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The lowborn senators stood and pushed in their chairs, their faces made of stone, their eyes made of fire. Lila supposed they’d never been kicked out of a sentencing before.
Or perhaps they’d been kicked out all too often.
“You can’t eject us from a highborn trial,” one sputtered, his tailored suit coat made of finer wool than the highborn senators before him.
“If you hadn’t noticed, this isn’t a trial any longer,” Masson replied. “It’s an internal Bullstow matter. If it becomes a trial again, then we will not hesitate to call you back. Until then, go have brunch on High House.”
“Fine, but we’re having lobster and truffles.” The man led his compatriots from the room, all lowborn straightening their coats and breeches, snapping the fabric around their chests with a rustle and a pop. Their boots stamped a bit too loudly against the marble. They might have been teenagers, rebelling wordlessly with every step.
While they filed from the room, Lila slipped her palm from her pocket and scrolled through her snoop programs. She ran the device over the benches and walls, checking for bugs. The rest of the room emptied while she worked.
Dixon ducked his head as he darted past the blackcoats, the scars on his neck hidden by his bland gray scarf. He winked before he left, taking away some of her nerves.
The blackcoats closed the doors behind themselves, the last to exit.
Lila opened the window, tossing at least a dozen bugs into the garden. She left the one on Shaw’s collar, hoping only her father would hear, expecting him to dismiss anyone else who might be in the room.
Then she returned to her seat.
Senator Masson hopped out of his chair and leaned over the seatback. “Oracle’s wrath, chief, what have you done? Don’t you dare lie to this committee.”
Shaw folded his hands behind his back and rocked back on his heels. “Six months ago, a string of arrests made by the NBM came to my attention. All of the accused possessed stolen material from the BIRD, material they could not have acquired without a skilled hacker. Some claimed they’d been set up, that we’d only found the data on their palms because they’d refused to pay a bribe.”
“What sort of bribe? To whom?”
“Both excellent questions. Those highborn weren’t angels, Senator Masson. They’d been trapped underneath a multitude of secrets. It was expected they’d pay monthly to keep those secrets under lock and key. When they refused, their blackmailer put them in our crosshairs. I could tell the person must be well placed from the palm data, and I grew worried about the safety of BullNet. I pulled our brightest tech aside, a man I trusted, and asked him to investigate.”
“What did he find?”
“Nothing. He worked fulltime at it for a couple of months and failed miserably. You see, our best and brightest are gibbering idiots compared to those outside the compound.”
“Gibbering idiots?”
“Yes, that’s what happens when Bullstow trains everyone as senators even when they have no desire or talent for such an occupation,” Shaw replied. “I had to find someone to help. I know Ms. Randolph well, especially her talents and abilities. I also know her to be a moral and upright person, or I never would have hired her. She’s been an asset of the highest form, and it is a great tragedy that you’ve brought her in today.”
“So you admit that you gave a highborn heir full access to BullNet?” asked Hardwicke.
“Senator, do you even know what that means, or are you manufacturing rage because it sounds pretty?”
“I know—”
“How to log on. Perhaps Senator Masson knows more because of his matron’s industry, but I’m not even sure that comes close to understanding how screwed we are when network security problems arise.”
“How dare you!”
“How dare I?” the chief shot back at Hardwicke. “I begged for Ms. Randolph’s help in staving off a disaster of the highest order. If I hadn’t waited so long, thinking my own man could solve the problem, we wouldn’t be in this situation. Protestors at the gate, shouting at all hours. Press ripping us to shreds. I believed far too strongly in my own men. That makes me loyal, but also deluded.”
Hardwicke blinked. “You mean, the others we’ve sentenced—”
“Yes, I mean the others. Every highborn and hacker you’ve sentenced has been part of this scheme. If Ms. Randolph had been granted a little more time, then we wouldn’t even be in this mess. If you want to point fingers, I can give you a place to point them. Senator La Roux did not die in a car accident last month, gentlemen. He died to preserve his honor. Ms. Randolph found the well-placed hacker, and the senate avoided a stain from which we might never recover.”
The senators’ eyes opened wide. No whispers filled the courtroom.
“He didn’t come through this committee,” said Masson quietly.
“I skipped you. I do have the authority. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the authority for the truth serum. No one was in immediate danger.”
The Bullstow chief settled into the empty chair next to Lila. “La Roux was good enough to evade us for years. He wasn’t good enough for Ms. Randolph, though. She found him in a matter of weeks. Before she fled New Bristol, she’d already sent me a list with several hackers and highborns on it, many of whom sit in our holding cells as we speak. I have the file in my possession, dated from before the press leak. I’ll let you examine it as proof of my claims.”
