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.
"But when she fails—and she will fail spectacularly—she's permanently banned from this property. Security will arrest her for trespassing if she's ever seen here again."
The stakes couldn't be higher: twenty careers, $500 million in funding, and now a child's dignity hung in the balance.
Dr. Vasquez stepped forward. "Sir, maybe we shouldn't—"
"Shouldn't what? Give some street trash the chance to embarrass herself?" Hawthorne's eyes gleamed with malice. "This will be educational for everyone." He gestured dramatically toward the hypercar. "Well, we're waiting for your miracle."
Zara looked at the crowd gathering behind the glass walls. Dozens of employees watched from windows; multiple phones streamed the confrontation live to social media. She took a deep breath and stepped closer to the fence.
"You really want me to try?" she asked.
"Oh, absolutely! Show us what you've learned from living in garbage cans!"
The crowd tensed. This was the moment everyone would remember. Dr. Vasquez found herself hoping this brave girl had an exit strategy: the humiliation Hawthorne was orchestrating would be brutal and public. But something in Zara's eyes suggested she wasn't seeking attention or pity; she looked confident, like she actually understood something they'd missed.
"All right," Zara said, her voice carrying clearly across the parking lot. "But I need to get close enough to show you what you're missing."