"That's not… they were … don't you understand? They were trespassing !" Nethercott was livid with barely contained rage.
"They were in the Inner Temple!" stressed Auditor Rood.
"Are either of you registered members of the Ainge Church?" Kerry Wangberg asked.
Ben knew that he didn't have to answer any question regarding his own civil liberties, but he also knew where Mr. Wangberg was going with such a question.
"No," Ben said. "I'm not."
Julia shook her head.
Wangberg faced the Auditors. "If these two people belonged to the Ainge religion, then you might have some jurisdiction over them. But since they aren't, and since you have sequestered them without immediate access to counsel, it seems that you can be held on charges of false imprisonment and perhaps attempted kidnapping." Wangberg then turned to Julia. "Did they physically assault you?"
Julia pointed to Auditor Rood. "He did! He grabbed me!"
Ben was, frankly, amazed. Jeannie Borland had the personality of a dishrag compared to this extraordinary young woman.
"We now have charges of assault," Mr. Wangberg said.
"Whose side are you on?" High Auditor Nethercott exploded. "We're the aggrieved party! They're the ones who committed the crime!"
"Then press charges," Sammons said. "But if you do, then I must encourage these two young people to press charges against you which are far more serious than your charges."
Nethercott's eyebrows knitted angrily. "If you were Ainge, I would have your job."
"I don't think you'd want it," Sammons said. "The pay is lousy and the hours are terrible and you'd have to deal with people such as yourself."
Ben heard a commotion behind them and he turned around to see a bunch of people enter the auditorium. Lieutenant Ted Fontenot and three of his associates appeared. So did Eve Silbarton and two student reporters from The Alley Citizen, and one from the student-run radio station, KEOS. Albert Holcombe was a hell of a cagey old coot, Ben decided. The Marines had landed, and the Auditors saw that the battle was all but lost.
A while later, Captain Cleddman came down from the command deck and the Ainge became so occupied with defending themselves that Julia and Ben were able to slip away to let the adults play this one out.
Julia, however, was still driven by her anger and her need to know what exactly had happened to her little bear. An autopsy might have supplied a few answers, particularly if the Avatka had perhaps poisoned Jingles. But Julia abandoned the idea of subjecting Jingle Bear's body to an autopsy, feeling that such an ordeal would be too much for the little creature's spirit. Still, she wanted to know what killed the bear.
It was clear now that she wasn't going to get any answers from the Auditors or the Enamorati. But the arrival on the scene of the student reporters suggested to her that The Alley Citizen might have more expertise in seeking out the sources that might supply her with the answers she needed.
So she and Ben went to the offices of The Alley Citizen. The Citizen was part of the communications department, which also operated KEOS and had its own staff of reporters. Between these two media sources, they could blanket almost the entire student body. What also gave this team their strength was the fact that none of the students or faculty were members of the Ainge Church. They would, therefore, be less inclined to soft-pedal the misdeeds of the Auditors. Assuming there were any.
Julia and Ben met with the editorial staff of The Alley Citizen and told them everything they had experienced, from their first meeting in the disassembled physics lab to their explorations of the Ainge Inner Temple-emphasizing that they knocked before entering. They finished with the account of the "dynamo" room. During their recitation, the two reporters who had been sent to the Ainge quarters had finally returned and they had juicy video of the warring parties, particularly High Auditor Nethercott.
The faculty advisor of
"They were in the Inner Temple!" stressed Auditor Rood.
"Are either of you registered members of the Ainge Church?" Kerry Wangberg asked.
Ben knew that he didn't have to answer any question regarding his own civil liberties, but he also knew where Mr. Wangberg was going with such a question.
"No," Ben said. "I'm not."
Julia shook her head.
Wangberg faced the Auditors. "If these two people belonged to the Ainge religion, then you might have some jurisdiction over them. But since they aren't, and since you have sequestered them without immediate access to counsel, it seems that you can be held on charges of false imprisonment and perhaps attempted kidnapping." Wangberg then turned to Julia. "Did they physically assault you?"
Julia pointed to Auditor Rood. "He did! He grabbed me!"
Ben was, frankly, amazed. Jeannie Borland had the personality of a dishrag compared to this extraordinary young woman.
"We now have charges of assault," Mr. Wangberg said.
"Whose side are you on?" High Auditor Nethercott exploded. "We're the aggrieved party! They're the ones who committed the crime!"
"Then press charges," Sammons said. "But if you do, then I must encourage these two young people to press charges against you which are far more serious than your charges."
Nethercott's eyebrows knitted angrily. "If you were Ainge, I would have your job."
"I don't think you'd want it," Sammons said. "The pay is lousy and the hours are terrible and you'd have to deal with people such as yourself."
Ben heard a commotion behind them and he turned around to see a bunch of people enter the auditorium. Lieutenant Ted Fontenot and three of his associates appeared. So did Eve Silbarton and two student reporters from The Alley Citizen, and one from the student-run radio station, KEOS. Albert Holcombe was a hell of a cagey old coot, Ben decided. The Marines had landed, and the Auditors saw that the battle was all but lost.
A while later, Captain Cleddman came down from the command deck and the Ainge became so occupied with defending themselves that Julia and Ben were able to slip away to let the adults play this one out.
Julia, however, was still driven by her anger and her need to know what exactly had happened to her little bear. An autopsy might have supplied a few answers, particularly if the Avatka had perhaps poisoned Jingles. But Julia abandoned the idea of subjecting Jingle Bear's body to an autopsy, feeling that such an ordeal would be too much for the little creature's spirit. Still, she wanted to know what killed the bear.
It was clear now that she wasn't going to get any answers from the Auditors or the Enamorati. But the arrival on the scene of the student reporters suggested to her that The Alley Citizen might have more expertise in seeking out the sources that might supply her with the answers she needed.
So she and Ben went to the offices of The Alley Citizen. The Citizen was part of the communications department, which also operated KEOS and had its own staff of reporters. Between these two media sources, they could blanket almost the entire student body. What also gave this team their strength was the fact that none of the students or faculty were members of the Ainge Church. They would, therefore, be less inclined to soft-pedal the misdeeds of the Auditors. Assuming there were any.
Julia and Ben met with the editorial staff of The Alley Citizen and told them everything they had experienced, from their first meeting in the disassembled physics lab to their explorations of the Ainge Inner Temple-emphasizing that they knocked before entering. They finished with the account of the "dynamo" room. During their recitation, the two reporters who had been sent to the Ainge quarters had finally returned and they had juicy video of the warring parties, particularly High Auditor Nethercott.
The faculty advisor of
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