He rubbed his forehead. “That could take hours. Our systems are hosted offsite.”
Frank Delgado set a stack of construction photographs on the desk.
“Then maybe you can explain the line my crew photographed before your people buried it.”
Voss looked at the photos for the first time. Something in his expression changed. Not fear, exactly. Recognition.
“That was a provisional routing decision,” he said.
Lena felt the room grow very quiet.
“Who approved it?”
“A change-order committee.”
“Names.”
“I don’t have the committee record in front of me.”
“Then tell me who decided that Harbor Point’s runoff could enter the Willow Court channel.”
Voss’s lips pressed together.
“Doctor, you’re simplifying a complex situation. We had to protect a major investment. The construction site would have flooded if we left the original basin open.”
“So you put a berm around the basin.”
“We reinforced it.”
“And gave the water another outlet.”
“We managed runoff through the existing municipal network.”
“A network I warned you was already close to capacity.”
Voss looked toward the doorway where rain blew in beneath the awning. “The town wanted this project. The jobs. The tax revenue. You think people would thank us for letting it sit unfinished for another year?”
“People asked to be kept safe in their homes,” Lena said. “They were never offered the choice you’re describing.”
Elaine Rhodes entered with a county attorney and the head of the road engineering team. She had driven from the command post after receiving the photographs. She listened while Lena explained the observed backflow, the unapproved drainage line, the missing inspection, and the flooded routes.
Lena did not ask anyone to trust her instincts alone. She put maps on the table, identified the limits of what she could confirm, and distinguished photographs from assumptions. The team reviewed the available evidence and the operating conditions. They considered whether the old industrial basin could safely accept emergency runoff and what would be at risk if it did.
The assessment was not simple. Redirecting water could damage Harbor Point’s unfinished landscaping, equipment storage, and access roads. The team needed confirmation from field personnel that the basin’s perimeter was sound and that opening a controlled relief route would not endanger workers or people farther downstream.
Voss waited until the engineers finished speaking.
“You are proposing to flood private property,” he said.
The county attorney corrected him. “They are proposing an emergency measure subject to a documented safety assessment. Property damage is a serious consideration. So are occupied homes.”
“I will hold the county responsible.”
“You may pursue whatever remedies the law allows,” Elaine answered. “But you will not misstate the technical facts to delay an evacuation or protective action.”
For the first time, Voss lost his polished expression.
