FAT, BARREN, AND REJECTED
I felt my own instincts sharpen immediately, some careful, trained awareness recognizing something genuinely familiar despite the figure's obvious attempt at disguise—a subtle posture, a particular way of holding himself that I recognized, with sudden, absolute certainty, from our own devastating, violent confrontation aboard that crashed aircraft months earlier.
"Cross," I said, my voice carrying sharp, urgent recognition despite my considerable surprise at his evident, direct presence within today's crucial proceeding.
Security personnel throughout the tribunal chamber immediately shifted their attention toward my urgent, pointed observation, and I watched Cross's own expression shift rapi