"He's already called you?" "He was very persuasive." "I can be persuasive, too. Give me a chance." "You know what will happen if you push this?" "I might save the company." "You might," Guignol said. "And you might --" "I know," Sammy said. "What the hell, it's only a career." "You can't keep your data -- Hackelberg is right about that." "I can send all the backups and my computer to your office right now." "I was under the impression that they were all on their way to IT for disposal." "Not yet. There's a security castmember in my office with me named Luis. If you want to call dispatch and have them direct him to bring this stuff to you instead --" "Sammy, do you understand what you're doing here?" Sammy suppressed a mad giggle. "I do," he said. "I understand exactly what I'm doing. I want to help you all understand that, too." "I'm calling security dispatch now." A moment later, Luis's phone rang and the kid listened intently, nodding unconsciously. Once he'd hung up, Sammy passed him his backups, hardcopy and computer. "Let's go," he said. "Right," Luis said, and led the way. It was a short ride to the casting office building, where Guignol had his office. The wind felt terrific on his face, drying his sweat. It had been a long day. When they pulled up, Sammy let Luis lead the way again, badging in behind him, following him up to the seventh-floor board-room. at the end of the Gold Coast where the most senior offices were. Guignol met them at the door and took the materials from Luis, then ushered Sammy in. Sammy caught Luis's eye, and Luis surprised him by winking and slipping him a surreptitious thumbs-up, making Sammy feel like they shared a secret. There were eight on the executive committee, but they travelled a lot. Sammy had expected to see no more than four. There were two. And Hackelberg, of course. The lawyer was the picture of saurian calm. Sammy sat down at the table and helped himself to a glass of water, watching a ring pool on the table's polished and waxed wooden surface. "Samuel," Hackelberg said, shaking his head. "I hoped it wouldn't come to this." Sammy took a deep breath, looking for that don't-give-a-shit calm that had suffused him before. It was there still, not as potent, but there. He drew upon it. "Let's put this to the committee, shall we? I mean, we already know how we feel." "That won't be necessary," Hackelberg said. "The committee has already voted on this." Sammy closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He looked at Hackelberg, who was smiling grimly, a mean grin that went all the way to the corners of his eyes. Sammy looked around at Guignol and the committee members. They wouldn't meet his eye. Guignol gestured Luis into the room and handed him Sammy's computer, papers, and backups. He leaned in and spoke quietly to him. Luis turned and left. Guignol cleared his throat. "There's nothing else to discuss, then," he said. "Thank you all for coming."