Families clustered in small groups. Wives in civilian clothes, kids running between tables, soldiers in their off-duty gear trying to look approachable.

You stood near the entrance.

Out of tactical gear for the first time in months. Civilian clothes. Hair done. No weapons visible—though the weight of a sidearm was a familiar absence against your hip.

Heads turned. A few operators you didn’t recognize glanced your way, curiosity flickering across their faces. A beautiful woman standing alone at the door of a military base tended to draw attention.

Two figures stepped through, both towering, both broad-shouldered, both unmistakable even in the dim light.