Ethan watched Ming disappear inside the dormitory before walking quickly to the waiting Escalade. He opened the rear door and slid inside. Jason was waiting, Falcon 1 and 2 standing guard outside.
"Good, you're all here," Ethan said, his voice dropping from the cheerful tone he used with Ming, but remaining natural voice. "I'm glad you're safe, Jason. You looked like hell when you arrived. Now, tell me, what happened? Why the blood?"
Jason touched his cheek reflexively, then felt a thin, dried line of blood near his earlobe that had gone unnoticed during the high-stress drive. He looked surprised. "Ah. My apologies, Boss. I didn't even notice. Just a scratch from some shrapnel, probably from the second site. Nothing serious."
[Shrapnel wound sustained during a hostile, explosive engagement. If this were a university seminar, the topic would be 'Effective Stress Management in High-Risk Urban Environments.' Also, the 'dramatic flair' of your arrival was top-notch.]
