He's near a promotion, is he? That's something special. Something in the back of my head nags at me, and I begin to get the feeling I might have heard of this guy before. Pressing for details right now isn't likely to go over well, though. "Good luck on your promotion, then."

He rolls his eyes when he talks about where he might be stationed, and - not for the first time - I'm reminded of how different our responsibilities can be. "You wouldn't see much action there, would you?" I shake my head lightly and lean it against the wall, just right so the clips don't dig into my skull. "See, for the E.F., that's a high-class assignment. Something to shoot for."