WASHINGTON DC: The Sadir Affair (The Puppets of Washington Book 1) (35 page)

The courtroom was packed to the rim—standing room only. At 9:00AM precisely Judge Silverman stepped up to the bench, sat down and so did the audience. The bailiff then declared the court in session.

Silverman focused on the jury. “Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, it is with profound sadness that I have to confirm Mr. Dietrich Van Dams’s passing last night. However, as a Deputy Director of the CIA, Mr. Van Dams would have been the first to suggest that we continue with this trial, so that we could arrive at the truth and that justice may finally be done in this case.” He paused and looked at the audience sitting in the front row, behind the prosecution table. “This court acknowledges the presence of His Highness, Prince Khalid Saif Al Fadir and his Excellency, Ambassador Ashram Muhammad Alasghar of Saudi Arabia, and we thank you both for attending these proceedings.” Silverman looked at Billycan then. “Mr. Billycan, your next witness, please.”

“Thank you, Your Honour,” the U.S. Attorney said, standing up and turning brazenly to the defendant. Sadir looked up at him. Billycan then returned his attention to Silverman. “Your Honour, the Prosecution calls Ms. Talya Kartz to the stand.”

The doors opened to let Talya enter the room. The silence was ominous. Dressed in a black tailored suit, she walked slowly with a cane—the very same cane that Mark had bought for her when he arrived in Vancouver. Samuel walked on her other side, holding her by the elbow. He, too, was dressed in a black suit, white shirt but no tie. He accompanied Talya to the stand and went to sit beside Khalid. The latter nodded.

As soon as Talya was sworn in, she sat down. Her face was a perfect mask of calmness and determination. In a fleeting glance, she noticed Aziz sitting beside the Ambassador. Her eyes travelled to Sadir. He was staring. He had never met the woman, and now rued the day he ever made the first move to interfere with her quest to arrive at the truth. He shook his head slowly and slumped back in his seat.

Billycan stepped toward her. “Ms Kartz, I will try to make this as short as possible. We know you are not well and these proceedings may be tiring for you.”

“Thank you, Mr. Billycan, but I should be fine.”

“All right then. I shall start by asking you to identify the person who accompanied you into the courtroom this morning, would you mind?”

“Not at all. The man who walked at my side is Mr. Samuel Meshullam.”

Gasps of surprise roamed through the audience and the jurors. People turned and stretched their necks to look at the Jewish man who was now sitting in the first row beside a Saudi Arabian prince.

Billycan resumed once he felt that people were over the shock of seeing a Mossad assassin in the courtroom. “And could you tell this court how you know this man?”

“I first knew Mr. Meshullam when we both lived in Australia.”

“Did you have a chance to meet him again before today?”

“Yes, Mr. Meshullam came to Bowen Island, near Vancouver in Canada, where I was recovering from my injuries.”

“What was the reason for his visit, do you know?”

“Yes, Mr. Meshullam wanted to explain why he had fired the shot that landed me in a wheelchair for almost a year.”

“Could you tell this court what his explanation entailed?”

“Yes. Mr. Ishmael Assor and I had been accused of treason against the State of Israel, and Mr. Meshullam had been ordered to kill Mr. Assor and to wound me in order ‘
to teach me a lesson I would never forget
’.”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Kartz, but it was this court’s understanding that Mr. Meshullam had been ordered to kill both of you. Are you saying we drew the wrong conclusion?”

“Yes, sir, I am. You see, Mr. Assor was labelled a traitor, and so was I. However, in my case, I had been acquainted with Mr. Meshullam for many years, and Mossad had reason to believe that perhaps Mr. Meshullam had participated in the alleged conspiracy. They wanted to test his loyalty. If he had killed me, it would have demonstrated to the agency that he had yet eliminated another witness to his own treason. Therefore, he had to shoot me but only wound me in order to save both our lives.”

“Thank you, Ms Kartz. That has cleared a few things for us. Now, I’d like to go back to the time you were aboard the Marianne—a fishing trawler registered in Jacksonville, Florida. Could you describe for the court what happened the night you boarded the vessel?”

