CHAPTER 25
MAJOR MIDLETON positioned their teams and one by one they entered the door of the embassy, it was a dead silence and the building did not show any heat movement by the infrared radar.
She didn't say anything, they never talked about actions like that, they just gestured and everyone already knew what they had to do, they had trained exhaustively until they reached that sync, they had studied every corner of the building, there would be no way for him to escape if he was there.
But how the hell would he manage to escape?
Midleton knew that Scotland Yard had been on the run for five years, she herself received daily reports on everything that went on at the embassy, there were a few undercover employees, practically the perfect move.
Now she knew she wasn't that perfect...
CHARLENE MIDLETON was the first woman to be part of the elite of the English Secret Service, had passed all tests with flying colors and was arguably one of the most important female leadership figures of that new century.
It was inspired by the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, a woman who had faced all the prejudices inherent in those who sought positions that were hitherto exclusively male, but she also did not deny that the price she had paid was too great, she gave up the man she loved, not she saw her two children grow up and didn't even have a life dedicated to herself.
She was in her forties and still beautiful, but without any relation to the outside world, and she had known from the beginning that it would be so, and the price of that had been her marriage.
— WHAT'S YOUR BIGGEST DREAM, Miss Midleton? — Asked the instructor on the first day.
— Being the first woman to command the Special Boat Service.
There was a burst of laughter at that moment, including from the instructor, only she remained serious.
— Did I make a joke, by any chance? — Asked Charlene Midleton.
— If you don't know you told a joke, how can you possibly command one of the most famous elite troops in the world, Midleton? — said his colleague on the left.
She was about to say something, but her instructor motioned for the room to be silent, as any elite troop in the world, discipline and hierarchy were everything and the room immediately fell silent.
— Miss Midleton, I truly believe that it is already a miracle that you are here, at the very least an honor, to be engaged to a famous prominent politician in meteoric rise, I believe I have helped you a lot, and don't think that because you are a woman... you will get everything you want in here, you are in an exclusively male world, you will be treated as such.
— Isn't that what...
— Are you allowed to speak?
She was silent.
— At least now I realize you're smart enough to learn quickly who's boss here.
She had to keep silent until she reached the rank of Major, until then she was considered a private, for the simple fact of being a woman.
Of that bunch, only two made it to the rank of major, all the others either dropped out or died in combat, but they all had to cross paths with her at some point or on any mission. She survived them all and all of them..., thus receiving her Victoria Cross from the Queen herself.
VICTORIA CROSS is the highest military decoration awarded for bravery — in the presence of enemy —, for members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries , and of former territories of the British Empire .
The Victoria Cross prevails over all other orders, decorations and medals. It can be assigned to a soldier of any rank, in any service, and to civilians under military command. In the United Kingdom , it is usually presented to the recipient, or their family members, by the British monarch at the investiture held at Buckingham Palace . In countries other than the United Kingdom, where the Commonwealth monarch is the head of state, it is the governor— general who usually performs the same function. It is the highest award for bravery in the UK, along with the George Cross , the equivalent decoration for civil merit, in this case other than — in the presence of the enemy— . However, the VC prevails over the George Cross, and should be used in a preferred position by someone who has already been decorated with both.
Which was the case with Major Midleton.
THE CV WAS CREATED on January 29 of the 1856, by Queen Victoria , to reward acts of bravery during the Crimean War . Since then, the medal has been awarded 1,356 times, to 1,353 citizens. Only 13 medals, nine to members of the British Army, and four to the Australian Army, have been awarded since World War II . The usual explanation for the origin of the bronze from which medals are made is that it comes from cannons. Russians , captured in the siege of Sevastopol . Recent research has raised suspicions about this story, which suggests diverse origins for the material that makes up the medals.
Due to its rarity, the CV has a high market value, reaching £400,000 at auction. There are many public and private collections dedicated to Cruz Vitória. Lord Ashcroft 's private collection, begun in 1986, contains about 10% of all attributed CVs. In 2008 , following a donation to the Imperial War Museum, the Ashcroft collection was displayed in public, alongside the museum's Victoria Cross and George's Cross collections, in November 2010 .
It didn't matter that her mission success rate up to that point was 100%, it didn't matter that she had all the most important decorations in the Kingdom, the simple fact of being a woman already counted against her.
THEY SCROLLED every corner until they reached Paul Leaks' room, Midleton motioned for two to stand guard at the door, it was a reasonably small room, 3 meters wide by 4 meters long, just an old wardrobe, a bed and a desk, nothing suspicious so far, the bed was immaculately made, as were the wardrobe and desk.
There were some letters painted on the wall that she didn't pay any attention to at first.
— QAP Bravo 1 — he heard that Bravo 1 was listening — Positive, Bravo 1, Alpha 1 confirming that there is no Papa presence Lima (Paul Leaks PL in Q code), QSL?
She looked at the letters again, only one letter painted on each wall.
— Positive...— he said as he spoke the letters in UN Q Code without sticking to their sequence — there's just a few letters painted on the wall with no apparent meaning... Oscar... Mike... Bravo... and Oscar...
"Alpha 1, get out of there immediately...that's..."
She hadn't formulated the meaning until it all made sense in the right order.
Bravo... Oscar... Oscar... Mike...
BOOM...
MAJOR MIDLETON heard a beep, suddenly the sound accelerated, but it was too late for them to flee... the embassy exploded.
A single mistake in his entire career cost him his life and that of his men.