start.’
Colonel Smithers half-suppressed a chuckle.
‘Are you sure that wouldn’t be a tad premature? If the files are
accurate, the Hurt World has had operations against her in the
past. Something to do with the Cobra X species if my memory serves
me correctly. It didn’t end well on that occasion, did it?’
Renaissance pursed her lips and said
nothing.
The one person at the table with a position
high enough to know who Renaissance really was cleared his throat
to speak. ‘The Hurt World’s mandate is to act against crimes that
will directly be of hurt to humankind,’ said the US Special Envoy,
Kalp Falno. ‘I would be interested to know what crime you perceive
that to be.’ He scratched his salt and pepper beard and his
striking green eyes settled on Renaissance.
‘I will assert that it is a Hurt World Five
case,’ Renaissance replied.
‘Hurt World Level Five is reserved for the
crime of genocide,’ murmured Falno doubtfully.
‘That’s right. And without knowing exactly
what was in that canister, the threat of genocide cannot be
discounted.’
‘It is quite an assumption considering we are
dealing with a canary smuggler. Perhaps the canister contains bird
seeds.’
‘Mas’s mere presence proves it is bigger than
that.’
‘She can’t be that good.’
‘Stamford TF make their living by roughing
people around and we saw how Mas dealt with them. Do you really
think they would be coming to us for help if they thought they
could extract retribution themselves?’
‘We are the United Nations. We do not have
retribution as part of our charter.’
‘True enough.’ Renaissance paused. ‘But you
had better accept that Mas is worth ignoring that. She is running
wild and unchecked and in possession of a chemical compound made by
a mad doctor who cannot legally come within ten thousand kilometres
of New York. Our only possible path to her is a dying dog in
Guatemala. So, we need to make a decision now.’ She eyed each
person at the table in turn. ‘We take her on or we let the moment
slip and find out the hard way what that canister really
contained.’
‘I will be happy to make the application for
the court order,’ said the Chief of Lawyers.
‘Thank you,’ replied Renaissance. ‘The
disposition is being worked on at this very moment.’
‘A unit of the Peace Keepers Strike Force
will be placed on standby,’ said Smithers in a conciliatory
tone.
The US Special Envoy nodded his blessing. ‘I
suppose the United Nations needs people who dream bad and have the
courage to assume the nightmares are real. Very well, Renaissance,
let’s see if the judge grants you the opportunity to pursue this
particular one into the light of day.’
*
The World Court, situated in Lower Manhattan,
was colloquially known as the Glass Cabbage, very much because that
was what the ten level structure resembled. It stood boldly in the
night all the same with internal and external lights blazing and
its showpiece Justice Beacon floodlight shooting ten kilometres
straight up. It was four thirty in the morning and those milling
around the foyer on ground level, waiting for whatever case had
brought them there, were looking tired and anxious. The World Court
operated on a twenty four hour schedule and there was no
favouritism given to hearing times. A good measure of the anxiety
could be attributable to the widely held belief that it was in the
early hours of the morning when judges were at their most irritable
and their sentences at their harshest. Although many of the
courtrooms were taken up with corporate and civil matters, Court 14
was dedicated to criminal cases: homicides, assaults and sexual
assaults. If the accused were individuals, they were often
presidents of companies or governments or the generals of armies.
Application 4009HW, however, was somewhat different and it had
perked Judge Furtle’s interest even if it barely showed in the
droopy, bloodshot eyes. ‘Let me get this straight,’ she
Colonel Smithers half-suppressed a chuckle.
‘Are you sure that wouldn’t be a tad premature? If the files are
accurate, the Hurt World has had operations against her in the
past. Something to do with the Cobra X species if my memory serves
me correctly. It didn’t end well on that occasion, did it?’
Renaissance pursed her lips and said
nothing.
The one person at the table with a position
high enough to know who Renaissance really was cleared his throat
to speak. ‘The Hurt World’s mandate is to act against crimes that
will directly be of hurt to humankind,’ said the US Special Envoy,
Kalp Falno. ‘I would be interested to know what crime you perceive
that to be.’ He scratched his salt and pepper beard and his
striking green eyes settled on Renaissance.
‘I will assert that it is a Hurt World Five
case,’ Renaissance replied.
‘Hurt World Level Five is reserved for the
crime of genocide,’ murmured Falno doubtfully.
‘That’s right. And without knowing exactly
what was in that canister, the threat of genocide cannot be
discounted.’
‘It is quite an assumption considering we are
dealing with a canary smuggler. Perhaps the canister contains bird
seeds.’
‘Mas’s mere presence proves it is bigger than
that.’
‘She can’t be that good.’
‘Stamford TF make their living by roughing
people around and we saw how Mas dealt with them. Do you really
think they would be coming to us for help if they thought they
could extract retribution themselves?’
‘We are the United Nations. We do not have
retribution as part of our charter.’
‘True enough.’ Renaissance paused. ‘But you
had better accept that Mas is worth ignoring that. She is running
wild and unchecked and in possession of a chemical compound made by
a mad doctor who cannot legally come within ten thousand kilometres
of New York. Our only possible path to her is a dying dog in
Guatemala. So, we need to make a decision now.’ She eyed each
person at the table in turn. ‘We take her on or we let the moment
slip and find out the hard way what that canister really
contained.’
‘I will be happy to make the application for
the court order,’ said the Chief of Lawyers.
‘Thank you,’ replied Renaissance. ‘The
disposition is being worked on at this very moment.’
‘A unit of the Peace Keepers Strike Force
will be placed on standby,’ said Smithers in a conciliatory
tone.
The US Special Envoy nodded his blessing. ‘I
suppose the United Nations needs people who dream bad and have the
courage to assume the nightmares are real. Very well, Renaissance,
let’s see if the judge grants you the opportunity to pursue this
particular one into the light of day.’
*
The World Court, situated in Lower Manhattan,
was colloquially known as the Glass Cabbage, very much because that
was what the ten level structure resembled. It stood boldly in the
night all the same with internal and external lights blazing and
its showpiece Justice Beacon floodlight shooting ten kilometres
straight up. It was four thirty in the morning and those milling
around the foyer on ground level, waiting for whatever case had
brought them there, were looking tired and anxious. The World Court
operated on a twenty four hour schedule and there was no
favouritism given to hearing times. A good measure of the anxiety
could be attributable to the widely held belief that it was in the
early hours of the morning when judges were at their most irritable
and their sentences at their harshest. Although many of the
courtrooms were taken up with corporate and civil matters, Court 14
was dedicated to criminal cases: homicides, assaults and sexual
assaults. If the accused were individuals, they were often
presidents of companies or governments or the generals of armies.
Application 4009HW, however, was somewhat different and it had
perked Judge Furtle’s interest even if it barely showed in the
droopy, bloodshot eyes. ‘Let me get this straight,’ she
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