Hello, Mr. Major General (1)

Chapter 138 - Naive

The judge for the Boston Federal District Court was entirely bald; he was pushing 60, after all.

Under the court lights, his bald head shimmered with sweat and oil.

He glared at Kartik resentfully as his hands fumbled for the gavel. He struck the table with the gavel and announced loudly: "Silence! The defendant is underage. The court has
no jurisdiction over minors-this case is dismissed. The defendant is not guilty. That is all."

The judge hurried away.

He had messed up, big time, and knew Kartik would not let him off the hook so easily. He would have to go to the
military bigwigs and ask for their help.

He would be retiring soon. The last thing he wanted was to lose his pension over this.

Lieutenant Colonel Peter had not expected the battle to be over before it had even begun. He spat out the gum he had been chewing, and stuck it on the wall.

He got up to leave. When he reached the door, he turned to look at the nurse in charge of Shruti.

The nurse understood. She put her hands on the handles of Shruti's wheelchair and pushed her out of the
courtroom.

The spectators in the courtroom moved aside, and watched them leave.

Kartik watched their retreating backs, his expression cold. When Lieutenant Colonel Peter looked over, Kartik smiled at him, his hands in his pockets. His posture exuded defiance.

Lieutenant Colonel Peter grinned at him, before turning to leave.

Kartik understood what he meant: the matter was far from over.

Sure enough, another summons arrived at Shehnaaz's apartment two days later. This time, it was addressed to her guardian because she was still a minor.

Her case was taken over by the Boston Federal District Juvenile Court, which specialized in violent criminal cases
involving minors below the age of 18. As a general rule, the trials in the juvenile court were held behind closed doors, presided over by a single judge instead of a jury. The judge had to have conclusive and irrefutable evidence to convict the defendant.

These juvenile cases were usually a lot trickier to judge than similar cases involving adults.

Kartik had prepared his arguments for the juvenile court. He was curious to see how far the US military was willing to go for Shruti.

Shehnaaz also prepared for her day in court.

The juvenile court proceedings would be kept strictly confidential. She did not have to worry about her identity
being exposed, or attracting unwelcome attention.

...

"Sana, go to bed early. I'll wake you tomorrow morning," said Deepak as he knocked on her door.

Two weeks had passed; Shehnaaz was now under the care of Deepak.

Rohit had been transferred back to the India a week ago, and Deepak had come over to replace him.

Shehnaaz reluctantly closed the tab on the internet forum she had been browsing. She shut down her laptop, rubbed her eyes, and laughed. "...That Shruti is really something. She's supposed to be mentally impaired, but
she's still going about the forums posting lies and slander about me..."

Deepak was a true IT genius; he had attained the position of top dog at the international Hacker's Alliance before the age of 18. He had only joined the military and become Sidharth's assistant after he had been scouted by Sidharth.