Chapter 13
Inside the base medical tent, the air smelled faintly of antiseptic soap, clean cotton, and rubbing alcohol. Staff Sergeant Ramirez, an experienced combat medic with a calm, reassuring bedside manner, snipped the old, blood-stained gauze away from Elena’s bruised knuckles with a pair of surgical shears.
"Well, Major, you've definitely got a hairline fracture on the metacarpal," Ramirez diagnosed expertly, gently probing the swollen skin around her knuckles. "Whoever hit you must have been wearing a heavy ring or caught you just right."
"He was wearing a signet ring and a lot of misplaced confidence," Elena replied evenly, wincing only slightly as Ramirez applied a fresh, flexible splint and wrapped it in clean white tape.
"Well, the confidence is going to cost him a lot more than it cost you," Ramirez said, securing the medical tape with a sharp snap. "The whole base is talking about how you and General Vance handled that corporate brat out on route nine. People are tired of folks thinking their money makes them immune to the rules."
Elena flexed her fingers inside the new splint, testing the mobility. It felt secure, stable, and ready for work. "Rules aren't optional, Sergeant. If we stop enforcing them in small ways, the whole framework falls apart when it really matters."
"Amen to that," Ramirez agreed, tossing the discarded gauze into a biohazard bin. "You're cleared for light duty, Major, but no heavy lifting or vehicle shifting for at least seventy-two hours. Use your left hand."
"Understood. Thanks, Ramirez."
Elena stepped out of the medical tent back into the crisp afternoon sunlight. The depot was shifting into its evening operations shift, floodlights flickering on along the perimeter fence as the sun dipped below the tree line, painting the sky in deep shades of purple and orange.
She pulled out her phone and checked her messages. There was a brief text from General Marcus Vance: Audit proceeding on schedule. Miller Logistics assets frozen. Take the evening off, Major.
May you like
Elena smiled faintly, sliding the phone back into her sweatshirt pocket. She didn't take the evening off. Instead, she walked back toward the administrative office to review the morning manifest logs, ensuring every single crate of medical supplies reached its designated unit without exception.
***
