Melvin sat on the edge of the desk. Mac leaned against the wall near the footlocker. Neither wanted to say it first.
Melvin broke the silence. “I heard about Bravo Company. About Bell. And the schedules.”
Mac gave a tight nod. “Barnes warned me.”
“They’re not being subtle anymore.”
“No,” Mac said. “They’re not.”
“We need to talk about what we do if this turns into something real,” Melvin said. “Like formal.”
Mac looked up. “An investigation.”
“Yeah.”
Mac crossed his arms and exhaled through his nose. “I’ve been trying to game it out. Best case? We both get warned. Told to keep our distance. Tighten appearances.”
“And worst?” Melvin asked.
“They try to reassign one of us,” Mac said. “Flag our evals. Make things uncomfortable enough that one of us transfers out voluntarily.”
Melvin nodded, jaw tense. “I’ve seen it happen.”
“I know,” Mac said. “So have I.”
A long silence settled.
Then, softer, Melvin asked, “Do you regret it?”
Mac’s head snapped up. “No.”
“Not even with all this pressure? The whispers. Baxter knowing.”
“No,” Mac said again, slower, steadier. “Do you?”
Melvin didn’t answer right away. His fingers tapped lightly behind him on the desk, his eyes scanning the room like he was searching for solid footing.
“I’m scared,” he admitted. “But not of us. Just of what we could lose.”
Mac stepped closer. “I get it.”
“I don’t want this to be something we hide until it breaks,” Melvin said. “I want to be proud of this. Of you.”
“I’m proud of you,” Mac said quietly. “Even if I can’t show it the way I want to completely.”
Melvin let out a breath. “Then we fight smart.”
Mac nodded. “Smart. And together.”
They stood there in the dim light, the desk lamp casting soft shadows across their faces. Neither reached out, not here, not tonight, but when Mac said, barely above a whisper, “If they come for me first,don’t let them use me to isolate you,” Melvin stepped forward, close enough to feel his breath.
“I won’t,” Melvin said.
And that was enough.
The next afternoon it started with a knock.
Melvin had just finished his sitrep paperwork and was reaching for his water bottle when Sergeant First Class Tony Diaz appeared in the TOC doorway.
