Chapter 1 - The General Heard Everything
“Touch my uniform again, Marine, and you’ll explain it to the general standing behind you.”
Lance Corporal Evan Carter laughed.
He was twenty-two, broad-shouldered, freshly polished, and so certain of himself that he didn't notice the four-star officer behind him. Three rows of airport seats away, travelers had gone quiet. A little girl clutched her mother's sleeve. An old man lowered his newspaper.
I kept one finger between the pages of my book.
“What's that supposed to mean?” Carter asked. “You think you're somebody?”
“No,” I said. “I think I'm trying to read.”
His friends laughed. Mason Reid's laugh came late and died quickly. The third Marine, Tyler Brooks, stared at the floor.
Carter leaned over my armrest. “That uniform's impressive. Costume department do a good job?”
The ribbons on my Army service uniform represented twenty-one years, three deployments, and more nights than I could count spent wondering whether everyone under my command would make it home. The gold oak leaves on my shoulders marked my rank: lieutenant colonel.
Carter flicked the edge of my sleeve.
“Real officers don't look like you.”
I closed my book.
“Take your hand off me.”
He grinned at his friends. “Hear that? She's giving orders.”
Behind him, a boarding announcement crackled over the speakers. I noticed the man who had stepped out of the line near Gate C27. Tall, silver-haired, wearing a dark service uniform. Four stars shone on his shoulders.
He wasn't looking at Carter.
He was looking at me.
“Lieutenant Colonel Morgan,” he said.
Carter turned.
The general's expression was calm in the way a winter sky was calm before a storm.
“General Mercer,” I replied, standing.
The four-star officer glanced at Carter's hand, still hovering near my sleeve.
“Marine,” he said, “step away from the officer.”
May you like
Carter's smile vanished.
And that was only the beginning.
