Nigel Harvey Stooper Spy
Nigel Harvey could feel his heart beating fast, and it was loud, abnormally loud in his opinion. ... He had then pressed himself against his wooden protector and listened to the rhythm of the footsteps reverberating down the corridor towards him, the noise had an almost hypnotic quality and Nigel had to blink hard several times to clear his head and to stop his mind wandering. ... Buh-boom, Buh-boom” For a fleeting moment, Nigel had tried to ascertain the source of the noise, then the answer had hit him like a speeding freight train – it was his heart – pounding in his ears and seeming to be as loud as the metaphorical freight train that had just run him down. Nigel now took a few deep, silent breaths in an attempt to calm his thudding heart, but it was extremely difficult in the face of his all-time worst fear. He shivered at the thought of being held at gunpoint, felt ill at the thought of watching the face of another person holding a weapon levelled at him for clues of their possible actions in the next five seconds whilst simultaneously keeping a keen eye on their finger poised over the trigger, waiting to move that fraction of an inch that would cause some part of him, Nigel Harvey, to gain a gory hole. Nigel hated to think of the feelings of helplessness and the knowledge of impending death that he knew must accompany the physicality of having a lethal weapon pointed at him. ... Nigel had applied for an entry-level position as a research assistant with a large company that specialised in designing and producing new equipment and researching more advanced technologies. ... Nigel was dubious that the chance of the company accepting his application was high, so he was therefore surprised when he received a letter from them with an appointment for an interview with the personnel manager to discuss a possible position in the company for Nigel and his prospects there. On the morning of his interview, Nigel had woken early and had had a long shower before dressing in his best suit and tie. ... Nigel’s escort nodded curtly to the security guard, closing the door behind himself as he left. The guard had checked Nigel with a hand-held metal detector similar to the ones used in airports, and then he’d briefed Nigel on what he could and couldn’t do for safety and security reasons.