Black Gold: A Terrorism Thriller by Bobby Akart

Author:Bobby Akart [Akart, Bobby]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crown Publishers Inc.
Published: 2021-10-13T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-Two

Portland, Oregon

In the federal prison system, the correctional officers walk through the housing units performing a head count of the inmates five times a day. If the count is off, they do it again to ensure nobody has escaped. This also applied to the detention center in Portland where Johnny Phan was awaiting trial. On most days at 5:00 a.m., because he was in a holding cell and preferred to sleep with a blanket pulled over his head, the COs would shake his bed to confirm it was him and that he was alive. Today, it was for the additional purpose of reminding him his trial began at nine.

Phan had become increasingly nervous about his trial. The federal prosecutors had initially offered him a plea agreement that required him to lead them to those who funded his activist operations. He was expected to sit down with the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI to provide them everything he knew dating back to what he could remember of his parents’ activities.

Phan refused, stating in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t a snitch. He sat in the holding cell for several months without being transferred because he was awaiting trial. He grew weary of the unsavory conditions and contacted his attorney about the original deal. He was ready to talk, although he wouldn’t tell the entire truth. An agreement was reached, and investigators came to speak with him.

They caught Phan in several lies. They also had recorded conversations and email communications referencing him that easily allowed them to confirm whether he was being truthful. Prosecutors were livid. Not only did they pull the deal off the table, they added additional charges of incitement, a newly enacted law by Congress that held individuals responsible for their statements and social media posts if the rhetoric was intended to urge someone to commit a crime.

Phan nervously dressed himself in the cheap suit provided by the government to lend the appearance to the jury that he was presumed innocent and therefore free on bond while he awaited trial. In fact, he was held without bail, and his telephone privileges had been taken away from him because of the incitement charge.

That morning, he was taken to the courtroom without the opportunity to meet with his public defenders. This struck him as odd, as he’d hoped to touch base with them and give them some kind of pep talk. Puzzled, he glanced around the courtroom. The judge was not there, nor was the court reporter. He didn’t expect to see the jury because he assumed they’d be brought in last like he’d seen on television shows.

The visitors’ seating in the courtroom was full, and those in attendance arranged themselves much like one might see at a wedding. Friends of the government and victims’ families sat behind the prosecution. Friends of the defendant sat behind his table. Phan noticed that his friends in attendance were few and far between. This was not unexpected. He’d warned them all,

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