American Tax Officer

No words were exchanged throughout the night, and morning of the second day arrived.

The courtroom of the State Tax Bureau in Sparks was located in the city bureau of the Eastern District State Tax Bureau.

"Good morning, everyone. It's now 8:30 AM, and there are 30 minutes left before the trial begins. Everyone, please look forward to it..."

Early in the morning, local media channels had arrived at the venue early to stake out their positions and were broadcasting live updates of the situation.

Soon after, officials from the city hall, the Eastern District, the West City State Tax Bureau, and some invited dignitaries from Sparks City also arrived at the scene, mingling in the lobby.

In the parking area, David and his two companions also stepped out and made their way into the lobby.

Richards Hopkins and the others had arrived early. Upon seeing David's arrival, they immediately came up to greet him.

Among them, Hopkins said, "As you instructed, I've already briefed Judge Yvonne!"

"That's good."

"Alright, the trial is about to start, let's go upstairs!"

David nodded and then he and his entourage made their way to the elevator and rode it up to the sixth floor.

Due to the small size of Sparks City, the courthouse was not very large. It was only about half as big as those in Las Vegas.

As per the usual practice of the State Tax Bureau, to avoid complications with public opinion, media reporters were not allowed inside, except for invited personnel.

As the courtroom attendees took their places, the time approached 9 o'clock.

"All rise."

Right on the hour, a man wearing a black judge's robe emerged from the passage; he was Judge Yvonne, the presiding judge for this trial.

He took his seat, and only then did everyone else sit down.

Following that, he said, "The court is now in session. Bring in the defendant!"

As he spoke, Deputy Mayor Bitcher and Chief Adelaide were brought in through the passageway; though their spirits were somewhat downcast, their positions of power seemed to have preserved their composure and demeanor.

After the two had taken their places in the dock, Judge Yvonne then stated, "Chief Adelaide, Deputy Mayor Bitcher, you are accused by this court of tax evasion. Do you have anything to say in your defense?"

"Your Honor, I don't quite understand this alleged 'tax evasion'."

"Your Honor, I feel the same way!"

Although both men knew the State Tax Bureau was very confident, they naturally couldn't admit guilt at this point, for that would mean no further trial proceedings were necessary, and they could go straight to prison.

Judge Yvonne picked up a document from the desk and looked it over before turning to Chief Adelaide and saying, "Chief Adelaide, according to the evidence we have obtained, on December 8th, you accepted a bribe of one hundred thousand US dollars from the West City Police Sub-Branch, on December 26th, you accepted another two hundred thousand US dollars from the Eastern District Police Sub-Branch, and on January 13th..."

With each piece of evidence being pointed out by Judge Yvonne above, Chief Adelaide's complexion went from its previous calm to one of shock.

"According to the regulations of the Black Tax Act, starting from December 3, 2021, any illicit income must be reported and taxed to our State Tax Bureau. Yet, as a public servant, you have failed to report such matters. How do you explain this?"

After Judge Yvonne finished speaking, Attorney Smollett from the defense bench became restless and quickly raised his hand, indicating he wanted to speak.

Judge Yvonne saw his hand and said, "Defense attorney, what would you like to say?"

Smollett stood up immediately and responded, "Your Honor, I'm not sure where this information is coming from, but it must be slander or a frame-up against Chief Adelaide."

Hearing this, Chief Adelaide, who was still caught in disbelief, seemed to snap back to reality and echoed the statement, "That's right, this is a frame-up. I did not accept any bribes from the Eastern and Western District Police Sub-Branches!"

"Is that so?"

Judge Yvonne looked at him and picked up a ledger, asking, "Do you know what this is?"

Chief Adelaide shook his head: "I don't know."

"This is a ledger provided by Superintendent Randolph from the West City Police Sub-Branch. It contains detailed records of every bribe transaction between you and him. Although the Black Tax Act does not allow us to investigate bribes prior to December 3, 2021, we only need to look at those that occurred after that date!"

"What did you say!"

Upon hearing that the ledger had been provided by Randolph, Chief Adelaide first froze, then almost instantly erupted in anger.

He realized why the State Tax Bureau was so confident in prosecuting him; they had already secured Randolph as a witness.

"If you still find this insufficient, we also have a box of tapes provided by the Chief of the Eastern District Police Sub-Branch, Lancelot!"

Judge Yvonne picked up the tapes and handed them to a court employee, who immediately placed them into the tape player. The recorded voices soon filled the room.

"Chief Adelaide, I've delivered this month's two hundred thousand US dollars to you. Please check it."

"Excellent, Lancelot. But as the main area of Sparks City, the Eastern District is quite lucrative. You need to put in more effort..."

"Understood, Chief Adelaide. Next month I will strive to increase it by fifty percent for you."

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"Hmm, good..."

"..."

As the tape played conversation after conversation, everyone in the room had already realized that Chief Adelaide was thoroughly doomed.

Attorney Smollett, on the lawyers' bench, had sunk back into his seat, powerless, because he knew that with evidence so irrefutable, no amount of talking could refute it.

"Fuck."

