The Recruit (15 page)

‘Well, well, well. Your day just got better,’ said Anna. Her eyebrows were dancing across her forehead.

‘Yeah, but really, I’m just a safe option.’

The siren went and they got up holding their rubbish. ‘You’re still his choice, it might mean something, and you’ll get to dance lots with him,’ said Anna.

‘I have a feeling he would have taken you first. Tay just doesn’t think of me any other way.’

‘Jaz, there is a little thing called hope.’

After putting their rubbish in the bin, they walked towards their next class. Jaz threw her arm around Anna and couldn’t help feel a little bit of hope.

At the end of the day, Jaz sat with Taylor on the steps outside of school. Her commando boots lined up next to Taylor’s expensive black trainers. They had just had Mr Noble’s class together and were waiting for Anna.

‘Hey, it’s that dude again,’ said Jaz. She recognised the bearded guy from last time. He was leaning back on the car with a cigarette in his hand but she could have sworn he’d been watching them.

Taylor glanced over to where she’d gestured. The man looked down at his feet as if to avoid them. ‘Maybe you have another stalker?’

‘Ha ha, funny. I actually think this guy likes you,’ she teased.

‘Creepy.’ Taylor rubbed his knees. ‘So Jaz…what’s the colour for the ball? Black dress, black tie?’

‘Tay, I might just surprise you and go a lime green,’ Jaz laughed.

‘Oh please don’t. You need a nice blue dress to go with your beautiful eyes.’

Jaz choked. ‘God, Tay no wonder you’re on every girl’s radar, Mr Smooth.’

‘Blame my dad. He was always sweet-talking my mum. How else would she let him play with guns inside?’ he laughed.

‘Hey, Jaz!’

She glanced up at the sound of her name. The voice was familiar and one she realised she had missed it over the weekend.

‘Ryan, you’re back.’ She tried to hide the enthusiasm from her voice. He was wearing his usual, shirt and jeans. Today’s shirt was a khaki colour with buttons, looking very military style. He was turning heads, as always.

Ryan held out his hand for Taylor. ‘How ya going, Taylor?’

‘Good, thanks.’ Taylor shook Ryan’s hand guardedly.

Ryan put his attention back to Jaz. ‘So can I give you a ride to The Ring today?’

‘Sure, that’d be great.’ Jaz stood up and turned to Taylor. ‘Can you say bye to Anna for me, ta. I’ll catch ya later.’

Jaz began to walk off but Taylor grabbed her hand, pulling her back. ‘Jaz, just how well do you know this bloke? There is something about him I can’t put my finger on. Just be careful, okay?’

Jaz hugged Taylor. ‘You’re sweet, but he’s alright, don’t worry. Bye.’

As she was putting on her seatbelt in Ryan’s car she could still see Taylor watching them.

‘Your boyfriend jealous?’ Ryan asked as he started his car.

‘No, he’s not my boyfriend. Tay and I have been friends forever. He just has a vibe about you and he’s worried. But he doesn’t know you like I do, you saved my life. You’re not dangerous to me.’

‘You know he’s got a good reason to be concerned. He has a good instinct. And just because I wouldn’t hurt you doesn’t mean I’m not dangerous,’ said Ryan, keeping his eyes on the road.

Jaz was pondering his words when he pulled into a side street and parked his car. Her pulse throbbed as her senses went into overdrive.

‘What’s up?’ she asked nervously. Yes, she felt safe with Ryan but there was still a big unknown about him, that mysterious part.

Ryan turned in his seat so he was facing her straight on. ‘Jaz, would you like to be a part of something big?’

Taken aback she asked, ‘Like what?’ She shifted so she could face him.

Ryan spread his fingers over his knee, long, lean and strong. ‘Lets go for a little walk.’

After they were out of the car and walking down the path he started again. ‘What if I could offer you a job of a lifetime? One where you can do great things for your country?’

Jaz raised her eyebrows, ‘Sounds interesting. But?’ She could tell there was more.

‘But this conversation goes no further than us two. Can you promise me that?’

Jaz nodded and wondered what the Hell she was getting into. Cars drove past as they continued along the path. ‘I haven’t told anyone about your line of work,’ she said. ‘I’m not about to start.’

