Supreme Justice

Chapter Twenty

Ginny was in a good mood when she arrived at Rankin Lusk the next morning. What had seemed so frightening last night seemed to be meaningless worry in the light of a new day. Justice Moss, not Brad, had been the object of the attack at the Court, and the assailant was most probably, as Brad had assured her, some nut case with an irrational agenda.

“You’re to go straight to Conference Room E, Miss Striker,” the receptionist said when Ginny entered the reception area.

Ginny frowned. She had a lot of work to do, and the few times she’d sat in on a client conference, there had been a lot of intentionally wasted time, all of which counted as billable hours.

Clients waiting in Rankin Lusk’s reception area could see through glass walls into Conference Rooms A and B. Clients meeting in these rooms could gaze out through floor-to-ceiling windows at a magnificent view of the Capitol. Conference Rooms A and B were used to impress the clients who met in them and to give the impression to clients in reception that the attorneys at Rankin Lusk were always involved in big deals and didn’t really need their business.

Conference Room E, which was a floor below reception, had no windows and was in the rear of the building away from prying eyes. As soon as Ginny walked into the room, she knew why the meeting was being held in a conference room where the conferees would not be on public display. Audrey Stewart and Dennis Masterson had their heads together at the far end of the table. Seated to Masterson’s left was Greg McKenzie, a fourth-year associate who worked with Masterson and made Ginny uneasy. McKenzie was huge and had been an offensive lineman at Iowa before going to Stanford Law. McKenzie always seemed angry, and Ginny wondered if he used steroids to maintain his pro wrestler physique.

“Ah, Miss Striker, come in and close the door,” Masterson said. Everyone stopped talking and looked her way. Masterson introduced Ginny. Then he smiled.

“Want to guess what we’re doing?” Masterson asked her.

“Helping Ms. Stewart prepare for her confirmation hearing?” Ginny asked cautiously. She hoped she had guessed correctly. If that was her assignment it would be the most exciting one she’d received since starting at the firm.

“A-plus,” Masterson answered with a smile. Then he addressed everyone in the room.

“I was delighted when President Gaylord nominated Audrey to the Court. We met when we worked together at the CIA, and we’ve kept in touch since we both left. The Court needs first-class minds, and Audrey was far and away the sharpest person I worked with at the Agency.”

Masterson stopped smiling. “Sadly, the liberals are going to attempt to discredit her by focusing on practices that kept them safe after 9/11 but have now fallen into disfavor. I’ve already heard from several sources that Senators Cummings and Vasquez are sharpening their knives. These liberals cowered in their holes while Audrey was facing fire on the front lines. Now they’re going to cast stones at the very people who protected them. So we have our work cut out for us. But,” Masterson said, breaking once more into a smile, “I feel confident that we will prevail, because our cause is just and we have God on our side, not to mention a bunch of very smart lawyers.”