Beautiful Lie [John 'Soap' Mactavish]

Prologue

"Reassigned?!"

The word burnt her tongue as it fell from her mouth, like venom dripping from her lips, searing through her very flesh with burning disbelief, her pristine acrylic fingernails digging into the plush dark leather of the chair. Jones, a formidable looking man, with thick eyebrows set heavily under a wrinkled forehead, a grey handlebar moustache paired with sleek styled greying hair, lifted his tired and frankly fed up eyes from the various documents and folders spread across the desk before him, watching her dangerously.

"Did I stutter?" he questioned sternly.

The streets of London were alive, vibrant, and loud in the mid-day sun, even high off the ground Alyssa could faintly heard the roar of traffic, the chorus of horns from impatient drivers rushing to get where they need to be, sightseers and tourists talking loudly over the cloud of noise wanting to be heard by one another.

London was uncharacteristically warm for mid may, a far too warm sun beating through the large floor to ceiling windows, illuminating the heavy-set office and its dark mahogany furniture which seemed just as dated as Jones, the dark surroundings doing little to keep the agent cool, Her neat tight bun slowly falling apart, Baby hairs sticking uncomfortably to the back of her neck under slick sweat, her brow dripping more the longer she sat there under Jones' intense stare.

"Well, its just- with respect sir. Don't you think Brookes or Vick would be better suited? I just don't particularly feel comfortable leaving my work- "Alyssa's mouth clamed shut the moment Jones' raised his hand to silence her. A thick gold band sat proudly on his left ring finger. Her lips curled in on themselves as the office once again fell silent.

"Dixon. What I am about to tell you is a matter of national security. We believe we have a mole within the 22nd SAS division in Credenhill, specifically a unique task force known as task force 141 . We want you to go undercover and infiltrate the task force, discover the mole and report back. With your family ties to the military, you are the obvious candidate. Do you understand?" Jones' gaze fixed on Dixon, watching her under an intense stare that made her shift in her seat slightly. After a few tense moments of silence Alyssa relented.

Her mind raced of her parents, she was sure they would be involved, Jones' had just mentioned her families ties to the military. She had to hide the roll of her eyes as her family's prestigious military career was brought up once again.

Her father, Peter, was an esteemed and well honoured admiral in the navy, he had been but a sailor when he had met a young soldier fresh out of training with a fiery attitude, Peggy, Alyssa's mother would prove the critics wrong and smash her way through the glass ceiling as if it had been made of butter, she had raised three children along with earning promotion after promotion and working her way to being a Major before calling an early retirement having dedicated so much of her life to the service. Their eldest daughter, Maria had followed in their mothers' footsteps, Earning the rank of Major with no plans on slowing down soon. The pairs only son, David, currently Squadron leader in the RAF quickly working his way to becoming wing commander.

Alyssa had walked in her families shadow her entire life, desperate to break into the light and carve her own path but unable due to the shackles of her family's reputation. Teachers at school spent her whole five years referring to her by her sister's name, overshadowing any achievement no matter how small with the simple fact Maria had already done it and done it better. Yes, Alyssa had grown in her sister's shadow, her family had expected her to stay in that shadow, following her family's footsteps in joining a branch of the armed forces.

So, when Alyssa had returned from uni having passed her nursing exams with honours, her family pestered her over which branch she was joining, it had been the topic of arguments over several family dinners, Helpless fun as each member tried to coax Alyssa to join their regiment.