The Crescendo (16 page)

***

At work the next day Ryan found Randall easier to be around. He hoped the rest of the staff noticed.

‘Get ready, the boss has a stop at the warehouse and we don't want another incident like at the farm,' said Randall. ‘Just stay a metre or two from the boss at all times unless told otherwise.'

‘Righto. I'll have my eyes peeled.'

‘Morning, Mr Lancaster,' said Jamison as he came out to get in his car. He was in a deep velvet suit with a black shirt and tie. A matching fedora on his head.

‘Morning, sir.' Ryan sat in the front with Wilkins and they were silent all the way out to the warehouse. Jamison wasn't the chatty sort.

Ryan thought they were going to the shed on his rural property but instead they were still in the city, heading towards the shipping area in Fremantle. He took note of every detail, as it was a new place. Wilkins pulled up outside a large corrugated iron shed. Shipping containers were stacked outside and by the size of the shed there were probably a few inside. It was next door to a fresh seafood business, their boats and packing crates stacked outside also.

Randall ejected the clip on his gun and reloaded. Ryan did the same. His nerves started to tighten with excitement. This visit was something special. Ryan focused, taking in every little detail. From the flaking black and white sign on the shed, ‘Drake Industries', to the dimension of the shed. He was accustomed to searching for hidden rooms, false walls and space that was missing.

When he got out the smell of the ocean was strong, they must be just a stone's throw from the channel. The breeze was quite resilient, lifting the bottom of their suit jackets. Jamison's hand went to his fedora.

As per Randall's instructions, Ryan followed Jamison closely, his hand ready to reach for the gun. Randall keyed in a number into the keypad and opened the door, checking inside before waving Jamison in.

That was interesting. Why would Randall need to check inside a locked place? Did they have workers inside they didn't trust? Ryan tucked those details away as they moved through the large building. It stunk of fuel, salt, wet wood, mould and another dirty smell he couldn't put his hand on. No one seemed to be working today, but there were a couple of forklifts, stacked crates and fridges and freezers that lined the back wall. None of their intel had brought them any connection to this side of Jamison's business. The seafood industry would give him access to the water, being able to bring things in and out of the country. Ryan wondered what ingenious ways he used to bring in the drugs or girls.

A half wall sectioned off an area that looked like a prep area for the fish. Then there were rooms beyond that, an office, kitchen area, and a room or bedroom area, which looked like it was used casually. Maybe by staff pulling long shifts? There was another room but the door was shut. Ryan checked the ceiling, walls and corners for any cameras. There had been one over the main door they'd come through and another outside the office. If there were more he was yet to find them. He'd have to be careful. If he seemed untrustworthy, or was caught in areas he shouldn't be, then he could blow everything. Each step had to be slow and meticulous. For now he'd play the dutiful bodyguard.

They came to a stop at the end; there was another door with a coded keypad. Randall entered this code as well. If Jamison trusted anyone it must only be Randall.

‘Stay here, and keep watch. You can make yourself a cuppa,' said Randall. ‘We won't be long,' he added, following Jamison.

Okay, so this is as far as he went. He was dying to know what was behind the door but he couldn't see a thing before they closed it.

Ryan tried to check again for cameras. When he was certain he had them all covered, he casually walked back to the couple of rooms they'd passed. He went and got himself a coffee, just to keep it real. Then, with his foam cup, he went and tried the door that interested him. He found it opened. What if there was a camera inside?

Did he just take the chance? Just pretend he was having a stickybeak? Lots of people would want to see what was behind a closed door but bodyguards were supposed to just do their job.

What to do?

You didn't get anything without risk, so Ryan took it. Slowly he opened the door enough to poke his head inside. It was just a normal square room, with a bed and wash sink, much like the other one. Except on the second glance around the room, he spotted a lady's shoe poking out from under the bed and a very long strand of dark hair hanging from the basin. Did they have women staff with their own separate sleeping areas? Or was something else at play?

