Goldman swirls his brandy, takes a sip. “The other front has brought some bad news, I’m afraid. In the long run it could be pretty serious.”

“How so?” McPherson feels the familiar tightening in the stomach.

“Well, you make a request for an injunction to the judiciary system, and in the District of Columbia it goes to the federal court system and is given to one of four appellate courts, each with a different presiding judge. It’s not a regional thing, so someone in the system makes a decision and sends your request to one court or another. Mostly it’s a random process, as far as we can tell, but it doesn’t have to be. And in this case, our request for an injunction has been given to court four, Judge Andrew H. Tobiason presiding.”

Another sip of brandy. Goldman seems to have the habit of courtroom timing: a little dramatic pause, here. “So?” McPherson says.

“Well, you see,” says Goldman, “Judge Andrew H. Tobiason is also Air Force Colonel Andy Tobiason, retired.”

Stomach implosion. A peculiar sensation. “Hell,” says McPherson weakly, “how could that be?”

“The Air Force has its own lawyers, and many of them work in the District of Columbia. When they retire, some are made judges here. Tobiason is one. Giving him this particular case is probably a bit of mischief worked by the Air Force. A few phone calls, you know. Anyway, Tobiason has refused to make the injunction; he’s decided the contract is to be carried out as awarded, until the GAO finishes its investigation and its report is conveyed to him.” Goldman smiles a wry smile. “So, we’ve got a bit of an uphill battle. But we’ve also got a lot of ammunition, so … well, we’ll see how it goes.”