Brad Meltzer - The Tenth Justice

“Go get help,” Ben said.

“Nathan?” Lisa asked.

“Kick the chair,” Nathan said. “I watched them dance on my face. Rick enjoyed it.”

Standing on one leg, Lisa slammed her foot against the support. It refused to buckle. “Damn.”

“Get out of here,” Ben said.

“Shut…up,” Lisa said, pounding the support. Slowly, it began to fracture. After six more kicks, it broke in two. Lisa ran to the other side of the chair.

“Hurry,” Ben said.

“What do you think I’m doing?” she asked as she started working on the other side. Within a minute, the second support broke. Quickly running to Nathan’s chair, the two clerks each took a side and kicked the old wood.

Nathan’s adrenaline was pumping. “It’ll give,” he said. “It’ll definitely give.”

Her legs tired from the attack, Lisa stopped to catch her breath.

“Keep kicking,” Nathan said. “You’re almost there.”

As Ben shattered the wood on his side, Nathan pulled his arm free. Running around to help Lisa, Ben heard a quiet click.

They all looked up.

“Shit,” Nathan said.

“Why do you even bother?” Rick asked. Standing in the corner of the room, he pointed a gun at the three friends. “I want them separated,” Rick demanded as he and Claremont walked toward the large glass table. He pointed the gun at Lisa. “Put her in the bathroom. Lock the cuffs to the pipes under the sink.”

As Claremont grasped her left handcuff, Lisa swung her right one through the air, smashing him in the side of the head. Gripping both her hands in one of his, Claremont smacked Lisa in the face and sent her flying to the floor.

“I’ll kill you!” Ben screamed, racing toward Claremont.

Rick pointed his gun at Ben. “DON’T MOVE!”

Suddenly frozen in fear, Ben stared down the barrel of Rick’s gun.

Just then the door that connected to the second suite crashed open.

“EVERYBODY FREEZE! U.S. MARSHAL!” Carl Lungen screamed as he ran into the room, erratically pointing his gun in every direction. Ben’s mouth dropped open.

“You’re all under arrest!” Lungen yelled.

“Where the hell have you been?” Rick asked, unfazed by the entrance. “You were supposed to be here hours ago.”

Lowering his gun, Lungen looked over at Ben and started laughing. “Oh, man, you should see your face,” he said. “You really thought I was coming to your rescue, didn’t you?”

“Help us tie them up,” Claremont said. “They almost got out.”

“How’s it feel to be the fool, Addison?” Lungen asked, pointing his gun at Ben. “Now get your hands up.”

“What the hell is going on?” Ben asked, raising his hands in the air. “You’re working for him?”

With his gun in Ben’s back, Lungen led Ben to a chair that wasn’t broken. “Don’t take it personally,” Lungen said. “Money’s money.”

“Was Fisk in on it as well?” Ben asked as Lungen handcuffed him to the chair.

“I should be so lucky,” Lungen said. He turned toward Rick and added, “That’s where I was all day. Sorry I couldn’t help you bring these three in.”

“Fisk giving you a hard time?” Rick asked.

“Are you kidding? It’s taken every excuse I can think of to keep him from rushing in and arresting everyone. He’s more anxious than a virgin on prom night.”

Rick smirked as he watched the shock on Ben’s face. “Will he stay quiet?” Rick asked.

“He seems okay now, but I’m worried he’ll go nuts when Ben doesn’t show up for work tomorrow.”

“He won’t do anything,” Rick said. “From what you’ve told me, Fisk won’t take a crap without your permission.”

“I don’t believe this,” Ben said as Lungen turned his attention to Nathan.

Lungen reattached Nathan’s loose handcuff to the armrest on Nathan’s chair. “C’mon, Ben,” Lungen said, “did you really think you were that good? Without me, Fisk would’ve bugged your office weeks ago instead of days ago. And that lie detector test-you would’ve never passed without my help. The way I see it, you should thank me.”

“I don’t get it,” Ben said. “Fisk administered that test.”

“But who do you think rigged the machine?” Lungen asked, sitting on the couch next to Rick. “You couldn’t fail that test if you tried.”

“And you thought your roommate gave you placebos and you passed anyway,” Rick said.

Ben turned toward Nathan. “I never thought…”

“It’s okay,” Nathan whispered, his voice trembling. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Oh, man,” Lungen laughed, slapping Rick’s knee.

“Did you see their faces when I ran in here? They thought it was all over.”

“It will be,” Rick said. “In less than eleven hours.”

By four in the morning, all but one of the lights in the suite had been turned off, and an eerie silence pervaded the darkened room. A small tabletop lamp next to the sofa provided just enough reading light for Lungen to see his newspaper. In the bathroom, Lisa was asleep on the tile floor, her fear overwhelmed by sheer exhaustion. In the living room, Nathan struggled to keep his eyes open, even as his head bobbed down with sleep. Ben was wide awake in the corner of the room, his eyes blazing as he stared at Lungen.

Sitting on the sofa and flipping through his newspaper, Lungen stood guard over the three friends. When he looked over his shoulder, he caught sight of Ben. “If you’re going to stare like that, you might as well say something,” Lungen said. Getting no response, he added, “Why don’t you just go to sleep?”

“I’m not tired.”

“Fine, stay awake,” Lungen said, turning back to his paper. “Like I care.”

“I hope the money’s good.”

“The money’s great.”

“How much does integrity go for these days?” Ben asked. “A million? Two million?”

Lungen folded up his paper and turned back toward Ben. “I don’t need morality lessons from you.”

“That’s fine,” Ben said. “But I hope you realize you’ll be a fugitive for the rest of your life.”

“What are you talking about?” Lungen asked. “This isn’t some rinky-dink operation. When this is over, I’m going right back to my job. And when I walk in with Ben and Lisa, the two most wanted clerks in America, I’ll probably get a promotion.”

“Sure you will,” Ben said.

“Believe what you want,” Lungen said. “But by tomorrow night, Ben Addison is going to be a wanted man. When the SEC traces our stock sales, guess whose name will be attached to the transfer? And that bank account Rick opened for you during CMI-don’t think that baby’s not getting another big deposit. When you put that together with the tape of you giving out the decision, there’s not a person in the world who will believe your story.”

“You don’t have a prayer.”

“I won’t need one,” Lungen said. “Who do you think America is going to believe-the clerk with the million-dollar bank account, or the marshal who brought him in? And if you try to finger Rick, what proof do you have? At this point, you can’t even prove he exists.”

Ben was silent. As his shoulders tensed, the handcuffs pulled against his wrists. “No matter what you say, Rick is out for himself. And that means he doesn’t give a damn about you. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of his information points a finger at the Marshals Office. If I were in your position, I’d get out now.”

“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?”