Ryan shut the door and went back to the kitchen. He wanted to look for any clues, even the fridge may hold something. Then he stood at the door to the office and could see the screen with one of the cameras feed on it. He didn't dare go in, just leant against the doorjamb and searched the desks. It all looked like paperwork, pallet sheets and orders. Why was no one here? Did this place only run at certain times? Ryan would make sure the agency got an operative to keep the place under surveillance.

Something flashed past on one of the camera screens and Ryan stepped inside the office to get a closer look. He now had a reason. Watching the screen, he saw the person again and quickly pulled out his phone and took a photo of him. Randall would be interested to know who was moving around the building. While he was inside the office Ryan glanced around. No hidden cameras that he could see, but that didn't mean there weren't any. For all he knew this could be a test. Not wanting to push his luck he stepped out of the office slowly, while trying to take in papers on the desk. He doubted that anything of interest would be left about. What he needed was to get into that room Jamison was in now.

He was walking out of the room just as Randall came out the door. The squint of his eyes gave away his surprise at finding Ryan in the office.

‘Mr Randall, I just captured someone out the front of the building on the camera. I got a photo. Do you recognise this person?' Quickly he stepped towards Randall and held out his phone.

Randall glanced at it then nodded. ‘It's okay, that's just Pete. He keeps an eye on the place. He was probably just checking the outside while we were here, or chatting to Mr Wilkins.'

‘Oh, yep. Good to know. Sorry.' He'd have to warn the operative that he wouldn't be alone in watching over the building. Hopefully this Pete was the only one.

‘Don't apologise, I'd rather you come to us with any little detail,' said Jamison as he shut the door. ‘Please, take me back home now.'

There was a weird smell that clung to both their clothes and Ryan tried hard to place it.

‘Yes, sir.' Ryan turned to Randall. ‘I thought I was best suited watching the cameras while I waited,' he said softly as they made their way out of the building. ‘And I helped myself to a coffee too.' He wanted them to think he was honest.

It would take time to build up their confidence in him. Especially if Jamison was keeping this business secret from his daughter. But then again, if he liked Ryan enough he might just groom him to take over the family business one day. Ryan almost shuddered at the thought. How many years down the track was he thinking? Would he have to marry Annaliese before that happened? Did he want to go that far undercover? Maybe once upon a time he'd have been prepared to do that for the agency and for the greater good, but now something lurked in his mind, changing his way of thinking, making him feel a little selfish. He just couldn't put his finger on what.

Chapter 16

Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.

Jaz lowered her gun as she stared at the target. The smell from her gun was strangely comforting. And the kick it let off with each pull of the trigger filled her with an awesome energy, yet she felt calm and relaxed. It was like she could rest her mind as she thought about nothing else but the target.

‘Holy shit, Jaz, you're getting bloody good,' said Cody as they both pulled off their earmuffs.

His mouth was open for a second before his smile spread across his tanned face. His eyes sparkled and Jaz couldn't help but smile too. The range was her second favourite place after the gym. Derik and Stew who managed the place were becoming fast friends like Bags and Tick. These were her kind of people. Cody, Taylor, Ryan, Tilly and Anna. They all felt the same when firing a weapon or fighting. They all understood what she felt and they all were on the same level. Jaz wasn't a loner anymore. She wasn't the odd one out, it was as if she'd finally found her crowd. It was an amazing thing to realise you had a big circle of friends you could call family.

‘Yeah, well, I've been practising lots, and I'm so in love with my gun.' Jaz tilted her shiny Firestar handgun. The handgrip was black, but the barrel was steel and it was engraved with a phoenix. Ryan had brought her the 9mm for her birthday. It wasn't new, but the Star Firestar was a compact pistol designed for concealment, and Jaz found it very stable when shooting and the recoil was offset by the weight of the gun. She'd researched everything on it, well, actually Tay told her all about it, being a know-it-all on guns, and she'd been shooting with it every moment she could get. She wanted to feel like the gun was an extension of her arm, a part of her own body. She took out the magazine. Tay had also taught her how to pull it down to clean it. It had been the best lesson she'd ever had. If only her exams could have been on that she would have aced them!

‘Hmm, I can tell,' said Cody.

