by Haidji
Because also, the accounts did not give enough links to follow the chain system. The money wasn’t always transferred to the same account. And sometimes there was no transference at all.
The Geek also wanted to be part of the group.
He knew about them since childhood.
His parents were already not so young as he was born; he was an unexpected child that brought, together with his sister that came directly after him, happiness inside this old couple’s life. They were not rich, and his father died, as he was still a child. There was a time, after his father’s death, that his mother was worried, thinking about whether to take him out of school.
He should work and help at home, these were difficult times. But suddenly, after another day looking for a job, without finding it, she came back home and told him that he could stay at school.
She found a job shortly after this day, which allowed her to pay also for his university.
Asking her what happened, the only answer she could give him was that she had met a white angel. And things changed and she died years later, as an old woman, without explaining to him more about it.
To find the founder of the most secret of all secret societies was a goal that maybe not even the Geek could achieve.
But in searching for information about the White Angels, he found a strange communication.
It was best to contact his friend at the NSA, about the communication he found. There was a bomb, or more than one bomb, inside the Stadium. He needed to contact his friend, without speaking with the Council about it, to avoid more confusion.
He called Calvin.
Chapter 27
Anthony rose early on the day the trial was to begin.
He had a coffee with Diana before the trial and told her about the Suicide Game, were he was hiding himself. He thought that Marcel, being her brother, had already told her, but he hadn’t, he was a true friend. Even being a journalist, he could keep a secret.
Anthony told Diana because he wanted to impress her about his courage, and also to explain why he couldn’t call her or answer her calls more than once or twice a day—there was no other woman. His wife did not count, he would divorce her after the trial, they already agreed about it, she wanted to marry her personal trainer and wanted kids with him, so better not to tell Diana the truth and scare her away.
Diana, of course, knew about his fake marriage. She was scared about the Game, so she asked Anthony to leave the game. He said that he would think about it.
Anthony, better AHG, was prepared. So was his legal team. The opening statements from both sides were expected to take more than two days. After that, the witnesses would be called. After the evidence was in, the closing arguments would take many days. Normal trial procedure. The trial was scheduled to last two months, at least.
AHG’s legal team had a different plan.
Big Oil’s case would be dismissed on a motion for summary judgment, to be made in camera in the presiding Judge’s personal chambers, on the first day of the trial.
Before dressing, AHG had called his lead counsel. He asked about the trial preparation. They had completed their motions brief for the surprise summary judgment application. They had all the legal arguments written, with copies of all the relevant rules and cases. They had even included a summary of their surprise witness’s evidence. Everything was ready to go. Any last minute polishing that might become necessary could be made on the fly, in real time, on their laptops in the courthouse. They could immediately deliver all their arguments to the Judge and his clerks, on thumb-drives.
For once, he was entirely satisfied with his conversation with his lead counsel.
‘It’s done. Let’s roll.’
The courtroom was packed.
The clerk called the case, Big Oil v. Gustav et al, civil docket #53507-710-918.
The multiple attorneys for each side introduced themselves for the record, and it took a fair bit of time. ‘Too many damn lawyers’, muttered Judge Rubenstein to himself, so only his clerks could hear.
After the formalities, Judge Rubenstein started the trial: ‘Counsel, are you ready to proceed?’
‘We are, Your Honor’, replied a chorus of legal voices, as would they be a choir of altar boys.
‘Then let’s proceed with the Opening Statements.’
‘Your Honor, the Defense has a motion to be heard before the Opening Statements. It is a motion for summary dismissal of the Plaintiff’s case, on the merits, and with prejudice. We respectfully submit this motion should be heard in camera, in your Chambers, for reasons we will explain when presenting our motion.’
Not knowing what was coming, the plaintiff’s counsel objected to the in camera hearing, but without success.
‘Counsel to my Chambers, along with the court reporter and my clerks’, said the Judge.
Now safe from public view in his Chambers, and after hearing arguments on whether the Defense motion should proceed, Judge Rubenstein ruled in favor of hearing the motion. This way, he minimized the risk of a mistrial if the court of appeal ruled that the defense motion should have been heard. If either side lost anything in this case, the court of appeal was going to hear about it, that much was certain. The other thing that was certain in the Judge’s mind was that he would do as much as he could to help Big Oil win.
‘Your Honor, the foundation of our motion to dismiss is Big Oil’s gross abuse of process in this case, including criminal conspiracy to subvert the course of justice. Before we cite you the relevant jurisprudence, you need to hear our evidence. And from that, you will understand why we have asked this motion to be heard in camera. Indeed, we think we are doing Big Oil a big favor, by proposing to do things this way.’
‘Please proceed’, said the Judge.
‘We now call our first witness in this motion. Would the clerk please step outside and bring Mr. Louis Rousseau in; he is our first witness.’
