Chapter 277: Requiring a special pardon

'Mr. Allen, Mr. Dennis has already arrived at your office. He made an appointment yesterday. Are you really sure you want to accept the commission from this Chinese Mr. Zhou?'

The receptionist reminded Alan, surprising Zhu Yao, who let out a gasp. Zhou Ming looked at her suspiciously, and Zhu Yao explained, 'Mr. Zhou, this Mr. Dennis is a famous real estate tycoon here. He owns many shops in the neighbourhood, including those in Chinatown. I didn't realise that he had made an appointment with Lawyer Alan first. I think we definitely need to change lawyers.'

Zhou Ming thought for a moment and said, 'I don't think there's any need to change. I think this lawyer Alan is not bad. Of course, if he can adjust his schedule a bit, let's see what choice he makes first.'

Zhou Ming's words did not sound wrong, but to Zhu Yao they sounded like a tall tale. Since even someone like Dennis had to make an appointment with Alan in advance, it was clear just how prestigious a lawyer Alan was. So, if Dennis had already made an appointment in advance, why would he turn around and accept the commission of a complete stranger?

Therefore, in Zhu Yao's opinion, it would be better for them to just be sensible and leave directly, but Zhou Ming still wanted to wait for Alan's choice.

Zhu Yao thought this way, and subconsciously glanced at Alan, only to see that Alan was also looking over here. He asked curiously, 'Someone already made an appointment with me today, aren't you going to leave?'

'You already agreed to me, didn't you?' Zhou Ming answered with his arms spread out, as if it was only natural. 'Of course I don't think I'm more important than that Mr. Dennis, but I at least have to wait for you to make a choice first. What do you think, Lawyer Alan?'

Alan looked up and down at Zhou Ming a few times, giving Zhou Ming the comment 'interesting Chinese', and then said to the receptionist, 'Just arrange it as I said, and I will go and communicate with Mr. Dennis.'

Zhou Ming and the others then followed Alan to his office. Sure enough, someone was already waiting here. Two black bodyguards with sunglasses stood at the door. Alan went in first. It was not clear what he said to the person inside, but after a while a short white man walked out. He paused outside the door, looked up and down at Zhou Ming a few times before leaving.

Only then were they able to enter Alan's office. It was a very ordinary office, with a desk, two rows of bookshelves, and a sofa for receiving important guests. Behind it was a floor-to-ceiling window, which offered a direct view of the busiest street in downtown Brighton. The furnishings and displays were more like those of the office of a group president, but this also more directly illustrated Alan's fame.

'Come in and have a seat,' Alan waved for Zhou Ming and the others to come in, 'coffee or juice?'

'No, let's talk about the case first. This is urgent,' said Zhou Ming.

Alan nodded and sat down, saying, 'As usual, I should tell you that my fee is 600 US dollars an hour. Of course, I will provide you with the most detailed and professional legal services in the shortest possible time, but you, Chinese, are very intriguing to me, so I would like to hear your case first, and then I will consider how much I should charge.'

'Are you going to rip off your clients? You are the gold medal lawyer here, and you are the ugliest vampire!' Zhu Yao angrily shouted.

Alan was not at all angry. He calmly explained to Zhu Yao, 'Ripping off customers? I think you must have misunderstood me, madam. As a professional lawyer, I would never do such a shameless thing, because once you complain about me, I may lose my reputation as a result, which is the most terrible thing for me. Therefore, my fees will definitely make you satisfied.'

Alan then looked at Zhou Ming, waiting for his answer. Zhou Ming nodded and said, 'I believe that Lawyer Alan would not do such a thing that would ruin his reputation.'

Zhou Ming then told Alan everything about Huang Yi's case. Alan thought about it for a short while and said, 'This case doesn't sound complicated. It's a typical case of slander and defamation. There shouldn't be any problem getting Huang Yi out on bail, as long as a certain amount of bail is paid. But the key is that the prosecutor's office will prosecute Huang Yi in the future, and that will be tricky. Because first of all, Lewis did have injuries, and in addition, the person in question also called a black man a nigger in front of so many police officers. You may not know, but racial discrimination is the most difficult thing to deal with in court.'

Zhou Ming didn't say anything about this, but first asked Alan, 'So do you think there's a good solution?'

'I can look for evidence to prove that Huang Yi had nothing to do with the injuries on Lewis's body, but it's very difficult to deal with the racial discrimination aspect. However, we can use cultural differences to explain it, or we can also counter-sue him for threatening violence against the Chinese Students and Scholars Association.'

Alan said, 'This is what I think. Although there are still many specific details that are open to debate, this is the general arrangement. According to this case, my hourly rate is 400 US dollars, with court fees and other expenses to be discussed separately. What do you think?'

