Chris Ryan's Strike Back: Longing and Suspicion

Longing and suspicion

 

Warning: English is not my native language, so please be kind :-) ... 

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Elaine Gadarn swept her badge into the scanner and the bullet-proofed door unlocked: it was only the last of the security systems to go through in order to enter the headquarters of Section 20, a special unit of the British intelligence service; she had been working there for about six months as an analyst specialised in several languages, among them Arabic, Korean and Russian, and also as a specialist in secret codes. 

What no one knew, was that she was actually working for the Ministry of Defence and that she was placed into Section 20 to seek out a mole. Fourteen months earlier, the Defence Secretary Barbara Townsend realized that there was an alarming leak of intel coming out of that unit, and she had Elaine placed there with the task to identify the traitor. Only Mrs. Townsend knew about Elaine's mission, who now, after months of intensive work, had narrowed the suspects down to three persons: Layla Thompson, James Middleton and Clarence Holfield, three people in key roles in the establishment of Section 20. Now she needed only to find irrefutable evidence to nail the guilty, whoever he or she was among those three.

Making for her office, Elaine bumped into SAS sergeant John Porter; very tall, with short dark hair and grey-blue eyes capable to pierce a steel plate, he struck the young woman since their first meeting when, being introduced to her, he gazed at her and she felt literally nailed to her chair.

That morning he was in battle dress uniform, meaning that he was programming a session of recruit training.

"Good morning, Elaine", he greeted her, friendly as always, with that deep voice of him that sent her heart in fibrillation each time, "Today you are especially pretty", the added winking, hinting at the playful ponytail in which she tied up her long brown hair. Elaine smiled back, pretending a nonchalance she was far from feeling: this man was able to make her feel upside down with just a glance, or a single word.

"Thank you, John", she said cheerfully, "but I was hoping you would notice my legs instead", she added, winking and referring to the miniskirt shaped like a kilt she was wearing. Porter promptly glanced down and his grin became more mischievous.

"Those I notice at all times", he stated. His tone was witty, but nonetheless his gaze caused a warm shiver to run down her spine.

"See you around", the soldier concluded, completely unaware about the effect he had on her, resuming his path wherever he was going. Elaine nodded a goodbye and left toward her office, feeling frustrated. They had been joking like this ever since almost the beginning: once it was him complimenting her, another was it her; but not a single time the situation had gone further, like instead she would have wished after a few weeks...

John Porter had been a divorced man for six years, and a few months ago his ex wife died, leaving their not yet eighteen years old daughter Alexandra an orphan; for this reason, he asked to retire from active service, which was granted to him after a last, very dangerous mission that almost ended up in disaster. Sergeant Porter had been a highly trained soldier of the British Special Air Service, or SAS, comparable to the American Navy Seals or the Russian Spetsnaz; as a soldier earlier and an operative agent of Section 20 later, he was used to anything, tough and even ruthless at times, if necessary, as Elaine was able to ascertain, having followed closely his last mission five months earlier; but as a person, Porter was instead capable of incredible tenderness: Elaine had seen him with his daughter and thought that she had hardly ever met so affectionate a father. Furthermore, John Porter was also a man endowed with a very high sense of honour: thinking to be guilty of some of his men's death during a dangerous mission in Iraq, years ago, he resigned immediately from SAS; called back on duty for Section 20, finally they found out that the true one to blame was Hugh Collinson, chief of the same Section 20, who redeemed himself by saving Porter's life in Afghanistan at the cost of his own. Completely rehabilitated, Porter obtained the reinstatement on SAS and the advancement to first sergeant. Now, retired from active service, he was taking care of the new agents' training.