Chapter 5 - The Commander Delivers A Formal Intelligence Briefing Report
General Vance paid no attention to the domestic melodrama unfolding around the dinner table.
He reached into his leather briefcase and pulled out an encrypted tablet enclosed in a heavy duty military casing.
“Ma’am, forgive the intrusion, but NORCOM has raised the alert status on the Eastern Seaboard,” Vance reported efficiently.
“We have an emergency Joint Chiefs teleconference in twenty minutes, and your presence is required at the base terminal.”
I nodded, standing up from my chair with fluid grace.
As I stood, the junior officers immediately snapped their heels together, standing at rigid attention.
Melissa instinctively tried to stand straighter, but her body felt weak and unresponsive under the weight of her embarrassment.
“Give me two minutes, Thomas,” I told Vance, using his first name to indicate my seniority over him.
“Understood, General. The motorcade is idling outside in the valet lane,” Vance replied before stepping back toward the doorway.
I picked up my phone from the table, tucking it into my blazer pocket.
Then I looked at the five people sitting around the table who had spent the last hour making me feel small.
“Melissa,” I said softly, addressing my sister directly.
She flinched, looking at me with wide, terrified eyes as if waiting for a verbal execution.
“You mentioned earlier that not everyone is meant for leadership,” I reminded her, letting my words hang in the air.
“You were right.”
May you like
“True leaders don't need a name card on a table to prove who they are.”
“And they certainly don't belittle the people who quietly keep the world spinning around them.”
Related Stories
