Page 111 of Promises in the Dark

The private gave us this shaky little grin, like he was grateful for the bare minimum. “Thank you,” he beamed at us, still trembling as he scooped up the last of his papers.

“Yeah, whatever,” I grunted, barely sparing him a glance.

There were bigger fucking fish to fry, and I didn’t have time to play babysitter for some clueless rookie who couldn’t even hang on to his own damn documents.

As the kid stood up, a gruff voice called out from behind us.

“Private Johnson, get your ass over here!” Captain barked, sounding like he was ready to tear this poor kid apart.

I shoved the last of the papers into his sweaty, trembling hands. “Better get going,” I grumbled, watching him jump like a damn rabbit, gripping those files like his life depended on it.

He looked like he was about to shit himself as he turned to face Captain, all color draining from his face.

“I—I’m sorry, sir,” he stuttered. “I was just trying to—”

Captain cut him off, striding forward to snatch the files from his hand like the kid was holding a bomb. “I’ll take those,” he growled, flipping through the papers, his expression getting uglier with every second.

The kid dropped his head, retreating like a whipped dog. And of course, Captain just twisted the knife.

“A kindergartener could do a better job than this.”

Morale around here was clearly circling the fucking drain.

The private opened his mouth to apologize again, but Captain cut him off, sharp and final. “Save it. I don’t know why I even bothered giving you a chance.”

I swear, the kid went ghost white, like he was about to piss his pants right there. Captain flipped through the papers like he was reading some kind of personal insult.

“Get out of my sight before I decide to make an example out of you.”

Red and I shared a look, both of us raising an eyebrow.

Captain Shitstain was undoubtedly in a good mood.

“Yes, sir,” the kid said, practically tripping over his own feet to get out of there.

What a fucking joke.

I shook my head, wondering how this guy even made it through basic training.

Fucking amateur.

As much as he didn’t deserve that kind of bullshit, I wasn’t about to sacrifice my balls to Captain Fuckstick. I bit my tongue, swallowed the comeback burning in my throat, and just took a deep breath. Not worth the hassle.

“Well, that was fun,” I said, dusting off my pants.

As soon as the kid vanished around the corner, Captain’s eyes zeroed in on us like a pair of heat-seeking missiles.

“And you two, get inside my office. Now.”

Red met my gaze, and I could see the same simmering anger staring back at me. We both knew it—Captain’s a complete cunt, with a stick so far up his ass, he could probably taste wood.

I pushed open the office door, Red right next to me, and Captain marched in behind us, slamming the door so hard the walls shook.

Same typical military office—sterile, functional, and devoid of any personality. But what caught my attention was the piece of shit already sitting in one of the chairs.

What the fuck was he doing here?

Captain dropped into his seat behind the desk, tossing the files on it like they were trash.

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