Chapter 63 — Smoke
General Summers didn't sit back down. He stood there by the window, his hands still clasped behind his back like a statue carved from the same stone that built armies. Rigid, unmoved, and cold in its dignity.
"I heard what happened between Carl and Jake," he said, his voice even but tight. "The argument. The fight. It was absolutely uncalled for."
I stayed silent. My fingers twitched slightly on my lap, curling into my palm. The silence between us grew long, heavy with unsaid things.
"I don't know what exactly happened," he continued after a pause. "Or better still—I won't judge what happened without hearing from the parties involved. But..." He turned halfway, glancing at me now, searching for the next words as if unsure whether to filter them or let them cut.
"I've known Jake since he was a boy. He and Carl trained together, risked their lives together."
He finally turned to face me fully.
