On our way to Markus' office, I looked sideways at my coach. He tried to look as relaxed as possible, but wasn't masking his tenseness very well. I was going to say something, but thought better of it. Zack knocked on the door, which was opened immediately. Markus in a sharp dark blue suit, beckoned us in whilst he finished off a phone call.
“Take a seat Eliza and Zack.”
It somehow made me feel like I was in the Headmaster's office. Both Zack and I did what he said and he also made himself comfortable.
“How have you been?”
He addressed me directly, so I couldn't avoid saying something. I wasn't sure if I could keep my voice steady but I had to answer. I quickly glanced at Zack, who gave me an encouraging nod.
“Uh, yes, doing well I think, ehm.”
I stumbled over my words embarrassingly. Get it together for goodness sake.
“I think the medication is more or less out of my system and I am starting to feel much better within myself now.”
"Good, that is great to hear Eliza.”
He gave me a heartfelt smile which made me feel instantly more relaxed. Zack, however was still visibly tense. Markus had picked up on that as I saw him assess Zack's body posture. A frown crept on his face, but he just asked Zack to tell him how the training was going.
“She's making good progress in controlling her senses and we're just starting to work on how to manipulate them to her advantage. We did a little work on her interpreting other people's behaviour and signals they give out. She also did very well dealing with Kas, rescuing the situation with good improvisation skills. Her physical stamina isn't great but she is working on that. Her fighting skills are surprisingly good. Quick and clever for someone who has never done anything like that before.”
He didn't look at me once when he was giving Markus this report on me, but at the end he threw me a glance. He must have spotted my cheeks going red as he suppressed a little smile. Markus looked impressed and pleased, but Zack's face betrayed his worries creeping to the surface again.
“It sounds like you are doing a great job with her." Markus crooned.
“Not down to me alone, Markus. Zaphire's been a great help but it’s mostly Eliza's own determination and natural ability, to be honest.”
Zack shrugged his shoulders as if to say he was just lucky to be there to claim the glory.
“Right okay, whatever you're doing to enable that, keep it going. It's obviously working." Markus concluded.
“I suppose now it's my turn. I will bring you up to speed with our mission.” Markus began.
He shifted in his seat, just showing a little unease.
“You may not be aware, but we have been able to locate your father, but haven't made contact. We believe that first contact should be with you, Eliza. I have to be honest and say that we are not entirely sure what his situation is. We’re currently working under the assumption that he's working for this group of criminals under duress and they have some sort of power over him, but we're not entirely sure. You should know there is a possibility he's doing it for personal gain, but we really don't have any reason to assume that at this moment. I just want to be totally honest with you.”
I wasn't sure what to think of this, but a chill went through my body. In the pits of my stomach, an icy clump formed. I thought about what the punishment could be for people who betrayed their gift and the Sensorian community. I didn't allow myself to go there and was relieved to hear Zack speak, so I could concentrate on that instead.
“What criminal organisation are we talking about?" Zack asked, and I could see it was news to him too.
“It's a group totally under the radar of the police. It seems to work on a different level than all the other criminal gangs in the country, and we know there's a lot of money and drugs involved. It seems they're trying, and succeeding, to infiltrate into the police and justice system, and there are political links too. We've been planning the next course of action after the observation stage is over, and we're basically ready for the next step, which is where you come in, Eliza.”
He paused to let his words sink in.
I took advantage of the break and put in a question, under the watchful eye of Zack.
“Forgive me for probably being naïve, but now you know where my father is, why don't you just bring him in?”
I had directed the question to Markus, but then looked at Zack's face to see his reaction. His face gave nothing away, and was relying on Markus to answer the question.
“I can understand your question Eliza, but there's a lot at stake. We need to know Rick's situation before we can take any action. We want to tackle the organisation as it looks to be developing fast, and seems to be posing a threat maybe even for the security of the country. We need to know what role Rick is playing in it, as if we just take him out, it may trigger events we have no control over. We want you to make contact in the next few days and figure out what we are dealing with here. Zack you need to make a plan to set it in motion by tomorrow."
Zack looked shocked, I didn't really know what to think, but before I knew it, Zack had jumped up on his feet and paced round the room.
“She's not fucking ready for that!" he roared at Markus.
“It would be far too dangerous!! I'm not having her exposed to that yet! It's way too fucking soon! What are you crazy idiots thinking!”
He
