The Trap Springs ( 3 )

Three days passed.

And once again, the day of the tribunal arrived.

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"Let today's session begin," said the judge.

"So, Mr. Wilhelm, do you now have proof of your innocence?" asked the judge.

"Yes, Your Honor." Wilhelm stepped forward and handed a file to the judge. "The public entity you appointed for me went to the royal palace to get everything that was needed."

Wilhelm sighed and said, holding a file in his hand: "Inside here are all the activities I have carried out since I was enlisted as a soldier in my homeland's army until where I hold the position of general today. It is clearly written here that I, Wilhelm Von Falkenhorst, have never committed such a thing and never will."

Then the general turned toward Hiroshi and said with a satisfied tone: "And then, Mr. Vassair, these are official documents with the official royal palace seal. Not like someone who brings fake things."

The judge carefully read the file.

"The document given by Mr. Wilhelm is an official document, and it clearly states here that Mr. Wilhelm has never made a transaction with you, Mr. Vassair."

Hiroshi decided to change the subject. He stood up and said: "Your Honor, it's obvious that it's not written there. Mr. Wilhelm never wants to have unwanted eyes on him. You must have heard the saying that a lot of money attracts a lot of thieves. So Mr. Wilhelm did what he had to do, and besides, in the world there are various ways, various methods, and various strategies."

The judge didn't like the response, so she banged her gavel and said with a direct and firm voice: "Mr. Vassair, you are falsely accusing Mr. Wilhelm. Do you know what can happen to you?"

Hiroshi slammed his hand on the table, showing how convinced he was of what he was doing, and said loudly:

"I KNOW PERFECTLY WELL, YOUR HONOR! IF I'M LYING, THEN WHAT ARE THOSE 150 MILLION DRAVS THAT MR. WILHELM REQUESTED FROM THE BANK EXACTLY 5 DAYS AGO?!"

The judge and two other people who were in the tribunal remained perplexed and looked toward Hiroshi.

"Mr. Vassair, how do you know this? I mean, where did you get this information?" said the judge.

Hiroshi adjusted his tie and said: "Your Honor, not only I but perhaps the whole city knows by now. These journalists you see have used this case to feed their families."

Then the judge looked angrily toward the man who had brought Wilhelm's file.

"Are they telling the truth?"

"Yes, Your Honor."

"Then why isn't this written in the file?"

"We apologize, Your Honor. The file doesn't contain information from last month until today. We'll update it immediately."

"Don't let such an error happen again! There are people's lives at stake here!"

"Very well, Your Honor, we'll keep that in mind."

"Good, let's proceed. Mr. Wilhelm... why and for what did you request the loan?"

Before Wilhelm could respond, Hiroshi shouted: "I'll tell you, Your Honor—"

The judge looked at him with penetrating eyes and a cold voice: "Stay calm, Mr. Vassair. If you don't have permission to speak, you cannot speak."

Hiroshi sat down and said in a low voice: "I apologize, Your Honor."

"Good, now Mr. Wilhelm, tell me everything."

The general ran his hand through his hair and said in a confused manner: "Your Honor, I don't have that money anymore. I had taken it because I needed it."

"Mr. Wilhelm, where did 150 million DRAVS go in 5 days?!" asked the judge, astonished.

The general took a long time to respond, and Hiroshi took advantage of this.

"Your Honor, if you allow me, I can clarify everything."

The judge, having no choice, said: "You have permission."

"Thank you, Your Honor. So, Your Honor, Mr. Wilhelm can't answer because he threw that money down the drain. It sounds strange but it's true, and to confirm this I want to call a person to the stand."

"You have permission."

So Hiroshi made a hand gesture, and a person seated in that very small crowd of a few people stood up and began to approach.

It was a man dressed in black leather with silver chains, of fat build, wide and robust neck. He held a cigar in his mouth, small but sharp eyes, and a wide smile on his face.

Ging went to the witness stand, and Hiroshi approached him with that scheming fake smile of his.

