Direct Action. J D Svenson

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СКАЧАТЬ gave a low whistle. Sandra’s eyes flicked to hers and she thought she saw humour there, but the woman remained silent.

      ‘We can’t brief an outside lawyer on this,’ Brian announced. ‘Sandra here of course has the discretion of a Swiss banker, but there is no way I am trusting this to an instructing solicitor outside the firm. You’ve got experience at the highest levels of criminal law practice, Cressida. You know most of what there is to know about the Criminal Code jurisdiction. Sandra can tell you anything you don’t. We need to get her acquitted.’

      Cressida was still so stunned at the idea that she was being asked to act on a criminal matter, for an M & A Partner’s daughter she had never met, with Sandra Crane, that it took a moment to take in the last thing Brian had said.

      ‘Acquitted,’ she said. ‘But …’ She picked up the article again. ‘Didn’t she do it? I mean, it says here that she gave herself in. Confessed.’ She pointed to the word for emphasis.

      ‘That need not be a problem,’ Sandra said. ‘We don’t know what she’s confessed to. In fact we don’t even know what the charges she’s up on are. There may be several. Or none at all. Newspapers don’t always get these things right. Or it could just be a beat-up by that rag,’ she said, flicking her hand delicately at the curl of paper. ‘Although I will say – with the New South Wales Counter Terrorism unit involved, we have to assume Code charges are likely.’

      ‘Yes. Of course,’ Cressida said, wishing she either had more time to think or that her brain worked faster. She couldn’t think which would be worse: discovering your daughter could be up on terrorism charges, or finding it out from the paper. Except possibly finding it out via your ex-wife. The immediate problem, though, was that they were all looking at her. Come on, she told herself, say something intelligent. Fortunately, Michael spoke.

      ‘I couldn’t get anyone on the phone at Muswellbrook copshop,’ said Michael. ‘God knows what they do with criminals in these conditions. Normally they go to Silverwater first, right, Cressida?’

      ‘What? Oh – yes,’ said Cressida, suffused with relief to know at least something.

      ‘She may still be there though,’ said Sandra. ‘At Muswellbrook LAC. Last night isn’t much time to get her down to Sydney.’

      Brian stared at Sandra, his blue eyes bright. ‘It’s unlikely she’ll be found guilty of terrorism offences though, right? I mean, yes to explosives, probably even sabotage, or whatever – but terrorism?’

      Sandra set down her coffee. ‘The terror crime list was written for what these people have been up to, Brian,’ she said, softly. ‘The government is going to be licking its chops. Not to mention ropable about not picking it up beforehand. And there’s also the probability of property damage and sabotage offences under State legislation. Maybe some explosives offences. And something under the Electricity Supply Act?’ she mused. ‘Interference with power supply and so on. Oh and of course conspiracy, acting in company,’ she said, like rounding off a list of cake ingredients. ‘I imagine we can give the double jeopardy prohibition a good swing on some of those. But there’s a very specific intent for the terrorism charges,’ she said, squinting upwards, remembering. ‘Let me get it right. An action done or a threat is made,’ she recited, as if of a well learnt poem, ‘with the intention of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause, and’ – she paused – ‘with the intention of coercing or influencing the government or the public by intimidation. Section 101 of the Commonwealth Criminal Code,’ she said, almost with a flourish. ‘There are about ten different types of charge of course too. Commit a terrorist act, receive training for terrorism, possession of something in connection with a terrorist act … What else is there, Michael?’ she asked him. Colleague to colleague, thoughtful.

      Brian’s eyes widened and he shook his head. Cress reached for her bag and scrambled to find a pen.

      ‘Let’s see …’ Sandra continued. ‘Direct activities of a terrorist organisation, recruitment for a terrorist organisation … That’s assuming they can prove terrorist organisation, of course. We’d be putting – I imagine?’ – she glanced at Brian – ‘that there wasn’t one, I think? Ragtag band of belligerents, et cetera? Anyway, the other potential charges – the State ones: sabotage and these explosives offences – their mental element is just the standard you’d expect for property damage.’ She shrugged. ‘You know, intent to injure, intent to destroy and so on. Depending on the offence. What do you think?’ she said, turning to Brian. ‘Did she do this with intention to intimidate the government into doing something? Taking action on climate change, for example?’

      Brian’s face was slack. ‘I have no idea. Like I said – I haven’t seen her. Not for four years, now. Though she’s always been known as what I think is referred to as a “peacenik”.’ He enunciated the word as if it were a curious term in a foreign language. ‘For as long as I can remember. She has her faults, of course, as we all do, but … well, the Joanne I knew would never have wanted to hurt anybody. Mind you that was before she went to Iraq.’ His jaw clenched and abruptly he dropped his face forwards, pressing his eyes with a thumb and forefinger.

      ‘Well, I’m sure you’ll agree she certainly failed there,’ Sandra said, ‘but that’s another matter.’

      ‘What do you mean?’ asked Cressida, trying to sound less piping. She didn’t care though, she decided; if she was going to represent this woman, she had to understand. ‘Were workers injured at the plant?’

      ‘I have no idea. I was thinking of since then. Harm from lack of power, and so on. Anyway for our purpose it’s immaterial,’ Sandra said, briskly. ‘It will be relevant to sentence but not the choice of charges per se. For that the point is motive – whether to intimidate or not. If the CDPP’ – ah, of course; this would be the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, not State, thought Cressida – ‘can’t get corroborating evidence to show the terrorist intent, they’re left with just the basic criminal stuff. Sabotage, mainly. Which has a maximum twenty-year sentence instead of life.’

      Michael straightened, all efficiency while his co-Partner was losing it. ‘Let’s say they can establish that, Sandra,’ he said, clipped. ‘The terrorist intent, as you call it. What then?’

      ‘Guess she’d have to investigate plea options.’ Sandra shrugged. ‘Or mental impairment? Or that she was drug-addled and driven into it by some charismatic leader. Something. Depends on her instructions, of course.’

      Wow, Cressida thought. Either way, no babies for her, then. She looked down at the photo on the printout. Had she thought about it, this girl who had turned herself in to Muswellbrook LAC at 9pm last night? Did she know that by blowing up a power station she’d said goodbye to any progeny? Cressida looked at Brian. What did that feel like, she thought, knowing your own child would be locked up away from the sunlight for the next two decades, with humans that were for the most part walking scar tissue, all of your care and investment in raising them come to a screaming halt in a prison cell? She didn’t know anything about Brian’s family life, but that had to hurt.

      But as unfortunate as all this was, Cressida thought, putting down her notebook and biting into the pastry, it had nothing to do with her. Sure, there’d be lawyers who’d think she was insane to turn down a job as Sandra Crane’s instructing solicitor – on anything – but federal crimes wasn’t a career direction she had any interest in. It certainly didn’t seem like it would help her get partnership. And even if he had stuck up for her at the partnership meeting, she knew she couldn’t afford the poo that was about to stick to Brian anywhere near her: it was hard enough getting ahead in the firm as a female even when you did СКАЧАТЬ