Poseidon's Ransom

Chapter Fourteen

In his late-fifties, Jack Castle was tall, reasonably fit and healthy. That said, and according to his wife Nicole, losing a few pounds would not go amiss. He had a wicked sense of humour and an infectious personality which appealed to most people, although recently he was becoming less tolerant and somewhat short tempered.

The death of his parents on his 21st birthday had affected him very badly and, instead of pursuing his planned career in medicine, he’d joined the British Army. Fifteen years of hard work and dedication saw him rise to the rank of captain in the Special Air Service, after which, he’d moved into the world of private security. The company he’d joined all those years ago now belonged to him and, with the help of his partner and friend, Tom Hillman, they’d grown the business into a respected international entity.

The last three years however, had been interspersed with a couple of covert missions for British Intelligence.

Mathew Sterling was Jack’s younger brother. They’d grown up in the north of England, in a beautiful home on the edge of Lake Windermere. Like Jack, Mathew also joined the army but trod a different path. He’d initially worked in Military Intelligence and then spent many years as a field operative. He too rose quickly through the security service and now, based in London’s Vauxhall Cross building, he was head of MI6. For security reasons he’d chosen to use his mother’s maiden name and for the last twenty years or so, had been known as Mr. Mathew Sterling.

In his 9th floor office, Mathew stood and looked out the window. The pleasure craft on the Thames, the busy traffic on Vauxhall Bridge and the hundreds of people going about their business. The knock on the door broke into his thoughts. ‘Come in.’

‘Mr Castle, sir.’ said his secretary.

‘Thank you, Victoria. Could you bring us some tea please?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Jack, great to see you,’ said Mathew.

The two men smiled and embraced.

‘You too, bro. How y’doin?’ said Jack. Then looking around the office continued, ‘and very nice digs by the way.’

Mathew nodded. ‘Yes, it’s not bad at all. You haven’t been in here before have you?’

‘No. Not since you were promoted. How’s that going by the way?’

‘Same shit, grander title.’

Jack smiled. ‘Well, just one more step and you’ll be Director General, mate. Then the knighthood eh?’

Mathew frowned. ‘Not too sure about the knighthood, Jack. We are, after all, still commoners. We never went to the right schools.’

‘Yeah, maybe. But I’m still counting on my little brother to uphold the family honour and pick up a ‘Sir’ at some point.’

They both laughed.

‘Have a seat,’ said Mathew, ‘how’s Nicole and my beautiful nieces?’

‘A handful as usual,’ smiled Jack, ‘the twins are almost three now.’

‘I know. I haven’t seen them for ages. Soon as I get some time I’ll come out for the weekend.’

‘They always love to see Uncle Matt. And Nicole sends her love.’

Mathew smiled, then took a seat across from his brother.

It had taken over two hours to get from Jack’s Berkshire home, in East Monkton, to Mathew’s office and he was eager to know why his brother had asked him to come. ‘So, what’s the problem this time, Matt?’

‘What, no more small talk, Jack?’

Jack leaned forward. ‘You look tired, bro, and I’m sure you want to get right to business. You never ask me here unless you want me to help with something. So, what’s up?’

The knock on the door was answered with a, ‘Come in,’ from Mathew. ‘Thanks Victoria.’

The tea tray was placed in the table between the couches. ‘Anything else, sir?’

Mathew smiled. ‘Unless it’s the DG, hold my calls for the next hour, please.’

‘Yes, sir.’

Mathew sat back in the big leather Chesterfield. ‘Okay. As usual, anything we say here is always top secret, but this one is exceptionally sensitive, Jack.’

Jack took a sip of the steaming tea, then said, ‘I’m all ears, Matt.’