An Unequal Defense (David Adams)

by Chad Zunker

  “I’m dead serious. It’s over.”

  David watched as his client’s eyes teared up. Seeing the raw emotional release in his friend’s weathered face made his own eyes begin to water. He swallowed, tried to hold back the emotions. But he couldn’t help himself. He would’ve never guessed the incredible bond he would forge with this man when they’d first met in that private jail room a few days ago. Just like with Benny, David had entered a situation thinking he was there to rescue the vulnerable only to realize the vulnerable were rescuing him right back. In that moment, he’d never felt more sure of his place as an attorney.

  Soon, they both had tears dropping.

  “Stop crying,” Rebel told him.

  “I’m not crying. You’re crying.”

  Rebel chuckled, wiped a tear away with the top of his hand. “Look at us. Two grown men bawling like babies. What a pathetic sight. Aw, hell, get down here, Lawyer, and give me a hug already.”

  David leaned over him, and they squeezed each other good.

  “I’ll never forget this,” Rebel said to him.

  “I’ll never forget you,” David replied. “But I’m keeping your dog.”

  They shared another good laugh.

  “So how’d you do it, Lawyer? How’d you get me free?”

  “Turn on the news and I’ll show you.”

  FIFTY-EIGHT

  One week later

  David shuffled a few boxes around on the dusty floor of his near-empty office. Most everything was already packed. There were stacks of boxes in the entry room. Movers were scheduled to come tomorrow to get all the furniture. For now, everything the firm owned was being put into a storage unit until they could find another office suite that fit their needs—which meant it had to be dirt cheap. The law firm of Gray & Adams, LLP was basically bankrupt. Now that Rebel’s case was over, David had promised Thomas he’d roll up his sleeves and begin building his paying client list. He would get them back on their feet again soon—somehow. He’d already received several calls inquiring about his legal services in the aftermath of Rebel’s dramatic acquittal last week.

  Rebel still had a few more days in the hospital before finally being released. He said he might go back to California. David offered to drive him there himself.

  The investigation had led to several immediate arrests. Jake Manaford had been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Eduardo Martinez and Luke Murphy. Lee Barksdale and Owen Nelson were charged with conspiring to commit murder. Of course, the arrest of Mayor Gregory Nelson on obstruction charges was the biggest spectacle. David had spoken with Lieutenant Harbers from the Texas Rangers, who told him that while it looked like the mayor was not necessarily guilty of murder, the man was guilty of having a wicked, power-hungry son. Owen Nelson had apparently taken matters into his own hands when he found out his father was being blackmailed. He’d pulled his buddy lawyer, Barksdale, into it, along with his criminal stepbrother. When his father discovered all this in the aftermath of Rebel’s arrest, the mayor began to scramble to protect both his position in office and his sons. DA Jeff Jordan had also walked out in handcuffs for his role in abusing his power to help protect the mayor. In the end, they would all end up serving time in prison. As it turned out, Neil Mason was guilty only of being a pompous ass and following orders from a corrupt boss.

  David taped up another box. He stood, walked to his office window, where he could see the sun setting on the day. He was going to miss this view out over Congress Avenue. Then he heard a familiar voice come from his office door.

  “You need a hand?”

  David turned, saw Keith Carter standing there. He hadn’t seen the man since that day with the incident at the motel. He’d been beginning to wonder if he’d ever see him again.

  “You’ve already given me several hands. Who the hell are you?”

  “I have many names, David.”

  “Well, one of them is not Keith Carter. That’s for sure.”

  Carter gave him a tight grin. “No, I’m afraid not.”

  “So who are you?”

  “Who I am is not important. What’s important is that I need your help.”

  “Help with what?”

  “I need to talk to Mr. North.”

  David wrinkled his nose. “So . . . go talk to him. He’s not in custody anymore.”

  “It’s not that easy. I don’t think Mr. North will talk to me without you there.”

  “Why?”

  Carter shut the office door behind him, stepped even farther into the room. “The things I need to discuss with him involve sensitive intelligence information and are a big part of what put Mr. North on edge. I think your being there might help him relax.”

  David’s mouth parted. “Wait . . . intelligence information?”

  “David, we’ve been searching for Mr. North for five years after discovering that he’d developed a couple of key relationships with important foreign contacts during his time with us. Believe me, he’s been a very difficult individual to track down—probably because we trained him to operate in the shadows.”

  “Hold up a second,” David said, his mind spinning. “Are you telling me the CIA thing is real? He didn’t make this all up?”

  “I’m sure you have a lot of questions. Most of which I’m afraid I can’t answer.”

