Animal & Meg's home, 20021 Gleedsville Rd, Leesburg, VA, Thursday, July 2, 2020, 0545 hrs
"Bye, honey…" Meg called out as she headed out the door after kissing Animal on the lips and her daughter on the cheek. Leesburg was a fifty-three minute drive on a good day and could be upwards of an hour and a half during rush-hour and Meg didn't want to be too late. The office was usually open from oh-seven hundred and Harm usually wanted the staff meeting underway by oh eight, thus Meg didn't want to be AWOL for the meeting.
Animal grinned at Meg and said, "Have a good day at work, sweetheart." It felt strange waking up and not being in a rush to put on the uniform and head out the door to work at the Pentagon, but it also felt relaxed that he was able to sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee before heading over to the office to telephone the real estate agent. Animal knew that he would have to deal with some chores around the house that had been put off but if they were to start looking around for a new home, those chores would have to be fast-tracked.
"Dad, we moving?" Katie looked over at her father as he pored through the real estate paper.
"Been thinking about it…" was Animal's brief response.
Katie looked rather gloomy, "I guess that means I'm going to have to switch schools. Leesville's too far from where we're planning on looking for a house." Animal looked up to see the look on Katie's face.
"Your friends are here, right?" Animal said. "…and we have moved several times in the past fifteen years." He paused for a long moment as he looked over at Katie. "You've got two more years of school before graduation."
"I like it at Heritage…" Katie replied, her countenance expressing dismay. "It would really suck if we had to move."
Animal nodded and showed her the property that he'd been looking at. "The place is half an hour driving distance from the school you're currently going to. Do you think that would be that big of a problem to get up earlier to be able to go to school?" He asked, then waited for Katie's reply.
Katie pondered the problem internally for a while then answered her Dad. "Well, we already go by the arena and if my power-skating instructor wouldn't mind switching rink times, I'd be OK with waking up earlier for school. You understand that I want to be with my friends." She reached over and gave Animal a hug. "Thanks, Dad."
"When I was growing up, Katie, I got moved whether I wanted to or not..." Animal said as he gazed at Katie. "It was something that I was forced to live with. I never wanted you to have to..." He trailed off, cupping his hand over hers.
"Well?" Katie grinned impishly.
"What? Squirt". Animal raised an eyebrow in question.
"What are we waiting for? Let's call the realtor! I wanna go see the place." Animal rolled his eyes at Katie's eager exhortation.
"Alright, alright..." Animal complained, a grin on his face at the eager expression on his daughter's face. "Just remember, we go see it at a time when Mom can come with us." and laughed at Katie's feigned pout.
JAG Headquarters, Falls Church, VA 0715hrs
Rear Admiral (upper half) Meg Austin-Nakamura walked into the office to see all the officers standing at attention with the lingering roar from the Command Master Chief Legalman. She nodded formally to the subordinates saying "As you were..." At that the staff relaxed, returning to their duties; officers and enlisted alike.
The CMCLN turned to Meg and said, "Ma'am, the admiral would like you in his office."
"Very well, Command Master Chief." Meg replied acknowledging the CMCLN with a smile. "Thank you for notifying me..." Stepping into the office of the Judge Advocate General, she snapped to attention, "You wanted to see me, sir?"
Harm grinned at her, his gold encrusted shoulder-boards with the three stars and anchor glinting in the lamplight. "I have some good news and some bad news." He paused for a moment to let that sink in, then spoke again, " Meg, you remember our Navy Yard office?"
"Yes, sir." Meg replied, her brows furrowing as she gave him a confused look."
Harm stood up out of his chair, gestured at her to sit down, which Meg did. "The CNO with sequestration and budget cuts cannot afford to keep both the Falls Church Annex office and the Navy Yard office open." He paused again to let that revelation sink in. When it did, Harm noticed Meg's eyes widen in shock.
"So what do they plan to do?" Meg asked. The Falls Church office was small compared to other naval installations. One small red brick colonial building with a maximum of three floors: two above-ground, one below-ground which housed offices and several courtrooms. It was small enough that it felt almost homey. The Navy Yard JAG headquarters was a thirty storey high-rise; a building that felt spartan, utilitarian and cold, almost unfriendly by comparison.
"I've been on the phone to the SecNav from the time I got into the office until you got in. I had to beg off the phone-call by telling the SecNav that I wanted to discuss this with my DJAG." Harm said soberly. He looked like he had been put through the wringer and it wasn't even oh eight hundred yet.
