Page 67 of Lord of Justice

Nikandr and Caroline are already on board when we arrive. The jet has several groupings of four seats, two on each side facing each other, with a low table in between them. I picked the G 800 because it has the most sophisticated electronic system Kolya can create, so I can do secure business in flight.

"Well, we got one of the prettiest jets, didn't we?" Iris asks.

"Oh, yeah. I love this one," Caroline says, coming over to give her a hug. "The galley kitchen is bigger. And you shouldseesome of the food they've created there. It's magical." Iris lights up, and they walk down to examine the meal optionsbefore Caroline takes her on a little tour. The conference room, the bedroom and the large shower in the back. There's a separate series of seats with steel gun lockers instead of tables, so the guards can prep weapons before we land.

Nikandr and I watch our wives raid the muffin basket. "Does she know how complicated this is?" he murmurs.

"I told her it was for some last-minute legal issues, and that you were handling something asSovietnik. What does Caroline know?"

"Everything," he says. "It is impossible to keep anything from my wife. But she won't volunteer any information. Especially since we don't know what's in store for us yet."

Java, our flight attendant, announces takeoff, and Iris and Caroline return. I pat the seat next to me and Iris settles in, wiggling experimentally in the navy blue leather seat. "These seats are almost too big to snuggle," she complains. "Look at all this shoulder space.” She looks over at my amused brother. "I'm used to imposing myself on Andrey, because he's much more comfortable to sleep on."

Caroline's gaze travels to me with a fair amount of doubt.

"You don't think I can be snuggly, Caroline?" I ask putting my hand to my chest to show howwounded I am.

She and Nikandr look at each other and burst into laughter.

"I'll forget I heard that," I say with a certain dignity.

Iris's eyes sparkling. "Are you, like,banteringright now?" she whispers. "Because that sounded like bantering. You know, light-hearted conversational jousting?"

"Ridiculous," I say, buckling her in and handing her a bottle of water. "Nikandr will be the first to tell you that I don't have a sense of humor."

When we're about two hours away from landing in Moscow, I finally give in to the incessant buzzing of my phone. Senator Sinclair has been calling me relentlessly, which means he's found out someone got his data center project moved up on the docket. Because the previous five justices agreed to hear the case, I'll have to deal with it soon.

"Carlisle."

"Andrey, you've heard about the data center project getting fast-tracked?"

"Yes, it came in on the docket update today." I'm thinking about his expression in that gossip picture, where it's clear his eyes were fixed on mywife's tits, and I have a very specific image of crushing his nose, just flattening it against his face.

"...that's why I'm getting everything in order and making sure you're onboard."

Ah, he's been talking. Recalling his rapid downing of two whiskeys within five minutes of conversation about the data center, I'm wondering who's pushing him so hard on the other side. Because this is past his usual amiable Entitled Rich Fuck attitude. I can hear the urgency in his voice.

"I have to tell you, Sinclair, that the initial court findings aren't supportive of pushing the data center through. The key issues are lack of transparency about who's funding the build and the highly inaccurate data about water usage." I give a brief chuckle. "We both know, of course, that you can't run a data center of that size without less than five million gallons a day."

"The environmental data is-"

"Flawed. It's flawed, Sinclair, and so obviously it's as if your project coordinators couldn't be bothered to conduct any research. Were your partners that certain you'd push this proposal through?"

Finding the next read does not need to take long.

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I can hear the faint clinking of ice and a noisy swallow. "That sounds to me like you're composing arguments to rule against it, Morozov. Wehad an explicit agreement when I endorsed your appointment to the bench that-"

My tone plunges to polar levels and I make sure my recording app is tracking the conversation. "You expressed your interest in the data center case. At no time was there any indication that I would attempt to influence the vote."

Nikandr's listening to this with poorly concealed amusement.

"He sounds so noble," Iris whispers.

"Right?" Caroline agrees.

Sinclair's reaction is just as chilly. He hasn't served three terms in the U.S. Senate without knowing how to pivot. "I'll be extremely disappointed if I find out that my endorsement was wasted on someone who is uninterested in the future of our state," he says, sounding solemn and statesman-like. "This is a matter of national security. I encouraged your nomination, because I knew you were a smart man with a broad understanding of legal code."