Happy New Year! See you next year! (Read my new signature to see why)
The Prologue
The woman sat, iced glass of bourbon in hand, taking a well-deserved break from all the paperwork and the briefings she had sorted out in the morning. She looked out her window, emotionless. She had grown accustomed to the view outside her window that it no longer felt spectacular. A woman her age seldom finds anything spectacular anymore.
She closed her eyes, tried and strained from gazing at endless screens and sheets of paper. She exhaled slowly.
Then, as if on cue, she opened the eyes and the phone on her table rang.
“Yes?” she answered automatically
“Ma’am, the candidate’s results have come in. Would you like to take a look at it now?”
“Yes. Bring it in.”
She hung up and took a sip of her glass. A few seconds later, the door opened and he entered with a small folder containing some paperwork and a laptop. They did not even bother greeting each other as this must have at least been the tenth time they have met that day.
Like a computer expert, he connected all the wires in a matter of seconds. As he waited for the computer to start up, he handed her the folder with its contents. There were only four pieces of paper.
The screen finally flashed up with four documents, looking exactly the same as those in her hand.
“Overall, ma’am, our man is very intellectually strong and has one of the highest IQ out of any candidates we have ever had.” He said, expanding one of the documents on the screen marked ‘Intelligence test report’ to show the candidate’s IQ of 138. She nodded, seemingly unimpressed.
“Physically, he’s average” he said as the second screen, titled ‘Physical test report’ flashed up. Again there were more numbers. Again, she looked rather unimpressed, despite an outstanding high score in firearm accuracy. He did not care, knowing she was always like this, and knew that the discussion could be over by the time the next slide comes on.
“However, his psychological test is an area of concern” the final screen came on, titled ‘Psychological test report’
“Our psychologist remarked the candidate’s difficulty making difficult decisions, especially under pressure. He does, however, find it easy to follow orders.”
He closed the screen, leaving only the profile, and waited for her to say something.
“If he was so intelligent, he should be sending all this to Oxford, and if he was such a good marksman, he should try out for the Olympic squad.” She said, and he knew that it was another candidate who was about to go home disappointed. He agreed, but something about the psychological report struck him.
“With all due respect, ma’am, we could use someone who would follow orders without question, considering all the reckless and wild men and women we currently have.”
She stared at him for a few seconds, wondering what he was trying to get at. He tried to give a neutral look. Slowly, however, she face began to take the shape that resembled agreement.
“Give him the Bangkok case” she finally said
“Certainly, ma’am” he nodded as he shut the laptop’s screen
“Thanks, Tanner”
She flung the candidate’s folder into the trash can even before the door closed.
The phone rang.
“M here”
