"They never raised their voices. They never threatened us. They moved when the crew asked them to move."
"They challenged police authority in a crowded cabin."
"You were off duty."
"That doesn't erase my training."
Cole pointed toward the phone. "You're not writing about training. You're writing that their behavior escalated. Tell me what they actually did that supports that sentence."
Mercer did not answer directly. "They became more aggressive in how they challenged the situation."
"Maya asked for records. Grace asked questions."
"Exactly."
Cole stared at him. "Questions are not hostility."
Mercer locked the screen. "I'm done debating language with you."
"You're putting that language into an official report."
"Yes."
"And you know it doesn't match the crew record."
Mercer's expression hardened. "The crew record is their perspective."
"No, it documents what they observed. And your report documents what you want."
Cole lowered his voice. "What you observed keeps changing every time the existing record doesn't support what you want."
Mercer sat forward. "You need to decide what you're doing here."
"I already did."
"No, you didn't. You think filing one statement separates you from the whole thing."
"I never said that."
"You took the seat."
"I know."
"You stayed in it after Williams objected."
"I know."
"You benefited from Holloway's decision."
"I know that, too." Mercer studied him. "Then stop acting like you're above this."
Cole remained calm. "I'm responsible for accepting the seat. I'll answer for that. I'm not going to answer for a report I know is inaccurate."
Mercer shook his head. "You think honesty is going to protect you if this becomes an internal review?"
"I don't know."
"Then maybe you should think harder."
Cole looked at him. "I am thinking harder. That's why I'm not backing this."
Mercer lowered his voice. "We're supposed to watch each other's backs."
Cole answered without hesitation. "Not by putting our names on something that didn't happen."
Mercer stared at him. "You have any idea what happens when officers stop protecting each other?"
"Yes. You don't. I know what happens when nobody is willing to say another officer crossed a line."
Mercer's jaw tightened. Cole continued before he could interrupt. "You used a database for a seat dispute. You found nothing. Then you expanded the report anyway. Now you're asking officers to meet the aircraft and calling two compliant passengers hostile."
"They are not compliant. They moved after turning the cabin into a legal argument."
"That still isn't a security threat."
Mercer stood. "Maybe you should stop talking before you create a problem for yourself."
Cole did not move. "That sounds familiar."
Mercer stepped closer. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It sounds like what you told Maya when she wouldn't give you the seat."
The two men faced each other without speaking. Laura approached from the galley. "Is there a problem?"
Cole answered first. "No."
Mercer looked at him, then sat back down. Laura continued toward the rear cabin.
Cole remained standing. "You can keep the seat," Mercer said, "or keep pretending you're making some moral stand. I don't care anymore."
Cole glanced at 2C. "I'm not sitting there again."
Mercer gave a short laugh. "You think an empty seat changes what you did?"
"No."
"Then what's the point?"
"It reminds me not to do anything else I'll have to explain later." Cole walked away.
A short time later, Captain Rebecca Shaw requested to speak with Mercer near the front galley. He approached with the confidence of someone expecting a procedural conversation. Shaw held the flight tablet.
"You requested law enforcement contact in Denver?"
"Yes."
"For Maya Williams and Grace Turner?"
"Yes."
"What criminal allegation are you reporting?"
Mercer crossed his arms. "I documented a security concern."
"That wasn't my question."
Mercer paused. "There may be interference-related issues when we land."
"Did either passenger interfere with flight operations?"
"In my assessment, their behavior was confrontational."
Shaw kept her tone even. "Did they interfere with a crew instruction?"
"No."
"Threaten anyone?"
"Not directly."
"Attempt to enter a restricted area?"
"No."
"Refuse relocation once the crew asked them to move?"
Mercer hesitated. "No."
Shaw looked down at the tablet. "There is no security incident in my flight log."
Mercer's expression changed. "I'm a police officer. I'm entitled to make my own professional assessment."
"You're entitled to submit a report."
"I did."
"Yes." Shaw met his eyes. "But you cannot make that report a fact simply because you wrote it."
Mercer shifted his weight. "You're taking their side."
"I'm taking the flight record seriously."
"The record doesn't capture everything."
"That is why multiple statements exist."
Mercer looked toward the rear cabin. "When officers meet this plane, they'll make their own determination."