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Applause. “And the captain didn’t tell you this, because he’s too modest. And he hasn’t asked me to announce this, because again, he is a leader of men and he would never blow his own horn.
    â€œBut I will take a little liberty as your new commanding officer to announce that our skipper, Captain Paul M. Kriete, has been nominated by President Surber, subject to confirmation by the senate, to the rank of rear admiral!”
    More applause. More “Hear, hear!”
    â€œAnd, Captain.” Turner spoke again. “I am happy for you.” He wiped his eyes. “But I want you to know that no matter how many stars they wind up pinning on your collars, sir, you will always be my skipper. And you know what an affectionate term that is in the U.S. Navy.”
    The two men embraced in a big bear hug. The officers stood, and from the right corner of the table came, “For he’s a jolly good fellow . . .”
    Others joined in. “For he’s a jolly good fellow.”
    Now the entire wardroom.
    â€œFor he’s a jolly good fellow, which nobody can deny. Which nobody can deny! Which nobody can deny! For he’s a jolly good fellow, which nobody can deny!”
    As the singing died down, Catherine heard, “To our captain!”
    â€œHear, hear! To our captain and our skipper.”
    Glasses were raised in the air. Alcohol flowed.
    Caroline sipped her red wine, then took another sip. As the wine lightened her head, his eyes found hers again.
    Somehow she knew he had gotten his way. He would always get his way.

CHAPTER 3

    OFFICE OF THE NAVY JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL
    ADMINISTRATIVE LAW DIVISION (CODE 13)
    THE PENTAGON
    ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA
    MONDAY AFTERNOON
    The Pentagon, the nerve center for the most powerful military machine ever assembled in the history of civilized mankind, had been built in the middle of World War II, of Indiana limestone, on what amounted to swampland by the banks of the Potomac River.
    In addition to its five equidistant sides, making it the most recognizable building in the world, especially from the air, the massive building had five “rings” and five “levels.” The rings were associated with the order of prestige and rank. The most prestigious, the outer E-Ring, housed the Secretary of Defense and many four-star flag and general officers.
    Just inside the E-Ring, separated by several feet of open-air space, was the D-Ring, which housed a lot of three-star officers. The C-Ring housed two-star officers. Inside the C-Ring was the B-Ring, and inside that, the A-Ring.
    Each of the Pentagon’s rings had its own exterior walls, and with the exception of the E-Ring, the exterior views outside the windows of each ring were only the exterior walls of the ring just inside of it or outside of it. Not much of a view. Only the E-Ring windows, which overlooked the Potomac, Arlington Cemetery, or the snaking turns of the Shirley Highway, allowed anyone to see outside the entire building.
    All the rings were connected by interior covered walkways radiating inward, from the E-Ring all the way to the A-Ring. The five inner walls of the A-Ring surrounded the open-air courtyard known as Ground Zero, so named because it was the bull’s-eye target of Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles during the Cold War and then of savage Arab terrorists during the War on Terror.
    Ground Zero featured an outdoor food court, the Center Courtyard Café, where Pentagon employees would congregate for lunch during nice weather in the spring and fall, but which could be an open-air oven or a cold wasteland at other times.
    Part of the mystique of the Navy JAG Corps’ elite Code 13 was its location at the Pentagon, giving its officers easy access to the Judge Advocate General, the Secretary of the Navy, and even the Secretary of Defense.
    But what remained unsaid, indeed unknown to the rest of the Navy JAG Corps, which looked upon the mysterious Code 13 officers