The conversation turned to Silas. He had been given contact information for an independent attorney, and Rory had informed him through proper channels that the court might question him about his affidavit. He had not contacted them since Wednesday, and nobody could say whether his silence meant fear, a decision to support Warren, or both. Daniel knew that the entire hearing could become more difficult if Silas repeated the false statement under oath.
"What if he lies again?" Daniel asked.
"Then we show the records and let the court evaluate his credibility," Rory replied. "We don't build our case around his courage. We build it around evidence that remains even if he has none."
Daniel stood at the office window with a cup of tea that had gone cold hours earlier. Down on the street, a bus braked at the corner and opened its doors to a few tired passengers. The ordinary movement of the city seemed strange after days spent talking about one corporate tower and the people trapped inside its rules. He wondered what would happen to the employees if the government suspended a major contract, and whether he had been naive to believe that buying a business would give him enough authority to change it.
Rory joined him. "You're wondering whether Warren has another move."
"He was ahead of us once already."
"He was ahead because he controlled the story and nobody challenged his evidence. That has changed. Whatever happens Monday, the story belongs to more than one person now."
Daniel nodded, but sleep did not come easily that night. He returned in his mind to the sight of Therese setting her badge on the desk, to Benjamin's lowered eyes, and to Silas standing outside the side office with the flash drive trembling in his hand. He remembered Emeka describing the moment he stopped bidding. Most of all, he remembered Warren saying that nobody important would ever read a receptionist's notebook.
At 8:30 Monday morning, the courthouse steps were swept by a cold wind. Daniel arrived with Rory and found Therese waiting near the entrance, the black notebook held against her chest. Benjamin came next, dressed in a plain dark suit with no security badge to hide behind. Eleanor arrived shortly before nine, looking composed but exhausted, and gave Daniel a brief nod.
Warren appeared at the far end of the hall with his lawyer and Silas. His charcoal suit was immaculate, and the faint smile on his face suggested that he considered the hearing a final inconvenience before resuming control of Summit. As he passed Daniel, he leaned close enough to speak without being overheard by the reporters gathering near the courtroom door.
"Enjoy your last morning, Mr. Carter," he said. "I hope you kept that broken badge as a souvenir."
Daniel held the courtroom door open for Rory and Therese. He did not answer Warren because there was no useful response left to give in the hallway. The answer was waiting inside, on the clerk's desk, in a scanner log, in a notebook, and in the testimony of people who had decided they would no longer let one man determine which facts were allowed to exist.
Courtroom 4B smelled faintly of old paper and polished wood. The benches were full enough for Daniel to recognize several Summit employees sitting among the reporters, though he had not invited them and did not know their names. A man in a plain gray suit sat near the back with a federal identification credential clipped discreetly at his waist. He was an observer from the contracting oversight team, present because the allegations about vendor screening concerned government work as well as the dispute between a shareholder and a chief executive.