Life was tough after the SAS but not in the ways I’d expected. I certainly had a lot more respect for ‘civvys’ than when I’d been in. Now I’d finally followed the well-trodden route to being a commercial bodyguard, my life consisted of shopping and dropping kids off to school. Oh and resisting the temptations of all the gorgeous wives who threw themselves at me. Giving in to that one would be guaranteed to stop me ever working again!
So here I was, finally! Billy Mitchell: seven years in the Royal Engineers and fifteen in the Special Air Service. A lifetime of ‘doing the hard yards,’ as an old CO used to say. And where was I? Well, I was where all special forces soldiers seemed to eventually end up when they left. I was sat in the upmarket London offices of a security company. About to interview for a close protection contract.
I had been out for nearly a year and tried being normal. A letter from my CO, who was a well-connected Scots Guardsman had secured me a well-paid job as games master at a boarding school in York. That had lasted six months! The ridiculous socialist chat in the staff room had eventually culminated in me offering to throw the androgynous maths teacher through the second-floor window unless he shut the whimpering little arsehole in the middle of his face! The headmaster was also an ex-Army officer, having served in the Royal Green Jackets and fortunately managed to keep the supposed incident in-house.
I did a few odd jobs here and there as my army gratuity whittled its way down and then, inevitably, I followed that path that I swore I never would. I moved to London, just a short Tube ride from the West End and a few phone calls gave me a short list of companies to call.
So, here I was!
The pretty young receptionist gave me a come to bed smile and I resisted again. A ‘gypsy’s warning’ from an old mate had clued me into the one thing that was guaranteed to bar you from the bodyguarding business for life and I reckoned Simone was employed primarily as a honey trap. She was bloody gorgeous though; a right little minx and I found my mind wandering as the interview started.
(NB – CO – commanding officer – army high ranking boss).
