Approaching Oblivion (Jezebel's Ladder Book 4) (4 page)

“I
won’t testify.”

“What?”

“Toby
will want to ask me personal questions on cross-examination, and I refuse to
speak to that man, even through his attorney. I don’t want to
look
at
him.”

“How
are we going to convict him without your testimony?” Mercy demanded.

“Don’t
worry, he’ll self-destruct,” Yvette insisted. “Just give him enough rope.”

Mercy
asked, “What about attending the trial? Toby has the right to face his accuser
in court.”

After
staring at Mercy for an even longer period, Yvette whispered, “I have one condition.”

“Anything.”

“You
must k
eep your baby away from Snowflake.”

“What? Why?”

“The interface changed your brain
from the first time you used it. Prolonged exposure made Lou blind,” Yvette
insisted.

“That’s not fair. Drugs,
restraints, and being too close to the sun had a lot to do with that.”

The nurse shook her head. “You had
nosebleeds and migraines every day for the first week you used Snowflake. We
know the interface reformatted your neural paths. That could impair your
child’s neurological development.”

“I’m sure there are safeguards.”

“Don’t be. Your aliens aren’t as
benevolent as Red preaches. Though I won’t speak ill of them unless we’re
sheltered like this.” Yvette pointed to the wooden roof above them. “They
listen to and watch everything in the open, in Olympus, and the tunnels.”

“Maybe. Probably. Why is that bad?”

“They had to know Toby was unstable
before we did, before he even had access to Olympus. Yet they let him in. Why?
The test is more important than our lives. They live to examine us under a
microscope while we suffer.”

“It’s not like that,” Mercy
soothed.

Yvette grabbed Mercy’s shoulders as
she hissed, “I begged Sensei and Snowflake to help me so many times. I pleaded
in that shower and the luggage room whenever Toby left me alone.”

“Snowflake can only obey the
planners. Sensei only talks to Red, and then only in the landing bay.”

“If the aliens are forcing us to
follow our charter, why aren’t they preventing or reporting the crimes? Why did
you
have to uncover it?”

Swallowing hard at the severity of her
accusation, Mercy admitted, “The sanctity of the test is paramount to them
because they can never allow a virus to enter the space controlled by the Union
of Souls. I’m not sure they consider us truly sentient until we pass.”

“The others need to know this.”

“Why? What does it change?” Mercy
asked.

“If the aliens are as smart as we
think, you didn’t fool them. For some reason, they
wanted
you to go on
this makeup mission. Ask yourself why. What are the aliens’ motivations?”

“Snowflake has imprinted on me like
the chicks did. Maybe he argued for us.”

“Is that chance worth the life of
your unborn child? Are all the things that have gone wrong really our fault?”

Mercy closed her eyes, unwilling to
descend into bitterness and fear. Calmly, she said, “If I honor your condition,
will you go to the trial with me tomorrow?”

“Only if I never hear how
altruistic Red’s precious aliens are again.”

“I’ll inform her,” Mercy said
meekly. “Have I damaged our friendship by telling you all this?”

“I’ll recover in a few days. You
freed me from Hell and bled for it. I know
your
heart.”

Early the next morning,
the ship submerged fully into subspace and caught the jet stream toward the
ceiling of the galaxy at the rate of a light-year per day. The milky windows of
the habitat rippled with rainbows of static-induced light.

Yvette
sat behind the prosecutor’s bench, wanting to be anywhere else. She could feel
the pity in everyone’s eyes as they milled around the rounded niche in the rock
wall slated to become a barn. “Where’s Sojiro?”

Mercy
whispered, “Last night in the cafeteria, Sojiro showed a double feature,
Psycho
and
Heathers
. Then he asked people to vote on which sociopath Toby most
resembled. For attempting to sway public opinion during the trial, Z assigned Sojiro
monitor duty in Olympus.”

Wrapped
in the lab coat, Yvette shivered. “It’s getting colder already.”

“Half
a degree per day,” Mercy agreed.

Red
strode over to her place at the bench and hissed, “Shh. It’s starting.”

After
Nadia announced the time and crew present for the camera, Herk marched Toby
before the court. The defendant’s nose and right wrist were splinted, his eyes
blackened, and he had a goose egg on his forehead.

When
Yvette raised an eyebrow at Red, the prosecutor said, “Don’t look at me. Mother
Hen over there did that before I could rub his nose in the carpet.”

The
nurse put her head on Mercy’s shoulder. “How did you know what I wanted for my
birthday?”

Lou
announced, “Doctor Tobias Baatjies, you’re accused of kidnapping and raping
Nurse Yvette Chenonceau. How do you plead?”

“Not
guilty,” said the pale nanobiologist.

Red
shot out of her chair. “Liar!”

