The liaison lowered his voice.
“There's more.”
The Senior Officer waited.
“This isn't the first complaint.”
He stopped walking.
The transfer team continued several feet, then paused.
“What?”
The liaison glanced toward the airline counter.
“Two previous escort-related incidents involving this station.”
“Same supervisor?”
“One appears to involve him.”
The Senior Officer looked back.
The Supervisor stood behind the counter talking rapidly into a phone.
The liaison continued.
“Nothing this serious.”
“But enough that someone noticed.”
The Senior Officer's anger changed shape.
This was no longer one incompetent decision.
Maybe not even one bad day.
“Who is reviewing?”
“Not us alone.”
The Senior Officer nodded.
“Good.”
He had no interest in revenge.
He did have an interest in patterns.
They continued walking.
The crowd parted.
Some passengers applauded.
The Senior Officer hated that.
He turned slightly.
Raised one hand.
The clapping stopped.
He spoke loudly enough for those nearby to hear.
“Please.”
He looked toward the transfer case.
“This is not about me.”
People understood.
Silence returned.
Better.
The transfer disappeared through secure doors.
Outside, a government transport vehicle waited.
On the far side of the field, a dedicated aircraft was being prepared.
The Senior Officer climbed into the vehicle beside the transfer.
Only after the airport terminal disappeared behind them did he allow himself to close his eyes.
For ten seconds.
No longer.
Duty first.
The flight itself was quiet.
There were no passengers.
No boarding music.
No beverage carts.
No announcements about credit cards.
Only the low vibration of engines.
The Senior Officer sat several feet from the secured transfer case.
Across from him, the liaison reviewed documents.
After takeoff, the liaison looked up.
“You want to file personally?”
“Yes.”
“Could let headquarters handle everything.”
“No.”
The liaison nodded.
“Thought so.”
The Senior Officer looked toward the flag.
“If the system only reacts because someone important gets inconvenienced, then the system learned the wrong lesson.”
The liaison studied him.
“You think this is going to become public?”
“It already was.”
Passengers had recorded nearly everything.
By the time the dedicated aircraft landed, clips were online.
Millions of views followed.
The most popular video showed the Senior Officer towering between two security officers while the Airline Supervisor told him he could be removed.
Another showed the moment multiple phones and radios activated.
Another showed the transfer team arriving.
Headlines simplified.
They always did.
AIRLINE BLOCKS DECORATED OFFICER ESCORTING FALLEN AMERICAN
AIRPORT SECURITY CONFRONTATION GOES VIRAL
DEDICATED GOVERNMENT FLIGHT SENT AFTER COMMERCIAL CARRIER DISPUTE
The Senior Officer ignored all of them.
At the destination, a family waited behind a private barrier.
A mother.
Father.
Younger sister.
Several relatives.