Phoenix (Part 2 of the 2 Part Malevolent Series)

Chapter 22

I sit at the table facing the judge's chair, she hasn't arrived yet,
"All rise." The guard says

We all stand up as the judge enters the room, she takes her seat. We sit down as she opens the file.

"The trial of Aleman v. America will begin now. Starting with the plaintiff." She says

"President Delgado will serve as the plaintiff madame judge." Trinity says, she sits next to me.

I stand, "Madame judge, it is my belief, as well as the entirety of America, that President Aleman has committed some awful crimes." I pick up my file containing statistics, "It is reported by those who served Aleman that around ten thousand civilians were assassinated, killed, or mysteriously vanished in his term as dictator in the past fifteen years."

"The former Department of Agriculture reported that before Aleman's service, two hundred thousand people did not have enough food for the day. In a recent survey conducted in the private sector, that number skyrocketed to over twenty million people."

"Madame, may I interject?" Aleman's attorney says

"Go."

"That survey was conducted illegally." He plainly says

"That's because you made it illegal to conduct anything that would prove contrary to the 'great' regime of Aleman." I say

"Now, if I may continue. The GDP of the United States has shrunk to five hundred billion dollars. Now that may seem like a lot of money, but the GDP before Aleman was estimated to be around twenty trillion dollars." I pause, "Now where did all the money go? It is mostly to be blamed upon workforce participation, which Aleman sought to reduce. Last year, only seventy percent of the population had a job. The government always propagated big, lavish charters to say that we were fine off, however when only three out of the hundred major charters make more than the liveable wage, it tells a whole different story."

"Is that all, Mr. Delgado?" She asks

"Yes."

"Now, the defendant may speak." She says

"Madame Judge, all of these statistics were polled illegally under the law, so there is no way that we can say these are accurate." He says

I raise my hand, the judge lets me speak, "But under the current law, these statistics were polled legally under the private sector."

"But these were conducted during the presidency of President Aleman." He says

"Yes, but under current law, which you're being tried under, these were authorized." I say

"I have a few statistics." Aleman's attorney says, "According to a government statistic, the poverty rate actually sunk from fifteen percent, which Aleman inherited, to five percent. Not only that, he brought world peace." He smugly says

"That statistic only applied to the capitol city, and he brought world peace by selling secrets off and sending billions of dollars to the warring countries." I say

"Where is your evidence." He says

I pick up the note, "The German chancellor sent this to my cabinet this morning." I pick up the next note, "The prime minister of England sent me this."

Aleman's attorney has no response.

"Does that conclude both sides of the argument?" The judge asks

We both nod our heads, the jury box rises, and leaves the building.

I lean over to Trinity, "Why are they leaving."

"They leave to another room to discuss the case, and ultimately decide the fate of Aleman." She whispers

"So he's pretty much sure to be locked up." I say

"No so much," she says, "If the box was filled with Aleman loyalists, he could have no sentence."

"How do you know all this stuff." I say

"I've studied American law for a while, I was preparing for this moment my entire life. Lo and behold, it is finally here." She says

The jury file back into their seats, "That was super fast." Trinity says

"The jury finds that President Aleman guilty of treason, murder, slander, and propagating to the mass. For these actions, the jury proposes that President Aleman face the penalty of death."

"James." The judge motions for me to come up to her stand, I walk up to her.

"You're the president, do we go for a public execution or a private one." She asks

"Public, this is more than just a killing, it's a symbol of a new age." I say

"Thanks." She says, she waits for me to take my seat back with Trinity.

"Eagan Aleman will face the penalty of death, one week from today, on account of murder, slander, treason, and propagating to the public. He will face a public execution, this will be the one and only occurrence of a public execution." She says, she slams the table with her mallet, and the court is dismissed.

"That was the fastest court case I've ever seen." Trinity says

"You've sat through other cases?" I ask

"One other, for a relative of mine, for committing treason. There were so many people accused of that crime. No, but I've also watched recorded cases as well." She says

"Hey, at least for now, I was thinking that you'd be a good fit for a Supreme Court justice, or at least my attorney general." I offer

"You really think that I'm that qualified?" She asks

"For now, until we can find others if you're not up for the job. It pays well." I say

"I'd love to serve there." She says

"Good, now I need to find a few others." I say

"I know some people." She says

"Sorry you two, but I'm going to ask you to leave. Another session is about to go underway. We have a lot of people to prosecute." He says

"I organized you all to plan the execution of Aleman." I say to everyone.

Hudson, Noah, Trinity, Lucinda, and Wyatt sit at the table, the five I trust the most.

"Well, I hate to be the elephant in the room, but by law you are not allowed to publicly execute someone, no matter their political position." Trinity says

"Right, I cleared it with the judge, and I believe it's more than just a killing. It's moving on from something that Aleman created." I say

"Well, you're the final say I suppose." Trinity says

"This is the one and only time this will happen, trust me on that." I say, "Anyways, I was thinking that it should be held next to the Washington Monument, it's a large area. I'd need people to build temporary stands and a podium for me to speak on, does that sound like a good idea?"

"I can have that arranged in a week, I have some resources." Hudson offers

"Great thank you." I say, "And Noah, I'd like you to perform the execution by sniper. Your story, from what little I've heard, seems pretty moving. I think it'd be appropriate for you to do it." I say

"Um, yeah, I can do it." Noah says

"How about as Noah walks out, our soldiers follow him out." Lucinda says

"Good idea, let's do that." I say

"So, what are you doing James?" Wyatt asks

"I will be delivering a speech from the podium, and giving Noah the green light to fire the gun." I say

"Guys, just remember that this is primarily a symbol. Although there is vengeance tied in, we need to pay respect to Aleman and not boo him or anything of that caliber." I say, "And if that's all, that was faster than I thought it'd take. You guys can go." I dismiss everyone