Attorney Tom Robinson turned into the long driveway of the Knight estate at 9:45 p.m. He pulled his car up to the door, got out, walked up, and knocked on the door. A moment later, Charles the butler opened it.

“You're expected, sir,” intoned Charles as he made room for Tom to walk inside. “Please wait here.” Charles turned to walk up the broad, circular front staircase.

An old-school lawyer, Tom never wanted to work in corporate law. He preferred offering basic legal services to a few wealthy families that his family's firm served for years. Just as his father had served Justin's father, so also he served Justin. His graying temples gave him dignity, but his blue eyes missed nothing, and his dark eyebrows gave away no clues, as if pasted firmly into one position. Sparely built and not very tall, he managed to convey a safe, dignified air that his old-line clients loved. He specialized in discretion, which continued the tradition his grandfather started so many years ago. If his firm had a motto, it would have been simply, “Tradition”.

A few moments later, Justin descended the staircase followed by an attractive woman, and when they entered the room Tom recognized her as the family tutor.

“Thanks for coming Tom,” Justin said as they shook hands, and he led them into the living room. “I believe you know Ms. Elizabeth Kohn, my daughter's tutor,” he stated.

“Yes, of course. Nice to see you again, my dear,” Tom began after taking her hand and bowing over it. “Now, tell me everything, Justin. What happened?” The three of them sat down.

“Earlier this evening I received a visitor from the bank, an able-looking man named Ward Porter. He said he came on bank business, that he wanted me to turn over a video to him, a video which he claimed as bank property.”

Tom interrupted him, “And do you know the video to which he referred?”

“Yes,” replied Justin, “but I did not let on about that right away. I saw the video earlier this afternoon for the first time. It showed my uncle meeting with the chairman of the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Secretary. In that video, my uncle made a very disturbing admission. He made it clear the proposed $700 billion bank bailout concluded a long planned series of events. He said it was time to close the deal.”

Tom's eyes dilated. Distracted, he shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

“I see...All right...” His eyes shifted furiously. “Where does your daughter fit into all this?”

“When I balked at releasing the video to them, Porter told me that someone had simultaneously broken into my house to take my daughter. He implied that if I did not cooperate with them, something bad would happen to her. I tried phoning Uncle David, but he refused to take my call. I made it clear that my uncle would not harm his grand-niece. That ended the interview.”

“You realize that may not be true.”

“Yes, but I refused to let him see my concern about that.”

“So what did you do next?”

“I went upstairs to find my daughter. When I couldn't find her, I went to find her tutor,” he said, indicating Lizzie. “She told me that she had seen Michaela just a few minutes earlier. I phoned the police and reported her missing. Less than a minute later, the police phoned back to say the case had already been turned over to the FBI at their request. My man Donahue...” Justin paused when he saw Lizzie shake her head almost imperceptibly. “Come upstairs Tom, I want to show you where it all happened.”

The three of them walked upstairs. Justin led them past Michaela's room to Lizzie's room. Lizzie closed and locked the door after they went inside.

Tom regarded both of them quizzically and said, “What's going on?”

Justin replied, “We have reason to believe someone bugged the house.”

Tom turned to Lizzie and said, “Why have we come here?”

“Because I already checked this room for listening devices,” she replied.

She walked over to her laptop and picked it up along with the attached wand. She carried them over to Tom, and he watched with great interest as she passed the wand over his body.

After reading the display, she reported to Justin, “All clear.”

“So what couldn't you tell me downstairs?” he asked, turning to Justin.

Justin hesitated a moment, and said, “We think my man Donahue is involved. When I asked him how the intruder managed to get past our security cameras, he reported that he did not know. Somehow, two security cameras got turned off. Ms. Kohn here pointed out to me that could only happen if Donahue turned them off himself. As you may remember, Nevio Roone, who runs the bank's security department, originally recommended him to me.”

“I see,” said Tom, turning with interest to Lizzie. “What else did this attractive woman suggest?” Lizzie smiled, politely, ignoring his patronizing attempt at a compliment, inwardly sighing with constraint knowing that he really did mean well.

“She suggested that we need some high powered legal talent,” Justin replied. “She also said that we cannot trust the police or the FBI in this.”

“Very wise.” Tom nodded his head deferentially in her direction. She nodded back.

“We essentially need to take on both the bank and the government here, Tom. I need a high-powered legal team. How quickly can you put one together for me? I want them filing briefs and taking whatever other legal actions they deem necessary to put pressure on my opponents. The bank may try to cut me off from my accounts and assets in order to limit my ability to take action. I need you to transfer those funds elsewhere for me.”

“You know that we will probably face Patriot Act provisions which they might use to shut you up,” Tom pointed out.

“I suppose so,” Justin agreed. “I need you to get some top people on this right away. We need to carve out some maneuvering room before the other side succeeds in closing my available avenues. We need preemptive action.”

“Okay, I know the people we need. You realize that this will cost a pretty penny, right?”

“My daughter's safe return is my top priority.”

“Yes, of course. I'll start making calls.”

“Mr. Robinson,” Lizzie interjected, “please don't mention my role in any of this. I need to remain as anonymous as possible.”

“And what exactly is your role in all this?”

She hesitated and turned to Justin who moved his eyes from one to the other while thinking. “Tom,” Justin said, “we need to keep her role out of this as much as possible. I cannot tell you why just yet. Will you trust me?”

“I'm your attorney, Justin. You can trust me. Everything you tell me remains strictly confidential and legally protected by attorney/client privilege. I could go to prison if I revealed any of it.”

“I do trust you, Tom, but I dare not discuss this sensitive point with anyone just now. Do you really need to know more right this moment?”

“I won't know until you tell me more,” Tom said to Lizzie, “so please fill me in on those details as soon as you can.”

“I promise,” Justin replied.

Tom got up to leave. He reached his car just as Special Agent Regan's plane landed at Kennedy International Airport at 10:18 p.m. By the time he hit the road and started making calls, Regan had merged onto the Long Island Expressway for her trip out to the Knight estate.