Out of the Shadows (Akira and Deane Thriller Series Book 1) by Tim Jopling Page A

right. Asking for an advance in pay
didn’t worry him, just whom he had to ask did. So far, his day had
been dominated by his financial problems, together with the small
amount of work he had completed for the Royal visit to Oman. His
breakfast had consisted of a greasy fry up at a nearby pub and a
whiskey. At that very moment, all he could think of was yet another
drink. ‘Like that’s really gonna happen around here.’ He
mumbled.
    ‘Huh?’
    Burton looked
up at his assistant who was poking her head around the doorframe.
‘Nothing, Dawn; I’m just having one of those days, you know?’ He
walked over and took hold of the door handle. ‘Did you manage to
circulate that schedule and get a positive response from
OMA1?’
    The young woman
wearing a smart burgundy office suit smiled back. ‘The security
receipt came back ok, sir.’
    Burton feigned
interest and gave the door a push to close it. ‘Fantastic, Dawn.’
He resumed his seat and pondered his next move. The last thing he
wanted to do was ‘work from home’ and see his wife. A large
argument regarding the financial difficulties was looming and so
far, Burton had no solution or improvements on hand. The thought of
borrowing money from another friend came to mind but was quickly
dismissed. Never borrow from your
mates! He looked in the mirror,
straightened his tie for the tenth time that day and tucked in his
shirt. For the first time, the face staring back at him appeared to
be drawn, tired, worn out even. Despite the view, Burton held his
head high and gave a positive nod. ‘This one’s for you
Kate.’
     
    Ramsey dropped
several files into his briefcase and rummaged through the rest of
the stack on the other side of his desk. Before he could finish,
the intercom buzzed.
    ‘Hal Burton is
here to see you, sir. He says it’s important. Shall I send him
straight through?’
    The acting
Chief of MI6 paused for a moment, wondering what it was. ‘Yes
please.’ Ahead of him, the door swung open rapidly to reveal a
weary looking Burton who looked like he had the world on his
shoulders. ‘Take a seat, Burton. No problem with the schedule, was
there?’
    Burton had a
sweaty forehead, which he wiped as he sat down. ‘No, everyone has
received it and the security receipt came back from OMA1 no probs.’
He shifted in the chair, trying to think of the words to start the
request. ‘This is something else, sir; it’s to do with what’s
caused my slight dip in efficiency of late. You know, what we were
talking about before?’
    ‘You mean what you refused to
talk about yesterday.’ Straight away he scolded himself; he hadn’t
meant it to sound so condescending.
    ‘So anyway,
um…well, you’re right, there is a problem; one that I need to be
sorted. Look my wife Kate doesn’t know the full story as yet so
it’s a bit delicate ok?’
    The broad
shoulders of Kevin Ramsey relaxed as he sat back in his chair, put
the pen and folders back on the desk and gave his full attention.
‘Just what is the full story, Burton? I mean
everything.’
    ‘Well, to be
honest, I’ve been having financial difficulties of late. We’re not
talking a couple of grand in the red here; I’m talking bigger than
that. I’m six months behind on the mortgage, totally broke and I
haven’t paid the instalments for other things like the car and
stuff. That’s the problem.’ Burton sat up straight and convinced
himself he had done the right thing in not mentioning his huge
gambling debts.
    ‘Well, there it
is. I appreciate you telling me this, Burton. It can’t have been
easy. Believe me, if I had those problems hanging over me I would
be reacting in exactly the same way.’
    Somehow, I
doubt it mate . ‘Wouldn’t we all, sir?’
Burton managed a smile at the same time.
    ‘It can’t be easy for you or
your wife.’
    Burton felt
pangs of guilt as he thought of his wife, Kate. ‘No sir, it’s never
easy when things get this bad. We’ll work things out.’
    ‘So, you’d