"She should not have looked at the wallet." Audrey didn't have to turn to look at Ellen because she'd already been staring at her ever since she described the shooting. "It is not your job to grieve for the man you murdered. If you continue down this path, you will not be able to remember them all and you will lose sight of your own priorities in the process. Just like medicine," her gaze flickered to Cassar briefly, "you made the call and prioritised the lives of dozens over his. He murdered several people for drugs he did not need or even knew what they were for." 

Audrey leant in slightly, resting her elbows on her knees. "Every mission we send people into, every shot, every life taken, has a compelling reason behind it. We are not on a... genocidal [I]crusade.[/I] More pragmatically, the body count we leave behind runs countercurrent to what we try to achieve. It is our mission to find a place where mages can live peacefully - or make one for ourselves, if the situation calls for it. We have no motive for slaughter save for our own survival. It is a situation we were forced into by the rest of society."

"That being said," Audrey continued, "every shot we do [I]not[/I] take carries incalculable risk. The one man that slipped past our bootleggers drew a gun on Angeline and Abigail. Maybe, in another history, he would have ran away. Revoked his addictions, put away his guns and became a good person. Maybe he would have alerted the FOE, or Australia's equivalent, upon seeing Abigail's magic. And maybe Brooks would not have been fast enough and that one man would have taken two more perfectly innocent people." 

"I personally do not entertain such risks when I can help it. Many people have many different opinions about that approach." She was looking back at Dr Cassar now, her gaze steady and warm. "Objectively, if Brooks had not stepped in, we would have most likely lost Angeline and her healing abilities and we would have paid for that misstep."

In the space where Dr Cassar should have spoken came Abigail's voice, blurting out from her rickety plastic chair near the back again. "I was right there," she interjected, "and I sure as fuck wasn't gonna let some coked up Aussie kill Angie."

Audrey glanced at Abigail and took in her appearance with the precise sort of scrutiny Ellen was afraid of. "You did not, though. You were not fast enough."

"Where'd all your 'would have's go now, huh?" Abigail sneered. "Not fast enough [I]yet[/I]. I aimed for the head. I knew what I was try'na do." 

Audrey raised her hand slightly. "I never questioned your intent, I just pointed out your inexperience." She looked away from Abigail and back to the room in general. "We can fix that. But you need to be decisive, and above all, [I]certain[/I]. We can no longer afford the materials and manpower to train someone who is not sure if this is the life they want to lead. In a way, it is comforting to know that all of you have had a taste of what being a combattant entails - purely because you can make an informed decision."

And that was it. Audrey's clipped, steady monologue stopped as fast as it started; she leant back again and folded her arms and resumed the same posture as if she'd never spoken at all.