Getting Away with Murder

"The section met for the Patrol Brief in the upstairs conference room, dusty thread bare indoor/outdoor carpet, dented and scratched battleship gray filing cabinets labeled for the forms they contain. In the middle of the room are two long and narrow laminated press board tables, the kind you would see in the 'conference room' of a small construction business.
The tables sit like and island in the center of the room, pushed together the tops permanently coated in a thin layer of dust. Streaks from fingers prints an entire hand print and the rings from coffee cups and Red Bull cans mar the surface, evidence for the existence of ghosts. Arrayed around the tables are a ecliptic collection of chairs and stools. The wall are painted a flat chalky white, like sheet rock. Smudges of dirt from sweaty uniforms and ragged tears pit the walls.
Plywood boards with dirty memos pined to them, a large satellite photo of the sector is tacked to another wall. Taped to the inside of the door is the cover 2003 Time magazine that named the person of the American Soldier. Hand written in black ink on the lead Soldiers' body armor is the word 'Girl' in case some one had any doubts as to the sex of the Soldier, like I did the first time I saw the cover.
After the brief I went back to my room to gather my gear and weapons and saw that Wendy had sent me an instant message. She was Home and safe and I was relieved. Contact reestablished and calm restored."
Paint it Black

Found at Doc in the Box