“No,” said Donny. “I can’t do that. That’s up to the prosecutors. Most of whom can barely keep up with the dockets they have, and don’t want anything to do with war-crimes cases. In Washington they’re talking about giving all these guys amnesty.”

“I heard about that, man. What bullshit.”

“Well, the good news is that bullshit would apply to you too. At least for stuff you did fighting the government. Not to suggest you committed any crimes, of course.”

Slider smiled, which was kind of creepy.

“We might be able to feed the information to the international courts,” continued Donny. “See if they will pursue war-crimes charges. But there are other kinds of justice. When I say make them pay, I mean make them pay. With money. Lots of it.”

“What kind of money do prison guards and bus drivers have?”

“Not their money. The company’s money. We just have to show the company was in on the whole program.”

“So the dudes who actually did the deed walk.”

“We can bankrupt them too, but that’s not really the point.”

“Your system sucks,” said Slider.

“I agree,” said Donny. “But I’m making the best of what we’ve got.”

“How much money are we talking?”

“Seven figures, I think,” said Donny. “Maybe more. Definitely more if we can really build the case for a whole class of people they disappeared. There are hundreds of cases. Some say thousands.”

“That’s a lot of money,” said Slider.

Donny nodded.

“How much do you get?” said Slider. He could do the math.

“Just a third. Assuming the judge signs off.”

“Just a third?”

“A lot of lawyers would take half,” said Donny. “Understand: I only get paid if I win. And I will have to invest a lot in the case to do that. The risk is all mine.”

“I’m the one who has to put his name on there as suing these guys.” He pointed at the draft pleadings Donny had pulled out and left on the coffee table.

“We both have to put our names on it,” said Donny. “And I’m the one who has to sign the actual lawsuit. I know these are dangerous people we are taking on. The last lawyer who sued these guys ended up dead. You just need to sign this letter appointing me as your lawyer. If you want, I can even file with you as a John Doe, and keep your name out of it for now. But you never seemed the type who scares easily. Especially when it comes to seeking justice for what happened to your parents.”

Donny pushed the document over to Slider, open to the flagged signature block, and held out a pen.

Slider looked at the document, then looked at Donny. Then he took the pen.

“You can put my name on it,” said Slider, grabbing the document and signing it. “Just don’t fuck this up, man.”