“You injured him, but he made no real effort to hurt you, even though he could have.” Mel began laying out the scenario that Vic had reported concerning his encounter with Riley. “He was minding his own business. You cornered him and most likely scared him. He figured out who you were because of Chel, so he had to run, or threaten you with his knowledge.” She paused, letting her words sink in, putting a bit more humanity to the straightforward report Vic had written down. “Did you have to handcuff him?”
“I thought I could handle it, but he was stronger than I expected.” Vic shrugged, staring at the screensaver on his laptop.
“And you shot him.”
“I didn’t shoot him, John did …” Vic grimaced. It was bad enough he had failed, but injuring Riley had not been part of the plan. “I didn’t think about telling him not to. He’s on leave for two months.” He felt bad for the kid. The only reason he had chosen him as backup was to give him field experience.
Mistakes were made. They could not be corrected now.