“Yes. Dr. Hendrix, Agent Gilford of CSIS and I were looking for proof—evidence—of drug trafficking on the part of Mr. Slimane, I mean Mr. Ishmael Assor. We had been looking for two trawlers, one of which was the Marianne.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt you here, Ms. Kartz, but could you explain—as briefly as you can—why you thought you would find drugs on these trawlers?”

Talya smiled. “I’ll try, Mr. Billycan, but this goes back a long way…”

“As I said, just make it as brief as you possibly can, Ms. Kartz.”

“Okay... Three years ago, Prince Khalid and I discovered a large shipment of cocaine stashed in a container that had been delivered in Senegal where I was working at the time, and we noticed that the container had been shipped from Nassau in Florida. When we arrived in Miami, we realized that
empty
containers from everywhere along the East Coast are used in Miami to be shipped all over the world. We also thought the drugs had arrived by train to Nassau from somewhere else, yet, since our container came from Nassau, which is a train terminal, and should have been emptied before it was used in Miami, we wondered how the drugs made it from Nassau to Miami. The answer came when we discovered that two trawlers made regular trips from the fishing harbour in Jacksonville to the shipping port in Miami. That’s why Dr. Hendrix, Agent Gilford and I were in Jacksonville. We were hoping to find the trawlers and maybe something to show that they were used for shipping the drugs from the Nassau train terminals to Miami.”

“And did you find the evidence of such shipment?”

“Yes, once we boarded the Marianne, I found bills of lading showing frozen crates being shipped from Nassau to Miami on two corresponding dates.”

“But you didn’t find these bills of lading right away, did you?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“What happened in the meantime, when you found the trawler?”

Talya used her cane to lift her body slightly and change her position in the chair. She grimaced before she answered, “We had been looking for the trawlers all day. At sunset, we finally found the Marianne moored against some old pier on the Jackson River. We were waiting until dark, so that we could maybe board the vessel unnoticed. We knew there were people on board and really didn’t know how we were going to remain unseen. As we were waiting and wondering if we shouldn’t call the authorities to help us out, I noticed a man coming out of the wheelhouse and lighting a cigarette. As soon as the flame of the lighter lit his face, I recognized him. He was the man who had abducted me and tortured me in Paris—Mr. Al Nadir. When I told Mark Gilford who the man was, he boarded the trawler and attacked Mr. Nadir. Dr. Hendrix and I rushed after him, but we were too late to stop Agent Gilford from killing Mr. Nadir. Seconds later, another man came out of the wheelhouse, but Mark had his back turned to him. I didn’t think... I took my knife out of my sling and stabbed Mr. Salaman Abib in the stomach.”

“Did you also know Mr. Abib?”

“Yes, he was the second man who participated in my abduction in Paris.”

“And what happened then?”

“Since the man was only injured, he rushed me against the door of the wheelhouse and then Mark turned him around and punched him senseless. After that, Agent Gilford dragged both victims and heaved them over the railing.”

“Did you know that Mr. Abib was not dead when Agent Gilford threw both men overboard?”

“I suspected it, yes.”

“Did you try stopping Agent Gilford from throwing the men over the railing?”

“Yes, but neither Dr. Hendrix nor I could convince him to leave them alone.”

“Why was that, do you think?”

“Because, we were quite sure that Mr. Slimane was intent on finding us—at least me. We suspected that by the time the police would have arrived on the scene, we would have been arrested, and if that happened, the people who held my colleagues hostage in Guyana would probably have killed them, blaming the killings on a guerrilla attack. We needed to stay free until we were sure Prince Khalid and everybody was safe.”

“And could you remind the court why your colleagues were held hostage in Guyana?”

“Once again, someone was trying to stop me in my investigation of Ben Slimane’s activity. And locating me was part of the abductors’ ransom demands.

“Besides, the authorities, including the CIA and the FBI, didn’t seem to believe what we had tried to demonstrate to them on many occasions. Only the Canadian Intelligence Service in Ottawa had followed our trail from day one and was convinced that we were on the right track.”

“Thank you, Ms. Kartz, for being very honest and forthcoming with your answers. Let’s go back to a minor point; you said that you pulled your knife out of your sling—why were you wearing a sling at the time?”