"Your Honor, this is Mr. Ging Klow. Mr. Ging is the CEO of the very famous gambling company here. You must have heard the name 'Jackspeir Show'. So now Mr. Ging wants to say something that will clarify everything."

"The person has permission."

So Ging cleared his throat and said in his hoarse voice: "Your Honor, Mr. Wilhelm arrived at our casino 5 days ago and played with a very, very large sum. In his first round worth over 150 million DRAVS, all the people present at that moment were surprised by the figure. They were so surprised that their mouths remained like this. Eyes wide open.

The croupier began to spin the roulette, and Mr. Wilhelm bet on red. Before starting the game, the croupier asked him if he was sure about betting such a large sum, and he answered yes.

While that roulette was spinning, everyone's breath was held by curiosity about what would happen. Such a large sum had never been seen before. The roulette spun and spun as if there were no tomorrow.

Then, at a certain point, everyone heard a scream full of pain: Mr. Wilhelm collapsed on the floor was crying because he had lost everything. The ball had stopped on black, and he had lost all those 150 million euros."

"IT'S A LIE!! IT'S A LIE AND NOTHING ELSE!!" shouted the general, rising from his seat.

"YOUR HONOR, THESE PEOPLE ARE LYING! I, WILHELM VON FALKENHORST, HAVE GIVEN MY LIFE TO THIS HOMELAND, AND ACCORDING TO THEM I WOULD GO USE THAT MONEY FOR GAMBLING! IT'S AN ACCUSATION!"

Vassair wiped the handle of his cane with a cloth and said calmly: "If it's a lie, can you tell me where those 150 million went?"

The general had no words to respond immediately, and Vassair took advantage: "Your Honor, Mr. Wilhelm can't answer because he knows perfectly well he's wrong. I'll tell you what the reality is: the reality is that Mr. Wilhelm wanted to solve everything in darkness, so he had this stroke of genius according to him to borrow 150 million euros and try his luck in a casino. If he had won, he would have fixed everything in silence, but he didn't think about the other part—"

While Hiroshi was still speaking, Wilhelm lost control of himself and lunged toward Hiroshi.

The reaction was so fast that Hiroshi didn't have time to react, and Wilhelm, taking advantage of this, began to hit him REPEATEDLY on the face, until his fist was stained with Hiroshi's blood.

Seeing this, all those present began to scream.

The guards intervened immediately and stopped Mr. Wilhelm, pulling him back, but he had already broken Vassair's nose, which was bleeding badly.

Vassair, despite being in that state, said loudly, raising his hands as a sign of surrender:

"YOUR HONOR!! LOOK WHAT'S HAPPENING IN YOUR TRIBUNAL!! A PERSON LIKE MR. WILHELM HAD THE COURAGE TO ATTACK ME IN THE MIDDLE OF EVERYONE, AND NO ONE MANAGED TO STOP HIM FROM HURTING ME! I WANT AN ANSWER FROM YOU! YOUR HONOR! I WANT AN ANSWER!"

"Mr. Vassair, don't worry, the court will give you justice."

"YOUR HONOR! JUSTICE WILL BE SERVED BY FORCE, IF NOT HERE, THEN SOMEWHERE ELSE! JUSTICE WILL BE SERVED!!"

"Mr. Vassair, what are you trying to say? Are you saying that the tribunal won't give you justice?!"

"YOUR HONOR, I APOLOGIZE FOR THIS GESTURE I'M MAKING, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT! IT'S IMPORTANT NOT ONLY FOR ME, BUT FOR ALL THE FUTURE PEOPLE WHO WILL COME HERE FOR JUSTICE AND SHOULDN'T FIND THEMSELVES IN THIS SITUATION!"

"Mr. Vassair, I understand that what happened was wrong, but I assure you that such a thing will never happen again. Have faith."

"Very well, Your Honor, I have faith in this court and I hope you give me justice."

Then Hiroshi calmed down and sat down, asking for medical help, and went to the hospital, while the guards took Wilhelm to jail.

And so the next court date was moved to 2 days later.