MILITARY BASE
803 Words
Eli’s POV
# Chapter Two
## Eli
The military base never truly slept.
Even at three in the morning there was always movement somewhere. Boots against concrete. Radios crackling. Engines rumbling in the distance. Men preparing for missions before sunrise.
Most people found the noise exhausting.
I found it familiar.
Predictable.
Predictability was a luxury.
I sat at my desk reviewing operation reports while the faint glow of a desk lamp illuminated the room. Outside, snow drifted steadily across the base.
Russia in February was brutal.
The cold settled into your bones and refused to leave.
A sharp knock sounded against my office door.
"Come in."
The door opened immediately.
Captain Reeves stepped inside.
"Sir."
I glanced up.
"What is it?"
"The convoy schedule for tomorrow."
I accepted the folder and scanned the contents.
Everything appeared in order.
I signed the paperwork and handed it back.
"Dismissed."
"Yes, sir."
The captain hesitated.
I looked at him.
He cleared his throat.
"You should get some sleep."
I stared at him.
He immediately regretted speaking.
Good.
I returned my attention to the paperwork.
"Dismissed, Captain."
He disappeared so quickly the door nearly hit the wall.
Silence settled over the room once again.
Sleep.
Everyone always said that.
As if insomnia were a switch I could simply turn off.
I hadn't slept properly in years.
Not since Stephanie.
My gaze drifted toward the photograph sitting in the corner of my desk.
Stephanie smiled back at me.
Blonde hair.
Bright eyes.
A smile capable of disarming entire rooms.
She'd hated this photograph.
Said her hair looked ridiculous.
I thought it was perfect.
I picked up the frame.
For a moment the office disappeared.
The snow disappeared.
The reports disappeared.
It was just me and a memory.
A weekend trip to the lake.
Stephanie laughing because she'd somehow managed to burn breakfast.
Kira still a baby sleeping in her stroller.
A life that felt impossibly far away now.
A knock interrupted my thoughts.
Again.
I set the photograph down.
"Enter."
Lieutenant Harris stepped inside.
Unlike Reeves, he wasn't afraid of me.
I still hadn't decided if that was bravery or stupidity.
"Your daughter called."
My attention immediately sharpened.
"When?"
"About an hour ago."
I frowned.
"Why wasn't I informed immediately?"
His expression remained neutral.
"Because you were in a briefing."
Fair.
I leaned back in my chair.
"Did she leave a message?"
A faint smile tugged at the lieutenant's mouth.
"Daddy, Nanny burned another pancake."
Silence.
Then:
"That's the message?"
"That's the message."
I rubbed a hand across my jaw.
Of course it was.
Kira had inherited Stephanie's talent for finding amusement in absolutely everything.
The lieutenant continued.
"She also wanted me to tell you she misses you."
The room suddenly felt quieter.
I looked away first.
"Anything else?"
He nodded.
"Miss Kingsley says Kira has been behaving well."
Miss Kingsley.
Reliable.
Patient.
Far too soft-hearted for her own good.
Kira adored her.
My parents adored her.
Even the staff at the estate seemed incapable of saying anything negative about her.
I wasn't sure how she'd managed that.
People usually found reasons to dislike each other.
Miss Kingsley somehow made that difficult.
"Thank you, Lieutenant."
He nodded and left.
The office fell silent once more.
For several moments I stared out the window.
Snow.
Darkness.
Distance.
Thousands of miles separated me from home.
Thousands of miles separated me from Kira.
That bothered me more than I liked to admit.
I reached for my phone.
The screen lit up immediately.
There were several unread messages.
Most were work related.
One wasn't.
A photograph.
Kira sat inside what appeared to be a blanket fort.
Miss Kingsley sat beside her.
Both of them were smiling.
The fort itself looked structurally unsound.
I narrowed my eyes.
Extremely unsound.
Kira had attached a caption beneath the image.
NANNY SAYS IT IS SAFE.
I immediately doubted that.
A second message followed.
This one from Miss Kingsley.
Sorry, Mr. Winslie. The fort has collapsed only two times. We are improving.
For reasons I couldn't explain, I found myself shaking my head.
Only two times.
Somehow that wasn't reassuring.
I typed a response.
Make sure Kira is in bed before nine.
The reply arrived less than a minute later.
Yes, Mr. Winslie. And I promise not to build a fourth dangerous fort.
I stared at the screen.
Then, despite myself, a small smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.
It disappeared just as quickly.
I locked the phone and stood.
There was still work to do.
There was always work to do.
Four more days.
Then I'd be home.
Back to Kira.
Back to the estate.
Back to the life waiting for me beyond military bases and endless reports.
For the first time all night, the thought was enough to keep the exhaustion at bay.
- Writer
