"I doubt it. They're probably sealing the backdoor I just used. And they'll be watching for me."
"Then this'll have to do. Thanks, Warrant. If any lawyers call you, will you confirm this?"
"Navy lawyers, you mean."
"Right."
"Sure. Where are you going now?"
"To see a lawyer."
Lieutenant Bashir answered the door to his living quarters, listening skeptically. He examined Paul's list of words. "You're sure? I mean, this isn't definitive."
"Isn't there a way to get into the site and know for sure?"
"Yeah, with a court order. Do you have any idea how hard that'd be to come up with at this stage in the trial?"
"No, I don't."
Bashir actually laughed for a moment at Paul's reply. "You can't be more honest than that. Listen, Paul, there's only one way we've got a chance of getting a court order in time to make a difference. We need another lawyer to help us."
"Who?"
"Commander Carr."
Carr was at home, too, in casual clothing. Paul found himself noticing how nice her legs looked in shorts and jerked his eyes away guiltily.
Carr eyed them both, then invited Bashir and Paul in. "Sit down. What's this about? If it's a plea bargain at this late point, Ahmed, then Mr. Sinclair shouldn't be here."
"Not a plea bargain." Bashir gestured to Paul. "Explain the situation, please."
When Paul was done, Carr shook her head. "That's a very thin, reed. Some memo, maybe, at some web site you shouldn't have been accessing, with a few words which, if interpreted very liberally, might be worth looking at. Or maybe not."
"Ma'am." Paul pointed to his list of words. "It was a memo. I'm sure of that. I saw the subject line. And even though I didn't have time to read it in detail I did have time to skim it for an impression. And that impression was unquestionably that it was talking about unresolved problems with SEERS."
"As of when?"
"Sometime late last year. I didn't catch the exact date."
"How did you find this site?"
"Uh, I'd rather not disclose my sources."
Commander Carr looked away. "Can you at least tell me who this memo was addressed to?"
Paul nodded. "McNamara. Some guy named McNamara. I couldn't get his title in the time I had to read."
Carr's eyes locked back on Paul. "McNamara?"
"Yes. W. McNamara. I'm sure of it. I don't know what the W. stands for."
"William."
Lieutenant Bashir raised his eyebrows. "You know him, Commander?"
"I know of him." Commander Carr looked unhappy as she massaged her forehead with one hand. "Deputy Assistant Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Development. I know that because his office provided the background material on the Maury 's new engineering equipment."
"But obviously that material didn't include any memos talking about catastrophic failures."
"No, it didn't. Not that I recall." Carr pulled out her data pad and typed rapidly. "Let's do a search of the evidence archive. Zero hits. Those words didn't appear in anything I saw, in any context." Carr leaned close to Paul, her eyes boring into his. "Paul, I know how badly you want Lieutenant Shen to be acquitted. I know how badly you want to find proof she didn't cause the disaster on the Maury. Are you willing to swear to me that you actually saw those words on a memo addressed to Undersecretary McNamara?"
Paul nodded, keeping his eyes on Commander Carr's. "Yes, ma'am. I don't pretend to know the entire contents of that memo, but I do know what I've told you."
"You're aware of the penalty for perjury?"
Bashir almost jumped up from his chair. "Commander! That's-"
Paul gestured him back. "It's okay. Yes, ma'am. I'm aware of it. I'm not lying. I'm not engaging in wishful thinking. I saw that much of the memo. I had independent confirmation those words were there."
"And who is this other source who can confirm that information?"
"A warrant officer, ma'am. Not a cop. Someone who works in computer support."
"How fortunate your warrant officer's not a cop." Carr leaned back again. "If it's true…" She stared grimly at nothing for a moment. "What do want to do, Lieutenant Bashir?"
"Reopen discovery. Get a court order to access that web site. A sealed order so we don't have to worry about the site being purged before we can get to it."
"Judge McMasters isn't going to take kindly to the idea of reopening discovery. We've had final arguments. The members of the court are working on their decisions."
"The judge'll agree to it if trial counsel supports the motion."
"I represent the government, not Ms. Shen."
Paul spread his hands, his face pleading. "You represent justice, ma'am. Don't you? If this evidence disproves the government's case-"
"That's a very big 'if' right now, Mr. Sinclair."
"You promised me if I found any evidence that might exonerate Jen that you'd give it a fair evaluation."
Commander Carr visibly winced. "Me and my big mouth. A lawyer should know better than to make promises. Paul, it's not my job to help exonerate Lieutenant Shen."
"Is it your job to convict someone by ignoring evidence which might prove her innocence?"
Carr's face reddened and hardened. "I don't like being accused of misconduct."
Paul dropped his gaze, took a quick breath, then looked back up at her. "My sincere apologies, ma'am. I didn't mean to imply misconduct. I know you wouldn't… I just… dammit, ma'am, I really admire you."
Her expression softened, though still plainly aggravated. "And you think I'm letting you down. Or letting down Lieutenant Shen."
"Lieutenant Shen is the most important thing in the world to me, ma'am."
"Oh, for…" Carr covered her eyes with one hand. "That's a low blow, Mr. Sinclair. Throwing young love at me. It doesn't conquer all, you know." She dropped her hand and gave Paul a rueful look. "But it does conquer my better legal judgment in this case. As far as moral judgment goes, I don't mind telling you I've hated every moment of this case. Sorry, Paul, I've seen it as necessary in light of the evidence. But I haven't enjoyed it. All right. We'll go to the judge and see what we can do."
"First thing in the morning?" Bashir asked, clearly elated.
"No. Right now. Stand by while I get back into uniform. We need to get the wheels turning on this, and authorization to crack that site, as soon as possible." They all stood, but Commander Carr leveled a finger at Paul. "Not you, young lover. This is for professionals. Go home. Or to your ship or whatever. And don't breath a word of this to Lieutenant Shen or anybody else. Not a word. If anything gets out prematurely it could cause the judge to rule against this and let Lieutenant Shen stand or fall on what defense she's been able to present thus far. Understand?"
"Yes, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am."
"Don't thank me. I'm also doing this for myself. I really don't want to convict an innocent person. Lawyers have souls, too."
"Or so it is rumored," Bashir murmured.
"As if you have room to talk. Let's go get Judge McMasters and probably get our ears pinned back. Remember, Sinclair, not a word."
"Yes, ma'am."
"And be prepared to find out this site doesn't hold anything that makes a difference. Or it might hold something that hurts Lieutenant Shen, if you missed a word like 'impossible' anywhere in there."
"Yes, ma'am." But it's not like I have a lot to lose at this point. Bashir gestured Paul out, giving him a confident thumbs-up as Paul left. Now all I have to is wander around until Monday morning, not talking to anybody about this, trying to get some sleep despite everything, trying to not think about it. What was that old Eskimo spell for changing rocks into gold? All you had to do was stare at the rocks for an entire day and never think of walrus.