“He
can’t lie,” murmured Yvette. “He is infected with the Ethics page. You need to
change how you ask and lead him to the unavoidable.”

Lou
faced the space between the defendant and Herk. “Dr. Baatjies, you’ve been
found fit to stand trial but not to serve as your own counsel. Commander Zeiss
has been chosen to stand as your defense. Are you satisfied with this
selection?”

“He’ll
be fine, as long as I get my say,” Toby agreed.

“In
that case, we want to put Toby on our witness list,” Red responded.

Her
husband shook his head. “Objection—Ethics officers have the right to refuse
testimony. He can’t control the side effects well enough to prevent unrelated
information from leaking out. The burden of proving your case lies on the
prosecution, not the defendant.”

Oleander
said, “Sustained, reluctantly.”

“Speak
only to me,” Zeiss advised his client, “no matter what she says.”

Both
sides took their seats.

Red
called Herk to the stand. He presented the physical evidence gathered at the
suspended animation unit after the field had been disengaged: the gag,
restraint marks, the drugs in Yvette’s system, Toby’s semen, and various other signs
force had been employed.

“Most
people use the stasis chamber in what position?” asked Red.

“Seated
in the built-in chair, facing the entrance,” he replied.

“How
was Nurse Chenonceau discovered?”

“Kneeling
on the chair, her back to the entrance, and facing the wall.”

“Why
would someone do this?”

“First-time
killers do this when they can’t stand to look their victims in the eyes.”

“When
they know what they’re doing is wrong and hurting someone,” Red concluded.
“Your witness, defense.”

Toby
whispered in the ear of the commander, who pulled back sharply.

Zeiss
cleared his throat. “Officer Herkemer, did you also find evidence of a
pedicure?”

“Yeah,
a scraper and nail polish.”

“Could
she have been exposing her heels so Toby could smooth out the calluses?”

“Are
you shitting me, boss?”

Zeiss
sighed. “Yes or no?” The surreal question caused the muscular man to look
around the room for support or cues. “You may examine the evidence photos and
your notes, not the audience.”

“I
guess.”

“And
given that scenario, wouldn’t some of the skin shavings have a less ominous
cause?” Zeiss asked.

The
head of security admitted this with a grudging, “Maybe.”

Glaring
at the defense bench, Red followed up with, “But all the other evidence still
points to forced sex?”

“Definitely,”
said Herk, glad to be back on the popular side.

When
the questions were done, Oleander said, “Thank you for your assistance in this
difficult matter, Officer Herkemer. You may resume your seat.”

Zeiss
approached the judges and whispered, “My client admits to intercourse—even
rough sex—but claims it was consensual.”

“He
can’t prove that!” Red said. Her anger flared out through the Collective
Unconscious, and people could smell burnt toast.

Toby
shouted even louder, “Yvette agreed to sleep with me. Ask anyone. She brought
alcohol, food, and arranged to be alone with me for eight hours for the purpose
of seducing me.”

Pouncing
on the outburst, Red said, “Your honors, the defendant has just testified. That
means I can cross examine him on the stand.”

Zeiss
buried his head in his hands as they swore in his client.

“For
the record, you have proof of consent?” Red opened.

Toby
said to Lou, “Your honor, may I ask the courtroom a question to prove common
knowledge?”

“He
doesn’t get to ask questions!” Red objected.

Lou
sighed. “You did ask him to present proof. I’ll give him a little leeway, given
the severity of the charges.”

“Let’s
have a show of hands,” Toby sneered. “Who here knows Yvette offered to lay me
on the beach at Red’s eighteenth birthday bash.”

Half
those present raised their hands, including Red herself. “But one offer—”

“Do
you deny she still loved me? Had she been with another partner since?”

“No,
but—”

“Who
helped her arrange the booty call? Who knew what she was intending?”

Oleander,
Johnny, Lou, and Mercy raised hands.

Toby
pointed to his own chest with a thumb. “I can’t lie, and I’m telling you, she
offered to have sex any way I wanted for that whole week.”

“Why?”
asked Red.

“Pardon?”

“When
she suddenly offered this, you didn’t think it strange?”

“Women
offer men attention all the time to change their behavior, or make them do
things they don’t want to do. Who here has had that happen to them?”

“Irrelevant!”
Red shouted. “Don’t you dare blame the victim.”

Toby’s
left eye twitched. “She loves me.”

“Why
in that context? What condition was she in?”

“Drugged
and strapped to the wall,” he admitted. “But that was just to keep her quiet,
so she wouldn’t spoil the surprise. I didn’t want to hurt her. I never meant to
hurt Yvette. I know what you’re thinking, but she said yes. The drugs were no
different than Lou pouring alcohol down some coed’s throat.”

“He’s
never forced a woman!” Mercy shouted.

