Mercer turned back to Ellison. "I was protecting myself and my partner."
Cole responded. "Don't include me in that."
Mercer glared at him. "We were both involved in the seats."
"Yes." Cole kept his voice steady. "Not in the searches."
Mercer looked at him with open anger. "You think separating yourself now changes anything?"
"No."
"Then why do it?"
"Because I'm responsible for what I did. You're responsible for what you did."
Ellison stepped between their lines of sight. "That discussion is over."
Mercer looked toward the front door. "What happens now?"
"You remain aboard while we preserve the relevant records and confirm the access history. After that, you'll come with us for a formal interview."
Mercer shook his head. "This is unbelievable."
Captain Shaw answered. "What happened on this aircraft is already documented."
Mercer looked toward Maya. She met his eyes, but said nothing. He had expected her to be the one explaining herself when the door opened. Instead, Internal Affairs was standing beside his seat, a federal investigator was reviewing his searches, and his own partner had refused to support his account.
Ellison opened his notebook. "Sergeant Mercer, before we continue, I need a clear answer to one question."
Mercer looked at him.
"What official law enforcement purpose existed when you first entered Maya Williams' name into that database?"
Mercer opened his mouth. No answer came immediately.
Special Agent Karen Holt placed the access summary beside Lieutenant Ellison's notes and began reviewing the sequence with Mercer.
"The first database query occurred after the seating dispute had been documented," she said. "At that point, the crew had reported no threat, no interference, and no refusal to follow a flight crew instruction."
Mercer kept his voice controlled. "I had concerns based on her behavior."
Holt looked at the report. "Your first written concern described Miss Williams as confrontational. Later, you changed the language to 'escalating hostility' and requested law enforcement contact at the gate."
"That was my professional assessment."
"Then explain what changed between those two reports."
Mercer glanced toward Maya and Grace. "They continued challenging the situation."
Captain Shaw spoke from the galley. "They remained seated."
Laura added, "Neither passenger approached Sergeant Mercer after relocation. Mercer approached their row."
Holt turned back to Mercer. "Was that before or after the additional language was added?"
Laura checked the preserved log. "Before the second report."
Mercer shifted in his seat. "I spoke to them because I wanted to prevent further escalation."
Cole looked at him. "You went back there after the crew had already documented that there was no security issue."
Mercer's eyes narrowed. "Stay out of this."
Ellison interrupted. "Officer Cole is a witness. He will answer when asked."
Holt continued. "You then searched Miss Williams."
"Yes."
"No warrant?"
"No."
"No active investigation?"
"No."
"No dispatch event?"
"No."
"No case number?"
Mercer hesitated. "No."
"Then you searched Miss Turner."
"She was involved."
"Involved in what?"
"The dispute."
Holt nodded once. "So at that time, your stated reason was a passenger seating dispute."
"I said officer safety."
"Your report does not identify an officer safety event before the searches."
Mercer looked toward Ellison. "I don't have to wait for someone to become violent before I evaluate risk."
"No one is asking whether you should wait for violence," Ellison said. "We're asking what lawful operational purpose justified restricted database access."
Mercer had no immediate answer.
Holt opened another document. "Neither search produced a warrant, criminal alert, or active investigative information. After those searches returned nothing that supported your concern, you updated your report."
Mercer leaned forward. "That doesn't prove the searches were improper."
"No," Holt said. "That is why we are reviewing the entire sequence." She continued, "The updated report described escalating hostility. The flight log recorded no escalation. Then you requested officers meet the aircraft."
"I was trying to prevent a problem."
Cole shook his head. "No, you wanted the officers waiting at the door."
Mercer turned on him. "You don't know what I wanted."
"I heard you say what would happen when they walked through the door."
Mercer's expression tightened.
Cole continued. "You said Maya wouldn't control the conversation once law enforcement was involved on the ground."
Holt looked at Cole. "When did Sergeant Mercer say that?"
"During the approach. After the police contact request."
"Yes." Holt made a note.
Mercer looked at Cole with open anger. "You're twisting a private conversation."
"I'm repeating it."
"You're supposed to be my partner."
Cole held his gaze. "I was." The answer stopped Mercer for a moment. Cole continued, "I accepted a seat I should have questioned. I'll answer for that, but I'm not going to change what I saw because we work together."
Mercer spoke quietly. "We're supposed to protect each other."
Cole's voice remained steady. "Not from the truth."
Ellison returned to the access record. "The department system also shows that no supervisor approved your searches before they were conducted."
Mercer replied, "Approval isn't required for every field check."
"This wasn't a field check."
"I had an officer safety concern."
"Then we're back to the same question," Ellison said. "What specific conduct created it?"
Mercer looked toward Maya. "She knew procedures most passengers don't know. She knew how to challenge what I said. She knew what records to preserve."
Holt waited. Mercer added, "That raised questions."
"About whether she committed a crime?"
"No."