He looked at the floor when it closed around his wrists.
Dugan fought harder.
Not physically, not enough to matter, but in words.
He wouldn’t stop talking.
“I didn’t start this.”
“I was told what to do.”
“You don’t understand how this place works.”
A marshal walking him out said, “That’s why we’re here.”
Hale went last.
Not because Reyes wanted drama.
Because leaders of bad systems should feel the full quiet of the room after everybody else is gone.
He stood in the emptying station, shoulders bent for the first time, and let the cuffs happen without resistance.
Before they moved him, he looked at Claire.
“You think this fixes anything?”
Claire held his gaze.
“No.”
Then she glanced around at the emptied desks, the flashing server lights, the open files.
“But it starts.”
By nine that morning, the town knew.
Not the whole truth. Not yet.
