therefore, it was made at the government oversight level.”
“Seems logical.”
Nick raised his eyebrows. “Let’s just hope the jury agrees. To sell it to ordinary people, we have to make sure we have the right experts backing our position.” He rocked back in his chair again. “The second issue we have to attack involves causation. Even if Ms. Tannery’s lawyers are able to convince a jury that Huron was negligent in the way they guarded the trains, they still need to show that if it weren’t for that screwup, the bombing never would have happened. To undermine that argument, we need to get into the mind of the terrorist, show that even tighter security wouldn’t have prevented him from carrying out his attack.”
“So we’re arguing the terrorist couldn’t have been stopped— stripping away any liability on Huron’s part.”
“Exactly. Our basic argument is going to be that nothing Huron could have done would have stopped this guy from killing. He could have strapped the bombs to himself, or he could have gotten shoulder-fired missiles, or he could have sabotaged the tracks—each of which would have had roughly the same result.”
“Is it
too
simple an argument?”
“Not really,” said Williams, shaking his head. “To make it sing to the jury, we have to show how dedicated these bastards are. We have to take the panel through hundreds of thousands of documents that demonstrate just how careful Huron was, and all of the measures they took.” He paused, picking up a pen from Finn’s desk and twirling it around in his fingers. “We also have to take them through hundreds of thousands of State and Defense Department documents that prove even the CIA and the FBI haven’t been able to prevent attacks like this.”
Finn stopped taking notes and put down his pen. “Looks like we’ve got our work cut out for us.”
“More than you can comprehend.” Nick scratched his chin as he looked across the desk. “This is a huge case for us. It’s a real opportunity to show the partnership what you’re made of. Are you ready for it?”
Finn took a deep breath. “I am.”
Williams’s eyes bored into him. “I hope you
are
,” he said finally, then paused as if deciding whether to say something more. “I don’t know if you know this, but you and I have something in common.”
“What’s that?” Finn asked.
“Well, like you, I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth, and I never made it to an Ivy League school. I had to work my ass off in a state college, and then again in a city law school. I had to be better than everyone around me just to get a fair shake. Even though I never had Preston’s courtroom presence, I made sure I was smarter and better prepared than the other associates, and that was enough to make partner.”
He stopped fidgeting and leaned forward in his seat. “For guys like us, Finn, the big opportunities come around only once. I hope you take full advantage of it, because it would be nice to have another partner in the fold who came up the hard way.”
Finn looked across the desk at his colleague. He knew exactly what the man was talking about. Finn had fought bitterly for every morsel of praise he’d ever received at Howery, Black, even when he was outperforming his peers. It made the ultimate prize of partnership all the more enticing. “I’ll try not to let everyone down,” he said after a long moment.
“Don’t worry about everyone,” Williams replied. “Just don’t let
yourself
down.”
Chapter Ten
T HE DOOR TO CAPTAIN WEIDEL’S office was closed, and there was a group of officious-looking people Flaherty didn’t recognize loitering outside. She was tempted to go to check her messages before she reported to the captain, but Weidel had been explicit on the phone earlier; he wanted to see her the second she got in. At least Kozlowski’s desk was on the way to the captain’s office, so she could drag him along for moral support. He looked up when she
“Seems logical.”
Nick raised his eyebrows. “Let’s just hope the jury agrees. To sell it to ordinary people, we have to make sure we have the right experts backing our position.” He rocked back in his chair again. “The second issue we have to attack involves causation. Even if Ms. Tannery’s lawyers are able to convince a jury that Huron was negligent in the way they guarded the trains, they still need to show that if it weren’t for that screwup, the bombing never would have happened. To undermine that argument, we need to get into the mind of the terrorist, show that even tighter security wouldn’t have prevented him from carrying out his attack.”
“So we’re arguing the terrorist couldn’t have been stopped— stripping away any liability on Huron’s part.”
“Exactly. Our basic argument is going to be that nothing Huron could have done would have stopped this guy from killing. He could have strapped the bombs to himself, or he could have gotten shoulder-fired missiles, or he could have sabotaged the tracks—each of which would have had roughly the same result.”
“Is it
too
simple an argument?”
“Not really,” said Williams, shaking his head. “To make it sing to the jury, we have to show how dedicated these bastards are. We have to take the panel through hundreds of thousands of documents that demonstrate just how careful Huron was, and all of the measures they took.” He paused, picking up a pen from Finn’s desk and twirling it around in his fingers. “We also have to take them through hundreds of thousands of State and Defense Department documents that prove even the CIA and the FBI haven’t been able to prevent attacks like this.”
Finn stopped taking notes and put down his pen. “Looks like we’ve got our work cut out for us.”
“More than you can comprehend.” Nick scratched his chin as he looked across the desk. “This is a huge case for us. It’s a real opportunity to show the partnership what you’re made of. Are you ready for it?”
Finn took a deep breath. “I am.”
Williams’s eyes bored into him. “I hope you
are
,” he said finally, then paused as if deciding whether to say something more. “I don’t know if you know this, but you and I have something in common.”
“What’s that?” Finn asked.
“Well, like you, I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth, and I never made it to an Ivy League school. I had to work my ass off in a state college, and then again in a city law school. I had to be better than everyone around me just to get a fair shake. Even though I never had Preston’s courtroom presence, I made sure I was smarter and better prepared than the other associates, and that was enough to make partner.”
He stopped fidgeting and leaned forward in his seat. “For guys like us, Finn, the big opportunities come around only once. I hope you take full advantage of it, because it would be nice to have another partner in the fold who came up the hard way.”
Finn looked across the desk at his colleague. He knew exactly what the man was talking about. Finn had fought bitterly for every morsel of praise he’d ever received at Howery, Black, even when he was outperforming his peers. It made the ultimate prize of partnership all the more enticing. “I’ll try not to let everyone down,” he said after a long moment.
“Don’t worry about everyone,” Williams replied. “Just don’t let
yourself
down.”
Chapter Ten
T HE DOOR TO CAPTAIN WEIDEL’S office was closed, and there was a group of officious-looking people Flaherty didn’t recognize loitering outside. She was tempted to go to check her messages before she reported to the captain, but Weidel had been explicit on the phone earlier; he wanted to see her the second she got in. At least Kozlowski’s desk was on the way to the captain’s office, so she could drag him along for moral support. He looked up when she
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