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On the Friday following the bombshell McLauphin/Darcy interview, not much work was done at Benning, Bynum, Caxton, Braithwait.
Most everyone knew the firm represented Ms. Darcy. The partners themselves had announced it, proudly, earlier. Now, however, it caused problems. The phone lines had been tied up all day long, as had the cell phones of the partners, the interns, and the secretaries.
Throngs of important and less important visitors clogged the outer offices, and satellite trucks, reporters, and groups of ordinary citizens lined the street outside.
A dozen police officers maintained order as best they could.
One of the few to get in to see Jack Benning was an aide to the President's chief political advisor, a dough-faced, short haired slicker named Horace Macchia.
Benning told him what he told everyone else in a statement before microphones and cameras later that afternoon, that the firm didn't know where Ms. Darcy was at the moment (which was true). He stressed that, in his opinion her warning should be taken at face value. And that they would be in contact with her soon (which he hoped was true), and that he would have more to say later.
In his afternoon statement outside the front doors of the firm, he added that he would answer whatever questions anyone had as best as he could. They came in flurries.
"Ms. Darcy is fine. She suffered scrapes and a cut in the attack during the marathon, but she was not seriously hurt."
"No, Benning Bynum Caxton Braithwaite did not know Ms. Darcy was from another planet until we heard her say it along with everyone else watching the McLauphin interview. And no, we do not know where she is now."
"I do not know what Ms. Darcy's future plans are. We know she is unable to return to her base on the moon, and must remain here for now, probably permanently.
“She has said she wants to live quietly and has no desire to exploit her status. She is the daughter of an important person in her society, but she has not been authorized to represent them in any way. She is here as a private citizen.
“The only reason she came here was to bring the warning of danger to this planet from those meteoroid fragments. Assuming that warning proves out, I think we all owe her an immense debt of gratitude for what she did, at considerable risk to her own life, I might add.
"As far as I know, there are no precedents in the law for the legal status of extraterrestrials. (There was laughter at this.) But I do know that Ms. Darcy is a bona fide citizen of the nation of Barbados, and is therefore entitled to be accorded all the legal protections of the law thereunto appertaining."
In the moment it took for that bit of legal verbiage to sink in, he added, "This firm will be open as usual on Monday morning. I expect to have another statement for you on Tuesday at noon. Thank you very much." And he ducked back inside.
