Pirate - Duncan Falconer [111]
Howel looked around at the preparations as he and Winslow walked back towards the superstructure, where Stratton still stood.
‘God, how I envy you lot,’ Howel said to Stratton.
‘Well, you know where the door to true adventure lies,’ Stratton said. ‘You just have to get through it.’
He winked at Winslow and walked away. Winslow watched him go, his jaw tight.
Stratton stepped to his glider as a couple of the ship’s crew were assembling the wing. The rest of the glider pairs, aided by sailors, were doing the same all over the deck area.
A tall, strongly built SBS operative preparing the glider beside Downs and Stratton’s looked over at Stratton as he arrived. ‘Hey, Stratton,’ he said.
Stratton looked at him, recognising the face but unable to place him right away.
‘Matt,’ he reminded Stratton, aware the operative could not remember his name. ‘We were in Helmand last year at the same time. I was in Blue Team.’
The man fell into place for Stratton. ‘I remember. How’s it going?’
Matt stepped closer. He was a head taller than Stratton with a pair of shoulders to match. ‘So what’s Somalia like?’
‘I found it a tad unfriendly. But it would be unfair to taint the entire country. I only saw a small part of it.’
‘I’m looking forward to punishing those bastards. Hopper was a good friend. Do you know his wife, Helen?’
Stratton had been wondering who would be the first to mention Hopper. ‘Only in passing,’ he said.
‘You met the kids?’
Stratton could sense an edge to the man’s tone. ‘A couple of times.’
Matt nodded. Like he had no real interest in Stratton’s answers to his questions, like he wanted to get to others he had on his mind. ‘Do you mind if I ask you something?’ he said. ‘There’s a rumour going around that you killed Hopper.’
The hint of confrontation Stratton had detected became suddenly far stronger. Hearing Matt’s voice had improved his memory of the man. Matt had a reputation for being stroppy. He had a bit of the big-man syndrome. He used his size and naturally aggressive nature to intimidate. It worked on most people. Stratton remembered his behaviour during one set of operational orders in Afghanistan. During the questions phase, Matt had been sarcastic to the sergeant running that small op. Stratton suspected it was because he felt like he should have been running it. A childish response but some people were like that.
For Matt’s part, Stratton didn’t overly impress him. He felt he was every bit as good as guys like him. In Matt’s eyes, the only difference between them both was that he hadn’t yet had the opportunity to prove himself.
Stratton appreciated displays of confidence and didn’t mind if it bordered on arrogance or even discourtesy. But he drew the line at blatant disrespect. ‘That’s right,’ he answered, a coldness easing its way into his own tone.
The men nearby who had heard the question and the answer stopped what they were doing to watch and listen. Everyone had heard and discussed the rumours but no one knew the truth.
Matt took a step closer to Stratton. Got close to invading the operative’s personal space, a dangerous place to venture. Stratton would give him a lot of leeway though. Matt was SBS, but also upset about his friend’s death.
‘Was that deliberate or did you shoot him by accident?’ Matt asked.
Stratton didn’t react at all. He looked hard at Matt. He had a dangerous look in his eye. But Matt was afraid of no one. Few members of the service would dare to show disrespect to Stratton. Even fewer would threaten him. Matt believed he had a right to confront Stratton, regardless of the fact the man was the most accomplished operative in the SBS. He knew he was in dangerous territory but suddenly felt confident about it.
There were not many men on that deck who would have questioned Stratton’s operational choices. Most believed that whatever he did was for a good reason. Stratton did have his detractors. There were men in the SBS who didn’t approve of him in general. Most of those numbered among