Chapter 1 - Take a Knee
“On your knees, Sergeant. Maybe then you'll remember how to show respect.”
Colonel Victor Harlan said it quietly enough that the Marines along the plywood wall had to lean forward to hear. That made it worse. He wasn't losing control. He was arranging an audience.
The sand at the Camp Pendleton training lane was still cool from the night. Sergeant Nia Palmer stood with her chin level and her hands at her sides. Harlan's tan service shirt was stiff with starch. Three rows of ribbons sat over his heart. The bright little rectangles caught the sun each time he moved.
“Sir,” Nia said, “I filed a report. I didn't make an accusation in front of the platoon.”
“Your report calls me a liar.”
“My report says the story on the foundation website doesn't match the incident record.”
He leaned close enough for her to smell coffee. “You think that difference matters?”
Behind her, someone shifted his boots in the sand. Twenty-three Marines were waiting for a field exercise that should have begun six minutes ago. Nia could feel their embarrassment even without turning around.
“Take a knee,” Harlan repeated. “And apologize for disgracing an officer who's buried more friends than you've ever met.”
Nia's first instinct was to refuse. Her second was to picture Corporal Eli Navarro standing four feet behind her, his jaw already tight, ready to say something that would end his career before breakfast. She was responsible for these Marines. She wasn't going to let Harlan turn their morning into a shouting match with half the unit facing discipline.
She lowered herself onto one knee. Sand pressed through the fabric at the seam. The colonel gave a short nod, as if this were the result he'd rehearsed.
“Now,” he said.
“I'll follow a lawful order,” Nia answered. “I won't retract a report I believe is true.”
Harlan looked past her at the formation. “There. That's what arrogance sounds like.” He turned to walk away.
“Sir!” Eli stepped out of line. A younger Marine caught his sleeve and let go. “You need to hear what she actually reported.”
Harlan spun around. “Back in formation, Corporal.”
Eli did not move. He lifted his phone in one hand, high enough for the men and women beside him to see that its camera was still recording.
“You told us no one would believe her,” Eli said. “Now they won't have to take her word for what happened here.”
The colonel's face lost its color. He wasn't looking at the camera.
He was looking at the folder tucked beneath Eli's other arm.
May you like
“Where did you get that?” Harlan asked.
Eli swallowed. “From the man you said you saved.”