He had a bruise on his cheek from their sparring yesterday. She'd got him good with her foot. It was her own fault, she should have held back but sometimes she just wanted to go hard. She wanted a fight, a real fight, something she could sink her teeth into, someone who could push her to her best. At the moment she was taking on Cody and Tay at the same time to give her a work-out. She loved that but didn't like hurting her friends. Cody had suggested entering her into a proper fight against other women. The idea had merit, not that she'd tell Cody that.

‘So how does it feel to have your last exam tomorrow?' he asked as they packed up their guns. Cody had to return his to Derik to lock up, but Jaz got to put hers in its case and take it home. Anna had made her a gun licence. It was weird that she could cart a gun around legally. No bullets, mind you.

‘Like it couldn't come fast enough. I want the exams done, school finished so I can focus on my job at The Duke,' she said softly so Derik couldn't hear.

Cody nodded. ‘I still think you should be studying with Tay and Anna. You only get one chance,' he added with a smirk.

Jaz groaned. ‘I can't look at another bloody chemistry book, I have studying overload. I swear, Cody, this has been better exam preparation than last minute cramming.'

They said goodbye to Derik, signed out with Stew and jumped in Jaz's Jeep and headed back to the gym.

Jaz had been sleeping at the gym for nearly two weeks, on and off. She tried to go home as much as possible, leaving the nights she needed to be at work the nights she stayed at the gym. Anna was even allowed to stay on the odd night as well, under strict rules though. She had to study, go to bed at a reasonable hour and could only stay when Jaz was there. Then Anna had text messages from her mum while she was there. Seriously, Anna couldn't wait to cut the apron strings but her mum kept tying on more.

‘Hey, guys.' Jaz found her friends at the kitchen table, books out amongst empty coffee cups. She shut the door behind Cody as Tick was running a self-defence class for his sister's friends. Probably earning adoring fans the moment he took off his shirt. Teenage girls, they probably wouldn't take anything in besides how many muscles there were in a sixpack.

Mind you, Jaz was the same around Ryan. Very hard to concentrate with his awesome body so close she just wanted to touch it. It seemed like years ago when he first came to the gym and they sparred. Some days she wished they could go back to that.

‘Hey, Jaz. How did you shoot?' asked Tay.

‘She's getting worse,' said Cody. Tay frowned. Cody rolled his eyes. ‘She's too good. It's horrible.'

Anna laughed. ‘How did you go?'

‘Cody can hold his own. Don't let him fool you,' said Jaz. ‘I'm gonna go have a shower and get ready for my shift. Are you staying the night?' she asked Anna.

‘Yep. I think Mum's getting used to the idea. I think that fact that I'm still alive has reassured her I'm not going to die cos I'm away from home. Tay's going to come back after he's had tea with his dad.' Sometimes Tay stayed the night in Jaz's old single bed. Anna hadn't changed their room at all, she liked it and it came in handy having the extra bed.

Anna found it a little bit scary being in Pax's house on her own, so Tay usually came and they watched TV until Jaz got home. They were onto the last season of
Game of Thrones
and had already got
Orange is the New Black
ready to go next.

‘Can I watch too?' asked Cody. ‘I got two episodes in when my mate wanted it back.'

‘Sure,' said Anna.

Jaz left them to chat about the last episode he'd seen, so they could work out which one it was. In her room she grabbed her pub clothes, which consisted of either shorts or black leggings and a black t-shirt. Ted didn't care what was on it; as long as she wore mostly black it would look as if they had some sort of uniform.

Jaz tied her hair up into a lose bun on top of her head, chucked on her shirt, three-quarter leggings and Converse hi-tops. At the last minute she decided to put a little bit of make-up on, just enough to make her eyes pop without looking too made-up. She knew she had to start making her move soon and had to look nice enough to attract attention from the Shesha Serpent boys.

‘Righto, I'm off. See you guys at midnight.'

‘I hope you don't fall asleep during your exam tomorrow,' said Anna.

‘I'll be alright, Mummy,' said Jaz as she gave her a hug.