"It was a tragic accident, sir," Miller reported, keeping his face perfectly stoic. "Captain Evans leaned out too far. A sudden updraft hit the chopper, she lost her footing, and she fell. We tried to reach her, but it was too late."
They felt untouchable.
But their arrogant confidence shattered less than two hours later when Military Police stormed their barracks. The investigators had not just taken their word for it. Standard procedure for an in-flight fatality required an immediate review of the helicopter's internal black-box and cabin footage.
The base commander sat in the interrogation room, silently turning a monitor toward the three men. The grainy, wide-angle cabin camera footage played in undeniable high definition. It showed Kate inspecting the LZ. It showed the three men unbuckling. It showed the shove. And it showed Miller stomping on his commander's fingers.
Their lies had been exposed by the unblinking eye of the cabin lens.