WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 399: Change (16)

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February was the month of trials. With protesters filling the area in front of the U.S. Supreme Court and demanding swift death sentences for the traitors, Clarissa Chadwick's hearing moved with unusual speed. Trials like this usually dragged on for at least several months, but the Kramer administration had nothing to gain by taking its time. Attention or hatred, emotions withered as time passed. It was best to end things while all of America was still burning hot. Swift, decisive judgment against the criminals would only strengthen Kramer's image.

Of course, there was no need to rush the punishment of everyone involved. What mattered was how the citizens felt. In other words, if Clarissa Chadwick's case was dealt with quickly, most citizens would feel the incident had been settled. Psychologically, at least. After that, the trials of the other conspirators could proceed more slowly, with more breathing room. That meant Lieutenant General Xieru's trial could begin first without issue. Draw attention clearly, one case at a time, and wring the best result from each. For Kramer, it was the best option.

During that process, Gyeoul was frequently summoned as a witness. Sometimes Jin-seok or Yura came and went from the courtroom in the same capacity. One day, even Manuel Hayes, a death-row inmate, was called to the witness stand. His bewildered expression made the front page of several newspapers.

The one saving grace was Clarissa Chadwick's attitude. Not that she was cooperative. She behaved like someone who had decided to be a villain through and through. That was why she did not deny her crimes, yet refused to give up her appeals until the end. It was also why the trial could move quickly while still observing every appeal procedure.

"That ends today too."

The man speaking with tears in his voice was Ross Stallworth, the public defender appointed to represent Clarissa Chadwick. It was not a job he had wanted, yet he had been exposed to every kind of threat simply because he was defending Clarissa. So on days when Gyeoul took the witness stand, Gyeoul sometimes arrived a little early and waited for him. According to Stallworth, the death threats had gone down a lot after Gyeoul started doing that.

With escort officers behind him, Stallworth took Gyeoul's hand.

"Thank you so much for everything. Now I can openly curse that crazy bitch too, so if I keep my head down for a while, I don't think I'll die. Thank you. Thank you..."

Gyeoul asked despite knowing the answer.

"Wouldn't it have been all right to post an explanation on SNS or somewhere? That this wasn't something you were doing because you wanted to. That you hated Clarissa Chadwick as much as they did. That you were only doing your duty."

Stallworth shook his head.

"I couldn't do that. It isn't something a lawyer should ever do. While I was defending her, I had to be completely on my client's side. At the very least, I had to pretend to be. Think about it. If I posted something like that, and the judge, prosecutor, and entire jury all read it, how ridiculous would it be for me to stand in front of them afterward and shamelessly defend my client?"

"It would be embarrassing."

"Embarrassment is one thing, but the bigger problem is that it turns the trial into a formality. It becomes a perfunctory procedure meant only to hand down a guilty verdict. If I expressed that sort of opinion before the final judgment, it would be, in a manner of speaking, contempt of court. I mustn't do that. It would be better to quit being a lawyer."

"Then why didn't you quit? You could have died."

"..."

After thinking for a while, Stallworth let out a long sigh.

"I don't know either."

Gyeoul smiled faintly. This was someone with an unusually strong professional conscience, though when he thought about it, that made sense. Before Stallworth had taken on the defense, dozens of people had already recoiled and stepped away. They said they would rather submit their resignations than take this case. Gyeoul understood their decision.

'They mostly deal with poor people, so they must have known very well what could happen.'

Dealing often with the poor meant gang members and their victims made up a high share of their clients. Given how overloaded public defenders always were, they often suggested plea deals instead of providing a proper defense, and that naturally gave people plenty of reasons to resent them.

Even ordinary trials were like that, and here the client was Clarissa Chadwick. Sharp public criticism was obviously going to pour down on anyone involved.

"How about we look around together for a bit? Until it thins out outside."

At Gyeoul's suggestion, Stallworth hesitated, clearly tempted.

"I'd like that, but... aren't you busy, Lieutenant Colonel?"

"It'll only be for a little while. The protesters probably won't stay long. They got the verdict they wanted."

The sentence would be carried out in two days. After that, though it was still secret for now, Lieutenant General Xieru's trial would probably begin right away. Maybe Stallworth would handle the defense then too. It would be hard to find another person with this much professional conscience. Whether he could endure it was another question.

Either way, Gyeoul needed to let him feel some reward. He spoke honestly.

"I admired you while watching you defend her this time. I thought, you're a good man."

"Did you?"

"Yes. Truly. What you said just now was good too. Someday-"

Gyeoul pointed at a portrait on the wall.

"You might become like that person."

Stallworth's mouth twitched until he finally burst out laughing.

"Good God. I appreciate the encouragement, but too much praise has the opposite effect."

"I wasn't joking."

"It isn't realistic."

The person in the portrait was John Marshall Harlan, one of the most respected justices in U.S. history, the only justice to dissent from the Supreme Court's racist ruling at the end of the nineteenth century.

After laughing with him, Gyeoul asked again.

"Do you really think it isn't realistic?"

"..."

"The farther south the advance goes, the more federal districts outside any state there will be. Naturally, the areas handled by federal courts and prosecutors will increase too. I think building a new career from there is entirely possible. Am I wrong? If I am, please tell me. I don't know much about this side of things."

