12 ST. CHARLES STREET
COURTYARD GARDEN
"Tell me, Alexandra. On what basis do you form your opinion that Colonel Nobriega might be an operational risk?" Lady Catherine snuggled further into her coat. "Crisp fresh air and bright sunshine. Who would believe that our world is in danger on a day like this?"
"He's impulsive. He's a simmering volcano just waiting to explode. That's obvious to anyone who's spent time around him ..." Alexandra stood up and paced a circular path in the gazebo as she continued the litany of Christopher's Nobriega's faults.
"And you have drawn these conclusions based on four days of direct contact? Have you ever read his file, Alexandra?"
"No. I do not have the necessary clearances, Lady Catherine."
"Sit down. Let me try to explain Christopher Nobriega to you in the ten minutes we have remaining." The MP opened a manila folder with three red slashes on the outside. She carefully extracted a photograph. "That's a photograph of him after the first Gulf War. He's receiving his Military Medal because he was only a corporal back then. I sometimes think that was the emotional high point of Nobriega's thirty-seven years."
Alexandra studied the photograph of a nineteen-year-old sergeant as Lady Catherine continued. "Emotional high point?"
"He became the darling of a certain Sloane Ranger and got caught up in the wrong crowd upon his return. He was nearly booted out from the Regiment and the Army after he had a certain incident in London. Then-CSM Primo took him under his wing because of his actions in the First Gulf War. That's all classified. They shipped out to Rwanda to help with the refugees and young Christopher returned a changed man. Whatever happened there changed his outlook on life. It made him more introspective, but a better man, nonetheless." Lady Catherine paused to sip from her mug.
"Is a Sloane Ranger what I think you mean?" Alexandra asked as she accepted two sheets of paper from Lady Catherine.
"A Sloane Ranger is one of those empty headed models and socialites that giddy through the gossip magazines, fashion shows, show up on reality TV shows and on the red carpet. If that's what you mean, the answer is yes."
Alexandra shook her head as she smiled. "Nobriega a Sloane Ranger – that is too funny."
"No! Christopher definitely is not that. He made a mistake and I think he has been criticizing himself since that." She paused to trace a pattern in the snow on the gazebo's banister. "I've known him since 1995 when he became a part of the Pathfinders. He assisted me in Bosnia, Kosovo and some missions in the Middle East. Other than brief three to four month rest periods, he was always on a mission."
"Do we permit that? Doesn't the army insist that their men rest between missions for at least a year?"
"Not quite a year, but they usually rest their men for a more extended time. In the mid-nineties, certain members of the Pathfinders were assigned to the Prometheus Committee for special reconnaissance and other duties. Sir William once forced Christopher to stand down for six months in 2000; he just took off for his usual South American haunts."
"South American haunts? Are his parents from there?" Alexandra studied the photograph of the nineteen-year-old corporal again. "You couldn't tell from this photograph."
"His mother was an English archeologist. That's based on what he remembers of her. His father lived in the upper Andes, but he died when Christopher was ten. He was raised by his headmaster at a public school where his mother had registered him. He stayed there with the headmaster's family during Christmas holidays." Lady Catherine smiled. "He's not very good socially. I know he's devilishly good looking in a rugged sort of way, but he doesn't have much in the way of what we call social skills. He survives best out there in the wilds." She shook her head and laughed softly. "Yet children and animals are drawn to him. Indigenous people trust him. People just look at him and follow him, but he's the loneliest man I know."
"No female interests? Is he gay?"
Lady Catherine's laughter invaded the indoor courtyard. "No, he's not gay, but whether Christopher will ever have a stable relationship with a woman is questionable."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"I thought you had guessed by now, Alexandra. I can't trust any of the boys in there to act rationally." She gestured to the house. "So you will be leaving in the next hour for Camp Bastion. From there, you will make your way to Quetta. You will act as Mission Controller reporting directly to me. You will have to manage Christopher carefully since he has never had to coordinate with a woman before, but I have no choice since Primo has inconveniently disappeared." She closed the file and passed a data key to Alexandra. "Everything has been encrypted on that file. Read the two sheets you have and return them to me when you're finished."
"What if he refuses to cooperate?"
Lady Catherine smiled as she stood up. "Alexandra, I have a similar physiological profile of you. It says that you have been a successful negotiator in several hostage situations. Think of Christopher as a recalcitrant male and get on with the job. That's what I do with William. I will expect you to provide me a sit rep every three hours after you have landed at Camp Bastion. Edmond will drive you to the airbase. Good luck and good hunting."
YOU ARE READING
The Shaddad Conspiracy
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