Red
sat her back down. She whispered to her co-counsel, “Toby is deflecting on
purpose. He’s struggling to hold back some admission, from the court or
himself.” She asked the witness, “Why did you restrain her? What surprise would
she spoil?”

Zeiss
shook his head violently and waved his arms to get the defendant to stop, to no
effect.

“I
wanted to k-kill Lou-cifer over there.” He closed his eyes and clamped his
hands to his head. Reliving the thoughts caused him to wail in pain.

“But
you didn’t,” Red pressed. “Why not?”

“She
said she’d sleep with me if I spared him.” Tears were streaming down his face.
“We made a deal.”

Noisily,
Zeiss put his notepaper and computer pad away. She’d cracked Toby like a crab
leg, and next she would pry out the meat.

“You
don’t call that duress?” asked Red, her tone deadly.

“She
loved me. She didn’t want me to have that stain. I loved her back.”

“Yet
you slept with Yuki soon after.”

“Not
pertinent to the crime,” Zeiss said. When his client ignored him, the commander
walked toward the back of the improvised courtroom.

Yvette
turned to watch the new water wheel on the stream, a reminder that gravity
couldn’t be stopped—at best one could redirect it.

“I
only
tried
to be unfaithful. I couldn’t. My body knew better. Then I
made Yuki punish me for the attempt. We never had sex. I’ve never
been
with anyone other than Yvette. The happiest memory in my life was waking up
beside her on our third day in that blasted cargo hold. The worst followed two
minutes later when I realized my week of paradise was half over. The depression
set in. I couldn’t sleep that night. I didn’t want it to end.”

Yvette
choked back an angry shriek. That had been her hell, and the man wanted people
to feel sorry for
him
?

Mercy
had to lead her out to the stone corner where Zeiss stood.

Red
strolled up to the witness chair. “Was it worth it? Betraying your colleagues
and your doctor’s oath?”

Toby
considered this. “For someone who stole a UN craft and started a war, you’re
high and mighty about oaths and laws. If we’re ranking betrayals, mine doesn’t
rate the death penalty.”

“Argumentative,”
said the head judge. “He’s leading you away from the question by baiting you,
Red. The witness will answer the question as asked.”

“You
were all so easy to fool, I could have killed anyone, done anything, and
everyone thanked me. It was easy and
satisfying
.” No remorse there. In
TV dramas, when confronted, this was the “I’d do it again” ending. Everyone in
the courtroom grew quiet at this admission.

At
last, Red spoke. “So the promise Yvette extracted was the only thing that saved
us all.”

“Nonsense.
Only Lou was at risk.”

“Did
you have medication preformulated and measured to knock Mercy out?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“She
was originally scheduled to work that shift, and she’d turned everyone against
me.”

Red
leaned over until she was nose-to-nose with the accused. “Toby, you put someone
you
loved
in a box. What would you have done to the people you hated and
resented?”

Mercy,
whether from morning sickness or the revelation, retched. Yvette offered her a
handkerchief, and Zeiss passed her a water bottle to rinse.

“I
visited Yvette every chance I got. I only put her in stasis because I knew that
hiding my secret would hurt her.” He twisted sideways in agony. “Okay. I did it
because I didn’t want to get caught. I didn’t want the week of fun to end.”

“So
you admit to imprisoning her for months against her will.”

“Yes.”

Yvette
closed her eyes at the small victory.

“Part
of you had to know it was wrong. She wasn’t yours. She didn’t belong to you.”

“Yes.
I deserve to be punished for that.”

Zeiss
approached the bench as Red continued to hammer him. “You had sex with her
after that?”

Toby
twitched.

“Answer
the question!” Red demanded.

Zeiss
whispered, “Gently, please. He can’t control it. Your mom had the same problem.
She was admitted to an asylum for page-induced aphasia . . . twice.”

“You
can
not
use my personal information to vindicate this creep,” Red
blasted.

“Have
a little patience. Nobody gave him a choice about this. We’re not allowed to
ask Ethics recipients such personal questions.”

“Boo
freaking hoo. It’s a yes or no question. Did any part of you penetrate any part
of her?”

“Sometimes,”
Toby compromised. “Mostly I told her my problems, and she made me feel better.”

“Like
your guilt about hurting her?”

“Yes,”
he admitted.

“Did
you let her sleep?”

“I
thought the chamber would help her rest.”

“Tell
us how the freezer functions,” Red ordered.

Confident
in an area of his expertise, the nanobiologist lectured. “When the aliens had
us place Yuki in the chamber during her medical emergency, I observed that the
stasis field dampens all bioelectric impulses, halting cell decay, bleeding,
and thought. We don’t know how it works, but no actual cold is involved.”

“So
you knew that biologically and electrically, no time passed for Yuki when she
was trapped in the chamber. The same had to be true for Yvette.”