also a residue of trepidation. He had healed in some ways but not completely. It didn’t mean he was prepared to pick up where he had left off but he was nevertheless curious. He couldn’t tell where the sudden expectancy was coming from. Perhaps it was due to the comparatively dull employment of the past year, not that he had been exactly idle. There were a few breaks in the travelling and training, and the year had not been without action, specifically in the Gulf and Far East. But something had indeed been missing from his life since he returned to the SBS. Perhaps it was being part of a team again after spending so long working alone. It had taken him several years into his Special Forces career to accept the fact that he preferred working by himself. But loners were contrary to the team ethos of the SBS. To some extent, they were even shunned, which Stratton agreed with wholeheartedly in theory. Nevertheless, he could not help the way he felt.Teamwork was something he always preached to younger members in training while at the same time trying to resist the lure of the antithesis. He might never have known how much he liked working alone had he not been invited away from the core work of the SBS to spend several years assigned to military intelligence.
It was not possible Sumners was making a social call. The man was all business all of the time. He was a purebred, classic, British intelligence officer: cold, logical, manipulative and intelligent. Any social skills were an act which arose out of a need for diplomacy. Sumners did have some redeeming qualities; Stratton had always felt he could trust the man, within the boundaries of the job, of course. Sumners would not stick his neck out for any operative who strayed from the task in hand and was more than capable of deserting one who did. But Sumners also understood the job required resourcefulness and a high level of initiative and had always supported Stratton’s decisions in the field even though on more than one occasion he had not agreed with them.The operative on the ground had the implicit advantage when it came to judgement and intuition and Sumners gave him the benefit of the doubt in most cases. It had to be said this subtle understanding was an unusual quality for an MI operations officer, especially for one like Sumners who had never set foot in the field or had any dirt-on-the-hands involvement in an operation.
Whatever the meaning was behind the confusion of warning bells and anticipation, Stratton could not resist and took the phone from Morgan and put it to his ear.
‘This is Stratton.’
‘Would you like to do a job for us?’ Sumners asked. That was typical, Stratton thought. They hadn’t spoken in a year and Sumners couldn’t even begin the conversation with a hello or how have you been.
‘I’m fine,’ Stratton said.
‘I only ask questions I know the answer to of people I don’t trust. What I don’t know is if you would like to do a job for us?’
Stratton didn’t answer, his mind racing over a variety of considerations. He wanted to know what the job was but also knew that asking would be a waste of breath. It wasn’t for operatives to pick and choose their assignments like fruit in a market. Taskmasters wanted to hear the word ‘yes’ and quickly too. That opened the door to the next stage of the game, which was the briefing. But Stratton wasn’t a robot. Nor was he the neophyte of several years ago, trusting and eager to do any assignment handed to him. He was already an old sweat even though he was relatively young in this particular field of special operations that valued experience, ingenuity and guile above all other qualities. He would be open to just about any assignment but he was also prepared to blow off Sumners if there was any clue the job was an assassination.
‘I know what you’re thinking,’ Sumners said. ‘I wouldn’t have called you if it was a job I didn’t think you would approve of.’ There was a hint of patronage in his voice, which was understandable since he did not like offering jobs. That made it quite flattering. But Stratton was not satisfied by far and, perhaps inspired by the subtle compliment, chose to push a little further.
‘Why me?’
‘Let’s be clear on one thing, shall we? You’re still in my book