unofficial audit. And if a professor unofficially approves an unofficial auditor, then we ignore it.â
âSo there was a girl called âN.ââwe donât actually know her name, first or lastâtaking his course, one of his courses?â
âYes, I think. Just the one. Religion and Philosophy 342.â
âThe same as Ahmad?â
âYes.â
âSo, he should know her?â
âMore than know her, I should think,â Esther said. âThe few times I saw them together, the way he was looking at her . . . . â
âSo he liked her, and she liked Nate, is that it?â
âOh dear, what have I said?â
12
Troopers were lined up in front of the courthouse. They wore helmets and shields and had their game faces on. The city had their SWAT teams deployed, plus regular officers guarding the flanks of the building and plainclothes people in the crowd. There were camera crews from the three network affiliates and two of the independents, plus national crews from CNN, Fox News, and Al-Jazeera.
The troopers were trying to keep the different camps of demonstrators separated. One side wanted a regular trial, in the state court, open to the public. Most of them were visibly liberal types, from the university, the Unitarian Church, and the bookstores. On another day, theyâd be lined up to see the new Michael Moore movie or rallying to save a failing health food store. Their signs read, âNo Torture,â âNo Gitmos Here,â âFight the Fascists.â
We have some Muslims around. I expected to see at least a few of them out there, but there were none. Keeping their heads down.
The other side was mostly clean-cut types, the kind of people who also showed up at pro-life demonstrations, with a sprinkling of longhaired country music patriots. Their signs read, âSave Civilization, Send Him to Gitmo,â âStop Islamo-Facism,â âThe War We Have to Win,â and âFirst, Kill All the Lawyers.â
The two sides snarled at each other and hurled epithets.
The first physical incident was an attack on the Al-Jazeera news team. A group charged them and grabbed the camera, which they smashed on the ground. They piled on top of the cameraman, and someone tried to shove the broken parts of the camera into his mouth, screaming âEat this, you rag-head animal. Eat this!â He suffered a concussion, a torn lip, and a broken tooth. And half of his ear was either torn or bitten off. They also attacked the reporter, grabbing him by his tie and his jacket. He was very lucky. It was a clip-on tie, and it came right off. The reporter pulled himself free of his jacket and scrambled along the sidewalk to safety behind the troopers.
Things were settling down when Manny and I drove up in his Mercedes. Suddenly things came flying from the crowd, fruit and stones and who knows whatâbam, splat, bamâthey hit the hood and the roof.
âThe motherfuckers! My car, my beautiful car!â
Clang. Sploosh. Bam. Eggs, apples, and tomatoes along with the rocks. Weâre a modern city. Our streets are paved. There are no loose stones lying about on River Street between Fourth and Fifth. Nor is there a handy farmerâs market. The crowd had come with supplies. This had been preplanned.
The police didnât seem to be doing anything about it. Bop, thwop, crack!
âMotherfucking police arenât doing anything about it,â Manny yelled.
We seemed to be safe inside the vehicle. But I wouldnât want to be the one getting the bill from the body shop. Almost every panel was taking a hit. The damage was certain to be in five figures. And no matter how good the body shop that did the repairs would be, Mannyâs baby would never be a virgin again. She would be tarnished forever, and Manny was practically in tears.
âItâs just a car,â I said inanely.
âJust a car? Just a car? Do you want a lecture on German
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