Flak’s last name has several interesting references. Flak is a military term for antiaircraft fire; the image is of a small force on the ground taking on a more powerful plane that has a tactical advantage. Flak has also come to mean strong criticism, typically lobbed by an observer at a large public issue.

Both meanings offer significant characterization for defense attorney Flak, who spends the novel fighting an uphill battle to prevent the execution of Donté Drumm, an innocent man. His career-long “fierce determination to spend his every moment fighting for the little people” (20) defines him. Like an antiaircraft weapon, Flak is targeting a behemoth—the entire legal system whose churn is hard to stop. After he fails, he becomes the whistleblower out to take down key players in that system through public outcry.

Flak is the consummate defense attorney and an aggressive investigator: He hounds Joey Gamble to admit his perjury, attempts to delay the execution with the help of a psychiatrist, does his best to make Boyette’s testimony relevant, and exhausts every other legal avenue to secure a stay. For nine years, Flak single-handedly battles the system on Donté’s behalf, operating on his faith in his client.