The Recruit (16 page)

‘So you’re not just a recruiter then?’ Jaz sat up opposite Ryan.

‘No, after a big op we get time off, but as you can tell I’m still working a few other cases, like building information on that guy with the tattoo. While we are having our break, we are expected to keep our eyes open for new recruits. You know, check out events where skills are shown, ones that we can harness.’

‘So that’s why you were at our fencing tournament and how you found me!’

‘Sure did. So what do you think?’

Jaz buried her head in her hands. ‘I don’t know what to think,’ she mumbled. ‘It’s all so surreal. Do you want an answer now?’ She peeked through her fingers. ‘Cos I just don’t think I can give you one. I have the school ball coming up and I seriously need more time to digest this.’ She felt Ryan’s hand on her knee, spreading warmth like a hot pack. ‘Mind you, a school ball must seem real petty compared to all this other stuff.’

Ryan shook his head. ‘No Jaz, it’s not. A school ball is pretty important. I never got to go to one so enjoy your youth while you have it.’ He gently squeezed her leg. ‘And take your time with your decision because it’s a life changer. Just remember not to repeat any of it.’

‘You realise if I did, everyone would think I’d just gone loony!’ Ryan threw her a look of caution. ‘Don’t worry, I promise I won’t say a thing.’

Damn it, she was dying to talk to Anna and Taylor about this. What was she to do if she couldn’t confide in her two friends! How could she make such a decision without their advice?

‘I’m going to do some yoga and clear my head…well,
attempt
to clear my head.’

Ryan removed his hand from her knee and watched Jaz get up.

‘I’ll talk to ya later, Ryan.’ He looked so sad sitting there. As if he was worried he’d scared her away or something. But he never said a word. Maybe he understood she needed time to process this wealth of information.

As she got to her yoga mat, she heard Ryan start up on the speedball. He was hitting it hard, letting off steam. Jaz wondered if he felt bad about dragging her into his world. She shook the thought from her head as she began her deep breathing and tried to clear her mind. It worked for all of…two seconds!

‘Are you okay, Jaz?’ asked Anna on Wednesday morning. They were sitting on their seat, under the tree, waiting for the siren.

‘Huh?’

‘You’ve been away with the fairies since yesterday. What’s up with you?’

Jaz sighed. If only she could tell Anna what was really on her mind.

‘It wouldn’t be Ryan by any chance?’ asked Anna.

Jaz snapped her head up. ‘What makes you say that?’

Anna threw her strawberry blonde waves over her shoulder and nodded towards the school parking area. ‘Because you have been spending lots of time with him and he’s hot. Also he’s over there trying to get your attention.’

‘What?’

He stood there; all lean and sexy, jeans hanging low off his hips, grey shirt pulling tight across his chest and arms as he waved to her. ‘I’m gonna go see what he wants.’

‘Well
you
can, but I’m off to first period because I don’t want to be stuck sitting near Angelica. Can you believe she tries to copy my answers?’

Jaz laughed as she stood up. ‘Yeah, well I would too.’

Anna rolled her eyes as she threw her bag over her shoulder. ‘I will talk to you later! Watch him, I reckon he’s got the hots for you.’

‘Who?’

‘OMG, Ryan of course.’ Anna pulled her close. ‘You’re spending a lot of time with him.’

Jaz Shrugged. ‘It’s just a friendship, like the one me and Tay have.’

Anna pretended to cough and swore instead. ‘Bullshit.’

‘Okay, so maybe he’s alright.’ Jaz pulled a face. ‘But he wouldn’t be interested in me.’

‘Why not? You’re a catch. If I was a guy I’d dig you.’

Jaz laughed and pushed Anna away. ‘Go on, go and get your seat.’ Anna wiggled her eyebrows as she headed back into class.

Jaz jogged towards Ryan, her hair sailing out behind her. She never put her hair up unless she was at the gym. ‘Hey, what’s up?’

‘Well, I wouldn’t normally condone wagging, but do you feel like cutting school? I have a feeling you’re not averse to this kind of thing.’