It was clear from Stallworth's face alone that he was not wrong. Stallworth had probably only thought he was not in a position to do that. Public defenders tended to be treated poorly, even among lawyers.

The look in Stallworth's eyes changed. It was the color of desire he was trying not to show.

"It would be impossible alone... Would you perhaps be willing to help?"

That was within the acceptable range. How common were people without ambition? America was a country that elected even judges. And those were uniquely American elections, the kind that could only be won by plastering everything with campaign funds. To win an election like that, political and economic backers were essential.

Federal judges appointed without elections were worse. Once the FBI selected candidates, fierce lobbying battles broke out over whether they would be appointed. A person without money or connections could never become a judge.

In that den of schemes, this lawyer was worth respecting for his professional conscience alone. After a pause, Gyeoul nodded.

"If you want, I'll look into what I can do. Though I may not be able to help much. Here, I'll give you my contact information."

"Oh."

Stallworth looked deeply moved. Though Gyeoul's rank was only lieutenant colonel, his influence was by no means that of an ordinary lieutenant colonel. Gyeoul was still trying to get used to exercising that new level of influence.

Afterward, the lawyer tried to improve Gyeoul's impression of him by keeping the conversation going however he could. The problem was that the two of them were not close, so there were not many topics to talk about. In the end, he brought up a slightly unfortunate subject.

"I saw the news that your 201st Independent Infantry Battalion has been designated as a special forces unit. They said the unit's status and treatment will improve a great deal. My sincere congratulations."

"..."

Gyeoul's expression stiffened slightly. Stallworth, who had been smiling awkwardly, asked carefully.

"Did I make some kind of mistake?"

"No. Not really. I was just thinking about something else for a moment."

The truth was, he was worried.

A few days ago, notice had come down that the 201st Independent Infantry Battalion would be designated as a Tier 3 unit under Special Operations Command. The Alpha Company members, who knew nothing, were extremely proud, but to Gyeoul, it was nothing but bewildering.

'No matter how many times I think it over, we aren't at that level.'

It was far too much. The unit lacked the scale, skill, and unique character to be called special forces.

After asking around everywhere, he learned that this was President Kramer's will. Many people must have opposed it, and Kramer himself, a former marine, must have known this decision made no sense. Even so, if he had pushed the special forces designation through, there had to be a reason.

A unit-level reward for suppressing the rebellion should normally have ended with a citation.

What was the intent?

In Gyeoul's mind, there were two plausible assumptions.

One was to use the overinflated unit itself as a tool for civil affairs and psychological warfare.

The other was...

'Throwing it into a situation where severe losses are expected, but troops still have to be sent. It would be useful for appearances too. On paper, they would be committing valuable combat power.'

Ordinary people thought of special forces as groups with outstanding combat power. It was a vague impression. In other words, the public could be persuaded even if they sent in only one battalion for an operation that needed an entire division.

In this rebellion, the Independent Battalion's reputation had risen far too high. It would be fair to call it a bubble. Ordinary citizens would accept this special forces designation as natural, just as Stallworth had.

The Independent Battalion had one more advantage. No matter how many casualties occurred, the bereaved families would never gather in front of the White House to protest or march through the streets. So even if they slapped a special forces label on it and used it up brutally, the aftermath would be easy to handle.

The more frightening possibility was that Kramer sincerely believed in Gyeoul. That even if something was impossible for ordinary people, Gyeoul would naturally accomplish it.

At any rate, he was someone who believed refugees had to prove their worth if they wanted to live in America.

There was a restless presence beside him. Gyeoul set aside his thoughts for a moment, soothed the lawyer, who was anxiously wondering whether he had misspoken, and walked through the Supreme Court exhibition hall for about twenty minutes. When it was time to part, Gyeoul saw him off all the way to the place where the car was waiting. He waved as Stallworth got into the patrol car.

"Take care. Contact me if you need anything."

"Yes. Thank you very much for today."

The lawyer left with a timid farewell, riding away with the police officer assigned to escort him.

On the way back to his quarters, Gyeoul returned to the thoughts he had cut off.

What kind of matter would call for using the Independent Battalion that way?

What suddenly came to mind was the conversation he had with Talbot of the Intelligence Agency on the night he spoke with Esther by phone. Back then, Gyeoul had wondered how the Intelligence Agency had come to be involved with Esther, and he had proposed one hypothesis based on the Alpha Trickster capture mission Colonel Emmert had told him about.

'Ground Zero Vacuum.'

Intentionally releasing an early form of the Trickster onto the Eurasian continent, using Esther to grasp the movements of the mutant horde, and attacking the source of the infection. A long-term operation was unnecessary. They only needed to secure the original form of Morgellons. While the search team looked for the original form of the plague, it would be enough to block or lure away anything approaching the area.

Assuming this was true, Kramer would want to push as much of the operation's manpower burden as possible onto the Russian military. He had a conviction. Just like the refugees, Russia also had to prove itself worthy of the support it received from America. Rights were not given for free.

Of course, that did not mean U.S. military participation could be completely excluded. If he wanted to reduce the size of the deployment while still making a show of it, mixing in a force like the 201st Independent Battalion would be effective.

Gyeoul felt heavy inside. It was a guess with no basis except 「Insight」, but he could not simply ignore it. The pieces fit together too well.

Footnotes:

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