Her arms are crossed, and she’s watching me like I’m about to pocket something.
I turn back to the shot, line it up again, and press the shutter. The click echoes in the stillness. I move six feet to the left to frame the next angle. She's right behind me.
I stop and turn around. "Sam."
"What?"
"You're hovering."
"I'm observing."
"You're standing close enough to count my shutter clicks."
She shifts her weight but doesn't step back. "I want to see the angles you're choosing."
"You approved the shot list."
"I know."
"So you already know what I'm shooting."
"I want to see how you're shooting it."
Her jaw is tight and her eyes are locked on my camera. This isn't about the shot list.
I turn back to the frame and take three more shots in silence. She watches every single one. When I finish the sequence, I lower the camera and point toward the north corner. There's a stack of shipping pallets near the chain-link fence, maybe twelve feet high and stable.
"I want elevation on those beams," I say. "Fifteen feet should—"
"No." Sam steps in front of me.
"It's just a pallet stack. It's stable."
"Stay on the marked path."
"Sam, it's right there—"
"I said no."
Her voice cuts through the cold air like a blade. She reaches into her coat pocket and pulls out a piece of paper, folded once with crisp edges. She's been carrying it carefully. She unfolds it and holds it out. "This is why."
I take it. It's a compliance log, printed and dated two weeks ago. My name is at the top.
Security Monitoring Alert: Perimeter Activity — East Side Access.
I scan the rest. Neighboring property. Unauthorized elevation. Fire escape. Logged and forwarded. I hand it back to her.
"Yeah. I got flagged."
Sam folds the paper again. Her hands are steady but her knuckles are white. "You went around site access denial."
"I went to the property next door. I asked the owner for permission and he said yes. I shot from his fire escape."
"Without waiting for approval."
"The light window was closing. If I'd waited for the site office to open and process a perimeter extension request, I'd have lost the shot."
"So you improvised."
