Law & Order: Leanbox

ORDER, Part 2

By Derald Snyder

DISTRICT COURT

TRIAL PART 34

APRIL 7, 9:43 AM

"So tell us, Lady Blanc," Jared McCoy inquired to a holoscreen showing the Lowee CPU's face, "What tools or weapons does Ms. Lisand use when she hunts a bounty?"

"She uses a custom-designed powered armorsuit," Blanc replied, "with an arm cannon on the right arm. It also has special abilities to increase its speed and manuverability."

"Such as an enhanced jump?" said McCoy.

"Yes, she has the ability to spin jump several times in the air," Blanc nodded, "As well as a feature that surrounds her suit with lethal amounts of electricity during a spin jump."

"Consistent with witness statements about seeing a swirling ball of energy immediately following the shootout," Jared stated. The CPU's eyes widened slightly at this, but she maintained her composure, even as the crowd began to murmur. The judge banged his gavel once, then nodded at the prosecutor to proceed.

"What about her arm cannon?" Jared asked next.

"It's capable of firing all types of weapons, from pure energy to concussive blasts," Blanc explained.

"Does that include superheated plasma?" McCoy pressed.

"...Yes, that's right," Blanc nodded.

"People's Exhibit 4," the prosecutor said as he pulled a picture from a file folder on his desk. Walking back up to the holoscreen he showed the it to Blanc- a photo of Joseph Starr's corpse with the fatal hole plainly visible. "Would this wound be consistent with a plasma blast fired by Ms. Lisand's arm cannon?"

The CPU's face scrunched up slightly in mild revulsion at seeing the photo. "...Yes, this looks consistent with a charged plasma shot."

"Thank you Lady Blanc. Nothing further," Jared said as he walked back to his desk and sat down.

"No questions for this witness, Your Honor," Rei demurred.

"Very well then," the judge nodded. "Lady Blanc, the court thanks you for taking time out of your busy schedule to testify today. You may return to your goddess duties now."

"Sayonara," sighed Blanc, before cutting the connection.

"Why didn't you cross-examine her?!" Samantha whispered harshly to her lawyer. "The jury needs to know why I was in Leanbox to begin with!"

"And they will," Rei whispered back. "But it was Blanc who hired me in the first place, so questioning her would have been a conflict of interest. Just trust me, I know what I'm doing..."

"I sure hope so..." Lisand sighed as she sat back.

Next, it was Corporal Michael Fitzgerald's turn to testify.

"We were out by Daredevil's Drop, picking up some ordnance," the soldier began, "when suddenly we hear somebody shouting over by the cliff..."

"Was it a male or female voice?" Jared asked.

"Ahh... I dunno, could've been either," Fitzgerald groaned in frustration.

"Did you hear what exactly he or she said?"

"I didn't... but according to the major, they said, 'stop right there, bastards'..."

"OBJECTION! Hearsay!" Rei Ryghts yelled.

"Do you think a military commander like Major Peloton would lie to his men?" Jared pointed out.

"I wouldn't know, I never met the man!" Rei shot back. "So let the major come down and testify to it himself!"

"Enough, Ms. Ryghts. You've made your point," the judge stated. "The jury will disregard the witness' last remark."

The prosecutor took a moment to ponder his next move. "So what happened after that?"

"The major- Major Peloton- ordered us to open fire. So we did."

"Could you see who you were shooting at?" McCoy inquired.

"Just a shadow," the corporal sighed. "Looked like sleek, streamlined armor of some sort... but that's all I could see."

"So what happened when you opened fire?" the prosecutor asked.

"Nothing at first," said Fitzgerald. "I thought we managed pin 'em down, or maybe force 'em to retreat... but then... there was this sound like a flare... and Joe went down."

"By which you mean the victim, Lieutenant Joseph Starr."

"Yes, sir." The crowd murmured slightly at this.

"Could you please be more specific about the victim going down?" McCoy requested.

Fitzgerald took a deep breath. "Well, Joe was... he was in front of me, slightly to my right... He was at the front of the group, so... I guess he was an easy target..." He paused for a moment, to gather himself. "I saw what looked like some bright-red beam shoot right through his chest, leaving a big hole... I knew right then he was dead." The crowd mumbled louder, prompting the judge to bang his gavel.

"What happened after that?" said McCoy.

