“I'm fine, mum. In fact, better than ever!" Eliza tried to allay her mother's worries.
She sounded upbeat and confident and her positive demeanour certainly comforted her mum. I could see her physically relax.
“Remember Zack, my trainer and coach, mainly responsible for my increased fitness.”
I stepped forward to shake Alice's hand, who instantly stiffened. She was still wary of me, not trusting me to look after her daughter. She worked hard not to show her reservations.
“Yes, of course. Pleased to see you again, Zack.”
She tried to sound pleased but was failing miserably. I knew I had a lot to prove to her, before she would genuinely shake my hand and be happy to see me. Eliza picked up on it too of course, and was about to confront Alice, but I shook my head slightly to signal her to just leave it. She took the hint this time which I was grateful for.
“Let's get you settled in your room, then we can meet in an hour to discuss our plan, though I assume Markus has filled you in somewhat?" I asked.
“Yes, I know the idea, but we need to discuss the finer details of course. Can Eliza come with me to my room?”
I was afraid she would ask that. I couldn't trust them to be on their own together as I didn't know Alice well enough, and my responsibility for Eliza was still a hundred percent 24/7.
I thought for a moment.
“She can, but Zaphire will have to accompany her.”
Eliza looked surprised and elated. She hadn't expected me to let her out of my sight and was visibly grateful. Once found, Zaphire was pleased to be asked and took them both to Alice's room, but not after I had impressed on Zaphire the absolute necessity to stay with Eliza at all times and to contact me if she noticed anything out of the ordinary.
I should've prepared for our meeting later, but I couldn't resist having a little catch up with Ned and Brody. I hadn't been able to relax for the last few weeks on my own at all, so I took my chance. I was lucky they happened to both be in the building and on a break.
“Hey Zack, nice to see you mate!" Ned shouted across the room.
“And without your trainee?" Brody questioned.
“Just for an hour. Zaphire is on watch, and her mum is there.”
I defended my cheeky hour off.
“Ah, well. I guess Zaphy is not complaining." Ned laughed, shooting a knowing look to Brody.
“But how do you feel about that, Zack? Was that a wise decision?”
Brody was moving onto thin ice there. How the fuck did they know about my feelings for Eliza. I surely had been carefully cloaking.
“Shut the fuck up, Brody." I grumbled but the looks they exchanged did not escape my attention.
I wasn't going to rise to it today, though.
“How's your mission going Ned?" I asked to try and drag the attention away from me.
As Rick was located some of us were released to be back on normal duties for the time being.
“Have to go out in the field tomorrow and gather some evidence against a woman. We know she's supplied drugs to kids but the police can't find any concrete evidence. No one seems to be willing to talk. We're going to try and manipulate one of her friends to divulge what they know to the police, or at least tell us where we can find evidence. It’ll take a bit of convincing so we need to play it smart. The cops don't know anything of our involvement and we need to keep it that way. It's going to be hard work keeping under the radar, as she is under surveillance.”
Ned loved these challenges; I could feel he was in his element.
“We so need a night out soon. When's this 24/7 babysitting Eliza going to finish?" Brody asked.
“We miss you mate.” Ned added.
“Not nearly finished." I sighed.
I didn't mind too much, though, as I was spending time with Eliza, but I did miss a good knees up and a beer or two with my mates. The guys groaned.
“All work and no play...you know how the saying goes!" Ned joked.
“Ha ha, yes well. Not much I can do about it. 'Mission comes' first and all that!" I groaned, mimicking Markus' voice, which made them snigger an appreciative 'suppose so'.
The hour was nearly up and I left them to it, preparing myself for the meeting with Alice and Eliza. I was hyped up for it now. I thought my plan was good and, though apprehensive to work with such inexperienced people, I couldn't wait to put it in action and get the mission started.
CHAPTER 35
It was amazing hanging out with mum. I'd missed her more than I'd realised. She was getting on with Zaphire like a house on fire too, which I loved. I could feel Zaphire's nerves to meet my mum dissipate quickly, being replaced by a sense of ease. She worked hard to make my mum feel settled and appreciated and she was succeeding. Unlike the reservations my mum held towards Zack, she seemed to trust Zaphire almost from the start. That was a bit funny, because out of everyone, I knew Zack was the most trustworthy person ever.
Zaphy helped me explain a bit more about the gift we shared and how being off the medication had brought it all back to me. I could tell mum was feeling guilty about drugging me, but I managed to reassure her that she had only done her best. She couldn't have known better as no one had told her anything about the gift. If it was anyone's fault, it would be my father's. And anyhow, I'd functioned well enough in the normal society, thanks to those drugs.
After exactly one hour we heard the knock on my door, quickly followed by Zack coming in. He radiated focus and authority, ready to lead the meeting. He talked us through