‘Great. Okay. So you know a bit about what I do, right. Well to put a name to it, I work for MTG Agencies. It is a black ops organisation. The government secretly funds us and we work together on important issues like anti-terrorists and drugs. Basically, we do what we have to, to fight the bad guys.’

‘Oh.’ It was something she could see Ryan doing easily. He fitted that mould perfectly. A thought came to her. ‘And you are telling me this because…?’

‘Because I want, I mean,
we
want you to join us as an operative. Like me.’

‘Okay. But why me?’

Ryan laughed, his deep chuckle making her smile. ‘Most people are shocked to find out about this and the first thing you want to know is “why you”. Jaz, you are one-of-a-kind. We try to recruit kids with some talent, say the fencing competition for example, and then we train them further on other skills…but you can already fight, you’ve already held a weapon. At first, I didn’t want to see it. I don’t like to recruit women but you just kept amazing me and in the end I couldn’t deny you as a possibility to join. Don’t you see how far out in front you are already? Hell, they recruited me with much less. I went away on the weekend to get approval to speak to you. With the information I brought them there was no hesitation. Jaz, MTG wants to recruit you.’

‘So, what, be a secret spy like you?’ Jaz asked.

‘I guess so, that’s one way of looking at it.’

‘What would I do?’

‘Well first off we train you. But seeing as you are competent in most areas you will pass your assessment sooner, therefore being allowed on duty. You will be trained in surveillance, tracking, codes, weapons and many other things to help you finish certain operations. Some undercover work, as we try to gain information. Things like that.’

Jaz drank in his words. If she didn’t know Ryan she’d think he’d be making all this up and would laugh. But seeing the way he was at the nightclub and how he saved her from the attackers, his hidden tattoos and the pain she saw in his eyes, well it all fitted perfectly.

‘Were you recruited this way?’ she asked.

Ryan nodded. ‘I went when I was sixteen. My uncle recruited me.’

‘Your uncle? Did you know?’ She stopped walking to face him.

‘No, I didn’t know about Uncle Tim. And now my family doesn’t know about either of us.’

‘Really? What is it they think you do?’

‘They know I work as a bouncer, but MTG has a business front of a few faces. Bodyguards, consultants, you name it, whatever fits. It’s amazing how as long as you’re happy they don’t question your lifestyle. And when I go overseas for missions I just pretend I’ve been backpacking around.’

‘I don’t know if I could keep that a secret from everyone.’ Jaz played with the hem of her tartan skirt. ‘That’s a lot of lying to people you love.’

Jaz regretted her words when Ryan winced. She saw the scars of those lies within him.

‘Well you have to, to keep them protected. Believe me it’s easier than you think. A lot of the blokes are married with kids and their families don’t know.’

‘Really? Wow, it’s just a lot to take in, you know.’

Ryan reached over and put his hand on her shoulder. ‘Yep. I do know.’

‘So I would be working with you guys to help bring down drug cartels and stuff?’

‘More or less. You could just be following people, retrieving information that other operatives have collected and small things like that. Because you are young you have a great cover as no one would pick up on it, and especially being a pretty girl.’

Jaz felt a blush burn her cheeks.

‘But you really think I could do this?’

‘I think you are a person who doesn’t belong in a material world. I think you want to make a difference and it’s not everyday you see a girl take on five blokes and sit through stitches.’

He smiled and Jaz was struck with how handsome he was. With his short clipped hair and stubble he was a Stephen Amell lookalike.
Arrow
was one of her favourite TV shows and she could see Ryan stand in for the role of Oliver Queen any day.

‘It still seems a little weird, or I suppose unreal, is the better word. It’s hard to believe all this goes on.’

‘I thought the same thing, Jaz. But I made up my mind to be aware of the world and to try and help make it a better place. Those were my reasons. Now you just have to figure out if it’s what you want to do. I won’t push you into it; it’s got to be up to you.’

Jaz nodded as she chewed on her fingernail on their walk back to the car.

Ryan waited until he’d pulled back onto the road before he spoke. ‘I will leave you to think on it for a while, but ask me anything, okay.’

She studied Ryan as he drove, his lean muscled arms, and she remembered his scars. The job came with consequences. Ryan didn’t have to tell her, she could figure that much out for herself. He stitched up his own cuts, for Pete’s sake. God, she was going to have some thinking to do. Well, she’d always said she wanted to do something important with her life after school. Maybe this was her chance?

