Chapter Five

The Snug

Susan spent hours at work the day she heard Kennedy died. She was told to go home but she hung around the canteen on her phone, talking to friends and family. She had really bonded with Kennedy as he had taken her under his wing. It was a cold, serious environment and he was able to take the edge off the high stress moments. It had only been a couple of weeks since she met him but his loss was felt dearly by everyone at HQ. The only person who wasn’t showing any signs of grieving was Anna. Anna bluntly informed her by email that her new mentor would be Operator Shiels. Shiels was already lined up to be her permanent partner apparently so they simply brought this forward. She was very uneasy about this as Shiels gave off a bad vibe. Susan decided to head home thirty minutes early as there was nothing happening. Nobody was interacting with her. Meetings were taking place in the O room but those were above her pay grade. As she gathered her things and headed out to the car park, Shiels was out there talking to another Operator. “Susan, jump in. We have a few things to cover before you head home for the day. You will be with me in the morning”. Shiels unlocked his car and opened the passenger door for Susan. As she got in she barely had the door closed when Shiels took off with pace. He exited the car park and put the foot down. They approached a roundabout and Shiels braced himself, only lifting his foot off the accelerator briefly as he navigated the circle, gaining even more speed as he exited. Susan maintained her silence.