by TJ Hamilton
He stands in the doorway with his arms folded across his bulging chest. I want to be angry with him and ask him exactly the same thing but I’m just so pleased to see him that I throw my arms around him instead, ignoring the stabbing pain in my ribs. Nick holds me back out in front of him. He’s not as happy to see me. I look over at the girl at the reception desk, reminding myself that we’re not alone. She catches my eye and quickly glances down at her work.
“Where’s Simon?” Nick asks.
I bite my bottom lip and fight off the burning heat that threatens to spread across my face and neck. I feel another spike of guilt about lying to my brother, just so I could run away … again.
“I sent him to the corner store to get milk,” I say with a whisper, finding Nick’s eyes both irresistible yet difficult to look into.
“So you ran away from my place to come here? You shouldn’t even be walking around.” He frowns and peers down at my legs.
I feel like an idiot for not trusting him. “But I was getting really worried about you.” My justification sounds useless.
Nick’s scowl doesn’t waver. His eyes narrow and his jaw moves to the side as he mulls over his thoughts for a moment.
“You can’t seriously be angry at me?” I quietly screech. “I have no other way of getting in touch with you and this was all I could do! I wasn’t really left with too many other options. I’m glad you appreciate my concerns!” I turn and press the button to call the elevator back to the floor.
The tears are back, but this time out of anger, not fear. I clench my jaw and forget that my face is still broken. The pain on the side of my face has serious sting to it so I hold my cheek. Nick steps around me so that he’s in front of me. Holding me around the waist, he pulls my chin up with his index finger and smiles at me, finally.
“What am I going to do with you? Do I have to tie you down to stop you from escaping all the time?”
“Only if you promise to do bad things to me when I am?” I perilously try not to smile.
Nick laughs and leans down to kiss me. I breathe him in and push my lips to his. I look into his eyes again.
“If I’m such an important role in this whole operation with Tench, why am I being left in the dark so much? I don’t even have a number to call you. I don’t have access to here …”
“Okay. You’re right. Come with me.” He holds onto my hand and I follow him down the corridor. With each small step I take, I’m certain I see Nick shake his head in frustration at me. We arrive at an office door and Nick opens it and offers for me to walk through.
The room is enormous and could easily fit three football fields within it. It’s a hive of activity. People in suits cross the floor, all of them walking somewhere with purpose in their step and a dossier clutched under their arm. Numerous phones constantly ring and multiple computer screens light up the desks. At the far end there are four large screens showing the outside of Tench’s mansion from different angles and one with a map of Sydney on it. I look over at Nick and frown.
“Follow me. I’ll show you something.”
I follow him to the side of the room. A couple of men look up from their desks as I pass and smile and nod as they recognise me. Nick stops in front of a wall that’s at least twenty metres long and covered in a collage of photographs of people, maps, and pieces of paper full of information. It’s a timeline that looks like it has been collected over years of surveillance. As I walk slowly beside the wall, I recognise some of the people in the photographs as associates of Tench, and there amongst them, are pictures of me.
SIXTEEN
I feel like I’m having an out of body experience as I look over the photographs of myself across the wall. The first photograph is a black and white picture of me bare-breasted and seated at the table with Tench. It was taken the night of our moonlit dinner date.
There are some aerial shots of me lying beside the pool on a sunbed at his mansion and on the towel with him at Clarke Island. There’s one of Sally and me having a wine together in Paddington. Then a close-up shot of me at Thomas Dux, shopping for groceries and another of me collecting mail at the front of my apartment. I feel my chin quiver as I look at every photograph with me in it. They watched me for a long time.
Nick watched me for a long time. It’s been hard to fathom and I didn’t quite get my head around it until now. Nick takes my hand in his, pulling me from the daze.
I suck in a breath and look at him with a sick feeling swirling inside my stomach. I don’t know what to say.
“You’re thorough,” I manage to get out.
That’s it? That’s all you can come up with? That he’s thorough? I sound like an idiot!
A persistent phone rings from the desk behind us. Nick turns to a shorter man with perfectly cut sandy blond hair, a piece of paper in his hand.
“We have an opening in thirty minutes, sir,” he says as he hands Nick the piece of paper.
I look towards Nick and frown. Sir? Nick is sir here too? What’s open in thirty minutes? I look at the man in front of us then back over to Nick.
“How long is the window?” Nick replies.
“We have around forty minutes … give or take a few.”
“What’s going on Nick?” I ask.
“I’m about to show you. And this is the very reason why you are supposed to stay put and do as you’re told!” Nick says gruffly before he turns back to the man. “Alert the boss and get the team to report for a briefing in six minutes.”
Nick tugs on my arm to guide me over to the big screens on the wall adjacent to us. We stop in front of the last screen and I watch different coloured spots flash in various locations around the map of Sydney. Three spots flash around Pitt Street in the CBD and one flashes over at Point Piper, near the water’s edge.
“Is that Tench?” I ask when I point to the green flashing spot in Point Piper.
