11
HOMECOMING
Headquarters of the National Security Agency, aka, ‘The Box.’ Fort Meade, Maryland.
As Jana walked into the vast operations center, she spotted Cade on the far side leaning over the desk of an analyst nicknamed “Knuckles,” a kid so young his face barely produced peach fuzz. They had not seen each other since she began her trek across Spain two months prior, and she double-stepped toward him.
But as they went to embrace, she was pounced upon by her sixty-pound service dog, a caramel-colored Lab, Australian Shepherd mix. The force knocked her to the ground and she was greeted with a full face pasting.
“Coconut! My God, dog. Yes, yes, I’m glad to see you too,” she laughed. “Man, that hurt. I know, I know, boy.”
As Jana lay on her back, the dog stood atop her and continued
