Careful people remember what time a door opens. Careful people notice when a signature changes between two copies of the same report. Careful people keep originals.

She’d learned that from her father long before she learned it from Naval Intelligence.

Lieutenant Ronan Vance had been a quiet man with a habit of folding napkins into perfect squares and checking the oil in the family SUV every Sunday afternoon, whether it needed it or not.

He was the kind of father who carried the groceries in one trip because his daughter once said she wanted to be strong like him.

He was also the kind of officer who wrote things down.

When he died, the official report used clean words. Routine casualty. Training accident. No further action required.