Apex Predator (49 page)

Drew sat back down and ran both hands through his hair. He knew Max was right, everything he said made sense, but the whole situation was too surreal for him to reconcile. Kidnapping? Getting knocked out by women with presents? Deranged doctor victimizing innocent people? It all sounded like so much Hollywood bullshit. These kinds of thing just didn’t happen in the real world, they just didn’t.

Steven was thankful for Max’s intervention. He was on edge himself and would have more than likely snapped at Drew as he explained the situation. Now that he’d had some time to consider things from afar, he had to admit that the whole thing did in fact sound like some bad movie of the week, something starring one of the original
90210
actors. And it wasn’t just Barlow that made it so, it was the whole business, Riche, the shooting, everything. Well, they were in it now, Steven more than anybody else. He asked if there was a secure phone line he could use, and Max told him he could use the phone in his office as it had also been swept for listening devices. Max walked over to Drew, who was still shell-shocked, and led him out. The first thing Steven did was to call Beth to check on her and the kids. She sounded good, stronger than she had sounded just a couple of days ago and that was good news, it meant that she was healing and that gave him a great deal of comfort. She was a bit upset with him for not calling before now, but she also understood that he had a lot on his plate.

After he hung up with Beth, he called the Twins at the agreed upon number, “CECIL.”

Steven, sitting in Max’s chair, began to doodle on a pad, “Hey C, it’s Steven. Listen, I don’t want to spend too long on the phone, but I needed to call you guys. You’ve been made, the bastard had some countermeasures and he made you guys.”

There was silence on the other end of the line as Cecil processed what he had just heard.

After a few seconds, Steven could hear him talking to who he assumed was Thurman, “We were made. Steven says the guy had countermeasures.”

He heard Thurman’s reaction over the phone, “Shit, I knew we shouldn’t have used that guy, I knew it!”

Cecil came back on the line, “Sorry, Steven, Thurman’s not taking it well. The Russian was busy, so we used a new guy for the hacking, someone referred by some of our folks at NSA. He’s good, but he’s not used to this type of work, and he probably figured this guy was just another egghead who had no clue about digital security. It had to be the hacking end of the job that gave us away. Thurman and I did our end clean, no traces and no blowback.”

Steven had guessed as much, he knew the Twins too well to believe they had made a mistake, “Well, it’s done now. Can you guys get a few more people and put together a security detail to cover my family and another to cover my legal team? No affiliated people, contractors, and they need to be discreet.”

Cecil thought for a couple of beats, “I think we can handle that. Are you thinking this guy is going to come after you? Hey, now that I think of it, how do you know he made us?”

Steven thought about the question. He had to be careful about what he told them. He knew he had to tell them about his conversation with Barlow, but he also knew he couldn’t tell them the whole story. Cecil and Thurman were as loyal as anyone in this business could be, but they, like him, owed a lot to the General and they genuinely cared about Steven, so as much as he wanted to tell them everything, he didn’t want to put them in the position to have to lie to the old man, and Steven knew that once they talked to the old man about the extra security, he would start asking questions.

“Barlow told me himself. We had a nice conversation where he let me know that his security had detected someone digging around. You’re probably right, it was the hacking end of the operation. He didn’t say anything specifically, but it makes sense.”

There was another brief silence on the other end of the line. Steven was guessing that Cecil was probably thinking things over and trying to figure out exactly what was going on with Barlow and himself.

As if to confirm it, Cecil had more questions, “Wait a minute, what do you mean you ‘had a nice conversation with him’? When exactly did that happen? We’ve been watching his place around the clock.”

Steven knew they would ask the question and he thought he knew what he wanted to answer, but now that they had asked he was once again trying to figure out how to answer it. “Yeah, we had another brief meeting and he let me know. He must have made it past you in a delivery truck or maybe he was wearing a disguise. He might not have spotted you, but when he found out about the hacking into his information, he probably guessed he was being watched.”

Cecil thought about that. His people had been tailing Barlow around the clock, but the truth was that, like Steven, they had simply underestimated the man.

