11-30-2013, 04:03 PM
Jon felt Jensen release his grasp on the power of the Great Spirit, and though he didn't allow any flicker of emotion cross his smooth face, inside he felt relief flood his bones. The man had been straining with the amount he'd held, nearly as much as Jon could safely hold, but as it seemed Jensen was able to release without too much effort it was unlikely he was so inexperienced as to be a real danger.
As Jon listened to Jensen's reply, he divided his attention between his new-found client and his Wallet. Several thousand miles away, Caroline was hurriedly banging out the final draft for the Petition for Declination of Prosecution in between filling her face with coffee, baking two pies and getting a twenty-six pound turkey stuffed and in the oven. Good girl. She hadn't even complained -- well, more than once -- that she had fourteen relatives due over that afternoon and was already behind on her preparation. Jon would have to find her something special in Moscow for an early Christmas gift.
It was good to hear Jensen had somewhere safe to go. There was little telling how safe his own place would be. Not only was this creature still allegedly alive and on the loose, but Jon had little idea who might have heard, or seen, Jensen's display of his abilities. His warning to Nick Trano about the Atharim rang loud in his own ears. Indeed, his client could be in even greater danger than he suspected.
And then Jensen brought up the issue of his legal status in the CCD. Now that was another concern entirely. There was simply no way Jon would be able to keep that buried, now that Jensen had been picked up by the authorities. Jon would have to act immediately to keep Jensen safe from deportation.
"I'll get working on clearing up your legal status,"
he said to Jensen. Which, at the moment, meant Caroline would get working on it. Sorry, mother dear. Pies might have to wait.
He tapped out another message on his Wallet.
And then the door to the small interrogation room opened. How interesting -- Jon hadn't felt a thing when the man who entered crossed through his sound barrier. He wondered how easy it would be to modify the warding so it alerted Jon to an intrusion. The newcomer was probably in his middle years with a full head of graying -- no, more silver -- hair. Dressed in a long coat and simple clothes, he had more the look of a quiet scientist than anything else. But there was something in his eyes that bespoke of...Jon wasn't sure what. He'd seen things, though.
Jon took the man's hand in greeting. Ömer Indyk, from the Medical Examiner's office. Jon motioned to the empty chair, and Ömer proceeded to show the two some...very gruesome images. Jon saw Jensen's face pull taught with tension and knew these were the same boys Jensen had described, throats torn out and left drained, like hollow water skins left unattended in the midday sun. That explained the man's hard stare. He likely filled his days examining the gruesome remains of what were once living humans.
And then Jon's interest rose to a whole new level. Why was Ömer asking if Jensen had seen an old woman? Obviously he hadn't gotten his hands on the now-quashed testimony or he wouldn't have to ask. Ömer certainly knew something. Likely he'd come across other corpses left in a similar fashion, especially if this creature had struck before. Perhaps he was attempting to connect the murders to find the culprit.
Or he could be hunting for something else.
Jensen opened his mouth as if to answer the man, but Jon shot him a stare that cut him off at once. Clearly Jensen wanted to be helpful. He did seem to be a good man, and anyone with a good heart who witnessed such carnage as Jensen had described would leap at the chance to assist. But the man was still in danger of prosecution, deportation and possibly his life.
And then an idea struck him. He could make Jensen a free man in Moscow and give him the opportunity to assist Mr. Indyk at the same time. He tapped out another message to Caroline. She was definitely going to need a raise after this.
Jon turned to the medical examiner. "Mr. Indyk, I'm sure my client is more than willing to assist you and as his attorney I have no objections. Unfortunately, as he is still in legal jeopardy at the moment, I've directed him not to answer any questions at this time. Please be patient, the necessary paperwork is being filed as we speak."
Jon wondered how anything got done in a timely manner before the digital age. At this moment, certified, encrypted court documents were whizzing through the telecommunications cloud, bouncing back and forth between prosecutor, judge and Jon. It was a good thing it wasn't a national holiday in the CCD, or they'd probably delay things on purpose just to answer for the irritation of being roused from their festivities. Unlike Caroline, the CCD legal bureaucracy didn't work for Jon -- except when they did, of course.
