The Mission

by Fiona Palmer

  Chapter 4

  ‘Is she okay?’ asked Anna as she joined Taylor and Jaz, who were standing at the front of the old brick school.

  Jaz had been staring off into space; actually, she had been staring at the school gates at the spot where she’d last seen Ryan. If she concentrated really hard, she was sure she could make him appear in his favourite worn jeans that hung from his lean hips. He would be wearing a snug t-shirt that showed his muscled physique and his short clipped hair would give him that tough edgy look that she loved so much. She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again. Damn. Still no Ryan. With a sigh she turned to Anna, who they’d been waiting for. ‘I’m fine,’ said Jaz, but even she wasn’t convinced. ‘What took you so long?’

  Taylor brushed his fringe back absentmindedly, but Jaz could tell by the way his eyes were locked onto Anna that he wanted to know the answer to her question too.

  ‘Oh, um.’ Anna’s pale skin turned rosy red, making her freckles fade. ‘I was just saying goodbye to Ricky.’ She adjusted her bag on her shoulder. Taylor looked at his feet and Jaz just felt lonelier. She missed Ryan.

  ‘So, what shall we do this afternoon now that we are all free?’ said Anna.

  Taylor looked like he was going to say something but swallowed it. Just as well, Jaz wasn’t up to snarky comments.

  ‘Shall we go to the range?’ Anna tried again.

  ‘Jaz and I have been twice this week already, including yesterday,’ said Taylor. His voice verging on grouchy.

  ‘Oh, okay.’ Anna looked slightly put out. It wasn’t anything her and Taylor hadn’t felt with Ricky around. ‘Shall we go to The Ring?’

  Jaz found herself searching for Ryan by the gates again. But no one was there, not even the students, who had all left, leaving the three of them about to get a hurry up from the teachers. ‘I don’t feel like going to The Ring today, can we do something else?’ To tell the truth, Jaz was dying to get to The Ring and see if maybe Ryan was there, or had been. But all week she’d been disappointed. She needed to change that. She couldn’t live her life on tenterhooks, waiting.

  ‘Oh Jaz. You look so lost. Have you still not heard from Ryan?’ Anna put her arm around her shoulders. Trust Anna to notice, even when she was in her Ricky ‘lover boy’ bubble.

  ‘No, but I didn’t expect to.’ This was making Jaz feel worse. Then an idea struck. ‘Hey, you guys wanna go to Cottesloe and chill out at the beach? Grab a coffee?’

  Taylor and Anna shot each other confused looks and then shrugged.

  ‘I guess so,’ said Taylor.

  ‘Something different,’ said Anna, who never went to the beach due to the fact that her skin was sun sensitive. Jaz could also see her screwing up her nose at the sticky white beach sand.

  ‘We don’t have to sit on the beach, Anna, but it would be nice to get a coffee and watch the waves.’ It might be calming, she thought. It also might give her a chance to run into her target, Marcus Sinclair. And quite possibly scare her to death. But how scary could an eighteen year old be? It’s not like he was the one carrying guns and trafficking drugs.

  ‘Alright, to the beach it is,’ said Taylor, who finally smiled. ‘To the ‘Stang.’

  With a squeal, Anna ran to his car yelling. ‘Bags shotgun.’

  Jaz ran behind them and couldn’t help laughing and feeling much better.

  ‘Tay, can you go slowly down Marine Parade, I wanna take in the view,’ said Jaz later, just before Taylor was due to turn down that street.

  ‘Yes ma’am.’

  Jaz was on the right side of the car so she could look out at the houses along Marine Parade. Anna had her eyes left, where the ocean rolled back and forth beside the road. The sun was sitting low in the sky; three more hours and they’d be able to watch a most glorious sunset over the water.

  For now, Jaz was watching the houses on the right, trying to catch the house numbers. Suddenly she found Marcus’s house, with its two-storey greatness surrounded by a fancy slat fence. One you couldn’t see through but still looked in keeping with the million dollar waterfront house. Having the Indian Ocean at their doorstep must be perfect for a surfer.

  ‘Where to, Jaz?’ asked Taylor, as the golf course appeared on the right.

  ‘See if you can find a park near Indiana’s.’ It wasn’t overly warm so the only beach goers were the diehard ones, while the rest walked, rode bikes or mingled around in groups chatting.

