Right now, he's clinging to formality. It's a known quantity, a structure with which he's familiar. "What of your position, sir?" he asks, pointedly remaining standing.
Anything but talking about himself. Just file it away and focus on something else. "We could always attempt to get back to Chicago, via the Consulate-- though if our postings have been entirely erased from the record, so to speak, that may not be possible."