When she got back to England from Russia and the cycle trip two days later, she reported in and had been shown into the office of the head of Courier Services. The head of Courier Services had looked at her and asked what had happened on the ferry. She reported what had happened and he nodded and then told her to report to Special Activities Section since they wanted to debrief her. He gave her an internal base pass and a name and office number. Greta had gone to the elevators and looked for one that went down. None of the elevators showed anything below the lobby and she had finally asked the man at the information desk about going down. She had showed him her pass and he had escorted her to an elevator and depressed the call button. When the elevator arrived he had motioned Greta in and closed the door then inserted a key in the control panel and punched the down button three times. The elevator had started down and traveled for a while. Finally, it stopped and the door opened into a tiled room with a door in the end wall at right angles to the elevator. The man motioned her out and she stepped out of the elevator while he remained in it.
“Excuse me but how do I call the elevator to go back up?” asked Greta.
“They will do it for you if they decide you should go up,” said the man as the door slid shut.
After the elevator door closed the door in the sidewall of the lobby opened and she walked through it into a small room with another door at the other end and a full body scanner in the middle. The door closed behind her and a voice on a speaker asked her who she was and what she wanted. Greta explained about being told to come down to Special Section to be debriefed on a recent mission. She was asked to put anything in her pockets or any jewelry or weapons and her shoes in one of a stack of plastic tubs that were on a table and slide it into a compartment that had opened in the wall and then to walk into the scanner and be checked. She emptied her pockets took off her shoes and put everything in one of the tubs and slid it into the compartment and a sliding door closed. Then she walked into the scanner and was cleared.
The door out opened and the speaker voice said. “Pick up your shoes and stuff. Are you the new recruit?”
Greta shrugged and walked down the hall and located the door she was looking for and knocked. A soft female voice told her to come in and she opened the door.
An older lady was setting behind a desk. She looked at Greta and smiled and stood up and walked around the desk and indicated a pair of comfortable chairs setting in one corner of the room facing the windows. There was a table in front of the chairs with a tray with a tea service and cups and some fresh muffins. She led Greta to the chairs and sat down in one and indicated the other one to Greta.
Greta sat down and looked at the lady who looked back at her. The lady was probably sixty, thought Greta. She definitely completely filled the space she occupied from one side to the other. She had never been a great beauty but she was still striking and had presence and character that just screamed class. She had naturally grey hair with strands and traces of her original auburn still visible in it. Her eyes were hazel and currently a pale yellow green and could probably appear any color from chestnut to grass green depending on her mood. She was dressed in a casual suit of heather tweed that had obviously been made for her since it fit perfectly. Her shoes were comfortable soft black leather low heel countrywoman’s walking shoes also custom made. She had on a wedding ring but no engagement ring and a single strand of pearls.
She smiled and said, “Would you like some tea, dear? I need to talk to you about what happened on the ferry. I know you are probably bothered since according to your contact you actually are the one that disposed of both of the Russians. It was very heroic of you and probably saved both your own life your and contacts life since they would have killed you. I’m sorry it happened. We didn’t expect anything to happen since you are only a courier and still quite young. “
Greta saw that the woman was studying her as she was studying the woman. She really didn’t know how to respond since it had been obvious that the Russians were going to isolate her and her contact and shoot them and dump them over the side of the boat. The only reason that Greta and her contact had been able to act first was because the Russians wanted to see what they would exchange so they could confiscate it. She supposed that her contact could have acted first since he had been willing to dump bodies and clean up blood, but he hadn’t, so obviously it was up to her, even if she wasn’t a full agent.
Greta looked at the woman and made up her mind, “Yes I would like some tea with two sugars. As far as the Russians, things just happen. They needed to go and so I did it even if my contact was the agent and I am just a courier. As far as how I am, I feel fine.”
The woman poured tea for both of them and added two spoons of sugar to Greta’s tea and one sugar and cream to hers. Greta started sipping her tea and selected one of the muffins to nibble. The lady took a sip of tea and she got up and picked up her phone and punched a speed dial.
“Blossom,” said the lady, “could you come into my office for a minute? I think we have a kindred spirit.”
The lady walked back to her chair and resumed drinking her tea while Greta finished her muffin and wiped her hands on a napkin. A few moments later an interior door into the office opened and Lady Victoria Elaine Covington the Dowager Duchess of Camenshire, Permanent Assistant Minister for Economics and Policy on European Union Activities, the English delegate to the EUPOS Control Committee who was currently elected as chairman of the committee, and her big boss, walked in and looked appraisingly at Greta.
EUOPS Greta Steiner 