Page 33 of Pursuit of Happiness

“Not just any election results.” Jen grabbed her by theshoulders. “It’s a presidential primary. This is the beginning of history.” Shecast a look at Gordon who was standing across the room talking to one of thecampaign volunteers, and lowered her voice. “You are going to sweep this thing.Lankin is shaking in his shoes.”

“Don’t you even.” Meredith waved her hands in the air to ward offthe bad juju. “Gordon’s not the only one who’s superstitious. I’m as excited asanyone else in this room, but the votes are still being counted. Get a gripbecause we might be in for a long night.”

No sooner had she spoken than a roar went up from the room, andMeredith whirled to face the TV. It was early yet, but CNN had already made thecall, and the entire room was celebrating. Jen pulled her into a hug and heldtight. She felt something wet running down her face, but it took a moment forher to realize she was weeping tears of joy. The polls and pundits hadpredicted her win, but the reality was beyond her wildest expectations. Shebarely had time to process her feelings before she was swept around the room,being congratulated and offering heartfelt thanks in return for each of thesepeople who’d dropped their lives to become part of hers.

She’d barely made it halfway through the crowd before Gordon wastapping her on the shoulder. “Let’s go ahead and head downstairs. If you makeyour speech now, we can make the late news.”

He was right. She had a pretty big war chest, but the more freePR they could grab in the form of replayed sound bites, the more money they’dhave to spend in the general election. She appreciated Gordon always thinkingten steps ahead, but after weeks shaking hands and kissing babies, it was hardto leave this bubble of comfort. She looked around the room as if she coulddivine some reason to stall, and like magic, her gaze fell on Stevie, framed inthe doorway with a huge smile on her face.

* * *

Stevie stood up at counsel table and motioned to the prosecutor,Emily Watkins. “Your Honor, the government has provided me with discovery, butit’s too heavily redacted to be helpful, and some of it’s missing entirely. Ican’t possibly prepare for trial if I don’t have access to the exact samematerial the government has reviewed.”

She’d expected more from Emily, but when she’d confronted her,Emily had thrown up her hands and said she had no control over the decision toredact the documents. When Stevie protested, Emily spouted the government’susual line about not sharing the full contents of the classified documents withanyone who didn’t have the proper clearance. Stevie was used to this interrorism cases, but this wasn’t that. In fact, nothing she’d been able toglean so far pointed to her client, Barkley, having shared any issues ofnational security, only embarrassing bumbling in the way the FBI had handledthe reports of foreign hacking. It would help if Barkley would talk to her andtell her what was in the documents, but while he’d started to indulge herattempts at small talk, when it came to the case, he was still in his I can’ttalk about it because everyone’s listening mode, which left her no choice butto file the pending motion to compel the government to disclose the fullcontents of the documents.

Judge Solomon turned to Emily. “Ms. Watkins, what’s yourresponse?”

Emily cast her a woeful look and rose to address the judge. “It’sthe government’s response that we cannot share the redacted portions withanyone who doesn’t possess the requisite clearance to view them. Thesedocuments have been classified as top secret. As for the omitted documents,we’re still in the process of decrypting some of the files that were seizedfrom Ms. Palmer’s client. She’s welcome to ask him to assist us, which couldspeed the process along.”

Stevie shook her head. “And let you use his assistance as anadmission of guilt? I don’t think so. If they are truly government documentsand they are supposed to bolster the government claims against my client, thenyou should be able to hand them over in a format that I can read. How will thejury assess the veracity of the documents if they can’t read them either?”

Solomon nodded. “She has a point, Ms. Watkins. I’m inclined toview the contents of the documents you do havein camerain order to make an informedruling.” He looked down his nose. “Unless you’re going to contend that I don’thave the right to view them?”

Stevie watched while Emily squirmed, knowing that Emily’s bossesprobably did expect her to withhold the information from everyone, noexceptions, but she had the good sense not to tank her case by denying thejudge.

“Of course, Your Honor. We will have them delivered to you thisafternoon. As for the files that are being decrypted, I’m going to need a bitmore time.”

Stevie considered protesting, but decided against it for now. IfSolomon reviewed the documents and then denied her access, she’d file a motionto get him to reconsider and work her way up the chain, but for now, she’d bideher time.

“Very well then,” Solomon said. “Let’s postpone this portion ofthe hearing until…” He paused to consult with his courtroom deputy. “Tomorrowat two. You’ll have the rest of the documents decrypted and delivered to me nolater than three weeks from today.”

Stevie took a moment with her client in the holdover before sheleft. “Did you get all that?”

“You’re good. She didn’t want to give you anything. The judgeseems fair.”

“I am good, but there’s only so much I can do if you won’t talkto me.”

“What’s the point?”

“You tell me,” she said, hoping he would take her up on it. Sheread into his comment that he was resigned to his fate because there was reallyno dispute that he’d shared the documents in violation of his clearance, butshe was still willing to fight for him and make the government prove their caseif that’s what he wanted. “If you want to end this whole process and take aplea, you can, but the prosecutor is not going to offer a deal unless you agreeto meet with the FBI and answer questions they have about other security issuesat Folsom.”

He shook his head. “If I don’t leave soon, I’ll miss lunch.”

“You still have time to change your mind,” she said, wonderingwhy she cared so much when clearly he did not. “You have my number.”

Stevie was back at the office by one. The place was virtuallyempty except for Hannah who was munching on a sandwich at her desk, remindingStevie she’d forgotten to eat breakfast. “I’ll give you twenty dollars for halfof that sandwich.”

Hannah held out the untouched half. “No charge. Dave makes thebiggest sandwiches in all the land.”

Stevie munched a bite of the roast beef on sourdough and groanedat the tang of horseradish. “Oh my God, that’s amazing.”

“I know.” Hannah pushed a bag of chips her way. “Try it withthese and you’ll fall in love.”

“Where is everyone?”

“Lunch off campus. It’s Leon’s last day.”

“And you didn’t go?”

---