I nodded.
“Good.”
She continued.
“There's no basis here to declare the entire fleet unsafe. But the company needs to establish that required work and planning controls are sound.”
I closed my eyes.
For a moment, I thought about Dad.
He used to say the most dangerous thing in maintenance wasn't always a broken part.
Sometimes it was a person convincing himself the documentation didn't matter.
I opened my eyes.
“Let's keep the financial review separate from the technical conclusions.”
Maya nodded.
“Agreed.”
Then I turned another page.
Asteron had received payments for work described as fleet transition analysis, logistics optimization, and implementation coordination.
Some work had been completed.
Other services were poorly documented.
And several payments appeared to overlap with work performed by Northstar employees.
The independent accountants were examining whether the company had been overcharged, whether disclosures were inaccurate, and whether any executives had received improper benefits.
Then I saw a name.
Michael Pike.
I frowned.
“Relationship?”
Maya nodded.
“Leonard's brother-in-law.”
I stared.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then I looked toward the ownership chart.
Michael Pike held an interest in one of the entities associated with Asteron's parent company.
That didn't automatically prove Leonard Pike had benefited financially.
Family members could run legitimate businesses.
But a senior executive influencing payments to a connected vendor without appropriate disclosure presented serious governance concerns.
I looked toward Maya.
“Was the relationship disclosed?”
“The audit committee hasn't located a complete disclosure covering the relevant transactions.”
I took a breath.
“Then they'll need to establish who approved what and who knew.”
Maya nodded.
For a moment, I thought about the confrontation aboard Flight 408.
Halden's arrogance.
The manual seat override.
The incident flag.
Pike's effort to keep me away from Nina.
The sequence suddenly made more sense.
If the financing group discovered material financial misstatements, the airline could be required to correct its reports and reconsider the funding terms.
An independent review might expose improper transactions.
And those findings could threaten Pike's career.
He had an incentive to delay scrutiny.
Perhaps a strong one.
But I still needed evidence connecting his actions to that motive.
Maya watched me.
Then said, “Adrian, don't start deciding the whole case in your head.”
I smiled faintly.
“I know.”
She leaned forward.