The Associate

The war shifted from good versus evil to run versus stay. He almost managed to shove himself away from the bar and sprint back through the slots to the front door. Almost. Oddly, it was Keefe who helped him make the decision. Keefe was his best friend at Washoe, and Keefe was from a wealthy family that was paying for the third rehab. The first two tanked when Keefe convinced himself that a little pot was harmless.

Baxter whispered to himself, "If I drink this beer now, and if things turn out badly, I can always go back to Washoe, and with two failures, I’ll be convinced that total abstinence is required. Just like Keefe.

But right now I really want this beer." With both hands he clasped the glass, raised it slowly, sniffing as it grew closer. He smiled when the cold glass touched his lips. The first sip of Nevada Pale Ale was the most magnificent nectar he’d ever tasted. He savored it, eyes closed, face serene.

From over his right shoulder someone yelled loudly, "There you are, Baxter!"

He almost choked and he almost dropped the glass. He jerked around and there was Brother Manny, closing fast and obviously not happy. "What are you doing?" he demanded as he lowered a heavy hand on Baxter’s shoulder and seemed ready to trade punches.

Baxter wasn’t sure what he was doing. He was drinking a beer, one that was definitely off-limits, but he was so horrified at the moment he couldn’t speak. Brother Manny delicately took the glass and slid it down the bar. "Get rid of this," he growled at the bartender, then he sat on the stool next to Baxter and moved in low until his nose was once again five inches away. "Listen to me, son," he said in a soft voice. "I cannot make you leave this place right now. That is your decision. But if you want me to help you, then say so. I’ll get you out of here, take you back to my church, make some coffee, and we’ll tell some stories."

Baxter’s shoulders sagged and his chin dropped. The ale was still attacking his taste buds.

"This could be the most important decision of your life," Brother Manny said. "Right now, at this moment. Stay or go. If you stay, you’ll be dead in five years. If you want to go, then say so and we’ll leave together."

Baxter closed his eyes and said, "I’m so weak."

"Yes, but I’m not. Let me get you out of here."

"Please."

Brother Manny practically lifted him off the stool, then put a thick arm around his shoulders. They slowly made their way past the slot machines and empty roulette wheels, and they were almost to the front door when Brother Manny realized that Baxter was crying. The tears made him smile. An addict must hit the bottom before he starts his climb.

THE PASTOR’S OFFICE was a large cluttered room next to the sanctuary. The secretary, Brother Manny’s wife, brought them a pot of strong coffee and two mismatched mugs. Baxter sat low in an old leather sofa and sipped furiously, as if he could rinse away the taste of the beer. The tears had stopped, for now.

Brother Manny sat close by on a wooden rocker, and as he talked, he moved slowly back and forth. "I was in prison in California," he was saying. "The second time around, in a gang, doing worse stuff on the inside than we did on the streets. I got careless one day, got away from my turf, and the rival gang jumped me. Woke up in the prison hospital with broken bones and cuts and such. Cracked skull. Terrible pain. I remember thinking death would be welcome. I was so sick of living, sick of my life, sick of the miserable person I was. I knew that if I survived and one day got paroled again, I’d end up on the streets, playing the same game. Where I grew up, you either went to prison or you died young. Sounds very different from the way you grew up, doesn’t it, Baxter?"

He shrugged.

"In many ways it is, in many ways it is not. My life was all about myself, much like yours. I loved the bad things, just like you. Pleasure, selfishness, pride  –  that was my life, and it’s been yours, I suppose."

"Oh, yes."

"It’s all sin, and it all leads to the same end  –  misery, pain, destruction, ruin, then death. That’s where you’re headed, son, and you’re in a hurry to get there."

Baxter nodded slightly. "So what happened?"

"I got lucky and lived, and not long afterward I met an inmate, a career criminal who would never be eligible for parole, and he was the gentlest, sweetest, happiest person I’d ever talked to. Had no worries, every day was beautiful, life was grand, and this from a man who’d spent fifteen years in max security. Through a prison ministry, he’d been exposed to the gospel of Christ, and he became a believer. He said he was praying for me, as he prayed for a lot of the bad guys in prison. He invited me to a Bible study one night, and I listened to other inmates tell their stories and praise God for his forgiveness and love and strength and promise of eternal salvation. Imagine, a bunch of hardened criminals locked away in a rotten prison singing songs of praise to their Lord. Pretty powerful stuff, and I needed some of it. I needed forgiveness, because there were lots of sins in my past. I needed peace, because I’d been at war my entire life. I needed love, because I hated everybody. I needed strength, because deep inside I knew how weak I was. I needed happiness, because I’d been miserable for so long. So we prayed together, me and those bad boys who were like little lambs, and I confessed to God that I was a sinner, and that I wanted salvation through Jesus Christ. My life changed in an instant, Baxter, a change so overwhelming I still can’t believe it. The Holy Spirit entered my soul, and the old Manny Lucera died. A new one was born, one whose past was forgiven and his eternity secured."

"What about the drugs?"

"Forgotten. The power of the Holy Spirit is far greater than human desire. I’ve seen it a thousand times with addicts who try everything to quit  –  rehab clinics, state facilities, shrinks and doctors, fancy meds sold as substitutes. When you’re an addict, you’re powerless in the face of booze and drugs. Strength comes from somewhere else. For me, it comes from the power of the Holy Spirit."

"I don’t feel very strong right now."

"You’re not. Look at yourself. From Washoe Retreat to a cheap bar in a run-down casino in a few hours. That might be a record, Baxter."

"I didn’t want to go to that bar."

"Of course not. But you did."

"Why?" His voice was soft, fading.

"Because you’ve never said no."

A tear rolled down Baxter’s cheek, and he wiped it with the back of his hand. "I don’t want to go back to L.A."

"You can’t, son."

"Can you help me? I’m pretty shaky here, okay? I mean, I’m really scared."

"Let’s pray together, Baxter."

"I’ll try."

Chapter 19

Six months after the Trylon-Bartin dispute went public with the filing of the lawsuit, the battleground had been defined and the troops were in place. Both sides had filed ponderous motions designed to capture the higher ground, but so far no advantage had been gained. They were of course haggling over deadlines, schedules, issues, discovery, and who got to see what documents, and when.

With the waves of lawyers working in sync, the case was plodding along. A trial was nowhere in sight, but then it was far too early. With monthly billings to Trylon averaging $5.5 million, why push the case to a conclusion?

On the other side, Bartin Dynamics was paying just as much for a vigorous and gold-plated defense coordinated by the bare-knuckle litigators at Agee, Poe & Epps. APE had committed forty lawyers to the case and, like Scully, had such a deep bench that it could send in another wave whenever necessary.