Rabbi Gabrielle's Defiance (29 page)

Attorneys who argued before Julia
Karston-King liked to comment how she would growl at counsel who
bucked her will. True to form this morning, she was humorless and
impatient – snapping like a carnivore at Bartholomew George of
Delmontroy, Marks and Syson, who represented thirty-eight vendors,
owed money by
Politicstoday.

"Mr. George, the court is impatient with your
continuous attempts to adjust the priority of creditors. Let me
remind you that bankruptcy is not a contact sport, particularly
when the assets of
Politicstoday
are
unlikely to satisfy all who seek redress. I'm losing patience with
this wrangling. I don't suppose your firm of Delmontroy, Marks and
What's-His-Name would be willing to concede its priority claim to
fees and wait for compensation with the other unsecured creditors,
now would it?"

Bartholomew George glowered back. To his
mind, such disrespect for his position was unwarranted. The law had
long recognized that in Chapter Eleven, nothing would be gained by
having lawyers join the throng of creditors. Without legal fees
paid up front, there would be no incentive for attorneys to
expedite their clients' complex reorganization proceedings. While
Judge Karston-King and Bartholomew George sparred over the list of
secured creditors, Kye Naah conferred in a whisper with his
attorney Jefferson Thomas Bell. Kye, who donned a business suit
only on the rarest occasions, wore a smart dark blue gabardine with
a striped Brooks Bros necktie knotted snuggly at his throat.

"Creditors always end up cannibalizing each
other," Jeff whispered to Kye. "They're like lions after a kill on
the savanna. If you don't secure a position beside the carcass,
you're not going to eat. They refuse to acknowledge that by trying
to put
you
out of business they're going
to get only table scraps, if that."

There was a touch of bravado in Kye's
response. "I'm wounded, but not dead. Someday I'll buy back what
they intend to repossess."

Since it became clear that more homework
needed to be done before resolving disputes over the legitimacy of
secured debts, the judge instructed attorneys for the creditors to
finalize the list before the hearing next month. She then shuffled
through a stack of reports, eventually extracting a spreadsheet
with columns of figures. "According to these numbers, Mr. Naah,"
she eyed Kye at a distance over her magnifying glasses,
"
Politicstoday
was making payments on time
in accord with the Resolution Agreement last October. Can you
explain why this pattern of repayment has ceased."

Kye stood behind the table while regarding
attorneys for the creditors who have just re-taken their seats.
"The big storm last month, Your Honor. At the time, we were
positioning ourselves for the upcoming mid-year election cycle.
During the storm, electric power to the New Carrolton area failed.
We were well prepared for a loss of power with three redundant
generators, each of which could have handled our needs on a
temporary basis. But in the middle of the storm, our generators
failed, too. Lines to the fuel tanks were deliberately cut with
hacksaws. No
force majeure,
mind
you
,
but sabotage. Then somebody
re-connected a shock of power from the outside and jolted our
computers, burning through our surge-protectors. When PEPCO finally
restored current to the neighborhood, we still couldn't get power.
PEPCO managers kept making excuses, though nearby buildings lit up
like Christmas trees. No matter how hard I tried, we were left
completely in the dark. Our business relies upon electricity.
Without it, we're dead in the water. I had no alternative but to
release many associates, though most, cold, hungry, and
discouraged, wanted to stay on without pay. I postponed as long as
possible, but couldn't jeopardize their careers any further."

"Mr. Bell, I see here that you've provided a
copy of the police report. I presume the investigation is ongoing,"
the judge commented, her command of the ongoing details
thorough.

"Yes, Your Honor. I'm afraid that even if the
police are successful in apprehending the saboteurs, that won't pay
off my client's debts."

"I understand you're still operating, Mr.
Naah?" she stated a declaration as a question.

"Yes. But scaled way back," Kye answered.

"Your Honor," Bartholomew George lumbered to
his feet and rocked for an instant to stabilize his equilibrium,
caused by an overdose of monosodium glutamate from his Chinese
lunch. "
Politicstoday
has just purchased a
very costly tractor-trailer that does not fall within the
guidelines established by this court in October. Trustees for the
creditors must approve non-essential expenditures such as
this."

