Courtney's gavel slammed into the bench and broke the tension much like the bell ending a round of a prize fight. "Leftenant Lofton, return to your place. Overruled!"
"Overruled!" Lofton grabbed for a stack of law disks and would have thrown them at the judge except that Justin restrained his arm. Lofton snapped around and stared at his client as though he'd stabbed him in the back. Justin merely shook his head resignedly. Lofton sank mutely back into his seat.
Vitios turned again on Quintus Allard. "Lo Ching-wei also surrendered the identity of an agent within the Federated Suns forces in Shaoshan, did he not? What was the designation the tong gave to this agent?"
Muscles bunched at Quintus's jaws. "They called him Ivory."
Vitios closed his eyes and clasped his hands before him like a man in prayer. "And what is that designation in Capellan, Minister Allard?"
"Xiangya."
Vitios smiled. "Louder, please. I did not hear it."
"Xiangya!" Quintus raked his fingernails over the oak railing. "There, I've said it. Is that enough?"
Vitios's dark eyes snapped open. "No, that is not enough. In the interrogation, Lo identified the agent, didn't he? He identified him as your son, Justin Xiang Allard, didn't he?"
Quintus bit back angry tears. "Yes, he identified him as my son."
"But you were not satisfied with this identification. You directed a full-scale investigation that included a sweep of the Kittery base computer for security codes. What was your son Justin's activation code for his 'Mech?"
Quintus stared up at the ceiling. "Zhe jian fang tai xiao."
Vitios closed on him. "In English, Minister."
Quintus lowered his head and stared bitterly at Vitios. "This room is too small."
Vitios smiled. "This room is too small. This phrase has another meaning among the Yizhi tong, doesn't it?"
"Yes. It signifies that the speaker fears that someone is listening in on the conversation, and the phrase is a warning to be careful."
Vitios turned to point at Justin Allard. "And this phrase—of all the possible codes he could have used—in either Capellan or English, is the one he chose. Ironic, isn't it, that he chooses an enemy expression for caution as the password to his 'Mech."
"Do you expect me to respond to that?"
Vitios shook his head. "No, I suppose not. I withdraw the question. I am finished with this witness."
Leftenant Lofton leaped to his feet. "I have only one question for this witness." As he started to phrase it, Quintus slowly shook his head. Justin clutched at his lawyer's sleeve, but Lofton marched straight into the trap, heedless of the warning signs. "Mr. Allard, do you believe your son is a traitor?
Quintus looked down at his shoes. "I don't know. I just don't know."
14
New Avalon
Cruris March, Federated Suns
30 January 3027
David, you mustput me on the stand!" Though speaking in a low tone, Justin's voice seethed with anger and filled the prisoners' holding room. "I need my chance to speak."
Lofton shook his head. "It will do no good."
Justin smiled coldly, but his brown eyes had become dark slivers of fury. "Oh, it willdo some good, David."
Lofton's nostrils flared. "Since when have you become a lawyer? Do you think I'm oblivious to what's going on out there? They might as well have strapped you to a K-F drive and jumped you straight into the grave. I look at you and see an officer who cared for his men and who tried to normalize relations with a conquered people. I see a man proud of his mixed heritage, and I see a man who's been decorated for bravery .. ."
Justin thrust his right hand at the Lieutenant. "You see that, perhaps, but you stand alone. To them, out there, I'm the rogue. They gave me everything: a name, a place to live, a career, and their trust. The problem is that they're so used to hiding the skeletons in their own closets that they imagine everyone else is, too. My case gives them a chance to direct their fears and hatred at a living target. Well, I'm ready to shoot back, David, and you have to give me the chance."
"Justin, Vitios will crucify you. You saw how he forced your father to say things he didn't want to say. You heard how he twisted the interpretation of your normal behavior to look like the sinister machinations of a master spy. What can you do on the stand that will help you?"
Justin shook his head. "Nothing."
"Exactly . .."
"Nothing but point up what an absolute travesty this whole trial has been from the start."
Lofton thrust his face at Justin. "No! If you go rogue in that courtroom, if you sink down into the pits with Vitios, they'll kill you. Treason is still a capital offense, Justin, and if you anger enough people out there, you'll be dead."
Justin looked up and met Lofton's concerned stare with a blank one. "David, put me on the stand, or I'll find a lawyer who will."
David Lofton slowly straightened up, then rebuttoned his dress jacket. "Very well, Major, you'll have your wish." Lofton stared down at his client. "One thing, though. When I told you what sort of officer I had for a client, you said I was alone in my opinion. Don't you believe in yourself?"
Justin shook his head slowly. "The only thing I believe right now is that I made a mistake in leaving my mother's people to live with my father."
* * *
Lofton turned from his client and returned to the defense desk. "Thank you, Major Allard, for your cooperation." Without looking up, he added, "I am finished with this witness, Your Honor."
Courtney nodded. "Your witness, Count Vitios."
Vitios stalked Justin Allard like a tiger that has tasted human flesh. He stopped his pacing directly before the witness box and met Justin's hot glare with one of arctic frigidity. "What comes to mind, Major Allard, when someone calls you 'yellow?' "
"Objection!" Lofton vaulted out of his seat and stepped toward his client. "The prosecutor is insulting my client with irrelevant questions."
Vitios shook his head. "I will show relevancy, Your Honor."
Courtney waved Lofton back to his bench, then turned to Justin. "Answer the question, Major."
Justin let the hint of a smile flicker over his lips. "Generally, I would assume that someone who called me 'yellow' was accusing me of being a coward, but when a small-minded bigot like you uses the term, I assume it is a racial slur."
Vitios stepped back. "Quick to take offense, aren't you, Major?" Justin opened his mouth to reply, but Vitios started another question first.
Lofton smiled and split the confusion with a loud voice, "Objection. My client has not had a chance to answer your question."
Vitios, slightly off balance, growled. "I withdraw the question."
"No," Justin interjected. "I'd like to answer it. I understand, Count Vitios, why you hate the Capellan Confederation. I know your family died in a Liao raid on Verio. I know the attack came after insurgents had poisoned the local garrison forces and I know you've been looking under beds and in closets for Capellan spies ever since. I've heard your hatred of me in everything you've said since we first met after the battle of Valencia on Spica. Your blind prejudice disgusts me."
"Does it, now, Major Justin Xiang Allard?" Vitios returned to the prosecution table, picked up a file, and began to flip through it as he spoke. "You associate with known Liao agents. You speak their tongue and are accepted in their homes. You use a catch phrase from a tong as your 'Mech's personal security code. You abandon your men to a Liao ambush during an exercise you never wanted to participate in to start with! Forgive me my blind loathing, Major, but something here stinks, and the facts say that it's you!"