Andy took the chip from Maya and held it under his work light. «This is a cycle-interrupter. It triggers a false failure code. I saw one of these in a prototype that ‘failed’ last year—the one that cost us the regional contract».
Nick looked stunned. «That was my job. They told me I botched the install. I almost lost my certification over that».
Andy’s voice was low. «I believed the official report back then. Now? I’m not so sure». The suspicion in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife. The old grievances and “mysterious” failures were all coming to the surface.
Maya turned to Russell. «You knew. That’s why you wanted me to fail today. You wanted a scapegoat—a kid you could blame for ‘messing with sensitive equipment’ so you could bury the evidence».
Russell stepped toward her, his voice a low hiss. «Watch your mouth, Maya».
But Maya didn’t back down. She looked at the crew. «You all heard it run. You saw the chip. This was a setup. How many of you have been written up for ‘mistakes’ that weren’t yours?» One by one, the men started nodding.
The atmosphere in the shop shifted from a workday to a revolt. Russell’s authority was evaporating. «Now wait a minute—» he started, but his voice cracked. Maya went to her bag and pulled out a stack of printouts—dates, error codes, and logs she’d pulled from the public server.
She’d done her homework. «Every one of these failures happened under Russell’s direct supervision. Every ‘scrapped’ engine was sold to a third-party refurbisher owned by a shell company».
«I just wanted to help my dad», she said. «But this is bigger than us». Nick put a heavy hand on her shoulder. «You did good, Maya. You found the truth».
But the drama wasn’t over. Outside, a black sedan pulled into the lot. A man Maya didn’t recognize was watching through the glass. And he was about to blow the lid off the whole operation.
The heavy steel door at the back of the shop creaked open. A man in a charcoal suit stepped in, his leather shoes clicking sharply on the concrete. It was Victor Peterson, the Regional VP of Operations.
He hadn’t been to this location in over a year. His sudden appearance made Russell look like he was about to faint. The manager fumbled with his collar, trying to look busy. Victor walked right past him, eyes fixed on the humming engine in the center of the bay.
He reached out, placed a hand on the vibrating metal, and listened. «This engine was logged as ‘unrepairable scrap’ three days ago», Victor said, his voice calm but dangerous. «I signed the disposal order myself».
«Why is it running?» Maya didn’t hesitate. She stepped up and handed him the chip.
«Because it was sabotaged. I found this inside, and I can prove it was installed after the factory inspection». Victor looked at the chip, then turned his cold gaze toward Russell.
«Did you know about this?»
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