"That is, "Karston-King re-positioned her
robe around her and emphasized, "That is, unless I rule that the
expenditure is reasonable and likely to promote the repayment of
debts. Somewhere in the file, I saw a requisition for this
expenditure which made the point that it was in lieu of rent."

"We're going mobile," Kye interjected. "Since
we're reduced in size, we no longer need to be tied to a specific
location. Online services are in the airwaves, not the ground. Our
products are in cyberspace. We can ship our data to servers
anywhere on the Internet. All we need is a modest studio and mixer
location. What was once located in brick and mortar buildings is
now on four wheels. It's true, we did spend seven hundred thousand
on the tractor-trailer, but that's a fraction of the three and a
quarter million dollars needed to maintain for our campus at New
Carrolton. Our creditors should be delighted with the savings."

"Your Honor," Bartholomew George interjected,
"the creditors believe this is another one of Mr. Naah's fanciful
ideas. This concept is nothing more than pie in the sky."

"With respect," Kye answered, returning the
look of scowling creditors seated behind Bartholomew George, "at
New Carrolton we underestimated our vulnerability. We were sitting
ducks, waiting to be shot while swimming in a pond. This whole mess
could have been avoided if we had given greater attention to
security. Now we're going to stay one location ahead of our
enemies. We'll move before they can strike again."

"Preposterous!" said Humphrey Tirell,
representative of SIR Real Estate Investment Trust, who owned the
campus at New Carrolton and who some believed to be the greatest
beneficiary of the sabotage. "There are methods of triangulation to
determine broadcast locations. How long will it take to target your
new mobile studio? An hour or two at most?"

"That's all the time I need," answered Kye.
"We're in the air, not at a location."

"What about the back-room requirements, such
as billing?" asked another creditor without permission to
speak.

"That's online too. All clerical functions,
banking and accounting included, are now handled in
cyberspace."

"Great," the same creditor continued. "So the
assets of
Politicstoday
will be shipped
out each night to a Caribbean island and we'll never see a penny of
what is owed."

Jeff Bell snapped, "That's illegal, Mr. Bau,
and you know it. My client has a responsibility to this court and
intends to meet it. Your speculation is insulting. You guys seem to
think he enjoys being in Chapter Eleven so he doesn't have to pay
his bills. I can assure you that is not the case. Never has he
contended the legitimacy of these debts. If Politics hadn't been
sabotaged you would have gotten back every cent. Those who are
prepared to be patient may still be repaid. But it will now take
more time."

Nyeun Bau half rose among fellow creditors
who were as annoyed with each other as Kye Naah. "Remember, in
Chapter Eleven, we have a right to examine the books."

Kye forced an artificial calmness into this
voice. "Force me into liquidation, friend, and non-secured
creditors will get nothing at all. These good attorneys in the
courtroom today will walk away with the residual assets from
Politics not you." After a whisper with Jeff Bell, he said aloud,
"I'm not required to do this, but I'm prepared to ship our
month-end results to an accountant you establish. He or she can
report to you. Mr. Bell here can work out the details with Mr.
George."

"Can you give us an idea how many clients you
have at this moment?" Judge Karston-King interjected herself.

"After the sabotage, thirteen of our clients
remained loyal, Your Honor."

"All for the mid-term November congressional
elections?"

"No, some in municipal elections. One in St.
Paul, another in Las Cruces, New Mexico. We have a woman candidate
here in the area to showcase our product. If she's successful,
we'll be inundated with clients in federal, state and municipal
elections. We'll service senators along with candidates running for
dogcatcher. We still have the best data of any in the business and
are unquestionably the industry standard. Nobody will be able to
catch up until a new technology is introduced."

"Is this all pro-bono work, or have you
paying clients?" asked Bartholomew George.

"The Democratic National Committee has
underwritten many of our expenses and is waiting to evaluate our
success. If that happens, the Republican National Committee will
jump in and match or exceed anything its competitor does. In
addition, there are countless think tanks, universities and
election committees that will need our services just to keep
current. Foreign governments with vested interests in who governs
this country are also likely clients. Radio, television, and print
media won't be far behind."

