Flashbang

Chapter 4

Closing the door, Alastair took a deep breath before seating himself on the wooden bench that was located a little while down the corridor, next to a potted plant.

He spent a moment considering whether the plant in the pot was real or not before deciding the latter and pressing his back against the wall. He took another look at the wooden door which separated him and the three agents spoke of the fate.

Whether he liked it or not, he knew that there was no backing out of this. He had agreed to do the job, only for them to leave him alone afterwards. It was the right thing to do, six soldiers - six lives were in danger and it held links to an unclosed chapter of his life.

Now, they wanted to throw him back into the fire. To face the demons that still stood, those that he had thought been extinguished. Alastair closed his eyes and rested his head against the wall.

"Tom, it's all good sending him out into the field once more but we haven't taken into consideration what his state of mind has been like." Eric sighed, head resting in the tips of his fingers as he gazed at his agents. "Maria, we'll speak later."

Tom had grown silent, weighing up his options. He knew that Alastair was the missing cog in the machine, the one who needed to be there for anyone went around rescuing anyone. This was an important decision that was having to be rushed due to circumstances. Maria stared at the missing corner of the desk.

"All due respect, Eric, we don't have time to be discussing this. Six soldiers lives are at stake, Alastair has primarily agreed to do the mission as long as we don't cross paths after we're done. I say that's a fair trade," Maria replied, raising her head to meet her superior's. "I can get him booked on the next flight over and a readied cover identity if you give it the green light."

Eric slowly glanced between Maria and Tom, who wore a mask of hopefulness and urgency. He nodded, confirming his decision with the next sentence, "How soon is the next flight?"

Maria's face lit up, a smile spreading across her face before she composed herself, straightening out her skirt and cleared her throat, "I can make it so that it falls within the next hour." Eric nodded in agreement before she walked out, passing Alastair with a nod and hurried along the corridors with a purpose in her stride. He went to stand, seeing the door open another time and Tomas had emerged, waving him back into the office.

Alastair followed back in, remaining standing as Eric had indicated that there would not be much point in taking a seat. His eyes moved from one face to another, Eric opening his mouth to speak.

"We appreciate you being able to help us out at such a dire time," Eric extended his hand. "But, as we have discussed, if you run into trouble, we will not be able to provide you an extraction or confirm that you will be one of ours."

"Red tape and all that good stuff." Alastair nodded in response, his own hand meeting Eric's and giving it a firm handshake before his hand dropped back down to his side. Eric gave him a smile, it was close enough. There was no need to get into the details at this point in time.

"Tomas has agreed to drop you off back at home. We have a time frame of an hour to get to the airport before your flight," Eric said, his hand now on the desk as he gestured at Tomas. "Maria has gone to confirm your flight details and your cover ID."

Alastair gave the two men a fleeting smile before joining Tom by the door.