Chapter 25

"Isolating Giovanni"

As we returned to court the very next day, it was time for the defendants to have their moment on the stand. Of course, the first one to have their moment was Giovanni and it was during his questioning on the stand that I noticed Judge Biddle somewhat willing to give Giovanni an open forum during his questioning. Of course, being the respectful prosecutor that I am, I decided to let Giovanni handle his questioning.

"Do you solemnly swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?" asked the court martial holding a bible in one hand and Giovanni's hand on the bible.

"I do," he said and then walked over to the stand.

One of the defense attorneys stepped forward and got in front of the podium where Giovanni was waiting to begin being asked questions. The entire courtroom focused their attention on Giovanni as the man who helped Bin Laden carry out 9/11 began to be questioned.

"Dr. Sakami," said the attorney. "Do you believe that what you did on 9/11 was legal?"

"I do," he answered. "I believe that what we did on 9/11 was justified and even though we had to sacrifice lives, we did so."

"Do you believe that sacrificing the lives of the people you attacked was built as a way of sacrificing people the same way as you did Pokemon?" asked the attorney.

"I believe that Pokemon are nothing more than weapons," replied Giovanni. "Yes, we did have to capture them from their habitats and from their trainers, but all we did was to make the world a better place. The Americans and the British had been having us under a microscope for such a long time that I couldn't help but want to act in this manner."

The entire courtroom murmured before falling silent again and I looked up and saw Judge Biddle doing a motion with his eyes to allow Giovanni to continue his testimony.

"Are you aware, Dr. Sakami," continued the defense attorney. "That capturing, brainwashing and killing Pokemon is viewed as a crime in any other portion of the world?"

"There are laws for only people and not Pokemon," he replied. "Whenever a Pokemon came into one of our headquarters, my fellow leaders and I always reminded our people that whatever life the Pokemon had prior to being captured was gone and that they would serve us for the rest of their lives."

The attorney got down and Judge Avery excused Giovanni from the stand as I sat there in shock. I was amazed that neither Judge Biddle nor any of the judges on the bench for that matter motioned to me to stop Giovanni dead in his tracks. Of course, we were already waiting for the moment where Giovanni was tightening the noose around his neck and it appeared that it was already happening.

"I don't get it," whispered Amanda. "He's tightening the noose around his own neck."

"He was speaking directly to the people in this courtroom and not to his own defense attorney that was questioning him," I said, looking up to the judge's bench. "And someone is going to let that happen when I do so, but I won't allow it to happen."

Just then, Captain Hopkins, who was watching the trial from the gallery, crept over to us and whispered something in my ear.

"I suggest that you isolate Giovanni from the other defendants," she said and I realized that she was probably right about that.

Later that day, I gave the order for Giovanni to be isolated from the defendants and then I walked into the judge's chambers where Judge Biddle was preparing to go home. But before he could leave, he had to hear what I wanted to say to him in regards to what happened today on the stand.

"You know, Judge," I said to him that night. "Amanda and I didn't leave our jobs as Pokemon Criminal Attorneys to be thwarted by a fellow countryman."

Judge Biddle was somewhat taken aback by this and stopped gathering his things. To me, he was nothing short of his uncle and how he allowed Goering to humiliate Jackson the first time he was cross examined. But, I was not going to let that happen again, not by a long shot.

"That's sounds like sour grapes," he replied.

"You let Giovanni have an open forum when he was being questioned," I said. "I have to be able to cross examine him when I question him."

"Look Jeff," said Judge Biddle. "Just accept the fact that what happened today was a learning experience for you and your team. You all have the weekend to prepare for your moment with Giovanni on Monday. Make good use of it."

So, I went home that night with the chilling reminder of what Biddle had said to me. Of course, I knew what he said was true but I was afraid Giovanni was going to be much like Goering, someone who would speak to the people and not directly to me. However, I was following Captain Hopkins' advice in regards to isolating Giovanni and so that night, while he was just about to eat his dinner, he was escorted away from the dining room and into his cell.

"What's going on here?" he wondered. "You can't do this to me."

But, the soldiers escorting him didn't respond and put him in his cell with his food getting cold in his hands. They shut the door behind him and Colonel Andrus gave a very simple explanation for why Giovanni was being isolated through the peephole of Giovanni's door.

"Me," he explained, through the peephole. "I'm just following orders."

Giovanni knew that in his mind, someone had told the soldiers that he was becoming a brainwasher who wanted to eradicate him of his powers and abilities and that he somewhat knew who was responsible and so the very next day, while all the other defendants were getting time out of their cells, Giovanni was in his cell alone with Captain Hopkins and demanded to know the truth about his isolation.

"Why am I being punished like a schoolboy?" he demanded. "Musashi? Kojiro? I knew those fools would do something like this. They must have talked to Colonel Andrus and had me away from the other defendants. Well, they are not going to get away with this."

Captain Hopkins smiled at this and chuckled to herself. Giovanni did not take this very lightly and demanded to know the truth about her laugh.

"This amuses you?" he gasped, appalled by what he was hearing in front of him.

"It does in a way," she replied. "Now, you will see what it is like to not have anyone around you and that maybe they will learn to adapt without you in their lives."

"I don't believe you, Doctor," snapped Giovanni, realizing what Captain Hopkins was doing to him. "Those other defendants would not be where they are if it wasn't for me. My family had longed to make this world a better place for us all and that includes sacrificing one life for the sake of others. Don't you see that?"

"I do see that," replied Captain Hopkins. "But, I see a man revealing his true form: a scared little child without his security blanket."

"Security blanket?" he gasped, now in a fling of rage. "Team Rocket's not my security blanket. I was brought up into this after my family saw the destruction of the Atomic Bombs that the Americans had dropped on our country. I saw thousands of men, women and children, starved, maimed and beaten at the hands of the Americans. For years, Team Rocket's purpose was to use Pokemon to wipe the United States and its allies off of the map and that we would do whatever it took to accomplish that goal."

"Perhaps so," said Captain Hopkins. "But, my sister knew that scums like you would never survive without your best friend to be there beside you."

This made Giovanni stop dead in his tracks for he could not believe what he had heard come out of Captain Hopkins' mouth. The woman who spear headed the hunt for Bin Laden was someone who was very close to Captain Hopkins.

"What are you saying?" he gasped in horror. "Are you saying to me that someone you know killed Bin Laden?"

"Not killed," said Captain Hopkins. "She only hunted for him and your comrades. The Navy SEALS were the ones who did the killing and the capturing. You only surrendered to a British military commander, nothing more."

"What are you saying?" asked Giovanni. "Maya was your sister?"

Captain Hopkins then got very insulted by this and turned to Giovanni with a stern, yet revealing look on her face.

"Yes, she is," she replied coldly.

Now, Giovanni was more than determined to end this trial, now that he had the sister of the woman who spearheaded the hunt for his friend and ally. Of course, his moment of shame was just around the corner…