Steven went on, “He also let me know he had no interest in me or my family as long as I stayed out of his business, and for what it’s worth, I believed him. So, you and Thurman need to stay clear, please.”

Cecil replied instantly, “What? Steven, c’mon man, this guy got your attention for a reason. Now you’re just going to let it go because he came and told you to stay out of his business? That doesn’t sound like you, man.”

Steven didn’t have time to get into it with Cecil and he let him know it, “Cecil, I appreciate it, brother, but I have way too much on my plate to get into it. You’re right, he did get my attention, and under different circumstances I’d go after the guy, but right now I’m facing murder charges, the entire world is scrutinizing my every move, and I just don’t have the time or the inclination to get into whatever this guy is doing.

“I also have my family’s safety to think about. There’s no way I can do anything without knowing I’ll be there to protect them, and I won’t know that until this trial is over. Do you understand that?”

Cecil listened. He knew Steven was right, everybody and their sister was only too eager to get as much information on Steven Loomis as they could possibly get. Even under optimal circumstances, going after someone like Barlow required the right technological resources, preparation and planning, and Steven could not do any of those things right now.

Cecil finally got it, “I hear you. I guess you’re pretty jammed up right now.”

Steven thought to himself ‘you think’ but to Cecil he said, “That’s right, and I need to know that you guys are not going to go rogue on me and try to get more information on the guy on your own. I’m serious, Cecil, no freelancing.”

Cecil got the point, “Alright, alright, I got it. Have you told the old man yet?”

Steven also knew they would ask that question, “No, and you won’t either. You know what would happen if I told him. He would smile and pat me on the head and tell me that he was going to keep away from the guy, and as soon as I left the room he’d do it anyway.

“No, right now I have to shelve this completely. I have a trial to get ready for and that’s going to take everything I got. Let me know when you have the teams picked out…oh, and tell Thurman not to be too hard on the new guy. Hell, we all thought he wouldn’t have very sophisticated security, remember?”

Cecil sighed, “Yeah, I remember, but still, it stings like a motherfucker to be made like that, especially by a guy like this.”

Steven could hear the strain on his voice. Professionals always took it hard when they failed. Steven finally ended the call and went to find Max and Drew. He walked down the hall to Drew’s office, but before entering he looked over the sea of cubicles in the middle of the floor. It was a swarm of activity with what had to be 30 associates and paralegals walking back and forth and carrying stacks of reference materials. It was clear they were all in the middle of doing research for one case or another and he was impressed by their intensity.

He walked into Drew’s office where he found Drew, Max and a man he didn’t recognize. He looked to be Zeidler’s age, although he was much taller and heavier and had far less hair. He was also dressed in a very different style from what Max normally wore. While Max favored two-thousand-dollar Hugo Boss tailored suits, usually charcoal grey or pinstriped navy blue, this guy was wearing a dark brown, off-the-rack suit and his tie was too short for how tall he was. He had a pleasant manner about him, a wise-old-man quality that was hard to define, but which came through in spades. They all turned in his direction as he walked into the office.

Max came over and pulled him further into the office, “Steven, did you take care of what you needed to take care of? Good. Allow me to introduce you to Ray Gretche. This is the attorney we told you about. He’ll be joining Drew and me as part of the defense team.”

Gretche walked over to Steven, hand outstretched, “Mr. Loomis, it’s a pleasure, it really is. I think what you’re doing is remarkable and quite unprecedented, and I for one am looking forward to being a part of it.”

Steven shook the man’s hand and couldn’t help a small grin. The man’s enthusiasm was completely genuine and it showed. “It’s Steven, please. So, you think we have a shot here?”

They migrated over to the sofa and chairs in Drew’s office. Now sitting in one of the big chairs, Gretche took a couple of seconds before answering.

