“She corrected again,” Sentinel murmurs.
The man shifts slightly. “Sir?”
“She felt it,” Sentinel continues, voice quiet. “And chose against it.”
That’s not common.
That’s not expected.
That’s—
Adaptive.
His gaze sharpens slightly.
“Carter,” he says.
The man nods. “He stayed close.”
“No,” Sentinel replies softly.
A beat.
“He reinforced.”
That’s the difference.
Most people, when faced with withdrawal, step back.
Give space.
Reduce pressure.
Carter didn’t.
He closed the distance.
Stabilized her.
That changes things.
“That’s a problem,” the man says.
Sentinel considers that.
Then—
“No.”
A faint tilt of his head.
“It’s a variable.”
And variables—
Can be used.
He steps closer to the screen, scanning the report again, slower this time.
