The base was quiet, the hum of distant activity muffled by the thickness of the night.

Russell moved through the dimly lit corridors, his steps steady but deliberate.

He wasn’t one to meddle, but something about your recent behavior nagged at him.

You’d been short-tempered in briefings, quieter than usual on missions. Even Woods had commented on it—a rarity in itself.

Adler wasn’t one to let things fester. That wasn’t how he operated.

When he reached your barracks, he paused outside the door. He didn’t knock. Instead, he pushed it open and stepped inside, his sharp gaze immediately scanning the room.

You were there, sitting on the edge of your bunk, shoulders slumped, staring at the floor.

The glow of a desk lamp cast long shadows across the walls.

You didn’t look up when he entered, though you must have heard him.

“Mind if I come in?” he asked, his voice steady but low.