Judge Julia Karston-King relaxed back against
a chair that, due to her weight, produced a shrill squeak. "Mr.
Naah's suggestion to send his monthly accounts for review appeals
to me. That should reduce suspicion. But in the meantime you, Mr.
George, have homework to do. I'm not going to reconvene this court
until you get all your creditors to execute the priority list. I
want this list in my chambers and I want notarized signatures from
company officers. You know of my reputation – no food fights here.
Either the creditors learn to cooperate or we wait until they do. I
know some of you don't believe this process is fair. As an official
of this court, I will reiterate what your attorneys have
undoubtedly told you. This court is and must be governed by a sense
of pragmatism. We all want to resolve the difficulties and move on.
Therefore, it's up to the creditors to be both reasonable and
practical."

A disgusted look grew on Bartholomew George's
face. His clients were unhappy, but experience had taught not to
challenge the bench. He had explained to his clients that Chapter
Eleven laws favored the debtor not the creditor. Failing to
understand that fact, they were likely to shoot the messenger and
fire him.

"So, Mr. George, the ball is in your court,
not mine." Judge Karston-King's iron cheeks enlarged into a smile
which she immediatly took steps to repress, obviously pleased with
her pun on
court
. "Notification of the
future proceedings will be made in writing."

***

The DNC deadline for declaring herself a
candidate loomed over Gabby's head like a threatening thundercloud.
Meanwhile, phone, postal and email traffic at the synagogue
escalated in response to rumors that she was planning to challenge
Toby Ryles. Accustomed to receiving congratulatory letters from
people who usually appreciated her services, the angry tone of this
communication was upsetting.

In this matter Chuck Browner remained aloof.
He knew how to be caustic by employing a question: "What did you
expect, Rabbi Gabby? That folks would bubble over with
enthusiasm?"

"They must know my chances of winning are
slim to nil. Regardless who wins, they'll still have a friend in
Congress."

"Maybe they just don't like a rabbi in the
dirty trade of politics. My guess is they don't want you leaving
Ohav Shalom."

"Time for some fresh sermons. It will take
them no more than ten days to become accustomed to my
replacement."

Chuck had a cute reply, but refrained from
offering it. Instead, he said, "While on the subject of your work
here, you have an appointment with the Disney people about the
Passover program. Karla Foo said she's bringing a script and wants
to inspect Meyerhoff Hall. Sounds like the people who brought us
Mickey Mouse know what they're doing."

"That helps. What we initially envisioned has
escalated. My Orthodox brethren are about ready to excommunicate me
over this project."

"Don't flatter yourself," Chuck was quick.
"They didn't like you from the moment you stepped onto this pulpit.
It galls them to have the Jewish community represented by a Liberal
rabbi and a woman to boot. The Passover extravaganza is only icing
on the cake."

"They had an opportunity to run the whole
program, but refused. How can they blame me?"

"Lack of good sense never stopped them in the
past."

Before leaving the synagogue at the end of the day,
Chuck knocked on Gabby's door to report, "I've gone through your
box of photos twice now and haven't found the picture of Asa you're
looking for. Is there any other place you might have put it?"

She squinted at him before pointing to a
stack of papers, top-heavy and threatening, on the windowsill.
"Perhaps in that pile. Search there, please."

After a furtive glance at the manuscripts, he
asked, "Do you want me to send regrets to Marsha and Dan Silver for
the first night of Pesach or do you want to handle that
yourself?"

"I'll do it personally."

"I think they'll feel hurt. The Silvers think
of you as family."

"And that's the way I feel about them, but
this year I want to have my own
seder
.
Whatever we manage to pull off the second night with the Disney
extravaganza, it won't be very personal. Besides, I can't remember
a
seder
in my own home. People just figure
I'm too busy to prepare. I certainly won't have the finest food in
town, but I can give a decent reading of the
Haggadah
and that's got to count for something,
wouldn't you think?"