The clerk brought Mr. Rousseau into the Judge’s Chambers. After being duly sworn, the lead defense counsel examined him:
‘Please state your full name for the record?’
‘Louis Rousseau.’
‘Do you have any nicknames?’
‘In some circles, I am known as the Geek.’
‘And your occupation, sir?’
‘I am an information technology specialist.’
‘And your work experience?’
‘Most of my clients are confidential. It is generally known in my business that I have been on retainer to private corporations and advisory firms, and to certain US defense contractors, and also on occasion to other US government agencies; but, out of respect for the confidentiality obligations imposed on me, I should say no more than that.’
‘And in the course of your work, have any such persons recently engaged you?’
‘Yes.’
‘And that is why you are here today?’
‘Yes, as part of my work assisting a government agency in counter-terrorism, I was able to find and confirm a number of communications centered in and on the City. They emanated from the offices of Big Oil in the City or from persons otherwise established to be in the employ of Big Oil. Because these communications did not relate to terrorist activities, but rather, the private plans of a public US corporation, I was given clearance by the government agency to alert the intended victims, so they could protect themselves.’
‘Thank you, sir. And, before we go through each and every one of those communications what, in summary, was the gist of them?’
‘The communications established, beyond any reasonable doubt, that Big Oil was using illicit and illegal tactics to subvert the outcome of this trial including, but not limited to, threats made to the Judge and certain jurors to influence their behavior throughout the course of this trial. And also, a plot to kill Mr. Gustav, so he would be unable to testify in this case.’
‘Preposterous!’, shouted the Plaintiff’s counsel. ‘Your Honor, we object!’
But, the Judge knew better.
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‘Counsel, for the Plaintiff, I will give you 30 minutes to inform your client of this evidence, and to take instructions. We will resume in 30 minutes in my Chambers.’
Thirty minutes later, the Plaintiff’s lead counsel stood before the Judge, in his Chambers. Reading aloud a proposed form of consent dismissal order. By consent, the case would be dismissed, on the merits, and with prejudice. The dismissal of the case would be made public in open court, as soon as everyone reassembled in the courtroom. By agreement of both sides, they would not reconvene in the public courtroom until after 4 o’clock local time, when the stock markets were closed.
Also, with the permission of both sides, the Judge would invoke provisions of the PATRIOT Act, so the transcript of the Geek’s evidence would be classified, and therefore not available to the public.
AHG had won again.
After another coffee with Diana, AHG was back in the condominium. Confident and happy that if he could win this case…then, what was clear, he always wins…he could always win everything. He decided: he would not leave the Game.
Later that evening, AHG spoke with one of his Swiss bankers, who were calling from one of the bank’s branch offices in the Caribbean to congratulate him on his win.
The banker confirmed that they had, that day, shorted Big Oil’s stock, big time, on behalf of one of AHG’s holding companies. They would cover the short position in the morning; the price was sure to fall on the news of the consent dismissal. AHG would be millions richer. He hoped the drop in the share price would be a big wake-up call for, or maybe even impose a conscience on, Big Oil’s shareholders.
Also, he generously decided to give a million dollars to Red, just to make sure that he would win the Game.
Diana now understood that he wouldn’t leave the Game, but she did not accept that. He asked her to come and watch the last days of it, but she refused.
His ambition had grown because of his fear to recognize his feelings for her. He wanted to prove how good he was.
Life is made by decisions.
We make decisions every day in our lives about almost everything around us. What we eat for breakfast, what we will wear, what way we will take.
Once a decision repeats, it turns into habit, and habits can become vicious; without to leave a note inside of your mind, they take the upper hand in your life and turn themselves into basic needs.
For AHG, to win turned into a basic need. He went back to the condominium, his stomach feeling strange. Turning as would it be inside a train. It was like to take a train and sit facing in the contrary direction. Like to go backwards in life. The train goes in the right direction. But if you take the wrong actions you fall backwards. Even then, the only sign that shows you that, is your stomach.
Like being on the right train, but sitting in the contrary direction, AHG entered the condominium. While Diana stood outside the condominium, paralyzed, looking across to the Stadium on the other side, seeing images of the candidates in their last jump, hanging outside the Stadium in their full 3D splendor; while the Stadium changed into the sky colors, as would the Stadium itself be invisible, and the candidates be hanging in the sky.
Chapter 28
It was the day off, with many things to plan for the last game Step.
Alphabot opened the door and White, Yellow, Red, Green, Blue, Purple and Black entered the conference room. Sitting around the round table they agreed, without voting, that the wireless system to cut wires, tested the day before, was a complete success. It was so unexpected.
They watched images from the public’s reactions and expressions in this last jump; this idea had brought the tension and adrenaline back into the Game. Nobody knew what would come next; persons were already renting helicopters, to watch the Game from the sky. Because there was no spot free inside the Stadium. Maybe also, to see the Windplate from the sky, and figure out how it works, in case of a new rainstorm.
