Kessler nodded once and walked away. Melvin glanced at Mac. “Friendly guy.”
Mac’s mouth twitched. “Efficient.”
The rest of the morning moved fast. Paperwork. Walk-throughs. Systems revealed themselves if you paid attention long enough.
Mac reappeared near midday, leaning against the TOC doorway. “You eaten yet?” he asked.
Melvin shook his head. “Not since yesterday.”
“Come on. Let’s fix that.”
They stepped into the sun. Melvin walked beside him, careful with distance. Close enough for conversation. Not enough to intrude. He caught the scent again. Maple sweetened by earth. Wolf layered beneath it. Contained. Disciplined. Pressed tight. Wolves weren’t subtle by accident.
Inside the chow hall, noise and smell collided. Trays clattered. Fans rattled. The food smelled overworked, but Melvin’s stomach didn’tcare. They found a back corner table. Mac ate slowly, always scanning.
“You went to Florida State, right?” Mac asked.
Melvin nodded. “Political Science and language studies. ROTC all four years.”
“So this wasn’t last-minute.”
“Nope. My dad was Air Force. Twenty years. I wanted ground-level. I wanted to lead.”
“And you picked MPs.”
“It felt right. Leadership and structure. I’m wired that way.”
“What languages?”
“Arabic, Spanish, French.”
Mac leaned back slightly. “Damn. You just casually out here with a NATO starter pack.”
Melvin smiled. “Spanish and French I grew up with. Arabic I focused on.”
“I picked up some Arabic my first deployment,” Mac said. “Enough to keep checkpoints smooth.”
“Most officers don’t try,” Melvin said, eyeing a limp french fry before eating it anyway.
“When you’ve got guys relying on you not to get them killed over miscommunication, you learn,” Mac replied.
That settled between them.
“You always want to be an officer?” Melvin asked.
“Nope. Enlisted out of high school. Infantry. Ramadi was my first real deployment.”
He paused. “OCS came in ’09. Pinned second lieutenant the next year. Didn’t think I’d make it past my first four.”
“What changed?”
Mac smirked faintly. “I got good at surviving. And some crusty major decided I was worth the paperwork.”
“Lucky for me,” Melvin said before he could stop himself. Silence stretched. Not awkward. Just aware. Mac shifted the conversation.
“You got siblings?”
“One. Sister. Back in New York.”
