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“It’s standard procedure,” the rep repeated, for the umpteenth time– her uninterested, somewhat-smug look had turned to annoyance, then panic. Good.
Pin-Lee could feel a headache coming on, but she smiled anyway.
(“You have a shark’s smile,” her professor had told her. “A hungry smile, with dangerous eyes. Like the next person to deny you is going to get ripped apart.”
“Thank you,” she’d replied, and smiled.)
“And in the version of the contract we sent back to you with Dr. Mensah’s signature,” she repeated, “which your solicitors approved, that line is missing.”
She’d spent hours reviewing that contract, dozens of times. Fortunately, the CR’s law didn’t have any restrictions on alterations, prior to either party signing. You didn’t even have to tell the other you’d made an alteration, which was how so many people ended up in corporate slave labour camps.
(That line had made her so fucking angry when she read it.)
“In addition,” she continued, cutting off the second company rep with a sharp glare, “since the contract is between two differing political entities, everything is required to be listed, not implied as standard. Therefore, as the procedure is not listed in the signed copy of the contract, it is not part of our contract and will therefore not be performed.
“Furthermore–” her smile became brittle, “–there is an ongoing legal battle over the mass murder of the DeltFall surveyors and attempted murder of the PreservationAuxiliary surveyors, including myself. its recordings of the events are required. And, as I made you aware at the beginning of this conversation, I have a court order from the judge presiding over that legal battle.” She pulled the data chip out of the pocket of her suit, tossing it in her hand.
(It helped the judge had been an old classmate, and, after hearing a bit of the story, had agreed to grant the court order. Pin-Lee owed them a favour.)
She heard a voice through the doorway behind her– Ratthi’s.
“The footage can be sent directly to the judge,” the second rep suggested. “It’s a simple enough procedure– we’ll waive the fee.”
He sounded almost nervous.
She was too tired for this shit. “I have a court order,” she repeated, because she was past the point of arguing over something that was already decided. They couldn’t do anything to force the issue. “And footage can be tampered with. Unretrieved footage cannot.”
(Gurathin had told her that.)
The two reps continued to try to convince her, but she’d stopped listening. There was no point– Ratthi and SecUnit would be here soon, and then they’d all get out of this gods-forsaken hellhole.
Footsteps, coming up from behind her. Ratthi and SecUnit, she presumed. The second asshole turned his head and blinked a few times before immediately launching into a final attempt to convince her. She turned, tossed the words, “Again, I have a court order” over her shoulder, then grabbed SecUnit’s elbow and helped Ratthi steer it out.