Almighty Coach

Dai Li looked a little confused. He didn’t know what to choose.

If he didn’t plead guilty, the trial would continue. However, even Wilfrid, who specialized in criminal cases, couldn’t guarantee he would win the case. Dai Li didn’t want to be imprisoned, let alone be imprisoned for more than a decade. Just as Reiss said,even if there was only a 10% chance of a guilty verdict, Dai Li would not be willing to take that risk.

Compared with ten years in prison, the sentence that came with pleading guilty was much lighter. A few years of probation was quite acceptable and the community service also could be regarded as physical exercise.

If I was on probation, I would need to report to the probation officer twice a week and there may be 1000 hours of community service. If I could do four hours a day, I would need 250 days in all. That means that if I do community service five times a month, I would need 50 months. That’s over four years; however, it’s better than ten years in prison.

Why should I plead guilty when I’m actually innocent? The nonsense of the American justice system! Dai became irritated.

Reiss seemed like he was being nice in advising me to plead guilty. He would drop the first-degree murder charge if I did. However, I didn’t intend to murder that guy! He wanted to make a bargain with me regarding something that I didn’t do. He just let me think I could benefit from it. Why should I accept his condition?

I shouldn’t compromise! Dai Li had already decided in his mind. He knew it might be irrational, but he decided to follow his beliefs this time.

Taking a deep breath, he stood up and walked to Wilfrid.

…

Wilfrid sat quietly in the corner of the lounge, thinking about what to do next.

He knew that he had lost to Reiss just now. Wilfrid had to admit that Nick Reiss was indeed a good negotiator. Reiss set high conditions deliberately at the beginning and, when he lowered them, it was easier for his opponent to accept.

What’s more, Nick Reiss clearly knew his opponent’s thought processes. He knew that a rich man would never bet on freedom. When someone is completely unwilling to lose what he has, he is forced to compromise.

This was what Nick Reiss usually did. As a prosecutor with a 100% conviction rate, Reiss knew how to get the defendant to plead guilty as soon as possible.

In the face of the terms offered by Reiss, if Dai Li didn’t plead guilty, Wilfrid had to win Dai Li’s case. If Dai Li agreed to plead guilty, Wilfrid would still need to negotiate with the prosecutor for better conditions, such as shorter term of penalty or probation and shorter community service.

Wilfrid therefore had to make two plans, one for each of Dai Li’s potential decisions.

What are you thinking? Wilfrid glanced at Dai Li, who stood up and walked over to him.

It seems that Mr. Li has decided.

…

“Mr. Li, you should make your decision. Shall we accept the prosecutor’s proposal?” asked Wilfrid.

“I don’t intend to accept prosecutor’s ‘kind proposal’. I’ll keep the trial going,” said Dai Li.

“You sure? I mean, do you really know the risks of continuing this case?” said Wilfrid.

Dai Li didn’t answer him immediately. He asked Wilfrid another question. “Wilfrid, do you know about the flood?”

“The flood? Has there been a flood recently?” Wilfrid was confused and asked.

“I’m talking about the prehistoric flood, the legendary one,” said Dai Li.

“Sure,” Wilfrid nodded, “it is said the great flood inundated Atlantis. What does it have to do with our case?”

“Many ancient civilizations recorded that flood, like Mesopotamia, Greece, India, China, and the Mayan Empire. The all had different reasons for why this flood occurred though. For example, in Sumerian myth, Eniel, the king of gods, felt humans were too noisy and he sent a flood to destroy them. According to Mayan civilization, humans forgot their creator, so the creator decided to send a flood to destroy them. In the Bible, God saw the earth filled with corruption, violence and evil, and he intended to use the flood to destroy all evil people.”

Wilfrid didn’t say anything, but listened to Dai Li carefully.

“In Sumerian myth, there is a kind-hearted water god named Enki. He arranged for a man called Utnapishtim to board a ship and escape the flood. It is very much like the story of Noah’s Ark in the Bible, right?” asked Dai Li.

“Yes, God found a good man named Noah, so he instructed Noah to build an ark. He took his wife, son, daughter-in-law, and two of every animal. Then came the flood. All the fountains of the great deep were awoken and the windows of heaven were opened. It rained heavily on the earth day and night and the waters flooded the highest mountains. All the creatures on the land died. Only Noah and his family survived in the ark. After 220 days of flooding, Noah’s ark stopped near Mount Ararat. Forty days later, the flood retreated and Noah sent a crow out for information. The crow never returned. Seven days later, Noah sent a dove. This time, the dove returned with a branch from an olive tree, indicating that the flood had finally gone,” Wilfrid explained. As someone who had grown up in Western civilization, he obviously knew the story of Noah’s Ark better than Dai Li.

“Do you know how the story of the flood was recorded in the east, or in China?” asked Dai Li with a smile.

“I’d love to hear about it,” said Wilfrid.

“It is also a story about fathers and sons. According to ancient Chinese books, the boundless flood inundated crops, mountains, and houses. People were displaced and had to leave their homes. The flood brought untold disaster to everybody. Yao, the ruler of that time, decided to control the flood. He found a person named Gun to tame the flood. However, he failed after nine years of work.