Chief Adelaide finally snapped to his senses. He began to look around the spectator's gallery for something, and soon, he found Randolph, and Lancelot. Pointing at them, he yelled, "Fine, if that's how it is then I'll admit it, but those two damn bastards, they've also accepted bribes, they've also evaded taxes, they must go to prison too!"

The two people he pointed out were not only embarrassed, but their minds became extremely tense.

Fortunately for them, what Judge Yvonne said next eased their worries.

"They've already reached a friendly agreement with the State Tax Bureau. Therefore, as long as they pay the tax due, the Bureau will not pursue their tax evasion penalties!"

Judge Yvonne's words almost made Chief Adelaide faint with rage, but he just couldn't accept it. Why was he the only one being targeted when everyone was guilty of the same crime?

Suppressing his anger, he retorted, "Why can they make an agreement with the State Tax Bureau? I can make an agreement too, I can negotiate as well!"

"Alright, this is a trial against you, let's not digress so much, Chief Adelaide. The evidence of your tax evasion is conclusive. Do you plead guilty or not?"

Chief Adelaide collapsed into his seat.

He could see that the State Tax Bureau was determined to bring him down; nothing he said would make a difference now.

Seeing that he remained silent, Judge Yvonne didn't bother with him further and turned her gaze to Deputy Mayor Bitcher, asking, "Deputy Mayor Bitcher, this court accuses you of tax evasion. Do you plead guilty?"

Seeing Chief Adelaide's outcome, Deputy Mayor Bitcher felt his heart grow cold by half, for he knew that if the State Tax Bureau could solidify Chief Adelaide's charges, his situation wouldn't be any better.

Smollett stood up again, arguing, "Your Honor, let the evidence speak!"

"Fine!"

Judge Yvonne picked up a piece of paper and said, "Here is a list supplied by Attorney Heisenberg, with records of his assistance in your money laundering, as well as vouchers and account-related information. How do you explain this?"

"Heisenberg!"

Bitcher finally understood, this was where the State Tax Bureau's confidence came from!

Then, he looked towards the spectator's gallery and indeed found Heisenberg among them.

"Attorney Heisenberg, please come up and state the transactions you had with Deputy Mayor Bitcher, and how you laundered money for him!"

Hearing Judge Yvonne's summons, Heisenberg in the spectator's gallery glanced at David before walking down to the stand.

The testimonies from the two police chiefs earlier had confirmed that David's promise to Heisenberg was effective and that he wouldn't face further consequences after testifying, so at this point, Heisenberg was relatively calm and composed.

After organizing his thoughts, Heisenberg slowly began, "My encounter with Deputy Mayor Bitcher began half a year ago, when he had just been promoted to deputy mayor and found me through his connections..."

As Heisenberg unfolded how he met Bitcher, then how he laundered money for him, and eventually the bank accounts that the money was transferred into, the verdict was clear in everyone's mind.

That was, Deputy Mayor Bitcher was doomed for sure!

"Heisenberg, you son of a bitch, you'll get what's coming to you one day!"

Recognizing from the previous actions of the two police chiefs, Bitcher knew that with the protection of the State Tax Bureau, he had no chance to implicate Heisenberg and could only curse out in anger.

"Alright, the tax evasion charges against Chief Adelaide and Deputy Mayor Bitcher have been substantiated. Now, the verdict will be announced!"

As she finished, Judge Yvonne stood up first, and everyone in the spectator's gallery followed suit.

"Defendant Adelaide, having been found guilty of tax evasion, and considering the substantial amount involved, plus your position as a public official committing a crime knowing the law, an additional degree of punishment is justified.

Therefore, I hereby sentence you to 1200 years in prison without possibility of parole, and I order the forfeiture of the total tax amount of 320 thousand US dollars!"

Many in the audience knew the State Tax Bureau's punishments would be severe, but they did not expect it to be this harsh – a direct sentence of 1200 years left them stunned.

But before they could even process this, Judge Yvonne continued, "Defendant Bitcher, having been found guilty of tax evasion, and considering the substantial amount involved, plus your position as a public official committing a crime knowing the law, an additional degree of punishment is justified.

Therefore, I hereby sentence you to 1200 years in prison without possibility of parole, and I order the forfeiture of the total tax amount of 440 thousand US dollars!"

Smollett couldn't stay seated any longer. He stood up to object, "Your Honor, I object to such severe sentencing. Not long ago, in the Indian case enforced by Director David, the tribe chose to resist with violence; despite their egregious nature, they were only sentenced to 1000 years.

Now Chief Adelaide and Deputy Mayor Bitcher are only guilty of tax evasion; how can their sentence be harsher than theirs?"

In truth, there was essentially no difference between 1000 years and 1200 years.

After all, could a person live to be 1000 or 1200 years old?

Yet, as representatives of city hall, it was imperative to make a stand regardless, or else in future cases, the State Tax Bureau would become even more unbridled.

"The Indian tribe has a lower level of education and favors force; their violent resistance can be somewhat excused. However, both Adelaide and Bitcher are highly educated and held key positions in Sparks only to choose to knowingly break the law by evading taxes. Essentially, this is much more severe in nature than the case of the Indians!"

"This..."

Even as a man who made his living off words, Smollett found himself at a loss for words against Judge Yvonne's fallacious argument.

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