Free British Zombie Breakout: Part Three by Peter Salisbury

with
the almost monotonous catalogue of the Minister's devious schemes
and plots. According to the law of diminishing returns, as time
passed the status and prominence of his associates also fell below
the level of public concern. "He's guilty, just lock him up and be
done with him." became the most widely expressed opinion. Only when
the trial finally looked like it was about to be wound up did the
court gallery became full once again.
    Before the
Minister was brought in, a representative of the prosecution
announced that a psychological assessment had concluded that the
Minister was criminally insane.
    The Minister
himself was then led to the dock in a thoroughly disreputable and
dishevelled state, as if over the past weeks he had lost interest
in his appearance and slept in his suit. It was severely crumpled,
his shirt collar and cuffs were stained, and his tie was not
straight. The judge, however, looked as immaculate as he had on the
first day. There was general speculation in the media that the
proceedings would be something of an anti-climax, with the judge
simply summing up and adjourning the court to consider the sentence
to be imposed. No-one expected what took place that morning.
    'Late last
night,' the judge said, remaining standing behind the bench, 'the
Prime Minister led a closed cabinet meeting to decide whether even
more serious charges than those brought forward in the first part
of the trial could be made in open court.' The judge's words caused
an eerie silence at such an extraordinary revelation. What he had
been unable to reveal was that the PM had been forced to make the
knowledge of the third zombie outbreak public, because it was about
to be leaked onto the internet.
    Clearing his
throat, the judge continued, 'I speak of charges of international
terrorism and of conspiracy to kidnap British citizens. As a result
of these actions of which the Minister is accused, an outbreak of
zombieism occurred outside the United Kingdom.'
    Gasps of
astonishment and a rustle of excitement went through the public
gallery; chairs were knocked over as journalists ran to the door to
telephone their editors. The judge, with gavel poised above the
bench, gave the gallery such a fiercely grim stare that all fell
silent within a few moments.
    'It was only
through extreme vigilance on an international scale that mass panic
was avoided after the theft of zombie virus from Breathdeep, and
that an inevitable foreign outbreak was contained. It can be left
to the imagination what might have happened if the virus had been
mass produced, weaponised and dispersed over a major city.'
    At that point,
the judge had no hope of returning the court to order and he
announced an adjournment. It was audible, amongst the hubbub,
solely to him and the members of court staff closest to him.
    Twenty minutes
later, the judge returned to find the public gallery almost
bursting with TV crews and bristling with microphones. An expectant
hush fell as he approached the bench.
    'I hereby open
the case of the theft of zombie virus and the kidnapping of Steven
Reynolds.'
    The judge
shuffled his stack of papers and peered over his glasses at the
Minister.
    The Minister
stared at the judge. 'Well, aren't you going to call a
witness?'
    Staring back,
the judge said nothing, willing the Minister to make a confession
as he had so many times before but none was forthcoming.
    'Do you have
even one witness?' The Minister leered around the court. 'I covered
my tracks pretty well on that one.'
    The judge
glared at the lone figure in the dock. 'Call Agent 51.' Then he
glanced at the public gallery and declared, 'The agent cannot be
identified for security reasons.'
    Still no-one
was led into the court but with some degree of ceremony, a monitor
was wheeled in, positioned next to the witness box and a microphone
placed on the bench.
    'Agent 51, can
you hear me?'
    'Yes,' said a
silhouette displayed on the screen.
    'Present your
report if you would.'
    'The Minister
was