Page 3 of Close Protection

‘Yes, he is,’ my father confirms. ‘I’m not wasting any time when it comes to your safety. Thank you, Amelia, please send him in.’ Amelia gives me an apologetic glance as she closes the door behind her.

‘Daddy, I can’t meet him now. I’m in my pyjamas first of all,’ I look down at my pink silk nightdress and robe revealing my long brown legs and bare feet. The onlysaving grace is that I flat-ironed my hair last night and it looks fantastic.

‘Oh, that doesn’t matter, darling. He’s going to be living with us anyway so I’m sure he’ll see you in much more unfavourable conditions than this,’ Daddy says in an oddly chipper tone.

‘He’s what?’ I practically shriek. But before I get the chance to continue, the door opens and Mr Milosh Petrov walks in.

Well…

This should be entertaining.

2MILOSH

Opulent, grandandstatelyare the words I would use to describe the Greens’ estate. ‘We don’t have time for a tour now, but I’m sure Daphne will show you around after your meeting,’ Amelia says softly as she guides me down the hallway, her sensible loafers clacking on the light oak flooring.

I mentally run through the list of facts I’ve memorized about Amelia, from the initial background check I ran on her when I got this assignment:

Aged thirty-four. House manager

Graduated Durham University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Management followed by a master’s in Finance

Has worked for the Greens for ten years, during which time she met Henry Harris, head of home security

Married for six years. No kids

Background checks don’t tell me everything I need to know about a person, but from what I’ve seen so far, Amelia seems fine. From the brief conversation we had when I first arrived and the communication prior to that she seems to genuinely care for Greens. As long as that continues, she’ll be an asset in keeping Daphne Green safe.

Daphne Green.

When I did a background check on her I wasn’t surprised by what I saw:

Aged seventeen. Only child of George Green

Graduated Le Rosey boarding school three weeks ago, top of her class. Attending University of York in the fall. Studying Midwifery

Well liked amongst her peers and faculty

The people’s princess.

What the background check failed to mention is that she’s almost definitely a spoiled, entitled daddy’s girl, who has never heard the wordno. This girl is the only child of one of the richest men in England. There’s no world where I wouldn’t expect her to be a brat.

I can already feel my spine tensing at the impending encounter as we pass picture after picture of her at various competitions, always holding the first-place trophyor medal. But I knew what I was signing up for when I accepted this assignment.

The only upside to cases like this is that they’re almost always low risk and blow over quickly, so it should be a quick in and out.

As we continue the walk to George’s study I think back to the meeting I had a week ago with him.

‘Mr Green, great to meet you,’ Andy drawls in his thick, Tennessee southern twang. ‘I’m Major Andy Davis and this is Special Agent Milosh Petrov.’

From the pictures I’ve seen of George Green, I expected him to be shorter. In the photos I guessed his height at 5’10”, but standing close to him he’s only a few inches shorter than me, putting him at roughly 6’ or 6’1”. He’s a friendly-looking black man with his hair cut short, slightly greying around the edges and a light moustache sharing the same greying qualities. His fitted suit showcases a strong, relatively muscular build which I couldn’t see in any of his pictures. Clients with a good strong build are always helpful. One less person to worry about.

‘Good to meet you, Mr Green,’ I say, shaking his outstretched hand.

‘You too, gentlemen.’ He gestures for us to sit down. ‘Now, I’m sorry to be blunt, but what is this about? I have a lot of work to get back to.’

Andy nods, taking a seat. ‘As I mentioned on the phone, me and Special Agent Petrov are part of a joint task force with the military, the FBI, Interpol and the NCA working to shut down an international organization called Daveeno. We’ve been monitoring any movements that may be connected to them and when we got word from the NCA about your break-in, given that you worked with MI6 in the height of their Daveeno… affliction, we believe that the break-ins to your office may be connected.’

George goes still. ‘Why would you think that?’

---