Meg sighed, seated in the chair, her head turning around to take a look around the office. "Well, if it's budget cuts, we know where the axe is going to fall. Since this office is an annex, we'll get cut first and we'll be sent right back to the Navy Yard."
Harm nodded, "That's what I figured too..."
"So when will we know for certain..." Meg asked.
"It's already in. SecNav made the decision already to close the Falls Church office and we have a week to pack up and move our things over there." Harm replied, looking over at his office and all the things he had accumulated over his three years as JAG. "I told you and your husband that I put in for my retirement and of course BuPers is taking their time processing it. I may end up six months in command over at the Navy Yard but after that, it's your ball-game, Meg." Harm looked at her. "Me; as soon as BuPers gives me my walking papers, I'm done. I'm ready to spend some quality time with Mac down in Georgia...until she retires from MARCORLOGCOM."
"So, when you two buying that motorhome?" Meg teased. "Tosh wants to buy a waterfront home on Lake Manassas." She gazed out the narrow window of Harm's office. Harm grinned as Meg got that particular love-struck glint in her eyes that she got when she was talking about her husband.
"That'll be good for Animal." Harm grinned widely. "He'll actually have a place to shoot wildlife photos from."
"Don't worry, Harm, you can say it, he won't be constantly over at your lakefront..."
"Actually, I don't mind it. He's pointed out some interesting denizens in the area which is interesting to see. I never actually saw the kind of animals that he's pointed out before. Did you know there are great blue herons on Lake Barcroft?" Harm asked Meg.
"Really? I didn't know they came down this far east. But then again I shouldn't be surprised. You remember the Christmas bird counts that Tosh and I used to do?" Meg asked. "When we were stationed together out in Fallon?"
They talked for another few minutes and then got ready for the staff meeting where Harm would break the bad news. The judges were placing cases on adjournment until the move was completed. And memos were being sent out that all cases needing headquarters involvement would need to be reassessed to see if help was truly needed or whether the case could be resolved in-house as opposed to foisting the case on an already over-burdened JAG Headquarters.
Animal & Meg's home, 20021 Gleedsville Rd, Leesburg, VA, July 2, 2020, 0800 hrs
"Good morning, Gladstone Real Estate. How may I help you?" The real estate office receptionist's voice was bright and cheery.
"Good morning. I'm calling about 15814 Spyglass Hill Loop? My wife, daughter and I would like to see the place. I'm looking for a waterfront property?"
"Sir? The property is listed by Katherine Spiegel?" The receptionist informed him.
"Is she in the office right now?" Animal asked hoping for an affirmative as he hefted the receiver in one hand while pouring another cup of Mountain Roast blend coffee; he needed to be wide awake for this call. Salespeople were slippery to deal with. And Animal enjoyed playing hardball during real estate negotiations. He sure as hell wasn't going to pay full price on that property if it could be helped.
"If you'll hold, sir, I'll put you through to her office." Three rings and the phone was picked up.
A warm alto voice answered the phone. "Kate Spiegel speaking...how may I help you?"
"I'm calling about 15814 Spyglass Hill Loop? My wife, daughter and I would like to see the place. I'm looking for a waterfront property? And we will be looking at putting our current house for sale. Is the property in question vacant or is it occupied?" Animal asked.
"May I ask who is calling?"
"Of course, the name is Toshio Nakamura."
"Your number."
"Seven oh three triple seven sixty two forty nine." Animal responded.
"703-777-6249? Thank you, Mr. Nakamura. You said that you were looking for waterfront property?" Ms. Spiegel asked, her voice still a warm alto. "Is Lake Manassas where you were looking for. Or would another lake in the area suffice?"
"Which lake it is doesn't matter, just so long as it's lakefront and I'm able to access the lake." Animal said.
"I also have a waterfront listing at 21200 Glenkirk Road which isn't obstructed by a golf club with limited access to waterfront. With the property at Glenkirk, you can have unobstructed access to the water and there's a considerably larger property." The realtor informed him. "I also have several other waterfront properties that could potentially work for you as well. Would you like me to set up some appointments?"
"Yes. But it will be hard to do it this evening. My wife works, you see. I'm retired from the military."
"Ah yes." The realtor said "So you were in the service?"
"Yes. I was in the Navy." Animal volunteered.
