Malcolm was quiet. The list was titled people who will tell you the truth, Daniel said. There were four names on it. Two have retired, one died. You're the last one still working.
The weight of that settled on Malcolm in a way he hadn't expected. Not pride, something more like responsibility. I need to ask you something. Malcolm said off the record. Go ahead.
When you refused to fly this morning, all seven of you were you coordinating. Did someone make calls? Daniel was quiet for a moment. No, he said. Not explicitly.
I told my co-pilot what I found in the log. He made his own decision. The others, I don't know who they spoke to, but the log is the log, Malcolm. An unresolved safety flag and no signature. There's only one answer to that regardless of who owns the aircraft.
Seven pilots, Malcolm said. She offered bonuses. I know what she offered. And none of you, when you've been flying for 30 years, Daniel said, you stop being afraid of money. You start being afraid of the things money can't fix.
A pause. An aircraft is a machine. Machines fail. The only thing standing between failure and catastrophe is the person who signed the log book and the reputation behind that signature. Your reputation, Malcolm, is that you don't sign things you're not certain of.
Another pause. We were certain you weren't certain. That was enough. Malcolm stared at his desk. I'm going to resolve the discrepancy, he said properly.
This time, Victoria has agreed to let me open the assembly without a deadline. Good, Daniel said. Tell me when you're ready to put eyes on the log book. I'd like to be there. They hung up.
The wire hit the account 40 minutes later. Malcolm looked at the number on his phone. He looked at it for a while. He called his bank and confirmed it. He transferred the supplier payments.
He transferred Jerome's payment and David's and Rachel's. He transferred his lease payment with eight days to spare. When he was done, he looked at what remained in the account. It wasn't enough to buy back the equipment he'd sold, but it was enough to order it new. He put the phone down and looked at his shop.