The CEO, Victoria. Yes. Maya processed that and then the scared stopped. The scared turned into something I could use. He said, "That's what happens when you've done emergency work. " "Fear doesn't go away.
It just changes shape into something that moves you forward instead of freezing you up. " She was quiet for another block. "Mrs. Patterson at school says being brave means doing things even when you're scared," she said. Mrs. Patterson's right.
But you say real bravery is doing things even when you can think of 20 good reasons not to. That too. Last night you had a good reason not to. She said me. He stopped at a red light.
Looked at his daughter. She was looking straight ahead, her jaw set, her hands in her lap, and she was 12 years old. And she had just said the most accurate and most difficult thing anyone had said to him in a long time. You're always the reason I come home, he said. You're not the reason I don't go in.
She turned and looked at him. Is that true? She said. Calvin Briggs didn't come home. He said, "I think about that a lot.
I think about whether I'm doing right by you by playing it safe by taking the job where the buildings aren't on fire. " He held her eyes. Last night, I didn't choose to be in a dangerous situation. The situation became dangerous after I was already in it. But when it got dangerous, I had a choice. And I chose to help.
Because he stopped, thought about what he'd said to Victoria in the lobby. Because I'm not built to stand by when someone needs help. Maya looked at him for a long moment. Good, she said. The light changed.
He drove. She put her headphones on. And the conversation was over. And it was the most complete conversation they'd had in months. And he loved his daughter with an intensity that still after 12 years occasionally surprised him with its force.
The next 72 hours moved in the particular way of institutional time not fast, not slow, but full of procedure. He gave two additional supplementary statements, once to the DA's office and once to the FBI agent who had been assigned to the financial crimes component of the case. The FBI agent was young, sharp, and asked better questions than anyone Darius had spoken to. And at the end of the interview, she said, "You have an unusual skill set for a building maintenance specialist, Mr. Coleman. " And he said, "I used to have a different job. " And she said, "I know.