  ‘I’m the first to say I’m not a beach fan, but it really is gorgeous here. All the green grass and pine trees,’ said Anna wistfully. ‘We should come more often.’

  Taylor found a car park, and together they walked along the path to Indiana’s for coffee. The large off-white building with its pale green roof and masses of windows, some of them arched, was situated on the beach side of the road. If you stepped out the front of the large building, you were on sand and metres from the water.

  Inside they got their coffees, while Jaz searched every male face.

  ‘Jaz?’ Anna repeated. ‘Hello?’

  ‘What?’ Jaz took the cup Anna was waving in her face.

  ‘You okay, you seem distracted?’

  ‘Sorry. Just been a while since I’ve been here. Trying to take it all in.’ Man, were her lies getting worse? ‘Lets go sit outside under one of the trees.’

  She led them to a nice spot where they sat on the grass and shared out the large chocolate biscuits Anna had brought.

  Taylor leant back on his elbows, his tie hanging loose around his neck and his shades firmly in place to block out the sun. ‘This was a great idea, Jaz.’ Two girls walked past in their bikini tops and sarong skirts. ‘Brilliant, actually,’ he added as his head turned to follow the girls.

  ‘Oh my God,’ mumbled Anna. While Anna and Taylor began a debate about suitable beach attire, Jaz strained to see the faces on the guys at the beach. There were so many, how would she find Marcus? Especially when he might not even be here? She pictured him from the file the Agency had made. He was tall, with dark straight hair that sat just above his shoulders and dark green eyes. She wondered which operative had staked him out and how did they find out his eye colour? On his driver’s licence, looking through binoculars, or did they stop him to ask some random question and study him?

  When her eyes started to smart with tears, she gave up straining them. She couldn’t expect to find him with a click of her fingers.

  ‘I’m going for a walk.’ Taylor held out his hand and took their empty coffee cups with him.

  ‘Thanks, Tay.’ As he walked away Jaz couldn’t help but admire her friend. ‘How did we end up with a friend as hot as Tay?’ she said to Anna.

  ‘I don’t know. He’s always been handsome, Jaz, and nice. It’s not often you get those two things together. Aren’t we the lucky ones.’ Anna was watching Taylor too.

  ‘So does Ricky do it for you?’

  Anna startled. ‘What? What do you mean?’

  ‘Just wondering. You guys have been going out for over a month now. That’s the longest relationship any of us have had,’ said Jaz with a snort.

  ‘Yeah, not for lack of trying, hey?’ Anna agreed. ‘But yes, I’m happy with Ricky. Sure, he’s no Taylor in the looks department, neither does he have a body like Ryan, but Ricky is smart and so that keeps us interesting.’

  Jaz nodded.

  ‘Why, what do you think about Ricky?’

  ‘It’s not for me to say, he’s your pick, Anna. Besides, I don’t really know him. We haven’t really seen you lately, let alone having time to get to know Ricky. Why don’t you bring him to eat lunch with us?’

  Anna sat forward and picked at the grass. ‘Ricky doesn’t really feel comfortable eating in the Caf. That’s why we stick to the library.’

  ‘Yeah, but we aren’t going to bite him. Me and Tay miss you, Anna, and if you hadn’t noticed, Taylor sits at our table every day now.’

  ‘I’d noticed that. And I’m glad I’m not leaving you to sit on your own.’ She thought for a moment
. ‘I’ll ask Ricky if he’ll join us. I’d really like for you to get to know him. He’s quite serious at times, but he does like me and is so thoughtful.’

  ‘I’m happy for you,’ said Jaz.

  ‘So am I. Wait, what am I happy about?’ said Taylor as he rejoined them.

  ‘That Anna’s happy.’

  Taylor nodded.

  ‘Hey, I meant to ask about the job. When do you start?’ said Anna.

  ‘She starts this weekend,’ said Taylor. ‘On Saturday.’

  Jaz wondered if Taylor was rubbing it in. They had become closer now that it was just the two of them most of the time, and she’d needed his company more than she realised. ‘Yep. It will be great. My own money.’

  ‘What will you be doing?’ asked Anna.

  ‘Bits of everything, really. Sometimes at the front desk and other times out the back, filing.’

