Starting
Guv'nor (George Leyton)
I walked into the office. It was high up and the climb from the stairs had taken away most of my breath. As I entered, I noticed a large window at the back of the office, looking over a huge expanse of the Thames River and London's business high streets. Infront of the window stood a long oak desk, one of many imported from Eastern Asia before the break out of the 3rd Cold War. Behind it, was a familiar figure, his suit a fine cut grey and his face completely emotionless.
"Take a seat, Leyton," he said formally.
"Yes, sir," I replied, pulling a chair from infront of the desk and sitting down. It was made of a fine leather, and the stitch work suggested it was a brand new addition to the office. The man behind the desk was British Home Secretary Jack Keates. Although he was the formal head figure of the SIS and it's operations, the true man running the operation was the "Minister", however no-one near my rank would've ever met him in person.
Keates grinned as I sat down and pulled open a case of cigars, "Smoke, son?"
"No thanks, Sir," I said, waving away the kind gesture.
"Good for you," he laughed.
"So, Sir. What is it you called me here for?" I asked.
"Ah, cut to the chase we will then," he replied, lighting his cigar and taking a puff. "I'm sending you to China, about 40 miles from a REAF headquarters. Infact, you'll be leaving for there in roughly three hours. Once you arrive, you will join and take lead of an elite task force of the SIS. They're all undercover agents and should fit all your needs. You'll be holding your cover at a local Chinese bookstore, so I hope you've brushed up on your Chinese."
"I know the odd bit, Sir, but not all much," I said. "How big is my team?"
"Your team has roughly ten people, but I'm looking to send more agents out there when I can," he said gingerly, "But you won't be seeing your team until you arrive in China. They're already there, setting up the cover. Underneath the book shop is a small bunker, the bunker will be storing any equipment you need that can't be seen by the public eye. You'll be able to sleep and rest upstairs in the appartment, but don't be keeping anything up there more than a pistol, understood?"
"Yes, Sir," I replied, "And, if they're already there, why take so long to send me out, Sir?"
"Well, Leyton, we needed to make sure you were the right man for the job."
A knock came on the door and a small woman entered the room, she too was wearing a grey suit. The whole place was bland, especially with the British weather overcasts obscuring the potential beauty of London life outside. She walked up to us and smiled as she saw me, nodding. Her name was Jane. Jane had been Keates' private secretary for almost seven years, never once putting a foot wrong. We got along, me and Jane.
"Mr. Leyton," she said, nodding to me, before turning her attention to Keates. "Sir, the plane you ordered. It needs to leave in the next twenty minutes to avoid REAF detections."
"Okay, thank you Jane," Keates said, dismissing her.
"Right, son, you ready?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good, have fun."
***
The plane arrived in Chinese airspace without much hastle. It wasn't until we were five minutes from our destination that the Pilot got a protocol warning from REAF to identify the aircraft or turn back. The pilot responded in admirably good Chinese and we were cleared to land. How SIS ever managed to get hold of the codes to pass security was confusing, but probably inevitable.
Once landed, I left the plane, speechless. It was important to keep all communication to a minimum. From there, I took a taxi to the bookshop. It was smaller than I had thought, especially for ten people. However, I assumed the bunker would provide the neccessities for the operations in upcoming months. Scrubbing up on the Chinese language would be the problem. I entered the bookshop, there was only one person inside, manning the tills. I'd guessed everyone else was underground, due to the silence. The guy behind the tills was clearly a Westerner, but REAF had taken in a lot of refugees at the break out of the Cold War, so it was hardly surprising.
"Morning," I said, looking at the man. "I'm Leyton."
A smile grew across the man's face. He knew who I was.
