Chapter 10 - The Safety Officer's Warning
Captain Andrew Keller wasn't the man I'd expected.
I'd imagined someone confident and polished.
A Marine officer with answers.
Instead, when I met him in a quiet office near the installation's legal complex, he looked like a man who hadn't slept properly in weeks.
He was thirty-eight, with tired blue eyes and a healing cut near his hairline.
He sat across from me with his hands folded.
A legal representative was present, and Keller made it clear he was speaking voluntarily about matters he could discuss.
“I heard about the parade deck,” he said.
I looked down at my uniform.
The name tape had been replaced.
The fabric beneath it still showed faint marks where Brant had ripped the original away.
“Yes, sir.”
“That shouldn't have happened.”
I didn't answer.
Keller leaned forward.
“Staff Sergeant Reed raised legitimate safety concerns.”
I felt my throat tighten.
“Did you agree with him?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did the movement happen?”
“Because Major Brant approved the route change after being advised of the risks.”
I stared at him.
“Did you put your concerns in writing?”
“Yes.”
“Where is that report?”
“That's part of what investigators need to establish.”
I studied his face.
“Sir, are you saying the report disappeared?”
“I'm saying the version circulated after the incident didn't include all of my original remarks.”
My hands went cold.
“Did you keep a copy?”
“Yes.”
The word hit me like a physical blow.
Keller continued.
“I provided it to investigators this morning.”
I pressed my lips together.
For three weeks, I'd felt as though I were shouting into an empty room.
Now someone else was finally speaking.
“Can you tell me what happened after Nathan fell?”
Keller looked down.
“I arrived after the first response team had reached the lower trail.”
“Was he alive?”
“When I arrived, medical personnel were treating him.”
My heart stopped.
“Treating him?”
“Yes.”
“Then the report—”
“Erin, I need to be precise. I wasn't present when he first fell. I can't tell you exactly when he lost consciousness or when his injuries became unsurvivable.”
I nodded, struggling to breathe.
“But you saw him receiving treatment.”
“Yes.”
“Was he breathing?”
Keller paused.
“I saw the medical team providing emergency care. I can't independently establish his condition at every point.”
I looked at my hands.
“Daniel said Nathan was conscious after the fall.”
“That may be true.”
“Then why was I told he died immediately?”
Keller's expression tightened.
“That's one of the questions the review needs to answer.”
I closed my eyes.
The possibility that Nathan had survived for some time after his fall hurt more than I expected.
It meant he might have been frightened.
Cold.
Waiting.
And I hadn't been there.
Keller spoke gently.
“Corporal Walsh, none of that means you could have changed what happened.”
I opened my eyes.
“I'm not asking whether I could have saved him.”
“Then what are you asking?”
I looked directly at him.
“Whether the people responsible for his safety told the truth afterward.”
Keller nodded.
“That's a fair question.”
He reached into his folder and removed a single sheet of paper.
He didn't hand it to me.
Instead, he placed it on the table where I could see it.
It was a dated memorandum.
His original safety recommendation.
Near the bottom, one sentence had been underlined.
Recommend postponement of ridge movement due to deteriorating visibility and unsafe footing.
Beneath it was a handwritten notation.
May you like
Risk accepted. Proceed as directed.
And beside those words was Major Cole Brant's signature.