  ‘Can we come and visit?’ Anna looked hopeful and it made Jaz feel hot and sweaty.

  ‘Um, I don’t know. I’d hate to get fired. Maybe just warn me when you are coming in?’ James had told her not to worry about this, as they could just say she’d gone to run an errand and then she’d have time to get the MTG office. He said there was only the usual visit at the beginning, but once everyone saw where she was working then they’d let her be. Jaz just hoped he was right.

  ‘How long until you can afford a car?’ asked Taylor.

  ‘Why? Are you sick of driving me around in the ‘Stang? Would you rather me drive you around in some old clumpa?’ said Jaz with a smirk.

  ‘Really? You would buy some old bit of crap?’

  ‘She’s going to get a bright yellow Ford Fiesta,’ said Anna with a laugh.

  Taylor pulled a face. ‘No. No. Let me help you, please.’

  ‘Well, I could get a loan now that I have a permanent job. So after a few pays, maybe you could help me find something? I know I could never get something as cool as your Mustang, but I won’t be seen in a Ford Fiesta of any colour.’

  Anna and Taylor went on trying to find the right car and colour for Jaz while she took the opportunity to do some more people watching. She looked behind her, along Marine Parade where the rows of buildings sat on the other side of the road. She could just make out the blue shade on the Bluewaters Café. That was supposed to be one of Marcus’s favourite places for early breakfast and late afternoon meals. Had he visited already today? Maybe she could get her friends to drop in? And then there was the Cottesloe Beach Hotel, which was behind them. Marcus was now eighteen, and apparently he liked to get a beer and watch the sunset from the Verandah Bar. Must be nice to live down the street, not having to drive home and miss the view. It seemed such a world away from The Ring, when in fact they were roughly a suburb away.

  Jaz wasn’t worried that she hadn’t spotted Marcus. After all, she started work on Saturday, so until then she wasn’t going to sweat the small stuff. Right now the sun was dipping lower in the sky and her friends were laughing together. Anna had hit Taylor on the arm for suggesting she get a pink little VW beetle. Their smiles cleared the heavy thoughts from her mind. This is how it was meant to be, the three of them, together having fun.

  Chapter 5

  The morning air still had a chill to it at six am. Nearly an hour later, Jaz was covered with a film of sweat.

  ‘Harder, Jaz,’ said Bags as he urged her on.

  Grunting, Jaz put force behind her jab. Still it wasn’t enough to move Bags. He was strong, solid and tall. And he was also a trained boxer.

  ‘That’s it. Now uppercuts,’ he added.

  Jaz felt the sweat run down her forehead, pausing on her eyebrows before dropping and landing on her gloves or the mat below. The same mat she’d have to clean at some stage. But that was a love job, well, a love of Pax, not the cleaning. She hated seeing him down on his knees, scrubbing away.

  ‘Alright, Jaz. Another ten. Make them count.’

  Trying to keep her breathing even, she pounded out the last ten uppercuts with as much force and strength she could muster. And maybe she let out some of her frustrations and fears along with it.

  After the tenth, Jaz stood there trying to catch her breath. Bags had dropped his pads begun to take her gloves off for her. ‘Thanks, Bags. Great workout. I enjoyed that, even if I can’t feel my arms.’

  Bags reached over and squeezed her bicep. ‘Well, I can and they feel and look great. You have such strength, Jaz, hidden in those lean arms and legs. I wish I could go back to being so young and fit. It was much easier then.’

  ‘Aw, come on Bags. You’ve only just made forty. That’s still young really.’

  Bags chuckled, it was deep and infectious. ‘Oh, sweet thing. I love you, thanks. And thanks for the early morning workout. Great way to start a Saturday.’

  ‘Yeah, great way for me to get rid of some nerves before work,’ said Jaz as she wiped her face with her small towel.

  ‘Ah, that makes sense. I could feel some tension coming out. Those last jabs were hard.’

  Jaz smiled. Bags was straight down the line. If you were throwing punches like a girl, he’d tell you. But he’d also tell you if you were impressing him. That didn’t happen a lot, so when it did happen you knew you were doing well.

  ‘Thanks, Bags. Means a lot.’

  ‘You better go and get cleaned up for work, and I have another willing student in fifteen minutes,’ he said.

