Thanks, Paco, Osborne thought. That was just what I needed . Osborne refrained from pointing out what was surely obvious to the rest of the justices present in the courtroom. She knew Napoli, pit bull that he was, wouldn’t be able to resist twisting the knife a little in open court, especially not after how she’d thrown him out of her quarters earlier. In truth, all Napoli needed to do was keep his mouth shut and let Osborne dig her own grave. Her request had already annoyed the justices, who had been dragged up to the orbital for this special hearing by Fuchi. They probably would have voted against Osborne’s request out of sheer malice and a desire to have the whole thing over and done with.