Even in the short, tense time spent with him at the GreenGirl and at Steve’s apartment, he’s seen Joey become steadily more morose. More depressed. He’s been starting to sense that Joey might really want to die. And to sense how Joey feels he owes Karloff for fucking up, for letting Karloff down.

Once Joey understood what he was holding in his hands, that he could control his own death and therefore his own destiny, Zack could see that some part of Joey wanted to enter the code when it came. He was ready to. Was willing to. And over the past few days, that part of him has seemed to grow.

A professional hit man, taking his last shot. Finishing his last job. Fulfilling the assignment. Maybe Karloff knew that some part of Joey would see it that way.

He came to Zack for help but in the end, Zack’s help only clarified the grim reality Joey is facing. Making it concrete, putting it in front of him. And staring at that fate, Joey sees there is no helping him.

Zack will know the precise moment when Joey receives the text. He’ll even know the code.

He’ll know it because he switched phones with Joey. When they were in Steve’s apartment. After Steve was done examining Joey’s phone and carefully replaced its back cover and handed the phone back to Zack, who handed it back to Joey.

But in fact, Zack had pocketed it and handed his own phone to Joey. Identical-looking, after all, if you didn’t see them side by side.

When Steve said the phone wasn’t booby-trapped, that was good enough for Zack. He swapped the phones. Joey’s phone still functions as a phone after all. And Zack figured he’d work out his next move on the fly. Once he had a minute to think about it. Which he never got, with Emily suddenly at Steve’s apartment door.

He couldn’t risk Joey entering the correct code, listening to Karloff and being the good soldier. Zack couldn’t risk so many innocent people dying.

If Joey was desperate enough to turn to Zack, he was desperate enough to dial the code and be done with his desperation forever.

If Joey didn’t dial the code, he would likely be killed by Karloff for his disobedience. But one assassin dying was better than dozens of innocent bystanders. It wasn’t a pleasant calculus. But it was one Zack felt he had to make.

Zack knows the courtroom this morning is filled with people. Innocent people. And he knows the text might be sent to Joey at any moment.

He doesn’t know when or whether Joey will look closely at the phone in his pocket as time passes in the courtroom. As the trial goes on around him, as no text comes in while he sits at the defendant’s table.