DHS–Domestic Terrorism
Annex
Washington, DC
December 23, 2017
Alone in the office, Dan fought the despair alone. He thought that he could be headed for a clinical depression or worse. He anticipated that the first Christmas without his family would be tough but had underestimated its paralyzing effect. He’d seen this happen to some of his fellow Seals particularly after a high risk overseas operation where no contact with the home front was permitted. Losing anyone was a gut-wrenching experience, but he’d never had to deal with the emptiness that he felt these days. Sometimes he caught himself staring blankly at the walls, thinking about Jill and their boys and wondering whether what happened in the tunnel was just a nightmare that he would suddenly wake up from. He stopped himself a number of times from walking down the hallway of his apartment to tuck in the boys.
Everyone around him seemed to be in the Holiday spirit. There were a string of parties that he’d been invited to, some with friends that really meant something and others where his name showed up on the guest list because it was organizationally correct or people felt sorry for him. As people rushed out of the office every afternoon, complaining about the traffic and time it would take to get home, he stayed in the office with nothing to look forward to other than his next workout. The office would be lightly staffed over the Holidays, and he desperately needed a change. He wrote a quick email to the Admiral and Sandy and headed out the door, not sure where he’d end up but now committed to getting there.