“No. That’s his housekeeper. This is the Principal.” Nick points to the red spot at Pitt Street.
“Who are the others?” I ask.
Nick looks at me briefly and turns back to the screen. “The blue marker with the Principal is Toni Toho and the purple is you.”
“What? Am I being tracked now too? What the fuck? Why is Tench near here?” I fire off a succession of questions.
Nick’s blue eyes look heated and his nostrils flare with anger. “Tench was down in a restaurant on the seventh floor the same time you stupidly decided to come and find me!”
He folds his arms and I watch them move up and down as his broad chest expands with a solid breath. Tench is in the same building as me? What if he’d seen me? My stomach twists into a knot. No wonder Nick was none too pleased by my arrival.
“Well, he didn’t see me. So why am I being tracked and how?” I try my best at being defiant in my speech.
“It’s for your safety. The Principal’s tracking is done through field intel, whereas you now have a chip in your leg. So I will know wherever you are in the world.” Nick winks as if this is some kind of game.
I can feel the knot move up to my chest. I close my eyes and shake my head, trying not to be furious at this never-ending saga of me being watched, or tracked, or scrutinised, or tested on like some lab rat! It’s for my own safety? That seems to be his excuse for everything! Does it mean that I’m going to be traceable forever? I know I should feel loved and appreciative of Nick’s constant protection over me, but seriously, if Tench is that much of a threat to my life … why am I doing this at all?
“He didn’t see you because my guys did all they could to keep the Principal where he was until we got you up here and into the agency without too much of a fuss! I know you, and you would’ve run from Mike the security guy if it weren’t for your leg.”
I try not to laugh at how right he is.
Nick steps up to me so that his lips are pressed against my ear. “Now get into the briefing room before I put you over my knee and smack that defiant little ass of yours in front of everyone,” he breathes.
A large white screen is embedded into the wall at the far end of the table. The same short man with perfect sandy coloured hair wildly scribes information across the bottom half of it. A handful of people walk into the room at the same time and all take seats around the table. A couple of them look across the table at me and quickly look down at the table when our eyes meet.
God knows what they’ve watched me doing to have a reaction like that. Liz too strolls in while still talking on her phone and takes the chair next to mine.
“Copy. Move into position now and wait for the orders,” she says as she sits down and places her phone in front of her. “Hi, Mia. How’s the healing coming along? I heard Harry towelled you up real good,” she says civilly.
I nod slowly. “Yep. I got my ass handed to me on a plate!”
Both Liz and I laugh together and she looks over at Nick pacing around and nods in acknowledgement at him. I think I could become good friends with Liz. I like her humour. The things she says sometimes remind me of the conversations Sally and I would have together.
“I have the briefing notes, ma’am.” A young handsome man in his mid-twenties walks up to Liz with a stack of cream folders.
“Hand them out please, Stevens,” she replies casually.
Liz is a ma’am here as well? I watch between her and Nick as they interact around the room and wonder whether they’ve ever had anything sexual happen between them? Women seem to be the minority in this agency and I’m sure men would take advantage of that … but maybe it’s just the type of men that I’ve associated with in my life that have made me this cynical? I’m sure all men are the same though. I watch Nick as he paces while reading over the contents of the cream folder in his hands.
Okay … maybe Nick is different. He actually did everything he could to not take advantage of me when we first met. Including drugging me so he wouldn’t give into the temptation of having sex with me.
I smile at my thoughts briefly before a folder is dropped on the table in front of me. I look over towards Nick to get his response before opening it. He nods towards the folder in approval and smiles. I flip open the cover and stare at the first page.
CLASSIFICATION – TOP SECRET
Operation Bomberman
I laugh under my breath at the operation name. My brother used to play that game all the time on his Nintendo when we were kids. All of the code names in this agency are typical boy names and seem almost laughable.
The commander is the last to walk in and everyone simultaneously gets up from their chairs. Realising they all do it out of respect for the high-ranking boss, I follow the herd and unsuccessfully try to get up out of my seat. The commander takes the seat at the head of the conference table and waves his hand.
“As you were everyone. Thyme, keep your seat,” he says without looking at anyone in particular. “So what have you got for me, Davis?”
The room of people turn their attention to Nick, who is still standing up in front of the screens.
“We have located vulnerable points into the location and there is an opening to access it in twenty minutes.” Nick points to the screen in front of him and the map zooms into a section of Tench’s mansion where there’s a large tree against the house.
“How long have you got on the ground?” the boss asks as he leans back in his chair.
“Forty minutes,” Nick shoots back.
“And what’s your analysis on this?” This time the boss directs his question to Liz.
Liz shifts forward confidently in her chair. “The Keeper will be held out for that time and the other persons of interest will be with the Principal. We have our guy on the ground and we have four in position, ready to move as soon as directed. This is an opportunity that’s hard to come by at the moment, so I think we should take it, boss.”
