Act I The Colonel rose so quickly that several officers barely had time to look up. One second, the strategy room was quiet, filled with the low hum of the radar screen and…

Act I The kick came before anyone could react. The drill sergeant drove his boot into the woman’s back, sending her face-first into the dry dirt beside the sandbags. Dust exploded around her….

Act I The Major’s hand was already tangled in her hair when the cafeteria went silent. He stood behind her chair, one fist gripping the neat bun at the back of her head….

Act I The man behind her had one hand twisted into her high hair bun. Her head was forced back, her boots grinding into the dry dirt as she struggled to keep her…

Act I The Major was already standing over her when the cafeteria went quiet. He pointed across the room toward a smaller table near the kitchen, the kind of table people used when…

Act I The tiny spill was almost invisible. A few drops of coffee or sauce had landed on the cafeteria floor beside Colonel H. Obine’s polished black boot. She looked down. Then she…

Act I The Major was already angry when she asked the question. He leaned across the briefing table, one hand planted beside a stack of mission documents, his jaw tight beneath the harsh…

Act I The slap cracked across the checkpoint before anyone could stop it. The soldier’s head snapped to the side. Her olive patrol cap flew from her head and landed in the dirt…

Act I The sealed folder skidded across the headquarters hallway and stopped beneath the fluorescent lights. Its edges scraped against the gray floor before coming to rest beside the polished boots of a…