“Ofcourse not,” she says. “But you do control what your office communicates, do you not?” She pauses, waiting to see if he’ll respond. When he doesn’t, she continues. “Let’s talk about the days leading up to the incident. Did anyone from your office contact Mr. Simmons through intermediaries after Ms. Kendrick left the dinner party at your house?’
“No.”
She nods, as if she expected that answer. “Did anyone from your office discuss Ms. Kendrick with outside parties in that same period?”
He glances briefly at his attorney, then back. “Of course we did. Ms. Kendrick is a constantly in the press and on the NYTV channel that my office runs. I don’t see how that’s relevant.”
“It’s relevant because your chief of staff exchanged twelve calls with a number later identified as a burner phone,” the prosecutor says calmly, “the majority of which occurred directly after a call with you. That phone was later recovered from Mr. Simmons.”
Harvey’s attorney stiffens. “We object to the characterization—”
She scrunches her nose and curls her lip. “This is a proffer, counselor. I’m outlining the scope of our inquiry. There are no objections here.” She looks back at Harvey. “Did you authorize those calls?”
“I did not. And I knew nothing about them,” he answers.
She makes a thoughtful sound. “Let me be clear about where the state stands. I believe we have sufficient evidence to pursue charges including conspiracy to commit official misconduct, bribery, obstruction of justice, conspiracy to intimidate an officer of the court, and several related counts.”
She meets Harvey’s eyes squarely. “What I don’t yet see is what you believe you can bring to the table in this meeting.”
Harvey leans back in his chair and folds his hands. He glances at his attorney, then returns his attention to Gonzales. “Perspective,” he says. “Context.”
“Context doesn’t matter in criminal court, Mr. Harvey.”
He scoffs. “Of course it does. It especially does in the moving parts of politics. Nothing is linear. There isn’t an order, an action, and a consequence. It’s not that neat.”
“So your position,” she says, “is that multiple individuals independently decided to intimidate or possibly even kill a defense attorney, compromise courthouse security, and delay emergency response, all in ways that conveniently benefitted you.”
He shrugs.
The prosecutor studies him for a moment. “And what are you offering in exchange for us accepting that framing?”
“I’m willing to give up information on the alphas pulling the strings on the omega rights issue that Ms. Kendrick is so passionate about, if she agrees to stand down as the injured party and not pursue charges.” His eyes lock on to mine as he speaks.
She turns to face me for a moment before looking back at him. “You’re proposing to trade information about political actors for immunity from consequences tied to a violent felony?”
He smiles, and it’s clear he thinks he’s just placed a temptation on the table we won’t refuse. “I’m proposing to make this useful for everyone. Ms. Kendrick gets to protect the cause she claims to care about. You get possible convictions of some very big names. I get this reframed.”
I shake my head. “You genuinely believe that omega rights are a bargaining chip. You’re disgusting.”
“I think,” he replies smoothly, “that movements survive on compromise.”
Mark’s hand tightens once against the table. That’s the only warning. “No,” he says quietly. “This meeting is over.”
Harvey lets out a short laugh. “You’re recused, Mr. Taylor. You don’t get to—”
Mark is on his feet instantly, his chair toppling backwards. “I am hermate,” he snarls.“You assumed her passion and her status made her open to negotiations. Worse yet, you viewed her as fucking expendable.”
Harvey jerks back in fear before catching himself, masking it with practiced boredom. “I assumed she’d care about results,” he says. “And that you’d appreciate the leverage to help your campaign.”
Mark gives a bitter laugh. “I’m not running for mayor.”
Harvey blinks in surprise.
I stand, linking my fingers with my mate. “What you failed to account for,” I say evenly, “is that I don’t need anything you can offer to bring these men down. You think I don’t already know who profits from keeping omegas in their place?”
He looks at me now, really looks.
“My family is just as wealthy as yours,” I say with a laugh, “and I’ve been fighting this battle long before you ever learned my name. You have nothing of value to me.”
