Treading on thin ice

Max closed the live feed and was pretty certain that he had accomplished what he wanted. He went about his usual business, waiting for the news of the bail hearing to reach Noah. It wasn't long after he pressed the red 'X' on his screen that he saw a call come in from Joe's number. He forwarded the call without picking up and knocked on Noah's door as he said, "Joe is on the line for you. I assume he wants to tell you the results of the hearing."

Noah found it a bit odd that Max would forward the call without answering it first, but thought that it may have just been because he already knew what the call would be about. So, he nodded and said, "Ah yes. I don't think anything surprising came out of it, otherwise he would have called on my cell. But I'll take the call.". And to no surprise to any, Joe confirmed that the bail had indeed been denied and that it was a fairly quick hearing. He told them what the next steps would be, among which being the scheduled hearing for Olivia. Noah let out a few 'Yes's and made a few nods before ending the call and informing the rest. After a quick message to the group chat and a message to those at the secret services, who had helped them get everyone, Noah turned his attention back to Max. Who seemed far from curious to what had been said or surprised when he did tell him about Joe's victory in court.

Noah had felt that something was off about him the past couple of days but the current lack of reaction to what Joe had said, along with him looking somewhat nervous right now, made Noah's Spidey senses tingle. So, with a inquisitive look on his face, Noah asked Max, "What did you do?". At first Max jolted and said, "What do you mean, what did I do? I am standing right in front of you, waiting to hear if there is anything you need me to do after that call from Joe."

But from that reaction, Noah was now more convinced than ever that Max had indeed done something. Whenever Max had done something he wasn't sure if Noah would approve of, he would answer with an avoidance. Replying without actually saying anything. In this case, if he had actually done nothing, Max would have normally replied to that question by saying, 'I haven't done anything, as instructed. But if there something you want me to do, I am happy to do it'. Or something along those lines.

But instead he repeated the question, which was a clear indication that Max was feeling nervous in that moment and there was something he wasn't telling him. So, Noah responded, "You know very well that I don't mean right now or in the past five minutes. I mean, what did you do? I know that you are smart enough to find a way around the warning Joe gave us. So, before anything happens that you can't undo, tell me what you did."

As Max looked at Noah's piercing, determined eyes, he knew that denying any further would be futile. Noah knew something was up and he certainly wouldn't cross that line of lying to him. Playing around with his words for a first attempt was one thing. Telling him that he had done nothing at all after Joe issued his warning, that was another. But he still stood by what he had done, so he stood confidently as he said, "Very well. I will tell you. But let me make clear, I did not break the promise I made. I did not step into that courtroom." Noah nodded with a tensed jaw and replied to Max with a single word. This told Max to not play any more games as he was already treading on thin ice, while also forcing him to not further delay his reply. He conveyed all of this by saying, "Noted", before returning to silence as he waited for Max's explanation of what he had done.

And so, with no other choice, Max began explaining what he had done and the reasoning behind his actions. "Well, what I did was, I asked one of the guys from two floors below to get me eyes and ears inside the courtroom where their hearing would be taking place. I then listened to the verdict and when the judge denied bail, I had someone slip Harold an envelope with proof of Olivia's betrayal of him. The odds are quite high that she will escape severe punishment, since she didn't have as big of a roll in all of this in the eyes of the law, so I figured I would let the trash take out the trash."