Page 12 of The Presidents Shadow

R.J. is barely able to walk across the very small room and address the judge.

“Your Honor, the great city of New York is a… a…” He searches for a word, but the word is not appearing. Finally, he says, “This city is a great temple to freedom.”

The judge is immediately pissed. “Which is it, sir, agreatcity or agreattemple?”

R.J. looks like the startled honoree at a birthday party when the crowd has just yelled, “Surprise!”

He tries to recover by saying, “Both. Both. It’s both. A great city and a great temple and…” He is clearly off track. “And a great client. This woman, Linda, is a great person.”

“Counselor!” Judge Martinez-Hermann yells. “Stop. You are wasting this court’s time. I simply want the evidence that this young woman—whose name isBelinda,by the way—is capable of self-care and controlled independence before her scheduled trial. I need risk info and background.”

And it is now, at this crucial moment, that Maddy stands up and places her hand on Belinda’s shoulder.

“Your Honor, may I speak?”

“Who might you be?” asks the judge, turning her anger toward Maddy, who barrels ahead in the hope that the hearing won’t be canceled.

“I also work for the public defender’s office, and I merely want to point out that the police record shows no previous evidence of conviction for our client.”

“You’re telling me that there is no previous arrest record?” the judge asks.

“Well, not precisely. Five arrests are listed in the file,” Maddy says, as she loses her footing. Beside her, Belinda flinches.

That’s when Maddy decides to call upon her newly polished powers of mind control.

Maddy continues. “We realize that five arrests for possession is a large number, but the fact that no convictions took place seems to indicate that the NYPD may have been unfairly aggressive in their pursuit of my client.”

Judge Martinez-Hermann nods and says, “Very well, this court will allow the subject self-oversight. The City of New York will contact the subject to inform her of a trial date, if any. One stipulation is that the subject report in person to Social Services. That would be…”

“R.J. Werner,” says R.J. Werner.

“No, not you,” the judge says. “The other one. The woman with a brain.”

“That’s you,” whispers Belinda to Maddy.

“Oh, okay. I’m Maddy,” says Maddy.

“What is that? Like Cher or Beyoncé? You have a last name?”

“Cranston. My name is Cranston. Maddy Cranston.”

She only hesitates for a moment; she and Grandma Jessica both changed their last names from Gomes to Cranston after Lamont and Margo were married, in celebration of their newly united family.

The judge wrinkles her brow and says, “Cranston. Cranston. Hmm. That name sounds familiar.”

CHAPTER 17

I MUST CONTROL my feelings. I must deal with the ache inside me. Yes, nothing will ever be the same after Jericho’s death. But we must move forward. There is work to be done.

I’ve called together the team, a group of my bravest and most trusted associates.

Or what’s left of them.

We had only just started to make peace with the death of Moe Shrevnitz, whom we lost not long ago in our battle against the Destroyer of Worlds. Today, with Jericho gone, we’re yet another man short.

But Burbank, Tapper, and Hawkeye are still a formidable trio. And they’ll have to do.

“Welcome,” I say, to formally begin the meeting. “The recent past has delivered a series of mighty blows, with the loss of two of our dear colleagues. But the world situation has never before been so horrifying. We must become involved. If I may invoke a cliché—that’s exactly whatMoe and Jericho would want us to do. Let’s get down to business.”

---