"We got the order to retreat," the corporal replied. "So we all piled in the transport as fast as we could, and took off... I could hear the guy still shooting after us, but we managed to escape with only a few marks on the hull."

"Did you manage to get all the ordnance loaded?" Jared inquired.

"Yeah, we did..." the soldier nodded. "Once we got back to base, Major Tom... Major Peloton ordered us to offload the ordnance in storage shed 13, and he told us he'd contact JAG first thing in the morning..."

Jared nodded in satisfaction. "Thank you, Corporal. Nothing further." He walked back to his desk and sat down next to Rizzoli.

Rei Ryghts slowly stood up and approached the witness stand. "Corporal... I'm so very sorry for your loss. He sounded like a great guy, according to what Sergeant Macintosh has told me..."

"Yeah," Fitzgerald nodded. "He was like family to us... and vice versa."

Rei nodded back, before biting her lip slightly. "Forgive me if I... sound k-kinda s-stupid h-here, but... why were y-you all the w-way out th-there p-picking up o-ordnance i-in the f-first p-place? Wouldn't you j-just usually receive it at b-base?"

The corporal thought about this for a moment. "Yeah, you're right, we would... but the major said the supplier was on a tight schedule, that's why we did it that way..."

Rei nodded as she briefly walked back to her desk. "Defense Exhibit 1." She retrieved a piece of paper and walked back to the stand. "This is a copy of a contract agreement between my client and Lady Blanc." Placing it in front of the soldier, she said, "Would you please read the highlighted portion?"

"Uh..." Fitzgerald scanned the sheet. "Client is hereby ordered to stop the shipment of the illegal drug 'Metroid' by sinister forces, using all available means at their disposal."

"OBJECTION! Relevance!" declared McCoy.

"Goes to my client's motive, Your Honor," Rei argued.

The judge pondered for a brief moment. "I'll allow it, but watch your step, Ms. Ryghts."

"Wait a minute!" the corporal interjected. "Just what are you insinuating?!"

"Well, riddle me this, loyal soldier," Rei snarked, "did you or any of your comrades actually look inside the boxes of ordnance you were retrieving?"

"Th... that's not exactly standard procedu-"

"Yes or no, maggot?!" the horned lawyer growled, causing Fitzgerald to flinch.

"Um, no. No we didn't."

"Do you even know the name of the weapons supplier?"

"Yes, actually," Fitzgerald retorted. "The major told us, it was Ripley Weapons Supply."

"Defense Exhibit 2," stated Rei as she retrieved another piece of paper. "I had Detective Eddie Green trace the number that he and his partner were given by your commander. Turns out, the number for Ripley is actually a burn phone!"

"Wh-what?!" Fitzgerald gasped.

"Not to mention, all the other contact information of Ripley Weapons Supply is faked!" the former goddess exclaimed. Turning toward the gallery, she stated, "This is proof that Ripley Weapons Supply is nothing but a shell company!" The audience started chattering in confusion, while Jared McCoy had the look of a deer caught in the headlights.

"Wait a minute!" the soldier stood up. "Are you saying we were duped into shipping illegal drugs?! That's why this broad shot Joe?!" he pointed at Samantha Lisand.

"Order! Order!" the judge banged his gavel several times. "Witness, calm yourself! This is a court of law! And Ms. Ryghts, you provoke another outburst like this and I will hold you in contempt!"

Rei Ryghts looked defiant. "Sorry, Your Honor... but the truth isn't always pretty."

Meanwhile, Corporal Fitzgerald had sat back down as he took several deep breaths to calm himself. "Look," he began, "the major wouldn't get duped like that. And he sure as hell wouldn't order us to ship drugs willingly!"

"I see." Rei nodded. "Thank you, Corporal. No more questions." She then turned to the judge. "Your Honor, at this time I would like to have Major Thomas Peloton called to the stand. Even if that means we have to adjourn for a bit while he's retrieved."

"Mr. McCoy?" the judge addressed the ADA.

"No objections, Your Honor," Jared conceded. "I'm rather curious as to what the major has to say myself..."

"Vey well, then. This court will now recess while Major Peloton is summoned. We're adjourned." The judge banged his gavel, prompting the gallery to start emptying out...

"That didn't go at all like I was expecting," Rizzoli muttered as the two lawyers gathered their papers. "No wonder she's so successful in Lowee and the other nations..."

"We should have seen this coming," Jared sighed. "Get Crisco and Green to look deeper into this shell company..."

*To be continued...*