found that I
respond with emotion more effectively if I don’t speak, so when you
ask the Atonement questions, I won’t answer out loud. I prefer it
that way.”

“However you wish, Dr. Wise. It’s entirely up
to the vAtoner. We can get started as soon as you’re ready.”

The judge left the Trustees and, rather than
return to her chair atop the pedestal, she took a seat next to the
remaining press member. The judge and the press did not look at or
speak to each other; they observed the remainder of the proceedings
intently and with solemn reverence.

Ken removed a syringe from his jacket and,
out of view from the rest of the court members, handed it to
Hunter.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Hunter growled
in a whisper as he snatched the syringe.

“Please, Hunt,” Ken pleaded.

Despite his urge to protest and cause a
scene, Hunter sighed and whispered back, “Oh, fine.”

Ken stretched out his arm toward Hunter, who
pushed up the sleeve on Ken’s jacket—enough to administer the shot
as secretively as he could.

“It should start working in about two
minutes,” Hunter whispered to Suren over Ken’s shoulder.

“That’s enough time,” Ken added. He flinched
slightly and then nodded as he pulled down his sleeve. Hunter
returned the cap to the syringe and placed it in his pocket.

Ken stood and slowly walked toward Lundy and
the guards. One of the guards gestured at the vAtoner’s chair,
which was placed in front of Lundy
.
Ken
walked to it and sat down. The other guard silently handed Ken a
Universal Court vCollar; the guard didn’t want to insult one of the
inventors of Veil by offering him instructions on how to use
it.

Ken placed the collar on himself and pressed
the button on the side to set it to accept the incoming connection.
He lifted his head and, for the first time, looked Jin’s murderer
in the eyes. Lundy was staring back at him with a cold, angry
expression. It was not at all the expression Ken would’ve expected
from someone who was already subjected to ninety-nine Veil
Atonements.

A guard walked behind Lundy and pressed a
button on his vPort. Lundy’s port beeped. Seconds later, the collar
Ken was wearing also beeped, indicating that Lundy was now
shadowing him. The judge began asking Ken a series of questions,
all of which Ken ignored to the best of his abilities. Instead, Ken
was reciting questions in his mind that—in conjunction with the
shot Hunter administered—would trigger the fatal memory he Vaulted
for several years. Then, he would deliver it unto Lundy.

The chemical Hunter injected into Ken removed
the buffer and as the memory was triggered, the pain hit Ken
instantly. The pain was blinding, and the room burst into searing,
white light. The pain originated in his face, near his brow, and
radiated outward into his brain and down his spine. Ken clenched
his jaw to keep from screaming as his eyes rolled back in their
sockets
,
until only the whites were
visible. Ken was finally able to force his eyes shut and clinched
them with the same force he used to clench his jaw.

The guard motioned to the judge to stop
questioning, as Ken appeared to be in excruciating pain. When the
judge paused, Ken raised his hand, palm facing up, and flapped his
fingers, directing the guard to tell her to keep going. Judge
Jacobsen resumed her questioning while Ken fought his absolute
hardest to restrain the agony of the memory he privately triggered.
The memory he was determined to deliver—in its entirety—to
Lundy.

The judge finished her questioning. Ken’s
eyes remained shut as he reached up and pressed the button on the
side of the collar. The collar beeped and a few seconds later so
did Lundy’s vPort, which indicated his Witness was successfully
transferred back over to him. Ken’s eyes shot open and Lundy was
staring at him, smiling.

The whites of Ken’s eyes were completely red
from countless blood vessels that burst under the tremendous
pressure of Jin’s memory. Lundy’s smile broadened as he delighted
in soaking up every drop of pleasure he could find in watching Ken
writhe from such obvious pain. Lundy didn’t want to be the only one
to suffer that day.

The judge politely asked if the vAtoner would
like to remain and watch as the Accused underwent the vAtonement
process. Unable to speak and with his back toward the judge, Ken
raised one hand and shook his head. He removed the collar from his
neck but fumbled and nearly dropped it as he stood and attempted to
hand it back to one of the guards. The guard grabbed at the collar
and caught it. He took it from Ken, who then stumbled in the
general direction of the other Trustees.