The Escape (John Puller, #3)(58)

“I appreciate your wanting me to sit in. But if it makes her uncomfortable, I can bow out.”

“No, Knox. We’re a team now. We stick together.”

“You’re sure?”

“Let’s go.”





CHAPTER





30



THEY DROVE SEPARATELY back into Leavenworth and met at the same diner they’d eaten at before. Puller held the door for Knox, who was walking stiffly thanks to her banged-up hip.

“Did you get the Percocet?” he asked.

“No,” she said through gritted teeth. “But I downed four Advil. Just waiting for the suckers to kick in.”

Puller spotted Kirk at a back booth and they headed over.

Kirk was dressed in slacks and a jacket, both of which were ruffled and wrinkled. Her eyes were puffy from lack of sleep, her curly hair was in disarray, she smelled of cigarette smoke, and there was an empty coffee cup in front of her.

Puller introduced the two women. Kirk gave Knox an appraising look and then nodded curtly.

“I don’t know you, Knox, but if Puller vouches for you, then okay.”

“I appreciate that.”

“Don’t thank me, I’m not doing it for you.” She turned to Puller. “I left last night. I had to fly to Chicago, where my connection was canceled. I slept in the airport and spent today trying to get on another flight, till I snagged a seat on a puddle jumper. I could have driven the whole way faster. Friggin’ useless airlines.”

“A phone call would have been a lot faster.”

“I’m hungry, you guys want to order? Because I do.”

They ordered their food and after some chitchat Kirk hunched forward and spoke in a low voice. “You know how a court-martial works, I take it?”

Puller said, “Fortunately, I’ve never experienced one, but, yes, I know how it works. They’re Article 1 legislative courts, meaning Congress controls them.”

Kirk nodded. “The convening authority is the commanding officer. He creates the court-martial and selects the panel members.”

“And that’s the rub,” said Puller. “The CO creates the court and picks the jurors.”

“There are strict guidelines concerning unlawful command influence. Rule 104 of the court-martial process is very explicit. The CO is banned from punishing or influencing members in any way. The system has survived all attacks for over two centuries.”

“That still doesn’t mean it’s fair. But who wants to rock that boat?”

Kirk spread her hands. “I’m not saying it’s an ideal system, but it’s the one we have. And it works for the most part.”

“I don’t think it worked for my brother.”

Kirk sipped her coffee and shot glances around the diner, while Puller stared moodily off and Knox glanced back and forth between the two.

Their food came a few minutes later and they waited for the waitress to leave before resuming the conversation.

“I’m going to eat and talk,” said Kirk. “Pardon the open mouth full of food.” After liberally salting everything on her plate while Knox looked on in disapproval, Kirk said, “There are no hung juries like in civilian courts. You need a three-quarters agreement among the panel for a sentence of ten years or more, and the panel, not the judge, also decides the sentence.”

“But I understand that unanimity by the panel is required for the death penalty,” said Puller.

“Not always. If he was convicted under Article 106 of spying, then the penalty decision is taken away from the panel. Spying carries a mandatory death sentence. There are no exceptions if the conditions are met. The judge will simply announce the sentence.”

Puller sat back. “I wasn’t aware of that. What are the conditions?”

“Pretty simple and straightforward. The genesis of the language actually dates back to colonial times, although it’s been modified from time to time over the years. It has to be during a time of war, which we certainly were when he was arrested.”

“But Congress never officially declared war on Afghanistan or Iraq,” Puller pointed out.

“You’d make a good lawyer, Puller. And the defense argued that point. But while technically what you say is true, practically, we were at war. And your brother was accused of aiding our enemies. When dealing with something like that, the defense is going to lose more often than it wins. And that’s what happened when your brother’s lawyer argued that point. He lost.”

“Okay, go on,” said Puller.

“The accused has to be acting as a spy in a place within the jurisdiction and control of the armed forces or any other place engaged in work in aid of that war. There are other elements: acting clandestinely, attempting to collect certain information with intent to convey to the enemy, etcetera, etcetera.”

“But was he charged under Article 106?” asked Knox. She quickly added, “But I guess he couldn’t have been. He was convicted but he wasn’t sentenced to death.”

Kirk said, “It seems Article 106 was originally on the table, but then it was taken off. He was instead convicted under Article 106a of espionage. It’s sort of splitting hairs, because it carries many of the underlying requirements of spying although there is no requirement that it be during time of war. It also carries a capital penalty when the crime involves certain elements like nuclear weaponry, satellites, and communications intelligence.”