“As you wish then, Sire… However, if I may speak freely, I would say her answer has only granted clarity to one of two questions, if you could spare the time to answer the—”

“All other questioning can wait until after the conclusion of her report… Councilman Balogun.”

The Chief cut Councilman Balogun’s sentence short, his tone authoritative yet calm. His voice immediately pulled everyone’s attention back to the matter at hand.

Councilman Balogun nodded in acknowledgment and retained his silence. He understood that any further questioning before the conclusion of the report could be perceived as an obstruction—or even opposition. Thus, he reserved his question for later.

His satisfaction...