Morrison's eyes widened, his jaw literally dropping open. For a moment, he couldn't form words. When he finally found his voice, it came out as a strangled, "What?""You heard me," Chen said. "Alex Carter. The man you threatened. The man you humiliated. The man whose career you tried to destroy because he was running late while injured. That's who you need to apologize to.""But—but he's just a firefighter!" Morrison protested. "He's nobody! Why would apologizing to him make any difference to—""He's not nobody," Chen interrupted coldly. "Clearly, he's somebody very important to somebody very powerful. And that somebody has made it abundantly clear that this situation doesn't get resolved until you make things right with Alex Carter."Morrison shook his head, his expression cracking like a fault line under stress. "You can't be serious.""Do I look like I'm joking?" Chen demanded.Morrison stared at him, searching for any sign that this was some kind of test, some elaborate punishment

He stepped closer to Morrison, his eyes boring into him. "And fixing it means one thing and one thing only—you go to Alex Carter, you apologize sincerely for what you did, and you beg him to forgive you. Not for your sake, but for the sake of everyone in this department who's about to lose their jobs because of your mistake."Morrison stood there, his mind reeling. His entire career—twenty years of service, of climbing the ranks, of building a reputation—all of it balanced on a knife's edge. And the only way to save it was to humiliate himself before a man he'd spent weeks treating as beneath him."I..." Morrison started, then stopped, not knowing what to say."Get out," Chen said, pointing to the door. "Get out of my office. Go home. Think about what you want your legacy to be. Think about whether your pride is worth destroying dozens of careers and leaving communities without fire protection."He turned away, moving back behind his desk. "You have until tomorrow morning to make your

Before Morrison could get any closer, before the situation could escalate further, Peter dropped to his knees. Right there in the hallway, in front of everyone, he went down hard enough that the impact made an audible sound against the concrete floor."Please, Captain Morrison!" Peter's voice was desperate, his hands clasped together in front of him like he was praying. "Please forgive me! I didn't mean to laugh! It just—it slipped out! I couldn't control it! But I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!"Morrison stopped, looking down at Peter kneeling before him. The sight should have been satisfying—someone showing him the respect and deference he deserved after the humiliation he'd just endured in Chen's office. But instead, it just made him angrier. Because Peter's desperate plea reminded him too much of what Chen was demanding he do with Alex."Get up," Morrison said coldly."Please, sir," Peter continued, not rising, tears actually forming in his eyes now. "Please don't dismiss me. I know I

The word hung in the air, shocking in its directness. Nobody said no to a captain. Not like that. Not so flatly and without apology.Morrison stared at Jenkins in disbelief. "What did you just say to me?""I said no," Jenkins repeated, his voice steady despite the fury radiating from Morrison. "I'm not moving. You want to punish Peter? Fine. Give him more cleaning duty. Make him run drills until he collapses. But you're not going to lay hands on him just because you're angry about what happened in Chen's office.""Get. Lost. Jenkins." Morrison ground out each word separately, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. "This is your last warning. Move, or I'll have you written up for insubordination.""Write me up then," Jenkins said, not budging. "Because I'm not moving. You're looking for someone to take out your frustrations on, and Peter's an easy target. He's young, he's inexperienced, he can't fight back. That's what you do, isn't it, Captain? You pick on people who are weaker

The words hit Morrison like physical blows. His face worked, emotions flickering across it too fast to identify."If this organization had a leader like Alex instead of you," Jenkins said, his voice becoming quieter but somehow more cutting, "we wouldn't be in this mess. Alex leads by example. He earns respect through his actions. He makes people want to follow him because they believe in what he's doing. You? You just make people afraid. And fear isn't leadership, Morrison. It's tyranny."Several of the assembled firefighters nodded slightly—unconscious agreement with Jenkins's words. They couldn't speak up, wouldn't risk their own careers, but they couldn't help showing their support in small, subtle ways.Jenkins saw the nods, saw the expressions of agreement, and something hardened in his face."Look at them," he said to Morrison, gesturing to the group. "Every single one of them agrees with me. They're just too scared of you—or too smart—to say it out loud. But they all know it's