Sea of Shadows eBook - Navy Thriller.com

USS TOWERS (DDG-103)
CENTRAL ARABIAN GULF
FRIDAY; 18 MAY
0911 hours (9:11 AM)
TIME ZONE +3 ‘CHARLIE’
SEA OF SHADOWS 165
There was a full-length mirror bolted to the bulkhead outside the
wardroom. Across the top of the glass was a blue decal depicting the
eagle-and anchor emblem of the U.S. Navy, followed by a short paragraph
in white block lettering:
CHECK YOUR MILITARY APPEARANCE. ARE YOU
SETTING A PROPER EXAMPLE FOR YOUR
SUBORDINATE PERSONNEL? LOOK LIKE A
LEADER. THINK LIKE A LEADER. BE A LEADER.
Sonar Technician Chief Theresa McPherson paused to examine her
reflection in the mirror. She was a bantam hen of a woman: short,
redheaded, and inclined toward plumpness. Thirty-five minutes a day on
the treadmill kept her within Navy body-fat standards, but her round face
and full cheeks made her seem chubby no matter how trim she kept her
body.
She suppressed a sigh. Her face was a preview of the years ahead. The
women of her family all put on weight in their late thirties, and some
day—when she no longer had the energy to struggle against her genes and
the general entropy of middle age—she would become just as round as the
others. That day might not be too far in coming. She didn’t need the
streaks of gray in her hair to know that her fortieth birthday was careening
toward her like a juggernaut.
She turned her attention to her uniform. Her short-sleeved khakis were
crisply starched, the creases sharp and precisely aligned. Despite her
chipmunk cheeks, there were no bulges at the hips of her khaki trousers,
and the buttons of her shirt lay flat against her belly. She was winning the
battle, for now at least. And maybe that was all she could expect: to win
one battle at a time. She straightened her belt buckle a fraction and
stepped away from the mirror.
Two quick steps brought her to the wardroom. She rapped on the doorframe
and then opened the door far enough to stick her head in.
Captain Bowie was sitting in his customary spot, the middle seat on the
far side of the table that ran down the center of the room. He looked up
and motioned to a chair. “Come on in, Chief. Grab yourself a cup of
coffee and have a seat.”