I was only kidding around, sir, no disrespect meant.”

General Arthur Vance didn’t return the salute.

He kept his hands clasped firmly behind his back, looming over the young Marine without moving his stance one inch.

“Lower your hand, Lance Corporal,” General Vance said.

His voice wasn’t loud, but it rolled through the crowded gate area with the heavy, low weight of forty years in uniform.

Evan let his arm drop to his side, his thumb pressed flat to the seam of his trousers.

His boot heel tapped the tile once, a quick, nervous beat he couldn’t seem to stop.