Jaz felt the smile creep across her face and hoped she didn’t look like a circus clown. ‘What ya got in mind?’

Ryan nodded his head toward his car. ‘Let’s get out of here first before you get busted and they think I’m a schoolyard perve.’

Jaz burst out laughing as she followed Ryan. ‘Don’t worry, I’d just tell them that you’re my stalker and I’m sure they’d be alright with that.’

Inside his car, Jaz pulled off her school tie while Ryan chucked her a clean shirt. ‘I thought you might need this, sorry it’s not…’

‘What…girly? If you hadn’t noticed I don’t really do “girly”.’ It was black with white and red writing on the front. ‘This is fine, thanks.’

Jaz unbuttoned her white school shirt, took it off and shoved it in her bag. She was used to getting around in crop tops at the gym, a bra wasn’t much different. But maybe not for Ryan.

His hands gripped the wheel as he spluttered, ‘It’s…um…one of my favourite shirts from when I was young. It doesn’t fit but I haven’t been able to throw it out yet.’

‘Well it will do just nicely.’ She pulled it on over the top of her lacy white bra. With the black shirt, her tartan school skirt and black boots, no one would think she was wagging school.

‘Hey, how come you weren’t at The Ring yesterday?’ she asked.

‘Gee, Jaz. Can’t your stalker take a day off without having you worry about him?’ he chuckled.

‘I wasn’t worried,’ Jaz mumbled.

He nodded as if he knew better. ‘I just thought you might like some time to yourself to think, without me being around. Did it help?’

‘Hmm…nup,’ she laughed. ‘So what’s today in aid of? Did you know I needed to go shopping for a ball dress?’

Ryan glanced across to Jaz, a frank look on his face. ‘We are
not
shopping for a dress! You can get that thought right out of your head.’

‘Gee, you’re easy to stir up,’ she laughed.

Twenty minutes later, they were walking down Hay Street in the city, their arms brushing with each swing.

‘So, now what?’

‘How about we go and have a coffee?’ he asked steering her towards a sidewalk coffee shop.

‘Are you buying?’ she asked. Ryan nodded. ‘Cool, how about muffin too, please? I’m famished.’

As they sat outside at a small round table waiting for their order, Ryan reached across and pulled her arm closer. ‘This is healing well.’

Jaz tried to ignore the feather touch of his fingers against her skin. ‘Yep, thanks to you. So, will I get to learn how to stitch up things too?’

‘Well if you must know, that was self-taught. There were a few times where I was injured and I couldn’t go to a hospital, mainly because I didn’t want to have to answer questions.’

Jaz’s mouth fell open. ‘So what…you’re saying you learnt on yourself?’ He nodded. ‘Oh man that’s gross. I’d probably faint.’

Ryan shrugged as he stretched his long legs out under the small coffee table. ‘You’d be surprised at what the mind can handle.’

A waiter appeared with their cappuccinos and Jaz’s choc chip muffin, which she instantly attacked.

‘Cheers,’ she said after swallowing. ‘So…’

‘So?’

‘Com’on, I know you didn’t let me wag school for a coffee.’ she asked.

Ryan took a sip from his cup and licked his top lip. He then slid his sunglasses down from the top of his head.

‘You are wise, my young grasshopper. No, I brought you here to observe.’

Jaz’s forehead crinkled. ‘Observe? Observe what?’ she asked glancing around them.

‘Nothing in particular.’ He gestured around them. ‘Look around, observe. Do not just look but
see
. Watch people. You can learn so much about their behaviours and facial movements. See if you can try and read their lips and follow their conversations.’

Jaz coughed on her muffin as she turned to Ryan. ‘Can you read lips?’ He smiled and nodded. Jaz’s eyes grew wide. ‘Have you done this around me?’ Oh please, not her conversation with Anna.

Ryan said, ‘No.’ But when he turned, she caught a hint of a smile on his lips.

Her mind whirled as she tried to think of all the conversations she’d had with Anna about Ryan. Had he lip-read some of those? God, she hoped not. Jaz focused her attention onto her muffin while waiting for her embarrassment to fade.

