by Beth Abbott
Hannah rolled her eyes.
“I think Alice knows the route of the London marathon by now. It was the third time she’d run it, and if she’d got lost, there were another forty thousand runners and about two million spectators to keep her going in the right direction.” She pointed out.
“I know, but if you’re going to enjoy being proud of your wife, why do it from four miles up the road?” JT shrugged. “I preferred to run with Alice, rather than wait for her at the finishing line.”
“Very supportive of you.” David nodded. “So, are we going to spend the next hour in the corridor talking about running, or do you have an operational report you’d like to share with me?”
JT led the way back into his office, where he poured some coffees before taking a seat at his desk.
“I’m rather hoping Hannah will be able to give us both a progress report.” JT smiled at her, almost nervously. “I’ve been out of the office for a few days, so I’m guessing that things have moved on since I was last here.”
Hannah looked JT straight in the eye.
“Not as much as you’d expect.” She murmured, leaving JT to wonder what she meant.
“Ok, so start from the beginning.” David suggested. “How are the team gelling together?”
Hannah didn’t look at JT. David wanted her opinion, so that’s what he was going to get.
“They’re doing pretty well, all things considered.” She nodded. “They’ve obviously spent a lot of time together and are mostly getting along fine.”
David frowned at her.
“Why am I not hearing the usual level of Hannah Simons’ enthusiasm?” He wondered. “Normally you’d be raving about how your team was the best, and how they were going to smash this operation. Why aren’t you doing that now?”
Hannah glanced at JT, letting him know that she wasn’t going to allow her concerns to be swept under the carpet, but before she had a chance to speak, JT jumped in.
“Hannah has concerns about one of our men, and in particular, his negative attitude towards Nikita Federova. In a classroom environment, he made it quite clear he didn’t think highly of her.” He explained to David. “Hannah feels his attitude towards the Russian woman could become a problem.”
David glanced between the two of them, not seeming to know which one of them to quiz first. His gaze finally landed on Hannah.
“Who are we talking about, and what was your assessment of them?” He asked.
“We’re talking about Logan, and he was looking at the pictures of Nikita as though she was the scum of the earth.” Hannah shrugged. “I pointed out to Logan that he didn’t know why Nikita was working for her brother, and that she could be a victim as well, but he acted like he knew exactly the type of woman she was, and his opinion of her was as low as it could possibly be. He wouldn’t back down and he wouldn’t listen to reason. It was as though he’d already pre-judged her, based on something or someone from his past.”
David turned to JT.
“Hannah brought these concerns to you?” He asked.
“Hannah came to see me a few days ago and explained that she had concerns as to whether or not Logan would be a stable member of the team.” JT conceded. “Based on my knowledge of the man’s history, I explained that he did come with some baggage, as do we all, but that his reputation was excellent, and I didn’t see him being a problem. I spoke to him, and then asked Drew to speak to him as well, to assess his mental state. We both concluded that he was fit enough to go on the operation, with no concerns about his mental wellbeing, or that he would pose a risk to the operation.”
David turned back to Hannah.
“What was your response to JT and Drew’s assessments?” He asked her. “Did you agree that Logan should be part of the team?
“I didn’t give my response, because I wasn’t consulted about their assessments.” Hannah said quietly, trying to keep any emotion out of her voice. “And besides… it doesn’t matter what I think about whether Logan should be on the team.”
David leaned forward.
“Hannah, you were responsible for putting the team together, and getting this operation off the ground.” He said insistently. “It absolutely matters what you think.”
Hannah smiled sadly at David, knowing her next words were going to have a profound effect on her working relationship with JT.
“Thank you for saying that, David. You’re very sweet.” She nodded. “But unfortunately, you’re overstating my importance to this project. I set it up, yes, but only so someone else could oversee it. Someone above my paygrade, obviously.”
David stared at Hannah and then JT, and back and forth again several times until he finally spluttered a laugh.
“You’re shitting me, right?” He sat back shaking his head, as if he’d finally realised they were playing a trick on him. “This is a joke, right?”
Hannah glanced at JT, but apart from looking very uncomfortable, he didn’t seem to be about to say anything. Great!
“No joke, David.” Hannah said quietly. “I raised my concerns with JT, and they obviously tied in with prior knowledge he had about Logan, but JT doesn’t consider it appropriate to share confidential employee information with other employees, so he refused to discuss Logan with me. Obviously, I’ve had to respect that decision. So, if you want to know more about Logan, and how JT and Drew reached their conclusion, I’ll be happy to step outside while he explains it to you, and then you can let me know when you’re ready for me to come back in again.”
Hannah started to rise from her chair when both men stood up.
“Hannah…” JT’s voice trailed off as David’s exclamation drowned him out.
“What the fuck is going on here?” David spluttered as he rounded on JT. “We’re less than two days from putting this team into Turkey, and you’re shutting Hannah out of essential information that could influence the success of the operation? What the fuck are you thinking?”
“Now, hang on a second!” JT held his hands out in a defensive position. “Hannah has not been shut out at all.”
“Did you share the information about Logan with her?” David demanded.
