The Reformers: A Matt Blake Novel (The Matt Blake legal thriller series Book 2) by Russell Moran Page B

shadowy group of people, and my client is involved with them, if only on the periphery. Dee’s research showed that the other side of the war, the jihadi side, is quite serious about whacking dissenters. But now we learn that there’s a group that’s quite serious about whacking jihadis. My job, I keep reminding myself, is to represent a criminal defendant, a man who could get the death penalty if he’s convicted. What this weird anti-jihadi group could have to do with me representing Al Yamani I had no idea.
    “Matt, do you think it’s time to go to the government?”
    “The government? Do I have to remind you that the government is on the other side of The People vs. Ali Yamani ? Our client is being prosecuted by the government. How can I talk to them?”
    “Let’s think this through, Matt. Just like Al Yamani said, there’s a war going on, a war between the jihadis and this weird shadow group. Al and the other two bombing defendants are caught between them. If you talk to the government, I think it could help our client.”
    “And who do you suggest I talk to, Dee? The prosecutor from the US Attorney’s office? He’ll just think that I’m trying to get him to drop the case. There’s something you need to know about prosecutors, especially ones who have political goals, which most of them do. They want to win prosecutions, and they don’t give a rat’s ass about the welfare of a defendant like our client.”
    “I was thinking about somebody higher up than the prosecutor, a lot higher. I’m thinking about the Secretary of Homeland Security, our old friend Rick Bellamy. You and I helped him when he was head of the FBI Counterterrorism Task Force. We blew the lid off that S ideswipe Conspiracy . We helped him to prevent a bunch of nuclear attacks.”
    “Good point, Dee. Rick trusts us, especially you.”
    Dee and I have a lot of credibility with Rick Bellamy. He knows he can trust both of us. And I think I can trust him. If we meet with him I won’t be doing anything to hurt my client’s defense. Maybe he can even help me. Lawyering often involves a lot of risk taking.
    “I think you’re right, babe. Rick will want to know about this case. What’s more important, he’ll listen to us. I’ll call him first thing in the morning. I’m sure that he’ll want us to go to Washington, or maybe to his New York office, so you may have to miss some classes.”
    ***
    I called Rick Bellamy’s office in Washington.
    “The Secretary will be with you in a moment, Mr. Blake.”
    “Matt Blake, how are you my friend, and how’s your wonderful wife?”
    “Diana is right next to me Mr. Secretary. If you don’t mind I’m putting the phone on speaker so she can be on the call.”
    “Please, the name’s still Rick. No formalities with you two. So to what do I owe the pleasure of your call?”
    “To get right to the point, Rick, the matter we want to talk to you about directly involves the nation’s security. I represent a criminal defendant in a mall bombing case.”
    “I take it you mean The People vs. Ali Yamani ? I read in the newspapers that you were his attorney. That’s one bad boy you’re representing, Matt. I recall that about 61 people were killed and over 100 were injured in the bombing. I’ve been tracking this case. They have a thumbprint and even a video of the guy before the bomb went off. I hope you don’t want to see me about this case, Matt.”
    “It’s a lot bigger than the Yamani case, Rick.”
    “Remember the S ideswipe Conspiracy , Rick?” Diana said.
    “How could I ever forget the Sideswipe Conspiracy ? Diana, if it wasn’t for you our nation would have suffered the worst goddam disaster in history. Yes, I remember it well.”
    Diana looked at me, with an expression that said, Should I keep talking ? I nodded.
    “Well, Rick, in the Sideswipe matter, nothing was what it appeared to be, including the ‘accidents’ that we discovered weren’t accidents at all. The Yamani case is