Chapter 26
"Facing the Devil"
The next day of the trial was featured to be the biggest moment where I was now going to cross examine Dr. Sakami for his crimes to expose him for the monster that he truly was. Of course, before the cross examining could begin, there was still one missing asset and that was me. I was running a few minutes late and my team was beginning to notice it.
"All right," groaned Shawn impatiently. "Where the hell is he?"
"He'll be here," said Amanda. "He usually performs at his best, when he's late."
Just then, I walked into the courtroom much to the displeasure of the judges and Dr. Sakami who was nervously waiting for me on the stand. I stared directly at him as I gathered my evidence against him and he stared back at me as if to say to me that he was going to fight until the bitter end.
"Mr. Chief Prosecutor," said Judge Avery. "If you're ready."
"From the beginning," I began. "During your tenure as leader of the Pokemon criminal organizations, you regarded for the desire of Pokemon to be used against human life, did you not?"
"I did," he replied. "Human life, yes, but also economic life as well."
"Was that the beginning of your terrorist plots, to target anything related to those three?" I continued.
"Yes," replied Giovanni. "When I succeeded my mother after her death in 1995, I dedicated our cause to targeting American, British and Israeli humans and interests."
I then got into the nitty gritty of the cross examination when I got into the more tangible evidence against Giovanni.
"And in 1996," I said. "You drafted a law to the people of the indigo plateau to make it punishable by death to transfer Pokemon abroad?"
"That is correct," said Giovanni.
"And another that all damages caused by Pokemon trainers fighting against Team Rocket officials," I continued. "must be repaired by Pokemon trainers at their own expense and their rights to compete in Pokemon competitions abroad forfeited to the Pokemon criminal organizations."
Now, the pressure was beginning to build on Giovanni as I stepped away from the podium and walked directly towards him.
"I did sign a similar law that is correct," muttered Giovanni.
"And did you not say that those laws," I continued as I walked towards him. "I show you this transcript from a meeting you held with your executives on January 26, 2001 in which you did say that you wished that you killed 200 Pokemon and their trainers to prepare the 9/11 hijackers for death, is that right?"
"That was said in a moment of bad temper and extreme excitement," cried Giovanni, realizing the tables had turned against him. "We never did anything of the sorts. Anything that the 9/11 hijackers did was under the supervision of Khalid Sheik Mohamed and Osama Bin Laden, we merely supported their movments."
"Spontaneous Outbursts in other words," I said to myself. "Did you also not sign in the summer of 2000 to order the seizure of Pokemon from a nearby Pokemon center on the Orange Islands although you refused to name which Pokemon Center you wanted to target?"
"I assume so, if the decree is there," he said nervously.
"And another order," I said pulling out another piece of evidence. "Stating that Pokemon trainers in the middle east, particularly in Afghanistan and Pakistan, be not able to receive compensation from damages caused by war attacks between American, British and Al-Qaeda or by Pokemon Crime forces."
"If the law bears my name, it is so," said Giovanni, seemingly growing more and more nervous by the minute.
I then pulled out another document that personally had Giovanni's signature on it for him to see.
"Is this your signature?" I asked, pointing to the writing that was at the bottom of the document. Giovanni looked down and assumed that it was his.
"It appears to be," he said.
"Is it or is it not your signature?" I asked again, seeing that Giovanni was not getting the message. After a few moments of silence, he finally responded.
"It is," he remarked grimly. Now, it was my time to finally expose him for who he truly was.
"Your signature," I began. "On a document decreed in July of 2001, asking Bin Laden and Mohammed to prepare 19 men for a large scale attack on the United States sometime in the second half of that year that would be similar to the final solution of the American question."
Now, Giovanni was beginning to get antsy knowing that the tide was about to turn on him. From here on in, in his mind, everything was about to come out about his crimes.
"That is not a proper translation!" shouted Giovanni. "I said total solution to the Pokemon of the American people not the final solution!"
"These were your words to Mohammed," I said, reading from the document. "I charge you to send me before long a list of Pokemon you wish me to send to the men you are wishing to take part in this mission. Is that an accurate translation of what was said between you and Mohammed."
