The Deception (16 page)

‘I get it,’ said Anna. ‘He’s a nice guy, you’ve got a bond and I can imagine it will be hard to say goodbye. And really it’s not going to hurt if he visits, is it? It’s not like he’s on the wrong side of the law and will come back to slaughter you in your bed.’

Jaz pulled a face. ‘Thanks, Anna, for that scenario.’

Taylor chuckled and shook his head. ‘I’m with Anna on this. Marcus isn’t his dad.’

‘Thanks, you guys.’ Jaz quickly texted Marcus, asking if he wanted to come over for Sunday lunch. His enthusiastic reply brought a smile to her lips.

‘So why are we really here?’ asked Tay as they checked in with Stewie.

Jaz didn’t say anything. She didn’t have the courage to tell Tay straight out. She didn’t want to hurt her best friend.

They walked into the back room where the targets were set up in stalls.

‘Well, if you’d ask me I reckon it’s because you were shaking so much last night I could hear the bullets rattling in the gun,’ said Anna with a grim expression.

Tay looked to the ground. ‘Was it that bad?’

Anna the straight shooter, but she did it with love. ‘Tay, I hit the dude with a frypan because I didn’t think you were going to do anything. I didn’t expect you to shoot him but you could have clobbered him with the gun.’ She put her hand on his arm. ‘I’m not having a go at you, Tay. I just need to know you can look after yourself if you are going into these tricky situations. I care about you. We care,’ she added.

‘And we’re here to help you. Maybe shooting a few rounds will bring your confidence back,’ said Jaz softly.

‘Is that what you did to get over it?’ he asked, as he dug his hands deep into his jean pockets.

Jaz shrugged. ‘I didn’t really have time to think about it. Ryan just shoved the gun in my hand and we were off doing Cody’s mission. I guess I just compartmentalised Tommy’s death in another part of my brain. It’s still there, lurking when I sleep or when I’m tired. But if I’m to do what Ryan does as a job I have to be able to move on. I need to survive.’

Jaz went and got the guns from Derik. She held out one to Taylor, daring him to pick it up and confront his fear.

Tay’s green eyes brightened. ‘Alright, let’s do this.’ He reached for it with determination and took an ammo clip. ‘As much as I loved you coming to my aid, Anna, I’d rather be the one saving you.’ He shot her a smile full of white teeth.

‘I’d like that,’ Anna replied, as she loaded her gun.

Jaz moved to her booth and shot off her first round, giving Taylor some breathing space. She smiled at her improved aim and then stepped back to watch Taylor fire his last two shots. He had one outside the target’s black outline, and then each one after that was bang on target. He turned and nodded, a grin twitching on his lips.

‘I won’t let you down ever again, Jaz,’ he said sternly. He meant it with every bone in his body.

Yeah, Taylor was back.

‘Are we still paintballing this afternoon?’ he asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

‘You bet ya.’ Jaz slapped his back proudly. Then she pulled out her phone and sent Ryan a text.

Tay is on target. ☺

Chapter 14

‘Okay Mum, don’t chuck a party or anything, but Marcus is coming over for lunch,’ said Jaz as she sat on a kitchen stool.

Tasha was getting stuff out to make pizzas for lunch. Her hair was tied in a messy knot on top of her head, her glasses resting on the edge of her nose, while her blue jumper fell off one shoulder. ‘What!’ She nearly dropped the container of tomato puree. ‘Now? You wait until now to tell me this? Jasmine Thomas, why didn’t you tell me sooner?’

Jaz picked at the fraying holes on her jeans. ‘You’d have made a big deal about it, and I don’t want this to be a big deal. I just want it to be normal.’

‘We are normal-ish,’ said Tasha with a smile. ‘But I’m not dressed properly.’ She glanced around the house. ‘Oh, I need to tidy up.’

Jaz started laughing as the doorbell rang. ‘See Mum, this is why I didn’t tell you. You look fine and the house is perfect.’ She jumped off her stool and went to answer the door.

‘Hi ya,’ she said, swinging open the door. Marcus was dressed in good jeans and a nice button-up shirt and his hair was pulled back. He was trying to make an impression. ‘You look good.’ She gave him a kiss and while doing that, tugged the lacky from his hair. ‘But this looks better.’

‘Nice digs,’ he said, walking in and snatching his hair lacky back.

They didn’t quite make the kitchen before Tasha rushed towards them.

‘Hi Marcus, lovely to meet you. I’m Jasmine’s mum, call me Tasha.’ She gave him a quick hug and then offered him a drink.

Jaz rolled her eyes. ‘Now you see why I haven’t brought you home.’

