PART 3 — THE CHECKRIDE
The commander’s office was silent.
Mercer sat across from me.
His three friends were gone.
The phones were gone.
The jokes were gone.
Only the four of us remained.
Colonel Reeves sat behind the desk.
Beside him was the squadron commander, Colonel Marcus Hale.
Hale opened a folder.
“Lieutenant Mercer.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You’re scheduled for a checkride this morning.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You were also aware that Major Calloway would be conducting an independent safety evaluation.”
Mercer looked at me.
“No, sir.”
“Why?”
He hesitated.
“I didn’t recognize her.”
Hale stared at him.
“That wasn’t my question.”
Mercer lowered his eyes.
“No excuse, sir.”
Hale closed the folder.
“Good answer.”
I remained silent.
Mercer finally looked at me.
“Major…”
I waited.
“I owe you an apology.”
“You do.”
His face tightened.
“I was out of line.”
“Yes.”
“I shouldn’t have touched you.”
“No.”
“I shouldn’t have thrown my card.”
“No.”
He nodded.
“I understand.”
I studied him.
“Do you?”
He looked confused.
I leaned forward.
“You didn’t disrespect me because you thought I was maintenance.”
He said nothing.
“You disrespected me because you believed the uniform you were wearing made you more important than the person standing in front of you.”
His jaw tightened.
“That is not who I want to be.”
“Then prove it.”
The room went quiet.
Hale pushed the folder toward me.
“Major Calloway, the aircraft issue is only part of today’s evaluation.”
I opened it.
Inside were several reports.
Safety violations.
Missed maintenance discrepancies.
Training complaints.
And one report from three months earlier.
I stopped.
The signature at the bottom belonged to Mercer.
I looked at him.
“You signed this?”
“Yes.”
“You reported a hydraulic fluctuation?”
“Yes.”
“Then why was it marked resolved?”
He looked confused.
“I don’t know.”
I slid the document across the desk.
“Because someone changed the status after you signed it.”
Mercer stared at the page.
Hale nodded.
“We’ve been trying to determine who.”
I looked at the final page.
A name appeared.
Not Mercer.
Not one of his friends.
Someone higher up.
Mercer leaned forward.
“Sir…”
Hale raised a hand.
“We aren’t discussing that yet.”
Mercer sat back.
I closed the folder.
“So what happens now?”
Hale looked at me.
“You tell me.”
I stood.
“Then I recommend the aircraft remains grounded until the discrepancy is fully investigated.”
Hale nodded.
“Agreed.”
I turned toward the door.
Mercer stood.
“Major.”
I stopped.
He looked uncomfortable.
Almost embarrassed.
“I really am sorry.”
I nodded.
“I believe you.”
He seemed surprised.
“But forgiveness isn’t the same as trust.”
He lowered his eyes.
“I understand.”
I opened the door.
Then stopped.
“One more thing.”
Mercer looked up.
I held out his identification card.
He stared at it.
“You can have this back.”
He took it.
Our fingers never touched.
As I walked down the hallway, I could hear the squadron beginning to wake up around me.
Radios crackled.
Boots struck concrete.
Aircraft engines started somewhere beyond the hangars.
The morning had begun with a lieutenant trying to make me look insignificant.
It ended with his aircraft grounded, his checkride canceled, and an investigation opening into something far more serious than his behavior toward me.
But as I stepped outside, Colonel Reeves caught up with me.
“Major.”
I turned.
He looked toward the flight line.
“There’s one thing we haven’t told Mercer.”
“What?”
Reeves lowered his voice.
“The person who altered those maintenance records…”
He paused.
“We believe they knew you were coming.”
My expression changed.
“Why?”
“Because your inspection was never supposed to happen today.”
I stared at him.
“Then why was I sent here?”
Reeves looked toward the grounded fighter.
“Because someone inside this base made a mistake.”
He paused.
“Or someone wanted you to find something.”
I looked back at the aircraft.
The morning suddenly felt different.
Mercer had been arrogant.
Careless.
Cruel.
But he wasn’t the reason I had been sent to Red Mesa.
He was only the first person to get in my way.
And somewhere inside that air station was someone who had known exactly what I was coming to investigate.
Someone who had been waiting for me.
And now they knew I had found the first clue.