"That had to do with immigration and evacuation of the Pokemon of the Middle East," he protested.
"And you ordered all government agencies around the world to cooperate with the Pokemon organizations and Al-Qaeda in the final solution of the Pokemon of America and Great Britain, did you not?"
"There's nothing in there about Mohammed or Al-Qaeda," gasped Giovanni.
"This document clearly states that you ordered all government agencies all over the world to cooperate with Team Rocket and its affiliates," I cried. "You sent this letter personally to Osama Bin Laden!"
"That doesn't mean that Bin Laden or Al-Qaeda had anything to do with the solution to the American and British question against Pokemon," blurted out Giovanni and at that moment, the entire courtroom grew deathly quiet.
So, Giovanni was saying that Bin Laden, the world's most wanted man never had anything to do with 9/11 and it was all caused by Team Rocket and their affiliates. Those words had just in fact sealed Giovanni's fate of him and his fellow defendants as I stood there wanting him to say what he had just blurted out again.
"Would you mind repeating that?" I asked quietly.
"I must say this clearly," replied Giovanni. "I did not know anything that took place involving the Pokemon who were being held captive in our bases in the Middle East. I also did not know of the methods that Al-Qaeda was using against Pokemon in their later attacks aside from the 9/11 airliner bombings that we carried out on their behalf in the summer of 2006. These things were kept secret from me and my fellow leaders."
But, before I could speak again, Giovanni had one more thing to say to his testimony.
"And might I add," he finished. "That in my opinion in addition to me and my fellow leaders, before her death, even my mother did not know the extent of what was happening."
It was at that moment, that I resumed my cross examining.
"Witness," I said. "There is evidence before this court that 3,000 people were murdered on September 11, 2001 and 2,000 people were murdered on September 11, 2006 over the Atlantic Ocean. Murdered in cold blood, you mean to say that in your opinion neither you or your fellow leaders or even your own mother before she died, knew what took place in your bases in the Pokemon regions or in the Middle East?"
After a few moments of silence, Giovanni answered the question I asked him.
"Yes," he whispered.
"Did you know," I said, turning over to the next page of evidence. "That in a decree issued by your mother in 1993, I read you her words quote, the executives of Teams Rocket, Aqua, Plasma, Galactic and Magma are purposed to capture Pokemon from their natural habitats and be groomed into becoming weapons for future attacks against the United States of America, its allies and its people."
I then closed the folder and pointed towards Ghestis Harmonia, the leader of Team Plasma in an effort to get Giovanni to pay attention to what I was going to say next.
"The leader of Team Plasma, Harmonia," I said. "Talked with your mother about attacking America and its allies and you were above Harmonia, you were your mother's son and second in command. You were in charge of the economic four year plan for Team Rocket's existence, so you knew all about the targets, the people and the Pokemon you wanted to exterminate in cold blood."
I then turned towards the gallery in an effort to get them on my side. From the looks of it, they seemed to be siding with me and my cause.
"And you have heard that one occasion," I said. "That it took five extra minutes for the Pokemon with long hair or fur to have it cut off so that it could be used in making mattresses to be used in scams for the American Red Cross."
I then turned back towards Giovanni who knew right then and there that his goose was cooked.
"And nothing was told to you about these attacks and plots that involved thousands of both people and Pokemon that had been murdered?" I asked harshly.
"No!" cried Giovanni. "No."
After yet another moment of silence, Giovanni attempted to clear his name in vain.
"How could you imagine such a thing?" he gasped, as all eight judges stared at him wide eyed. "I was laying down the broader outlines for the future of Team Rocket."
At this point, Giovanni had said quite enough and I decided to have him excused.
"The witness is excused," I said.
"I am not finished!" shouted Giovanni.
"The witness is excused," said Judge Avery.
"I am not finished!" shouted Giovanni again and Judge Avery banged his gavel.
"The witness is excused," he said firmly and Giovanni, reluctantly got down from the witness box, feeling defeated in a sense.
So, I returned to my seat and the rest of my team was impressed of my performance as I watched Giovanni walk back to the dock feeling defeated in a sense. Of course, there was still more to go, but the momentary victory we just had was good enough for that moment…