“I had been shot a couple of days earlier by yet another sniper who was trying to stop me. I had fallen into a trap at the time and escaped with only a gash on my left arm.”

“So, if we understand you correctly, it has been three years now since this affair started and three years since you have been chased and targeted at various times by person or persons yet unknown, is that correct?”

“Not quite, Mr. Billycan.” Talya paused, seeing an expression of surprise register on Billycan’s face. “Yes, it’s been about three years now since this whole thing started, but
I know
the people who have tried to see me through my next life more rapidly than I’d like…” When Silverman heard the first series of titters in the audience, he just glared. Talya went on. “You see, Mr. Nadir and Mr. Abib were employed by Mr. Osnoir in Paris...”

Simmons held up a hand. “Objection, Your Honour. I’d like to know if my colleague has forgotten the word
foundation
from his vocabulary by any chance.”

Silverman was visibly annoyed. He didn’t like anyone sneering and Simmons had clearly mocked the U.S. Attorney. Moreover, he didn’t want to appear as if his courtroom was the place for playing legal (and not so legal) games between attorneys. The media as well as foreign dignitaries were observing these proceedings closely.

“Objection sustained, Mr. Simmons. However, your comments regarding your colleague’s vocabulary or omission thereof should remain unheard in this courtroom. Thank you.” He peered down at Billycan. “Would you mind establishing foundation, or rephrasing your question, Counsel?”

“Not at all, Your Honour, thank you.” Billycan turned to Talya. “Ms Kartz, you mentioned the name Osnoir—could you tell the court who this person is?”

“Yes, Mr. Billycan, I can. Mr. Osnoir was a renowned drug lord in West Africa and was responsible for ordering my abduction and injuries in Paris.”

“Thank you.” He turned to Simmons a smirk on his face. “Now then, Ms. Kartz, who is the next responsible party for your injuries?”

“Well…, when I left Africa I assumed that Mr. Slimane—or Assor—was at the origin of my other injuries, until it became clear that Mr. Assor was acting on someone else’s orders, possibly a CIA agent. And lastly, Mr. Meshullam has acted under the order of Mossad that was ultimately misinformed that I was a traitor along with Mr. Assor.”

“Do you have any knowledge—personal knowledge that is—of the identity of the party who misinformed Mossad?”

“Yes, I do!”

From the corner of her eye, Talya saw Sadir literally shrink in his seat. Simmons hung his head in defeat. They both knew the game was up. Billycan turned to them; he was gloating. He quickly pivoted on his heels and took a few steps toward the witness stand again.

“Ms Kartz, before you reveal the name of the person who has allegedly misinformed Mossad and falsely accused you and Mr. Ishmael Assor of conspiracy against the State of Israel, would you confirm for this court if the office of the U.S. Attorney in Florida has offered you any form of, shall we say, protection in exchange for your testimony?”

“Yes, Mr. Billycan. My lawyer, Ms. Darlene Stovall”—Talya shot a quick glance in Darlene’s direction. She was sitting beside Aziz at the far end of the front row—“could confirm that the US Attorney’s office in Florida has granted me full immunity against prosecution in exchange for my testimony.”

“Thank you, Ms Kartz. Now, let’s return to my previous question and your answer thereof. You said that you have personal knowledge of the identity of the person who influenced Mossad in its decision to have you and Mr. Assor falsely accused of treason against the State of Israel, is that correct?”

“Yes, it is, Mr. Billycan.”

“Could you tell this court how you acquired this knowledge?”

Talya wasn’t sure where to begin. She took a moment to answer.

“Ms Kartz? Are you alright?” Billycan asked, seeing her cringe.

Talya nodded. “Yes, Mr. Billycan, I’m fine, but this chair is really uncomfortable...”

Judge Silverman waved to the bailiff. He approached the bench. “Clark, would you mind fetching another chair for the witness?” The bailiff nodded and turned toward the door, while Silverman pounded his gavel. “This court is in recess for ten minutes,” he declared. “Members of the jury; you are free to leave the courtroom and stretch your legs. The bailiff will come and get you when we resume. Thank you.” He then turned to look at Talya. “Ms Kartz, the court asks you to remain in the stand while we exchange the seats. You may not have any contact with anyone in the audience in the interim, you understand?”