“Do you have any promises from them in writing?”
“Of course not.”
“What is their promise?”
Draga hesitated. “Someone from the CIA came here to see me shortly after I was arrested.”
“Name?”
“Pete Barnes. He said after I’m found guilty, I’m to be transferred to the U.S. to serve my sentence. One day, they announce I’ve been killed in prison. They take me out of there and relocate me and my family somewhere else.”
Kevin thought that over. “What if they don’t keep their word? Or what if they can’t put all that in motion? What then?”
“I have to trust them. I have no other choice.”
“Yes, you do have a choice. You can help me win your acquittal.”
Draga looked at Kevin as if seeing him for the first time.
“In my twenty years in federal law enforcement,” Kevin went on, “I’ve never seen the CIA spring anyone from a prison in the United States.”
Draga exhaled. “What do you suggest?”
“My first instinct is to run into court with this and tell everyone you’re innocent.”
“That’ll get me killed for sure.”
“What do you suggest?”
“Maybe we can use these reports, and this tape, as a bargaining chip to get me some kind of written guarantee that I will be cut loose.”
“The CIA won’t sign something like that. They know a copy will end up at the Washington Post. No, I think we should bring this out in court, maybe in a closed session. It would be a huge embarrassment to the U.S. government if it is revealed that they had advance knowledge of attacks in Bosnia and did nothing to prevent them.”
“You’re still really naive, Kevin. I don’t trust these people at the Tribunal. They’ll cover it up. I’d rather try to get something in writing from the CIA, and be found guilty.”
“But you’re not guilty. It’s not right for you to be convicted for something you are not responsible for.”
“What are our chances of winning the trial with the CIA information?”
“Truthfully, I don’t know” Kevin replied. “The judges are expected to find you guilty. That’s the norm in the Tribunal, and you’re one of their biggest prizes. But if the truth came out, I’d like to think they would do the right thing.”
“What are our chances of winning the trial without it?”
“Right now, close to zero. Those odds might improve if I can get my hands on the roster of Black Dragons.”
Kevin and Draga’s eyes locked. Kevin wondered if his ego was getting in the way. He wanted to win. “We need to really think this through,” Kevin said. “I promise I won’t use this without your permission. I don’t want you worrying about that.”
“I trust you, Kevin.”
Kevin glowed when he heard Draga say those words. “How about helping me get the roster of the real Black Dragons for starters?”
Draga was silent for a minute. “Wait here.” He waved to the camera, signaling for the guards. Kevin got up as well. When the guard came, Draga said, “I need to get some legal materials from my room for my lawyer.”
Kevin was pleased. He hoped Draga wasn’t going to get the sports section.
When Draga returned he handed Kevin a stack of papers. It was a computerized list, in alphabetical order, of the names and dates of birth of all of the Black Dragons.
“This is the same list I gave to Evans a long time ago.”
Kevin looked through the list. He did not see Victor Vidic or any other names that he recognized as having committed war crimes.
“Thank you,” Kevin said. “This means a lot.”
Draga took a deep breath. “I guess we have crossed a bridge today.”
Kevin nodded. “Yes. I’ve been hoping for this since the day we met.”
Draga nodded. “Do I still get pepperoni pizza?”
“You bet. But there’s no way I’m forgiving your gambling debts.”
Draga’s face broke into a grin. “What do we do next?”
“Well, I imagine that we’ll be hearing from the CIA. Why don’t I see if they’ll put your deal in writing so you can make them honor it down the road, if that’s what you want to go for.”
“That’s what I want to do. Getting the deal in writing would be very good.”
“I don’t like the idea of an innocent man being found guilty.”
“Do you like the idea of an innocent man being found dead?”
“No.”
Draga got up from his chair. “You’ve been pretty lucky at football, sport. Let’s see how you play hardball.”
CHAPTER 16
That night, Kevin and Diane walked down the street to pick up Ellen at her friend’s house. She was not exactly happy to see them. “Can’t I play longer? Why do you always come on time? Don’t you know what it means to be fashionably late?”
Kevin brushed off the cool welcome. “I’m glad you’re having such a good time, but I haven’t seen you all day.”
“I haven’t seen Katie for two weeks,” Ellen protested as she came outside to walk home with Kevin and Diane.
Ellen soon forgot her complaint. “I’m going to listen to Harry Potter,” she said as she walked between Kevin and Diane. “I’ve been dying to start the tapes since Christmas.” She had gotten the four Harry Potter stories on tape for Christmas.
If the CIA decides to bug our house, Kevin thought, they’re going to get an earful of Harry Potter.
It was dark when the Andersons turned onto their street and walked the last block to their house. Kevin heard a car come up from behind and was startled when it slowed to a stop alongside him and his family. The car was a large dark colored Mercedes and appeared to be occupied by only the driver. Kevin squinted to make out the driver’s face. Diane had stopped, grabbed Ellen by the hand, and pulled Ellen towards her.
“Mr. Anderson.” Kevin recognized the man now. It was Zoran Vacinovic. “I was in the neighborhood. Do you have a few minutes?”
“Sure. Why don’t you park your car and come in?”
Vacinovic pulled over to the curb while Kevin rejoined Diane and Ellen.
“It’s the man from the Serbian Embassy. I need to talk to him.”
“He’s always ‘just in the neighborhood,’” Diane noted skeptically.
Vacinovic patted Ellen on the head when they all walked into the Anderson’s row house. “Please excuse the interruption on your time with your father.”
“That’s okay,” she replied brightly. “I’m going to start listening to my Harry Potter tapes anyway.”
Kevin led Vacinovic up to his office on the second floor, while Ellen and Diane stayed downstairs.
“That’s quite a girl. You must be very proud of her.”
“I am.” Kevin closed the door. “What’s on your mind?”
“I just wanted to talk to you before the trial started next week. As I have told you, it is very important to my country that a full record be made of the atrocities committed against the Serbs.”
“But, Mr. Vacinovic,” Kevin replied, “there is no way the court will allow me to introduce evidence of war crimes against Serbs to justify war crimes that they committed in return. The Tribunal has already specifically rejected this defense. An eye for an eye may have been the law on the battlefields of Bosnia, but it is not the law in the courtrooms of The Hague.”
“They just want to trick you into playing by their rules. But in the court of public opinion, the atrocities committed against the Serbs over many years more than justify what was done. That is how Draga should be defended.”
Kevin could see that Vacinovic was agitated. “My government views these trials at the Tribunal in a broader context. The West is trying to create a historical record that will condemn the Serbs for the rest of history. That record must be set straight through evidence of the wrongs done to the Serbian people.”
“How can I do that when the Tribunal will refuse to hear that evidence?”