A peragraph was missing at the end I added it
Chapter 21: Mercy and Calculation
Louis arrived at 7:02 AM.
The office was still mostly empty—just building security, a janitor vacuuming the executive floor above us, and the two of us standing at my desk in the associate bullpen.
Louis looked like he hadn't slept. Tie slightly crooked, hair not quite as perfect as usual, eyes red-rimmed.
"You found the leaker."
Not a question. He'd spent all night wondering how I'd done it, probably running through every possible explanation except the truth.
I pulled out my phone, opened the recording, and hit play.
Kyle's voice filled the space between us.
"A rival firm approached me two months ago. Bratton & Associates. Said they'd pay for inside information on Pearson Hardman deals. Fifty thousand dollars per significant leak."
Louis's face went through a sequence I cataloged automatically—shock first, eyes widening. Then relief, shoulders dropping as the accusation lifted off him. Then shame, jaw tightening as he realized what he'd done.
"How many?"
"Three. Small cases first, testing if I'd do it. The Techvance merger was the third."
I let the recording play all the way through. Kyle's confession. His desperate justifications. My cold response.
When it finished, silence filled the bullpen.
Louis opened his mouth, closed it, tried again.
"Scott, I—"
I raised my hand. He stopped.
Let him sit with this.
[BLACKMAIL ARCHIVE: ANALYZING LOUIS LITT RESPONSES]
[GENUINE REMORSE DETECTED: 94% CONFIDENCE]
[DEFENSIVE MECHANISMS: LOWERING]
[VULNERABILITY: MAXIMUM]
[ASSESSMENT: OPTIMAL MOMENT FOR INFLUENCE]
I dismissed the notification and finally spoke.
"You accused me to save yourself."
Louis flinched.
"You threw me under to avoid Harvey's blame. You took everything we'd built—the trust, the mentorship, the partnership—and you sacrificed it the moment you felt scared."
"I had to consider all possibilities—"
"No."
My voice came out colder than I'd intended.
"You had to protect Louis Litt. I was convenient collateral. I understand the logic. But don't pretend it was about possibilities. It was about fear."
Louis sank into Kyle's empty chair, suddenly looking older than his years.
"You're right."
The admission hung in the air.
"Harvey makes me feel worthless. He always has. And when something goes wrong, when there's a problem that might make me look bad—I panic. I do terrible things when I panic."
He looked up at me, and for the first time since I'd known him, Louis Litt wasn't performing. No bluster, no theatrical anger, no desperate need to prove himself.
Just exhaustion and shame.
"I'm sorry. I know that doesn't fix anything, but I'm sorry."
[SYSTEM ANALYSIS: CHOICE POINT DETECTED]
[OPTION A: ACCEPT APOLOGY, MAINTAIN ALLIANCE]
[PROBABILITY: 78% POSITIVE LONG-TERM OUTCOME]
[BENEFITS: LOYAL MENTOR, PARTNERSHIP ADVOCATE, GENUINE RELATIONSHIP]
[OPTION B: DESTROY LOUIS PROFESSIONALLY]
[PROBABILITY: 34% POSITIVE OUTCOME]
[BENEFITS: MAXIMUM REVENGE, SATISFACTION, ESTABLISHES DOMINANCE]
[RISKS: BURNS VALUABLE ALLY, DISPLAYS VINDICTIVENESS, ISOLATES POLITICALLY]
[OPTION C: CONDITIONAL FORGIVENESS WITH LEVERAGE]
[PROBABILITY: 52% POSITIVE OUTCOME]
[BENEFITS: MAINTAINS POWER POSITION]
[RISKS: DAMAGES TRUST PERMANENTLY, CREATES RESENTMENT]
I studied Louis for a long moment.
Brilliant lawyer. Desperate for validation. Capable of betrayal when scared. But also capable of loyalty when that loyalty was earned and maintained.
The fragmented memories whisper: Louis betrays people repeatedly. That's who he is in the show.
But I'm not living the show anymore. I'm living something different.
I made my choice.
"Here's what happens, Louis."
He looked up.
"You go to Jessica. You tell her you were wrong about me. You present the evidence—Kyle's confession, the recording, everything. You take credit for finding him if you want. I don't care about credit."
Louis's expression shifted to confusion.
"You're... letting me fix it?"
"I'm giving you the chance to be better than your panic."
I pulled out my phone, sent him the recording file.
"I could destroy you with this. Go to Jessica myself, show her how you falsely accused me based on nothing but fear. Make sure everyone knows Louis Litt threw his own associate under the bus to save himself."
Louis went pale.
"But that doesn't help me. It satisfies my anger for maybe a day. Then I'm alone again, without a mentor, without an ally, having burned a bridge I spent months building."
I leaned against my desk.
"So instead, I'm gambling that you're better than your worst moment. That you can learn from this. That the Louis Litt who taught me corporate law and gave me opportunities nobody else would—that person is real, not just performance."
Silence.
"I could be wrong about you," I continued. "You could take this, fix your reputation, and forget what it cost. But I don't think that's who you are. So prove me right instead."
Louis stared at me like I'd spoken a foreign language.
"Why?"
Because anger is expensive. Because loyalty matters. Because I'm tired of calculating everything and sometimes mercy is its own reward.
But I said something simpler.
"Because you taught me something valuable, Louis. You taught me that being overlooked doesn't mean being worthless. That technical excellence matters even when it's not flashy. That preparation beats improvisation."
I straightened.
"I'm not going to throw that away because you had a bad week and made a scared decision. But I'm also not going to forget it happened. So don't do it again."
Louis stood slowly, phone in hand with the recording file.
"I won't. I swear, Scott, I won't betray you again."
"Not just me, Louis. Try being better to everyone. Starting with yourself."
He looked at me for another moment, then nodded and walked toward Jessica's office.
I watched him go.
[MENTAL FATIGUE: 29%]
[EMOTIONAL COST: MODERATE]
[RELATIONSHIP GAMBLE: INITIATED]
[OUTCOME: PENDING]
My phone buzzed.
Donna: Heard Louis came in early. Everything okay?
I smiled despite my exhaustion.
Testing a theory about redemption. Results pending.
Her response came immediately.
That's very you. Let me know how it goes.
I set down my phone and sat at my desk, suddenly aware of how tired I was.
Eighteen hours of intensive System use. Confronting Kyle. Recording his confession. Choosing mercy over revenge.
Worth it.
I think.
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