"...and your wife?"
"She's still in the Navy." Animal replied.
"Will you be financing?"
"We were going to utilize the proceeds of the home to help pay for the new home."
"OK." Animal could sense in the agent's voice that she was circling around for a potential listing in the timbre of the short acknowledgement of his statement and he grinned as she asked, "I'll drop by tonight; which would work for you: six-thirty or seven?"
"Uh? Seven..." Animal replied, "...my wife should be home by then..."
"What is your address?"
"Two zero zero two one Gleedsville Road in Leesburg."
"OK, I'll draft up a comparative market analysis and bring it out for you and your wife to look at as well as a few waterfront listings that we can set up some mutually convenient times to view. I'll see you both this evening at seven o'clock. Mr. Nakamura."
"OK, I'll see you then." After he heard the dial-tone Animal felt like he'd just gotten worked over and hung up the phone's receiver while stared at the wall. Damn those realtors were smooth operators. They got a ton of information out of him, set up an appointment to list his home and he'd managed to get nothing out of them. Man did he feel like he'd gotten out-maneuvered and his six lit on fire. Atoll away, Fast Eagle is down. He figured that he had better phone Meg and let her know that there would be someone coming after dinner. Realtors were good at what they did and he knew that they were glib with words too and would probably be able to get him at least fifty thousand above what he knew he could get trying to sell the house by owner. He looked down at his empty coffee cup and grumbled an incomprehensible grunt. Katie was up in her room enjoying a book so Animal had the kitchen area to himself. He got up while dialing Meg's number at work and multitasking; brewed himself another cup of Mountain Roast. After the last phone-call, he needed it.
"JAG Headquarters, Command Master Chief Gonzalez speaking, how may I help you?" the JAG's CMC's tone was business-like and clipped.
"Hello, it's RADM Nakamura's husband." Animal grinned as he mentally stopped himself from saying Admiral Nakamura as he was retired and didn't want to use the title of his former rank, which would just intimidate the CMC…slightly. CMCs were pretty much inured to the grumpiness and commissioned rank factor of officers and were rarely ever intimidated by civilian superiors: the SECNAV and the President, let alone flag officers. "By chance, Command Master Chief, is she in?"
"She's currently in staff meeting, admiral." CMC Gonzalez said, his voice warming to the call. "I heard you retired, sir."
"The scuttlebutt is going around, Command Master Chief." Animal grinned. "Just let her know that I called and to have her give me a call back. Thank you."
"My pleasure, sir."
Boardroom; JAG Headquarters, Falls Church, VA 0835hrs
Meg and Harm both looked at each other as the meeting drew to a close. Harm stood up and looked up and down the table at the staff attorneys. "I have some bad news…" He intoned quietly. "The SECNAV called me this morning and I was informed that the Falls Church Annex Office of the Judge Advocate General Corps has been placed on the chopping block due to sequestration. We have one week to pack up the office and move back to the Washington Navy Yard." Shocked looks circled around the table. "I know that this is not the news that we were expecting this soon, but Congress has gone over the budget and they are clamping down on unnecessary expenditures. We are going to have to learn to get along. The office needs to bear down, use whatever space the Navy Yard has to offer in the building we end up in and function as we were. All cases are on adjournment until we get the move completed and this move will be completed within one week. Am I understood?"
"Yes, SIR!" was the unanimous response from the JAG staff. The officers would do what it took to insure that both heaven and earth were moved to accomplish the task that the JAG set for them. Harm was a likeable CO and thus the staff and enlisted did whatever he asked with minimal complaint. Harm would meet with RADM (lower half) Gavin Henderson, the Assistant Judge Advocate General and Chief Judge to let the Chief Judge know that all cases were to be adjourned by Judiciary staff.
"So…let's get packing our offices and get the move started." Harm indicated his dismissal of his staff.
"Aye, aye, sir!"
As the officers filed out, Harm turned to Meg and said, "It's going to be a hectic week."
Harm grinned widely as Meg sighed "That is will be, sir."
As they headed out to the bullpen area, the command master chief legalman approached them and said, "Sir, Ma'am…" he paused for a moment, "Ma'am, your husband called. He said that he needed to speak with you about something. I told him that you were in staff meeting and that I would let you know."
"Very well, Command Master Chief." Meg replied thanking the CMCLN for the message then turned back to Harm and formally told him. "Admiral, I've got to return this call. It could be regarding the place that we're looking into."
