Chapter 60: The New Front

A month later, the unit was back in a rhythm that would have made Viper proud. The pranks had stopped. In their place was a fierce, protective loyalty from the new kids.

I was walking across the quad toward the parking lot where Charles was waiting. I saw Vance and his squad training a group of even newer privates.

"Hey, watch out for the Colonel," one of the privates whispered as I passed. "She’s got those spots, right? Is she—"

Vance stopped the private mid-sentence. "That’s not 'spots,' Private. That’s the map of the Pech. And she’s the best damn officer you’ll ever serve under. Now give me twenty for talking instead of observing."

I smiled to myself as I reached the SUV. Charles opened the door for me, his hand lingering on mine.

"They’re learning," he said.

"They are," I replied, leaning into him.

We drove off the base, leaving the towers and the HESCOs behind. The porcelain front wasn't a shield anymore; it was just the way I was made. And as I looked at Charles, I knew that no matter how many times the world tried to paint me white or turn me into a ghost, I was finally, irrevocably, whole.

THE END (OF THE BEGINNING)