"It was a simulation."
"That's not what I asked."
Bennett clenched his jaw.
Sarah continued.
"Did he attempt recovery once the objective was secure?"
"No."
"Did he call for support?"
"No."
"Did he report the casualty?"
Bennett's voice sharpened.
"It wasn't real."
Sarah nodded.
"No."
She stepped closer.
"But the decision was."
Bennett looked away.
For the first time, Sarah saw the younger brother beneath everything else.
The boy who worshipped someone.
The man who built his identity around defending him.
"Where is Daniel now?"
Bennett didn't answer immediately.
"Dead."
Sarah's anger disappeared.
"I'm sorry."
"He killed himself four years ago."
The words hung in the fog.
Sarah lowered her eyes.
Bennett continued.
"After he got removed, he bounced around assignments. Drinking got bad."
Sarah said nothing.
"He always blamed your father."
Bennett swallowed.
"So did I."
Now she understood the twelve days.
Not excuse.
Context.
There was a difference.
Bennett looked at her.
"When I saw your name, I thought..."
He stopped.
"What?"
"I thought maybe you got everything because of him."
Sarah almost smiled.
"Trust me. Being his daughter didn't make anything easier."
Bennett looked unconvinced.
Sarah said, "Dad failed me too."
He blinked.
"What?"
"More than once."
She sat on the metal bench beside the track.
Bennett hesitated.
Then joined her.
"When I was twenty-two, he ran me through Split Road."
Bennett stared.
"You?"
"Yes."
"What did you choose?"
"The casualty."
He laughed.
"So you passed."
"No."
The laugh stopped.
Sarah looked toward the track.
"I abandoned the objective immediately."
"Why did he fail you?"
"Because I didn't assess whether somebody else could reach the casualty."
Bennett frowned.
Sarah continued.
"I saw a person in trouble and reacted emotionally. In the scenario, that meant the larger team lost the mission."
"So what's the right answer?"
Sarah smiled.
"That's why Dad hated that question."
Bennett waited.
"There isn't one."
He shook his head.
"Then the test is stupid."
"No."
Sarah looked at him.
"The answer isn't the point."
"What is?"
"What you do after you choose."
Bennett remained silent.
Sarah continued.
"My dad wasn't trying to create people who always made perfect decisions."
She looked toward the fog.
"He was trying to find people who understood that every decision creates a responsibility."
Bennett's expression changed.
Sarah said, "Maybe Daniel chose the mission correctly."
He looked at her.
"But finishing the mission didn't erase the man he left behind."
Bennett stared at the ground.
Neither spoke for a while.
Then he asked, "Did your dad ever talk about Daniel?"
Sarah shook her head.
"Not that I remember."
Bennett laughed bitterly.
"Figures."
Sarah looked at him.
"That's not what you wanted to hear."
"No."
"I could make something up."
"Don't."
"I won't."
They sat in silence.
Then Bennett asked, "Why did he call it Phantom Protocol?"
Sarah turned.
"Who told you that name?"
"My brother."
That bothered her.