“Very well. Meet in here at eighteen hundred for a debrief. I’ll sign off on it straight away. Thyme, you can join Davis at the command post to watch what we’re about to do.”
Everyone in the room turns to me for my reaction. I look blankly at the boss and quickly realise that I should respond.
“Thank you, sir,” I reply, not that I know what I’m thankful for.
The boss gets up and everyone stands at the same time again. Except for me. I stay seated as directed. As soon as the commander has left the room, everybody resumes their seats, turning their attention back to Nick at the front.
“Agent Donohue, how long will it take your boys to reach the target?” Nick flicks the screen to the right to show another aerial map of Tench’s mansion.
Liz gets out of her seat and walks towards the screen. “Here are our current locations.” She points at four areas on the screen and spots light up in response. “The distance between them and the target is approximately four mikes. They can place the Charabon in location and safely exit within ten mikes.” The spots simultaneously move on the screen, inwards towards the house.
I hold back my laugh at their code name for the device, also part of the computer game Bomberman. Nick folds his arm across his chest. Looking deep in thought, he presses his index finger to his lips. “Ten mikes is slim, Donohue.”
“That’s all we need, sir,” she asserts.
“Stevens, do you have the access to the supermarket registers?” Nick turns his attention to Liz’s handsome off-sider seated at the front.
“Yes, sir. We have a field operative following the Keeper who will notify us when she is at the register.”
“Okay guys, you heard the boss. Report back here at eighteen hundred. Dismissed.”
Everyone instantaneously gets up from their chairs and all leave the room together. I stay where I am. My leg begins to throb with a dull pain again. Nick and Liz both come over to me as everyone leaves.
“So what exactly are we doing?” I immediately ask, the curiosity killing me.
“We’re planting some equipment around Tench’s mansion. The equipment will submit a frequency to show us the inside of the house in 3D. It can penetrate the walls and give us a clear picture of inside his mansion. We need to get it in position now, so that once you’re back there you will be totally safe.”
I’m suddenly faced again with the fact that Nick will be watching me in Tench’s mansion very soon. I couldn’t ask for a worse scenario than that.
“You’ll be fine, kid.” Nick winks and smiles. “Stop doubting yourself. You can do this. You’re looking pretty good by the way. How’s your leg feeling?”
“Getting much easier to walk on it I have to say.” I sigh and take Nick’s arm to help me get up. He frowns and tilts his head slightly. It scares me how well he knows me.
My leg feels better to stand on than it did before. I’m still amazed by the technology the agency uses. I never knew any of it even existed until now. I follow Nick and Liz back to the main area again.
“Everyone involved in this operation and the whole mission with Joe Tench is now focusing on how we are going to keep you safe. You alone are the most important key to this entire setup. Without you, we will never know what Tench is really up to.”
“But what about all of your equipment? Why can’t you just find out what he’s doing by using all of this brilliant technology that you guys have?”
“Mia, no amount of technology is going to get us in there and on the ground with Tench like you will. Trust me, we’ve tried.” Nick pulls out a chair from a desk and pushes it over in front of the screens. “Take a seat and enjoy the show,” he says as he dramatically waves his hand across the chair.
I sit down and watch Nick slide a headset on and start to slowly pace ar
ound. Before he begins, he pulls his phone out of his pocket and hands it to me.
“Please call your brother and tell him you’re alright.” He rolls his eyes at me.
Shit, Simon! He must be worried sick by now. I find my brother in the contacts and call, wincing in anticipation of yet another set of explanations about why I lied to him. This time however, I don’t imagine Simon’s going to be as forgiving as Nick about it. His voice quickly stops me from plotting my speech.
“Simon, it’s me.”
“Thank fuck you’re with Nick! I was starting to wonder whether I should inform him that you were missing. Nick should’ve told me he was coming to get you.”
“He didn’t come and get me, Simon. I sent you to get milk so that I could come to the agency.” I can feel his tension through the phone so I quickly interject, “I knew you wouldn’t have let me come here so I had to find a way to get out. You know, it would’ve been a lot easier if you’d just called him like I wanted. Anyway, I’m here with Nick for the rest of the night. Obviously I can’t talk to you about anything other than that.”
“I’m glad you’re finally understanding this line of work and the importance of operational security. See you later.” The conversation ends better than I had anticipated. I totally understand now why Simon barely ever tells me where he is or what he’s doing whenever I’ve asked him. I’m glad my brother does what he does now that I’m with the agency.
My attention focuses back on Nick, who is still pacing around, speaking to different agents on his headset. This whole confidence thing is such a turn on. He struts as he paces back and forth, stopping occasionally when he gives another directive. As he backs towards me he looks up and catches my eye. I try my hardest not to grin like an idiot. He smirks and runs his hands through his hair. Ah … there it is. That nervous little action he does that gets me every time. I could sit and watch him for hours.
“Congratulations, team. Job well done.” Nick claps and joins in the handshakes around the room.
What? They’ve finished already? Was I in that much of a daze while I was watching Nick?
