Legal · 5 min
Under Oath.
A relentless examiner keeps tightening the screws until a powerful director walks himself into the confession he came to avoid.
The roles
YUSUF MARIN
32. Junior counsel for a Senate oversight committee. First time questioning a witness of this rank. Prepared. Nervous. Has one shot and knows it.
WARREN HUBBARD
61. Retired director of a government intelligence agency. Thirty-five years of service. Decorated. Believes what he did was necessary and will not apologize for it to anyone, least of all a thirty-two-year-old with a legal pad.
Under Oath · Legal side · memorlined.app
(A hearing room. Long table. Two microphones. WARREN HUBBARD sits behind one, a glass of water and a manila folder in front of him. YUSUF MARIN sits across, legal pad open, three tabbed folders stacked. A pitcher of water between them. No audience visible.)
YUSUF MARIN
Director Hubbard, on the night of March fourteenth, how many personnel were deployed to the compound.
WARREN HUBBARD
That's classified.
YUSUF MARIN
This committee has clearance.
(A door opens somewhere down the hall. Closes.)
WARREN HUBBARD
Twelve.
YUSUF MARIN
And the authorization came from—
WARREN HUBBARD
Me.
YUSUF MARIN
You personally.
WARREN HUBBARD
I just said that.
(YUSUF writes on his legal pad.)
YUSUF MARIN
Did you consult the oversight liaison before authorizing deployment.
WARREN HUBBARD
The timeline didn't allow for it.
YUSUF MARIN
The timeline.
WARREN HUBBARD
Four-hour window. Consultation takes six.
YUSUF MARIN
So that's a no.
WARREN HUBBARD
That's math, counselor.
(HUBBARD reaches for his water. Drinks. Sets the glass down. It leaves a ring on the table.)
YUSUF MARIN
Director, there were nine civilians in that compound.
WARREN HUBBARD
I'm aware.
YUSUF MARIN
Seven survived.
WARREN HUBBARD
I know the number.
YUSUF MARIN
Were those civilians factored into your authorization.
WARREN HUBBARD
Every variable is factored.
YUSUF MARIN
That's not what I asked.
WARREN HUBBARD
Then ask it better.
(YUSUF flips to a tabbed section.)
YUSUF MARIN
I have a memo dated March twelfth. Two days before the operation. It references, and I'm quoting, acceptable collateral parameters. Your signature is at the bottom.
WARREN HUBBARD
I sign a lot of memos.
YUSUF MARIN
This one sets a civilian casualty threshold at four.
WARREN HUBBARD
If that's what it says.
(The air conditioning hums.)
YUSUF MARIN
Two people died, Director. Inside a building your team entered on your order.
WARREN HUBBARD
Below the threshold.
YUSUF MARIN
Below the threshold.
WARREN HUBBARD
The operation was successful.
YUSUF MARIN
I didn't ask about success.
WARREN HUBBARD
You should.
YUSUF MARIN
Director—
WARREN HUBBARD
That operation recovered intelligence that prevented three separate attacks on American soil. Three. Those are lives, counselor. Thousands of them.
(YUSUF pauses. Looks at his notes.)
YUSUF MARIN
I appreciate your service.
WARREN HUBBARD
I don't need your appreciation.
YUSUF MARIN
Were you aware, at the time you signed that memo, that the compound housed a medical clinic.
WARREN HUBBARD
I was briefed on the layout.
YUSUF MARIN
A clinic. With patients.
WARREN HUBBARD
Briefed. Yes.
YUSUF MARIN
One of the two civilians who died was a nineteen-year-old nurse.
(HUBBARD adjusts his microphone. It squeals for a second.)
WARREN HUBBARD
I know who died.
YUSUF MARIN
What was her name.
(HUBBARD's jaw tightens.)
WARREN HUBBARD
That's not relevant to—
YUSUF MARIN
You said you know who died. What was her name.
(Silence.)
YUSUF MARIN
Director.
WARREN HUBBARD
I don't have it in front of me.
YUSUF MARIN
You don't need a folder for a name.
(YUSUF closes his legal pad.)
YUSUF MARIN
Let me ask this differently. If the operation was as necessary as you say, and the casualties were within your parameters, then the decision should be simple to defend. So defend it.
WARREN HUBBARD
I have been defending it for—
YUSUF MARIN
Then tell me her name.
(HUBBARD leans forward.)
WARREN HUBBARD
You want a name. Fine. I'll give you something better than a name. I made a decision with lives on the line in a four-hour window that your committee couldn't make in four months. Twelve men walked into that compound because I told them to, and they came back. Every one of them.
(He leans back in his chair.)
WARREN HUBBARD
And three thousand Americans are breathing right now because I authorized that operation. So yes. I authorized it. Without consultation. Without your liaison. Without permission from anyone in this room. I gave the order. And I would give it again.
(Silence. YUSUF clicks his pen.)
YUSUF MARIN
Let the record reflect that the witness has confirmed he personally authorized the March fourteenth operation without oversight consultation.
(HUBBARD stares at him. He reaches for his water. The glass is empty.)
YUSUF MARIN
I have no further questions at this time.
Print it for class, or open it in the app: every role in this side is playable, and the other side of the scene gets a reader. Cast a voice against your part in the Audition Room, then run it until the lines are yours.
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