“There was no other explanation for his actions?” Lungen asked.

Ben wrote the word “Marshals” on a scrap piece of paper and passed it to Lisa. “If there was, he didn’t tell me,” Ben said. “Anything else?”

“One last thing,” Lungen said. “We wanted to take you up on your offer to take that lie detector test.”

Ben froze in his chair. “I don’t see any reason why-”

“It’s just precautionary. You know we’re trying to keep this investigation low-key, so we haven’t notified the justices yet. If you don’t, though…”

“I’ll take the test.”

“Great,” Lungen said. “We scheduled it for the twenty-third. Is that okay?”

“Sure. That’s fine,” Ben said. “That’ll be fine.”

“Great. We’ll see you down here in two weeks. Say hello to Justice Hollis for me.”

Ben hung up the phone and stared at his desk.

“What’s wrong?” Lisa asked. “What’d they want?”

“They saw Eric’s story about Kuttler’s nomination, and they want me to take a lie detector test.”

“No way,” she said, throwing the scrap paper at Ben. “That was in every paper in the country. The announcement ceremony is today. The white House leaked it late last night so they could get two days of press out of it.”

“Tell that to the marshals.”

“They can’t make you take a lie detector test,” Lisa insisted. “It’s a violation of privacy.”

“Well, they scheduled it for the twenty-third. And I’m going to be there to take it.”

“Why?”

“I have to take it,” Ben said, rearranging a stack of papers on his desk. “If I don’t, they’ll tell Hollis everything they know, which’ll definitely get me thrown out of here. And even if they’re just bluffing about telling Hollis, if I don’t take it, they’ll be more suspicious than ever.”

“I’ll tell you when they’ll be suspicious: when you fail the test.”

“I won’t fail the test,” Ben insisted. “Those tests are beatable. That’s why they’re not admissible in court. They’re not foolproof. At this point, I may’ve done something wrong, but I didn’t do anything maliciously against the Court. If I keep a cool head, I bet I can pass it.”

“If you say so,” Lisa said, shaking her head. “But, I still think-”

“You know what? I just don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

“But-”

“I said drop it,” Ben demanded, refusing to look at his co-clerk. “I’ll deal with it.”

Later that evening, Ben returned home covered in the first snow of the year. Wiping frozen clumps of hair from his eyes, he searched for the key to his front door and unlocked it.

“Put your stuff down, we’re going out!” Ober shouted as he threw on his coat. Getting no reaction from Ben, Ober stopped and searched Ben’s face. “What’s wrong with you? You look like crap.”

“Thanks.” Ben dropped his briefcase on the floor and let his jacket slide from his arm.

“Tough day on the job, dear?”

“Terrible day,” Ben said, undoing his tie and unbuttoning his collar. “The decision we’re working on still isn’t done. The Marshals Office is making me take a lie detector test. Rick’s on the loose. I can’t trust Lisa. My life is a mess.”

“They’re making you take a lie detector test?” Nathan asked. “They can’t do that.”

“I know they can’t, but they’ll tell Hollis if I don’t.”

“No offense, but are you coming with us or not?” Ober asked. “Nathan got promoted today and all we’re doing is moping around here.”

“You got the S/P job?” Ben asked. Nathan smiled. Ben gave him a bear hug. “Congratulations!”

“You are now looking at the newest member of the secretary of state’s policy planning staff,” Ober explained. “Whatever that is.”

“From now on, I get to muck with all the major policy work that comes through our department,” Nathan said.

“That is unbelievable!” Ben said. “I knew you’d get it. I hope you got a bigger office.”

“Bigger office, bigger computer, slightly bigger salary.”

“What more can you ask for?” Ben said. “And now I feel like a schmuck-here I was complaining when you had good news that you were waiting to tell me.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Nathan said.

“Enough of this friendship crap,” Ober said. “Let’s go out and celebrate!”

Ben ran to his room and changed into jeans and a chocolate-brown Henley. “Where are we going?” he asked as he walked downstairs.

“Guess,” Ober said.

“Are we really going there?”

“Hey, it’s my promotion,” Nathan said. “Now, c’mon, it closes at eight.”

When the three friends arrived at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, they stepped through the large plate-glass doors and into the heart of the building. Within a minute, they were all gazing up at the Milestones of Flight exhibit. Among the collection of aerodynamic marvels suspended from the roof were the Wright brothers’ original flyer, the Spirit of St. Louis, and Nathan’s favorite, Glamorous Glennis, the first airplane to fly faster than the speed of sound.

“How many flights did the Wright brothers take that first day?” Ben asked, reading a short exhibit card about the Wright brothers’ first flight.

“Four,” Nathan said.

“What was the day?”

“December seventeenth, 1903.”

“Who flew first?”

“Orville flew first for twelve seconds,” Nathan said, his eyes still fixed on the ceiling. “But Wilbur flew the longest with fifty-nine seconds.”

“I still don’t understand why you’re so into this stuff,” Ben said, looking at a replica of Sputnik I. “You have no science background, your father isn’t in the military, your-”

“Can’t you simply appreciate the wonders of technology?” Nathan asked. “Can your legal mind even comprehend such a thought? We’re in the midst of science’s greatest feat-escaping the bounds of our existence.”

Ober walked over to an authentic moon rock brought back by the Apollo 17 crew and rubbed the pale gray object. “This rock is so fake. It isn’t from the moon.”

“And you base this hypothesis on what?” Nathan asked. “Your vast knowledge of interplanetary geology?”

“It doesn’t feel real,” Ober explained. “It feels like it’s completely fake.” Turning around to the crowd of tourists that were walking near the exhibit, Ober announced loudly, “THIS ROCK IS FAKE! IT’S A HOAX!”

Putting his hand over the mouth of his roommate, Nathan said, “Can you be more embarrassing? What’re you, ten years old?”

“He’s twelve,” Ben said. He rubbed the moon rock for himself and added, “It really doesn’t feel real. It seems synthetic or plastic or something.”

“See, I told you,” Ober said.

“It’s a real moon rock,” Nathan insisted. “Read the sign. It was brought back by the crew of the Apollo Seventeen. It’s nearly four billion years old.”

“Maybe the real rock was radioactive, and when it killed a bunch of tourists, they replaced it with this smooth piece of junk,” Ober said.

“I refuse to have this conversation,” Nathan said. “The only reason it’s smooth is because millions of goofball tourists like you feel the need to touch it.”

Touching it one more time, Ober said, “It’s so obviously not real. I want my money back.”

“Would you like to go to the next exhibit?” Nathan asked. “Is that what you’re telling me?”

“I’m starving,” Ober said. “I just want something to eat.”

The roommates walked to the east end of the building and entered The Flight Line cafeteria. After filling their trays with premade sandwiches and plastic-wrapped desserts, they chose one of the cafeteria’s empty tables. “Tell me about the lie detector. When do you have to take it?” Nathan asked.

“Two weeks from now.”

“What if you fail it?”

“I have no idea,” Ben said, unwrapping his roast beef sandwich. “I assume that won’t be a good thing, but they never said what would happen. I don’t think they’ll fire me on the spot, but I don’t think it’ll help my case. My main concern is that they don’t tell Hollis. If it gets to him, he’ll never trust me with anything.”