I think so. I talked to my cousin. He's getting me connected with a lawyer. A pause then. Good.
What do you need from me right now? He thought about that for a moment. It was a good question. A real question. Not what do you need me to say, not what should I tell you, but what do you actually need?
He wasn't used to people asking him that. Nothing tonight, he typed. Just I'm glad you were there last night at the drive-in. A longer pause this time then. Me too.
He put the phone down and went to bed. He slept better than he had in 6 months. Monday morning came in fast and loud as Mondays tend to do. Zoe needed her science project reminder, her lunch packed, her permission slip signed. Marcus did all of it on autopilot, functioning with the kind of practiced efficiency of a man who had been running a household alone for years without drama.
He dropped her at school at 7:50, was back home by 8:15, and had Patricia Voss on the phone by 8:30. She listened to the full story in about 20 minutes. She asked a handful of very precise questions, dates, positions, chain of command, the exact language used during the termination, whether he had signed any separation agreement, whether the agreement included a non-disclosure clause. He had signed one. It included an NDA.
There was a short silence on the line. Did you have an attorney review it before you signed? Voss asked. No, he said. I was handed it on the day of the firing.
I had an hour. She was quiet for a moment in a way that suggested she was not surprised by this and was already thinking three steps ahead. Mr. Reed, NDAs typically cannot be used to prevent cooperation with a federal regulatory investigation. The FAA has independent subpoena authority and a whistleblower who cooperates with an active federal investigation is generally protected under the Wendel H.
Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act. You may know it as Air21. I've heard of it, Marcus said. I did applied to my situation. It applies to airline employees, including pilots who report safety violations and face retaliation.
Your situation. Filing repeated safety reports, being denied promotion, having your schedule deliberately restructured to disadvantage you, and ultimately being terminated within months of your final escalation. That is a textbook Air21 pattern. A pause, a very clean one. Actually, clean, he said, a flat sound in his voice.
I mean technically in terms of documentation and timeline. She paused. I understand it wasn't clean to live through. He appreciated that she said that. Can we meet this week?