"Oh, nice, maybe Mac and I will drop over." Harm replied, a mischievous grin on his face.
"Well, Harm, you're always welcome." Meg replied, noting swiftly the change in formality.
"G'wan, go call your husband." Harm grinned as he turned to go in through the well-remembered doorway that still gave him a thrill that he was Judge Advocate General in the footsteps of the likes of Chegwidden, Cresswell and Morris.
Meg smiled to herself as she headed to her office; a slightly smaller version of Harm's, nodded to her yeoman, Master Chief Angela Rivette. "Morning, Master Chief." LNCM Rivette stood up at attention.
"Ma'am!" Rivette said crisply.
"As you were, Master Chief. Hold calls for a period of half an hour."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Meg turned to go into her office and shut the door behind her. She looked around her office wondering if the move to the new office would put her in an office like this or something much smaller. She did like the place and even through she remembered working at the Washington Navy Yard with Harm, she much preferred the Falls Church office. She had fond memories of the Falls Church office over her twenty four years of working there. And she wasn't really looking forward to moving back to the Navy Yard office. Captain Krennick had been out-processed after a rather nasty conduct unbecoming case which really angered Meg due to the fact that Krennick had demanded that she and Harm defend her. On top of that, it had happened when Meg was pregnant with Animal's and her first child, James, and Animal was enraged at Krennick for heaping more stress onto Meg than she needed. That hadn't boded well for Krennick's chances in trial and angering a one-star, a Medal of Honor recipient and the CO of Fallon's Naval Strike Air Warfare Center Command was not the smartest thing that Captain Alison Krennick had done.
And Meg had done her part to try to mitigate Krennick's sentence however, the judge had seen through Krennick's actions and had sentenced her to the maximum sentence that could be handed down: Dismissal, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for a period not in excess of that authorized for the most analogous (similar) offense for which a punishment is prescribed in this Manual, or, if none is prescribed, for 1 year. And Krennick had received that one year imprisonment for which she was dragged unceremoniously to the Navy Consolidated Brig at Joint Base Charleston in picturesque, Hanahan, SC. Too bad that Krennick would be locked up, unable to view the outside surroundings.
Meg sighed as she picked up the phone and dialed their home number. Waiting as the phone on the other end rang twice before it was picked up. "Hello?" her husband's well-modulated baritone answered on the other end.
"Hey…it's me." Meg replied, "You called and said that you wanted me to call you back?"
"Yes…sweetheart. We have a realtor coming over tonight and she's bringing over some listings." He responded, his voice rather annoyed. Meg smirked as her husband continued. "I had a talk with Katie…and she's alright with moving, provided that we keep taking her to Heritage High, which isn't that much farther of a drive."
"You didn't get any information on the one on Spyglass Loop?" Meg asked, her voice teasing. He must've gotten out-talked by the realtor.
"Nope…and she talked me into potentially listing the place…which is probably one of the things she's coming over to do." Animal's voice sounded perturbed. "I'm losing my touch on convincing people to give me information." He muttered and Meg laughed.
"You've always been an open book, my love…" Meg replied, smiling widely though her husband couldn't see her. "You wear your heart on your sleeve."
"You think we're doing the right thing in moving?" he asked. "We have a lot of memories stacked up in Gleedsville Road."
"But you'd go stark-raving mad without things to do and what you could do with a lakefront property and that lens of yours." Meg prompted hoping that the conviction in her voice was convincing him that it was the right decision to make. "Your photography is really good; it's the one hobby that allows you to be yourself. You should get into selling your photos." She lowered her voice to an intimate one, "Tosh, sweetheart, I know that you've not been happy since you were shoved out of the cockpit after your tenure as NSAWC's commanding officer. You miss flying fast jets and you'd probably go whackier'n a bedbug if you ended up flying jumbo jets from airport to airport, plus you'd be away as much as you were when you were in the Navy." She added in a bit of wistful longing in her voice. Yep…she had him wrapped around her finger as well. "I love you, Tosh. You do need to make this choice."
"Thanks, hon…" Animal replied, a bit more mollified than he was before.
Meg asked, a bit of humor in her voice. "So when is Attila the Female Hun arriving for the meeting?"
"She said around oh nineteen hundred. It'll give us enough time to eat dinner and digest a bit before she shows up."
