Not emotionally.
People had seen too much.
She pulled her cap closed again and tucked it beneath her arm.
The staff sergeant approached.
“Ma’am?”
Jessica looked at him.
He hesitated.
“I should’ve stepped in earlier.”
Jessica shook her head.
“You stepped in.”
“Not soon enough.”
“You recognized the situation.”
He glanced toward where Crawford had gone.
“I recognized the smell late.”
Jessica studied him.
“You said something when it mattered.”
He nodded, but did not look satisfied.
Jessica understood.
People often replayed moments afterward and invented cleaner versions of themselves.
Earlier action.
Better words.
More courage.
She had done the same after missions.
It rarely helped.
“Staff Sergeant.”
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Don’t turn this into your failure.”
He looked at her.
“It wasn’t.”
His shoulders loosened slightly.
“Yes, ma’am.”
He started to walk away.
Jessica stopped him.
“Your name?”
“Staff Sergeant Andrew Miller.”
“Thank you, Staff Sergeant Miller.”
