Snakehead by Anthony Horowitz 3rd post

'The man's name was Ethan Brooke, and he was the chief executive of the Covert Action Division of ASIS-- the Australian Secret Intelligence Service. His department was inevitably known as CAD, but only by the people who worked in it. Very few other people even knew it existed. Brooke was a large man, in his mid-fifties, with sand-colored hair and ruddy, weather-beaten cheeks that suggested years spend outdoors. He had indeed been a soldier, a lieutenant colonel with the commandos, until a land mine in East Timor had sent him first into the hospital for three months and then into a new career in intelligence. He wore Armani sunglasses, tinted silver, rather than the traditional black glasses of a blind man, and his clothes were casual: jeans, a jacket, and an open-neck shirt. A senior minister in the Australian defense department had once complained about the way he dressed. That same minister was now carrying luggage in a three-star Sydney hotel' (Horowitz 24).

This excerpt from the book includes a lot of imagery, which is the main reason why I chose to include it. The author takes great care describing this individual, especially his back ground and his clothing. What the author doesn't mention in great detail, however, is the fact that Mr. Brooke is blind. Something that would ordinarily hamper him in his position as the head of a secret service department is only mentioned on the side by the author, who seems to think that the fact that Mr. Brooke is wearing silver sun glasses instead of black ones more important in the description of this character. This suggests that this character is not very concerned about his impediment. The last two sentences of the passage also tell a great deal about this character: For one, it tells the reader that Mr. Brooke is a very important person in the Australian government, capable of getting a senior minister "transfered" to a new post. Secondly, the excerpt also suggests that this character is easily angered, and will retaliate as harshly as possible should someone give him offense.
Some questions I have about my reading include: How does Mr. Brooke fit into the rest of the story?
Why hasn't the main character been introduced into the story yet, but only mentioned on the side?