Chapter 12 - Jake Finally Faced Me
Jake asked to speak with me two weeks later.
The request came through proper channels.
I agreed.
He entered the room without the swagger I remembered.
His posture was technically correct.
His expression was guarded.
“I want to know something.”
“This isn’t an interrogation, Recruit Thompson. Ask.”
“Did you know who I was before that morning?”
“No.”
“Then why’d you make it so personal?”
I almost misunderstood him.
Then I realized.
He believed the investigation itself was personal.
“It became personal when you took my food.”
He looked away.
“That’s not what I mean.”
“I know.”
I folded my hands.
“You think accountability is retaliation.”
“Aren’t you angry?”
“Yes.”
That surprised him.
“I can be angry and still follow process.”
He stared at me.
“Do you want me out?”
“That decision isn’t mine alone.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
I considered him.
“No. What I want is irrelevant compared with what you demonstrate you’re capable of becoming.”
Jake’s jaw tightened.
“So you think I’m some kind of monster.”
“No.”
That answer bothered him more.
“You humiliated people because you thought some of them ranked too low to matter. You protected yourself by blaming people around you. You tried to influence a witness. Those are choices.”
“My dad taught me—”
“Your father is not standing here.”
Silence.
Jake breathed through his nose.
Then finally said, “I didn’t think you were important.”
I let the sentence remain between us.
He heard it.
Really heard it.
His face changed.
“Damn.”
That was the first genuine reaction I had seen from him.
Not fear.
Not defense.
Recognition.
He rubbed both hands over his face.
“I actually said that.”
“Not exactly.”
“But that’s what I meant.”
“Yes.”
He sat very still.
Then asked, “What happens now?”
“The process continues.”
“Can I fix it?”
“Some things can be repaired. Some consequences remain.”
He nodded slowly.
May you like
For the first time, Jake stopped asking how to escape what he had done.
He started asking what it meant.
