May 11, 6:45 P.M. District Court, Courtroom No. 7

The judge said, "Mr. Armando, it seems that Officer Meekins was a rather strange witness for you to call. But anyways, this brings us to when you should call your second witness. Who is your second witness?"

Diego sighed, "Amtrak's Director of Locomotive Safety, Peter Welsh."

Welsh took the stand and was sworn in by the bailiff.

The judge asked, "Mr. Welsh, what is you date of birth?"

He answered, "September 30, 1996."

Maya gasped, "Nick! Can you believe it? This kid is 23, and he ensures the safety of high-speed locomotives!"

Phoenix groaned, "This goof is younger than Franziska!"

The judge banged his gavel. "Mr. Welsh, I have heard that you have some insight on Mr. Klein's termination of employment. Is that correct?"

Welsh's head turned and he said, "Yes. Would you like some testimony with that?"

The judge sighed, "Yes. We would enjoy it if we could hear your testimony."

Welsh explained, "So you see, that morning was normal, that was, until the little 'incident' occurred. I found out that Mr. Klein was on duty when the crash happened, so I brought him into my office, and I terminated his employment."

Diego asked, "Mr. Welsh, you are 23 years of age. Sir, are you unmarried?"

"Yes."

"Are you courting with a female at this time?"

Welsh asked, "What in the hell does that even mean?"

Diego sweated, "Are you dating a girl?!"

"Yes. Her name is Stacy Henderson. She likes me because I'm 'buffer' than all of the other guys." Welsh began to laugh hysterically. "Get it? Buffer?"

Phoenix smashed his head against the counsel bench. "This kid has a sense of humor that only he finds funny. Weird."

"So you ask, what does she mean by that I'm 'buffer'? She means that I'm... well, you know, buffer?"

All of a sudden, Maya began to laugh hysterically, as if she got the pun behind the statement.

Welsh screamed, "Who is laughing at me?"

Everybody in the room, including the reporters at the rear, froze.

He pointed his finger at Maya. "You! Yeah, you! The one with the smile on her face!"

Maya suddenly became intimidated by the man on the stand. Welsh yelled, "I swear to God... if I hear you even react to anything else I say, I'll grab you by your yukata and..."

The judge smashed his gavel. "Order!"

Diego asked, "Mr. Welsh, what reason prompted you to fire Mr. Klein?"

"Well, if you really want to know, Prosecutor Faceplate, he killed nearly 300 of my customers, so I fired his ass!"

The judge banged his gavel three times.

"Order! Order in the court! Mr. Welsh, if you act in that manner once more, I'll hold you in contempt!"

Welsh blared, "Fine then! I'm off the stand!"

He stomped away in a huff. Diego got himself together and said, "Since the second witness has abandoned the stand, I will call the third witness, Detective Gumshoe."

When Detective Gumshoe took the stand, Phoenix thought, "The three witnesses of this trial are like the Three Stooges! They just can't seem to act right in court!"

The judge warned, "Detective, please be advised that you are on national TV, and this is being watched or recorded by mass numbers of people. Please act appropriately."

Gumshoe began his first testimony. "When I arrived at the scene of the crash, I immediately began an investigation. I saw that a strange, black area surrounded the tracks. That indicated that the train engineer attempted to stop before the collision occurred. In addition, the massive fire that happened in the courtroom post-impact was due to leaking diesel fuel and gas oil. Both liquids are used in the train's lubrication systems. We determined that the crash occurred due to human error."

Diego said, "Human error?! In specific, what type of human error?"

Gumshoe replied, "The failure of the defendant to switch the track at the correct time, resulting in a derailment."

The judge ordered, "Mr. Wright, you are now allowed to Cross-Examine Detective Gumshoe."

"When I arrived at the scene of the crash, I immediately began an investigation."

Phoenix yelled, "Hold it!"

"What type of investigation did you perform?"

Gumshoe replied, "The police department investigated it, Mr. Wright. What's wrong with that?"

The attorney smiled wide and pointed his finger. "All railroad crashes are supposed to be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board, not the police department! That means that your investigation is unofficial, and can't be submitted as evidence!"

The judge agreed, "Detective, due to your report not being official, you lack the evidence to support your claim the the defendant is responsible. Therefore, you can't indict him until you have an official report. Now, could you give testimony about why the department didn't have the NTSB investigate?"

Gumshoe shook nervously. "The department wished not to get involved with the NTSB because it would cost too much money, and they believed that it was unnecessary to have the NTSB investigate. I did not know all this time that they were breaking the law."

The judge banged his gavel. "Court will reconvene at a later date, after the NTSB has investigated the accident. It may take weeks or days, though, so be prepared for a long wait. Court is adjourned!"