"Wonderful." Meg rolled her eyes. "Well, everything's on adjournment because we're moving back to the Navy Yard…so I won't have too big of a workload. Just a bunch of packing, so I'll see you at about 1800hrs."
"I'll have dinner on the table by then, my love." Animal replied.
"I love you, Tosh." Meg told him.
"I love you too, Meg." Animal replied. "Hope the rest of your day goes better."
"I hope so too." Meg smiled to herself as she bade him good-bye and hung up the phone.
Animal & Meg's home, 20021 Gleedsville Rd, Leesburg, VA, July 2, 2020, 1800 hrs
As promised, Animal had dinner on the table when Meg walked through the door. Giving her a welcome home kiss, he released her long enough for her to go take a quick ten minute shower and sit down to eat. There wasn't much conversation as they knew that the real estate agent would be there at 1900 hrs. That meant that there was just enough time to eat and toss the dishes in the dishwasher after rinsing. And sure enough, there came a ring of the doorbell as they finished tossing the dishes in the machine.
Animal opened the door to find a rather diminutive blonde-haired woman in her late forties. "Hello, I'm Kate Spiegel. You must be Mr. Nakamura." Animal swore that the woman would probably be refused entry to the child rides at the Loudon County Fair considering that she stood barely four foot ten and probably only weighed one hundred pounds sopping wet. He extended his hand to shake her outstretched hand. Animal stepped aside to let the realtor in the house, who's eyes gravitated immediately towards the JSI 1/8th size VF-41 F-14 Tomcat that sat in the living-room in front of the couch.
"Hi, I'm Toshio Nakamura." He said, then turned to gesture to Meg, "This is my wife, Meg and my daughter Katie." He stated, indicating each of them with a loving glance. "My son Jamie is not here, he's at Georgetown University majoring in Naval Studies; Navy ROTC." He hadn't bothered telling Katie that Jamie opted to let another person take the slot that he would have gotten, as the son of a Medal of Honor recipient, into the Naval Academy.
"Oh…" Kate replied. "Yes, you said on the phone that you were former military. So your son is studying to become an officer?"
"Yes." Meg replied. "He's wanted to be in the military like his father."
Kate's eyes scanned the living-room, and noticed the photos of Mr. Nakamura as a US Navy officer; her eyes widened when she noticed the medals on his chest and the one that was hanging around his neck. Most Americans knew what the Medal of Honor looked like and Kate Spiegel was impressed.
"Mr and Mrs. Nakamura… we find that it seems to be much easier to list your property on the market while you are looking for a new home. That way if we do find something that you would like to make an offer on, we can adjust your marketing of your home in such a way that we can market your property to bring in offers that much quicker. Would you be open to marketing your home today and then we can get started with finding you your new home?"
Animal and Meg looked at each other; he knew that this was coming. But looking around at the home that he had lived in for the past five years, he knew that it was going to be hard to let go of this property. There were so many memories. "What's your view on this? Meg?" he asked.
"What happens if we find don't find a home before an offer comes in on our home? I don't want to end up in a motel until we escrow on the house we want." Meg looked over at Animal then at the realtor.
"Mrs. Nakamura, we can put conditions on the contract saying subject to vendor finding a home and an accepted offer of sale, the purchase contract of the buyer will complete within thirty days of the vendor giving notice that he has purchased a new home. Of course our contract of purchase of your new home will have to be subject to sale of your property and that your purchase of their property will complete prior to the sale going through on your current home." Kate replied as she looked at the Nakamuras. "Would that be acceptable."
Animal and Meg looked at each other and nodded. "I think that would be acceptable." Meg said.
"Your husband said that you were in the Navy. What do you do there?"
"I'm the Deputy Judge Advocate General of the United States Navy." Meg replied with a confident look. "I'm a Navy lawyer."
"Well…" Kate looked surprised. "And…what did you do in the Navy, Mr. Nakamura."
"Do you want the whole spiel?" Animal grinned at her.
Kate looked at her watch. "I'm good. Go ahead."
"Well, I was a naval aviator. I flew the F-14A Tomcat. Then I got myself into a bit of a pickle in North Korea. That's where I picked up the bauble." He said pointing to the portrait of him in dress whites on the table. "Then I was yanked out of the cockpit and sent to NAVINSGEN for a few months then shoveled back into the cockpit as the commander of the Navy's Top Gun program or Naval Strike Air Warfare Center as it's referred to now. Then when I finished that little bit of flying, they told me to report to US Second Fleet as their commanding officer. From there they shoved me all the way up the food chain to the office of the Chief of Naval Operations and a four star. I was replaced after my term and was given separation three days ago and now I'm a civilian again after 38 years in the Navy. But I have my wife and my family and I'm able to hangout and enjoy life now so I'm happy."
