Rainbow Six: November Sun

56: "AN OLD FRIEND"

SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
RAINBOW HQ - HARRY'S OFFICE
HEREFORD, ENGLAND

A new day's sun rose over Hereford, but Director Six had not slept. He was in his office going over the field audio transcripts that were routinely recorded during operations. Writing up the mission report after an op was a tedious process. Not many eyes would ever see Rainbow's reports, but those that did belonged to powerful people.

Harry rolled his eyes and sipped his tea. The U.S. was already trying to charge Rainbow for the "irreparable" damage done by the wall reinforcements they had deployed in the parking garage.

Luckily, Rainbow was blessed with a very deep pool of funding for compensation and damages. Regardless, budgetary matters were Harry's least favorite part of the job.

There was a knock on the door. "Come in," Harry called.

The door opened and Anya stepped in. "You have a visitor, Harry."

The man raised his eyebrows, finished signing the document in front of him, and looked up to see Aurelia Arnot, his old friend and the former Director of Rainbow, enter the room. Anya closed the door behind her to leave Harry and Aurelia alone.

Harry stood quickly. "Aurelia? Hell of a surprise." He rounded the desk and shook the woman's hand.

Aurelia smiled charmingly. "Been awhile, Harry. How the hell are you?"

"Life could be worse."

"Is Bandit still a pain in the ass?"

"Of course." Harry chuckled and gestured to an open chair at the desk, across from his. "Please, sit. Coffee?"

"No, thank you."

Harry sat and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his desk. "You're very welcome. What brings my predecessor here?"

The woman flashed him a wry grin. "You know I like just getting to the point."

"I'd be worried if it were otherwise."

"Indeed." Aurelia clasped her hands together. "I wanted to make a friendly professional suggestion to you, as a colleague, with absolute respect. I came in person because I wasn't about to do it with a phone call or a text. I feel you deserve more than that."

"Oh, goodness. Please." Harry straightened his glasses. "I would never turn down advice from you, regardless of how you relayed it. You know that. But I appreciate the gesture. Truly."

Aurelia smiled. "You've done great work, Harry. John and Ding think so, too."

The mention of John Clark, the accomplished black ops extraordinaire and founder of Rainbow, and Domingo Chavez, Clark's son-in-law and one of Rainbow's original ace operators, brought a reverent smile to Harry's face. "Thank you, Aurelia."

"Mm. Now - I'm here to say that being on-site with Rainbow teams during an op is probably not the best idea."

Harry grinned. "Ah."

"You're too valuable to be so close to the action." The woman's face hardened. "I watched that shitshow in D.C. on the news. I know you were there. A lot of shit went down in a wide radius. Could've easily been you catching a stray bullet, or rocket."

"I know you're right." Harry folded his arms and leaned back in his seat. "I just don't like it."

"A common dilemma for most of us."

"You're not the first to bring this up to me, if that makes you feel any better. Doug, Vince, Kate. They've all voiced their opinions. Cohen was the most adamant. Drives her absolutely insane that I go to mission sites."

The pair shared a laugh. "I'm sure," said Aurelia. "Ash is a good kid. How is she? Was she in D.C.?"

Harry shook his head. "No, but she was in Brussels."

"Ah." Aurelia's smile did not disappear. "I'm not here to tell you how to run this unit, Harry."

"But you're going to tell me how to, anyway?" He winked good-naturedly.

"Naturally."

Harry's smile slowly faded. "I see why it was difficult for you to leave Rainbow. They're a remarkable bunch. Felt like family to me just weeks into it." He removed his glasses and cleaned the lenses with his t-shirt. "Now they are family. It's hard for me to send them into hot zones and not feel guilty for staying behind."

Aurelia nodded. "I hear you."

Director Six froze in realization for a second, and then he chuckled. He finished wiping his glasses clean before putting them back on.

"What is it?"

Harry swiveled in his chair and gazed out the office window for a long moment. He was thinking of his letter to Finka; how he had told her to let go and unplug, how the safety of the others was not her burden to bear.

Was he not, in a way, guilty of doing the same?

"Nothing," Harry said, smiling. "You just made more realize something." He clapped his hands together. "Fine. I will heed your advice. Consider my mind changed."