She held her helmet in her hand and didn’t even glance in the lieutenant colonel’s direction.

He noticed her immediately — and felt a surge of anger. He slammed on the brakes, rolled down the window, and leaned out, yelling:

— Hey, soldier! Why aren’t you saluting me? Lost your discipline? Do you even know who I am?!

The young woman looked him straight in the eyes, calm and steady.

— Yes, I know exactly who you are, she replied, without a trace of fear.

Her response, which he took as insolence, made the lieutenant colonel explode with rage.