The 10th Mountain Division headquarters was a hive of controlled aggression. With only seven days left before the main body of the deployment moved out, the air was thick with the smell of floor wax, burnt coffee, and the sharp, metallic tang of tension.
Victor was in his office, his desk buried under a mountain of final equipment manifests and sensitive compartmented information. He didn't look up when the heavy oak door opened, but he felt the shift in the room’s pressure. He knew that footfall. It wasn't an aide-de-camp or a colonel seeking a signature.
It was Archer.
Victor set his pen down and leaned back, his blue eyes meeting the younger man’s gaze. Archer was in his OCPs, looking every bit the capable Captain, Victor had trained him to be, but today, the professional mask wa
