Change in the Weather

"You look tired," Deirdre wasn't beating around the bush.
"I am."
He looked over his shoulder, making sure nobody was listening.
"You know dad's 'When tired, push harder' isn't always right..."
"...about that..."
He fell silent. He couldn't bring himself to tell her.
She probably read it in his eyes.
In the silence he heard voices.
"...SAPFU like you can't imagine. Dirties using magic, they say. Tango Bravo Sierra, if you ask me."
"Anyway, we're Oscar Mike at o'dark thirty. Better hope the cousins get that ASS back out of Syria..."
...
"Thorne, are you listening?"
"Sorry, time to push harder."