Isole returned the evening after the courtyard conversation with Calder's challenge still sitting heavily in her head.
She brought the notes with her.
By now, Kest no longer waited for Isole to knock twice. The door opened after the first knock, and the second cup was already on the table when Isole stepped inside.
Neither of them mentioned that anymore.
Isole sat, placed the notes between them, and began without trying to soften the problem.
"Evidence."
Kest looked down at the pages.
"That's what he wants," Isole continued. "Not sympathy. Not one exceptional person whose story is painful enough to make everyone uncomfortable."
She spread the papers out across the table.
"He wants something he can't dismiss as a single case pretending to be a principle."
Kest's expression remained flat.
"He wants proof."
"Yes."
Isole pulled one page forward.
"And to build that properly, I need to understand how good you actually were."
Kest glanced at her.
