"Yes."
He looked down at his hands.
"I thought you were trying to humiliate me."
"I know."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Would you have listened?"
"No."
"Then you have your answer."
Rourke laughed quietly.
After he left, she returned to the training hall and found Pike reviewing the team's latest results.
"Everything all right?" he asked.
"Yes."
"That was unconvincing."
"I'm working on it."
"Whatever's happening, you don't have to solve it alone."
Elena looked at him.
"I know."
"Do you?"
"Apparently, I have a reputation for not knowing things."
"You have a reputation for acting as if knowing something makes it easier to do."
He returned to his notes.
"Sometimes it doesn't."
That evening, Elena received an invitation to meet General Mercer.
"We've confirmed that the warning entered the operations network," Mercer said. "We have not confirmed that Sloane personally read it."
"Then the central question remains unanswered."
"Yes."
"Have you spoken to him?"
"Not yet. The review team is preparing a formal interview."
Elena sat down.
"Why not ask him directly?"
"Because an informal conversation could complicate the investigation. He deserves an opportunity to respond through the proper process, and the evidence needs to be preserved."
Mercer studied her.
"How are you managing the new information?"
"By trying not to draw conclusions before the facts are established."
"Is that difficult?"
"Yes."
"Do you believe the discovery changes your responsibility for what happened?"
Elena looked at the screen.
"I don't know what my responsibility was. That's part of the problem."
Mercer leaned forward.
"Elena, responsibility is not a single object that must belong to one person. Several people can contribute to a failure in different ways. Some may have made reasonable decisions with limited information. Others may have ignored information they should have considered. The purpose of this review is to understand those differences."
"And if we never find out who saw the message?"
"Then the investigation will document what can and cannot be established."
"That won't tell me whether Nathan could have survived."
"No," Mercer said quietly. "It may not."
Elena looked away.
After a while, she asked, "Why did you send me to Blackridge?"
"Because I needed to know whether you could still trust your own judgment when you were not carrying the entire outcome of that operation on your shoulders."
"Can you answer that question now?"
"Not completely."
"At least you're honest."
"I've had time to learn the value of it."
Mercer closed the terminal.
"The investigation will continue. Your participation will remain voluntary, and you will not be required to review material you are not prepared to handle. But I want you to understand something."
Elena looked at him.
"You are not required to become perfect to justify surviving an operation that went wrong."
"I never said I believed that."
"No. You've demonstrated it in nearly every decision you've made since arriving here."
She stood.
"With respect, sir, I don't think you understand what it feels like to remember the moment you could have questioned an order more strongly and wonder whether doing so might have changed everything."
"You're right," Mercer said. "I don't know what it feels like for you."
"But I know the difference between examining a decision and punishing yourself for it. The first can teach you something. The second can consume everything else."
Elena left without answering.
It might be learning how to live with what could never be known.
The next breakthrough came from a retired communications specialist named Samuel Price.
General Mercer received the preliminary summary on Thursday morning.
Major Victor Sloane.
Mercer read the passage twice.
At Blackridge, Elena was preparing for the final phase of the leadership assessment when Cross called her into his office.
"Staff Sergeant, the investigation has identified another witness."
"Who?"
"Samuel Price. He worked in the operations center during your previous assignment."
Elena recognized the name.
"Was he the communications specialist on duty?"
"According to the roster, yes."
"Did he see the warning?"
"He remembers a warning, but the details remain uncertain."
Elena sat down.
"What did he say about Sloane?"
Cross consulted the report.
"He remembers a discussion about whether the team should proceed before the evacuation status had been confirmed."
"Did he say Sloane ordered us to move despite knowing people were still inside?"
"No. He did not make that claim."
Elena nodded.
"Good."
Cross looked up.
"Good?"
"An investigator needs to know what a witness actually said, not what someone hopes the witness will say."
Cross gave her a thoughtful look.
"You're being very careful not to accuse Sloane."
"I'm being careful not to decide what happened before we have enough information."
"Even now?"
"Especially now."
He placed the report on the desk.
"The investigators may request another statement from you after Price's interview is complete. You are not required to participate beyond what is necessary for the review, but your recollection could help clarify the sequence of events."
"I'll cooperate."
"Very well."