The Tenth Justice - Brad Meltzer [164]
“C’mon, Ben, do you really think you can trick me into switching sides? I’m not some simpleminded, misunderstood lackey. I’m fully aware of every possible consequence. Rick and I planned this a long time ago, and I plan to see it through to the end.”
“So you’ve been in on this since CMI?”
“How do you think Rick knew so much about the Court?” Lungen asked. “Without an inside man, it’d be impossible to pull this off.”
As the door in the corner of the room opened, the bright light of the connecting suite cut through the darkened room. Rick followed. “Are you two bonding?” Rick asked as he walked toward the center of the room.
“Absolutely.” Lungen got up from the sofa and moved toward the second suite. “Ben convinced me to switch sides. I’ve realized what a fool I’ve been, and now I’m going to turn us all in.”
“That’s great,” Rick said, patting Lungen on the back as he passed him. “Just make sure to get some sleep first. We have a busy day tomorrow.”
Stopping as he reached the door to the connecting suite, Lungen turned around. “Have a good night, Ben.”
“I hope you choke in your sleep,” Ben said as the door slammed shut.
“It looks like it’s just the two of us,” Rick said, noting that Nathan was fast asleep.
“So what?” Ben snapped, trying to look over his shoulder. Standing behind Ben, Rick slowly tipped back Ben’s chair. “What are you doing?” Ben asked.
Rick didn’t answer. Dragging the chair to the center of the room, Rick made sure that Ben faced the sofa. With a better view of his most resourceful captive, Rick took a seat. “Don’t pout,” Rick said. “Every game has to have a winner and loser. You just happen to be the loser in this one.”
“And you’re the winner?”
“I am,” Rick said. “You could’ve been a winner too. The offer was there from the beginning. You simply refused to accept it.”
“There was no offer,” Ben said. “You didn’t ask me. You just manipulated my trust.”
“So sue me. Would you have given me the information otherwise?”
Ben said nothing.
“Exactly.”
“Well then, I guess that’s it—you must know everything about me.”
“Ben, do you have any idea what the main difference is between us?”
“Besides the fact you’re a psycho?”
“I’m serious,” Rick said. “It’s a subtle difference, but an all-important one.”
“Oh, I get it,” Ben said. “This is where you tell me some cheesy story—like how we’re opposite sides of the same coin or something.”
“Not at all. We may have similar qualities, but as far as I’m concerned, we’re not even part of the same currency. And it all stems from our one major difference: You think society’s right, while I think society’s a joke.”
“Aren’t you the maverick.”
“Think about what I’m saying and you’ll understand I’m right,” Rick said. “You scheme and lie and manipulate just as much as I do. But you love the way society’s set up. You stick to the rules. Work hard, get the perfect job, find the perfect wife, buy the perfect house, lease the perfect car. You’ll be chasing that carrot for the rest of your life. As long as you follow that path, no matter how smart you are, you’ll always be the predictable pragmatist, and I’ll always have the advantage. And that’s the real reason I picked you.”
“You don’t know me at all,” Ben said coldly.
“Really?” Rick asked. “Then let me ask you the question I’ve always held back on: How about being my partner?”
“What?”
“I’m not joking,” Rick said, his tone deadly serious. “We become partners. I let you go. You go back to the Court. You finish out your term, and you feed me all the lucrative decisions. By summer, we’ll be swimming in money. You’ll never have to worry again.”
“Are you serious?”
Rick smiled. “No. Not at all. Do I look that stupid?”
Ben swung his right leg forward and kicked Rick in the shin. “You’re an asshole.”
“I sure am,” Rick responded. With a swift shove, Rick kicked