“Colonel Parker,” he said.

“Are you prepared to assume command of this garrison under these circumstances?”

I looked at my father, who nodded once, a grave but steady movement.

I looked at Claire, who was watching me with a look of pure dread.

Then I looked at the General.

“I am, sir,” I said.

The General nodded.

He reached down and opened the top drawer of the desk.

He pulled out a silver key on a small brass ring.

He laid it on the desk blotter between us.

“This is the key to the commander’s safe,” he said.

“The Provost Marshal will be here in two minutes.”

“We are going to settle this now.”

Before I could answer, the red light on the desk phone began to flash again, faster this time.

The buzzer on the intercom sounded.

The General reached out his hand to press the button.

The General pressed the black plastic button on the base of the intercom.

“Speak,” he said.

The speaker crackled, the static sharp and loud in the silent room.

“Sir, Lieutenant Colonel Carter has arrived,” Sergeant Miller’s voice announced.