Episode 3
The story
Every population has an individual whose reputation arrives before he does. Tonight the file is reviewed, not because the verdict is in doubt, but because he keeps requesting a second opinion.
Exhibit one: he lines up the shot, takes the kill, and is dead within the second, from his own hand. His testimony, entered without complaint: it was a headshot, and yes, it was his mistake. Another exhibit covers a kill made with a weapon he had never fired before and still does not understand. Another covers a whole evening: same victim, same explanation, every time.
Then, for exactly one round, the arrangement reverses, and someone else's stray explosion finds him first. The marquee exhibit, recovered from an older recording, is the most complete evidence on file: three teammates, one grenade launcher, thirty seconds, and a confession live on the record.
Later in the season a betrayal happens, and the squad's first question is instinctive: was it Shadow Knight? It was not. Nobody apologises for asking. That is what a reputation is. And somehow, they keep him anyway.