The Gravedigger wondered what had happened, and blamed the storm and lightning for it. With only seven candidates, the Council didn’t need him to take care of the gloves all night. They would explain that to him, and direct him to work as usher.
After the tempest, they needed more ushers to help with the dropped Candidates.
Purple suggested that models should dance on the last game Step. They can be transformed into a group of dancers, who dance to the Life in a Wire songs.
‘We’ll vote about it…now’, said Black.
The Council voted, the answer was yes.
After the storm, only seven candidates were left. It was another day off. Purple suggested that they could give interviews.
‘The Seven Last Candidates…Interviews? Reveal their names?’ Asked Yellow.
‘Let them speak?’ Red was upset. ‘Speak?’
‘The Game would get boring; something need to be changed to make it more interesting’, said Purple.
‘The Game would get…boring’, said Black.
And they voted again. Yes for the interviews.
Green voted against. But his vote wasn’t the chosen one. ‘Interviews? Are we here in a reality show? This is real life, my friends! Real life! And real death too! How can we know that they will jump? Did you all know that we will need to reduce the milk of amnesia dose, so that they can be able to speak? Do you really believe that they will jump just with all that neuro-linguistic programming and meditations crap?’
Yes, the other six council members voted. Yes, and yes again, they believed in neuro-linguistic programming. And in meditation. And six of them believed that all was always, at the end, in God’s hands. Humans were children, on the hand of destiny.
But for one of them, God was always on his side. On the side of the same Council member, a member who practically chose himself. He touched his own metal sphere, 2.9 centimeters in diameter, one millimeter smaller than the other spheres. It was the only sphere that could pass through the bottom of the crystal ball. One millimeter was the difference between taking our own decisions in life, or letting it always be in the laps of the gods. The difference between being a child, or a responsible adult capable to take decisions and handle the consequences.
The laser projections were a success. They were all happy about it, should they show more to the outside public?
And they voted again, yes, let the outside public see more of what happens inside the Stadium.
Black, Purple, Blue, Green, Red, Yellow and White left the room and Alphabot came to close the door.
When the Gravedigger was directed to transfer to work as an usher, he was sad about it, at first. But then he was happy to leave, because after he started his usher work, he met an old contact from Spain who was at the Game, who got him a job, for after the Game. In a French cemetery, close to the Spanish border.
In the condominium, the seven candidates were taking their neuro-linguistic programming lessons and also, seminars about how to speak in public. They could prepare their own speech. This would make it more real, and bring them more confidence and will to jump and win the game. Models would be there to applaud after they spoke.
The Seven candidates moved into new rooms. But due to the fact that the staff of the game also used a similar uniform, it was as if the place would be full with candidates. All so that they didn’t feel lost and lonely, before the last step of the game. But they had their meals now, inside their own rooms. To focus on the game.
Chapter 29
Step 3 – Day 1
The crowd was there, waiting for the last seven candidates to appear, making their bets inside their minds, and in one or another case, inside their hearts too; choosing their preferred candidate, without to speak.
Every passing moment, the tension increased, more persons made their bets, more bought raffles; the more serious faces consulting their watches, waiting for the countdown to start.
Poker faces.
Also when it doesn’t seem to be, time passes by. Minutes before the candidates were being prepared. Walking into the platform
. Wearing their shiny black suits. With the orange shiny symbol on their foreheads.
The Hare Krishnas outside adopted the Life in a Wire melodies. They sold lighters again, no rain; together with the CDs, pre-loaded iPods, and songs.
Antipodes of the winners, the dead candidates would also be celebrated anyway. As a diamond on someone’s finger, as a winning bet ticket in a bank account, or as a new organ inside a strange body. They would be part of the winners, from a certain point of view.
Their bracelets would be removed. His or her body sold, His or her belongings donated. Divided into pieces. And from the rest of his ashes, a diamond would be created.
No last meal. No last smoke. No last wish.
Luck, mixed by the hand of destiny, would decide their fate.
The air grew thick with the smoke of the public’s thoughts. The applause for losers was as intense as for winners, in this suicide game. There were the diamonds.
Lots of diamonds, the night before, falling off of the platform.
The countenances of the candidates who remained turned more and more similar, after each jump; as would they be wearing poker faces, turning into players of the game.
In the silence between jumps, the only noise was that of bet sellers, walking with their pocket machines, counting and registering bitcoins. Like background music, as would the poker chips of death take the upper hand over the game.
Smoking was suddenly allowed in the Stadium.
The candidates’ eyes were almost closing, exhausted, with all their muscles hurting from so much jumping. As would the game be more painful than death itself. And death would just be the expected trophy.
Like the moment in a poker game where someone is dealt the right or wrong card, and deals with the consequences.