As Jon communicated over his Wallet, a few tense minutes passed where not a word was uttered, and the small interrogation room reverberated that ominous silence back at Jon. He used the silence to study the medical examiner from one corner of his eye. That coat -- fashioned like a lab jacket -- certainly fit the garb of someone prepared to spend long hours over an examination table. But those sleeves were suspiciously long. Wouldn't he want to wear long gloves and keep his sleeves out of the...examinee?
While Jon awaited the reply from the prosecutor and for Caroline to finish up his last two requested pieces of documentation, Jon did one other thing. Jensen had seemed so...unused to describing his experiences with the power of the Great Spirit. This probably meant he never discussed it, which was a good thing. But it also could mean he he might not know when to be silent about it, either. Now that Ömer was within the warding, Jon couldn't simply weave another without the man noticing. It'd look odd if no sound left his lips, even if Jon whispered into Jensen's ear. And anything written on paper could be potentially lost, and found.
But there was something Jon and Jensen could see that Ömer likely couldn't. And if he could, he'd have already known one of them, or both, had the ability. So Jon crafted a delicate weave of Air -- invisible, and certainly not intricate, it only existed to write a message in the space above his head. Don't speak of your ability,
the message read.
Confirmation finally came through, almost at the same time as the other pieces Jon had Caroline working through. She was definitely eager to get back to her Thanksgiving dinner preparations.
"Mr. James, the prosecutor and judge have signed off on our petition and are going to decline prosecution. As soon as the precinct here finishes up their end, you'll be released."
He turned to the medical examiner and opened up a screen on his Wallet. "Dr. Induk, I just need you to sign off on these two documents here and I'll be satisfied to let my client give you his full cooperation. The first is an agreement not to compel him to testify as a result of anything you might learn from your investigation. He may of course still do so if he wishes to."
As for the second...this should keep Jensen in Moscow for as long as he wished. "This here is an affidavit as an addendum for Mr. James' application for a visa extension, where you declare Mr. James is providing services to you of interest to the Custody for an unspecified length of time. Obviously he can't be of assistance to you if he can't remain in Moscow."
At worst, the man would have to file to affirm termination of services, which, even if he was trying to get Jensen removed from Moscow, would leave Jensen in no worse position than he was now. As written, it was Jensen's golden ticket to remain as he pleased.
Jon slid out a digital marker from the back of his Wallet. "Sign here, and here, and you may ask Mr. James whatever questions you wish."
As Jon listened to Jensen's reply, he divided his attention between his new-found client and his Wallet. Several thousand miles away, Caroline was hurriedly banging out the final draft for the Petition for Declination of Prosecution in between filling her face with coffee, baking two pies and getting a twenty-six pound turkey stuffed and in the oven. Good girl. She hadn't even complained -- well, more than once -- that she had fourteen relatives due over that afternoon and was already behind on her preparation. Jon would have to find her something special in Moscow for an early Christmas gift.
It was good to hear Jensen had somewhere safe to go. There was little telling how safe his own place would be. Not only was this creature still allegedly alive and on the loose, but Jon had little idea who might have heard, or seen, Jensen's display of his abilities. His warning to Nick Trano about the Atharim rang loud in his own ears. Indeed, his client could be in even greater danger than he suspected.
And then Jensen brought up the issue of his legal status in the CCD. Now that was another concern entirely. There was simply no way Jon would be able to keep that buried, now that Jensen had been picked up by the authorities. Jon would have to act immediately to keep Jensen safe from deportation.
"I'll get working on clearing up your legal status,"
he said to Jensen. Which, at the moment, meant Caroline would get working on it. Sorry, mother dear. Pies might have to wait.
He tapped out another message on his Wallet.
And then the door to the small interrogation room opened. How interesting -- Jon hadn't felt a thing when the man who entered crossed through his sound barrier. He wondered how easy it would be to modify the warding so it alerted Jon to an intrusion. The newcomer was probably in his middle years with a full head of graying -- no, more silver -- hair. Dressed in a long coat and simple clothes, he had more the look of a quiet scientist than anything else. But there was something in his eyes that bespoke of...Jon wasn't sure what. He'd seen things, though.
Jon took the man's hand in greeting. Ömer Indyk, from the Medical Examiner's office. Jon motioned to the empty chair, and Ömer proceeded to show the two some...very gruesome images. Jon saw Jensen's face pull taught with tension and knew these were the same boys Jensen had described, throats torn out and left drained, like hollow water skins left unattended in the midday sun. That explained the man's hard stare. He likely filled his days examining the gruesome remains of what were once living humans.
