"Please, Sergeant, take a seat. Thank you for coming!"

 

The voice of the middle-aged officer sounds pleasant; deep, but not scratchy. As I sit down he continues:

 

"Please know that this is no interrogation; none of the here discussed will find its way into your file. This merely serves as a recording of your opinion and experience, as well as a confirmation of your former report for further consideration."

 

I nod in acceptance and he smiles.

 

"Excellent."

 

He opens the file in front of him and starts to read off the first page:

"Sergeant Lily Evans, born September 6th 1972...",

 

I see his grey eyes widen a bit in surprise as he reads the number out loud,

 

"... in Chicago, is that correct?"

 

I nod again and fill in the rest of the personal data file in my mind:

 

>>Born as the second child to Jake Evans, retired Air Force Colonel, and Sharon Evans, formerly Wilson, professor of Ancient History, sister to Aaron Evans, MIA...<<

 

"You joined the Air Force in 1988 and were approached by General West's office soon after."

 

He looks at me expectantly, obviously waiting for me to take over the monologue. I remind myself that this man isn't responsible for the current situation; I probably shouldn't let out my frustration on him - after all, he is just doing his job.

 

I flash a short smile: "That is correct. General West was informed about my commencement by Colonel Ericson, who served with my father in his time at the Air Force. The General checked my credentials  and thought I'd be an interesting additon for his team."

 

The officer scribbled down some notes before looking back up:

"A couple of weeks later you practically vanished, simply fell off the grid for several months."

 

"I was assigned to a classified project that required all my attention."