“Then Shun, the successor of Yao, killed Gun and let Gun’s son continue to tame the flood. His name was Yu. He finally tamed the flood after thirteen years of work. During that time, he never went home, even when he passed by his own house. Thirteen years later, his son barely knew him.

“In Christianity, God saved everybody and the humans just hid on a boat. Inn China, we didn’t get any help from gods. Without boats, we didn’t compromise to the flood. We had to fight on our own. W fought had to fight against the flood!” Dai Li’s tone was calm but his voice was persistent. He took a deep breath and went on,

“There are many similar myths in China. One story says that there were ten suns in the sky, searing the earth, and one skillful archer saved the planet by shooting down nine of them. One story says that a bird called Jingwei tried to fill the sea with pebbles. Another story says an old man called Yugong decided to remove a mountain with a shovel because it was in his way.

“I’ve heard many such stories throughout my life. Some are about brilliant heroes and others are about fools. However, when natural disasters came, our ancestors never chose to compromise, never chose to escape, and never chose to wait for God’s help. They chose to fight, to defeat disasters! If they couldn’t do it in a year, they would spend ten years, or twenty years. If one generation couldn’t make it, two, maybe even three, generations would try until they succeeded!

“Many people say that the Chinese are materialists. They think we don’t believe in gods and that we have no religious belief. That’s because we know that no god can save us in times of trouble! We have to fight like our ancestors and never give in!

“In Christian mythology, god may not be perfect, but he is absolutely invincible. In China, we think that a man is the master of his own fate! If God gets in the way of our survival, we will push him down!

“Therefore, today, I will not compromise or give in. I firmly believe that I am innocent, so I will not plead guilty. Even if I am found guilty, I will choose to continue to appeal. I will fight firmly to the end, because an unyielding spirit flows through my blood!”

As he listened, Wilfrid nodded earnestly. “I see. I understand what you mean. Mr. Li, let’s discuss the trial this afternoon! I’ll do everything I can to help you win this case.”

…

Pointing to the document on propensity for violence in his hands, Wilfrid said, “A for the problem of propensity for violence, we can apply for a professional psychological test to prove that you aren’t abnormally prone to violence. It will take some time. Therefore, we need to apply for an extension of the case on the grounds of preparing key evidence.”

“I have no problem with that.” Dai Li then sat in thought for a few seconds before he asked Wilfrid a question. “Since we have to apply for an extension anyway, why don’t we prepare more evidence? I have an idea, but I don’t know how to implement it and I’m not positive it would work.”

“That’s why you pay me,because that’s where my value lies. If your idea is really good for the case, I can help you implement it in the most effective way,” said Wilfrid.

“I remember this morning that Reiss listed the reasons for my first-degree murder charge. One of them was that the gunshot could have killed the victim directly, so he affirmed that I didn’t care about the life of the victim,” said Dai Li.

Recalling the situation, Wilfrid said, “Reiss tried to distort the reason you shot the gun. He intended to make the jury think you are a murderer who killed people indiscriminately.”

“If we can prove that I have the ability to make sure that the shot would not kill that man but just disable him temporarily, wouldn’t it mean that I did care about the life of the victim? Could I be cleared of the first-degree murder charge that way,” asked Dai Li.

Wilfrid thought for nearly half a minute, then said, “This causal relationship is valid. How can you prove that you are able to shoot somebody with such accuracy?”

“I can prove that I shoot well. Is that enough?” asked Dai Li.

“It depends on how well you shoot,” Wilfrid said.

“As well as a professional shooting athlete. I’m as good as an Olympian 50-meter rifle athlete. How about that?” asked Dai Li.

Wilfrid thought for a while. He took out his laptop and searched something. Minutes later, he said, “According to the information I have found, it’s complicated because athletes who shoot don’t do so in actual combat situations. However most people know they can shoot very well. The jury is made up of everyday people. If they see your results are the same as a professional athletes, it will prove that you can shoot well.”

“Then I’ll give them a shocking performance!” Dai Li lowered his voice and discussed his plan.

…

Nick Reiss looked at his watch. Court would begin in half an hour. He looked at Dai Li, and saw that Dai Li and Wilfrid were talking about something.

Haven’t they talked it over? It’s taking so long! Reiss sighed, and reluctantly continued to wait.

Wilfrid finally ended his discussion with Dai Li ten minutes later. He stood up, adjusted his clothes, and walked over to Reiss.

“It seems that you two have reached a decision.” Reiss firmly believed that Dai Li would plead guilty, so he was relaxed. He stood up and walked to meet Wilfrid.

“Do you have good news for me Wilfrid?” asked Reiss with a big smile.

“I’m afraid I have to disappoint you, Reiss!” Wilfrid was also smiling. “My client will not accept your proposal. He will not plead guilty and the trial will continue.”

“Ah?” Nick Reiss looked surprised. Though he had prepared for this possibility, he thought the probability of Li rejecting his deal had been extremely low. In all the cases he had dealt with, every defendant in similar cases chose to compromise with him and plead guilty.

Reiss couldn’t help but ask, “Wilfrid, have you really told your client all the risks involved in this decision?”

“Please don’t doubt my professionalism, Reiss.” Wilfrid became serious and said, “My client considered his options and decided that this was the course he wanted to take. As his attorney, I will do everything I can to do it well. So…” Wilfried intentionally paused for dramatic effect. “See you in court!”