Caleb looked at her.
“While pending?”
Daniel answered.
“We’re documenting exactly how work was secured before they left.”
“Preliminary review shows there was no unsafe abandonment.”
Caleb nodded.
“Third.”
Miriam continued.
“The component you flagged was examined again.”
She slid the engineering report toward him.
“You were correct.”
Caleb looked at the page.
His first emotion was relief.
Then immediately guilt for feeling relief.
He looked up.
“How bad?”
Daniel answered.
“Serious enough that the aircraft required the repair it received.”
“Not appropriate to speculate beyond that.”
Caleb appreciated him instantly.
No dramatic claims.
No pretending they had narrowly avoided disaster if nobody could prove that.
Miriam said:
“Your decision protected the maintenance process.”
Caleb thought of Ronan.
Same words.
“What happens to Graham?”
He asked.
“He is suspended pending investigation.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It is the only answer I can give today.”
Caleb nodded.
Fair.
Miriam continued.
“We want to discuss reinstatement.”
Caleb leaned back.
“You fired me yesterday.”
“Yes.”
“You want me back today.”
“Yes.”
“That seems fast.”
“It is.”
“Why?”
“Because the termination should not have occurred under the process used.”
Caleb looked at Paula.
She met his eyes.
“I approved paperwork I should have escalated.”
She said.
“I’m sorry.”
He was not prepared for that.
Paula continued.
“I saw the absence of formal discipline and accepted the restructuring explanation because local leadership had authority.”
“I should have asked why one position disappeared three days before Christmas without an approved staffing plan.”
“I didn’t.”
Caleb nodded slowly.
“Thank you.”
Miriam opened another folder.
“We would like to reinstate you with back pay.”
“And offer you a new role.”
Caleb almost laughed.
“There it is.”
Miriam did not flinch.
“What?”
“Promotion after scandal.”
“Put the injured employee somewhere visible.”
“Tell everybody the system worked.”
Daniel looked at Miriam.
Miriam actually smiled slightly.
“That is a fair suspicion.”
Caleb waited.
“The role was under discussion before yesterday.”
She said.
“We planned to create a technical safety lead for Charlotte next quarter.”
“You were one of three names under consideration.”
Caleb looked at Daniel.
“True?”
“Yes.”
“Was Graham involved?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“He ranked you last.”
Caleb laughed once.
“At least that part sounds believable.”
Miriam continued.
“The proposed position would not remove you entirely from hands-on work.”
“It would give you formal authority to stop maintenance activity pending safety review without requiring local operations approval.”
“You would mentor technicians.”
“Review recurring discrepancies.”
“Coordinate with inspection and compliance.”
“And report functionally to the chief safety office rather than solely through Charlotte operations.”
Caleb looked at the paper.
Salary increase.
Better schedule.
Christmas week vacation restored.
It was more than he expected.
Six months earlier, he might have accepted immediately.
Now he thought about the thirty-seven badges.
Ronan outside in the cold.
Lena saying the next inspector would remember.
Nora asking whether Christmas was canceled.