“Now acknowledge your evaluator.”

Evan Carter turned his body ninety degrees to face my desk.

He brought his heels together, pushed out his chest, and raised his right hand to his forehead in a crisp, sharp, by-the-book salute.

“Lieutenant Colonel Miller,” Private Carter said, holding the salute without the slightest tremor.

“I apologize for my disrespect, ma’am.”

I kept the manila folder pressed against my ribs as the heavy oak door of Room 104 clicked closed behind us.

The narrow hallway of the airport’s administrative wing was lined with gray metal lockers and smelled of floor wax and stale coffee.