by Jason Gibbs
“Please sit Mrs… Smith,” said Thomas Strody.
The tall conservatively dressed woman sat. Her suit was dark, almost black and Strody made a mental note – trying too hard.
“It is my custom, Mrs Smith, to review a person’s CV with them, to build a full picture of them. I hope you understand.”
“Of course,” said Smith, with a polite, neutral voice with no hint of accent.
“It says here you come from Yorkshire?”
“I do not believe it says that. It says that I went to secondary school in Yorkshire.”
Strody nodded, this one at least knew her CV, unlike that last fool.
“Yet you lack a Yorkshire accent?”
“I can do many accents.”
Not quite the response he expected, but nonetheless.
“And then you… well there’s a gap here, when you were 18. A year traveling?”
“Yes. I saw some of the world.”
Strody always liked to get a bit more out of people, it helped him get an angle, but this Smith, she was keeping a little tight-lipped.
“Did you enjoy it?”
“Yes. It was very educational.”
“Hmm, yes, and then… formal education. University, studied English, and then swapped to Biology, interesting change, why did you do so?”
“On my travels I realised that a knowledge of human biology could be extremely useful, and interesting. I was compelled to complete a year of English before I changed, but I do not view it as a waste.”
“Indeed. Biology is useful, and yet you did not want to be a doctor?”
“No.”
“Indeed, so let me see, four years for your degree, ah, yes, due to the change? Right, and then you joined the Foreign Office.”
“Yes, I was persuaded that they would give me the best opportunities,” said Smith with a tone which Strody couldn’t quite identify, was it reluctance?
“Right, yes, international travel and a comfortable berth?”
“Not always comfortable.”
“Yes I see, a year in Tallinn, very cold there I can imagine.”
Smith nodded.
“Ten years, and then a further gap.”
Smith blinked, and then nodded and said, “You mean after the FCO? Yes, having reached my potential within that environment I needed some… space.”
“Did you travel?”
“Yes.”
“Where did you go?”
“All over… Africa, South America. The world is fascinating.”
There was something unsettling about her turn of phrase. Strody paused, and looked down.
“Then you started working for Sunset International. I believe they are a consultancy, what do they specialise in?”
“Execution,” she said simply.
“Execution? Getting the job done?”
She gave a slightly quizzical nod.
“I believe that will come in useful in our organisation. While we pride ourselves on our professionalism, we do on occasion fail to deliver.”
The smile she gave him was bright. Too bright, and Strody felt a wave of fear.
“Do you have any questions about the role?” he asked, a little shakily.
“Oh no, I know exactly the job I’m supposed to do here.”
“Well, ah, that’s great. If you have no other questions?”
She shook her head, and stood up.
Strody stood up too, shook her hand and as she started to leave he said formulaically, “Thank you for your time. We’ll be…”
He stopped and stared wide-eyed at the gun.
“In touch?” she asked.
A pause, silence.
“No need, my work here is… done,” she said.
As she left she closed the door gently behind her.
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