  David put both hands on his head. He couldn’t believe it. The CIA really had been hunting Rebel for the last five years?

  He looked over at Carter. “You found him when he was arrested?”

  “Correct.”

  “If you’re the CIA, why didn’t you just go get him from jail? Don’t you guys do that kind of thing? Swoop in and take people away in the middle of the night?”

  “You have to understand something, David. What I’m a part of doesn’t officially exist. So we’re in no position to play with bureaucracy here. Not to mention this case has been a spectacle from the beginning.”

  “So you’ve just been waiting around, hoping I’d get him out?”

  “I think I’ve done more than that. And now that I’ve helped you, I would like you to return the favor.”

  David suddenly felt very protective. “Look, I’m not letting you take him back to this dragon’s lair place he always talks about.”

  “That place no longer exists. I only want to talk to him.”

  David was on the fence. Carter had definitely helped him get Rebel out of jail. But would Rebel consider it a betrayal if David then brought the CIA to him? Still, if Carter was telling the truth—and he only wanted to talk with his client—it might finally free Rebel from the chains of paranoia that had completely wrecked his life.

  “I have to be there for every conversation,” David insisted.

  “I’d prefer it.”

  David spent another hour packing up boxes. He was still reeling from his exchange with Carter earlier. They’d come to an agreement that David would begin a conversation with Rebel tomorrow morning and see if he’d be willing to have the proposed discussion with Carter. David wasn’t sure what to expect. But he knew he’d be there for Rebel every step of the way.

  Finishing up with the boxes, David hauled them downstairs and out onto the front sidewalk, where he began loading them into the back of his truck.

  “Sir, are you David Adams?”

  David turned around and found a guy in his twenties standing there wearing a blue sport coat. “Yep, that’s me.”

  “My name is Max Headley. I deliver for US Couriers. I have a certified package for you.”

  “A package from whom?”

  Max read the envelope. “The estate of Nicholas North.”

  “Who?”

  Max shrugged. “Arkansas address. I just deliver, sir.”

  Nicholas North? Was that the name of Rebel’s dead uncle? He showed the courier the required ID, signed for the document, received the sealed envelope. After the guy left, he tore it open and stared down at a check written out to Gray & Adams, LLP for $200,000. His mouth dropped wide-ope
n. Below the check was a note: Two peas in a pod, you and me. David stared at the dollar amount again and couldn’t believe his eyes. Rebel had casually mentioned his uncle had left him a little money—but this was not just a little money.

  Thomas bounded down the building steps with two boxes in his arms. “Don’t just stand there. These boxes aren’t going to pack themselves, you know.”

  David met Thomas with the widest grin.

  “What are you so happy about?” Thomas asked.

  “I think we’re going to be okay.”

  “Why? Stop messing around.”

  David handed his partner the check.

  Thomas looked up at him with bulging eyes. “Is this for real? Rebel?”

  David nodded. “A courier just handed it to me.”

  “I—I don’t even know what to say.”

  “I think you could say this is a very big day for our firm.”

  Thomas matched his grin. Soon they were both smiling like idiots.

  “I’m sure glad I told you to take this case,” Thomas said.

  “Ha! Well, you were right.”

  “I’ve got to go call Lori with the news!”

  David watched as his partner raced back inside the building.

  Standing there, David stared up into the sky and couldn’t stop smiling. Somewhere up there, he had a feeling that Benny was smiling right back.

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  For the past fourteen years, I’ve had the life-changing opportunity to build genuine relationships with so many homeless individuals through my work with a nonprofit called Mobile Loaves & Fishes and the Community First! Village—a fifty-one-acre master-planned community in Austin that provides affordable, permanent housing and a supportive community for those coming out of chronic homelessness. I write about these experiences and how they helped inspire An Equal Justice and An Unequal Defense on my website at www.chadzunker.com. I hope you’ll check it out. The impact my street friends have had on me far outweighs anything I could ever offer them in return. Near the end of the book, David says he entered the situation with Rebel thinking he was there to rescue the vulnerable, only to realize the vulnerable were rescuing him right back.

  That’s also my story—told over and over again.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Photo © 2019 Amy Melsa

  Chad Zunker is the author of the David Adams legal thriller An Equal Justice, as well as The Tracker, Shadow Shepherd, and Hunt the Lion in his Sam Callahan series. He studied journalism at the University of Texas, where he was also on the football team. Chad has worked for some of the country’s most powerful law firms and has also invented baby products that are sold all over the world. He lives in Austin with his wife, Katie, and their three daughters and is hard at work on his next novel. For more information, visit www.chadzunker.com.