Courthouse (53 page)
Authors: John Nicholas Iannuzzi
“No.”
“⦠corrupt ⦔
“No.”
“Dumb?”
“No.”
“You think I'll sell you out?”
“No.”
“Then let me defend you,” said Marc. “Let's work at changing the system now, together. Running away is a cop out. If you really believe in what you say then you have to stand and fight for what you believe.”
“In other words, you want me to turn myself in?”
“Not in other words, in those words exactly,” replied Marc.
“And if we lose?”
“You can't win unless you stand and fight. Besides, we won't lose,” said Marc. “They have a lousy case against you. And you'll be free to go out and tell others to join up, to change what you call a stinking, rotten system.”
“I'm afraid, Mister Conte.”
“Don't let that stop you, Andy. No one ever did anything brave without being afraid. If you're not afraid of something, there's no bravery in doing it, is there?”
“I guess not,” Andy replied.
“Be brave. I'll be right beside you every step of the way.”
“What if it goes wrong?” asked Andy.
“Don't be concerned about things going wrong,” replied Marc. “They can't go right unless we do something about them.”
“You won't sell me out, will you, Mister Conte?”
“I'd be selling myself out then, Andy.”
“You won't let anything happen to me, will you?”
“I can only guarantee this, Andy. If you don't face it, I guarantee you won't win; if you don't fight out in the open, I guarantee nothing will change. Let's get the fight out where everybody can see it, not in alleys and back streets.”
“You sure you'll get me a fair trial?”
“I'll go down with my bloody fists swinging,” said Marc. “I can't do more than that.”
Perhaps there ought to be more, Marc thought. Perhaps he should do more. But that's all that can be done, all there is; to do the best one can. One can't do more than his best. None of us made the world, Marc thought. We have to accept it and live in it the way it was, the way it is. And in the midst of that, try one's best to make the world work a little better in the future. That's all.
Andy shook her head in disbelief of her own decision. “Okay, Mister Conte. Let's go, before I change my mind again.”
Marc smiled, and took her arm. He helped her off the
Pescadorito
and guided her toward the car where Franco and Maria were waiting.
Books by John Nicholas Iannuzzi
Fiction
Condemned
J.T.
Courthouse
Sicilian Defense
Part 35
What's Happening?
Non-Fiction
Handbook of Trial Strategies
Handbook of Cross Examination
Trial: Strategy and Psychology
Cross Examination: The Mosaic Art
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 1975 by John Nicholas Iannuzzi
Cover image,
New York Cityscape
, by Kurt Schumann
Cover design by Neil Heacox
Distributed by Open Road Distribution
345 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014
