“I don’t think you can go much higher than head of Fleet Operations.”

Barrett realized what had happened and shook his head, “I’ve heard of the general doing this too. Leave it to me, I’ll find out whether it is anything to be worried about.” and with that they turned and went into the admiral’s receiving area.

They didn’t have to wait long, and soon they were being ushered by one of the admiral’s aides into his large office.

“Wow, this is nice, Admiral,” said Neal, shaking the older man’s hand, “much bigger than the office we met in before.”

Admiral Hamilton smiled, not thrown by the comment, but clearly intrigued at the presence of an air force colonel in his office without a pre-call from the man’s supervising general.

“I was having this one redecorated when you last came by, you’ll have to excuse the loner they gave me.” said Tim Hamilton, now staring openly at the colonel, who went ahead and spoke.

“My apologies for being here unannounced, Admiral Hamilton. I’d like to request that you withhold judgment on that point until the meeting is over. After that, if you feel I have overstepped my bounds by coming to you, I assume you will contact General Pickler as you see fit.” The admiral’s eyebrows rose in surprise, but his face also betrayed a hint of impatience. He was not one for office intrigue.

Barrett noted this and went on, “I hope you’ll see soon why we did not supply an agenda for this briefing in advance.”

The admiral knew protocol demanded that he call the general before speaking further with the colonel, but he was not fool enough to ignore the tone of the decorated airman’s voice. Nor was he naïve enough to believe for a moment that General Pickler would immediately call him if a naval commander were to approach him in secret.

The admiral nodded, giving his tacit consent to the colonel’s request, for now, and the colonel went on, “Before we begin, sir, I have to ask something. If you were in a different office when you met with Mr. Danielson before, I am assuming that it was the other office that was the interview room, not this one.”

The admiral looked blankly at the colonel for a moment, not allowing his fury at having senior military protocol discussed in front of a civilian. But clearly the colonel was unfazed. Very well.

“Colonel, Mr. Danielson, I will hear what you have to say, since you are clearly very keen to say it to me. And I will set your mind at ease by saying that my real office, which we are indeed now in, is swept daily by Naval Intelligence: you will not be heard in here.” The admiral leant back in his chair, looking pointedly at each man in turn before he delivered his final proviso.