'A reasonable fee,' Zhou Ming nodded, but then asked, 'Just Alan, there is one thing I don't understand. According to your method, in the end, Huang Yi will still go to jail, right?'

'Yes sir, because he made a very wrong decision, which was to curse the nigger in front of the police. God, unless we have a way to overturn these police officers' confessions, otherwise his racial discrimination charges will definitely be confirmed. Although I am confident that I can prove that the injuries on Lewis's body were not caused by Mr. Huang Yi, it is impossible to completely convince the jury, but I will try my best to help him get off,' Alan said.

Zhou Ming shook his head and said, 'Then I'm sorry, Mr Allen, but what I need is to spare my friend from going to prison, not just bail him out and wait for him to be locked up again next time.'

'Spare from going to prison? If Huang Yi hadn't cursed the nigger in front of the police, I would have been very confident, but since he did, there's no avoiding it. However, I can reduce his sentence as much as possible,' said Allen.

'If it's just about reducing the sentence, I don't think there's any need for me to hire you, Mr Allen. I need to make sure he doesn't go to prison,' Zhou Ming said.

Alan frowned and emphasised again, 'Mr Zhou Ming, I think I have made myself clear. All the evidence is now very damaging to Mr Huang Yi. It is impossible to avoid going to prison unless you can destroy all the evidence or find a presidential pardon. Otherwise, no lawyer in the world can do anything. Please trust my expertise!'

Zhou Ming nodded and said, 'Okay, I understand. Lawyer Allen, please go and help me bail Huang Yi out. As long as Huang Yi is out, we can settle the payment.'

Allen's brow furrowed even deeper after hearing this. He asked Zhou Ming, "You still hope to completely acquit Mr. Huang Yi, right?'

'Of course, that's my plan, because he is innocent. Since you, Mr. Allen, are unable to do anything, I will have to find a way myself," Zhou Ming said.

'Then I refuse to accept the commission, because you are insulting my profession!' Allen angrily stood up and said.

'Mr. Allen, please don't get excited,' Zhou Ming said, 'I don't mean to doubt your ability or professionalism. You just said that as long as you get a special pardon from the President, you can get my friend off. Then I don't think I need to commission you anymore, right?'

This answer left Alan stunned. He looked at Zhou Ming blankly, his first reaction being that he had heard it wrong: 'Mr Zhou Ming, I don't think this joke is appropriate at the moment.'

'I wasn't telling a joke, I was being serious,' said Zhou Ming.

If the first time he heard Zhou Ming's answer, it just surprised Alan, then hearing Zhou Ming say it again now, it suddenly gave him the illusion that he and Zhou Ming were not from the same world.

Alan looked at Zhou Ming blankly. He was absolutely sure that he had just said that the President's pardon was not the same as going downstairs to the supermarket to buy a bottle of Coke. He couldn't understand why Zhou Ming was so relaxed. Although in the United States, a presidential pardon is not any strange news. In recent years, many presidents have signed amnesty orders, but that was all for political reasons. Now to ask the president to sign an amnesty order to pardon an unconnected Huang Yi, isn't that a pipe dream?

'Please forgive me for being blunt, Mr. Zhou Ming, to which political group do you belong?' Alan asked.

Alan would ask this question, and it is normal. After all, no matter how close the president is to the people, he is still the head of state. And if it is not some important political group, I am afraid that even the news will not be able to reach the president, let alone asking the president to sign a special pardon.

'I don't belong to any political group. I just know for sure that I can get the president's special pardon, that's all,' Zhou Ming said. 'Okay, Lawyer Alan, I don't think our conversation should be about this. I think your next job is to help my friend get out on bail.'

However, Allen did not answer right away, but glared at Zhou Ming and asked in return, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, are you trying to trick me?'

'No, I just want to choose what is most convenient for you, Attorney Allen...'

Zhou Ming's words were interrupted by Allen before he could finish: 'I'm sorry, Mr. Zhou Ming, I don't believe you can get the President's pardon. If you can, I will choose not to charge you any commission, and I will also pay for the firm's fees, including the possible bail in the future!'

Zhou Ming looked at Alan and finally said, 'Okay, if you insist, Lawyer Alan.'

Zhou Ming said, picked up his phone and dialed a number. After a while, the other end connected, and Zhou Ming said directly, 'Katerina? This is Zhou Ming. Are you with Mr. Meta now? I have something here that needs your help to arrange. I need to contact Mr. Nikolavich. There is something that needs his help or the influence of the Northern Russian state.'

Katerina almost immediately replied without hesitation: 'No problem, I'll get in touch with him right away.'

Zhou Ming then hung up the phone and said to Allen, 'That's good. As long as my friend gets in touch with Mr. Nikolavich for me, I believe that with the help of diplomatic pressure from Northern Russia, it shouldn't be a problem to get an amnesty for me, right?'