Glenn folded his arms and stared at me.

“Have it your way,” he said.

“Just don’t come crying to me when the civilian world gets the better of you.”

He turned and walked back down the dark hallway without getting anything to drink.

The window air conditioner rattled to life, filling the silence in the room.

I thought about the three weeks of quiet vacation I’d planned before I took command of the base.

That peace was already gone.