Tasha frowned. ‘Jaz, don’t be rude. I’m just a bit excited because my daughter has never brought a boyfriend home before.’ Tasha almost clapped her hands but changed her mind as Jaz shot her a murderous look. ‘Marcus, come in and make yourself at home, I’m just starting lunch.’

Simon came out of the computer room wearing his glasses and a button-up shirt with some slacks. He stopped when he saw Marcus.

‘Who are you?’

‘Simon, this is Marcus. Marcus, this is my brother.’

‘Hey Si, I’ve heard a lot about you.’

This only made Simon look more confused and startled. ‘Hi.’ Without saying anything else, he nodded and turned back into the computer room.

‘Did I say something wrong?’ Marcus asked.

Jaz laughed. ‘No, that’s just Si. Come on, I’ll show you my room.’

Tasha frowned, her eyes flashing caution as she watched them head upstairs.

Geez, it’s not like she was going to slip in a quickie while everyone was in the house.

‘It’s very neat and tidy,’ he said as he walked around her room. He quickly spotted his drawings hanging up on the wall by her desk.

Jaz liked the smile it brought to his lips. He still didn’t realise how skilled he was.

‘Yeah, well, it wasn’t usually this clean.’ Not until she’d seen Ryan’s house. There was something about the order and neatness that made her aspire to that. A certain pride.

Half an hour later they were all seated at the table, Jaz’s whole family and Marcus. As they talked and laughed, a warm sensation of happiness and normalcy flooded through her. For just a moment things felt real. She was just a kid at school, with a boyfriend and a happy family, and no lies or deceit.

But in the real world she was about to bust her fake boyfriend’s dad.

What would her parents think if they knew? She doubted Paul could even fathom the work she was doing. That stuff only happened in the movies. And her mum? Well, who knows what she’d think if she knew. Probably try to lock her up or something. Demand the Agency be brought to justice for employing a minor. What a shit fight her mother could cause. Jaz had seen her firsthand berate a young kid who’d tried to steal an old lady’s bag at the supermarket. The kid would have preferred the police compared to the barrelling Tasha had given him in front of the whole shop while she’d gripped his arm tightly. Jaz had even been embarrassed and had vowed never to steal.

Jaz watched Marcus carefully as he interacted with her family. He had such an easy laugh and smile. She was totally going to miss that.

Marcus didn’t leave until after a movie in the late afternoon. He had to get back and study for an exam. Jaz walked him to his car, her mind full of things she wanted to tell him.

‘Thanks for coming, I had a great time,’ she said, giving him a hug. She breathed in his fresh scent, young and vibrant. His arms tightened around her and she knew she’d miss this the most. Having someone to hold her, even if it wasn’t the one she loved. Marcus had made her feel special, even if it was for a brief time. ‘You are the coolest boyfriend ever, you know that.’ He was sweet, kind, sensitive and emotionally available. But Jaz couldn’t tell him any of this without arousing suspicion. She stayed in his arms for ages, maybe too long, but she didn’t know how else to say goodbye without using the words.

‘You’re not too bad yourself, Jaz. I like your family. We’ll have to do this again,’ he said as he buried his hand in her hair.

If only.

‘I’ll give you a call after I’ve got some study done.’ He took her face in his hands and kissed her lips. ‘Maybe we could get together without any family,’ he whispered against her cheek.

‘Maybe.’ It was hard to sound optimistic when you knew there was no chance of it happening after her mission. ‘See ya.’

Jaz waved him off as he drove away. The next Sinclair she’d see would be his dad on Tuesday. It made her gut twist just thinking about it.

***

Tuesday came much too quickly. Jaz was thinking of her mission constantly even though she had it planned. The container sale was at three in the afternoon, so she snuck out of school with Taylor, while Anna stayed behind to cover for them. She would go to The Ring and wait for their return.

‘Wish I’d had the need to escape school, this way out is awesome,’ said Tay, as they jumped down from the fence into the tree and onto the ground.

‘Ready,’ said Ryan, who sat in his car, parked on the curb. It added that extra protection from prying eyes.

Quickly they got in and Ryan drove them to The Ring so they could change and prepare.

Dressed in dark pants and a black skivvy, she loaded the untraceable ute that they used for Cody’s mission with binoculars and a first-aid kit. Tay was wearing black jeans and a red shirt but had brought a black hoodie for later, while Ryan was in stone-washed jeans and a fitted black shirt. It was one of her favourites. Cody and another operative were going to meet them at the address, where Jaz would instruct them. Ryan would be posing as a buyer and stand in the crowd with Carl and watch to see if he bid on the sea container. Jaz would be watching from a safe distance away so Carl didn’t see her.

