Wearing only military camouflage and arms resting on his back, Major General Tyson Speed was interestingly calm as he enters the room.
Regardless of his surprising visit, what was actually shocking for me was the fact that he did not scream at us and punish us with brutal push-ups - considering that we were doing this meeting behind his back.
... Or be upset, with the fact that we uncovered something 'sensitive' related to the government without his permission.
Yep, he was that calm.
Still, I felt the room grow tense as he slowly got closer to where we were gathered at.
Furthermore, as he reached the table, he bend down and took one of Maxine's clipped photos from the confidential file.
"I see you boys have been busy..."
The old, blonde man commented dryly as he raise his cold, blue eyes to stare at us.
"We didn't mean to do this Sir –" Third, as calm and polite as he was, hurriedly apologize.
General Speed quickly lifts a hand, stopping Third from his speech. Then, without another word, he casually seated himself on one of the steel chairs and took another photo of Maxine - which, as I caught, happens to be the one that looks like she was already a teenager.
Silence then came, as we let the Major General inspect the files Parker brought and now, scattered on the table.
While for us soldiers - even if we wanted to say a word to the old man to get him to talk to us, we chose to stand still and remained quiet for the next few minutes.
I was about to go insane with the dread silence, for I swear I could hear each and everyone's heart beating inside their chest when the serious General finally spoke.
"Have you boys ever wondered why secrets are meant to be buried, instead of being exposed?" He cautiously asked.
Not expecting this question from him, the boys and I looked at each other; all are dumbfounded by the unexpected question.
"Pardon, sir?" Third uttered, his forehead - like the rest of us - wrinkled in confusion.
The General did not bother to explain what he had just said and continued to scan the documents on hand.
As I mentioned before, he did not look bothered or mad with what was going on. Instead, he looked and remained calm as he took in the awkward silence brought by his abrupt question, which then, I began to suspect.
If my memory serves me right, wasn't this meeting supposed to be private?
No one, except for us 'A' team and Doctor Parker, knew about the gathering...
So how come the Major General was here?
Contemplating on the matter, I suddenly caught a glimpse of the General's hard expression turning soft as he picked up the third photo of our mystery girl to stare at.
"Ah, our little girl," he murmured, a small smile appearing on his wrinkled face.
And that, right there, completely blew my mind...
For once, the Major General, who happens to be FEARED by all - be it in the military base or the government office, SMILED.
He seriously smiled people!
No, it can't be... However, his lips curled up.
That's a smile, right?
Though, was it because of happiness or just his typical evil grin - which he does whenever he conducts interrogations?
Or, perhaps, I just miss look this?
Wide-eyed now and still doubtful of what I had just witnessed, I darted my eyes back at him.
And to my astonishment, the smile on his lips did not disappear... rather, it grew as he keep on staring at Maxine's photo.
Okay, that right there convinces me that I am not legally blind. But, it does make me question his main reason for being here.
After all, this SMILE was not usually seen in him...
He's a disciplinarian man and a strict head of the military. He only cares about a soldier's growth and development into earning success in a mission.
So, his emotions and face, as far as I could recall, are usually seen as either angry or serious, regardless of the situation and/or occasion.
This leads us to label him as a dictator; tough as a rock and cold as ice, as we all say.
That's why seeing him smile for the first time - in the last 10 years of my service, was a bizarre experience for me; like catching a glimpse of a ghost in the hallway.
Yet, what intrigued me the most was the idea that he smiled because of 'her', because of our mystery girl.
Is it me or am I missing something important here?
I shifted my gaze and glanced at the boys then.
I wanted to know if they have noticed what I had just seen, and just as expected, they did. Their eyes were wide as they stare at the old General and if my hearing was right, they all seemed to stop breathing.
Oh great, seven men will die from suffocation here...
Even the leader of our team, Third, was no exception; he was both quiet and motionless at the moment.
I insisted on not rolling my eyes at their complete exaggeration.
"I know you boys have questions," General Speed finally announced, breaking the almost half an hour of silence.
Eager to feed our wonder, we snapped out of our reverie, and on cue, we all nodded to his acknowledgment.
Seeing this, he only nodded back and dropped the file he was holding - the one that was titled, 'Maxine Rose, ELCN001'.
"Maxine was never her real name, not even Rose as her last. It was all made up... Did you boys know that?"
The old, blonde General claimed while motioning us to sit down.
We, even if it was not commanded by the General, began to sit on our previous chairs while absorbing what the old man stated.
"It wasn't?"
Parker bluntly asked as a hint of disappointment was heard in his low, deep tone.
"It wasn't," the General confirms, "she was nameless for over a year. My colleagues from before tried to inquire her about the real one. Sad to say, she never responded to any of our attempts. Much less, talk..."
With this, the Asian Doctor frowned in dismay.
However, to my surprise, it only took him just a fraction of a second to get over it as his disappointed face turned into a more curious manner.
Oh, okay that was strange.
Yet, what was really odd that absolutely caught my full attention at that moment was the look of longing in the Major General's eyes...
Sure, it only appeared for a second, like a flash of light. Still, I knew it was there and it twinkled enough for me to recognize it.
Hence, this got me believing - within that moment - that somehow, somewhere, Major General Tyson Speed knew her...
He knew Maxine.