"And you're looking for a new waterfront home?" Kate inquired.
"Well, it's because I'm looking at starting a secondary career as a wildlife photographer." Animal grinned at Kate. "My biggest cheering squad seems to think I've got some talent." He said affectionately looking at Meg who gently patted Animal's arm and gave him a little affectionate squeeze.
"Well, it's nice to see that you're able to support him in his endeavors and even more admirable that you have your own naval career…" Kate said to Meg. "So what are you looking for in your new home other than the most important waterfront view of a lake?"
"That it's quiet and feels like home. I'd like a master bedroom with a walk-in closet and thick drapes as well as an ensuite." Meg said looking over at Animal who nodded quietly as Meg ran down the list of wants. "I'd like a large kitchen with an island; and since my husband loves Asian cooking which cooks a lot with oil, I'd like a gas stove; what's known as a Chinese kitchen or the ability to have one roughed in."
"I understand." Kate knew something about Chinese kitchens. Cooking with oil smoked a lot and a lot of oily residue tended to accumulate on the walls. So cooking in a Chinese kitchen effectively separated the oily smoke from the rest of the house and allowed the rest of the house to remain clean, thus cutting down on cleanup. Pulling out her listing contract, she asked, "So what is the address again?"
"20021 Gleedsville Rd, Leesburg, VA…" Animal said.
"Zip Code?"
"20175" Meg answered, tacitly taking turns.
Kate continued filling out the form and then said. "I'm taking down the particulars and then we can go measure the home; that way we have everything all ready."
"Uh…when do we go see other homes?" Animal asked.
"Oh, we'll discuss that as soon as we're done here." Kate went on filling out the form; then pulled out a measuring tape. "Now if you can give me a hand with measuring, that would be great."
Once everything was measured and noted down on the listing form, she said. "Well, now that that is done…if I can just get your signatures on the listing contract and then we can get down to talking about the homes that we are going to see throughout the next few weeks." She paused as she pushed the listing form forward and then waited.
Animal and Meg looked at each other, then at the form, then back at each other again for a long moment. Then Animal asked. "Do you have a pen handy?" Kate grinned, reaching into her bag and bringing one out…and handed it over. Animal quickly scrawled his signature and dated it then passed the pen to his wife who did the same.
"Thank you." Kate said as she received the pen back and the listing agreement disappeared as quickly into her little leather-bound legal size pad holder and then brought out a series of printed pages showing about eight listings. "Each one of these are places that I picked out prior to our appointment based on the minimal amount of information that I received. All these properties are waterfront properties. Now we can parse them down based on what we have here and I can make some appointments. As well, I will go back to the office and select a few more based on the expanded criteria that I have received from you at this appointment. Would you like that?"
Animal and Meg nodded. "Let's go over what we have here and see if there are any that are worth looking at then we can set up another appointment and go over the ones that meet your expanded criteria." After about another hour and a half, Animal and Meg felt like their heads were spinning and it was almost twenty one hundred hours. But they had narrowed their list out of eight down to two that met their criteria almost to the letter and two more almost while excluding four that didn't meet the criteria. And Kate was confident that she could find one more suitable than the two candidate homes that met their criteria now that she had a better idea of what they were looking for. She thanked the Nakamuras, got up, shook their hand and said, "I'll be in contact with you tomorrow to let you know the times that we'll view. Since this weekend is the holiday, a lot of families will be out, but there may be a few vacant homes in development that meet this criteria so please keep July 5th open. Then you'll be able to see some homes in the area during the daytime and thus able to get a better idea of what the property looks like."
"OK…well…thank you." Animal stammered and Meg nodded silently.
"Thank you…Admiral." Kate said using Animal's rank for the first time. "And thank you Admiral…" she said acknowledging Meg's rank. "It's a pleasure meeting both of you for the first time and I look forward to working with you in finding your new home." Shaking both their hands, Kate left.
As Animal shut the door, he looked over at Meg with a rather bewildered look on his face; it appeared as though they both had the same look as they both said in unison.
"Damn…she's good."