The Ring was already open when they arrived. Bags was giving lessons to a weedy kid who looked about fourteen. He was always picking up newbies, but most of them would only last a few sessions. Bags reckoned it was because it was all too hard as most of them played video games instead of doing any exercise. Only Bags would still call them video games!

Jaz and Ryan both headed for the change rooms. Like her shower, Jaz also had her own corner to get changed in with a curtain. Her locker was nearby and she quickly changed out of her school uniform and into her blue tank top and yoga pants. She was tying her hair up into a ponytail as she walked out, Ryan just in front of her. Without a word since leaving his car, they both began to warm up in their usual ways. Ryan was jumping with a skipping rope and Jaz with her salute to the sun routine. After about five minutes, they faced each other on the big mat. Ryan was just starting to sweat across the top of his chest and his dark eyes were hard to read.

‘So you’re ready for this?’ he asked.

‘Ready when you are.’

Ryan took a crouched stance and Jaz followed suit as they circled around each other. ‘I’ll try not to get your arm, okay.’ He glanced at her stitches that were healing up nicely.

Jaz, not wanting to pussyfoot around, threw out the first punch but Ryan blocked it with ease. She didn’t expect anything less from him. They kept circling around each other, taking a shot when they had a chance. Jaz could tell Ryan was holding back. She wasn’t sure if she was glad about that or not.

She surprised him by throwing in a kick, which connected.

Instead of doubling over in pain, Ryan lashed out one of his own but it met her body at only half force.

‘Good, surprise is handy, make sure you use it.’ He jabbed at her as if he had a knife. ‘If someone came at you again with a knife, what would you do?’

‘Kick it out of his hand, it worked for me once.’ Ryan smiled at her bravado. ‘But you put your jacket over your arm, didn’t you?’ she asked.

‘Yep, one of the first things they teach you is with a knife threat to use something to quickly wrap tightly around your arm so that you can lead with that arm. It lets you take the knife thrust on it while allowing your right fighting arm to strike without being cut.’

‘I see. And you also said something about maim?’ Jaz asked after tapping him on the head with a soft punch. He smiled at her mocking attempt at a hit.

‘Yes, to maim and not anger. If you make them angry it can give them extra strength, where as maim will take them out of the picture. It is a hard lesson to learn…’ Ryan blocked Jaz’s high kick. ‘…but the best thing you could do if caught is go limp.’ He was starting to puff as he spoke and fought at the same time. ‘A limp body is heavy and hard to handle and it gets you down low. They relax thinking they have you, but this is when you strike them.’

‘What, with my fists?’ Jaz said quickly as she ducked a punch.

‘With anything you have. Shoes, keys, rocks, sticks — anything you can find as it’s all surprise and unexpected. A high heel to the eye is very affective.’

Jaz screwed up her face at the mental picture.

‘I know what you’re thinking. You can’t imagine doing that, and it’s hard to hurt another human, especially like that, but when it’s you or them…’ Ryan dropped to the ground and rolled, taking Jaz’s legs out from under her.

They both lay flat on the mat catching their breath.

‘So would you be teaching me all this stuff or do you have proper teachers?’ she asked.

Ryan sat up and crossed his legs. ‘Maybe, if I wasn’t out on an op. Otherwise it would be other agents like me. They are great, you’d learn a lot from each one of them.’

Jaz rolled over on to her side and rested her head on her hand, their fight on pause for the moment. She studied Ryan, sitting in just his black shorts, his lean muscles shimmering with sweat. ‘What was the last op you did, can I ask?’

She saw the clouds roll in over his eyes and for a moment regretted her naivety.

Jaz was just about to change the subject when Ryan spoke.

‘I was sent in to rescue one of our undercover agents.’

Jaz waited patiently for him to continue. She could tell he was struggling with it.

‘There is this bloke who is head of a company that deals in illegal operations, drugs and so forth. We are always trying to infiltrate his mob for details, information and ways we can catch them out. But they are good and one of our agents sent an SOS and I was sent in to help retrieve him.’

‘It sounds scary. Were you scared?’

‘Yes, but that’s what makes you cautious and careful.’

‘Would I be doing stuff like that?’ Jaz asked, her heart starting to pound in her chest at the thought.

He shrugged. ‘Maybe one day, after you’re cleared for duty.’