The night stretched endless as time marched sluggishly forward. No word had yet come in from the operations underway, and the potency of that silence tore morsels from the souls of both Matt and Bill. In its wake was left a restless, almost sickening, abandonment that stirred an ill-tasting brew. The men and women fulfilling their duty were family to them. A special friendship linked through respect and joy and nurtured within a common creed: ‘to serve and protect the community.’

Matt&...