And then Jon's interest rose to a whole new level. Why was Ömer asking if Jensen had seen an old woman? Obviously he hadn't gotten his hands on the now-quashed testimony or he wouldn't have to ask. Ömer certainly knew something. Likely he'd come across other corpses left in a similar fashion, especially if this creature had struck before. Perhaps he was attempting to connect the murders to find the culprit.
Or he could be hunting for something else.
Jensen opened his mouth as if to answer the man, but Jon shot him a stare that cut him off at once. Clearly Jensen wanted to be helpful. He did seem to be a good man, and anyone with a good heart who witnessed such carnage as Jensen had described would leap at the chance to assist. But the man was still in danger of prosecution, deportation and possibly his life.
And then an idea struck him. He could make Jensen a free man in Moscow and give him the opportunity to assist Mr. Indyk at the same time. He tapped out another message to Caroline. She was definitely going to need a raise after this.
Jon turned to the medical examiner. "Mr. Indyk, I'm sure my client is more than willing to assist you and as his attorney I have no objections. Unfortunately, as he is still in legal jeopardy at the moment, I've directed him not to answer any questions at this time. Please be patient, the necessary paperwork is being filed as we speak."
Jon wondered how anything got done in a timely manner before the digital age. At this moment, certified, encrypted court documents were whizzing through the telecommunications cloud, bouncing back and forth between prosecutor, judge and Jon. It was a good thing it wasn't a national holiday in the CCD, or they'd probably delay things on purpose just to answer for the irritation of being roused from their festivities. Unlike Caroline, the CCD legal bureaucracy didn't work for Jon -- except when they did, of course.
As Jon communicated over his Wallet, a few tense minutes passed where not a word was uttered, and the small interrogation room reverberated that ominous silence back at Jon. He used the silence to study the medical examiner from one corner of his eye. That coat -- fashioned like a lab jacket -- certainly fit the garb of someone prepared to spend long hours over an examination table. But those sleeves were suspiciously long. Wouldn't he want to wear long gloves and keep his sleeves out of the...examinee?
While Jon awaited the reply from the prosecutor and for Caroline to finish up his last two requested pieces of documentation, Jon did one other thing. Jensen had seemed so...unused to describing his experiences with the power of the Great Spirit. This probably meant he never discussed it, which was a good thing. But it also could mean he he might not know when to be silent about it, either. Now that Ömer was within the warding, Jon couldn't simply weave another without the man noticing. It'd look odd if no sound left his lips, even if Jon whispered into Jensen's ear. And anything written on paper could be potentially lost, and found.
But there was something Jon and Jensen could see that Ömer likely couldn't. And if he could, he'd have already known one of them, or both, had the ability. So Jon crafted a delicate weave of Air -- invisible, and certainly not intricate, it only existed to write a message in the space above his head. Don't speak of your ability,
the message read.
Confirmation finally came through, almost at the same time as the other pieces Jon had Caroline working through. She was definitely eager to get back to her Thanksgiving dinner preparations.
"Mr. James, the prosecutor and judge have signed off on our petition and are going to decline prosecution. As soon as the precinct here finishes up their end, you'll be released."
He turned to the medical examiner and opened up a screen on his Wallet. "Dr. Induk, I just need you to sign off on these two documents here and I'll be satisfied to let my client give you his full cooperation. The first is an agreement not to compel him to testify as a result of anything you might learn from your investigation. He may of course still do so if he wishes to."
As for the second...this should keep Jensen in Moscow for as long as he wished. "This here is an affidavit as an addendum for Mr. James' application for a visa extension, where you declare Mr. James is providing services to you of interest to the Custody for an unspecified length of time. Obviously he can't be of assistance to you if he can't remain in Moscow."
At worst, the man would have to file to affirm termination of services, which, even if he was trying to get Jensen removed from Moscow, would leave Jensen in no worse position than he was now. As written, it was Jensen's golden ticket to remain as he pleased.
Jon slid out a digital marker from the back of his Wallet. "Sign here, and here, and you may ask Mr. James whatever questions you wish."