I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was a consultant. Intel is never 100%. Tex Miller, Sergeant Ruiz, Corporal Davis, Private First Class Ali. Sarah recited the names like a prayer. They burned to death in that m because of you. Emmes’s eyes narrowed. He looked at her closely. He looked at the way she stood.
He looked at the scar on her chin. “You,” Emmes whispered. You’re the coreman, the girl, the one they found in the ditch. I’m the one who lived, Sarah said. Emmes laughed, but it was a nervous sound. Well, isn’t this a reunion? Look, honey, that was a long time ago. War is messy. Deals are made. It’s just business. Business.
Sarah’s hand clenched into a fist at her side. Yes, business. Emmes snapped. Just like this is business. St. Jude’s needs to cut costs. My company provides cost-effective solutions. We save the hospital millions if a few prosthetics crack if a few wheelchairs break. That’s the price of keeping the doors open. We are saving the system. You’re killing people, Sarah said.
Just like you killed my squad. Sterling stood up. That is enough. You are fired, Mitchell. Get out of this building before I have you arrested. Emmes held up a hand. No, wait. She knows too much, Frederick. We can’t just fire her. Emmes walked around the desk opening a drawer. Sarah saw the glint of metal. It wasn’t a gun.
It was a letter opener, but he held it like a shiv. You have no proof, Emmes said softly. It’s your word against a respected CEO and a chief of surgery. Who are they going to believe? The hero nurse with a history of trauma. We can have you committed Sarah. We can say you had a breakdown, attacked us. He took a step toward her.
You should have died in that ditch. Ems hissed. Sarah didn’t flinch. She smiled. a cold, terrifying smile. “I did die in that ditch,” she said. “That’s why I’m not afraid of you.” She pulled her phone out of her scrub pocket. The screen was glowing red. Recording 0412. Ems froze. He looked at the phone, then at Sarah.
“I’ve been recording since I walked in,” Sarah said. “The cloud sync is on. Colonel Graves has the file already and he’s friends with a very aggressive reporter at the Seattle Times. Emmes lunged. It was a mistake. Sarah didn’t brawl. She reacted. As Emmes thrust the letter opener toward her, she sidestepped, grabbed his wrist, and used his own momentum against him.
She twisted his arm behind his back with a sickening crack and slammed his face into the mahogany desk. Emmes screamed. Sterling shrieked and cowered in the corner. Sarah leaned down, whispering into Emmes’s ear as she pinned him. That was for Tex. The door burst open. Security guards rushed in, alerted by the noise.
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