Free Chain of Command by CG Cooper

couple Jamaican baubles along with two bottles of water and an envelope.
    He looked up from his perusal, but the man with the camera had already moved on. Gower ripped open the sealed envelope and smiled at the stack of traveler’s checks. Under the money were instructions for the next day’s meeting. While he understood the need for the secrecy, he wondered if his host was taking things too far.
    Gower wouldn’t question it though. The thousands in his hands were tiny crumbs compared to where things were headed. If his new friend wanted to play spy, so be it. As long as he kept his promises, the career Navy man would go along. After all, what were a few harmless games and a trip overseas compared to millions flowing into your bank account?
     
     

Chapter 15
    Charlottesville, Virginia
    4:22pm, December 7 th
     
    Diane Mayer lay curled in a ball, the shivers refusing to release their hold on her prostrate form. Occasionally another tear trickled down her cheek and onto the pillow. Even exhaustion couldn’t send her to soothing sleep. Worry kept her going.
    Cal was late. He was never late. Not once in the months they’d been together had he failed to show up on time. It was one of a million reasons she loved him, why she couldn’t go fifteen minutes without thinking of him. It was so against everything she’d prepared her life for. She had one semester left in school and then it was off to serve her country once again, this time as a Naval officer.
    Years of planning and preparation had been swept away by one man, the man that she couldn’t see herself living without. They were like two forces of nature that tried everything they could to stay apart, but somehow kept getting pulled back together.
    Her friends thought he was a little stiff at times, but she understood where the hesitation came from. He was cautious with strangers, showing just enough emotion to be cordial. Despite her Naval intelligence background, Diane was the exact opposite. Since arriving at U.Va, she’d cast off her prior distrust and embraced the community of bright and enthusiastic young men and women. There weren’t many places she could go without seeing a friend.
    Cal, on the other hand, had a small group of loyal friends for whom he would do anything. He guarded them even though they didn’t need guarding. They were his family. It was yet another reason she loved him and couldn’t live without him.
    He challenged her. She challenged him.
    But now Diane wondered if she’d gone too far. After revealing what she knew to MSgt Trent, she’d only gotten one phone call from Cal. He’d been brief, almost curt. “I’ll be in town tomorrow. When can I stop by to talk?”
    She’d told him that all her semester finals would be done by 3:30pm and that she could be back at her apartment by four.
    “I’ll see you then,” he’d said, and then the line clicked off.
    That was the night before. It had taken every ounce of self-control she had to a) make it through her last two exams, and b) not pick up the phone and call him.
    Conclusions banged around in her weary head as she waited. He doesn’t want me anymore. I crossed the line. He’ll never trust me again. I love him. I lost him .
    As another tear slipped down, Diane heard a key being inserted into her apartment door. She sat up and tried to compose herself. I must look like a basket case , she thought.
    Cal stepped in the door and locked it behind him. He didn’t say a word, quietly removing his jacket and hanging it on the coat rack next to the door. In the dim light his face looked drawn in shadow. She couldn’t read him in that moment. What was it in his stare? Anger? Sadness? Disgust?
    “Hey,” he finally said, still not moving from where he stood.
    Diane hugged the pillow tight against her chest as if pushing the word from her diaphragm.
    “Hey,” she answered.
    “Have you eaten yet?”
    “No. You?”
    He shook his head. Still he stayed where he was. Her stomach turned. She