"Come in," came the immediate, muffled reply. The door slid open silently and revealed the deputy director's compact but well-furnished and maintained office. Over four decades in the navy Mallory had developed certain standards and expectations of his working space and he zealously kept up with these even in this far less prestigious new job.
Not looking up from the screen that dominated the right side of his oak desk - one of the few pieces of furniture he had been able to salvage from his quarters aboard the Sierra Nevada - he motioned Cotton to enter and approach.
