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Peter felt his face groarar studied Peter ahave you been out here?"

Of course the colonel knew the answer; he was asking only totio The only reason you haven’t is that you always put in a request to stay I’ve let it go because I knohat the hunt means to you In a way, you’re the reason all of us are here"

"There’s no place else I want to be, sir"

"And you’ve made that abundantly clear But you’re only human, Lieutenant Frankly, you need the break I’s up, and as soon as I can, I’ll put in a request at Division to move you back out to the territories I’est you take this one"

There was nothing to do but agree "If I may ask, Colonel, what about Lieutenant Donadio?"

"She’s got new orders, too This isn’t just you As soon as she returns fro north to Kearney"

Fort Kearney was the northernmost outpost of the Expeditionary With a supply line stretching all the way from Amarillo, it was typically shut down before the first snowfall

"Why there? Winter’s only a couple of , but frootten pretty thick up there Given her talents, I’ they want a new S2 to help clear out the hostiles before they evac"

The explanation felt thin, but Peter knew better than to press

"I’ood officer I know you were friends"

"Thank you, sir"

"Dismissed, Lieutenant"

Peter spent the rest of the week in a state of suspension With nothing else to occupy his time, he mostly stayed in his quarters The e of purpose, now felt like a bad joke Maybe there was so to Alicia’s theory, and maybe there wasn’t It seeht of the ti if he’d ht had been his alone Now it belonged to a larger enterprise, one with rules and protocols and chains of command in which he had little, if any, say He had surrendered his freedom to become just another junior officer about whouy"

Theof his departure arrived Peter carted his locker to the staging area where the transport awaited, a seht down froo coer seat

"Good to be going hoht have said would have sounded peevish, and the driver, a corporal from Satch’s squad, didn’t deserve to bear the brunt of his badI do after I collect my scrip," the corporal said, his exuberance barely contained "I’ht to H-town to spend half of it on lick and the other half in a whorehouse" Suddenly elanced at Peter with a flustered look "Uht, Corporal"

"Anybody at ho"

The ansas too coave a knowing smile "Well, whoever she is, I’iven; with a belch of diesel fu into the trancelike state he hoped toover the racket of engines

"Hold at the gate!"

Alicia was jogging toward the Huot back an hour ago," she said "Who do you think you are, leaving without saying goodbye?"

Her face was a riht his eye was a glint of metal on her collar: a pair of captain’s bars

"Well, look at that," he said, uess I’ll have to start calling you ’sir’ "

"I like the ring of that About ti me out"

"I know The Oil Road" There was no reason to elaborate "It’s easy duty, Peter You’ve earned it"

"That’s what they tell me"

"Say hi to the Circuit for me And Greer, if you see him"

Peter nodded There was only so much that could be said with the driver present "When do you leave for Kearney?"

"Two days"

"All eyes up there Apgar says it’s gotten pretty thick"

"You, too" She glanced at the driver, as studying the wheel with his eyes, then back at Peter "Don’t worry What ere talking about before It’s not over, okay?"