“Well, no, but only because it was of a confidential nature.” JT responded. “I have a duty of confidentiality to all my employees, David. Not just Hannah.”
“Really?” David huffed. “And do you have a duty to ensure Hannah is provided with enough information to make decisions and do her job properly?”
“Of course, I do.” JT insisted, angrily. “I understand Hannah’s role very well, and she’s been given all the information she needs to do her job and deliver what is needed for this operation. I told her that Logan had been assessed and passed fit for duty. The rest is none of her business.”
Hannah’s sharp intake of breath was as painful as it was loud.
She moved towards the door, determined not to cry. Now was not the time to break down like some weepy schoolgirl!
“Wait a minute, Hannah!” David stepped forward and placed a hand gently on her arm. “We need to get this sorted out now, as we can’t let this ridiculous ‘confidentiality’ issue get in the way of this and future operations.”
Hannah turned slightly towards David and patted his hand.
“Honestly, it’s fine, David. It won’t be an issue.” She assured him. “The ultimate responsibility for the success or failure of the operation lies with JT, so it’s only right he gets to be the one to decide if Logan is fit to participate.”
“But…” David was obviously trying to support her.
“And it won’t be an issue in future operations either.” She smiled sadly. “This case is supposed to last no more than a month or so, right?”
David frowned, but nodded his agreement.
“Excellent.” Hannah nodded and turned to JT. “Then please accept this as my four weeks’ notice. I’ll see out this operation, but after that I’m done. I’ll let you have my written resignation by the end of the day.”
Han
nah ignored the noise that erupted behind her, and just kept walking, shutting the door firmly to try and block it out. And boy was there some noise!
David Roan was making it clear, in no uncertain terms, what he thought of JT’s attitude towards Hannah, and even in her state of upset and disappointment, she couldn’t help a small smile for the sweet man who was standing up for her.
“Hannah?” Hollywood’s voice cut into her thoughts. “Are you Ok, honey?”
Hannah glanced around, noticing the look of concern on the big American’s face.
“Not really.” She admitted. “I just need a bit of fresh air, so I’m going to take a walk around the park. I’ll be back in an hour.”
“Do you need some company? Or do you need me to call Danny?” Hollywood wasn’t finished being a mother hen.
“I’m good, H.” She smiled. “Just give me a bit of space, Ok?”
“Ok.” He finally nodded. “But if you’re not back in an hour, we’re coming to find you.”
Hannah nodded, and headed for the elevator.
She just needed a bit of a mind-adjustment. After all, it wasn’t every day a woman handed in her notice without another job to go to.
Chapter 19 – JT
“What the hell has gotten into you?” David barked at him, reminding JT of a commanding officer he’d once had, who’d insisted on delivering every word he spoke at full volume, even if he was standing nose to nose with the person he was yelling at. “Have you gone completely out of your mind?”
JT flopped back into his seat, rubbing the back of his neck to ease some of the stress.
“I’d like to think not, but if I had, then I doubt if I’d be the best person to judge.” JT sighed. “It’s not as simple as it sounds, David. Nothing ever is.”
“Well, that sounds like a bullshit excuse for why you’ve fucked up big time!” David scoffed. “Did you not see what just happened? Hannah just quit, JT! SHE QUIT! How in God’s name did you push her that far? She loves Alpha Company with every fibre of her being. Loves the Guardians and the work they’re going to be doing. How could you push her out like that?”
“I didn’t push her out.” JT protested. “I just couldn’t give her what she wanted, which was classified information.”
“Classified?” David snorted. “What the fuck is so classified about Logan that you can’t share it with Hannah?”
“It’s not Logan that’s classified.” JT sighed. “As Hannah suspected, he suffers PTSD, brought on as a result of one specific mission that was FUBAR. But, the information about Logan’s PTSD relates specifically to what happened on the mission, and it’s the whole mission that’s classified.”
“And you couldn’t just explain that to Hannah without shutting her out?” David spluttered.
“No, I couldn’t!” JT insisted. “This was the sort of secret mission we don’t even admit to being part of. The fact that we engage in secret missions at all is itself a classified detail. It’s so far above Top Secret it’s ridiculous.”
“Then it’s the worst God-damned secret in the country. Everyone knows that those missions exist.” David sputtered. “And I have to say, I think the way you’ve handled this is horrendous. There must have been a better way of explaining it to Hannah rather than shutting her out.”
“David, I explained that Logan may have historical issues that I couldn’t discuss with Hannah because the man is entitled to some privacy. The information was given to me in confidence, with an expectation that it wouldn’t be shared with anyone else.” JT threw his hands up. “What was I supposed to do? I could justify giving it to Drew because he’s our staff counsellor, and he’s an Alpha Company director as well. He had a genuine need to know as he was giving me his professional opinion.”
David stared at him for a moment, and the look on his face told JT he wasn’t going to like what was coming.
“So, effectively, you didn’t tell Hannah what was going on with Logan because she wasn’t an Alpha Company director, or the Alpha Company counsellor, is that right?” David asked slowly.