‘You okay?’ asked Ryan as he checked his gun.

Jaz took the one she’d been using. ‘Yep. One day I’d like to have my own,’ she said, turning the cold steel over in her hands. How could something so small be so deadly?

‘Me too,’ said Tay. ‘Any chance you can find me one?’

‘We’ll see.’ Ryan got in and they followed suit.

It was a quiet drive to Fremantle where the auction yard was. A big wire fence, taller than Jaz, topped with barbed wire, ran the perimeter. Ryan parked in a spot where she could see into the yard but was far enough away not to be noticed.

‘There is Tilly.’ Ryan pointed out the skinny guy on the corner, he was smoking and reading a paper.

‘Did you know Tilly was helping today?’ she asked. The last time she’d seen Tilly he’d had a bullet hole in his arm, bleeding all over the ute as he drove them through Pakistan after an exchange gone wrong. ‘Good to see he’s well.’ His arm was still attached at least, and he’d managed to get out of Pakistan with everything else intact.

‘He was quite keen to meet you again, see how you handle yourself.’

Great, no pressure. Jaz got out and went to meet with Tilly. She pulled her beanie down low on her head, a form of disguise. ‘Hey, any chance I can bum a cigarette,’ she asked when she approached.

‘Sure. Nice to see you again,’ he said as he tucked his paper under his arm.

‘Likewise.’ Jaz smiled at Tilly’s chipped tooth grin. ‘So I need you to watch the north corner,’ she said speaking quickly while Tilly took his time getting out a smoke for her, in keeping with their charade. ‘Watch and follow Carl.’ Ryan had taken her photos of Carl two days ago to show the other operative, who happened to be Tilly. Jaz had included Salvatore in that mix just to cover all bases. ‘We expect him to buy and take a sea container back to his warehouse. If all goes to plan, we will then move in.’

Tilly lit the cigarette for her and passed it over. Jaz stuck it in her mouth for a bit before pulling it out. ‘Can you pass that onto Cody, and tell him to cover the exit of the saleyard.’ Jaz had shown Cody the pictures of Carl and Salvatore personally after their paintball match. Which the boys had won due to Tay’s awesomeness.

‘Can do, little lady,’ said Tilly, who opened up his paper. ‘I’ll be seeing you.’

Jaz kept walking and did a lap around the block, coming back to the car.

‘All set. We have ten minutes until the auction starts. You got the container number?’ she asked Ryan.

He held up his phone, the details stored on his screen. ‘I’ll be off then.’

‘Good luck,’ said Jaz. It sounded ridiculous but ‘be careful’ was a bit much. ‘Now we wait.’ Jaz smiled at Tay, who sat quietly in the back, watching, waiting. She turned and tracked Ryan’s movements and when her eyes strained she raised the binoculars. They gave her a great up close view of his backside. Now she felt like his stalker. Ryan raised his middle finger and scratched between his eyes, causing Jaz to laugh. He knew she was watching.

‘This waiting business has got knobs on it,’ said Tay with a sigh.

‘Ha, you think this is bad. Wait until Ryan sets you up watching a target, or worse, waiting for a target. I had to watch a door for hours and I still missed him walk out,’ said Jaz, remembering back to some of her training.

‘Do you think they will recruit me?’ he asked.

‘Depends. Do you want that?’

‘Yep. Any chance you can train me to fight? That would have to help, hey?’

‘Definitely and I’d like that. I can set you up with Bags too. We can start tomorrow and every day after. Within no time we’ll have you able to defend yourself.’ Jaz hoped he’d be well and truly able to take down a human before he was put into the field.

‘What’s happening? Has it started?’ asked Tay. If his face was any closer to the window he’d leave an imprint.

‘I can see Carl. Ryan is about five people behind him and to the left.’

It was half an hour before Ryan gave the signal that the special sea container was next. Men shuffled through the yard, standing before each container, bidding. Jaz checked out the container, which looked like every other one there. ‘Ryan just upped the bid, crazy bugger. Carl raised his hand straight up again. Yep, Carl won the bid.’ Everything was going to plan. Jaz allowed herself a quick sigh of relief.

Sweeping the binoculars around she found Tilly, pausing by the building over the road near a homeless man. He fitted right in and could probably stay there the whole time undetected. Cody was also moving about but keeping his eyes on the exit road. She saw him light up a cigarette a few times and other times with his phone out. He also changed his appearance by taking off his jumper, tying his hair up or putting on his beanie. Ways to go unnoticed.