Rick punched Lisa in the face. “No one asked you.” A red patch blossomed around her left eye. “Now you and Nathan match each other.”

“Get away from her!” Ben screamed, his arms struggling against his handcuffs and his body convulsing in a rabid rage. “I’ll kill you!”

“I asked a…question,” Rick said as he hit her again.

As blood and saliva flew from Lisa’s mouth, Ben fought uncontrollably to break free. “I’ll fucking kill you!”

“That’s not the answer,” Rick said. He slapped Lisa across the face. Her head flew sideways.

Enraged and screaming, Ben couldn’t contain himself. In a mad frenzy, he fought against his restraints. “IT’S THE TRUTH!” he shouted as tears rolled down his face. “WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT TO KNOW?”

“What’s the vote?” Rick asked.

“Five to four,” Ben said. “Dreiberg’s the swing vote.”

Rick pulled out his gun and pointed it at Lisa. “Are you sure?”

“C’mon, Rick, that’s enough,” Claremont interrupted.

“Shut up,” Rick said. Holding Lisa by the hair, Rick shoved the barrel of the gun in her mouth and repeated his question. “Are you sure?”

“I swear,” Ben pleaded. “On my life.”

As he pulled back the hammer, Rick put his finger on the trigger. “I’m not joking. I’ll do it.”

“I swear it’s true,” Ben said, his body tensed. “Steel wins.”

Rick paused, searching Ben’s face for a glimmer of deceit. “Fine,” he said, removing the gun from Lisa’s mouth. “I believe you.” Rick walked to the desk in the corner of the room and picked up his cellular phone. Quickly dialing a number, he said, “Hello, Noah? It’s me. Here’s the story. The moment the market opens, I want you to liquidate all those preferred stock certificates I gave you. Then take the proceeds and buy every American Steel option you can find.” Listening for a moment, he continued, “Exactly. I’m positive. Then at noon, I want all the proceeds cashed in and sent to my usual account. Exactly. You got it.” Rick hung up the phone and turned to Claremont. “Now all we have to do is wait.”

Spitting blood all over the carpet, Lisa struggled to stop the room from spinning.

“Lisa!” Ben called. “Over here!”

“She’s coming around,” Nathan said. “Give her a second.”

“What the hell happened?” Lisa asked. “My face feels like a balloon.”

“Are you okay?” Ben asked. “Talk to me.”

“I’m fine,” she said, shutting her eyes tightly to stop the vertigo. “Let me catch my breath.” She remained quiet for a minute, then asked, “Does my eye look as bad as it feels?”

“It’s just a black eye,” Ben said.

“I know what it is,” Lisa snapped. “Tell me how it looks.”

“It looks pretty bad.”

“Did Rick do all the damage or did Claremont take some shots also?”

“It was Rick,” Ben said.

“He’s a dead man when I get out of these handcuffs.” Lisa looked over her shoulder and saw Nathan. “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine,” Nathan said, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Does my eye look as bad as his?” Lisa asked Ben, pointing her chin at Nathan.

“It will in a few hours,” Ben said.

“Great,” Lisa said.

“Hey, Rick,” Ben yelled across the room. “Can we at least get some ice over here?”

“No,” Rick said, pulling his laptop computer from his briefcase.

A few minutes before ten, Rick hooked up his cellular phone to his laptop and logged on to the Westlaw Supreme Court database. Looking over Rick’s shoulder, Claremont asked, “We can watch the decision from here?”

“No,” Rick said sarcastically, “we’re going to take a field trip to the Court so we can all see it in person.” His fingers pounded the keyboard. “The moment it’s announced, the Information Office releases the decision, and Westlaw puts it on-line.”

Across the room, Ben asked Lisa, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“For the tenth time, I’m fine,” Lisa said as the area surrounding her eye continued to swell and darken. “I get punched in the face all the time.”

“Nathan?” Ben asked. “How’s your eye?”

“It’s fine,” Nathan said. “Stop asking about it.”

“All of you, shut up,” Rick said, turning toward his three captives.

At exactly ten o’clock, the Court marshal banged his gavel, and every person in the room stood at attention.

“The Honorable, the Chief Justice and the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States!” the marshal announced. Immediately, the nine justices stepped out from behind the burgundy velvet curtain and moved to their respective chairs.

“Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!” the marshal announced. “All persons having business before the Honorable, the Supreme Court of the United States, are admonished to draw near and give their attention, for the Court is now sitting. God save the United States and this Honorable Court!” Again, the gavel fell, and everyone took their seats.

“Today we will be ruling on three decisions,” Osterman said to the packed courtroom. “Alvarez v. City of Gibsonia, Katz and Company v. Nevada, and Richard Rubin v. American Steel. Justice Veidt will be reading our first two decisions, while Justice Dreiberg will read the third.”

“What’s taking so long?” Claremont asked, staring at Rick’s blank computer screen. “It’s almost a quarter after.”

“Relax,” Rick said. “They have three decisions to get through. It’ll be here.”

“Does it come out the moment it’s announced, or do they wait until they’re done with all three?” Claremont asked.

“I said it’ll be here,” Rick said. “Now shut up.”

“…is constitutional under the First Amendment. Therefore, in the case of Katz and Company v. Nevada, we find for the defendant and uphold the Supreme Court of Nevada.”

“Thank you, Justice Veidt,” Osterman said. “Justice Dreiberg will announce our final decision.”

“Why don’t you let us go?” Ben asked from across the room. “You have your decision.”

Rick stared intently at his laptop. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“What if he was lying?” Claremont asked. “We could’ve bet on the wrong outcome.”

“Pull it together,” Rick demanded. “He was telling the truth.”

“How do you know?”

“Because if he didn’t, he knows I’ll kill him.”

“Thank you, Mr. Chief Justice,” Dreiberg announced, leaning forward on both elbows as she spoke into the microphone. In a slow, monotone voice, she read: “In the case of Richard Rubin v. American Steel, we find that American Steel’s board of directors was not required to seek the approval of its minority shareholders before its merger proceeded. The shareholder’s claim is, therefore, insufficient to establish a private cause of action under the Securities Exchange Act. We find for the respondent and affirm the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.”

“Did we win?” Claremont asked.

Rick’s eyes skimmed through the decision as it scrolled up his computer screen. “Hold on. It’s coming.” He paused. “Looks like American Steel just won itself a huge lawsuit. Congratulations, Addison. You finally did something right.” After he shut his laptop and unhooked his phone, Rick walked over to the couch and placed both items in his briefcase.

“What do we do now?” Claremont asked, elated. “Where are we meeting Lungen? When do we leave?”

“One thing at a time,” Rick said. He pulled a key from his pocket and moved toward Ben. “Help me uncuff these three. Then we can get out of here.”

“Where are we going?” Ben asked as Rick unlocked his handcuffs.

Rick didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled Ben out of the chair and pushed him toward Claremont. “Lock them up again,” Rick said to Claremont.

“Stick your hands out straight,” Claremont said. When Ben obliged, he handcuffed him.