Hero Amicus Curiae - Chapter 1

While I work on getting some paperbacks out, here's a preview of the next 888-555-HERO episode, Hero Amicus Curiae!

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Susan Kennedy slammed down her phone receiver and roared, “Harri!” Fury ignited every cell in her body, a fury not even the sweet floral scent of the chamomile tea on her desk could soothe She shoved back her chair, stomped across her office floor, and grabbed the papers she had printed off during her phone call. For once, she was glad she’d accepted the partnership at Winters and Franklin. There was someone to share the rage with. She yanked open her office door to find the law firm’s intern Steve Connors reaching for the knob.

“You okay?”

“No! I’m pissed!”

He stepped back, not out of fear. The kid was a super after all, and smart enough to go to law school instead of joining the underwear crowd. She charged down the short hallway to the reception area with Steve following. “Harri!”

Harri’s office door was wide open, and their legal assistant Patty Ames wasn’t sitting at the reception desk. Instead, their IT guru Arthur Drallhickey perched on the chair with wide eyes and the receiver at his ear. “She’s in a meeting at the moment,” he said to whoever was on the other end of the line while he pointed towards the breakroom.

Harriet “Harri” Winters stepped out into the reception area from the breakroom with a steaming mug at the same moment Aisha Franklin poked her head around the edge of her own office door.

“What the hell is going on out here?” Harri said.

“One moment, please.” Arthur jabbed a button on the phone console. “Would you mind taken this to another room? There’s a client on the phone, and she can hear everything you say.”

Susan blew out a deep breath. “Sorry, Arthur.”

Harri inclined her head toward Aisha’s office.

Susan trooped into the room after her. The anger burned itself out with Arthur’s reminder of propriety. It was bad when a former supervillain showed most decorum out of everyone in the building.

Once Steve closed the door behind him, Harri slurped her coffee before she said, “Start from the beginning.”

“I just got off the phone with Mother Defiant.” Susan crossed her arms to keep from shaking thanks to the adrenaline rush draining away. “She was served this morning. Right in the middle of her stopping Professor Geode from stealing the new meteorite at the Museum of Natural History.”

“Well, that’s either the bravest or the dumbest process server in history,” Harri muttered.

“Who sued her and why?” Aisha asked.

Susan eyed her. “Our former employer.”

Harri choked on her coffee. Brown liquid sprayed everywhere. Between one blink and the next, the shades in Aisha’s office closed, and Steve held a wad of paper towels full of coffee splatters. And probably spit. Susan didn’t want to think too much about the second.

She grabbed Aisha’s waste can and held it out for Steve. He dropped the nasty towels into the receptacle. She eyed the kid. “I guess it’s a good thing you’re not a germophobe.”

He grinned. “You learn to ignore certain things.”

Aisha dropped into her office chair. “I’ve been waiting for them to try something since I quit. I’m just surprised it took them over a year.”

“They stole Mother Defiant from me to begin with.” Susan unfolded her arms and held out the sheaf to Aisha. “Why are they pulling this crap now?”

Harri was too busy trying to clear coffee droplets from her trachea with some extreme coughing to comment. Steve dashed out of the office and returned with a bottle of water from the break room. They traded her cup for his bottle.

Aisha flipped through the copy of the lawsuit and frowned. “We aren’t named as defendants. I thought for sure they’d go for a tortious interference in a contract complaint against the firm.”

“I made sure Mother Defiant crossed her ‘t’s and dotted her ‘i’s before we signed her,” Harri croaked.

“And they can’t touch Winters and Franklin without us filing a cross-complaint over how they used Mother Defiant to plant that virus on my phone and thereby infecting your computers,” Susan said.

“So the alternative is going after our clients instead.” Aisha grimaced. “Let me guess she wants you to handle this personally.” She handed the complaint and initial discovery request to Harri who scanned them.

“Yeah.” Susan grinned. “I think Harri scares her even more than you do.”

“I scare her?” Aisha’s right eyebrow rose.

“Now that she knows your alter ego.” Susan grinned.

Harri looked up from the copies of the complaint. “Go to Hermanville, talk Mother Defiant down, and file the answer. This is a nuisance suit.”

“That’s exactly the point.” Susan gestured in the direction of the federal courthouse here in Canyon Pointe. “Carol Inunza’s arraignment is tomorrow. You really think they’re not going to use that against us? Divide and conquer”

“Look, we already know we can’t handle her defense—”

“And we can’t find any of our friends crazy enough to take her on as a client either,” Aisha muttered as she glared at Harri.

“No.” Susan slashed her hand. “We are not rehashing whether or not Harri should have pressed charges against Carol.”

Aisha jabbed a finger in Harri’s direction. “Don’t tell me you actually agree with her—”

“Stop,” Harri growled. “Just stop. Have you ever handled an arraignment before?”

“Not since Captain Mojave’s DUI when I first joined Dewey and Cheatham.” Aisha sighed. “That was only because Howard Dewey was in the U.S. Virgin Islands with his current girlfriend, and I got thrown in the deep end to see if I could swim.”

“You’re nominated to replace Susan,” Harri said. “Because I’ve never done one, and Carol needs competent representation.”

“You’re the one who thinks Carol didn’t kidnap her, Little Miss Stockholm Syndrome,” Aisha snapped.

“Which is exactly why you need to do it,” Harri.

Something smelled a little fishy. Susan frowned. “What’s the real reason you don’t want to handle the arraignment?”

Harri’s cheeks flushed. “It’s got nothing to do with Carol.”

“Or maybe it has something to do with the prosecutor.” Aisha leaned her elbows on her desktop. “Please don’t tell me you and Jim Duncan hooked up—” “Excuse me?” Harri grimaced. “That was Jeremy.”

“You and Judge Castillo?” Steve blurted.

Harri’s flush went from pink to red. “It was one date,” she muttered. “It didn’t end well, so I need you to handle it, Aisha.”

“Unless you want to go to Hermanville in my place?” Susan raised both hands in a balancing gesture. “But I can guarantee Mother Defiant will throw a fit.” “I thought she was scared of me?” Aisha said sourly.

“Doesn’t mean she won’t bitch.” Susan shrugged.

Aisha sighed again. “Fine. Can you run through the points of Carol’s arraignment with me before you take off?”

“Of course.” “Good.” Harri nodded sharply. “That’s taken care of.” She strode out of the office.

Steve shook his head before he turned back to the other two women. “Harri never struck me as the one-night stand type.”

“I wouldn’t say anything about it outside of this office.” Susan smirked. “She’d make Arthur design a weapon that would take you out.”