I glanced at my watch.

It was thirteen hundred hours exactly.

I picked up my cell phone and called the main number for the Marine Corps base legal department.

A junior clerk answered on the second ring.

“I need an emergency appointment with your senior defense counsel,” I said.

The clerk put me on a short hold.

The line clicked, and a deep voice introduced himself as Major Thomas.

I gave him my name, my rank, and my military ID number.