As the agents hauled the cursing Colonel out the side doors and Celeste collapsed into her chair, sobbing as the reality of her destitution set in, Caleb turned to me.

With great gentleness, right there in front of the flashing cameras and the stunned gallery, he reached out and brushed an invisible speck of dust from the flag patch on the shoulder of my uniform.

“Ready to go home, Captain?” he asked.

I laced my fingers through his. “Lead the way, Sergeant.”

We walked out of the courtroom together, leaving the hollow Harrington empire behind us, and stepped through the heavy doors into the bright, undeniable sunlight of the city.

THE END.