“In a nutshell, yes.” JT nodded. “If Logan was to take legal action against us for breach of confidentiality or something like it, I couldn’t justify giving the information to another employee.”
David sat back in his seat and stared at JT for long enough to make him uncomfortable.
“Who does Logan work for?” He finally asked.
JT wondered whether this was going to be one of those trick questions.
“The Guardians?” He guessed, remembering that Claire was running the teams’ pay through the new company.
“Exactly right. The Guardians.” David nodded. “Not Alpha Company, but the Guardians.”
“And your point is?” JT asked impatiently.
“The point is that the Guardians is a fake company, set up with the backing of the Home Office for the purpose of duping the Russian traffickers.” David explained. “So, technically, it doesn’t actually have any directors. It just has ‘Operational Agents’ who carry out the tasks we need them to undertake.”
JT stared at David, waiting for him to continue.
“So, while your name might appear on the headed notepaper of Alpha Company, which puts you in charge there, in the Guardians team, the boss is technically the person with operational seniority.” David shrugged. “I’d say that puts Hannah at the top of this particular organisation, wouldn’t you? She’s probably the one person on this whole mission that we couldn’t do without.”
JT’s mind raced, trying to take in everything David was saying.
He’d automatically assumed that he would be in charge of operations, as that was the way they’d always worked things in Alpha Company, despite the fact that he, Danny, Luke, and Matt were equal partners. That was just the way they’d set it up, and everyone had always been happy with the status quo.
This… the Guardians, was new territory for them, and he hadn’t appreciated the subtle differences.
“So, you’re saying that Hannah has every right to know about whatever has been going on with Logan.” JT clarified. “And that Logan has no say in who knows about his issues.”
“I’m saying that Hannah has more rights to that information than you do, because, actually, it’s Hannah that’s responsible for the final decision as to who gets inserted into the field, and not you.” David clarified. “She is the operational leader here, and you’d better come to terms with the fact quickly, because if you can’t persuade her to reconsider her resignation, then the Guardians will be finished before they’ve had the chance to do any good. And that will be a crying shame.”
JT sat back in his chair, trying to come to terms with the change of axis. He’d never considered that the set-up would be different here to the one at Alpha Company.
Shit! How arrogant did that make him?
And he’d treated Hannah like she was an employee, like a subordinate.
Yet she was the only person David thought to be critical to the success of the team. Not JT, and not the team themselves. Just Hannah.
And he’d behaved abominably towards her!
“I’m sorry, JT. Maybe I should have explained the set-up a bit better. But I never thought for one minute that you’d assume you were in charge of the whole operation.” David shrugged. “I assumed you would realise that when we asked specifically for you and Hannah to come on board, that we’d want you as equals at least. The fact that Hannah is, well… she’s Hannah, with all the skills she brings to the table, should have made it obvious that we consider her to be our prime asset.”
JT nodded solemnly.
“I can see why you would think that.” He conceded. “It’s so obvious, I’m embarrassed to admit I didn’t think of it myself.”
“JT, don’t think that we only wanted Hannah, and not you.” David reassured him. “We need your leadership and tactical skills, just as we need Hannah’s genius.”
“You just need Hannah more.” JT wasn’t stupid, nor did he need to be flatt
ered. “I’ll speak to Hannah today and explain the situation to her. Hopefully, she’ll accept my apology, and we’ll get her back doing what she’s best at. If I can’t get her to reconsider working with me, then I’ll step aside and get Luke to take over my role.”
David stood up to leave, and JT pulled himself up out of his chair, feeling like he’d aged ten years in the last five minutes.
“Let me know when you’ve smoothed things over with Hannah, Ok?” David looked slightly embarrassed. “I’m sorry if I’ve put you in an awkward position, JT, but this operation is bigger than anyone’s ego. Too many lives are at stake.”
“Don’t worry, I understand the situation.” JT nodded, and watched his good friend walk out of his office.
He walked to the window and took a few cleansing breaths.
He was going to have to eat a shit-load of humble pie, and, if necessary, grovel if he was going to get Hannah back on board.
More importantly, he would need to do it fast if he was going to catch her before she spoke to Danny.
JT darted out of his office, and almost ran down the corridor to the operations room. Hollywood was coming out, and he almost crashed into him.
“Is Hannah in there?” He asked, trying to look around the man-mountain.
“Nope!” Hollywood growled. “She went out for some fresh air after you upset her. Again.”
JT glanced up at Hollywood and could see the guy was pissed at him.
“Yeah, well, I need to apologise for that, and try and sort things out with her.” He admitted. “Do you know where she might have gone?”
“She said she wanted some peace and quiet. Some alone time.” Hollywood shrugged.
“Thanks.” JT turned and walked towards the elevator. There were a handful of places Hannah might have gone, and if he had to try all of them he would, but he had a feeling he knew exactly where to find her.
Time to pull his head out of his ass, and sort this fucking mess out before things got any worse.
Chapter 20 – Hannah
Hannah sat on the park bench, watching the ducks in the pond, laughing as the momma led her babies around like it was a fourth of July parade, all ten of them in a row.
