Chapter 3 – Idle Chit Chat
'Don't be shy Mr Delaney. I am rather informal when it comes to management of those below me. I am not just an officer; I am person too.' She said to him upon seeing the shocked look on his face sitting down on a chair.
Delaney stepped in, closing the door behind him, 'the Rupert's always get the easy life.' He mumbled to himself. 'Very nice room you have Ma'am.'
'Yes we 'Rupert's' always get the best rooms, even though I try make sure everything is as fair as possible for everyone but those higher than me insist that it should be that way. Please have a seat.'
'Thank you Ma'am.'
'Please Mr Delaney. We're going to be spending a lot of time together in the near future you can call me Tessa.' She jumped in with a soft smile.
'Well in that case, Tessa you can call me Del if you so wish.' He answered returning her smile and taking the seat he had been offered.
'So tell me about yourself, you're SAS I see. But you're only a year younger than me, and you're a Sergeant Major.' She started.
'Tessa I'm actually not SAS, I am linked to the SAS but not one of them. I am a Ghost.'
'You look in good health for a dead person if you're a Ghost.' She giggled.
Del laughed too, 'that was quick Tessa. Very quick they did say where really sharp. No it's the name of the Unit I was in. We were named the Ghosts, basically Army Cadets that were combatants. Trained to be as good as the big SAS boys but we were even more covert. You may never have seen us but you sure saw the effects we had. And your right I probably should be dead the amount of stuff I've lived through'
Combatant since he was 13? I was right he was quite a lot like Sousuke. She now took a closer look at the cap badge on his beret it was similar to the one worn by the SAS but it had "GHOST" written down the dagger's blade. 'So you know your stuff then. Mr Mardukas said you had a lot of experience, you served with him?' Tessa asked.
'Not directly, he has pulled me out the crap once or twice. Ok 5 or 6 times, Chechnya was the worst mind. Well not Chechnya as such but it was a mission that started out in there that ended up going through Ingushetia, North Ossetia-Alania and then Georgia finishing with a hairy extraction at the port town of Batumi with half the Red Army on our arses.' He explained, 'Mardukas made the whole thing possible. My boss and him being old friends.'
Del and Tessa talked about such things for a good while or so, sharing war stories, Tessa found Del's much more exciting, he had so much in common with Sousuke but he seemed to be able to interact more with people, 'so Del do you have a girl waiting for you back home?' She was really pushing the boat out here.
He sighed deeply and bowed his head. Gripping his mug of tea tightly it started to shake in his hands a little. She'd gone and pushed that boat out a bit too far she thought, instantly regretting what she had asked. 'I'm Sorry Mr Delaney. You don't have to answer that. It was very cheeky of me to ask.'
'I thought I said to call me Del, Tessa?' Del steadied himself regaining his composure. 'And it was a perfectly reasonable question. One that I'm ok to answer for you. I did have someone. We were deeply in love, but I lost her.'
'Oh I'm sorry.' Tessa replied softly, bowing her head and feeling sorry. 'Where is she now?'
'Hopefully dead, compared to what the damn ragheads would do to her.' He replied face showing signs of anger. 'Moving on, do you have someone waiting for you somewhere?'
Tessa blushed, 'Yes and no.' She answered timidly.
'Ah you like him, but the feeling isn't mutual is it?' Del finished for her. She shot him a shocked look, 'I'm good me man. I can tell these things. Sixth sense as it where, I can get a feeling things are about to go wrong.'
'It seems my faith in Mr Mardukas has been well placed. You are the best person for the job and you're a good person.' She smiled.
'Erm actually Tessa what is my job? I mean you don't exactly need a bodyguard on here or on base.' Del asked, looking puzzled
'Yes well I'm going to do what most people my age do, travel around for a while. "Backpacking" I think is the term you might be familiar with.' Tessa explained.