  ‘Let me guess, another middle-aged man trying to reclaim his youth?’

  Bags laughed at her comment, nodding his head. ‘I think we’ve both been in this gym for too long, Jaz.’

  ‘Ha ha. Thanks again, Bags. We’ll have a proper bout sometime soon, yeah?’

  ‘Anytime, Angel.’ He gave Jaz a hug, and she stepped off the mat and headed to the change rooms and to her shower. They called it her shower as it was bigger and had a lock on the door. They didn’t get too many women at The Ring, but if they did come, they also used Jaz’s shower and changing area. The combined shower room and change room was a little on the rustic side but Jaz loved its uniqueness. The guys had a half wall that they could change behind, so all in all, no one need see anything they didn’t want to.

  Jaz picked up her bag, which she’d left just inside the change room door, and went to her cubicle. As she flung her towel over the door, she spotted it. A large sticky note with a numbered code all over it. Jaz felt her legs threaten to buckle beneath her as she realised what this was and who it was from. Ryan. He’d left her a note in here before. Jaz could hardly contain a squeal of excitement. She put the note in her bag so the steam wouldn’t ruin it, and then quickly went about her shower.

  It was probably the fastest shower in the history of mankind, but Jaz wanted time to decipher the note before she had to head to Cottesloe and find Marcus.

  She changed into a pair of denim shorts, a black sports crop top that she covered with a blue holey t-shirt and her black Converse trainers. Jaz left her hair out to dry and, grabbing her bag, headed to Pax’s office. The door to his house was still closed, so he was still probably enjoying a sleep in or off walking to the bakery. Good, Jaz wanted some alone time to work out her message.

  In the bottom of her bag she searched for the magazine Ryan gave her ages ago. She pulled out the Reps magazine. It was pretty crumpled. She’d actually enjoyed some of the articles, which inspired her to stay healthy as well as toned.

  ‘Okay, lets see if I can remember this.’ Jaz stared at the first few codes.

  45-13-6/68-3-7

  Page, line, word. She worked her way through the numbers.

  All the best for today.

  Jaz figured he’d had trouble trying to find ‘good luck’ in the fitness magazine. But still, it was nice that he’d thought of her. He was well aware she was officially starting her new job today. Getting this note must have meant that Ryan had been here at some stage. He probably would have stayed for a workout, just in case anyone was watching him. Was it while they’d been at Cottesloe, or maybe when she was at th
e firing range? She was sad she’d missed him, but maybe he’d done that on purpose. Did he know how hard it was for her to let him go? Was she that transparent?

  Jaz glanced at her chunky watch on the leather band. She’d better get a move on if she was going to get to Cottesloe by eight am. It was when the coffee shop opened and she wanted to find a spot to watch for Marcus.

  Quickly she jammed the magazine back into her bag and put it back in the change room. She held the sticky note in her hands, running her finger over the numbers Ryan had written. Part of her wanted to put it in her pocket and keep as a memento, but the other part of her knew she shouldn’t keep any trace. Not because she thought someone was following her and would find it but later on, down the track when she was doing operations like Ryan, she would have to be very careful. So she may as well start now and get into the habit of not leaving a trail.

  Back in the office, she put the note into Pax’s paper shredder and watched as it disappeared into tiny bits. Pax had a fancy shredder that minced the paper, just about. There was no way someone could piece anything back together and, now that she knew what Pax did for the Agency, she realised just how important that shredder was. Not to mention the metal drum he had out the back, which he used to burnt most of his rubbish. Funny how you don’t question things about the people you love. It made her realise how easy it was to hide secrets.

  Jaz opened her phone cover and made sure she still had her fifty dollar note and bus card in the slit, and then pushed it into her shorts’ pocket. She waved goodbye to Bags as she headed for the front door. He was busy with his new client but managed to shoot her a big smile. Outside the sun was up and bright, the air was no longer fresh but warm and filled with city smells. Jaz put on her sunglasses, which she’d been holding. They were silver-rimmed, large and reflective. Much like they wore in the Top Gun movie and Jaz loved them. She liked being able to see everyone without them knowing she was watching. Perfect for today’s mission. She could even use them as a mirror if need be. Next, she fished out her music player from her back pocket and put in the earplugs while she headed to the bus stop.