Hawthorne's voice cut through the night like a blade: "Then find a new approach, or find new jobs!"
That's when Zara stepped closer to the fence. "Excuse me," she called out clearly.
Every head turned toward the chain-link barrier. Twenty exhausted engineers stared at the 13-year-old homeless girl they'd watched security chase away dozens of times.
"I think I know what's wrong," Zara said simply.
For a moment, nobody moved. Then Hawthorne's laughter erupted like machine-gun fire. "Oh, this is absolutely perfect!" He strode toward the fence with theatrical swagger. "The street rat thinks she can solve what my engineers can't!"
He keyed his radio, broadcasting across the entire facility: "Attention, all Technocore employees. Our resident vagrant believes she has insights into our technical difficulties. Should we invite her professional opinion?"
The cruel announcement echoed through every floor. Windows lit up as employees stopped their work to witness whatever spectacle was unfolding in the parking lot.
Dr. Vasquez felt sick. This was about to become a viral disaster. "Sir—" she started, but Hawthorne waved her silent.
"No, Elena, let's see what kind of genius wisdom our little friend has to offer." He turned back to Zara with mock formality. "Please, enlighten us with your vast engineering expertise."
Zara remained perfectly calm. "I've been watching your tests for six months. This car has glitched three times before, always on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m."
Dr. Vasquez's eyebrows rose. That was actually accurate.
"Your point?" Hawthorne sneered.
"Three days ago, you installed a new 5G tower." Zara pointed toward the cellular equipment barely visible beyond the parking structure. "Its testing schedule runs Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m."
The parking lot fell silent except for the hum of diagnostic equipment. James Mitchell pulled up testing logs on his tablet; his face went pale. "She's right about the timing correlation."
"Correlation isn't causation!" Hawthorne snapped. "Any first-year statistics student knows that!"
"But electromagnetic interference from 5G towers affecting sensitive electronics is a documented phenomenon," Dr. Vasquez said quietly. "We should have checked—"
"Should have, could have, would have!" Hawthorne's voice rose to a roar. "I don't want excuses, I want results!" He turned back to Zara with vicious intensity. "You know what? I'm feeling generous tonight. If this little nobody can fix what twenty engineers cannot, I'll personally give her $10,000."
The crowd of employees pressed closer to windows and doorways. Phones appeared, recording what was clearly about to become internet legend.