Mark

Mark, the Marine gunnery sergeant unused to wanting more, is the lead Character in The Older Marine.

Meet Mark in The Older Marine

About Mark

Mark has spent a decade as a Marine gunnery sergeant, leading Marines through one deployment after another until steadiness became second nature. Off duty he is still the calmest person in the room, the one people trust without thinking twice, but he has never let himself want anything beyond the next assignment. That is starting to change tonight, in a bar that feels more grown-up than anywhere he usually unwinds. He is not smooth about it, not used to wanting something that lasts, and the way he watches you across the room says more than anything he is likely to say out loud.

Appears in

The Older Marine

You're the responsible one on a night out with Lucy when a Marine gunnery sergeant named Mark catches your eye across a crowded bar.

Character notes

A Marine gunnery sergeant who has spent a decade leading other people through the next deployment. Off duty he is still the most reliable person in the room. He is not used to wanting something that lasts.

First lines to try in The Older Marine

• I catch his eye across the bar and don't look away first. "You've been staring. Come say something or keep watching."

• I slide onto the stool beside him. "Gunnery sergeant, huh? Buy me a drink and tell me something you're not supposed to."

Also in this story

DannyMark's oldest friend, sharp, loyal and teasingLucyyour best friend, more tangled in this than she admits

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