The Tenth Justice - Brad Meltzer [172]
“I understand you’re upset,” Burke said, “but you have to look at the big picture—”
“Screw the big picture,” Nathan yelled. “My life isn’t there for you guys to play with! You used us! And Ober paid the price for it!”
“That’s enough,” DeRosa interrupted, his voice booming through the office. “Ober acted on his own. And if suicide was his best solution, he had more problems than the ones Ben gave him. As for you, you should be thrilled you’re alive. If you’re not, you can drop a note in the suggestion box on your way out.”
Silent as DeRosa picked up his papers, Nathan remained motionless in the center of the room.
“Nathan, I’m so sorry,” Ben said. “I tried my best to—”
“I don’t want to hear it,” Nathan interrupted. Walking over to DeRosa, he added, “I guess you knew about the blackmail letters Rick sent us.”
“All about them,” DeRosa said. “Don’t worry. We’ll let your office know that your participation in this case was invaluable. There’s no way they’ll fire you after I’m done with them.”
“Great. Fine,” Nathan said, walking to the door of DeRosa’s office.
Burke followed Nathan to the door. “You’re not going anywhere,” Burke growled. “We still have questions for you to—”
Nathan opened the door and stormed out.
“Let him go,” DeRosa said. “It’s been a long day.” When the door closed, DeRosa turned to Ben, who looked exhausted. “Well, that’s one battle lost—you ready for Hollis?”
Sitting outside of Hollis’s private office, Ben anxiously waited for the door to open. What’s taking so long? he wondered. Restlessly, he fidgeted with the sling on his left arm. Not since his first day on the job had he been this nervous about an encounter with Hollis. Twenty minutes later, the thick mahogany door opened, and Lisa walked out.
“How’d it go?” Ben asked. “What’d he say?”
“He’s ready to see you,” Lisa said.
“But how’d—”
“Go in and talk to him,” Lisa said. “He’s the boss. Not me.”
Uneasy as he stepped inside, Ben forced a smile and took his usual seat in front of Hollis’s desk. “Nice to see you,” Ben said.
With eyes that had watched the evolution of the law for more than thirty years, Justice Mason Hollis was the most accessible of the nine. The oldest of seven children and the father of five, he radiated a paternal presence. As a college baseball player at Yale, he was rumored to strike out on purpose when he felt the other team was losing by too wide a margin, and as a judge on the D.C. Circuit, he’d once granted an extension so that counsel could “get some sleep.” According to the employees of the Court, Hollis was the one justice no one feared. At this moment, however, Ben Addison was terrified.
“How are you doing?” Hollis asked. As his hand slid over his sparse white hair, his fingers brushed against the numerous liver spots that dotted his head.
“I’m fine,” Ben said, unable to look his boss in the face.
“Sounds like you’re lucky to be alive, yes?”
“I suppose.”
Hollis picked up a pencil and started nibbling on the eraser. “Don’t be so downcast,” he said. “You should be proud of yourself—quick thinking and all that.” Getting no reaction, he added, “A lesser person would’ve been beaten by this.”
“I’m just glad it’s finally over.”
Hollis smiled at Ben. “I have to tell you—when I hired you and Lisa, I knew you’d be a lively team. I didn’t expect you to be this lively, but that’s neither here nor there.”
Tapping his foot against the thick burgundy carpet, Ben wished Hollis would get to the point. He wanted to know Hollis’s decision. “Can I ask you a question?” he blurted. “Do I get to keep my job?”
“Ben—”
“Since I helped catch Rick, I’m not going to be criminally charged,” Ben said, his voice shaking. “The marshals said my record would stay completely clean, and they want to give me a commendation for helping them catch Lungen. They arrested him early this morning.”
“Ben, I’m