getting back to —a shitty, lonely life, but one she
preferred to waiting for a bunch of government asshats to take her seriously.
She’d already helped out more than she’d intended to.
When she ’ d thought there had been a chance to help take down Al Al-Sharir, or
even just stymie him in some way, she had been willing, perhaps even eager, but
it looked like things had been a wild goose chase all along.
Sarah headed in the same
direction that they ’ d all left, and found that the door they ’ d
all entered was unlocked. She stepped into the following corridor and realized
there was another half-dozen rooms leading off to both sides.
The sound of voices led her to
the second door on the left. Sarah was about to shove her way inside, when she
realized she could make out the conversation from the corridor.
“ She ’ s a liability, ” Palu said. “ It was a mistake
bringing her here, Howard. I should never have authorised it. ”
“ I know, ” said Howard glumly. “ I
assumed she ’ d jump at the chance to get away from her pathetic life, but she ’ s done nothing but fight me. She ’ s
not the woman she was in the Army. She ’ s
a mess. ”
“ Guys, you ’ re missing the point, ” Bradley said. “ Captain Stone was right; the man in that video isn ’ t Al Al-Sharir. You brought her here to offer her expertise on Shab
Bekhier, and that ’ s exactly what she ’ s done. I think she ’ ll make a great replacement for me. You need someone that ’ s faced these monsters on their own turf, someone with real
experience. ”
Palu grunted. “ What are you talking about, Bradley? She ’ s
not going to replace you. We needed her expertise and we ’ ve gotten it. The sooner we send her on her way, the better. ”
“ Oh, so who is going to replace me, then? ”
“ No one, ” Palu said. “ The cost to train
another Officer is too high. To tell you the truth, it ’ s
unfortunate things didn ’ t work out with you, Bradley, as we ’ re
going to be left even more shorthanded now. ”
“ Sorry. ”
“ Nothing that can be done about it now. Your clearances have come
through and you ’ re free to leave as soon as we finish with Ms Stone, ” said Palu.
“ Captain Stone, ” Bradley corrected. “ I
think if you showed her some respect she ’ d
be more helpful. She ’ s given up a lot for her country and has nothing to show for it.
Asking for her help isn ’ t enough, we need to earn it from her. She was a Captain in the
British Army and she was wounded fighting for our country, facing the very
enemy we ’ re trying to stop now. Don ’ t you think her help
will come in handy? ”
Howard disagreed. “ We don ’ t need her help. It was a mistake me bringing her here. She ’ s been nothing but a pain. I thought she ’ d
be … different. ”
“ You
mean you thought she ’ d be grateful, ” said Bradley. “ That ’ s the problem. You ’ re acting like you ’ re the one doing her a favour, when really it ’ s the other way around. ”
“ Let ’ s get back to the conference room, ” Palu
said. “ We ’ ve already been too long. ”
Sarah flinched away from the
doorway. She thought quickly and decided to rush back to the conference
room rather than betray that she ’ d been listening.
The more she knew, and the less they did, the better.
The office door opened. Sarah
slipped back into the conference room just as Palu and the others stepped into
the hallway. By the time they got to the conference room, Sarah was sitting
with her boots up on the desk. “ You chimps finally
finished your tea party? ” she said.
Palu cleared his throat and
remained standing. “ It appears that you were right … Captain .
We have accessed existing surveillance footage of Al-Sharir and reviewed
previously verified footage of Shab Bekhier. You ’ re
right, the details don ’ t match. Based on that, we ’
preferred to waiting for a bunch of government asshats to take her seriously.
She’d already helped out more than she’d intended to.
When she ’ d thought there had been a chance to help take down Al Al-Sharir, or
even just stymie him in some way, she had been willing, perhaps even eager, but
it looked like things had been a wild goose chase all along.
Sarah headed in the same
direction that they ’ d all left, and found that the door they ’ d
all entered was unlocked. She stepped into the following corridor and realized
there was another half-dozen rooms leading off to both sides.
The sound of voices led her to
the second door on the left. Sarah was about to shove her way inside, when she
realized she could make out the conversation from the corridor.
“ She ’ s a liability, ” Palu said. “ It was a mistake
bringing her here, Howard. I should never have authorised it. ”
“ I know, ” said Howard glumly. “ I
assumed she ’ d jump at the chance to get away from her pathetic life, but she ’ s done nothing but fight me. She ’ s
not the woman she was in the Army. She ’ s
a mess. ”
“ Guys, you ’ re missing the point, ” Bradley said. “ Captain Stone was right; the man in that video isn ’ t Al Al-Sharir. You brought her here to offer her expertise on Shab
Bekhier, and that ’ s exactly what she ’ s done. I think she ’ ll make a great replacement for me. You need someone that ’ s faced these monsters on their own turf, someone with real
experience. ”
Palu grunted. “ What are you talking about, Bradley? She ’ s
not going to replace you. We needed her expertise and we ’ ve gotten it. The sooner we send her on her way, the better. ”
“ Oh, so who is going to replace me, then? ”
“ No one, ” Palu said. “ The cost to train
another Officer is too high. To tell you the truth, it ’ s
unfortunate things didn ’ t work out with you, Bradley, as we ’ re
going to be left even more shorthanded now. ”
“ Sorry. ”
“ Nothing that can be done about it now. Your clearances have come
through and you ’ re free to leave as soon as we finish with Ms Stone, ” said Palu.
“ Captain Stone, ” Bradley corrected. “ I
think if you showed her some respect she ’ d
be more helpful. She ’ s given up a lot for her country and has nothing to show for it.
Asking for her help isn ’ t enough, we need to earn it from her. She was a Captain in the
British Army and she was wounded fighting for our country, facing the very
enemy we ’ re trying to stop now. Don ’ t you think her help
will come in handy? ”
Howard disagreed. “ We don ’ t need her help. It was a mistake me bringing her here. She ’ s been nothing but a pain. I thought she ’ d
be … different. ”
“ You
mean you thought she ’ d be grateful, ” said Bradley. “ That ’ s the problem. You ’ re acting like you ’ re the one doing her a favour, when really it ’ s the other way around. ”
“ Let ’ s get back to the conference room, ” Palu
said. “ We ’ ve already been too long. ”
Sarah flinched away from the
doorway. She thought quickly and decided to rush back to the conference
room rather than betray that she ’ d been listening.
The more she knew, and the less they did, the better.
The office door opened. Sarah
slipped back into the conference room just as Palu and the others stepped into
the hallway. By the time they got to the conference room, Sarah was sitting
with her boots up on the desk. “ You chimps finally
finished your tea party? ” she said.
Palu cleared his throat and
remained standing. “ It appears that you were right … Captain .
We have accessed existing surveillance footage of Al-Sharir and reviewed
previously verified footage of Shab Bekhier. You ’ re
right, the details don ’ t match. Based on that, we ’
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