That was good, it meant the man was considering the question carefully and not just blowing smoke up his ass. “Well, I’ll tell you, if we can put on the defense and bring the witnesses we want to the stand, then yes, I think we have a pretty good chance. Juries are a very complicated animal, Mr. …Steven. You never know what a jury is going to do until they send the note out to the judge. I’ve argued in front of enough juries to know that just when you think you’ve got them figured out, they pull a fast one on you.

“What we’re going to be asking them to do here is to define, legally define, what a human being is. That’s the bottom line, that’s the heart of the case. What is a human being, legally speaking, and does Riche fit that definition. The one thing we have going for us, and it’s no small thing, is public opinion. I don’t mean to seem insensitive, but we have the perfect set of circumstances here, a ‘victim’ who was indicted for the disappearance and murder of nine young girls, a defendant who is literally the epitome of the American success story, and a groundbreaking legal argument based on cutting-edge science. It could not be better.”

Steven was nodding slightly, “You make it sound like it’s in the bag.”

Ray chuckled, “Perhaps, Steven, perhaps. But remember that I said
if
we’re able to put on the defense, and that’s a big
if
.”

Drew, now sitting on the other side of the sofa from Steven, jumped in, “And that brings us to tomorrow’s hearing with the judge. He’s called the meeting in order to get a read on the defense we will be presenting. Just as we expected, the DA wants the judge to make a ruling on the legality of our argument. In other words, he wants the judge to find that as a matter of law, Donald Riche was a human being. If that happens, we’re done for, at least as it relates to this argument.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen, Judge Newman, the judge the case was assigned to, is a former civil rights and plaintiffs’ lawyer fighting big insurance companies. He’s a bit eccentric, but he’s genius smart and pretty fair. He has a reputation as a defense’s judge. Still, we’re asking for him to allow us to present a defense that’s never been presented, and defense judge or not, he’s as concerned with advancement as any judge and will keep us from making our argument if he thinks it’s some kind of a stunt.”

Max jumped in, “Which is why we’re going in loaded for bear. Every single one of the people you saw out there, paralegals, clerks, associates, is researching the science, the law and any relevant precedents, and they’re putting together a file for us with all of it. I think Drew’s right, unless we really screw this up, I think old Judge Newman is going to let us move forward with our defense.”

Steven looked over at Ray, who was nodding his head emphatically as Drew and Max were speaking.

He still wasn’t sure what his role would be in all of it, however. “So what do I do while all of this is happening?”

Drew answered the question, “Well, nothing really. You just sit in the courtroom while we argue our position. Depending on how the judge wants to handle it, we will either be arguing from the defense table or we’ll be back in his chambers. I think he’ll probably want to do it in his chambers, to be honest, more comfortable that way.”

Max agreed, “I agree, the only way he is going to take the bench is if he finds in favor of the DA, and if he does that, well, then it just won’t matter.”

Steven nodded, although he still didn’t understand all of the legal implications. As far as he understood, tomorrow, he and his defense team would find out if they would even be able to get their day in court. As had been the case many times before now, he was momentarily overwhelmed by the enormity of the whole thing. He still couldn’t believe the amount of media coverage it had generated. It was much more than he had ever imagined, but as had also been true many times before, he simply resigned himself to the fact that he was in it now, there was just no going back, not that he would even if he was able to. He had done what he had done for a reason, a reason he believed in then and believed in even more now.

The playing field had changed drastically, however, and simply bringing attention to these creatures, to the science of them, would no longer be enough. Barlow had changed things, and now, rather than being content and feeling he had accomplished what he set out to accomplish, he needed to avoid prison at all costs. Whatever this was, he now knew it went much deeper and much further than Riche. Barlow had said that Steven didn’t understand just how far this went, didn’t know the extent of the power these creatures could wield and that they ‘hunted’ in different ways and different places. What the hell did he mean by that? Steven didn’t know, and he couldn’t get pulled back into trying to find out what he meant. No, he had to win the trial and avoid prison no matter what it took. The problem was that for the first time in his life, Steven Loomis would have to rely completely on others to step up for him and defend him, and he would not be able to do anything to help them. It was a feeling of helplessness and he simply wasn’t used to being helpless.