The loaded pause drew sharp breaths from the gallery. “Would it be fair to say you understand how certain ‘widgets’ and or I think… ‘archers’, provide ‘services’”… he added a smirk and air quotes… “that their non-widget counterparts cannot?”
The implications landed like mortar shells. Even the most jaded in the gallery… their camber falling negative… tilted toward the man becoming today’s main event… their collective intake of breath almost deafening in its silence.
“I… suppose you could say that,” Delaney managed, each word clearly costing him.
Roma leaned forward, his voice taking on an almost conspiratorial tone. “Now, considering the specialized talents of various widgets—roofers with their enhanced safety protocols, HR representatives who never miss a compliance check…” He paused, his eyes gleaming with calculated intent. “Or those… particular medical screening capabilities of certain spa employees… certain lot lizzards…”
A wave of shocked murmurs rippled through the gallery. Several observers shifted uncomfortably in their seats, the implications landing like physical battery. Roma let the discomfort build for a moment before pressing on, his words precise and deliberate.
“Would you agree, Mr. Delaney,” he continued, savoring each syllable, “that you personally understand how these widgets and their… shall we say, fine-tuning…” The gallery drew a collective breath, the tension palpable enough to cut. “…naturally lead to disproportionate employment rates in specific fields? No different than their human counterparts?”
Delaney’s head shake carried decades of regret. “I… can see your point.”
Roma leaned forward, his face losing whatever softness it had borrowed. The courtroom felt the shift before they heard it. “You can’t ‘guess’…” Each word landing separate, deliberate. “Do you understand?”
The pause stretched like resonating piano wire before Delaney broke: “I do.”
Judge Donahue’s expression suggested he was witnessing a car crash in slow motion. At the plaintiff’s table, Juniper’s thoughts burned with fury: This long-faced bag of vinegar…
Roma inhaled deeply, savoring his victory like a fine merlot. “I’m so glad we can see eye to eye on this.”
The courtroom felt like ground zero after a nuclear strike - the devastation absolute, the fallout yet to come.