‘So how do you learn lip-reading anyway?’ Jaz asked after finishing the last of her muffin.

‘With practice. See those two over the road, the ones that look like husband and wife? Well, she’s getting up him for parking the car in a loading zone. He’s holding a bit of paper which is probably a ticket.’

‘Oh yeah, I see. Huh, she looks pissed. Did she just call him an idiot?’

‘Yep, see you’re already picking bits up.’

‘Hey I’ve watched football on TV, it’s easy to lip-read the swear words.’ She watched the couple, trying to follow along the conversation. ‘Hmm, this is way more fun than trigonometry,’ said Jaz as she began sucking the froth from her coffee.

They sat there for another thirty minutes and Jaz watched the street, trying to read lips and take note. Ryan would point out little things she’d not even noticed. A bloke passing drugs off to a mate and a guy in the shop near them lifting stuff from the shelves. She couldn’t believe it was happening right before her eyes.

‘Come on, unless we are going to have another coffee I suggest we move on. You always need to think of things like that. You’ll be noticed otherwise.’

Jaz was wondering who they’d be noticed by. She was sure there was so much to learn, so much that she’d just taken for granted and things that lay beneath the surface. It was scary and exciting at the same time. Being here with Ryan was amazing. He was like the Yoda of agents. Not that she’d really know, she’d only met the one. She just had a feeling he was great at his job.

‘So are you like a top agent or something?’

He laughed. ‘I wouldn’t say that, we all have our own expertise in different areas, but I’m still the youngest known recruit and the youngest approved. I was eighteen when I went on my first op.’

‘Seriously?’ Jaz saw pride burning in his deep brown eyes. Here was a man dedicated to the cause.

‘See this person in front of us, the big guy with the brown coat?’ Ryan asked.

Jaz nodded, too overwhelmed to speak.

‘We’re going to see how far we can follow him without him suspecting us. Now this will be pretty easy as this guy wouldn’t be expecting to be followed, but with the shady sorts, they are always on alert.’

Ryan showed her how to follow discreetly, and also how to follow the guy from in front of him.

‘Why do you keep looking at your watch?’ she asked.

‘Good, you noticed that. Have a look for yourself.’

Jaz took Ryan’s arm and looked at his leather band watch, but then she saw the difference. ‘It’s a mirror stuck on top.’

‘It allows me to see behind me and up in front without detection.’

‘That is so cool and yet so simple. But then again, I’ve never had the need to follow someone.’ Jaz laughed.

‘So, say like now, he has stopped to look in this window, it would look suss if we stopped here too, so we continue. However, the next shop is a coffee shop, so we keep going until we find a shop front that is suitable for us to pause and look at. So if I was on my own I wouldn’t want to be looking in a lingerie shop or something.’

‘But you could if you were buying your girlfriend something nice, or maybe if you’re a perve,’ said Jaz with a grin.

‘You like calling me a perve and a stalker. You’re lucky I don’t have a complex.’ Ryan pushed Jaz back in jest. ‘So now we’re away from our target and I can use my watch just to keep him in sight.’

They kept following the guy in the brown coat for another half hour before he got in his car and left the city.

‘Shall we follow him by car? I can drive, you know.’

‘As much as I’d really love to see you driving my car, I think we’ll let this guy go home in peace.’

‘I didn’t like the note of sarcasm in your voice, Ryan. I’ll have you know I’m a good driver.’

Ryan raised his eyebrows as if he didn’t believe her. ‘Com’on, I’ve got another test for you,’ he said with an evil grin.

‘Damn, I take it back, maybe trigonometry would be better. So what’s next?’

‘Follow me.’

They walked the busy city centre streets, people rushing past, others sitting reading papers. It made Jaz wonder what some of them were really up to. Was that guy really reading a paper or was he staking out a shop, or person?

Ryan pulled her away from a few dress shop windows a few times until they came to a huge Target store. ‘Okay, you sit here opposite this store. Now I’m going to go in there and you have to spot me when I come out.’

‘Sounds easy enough.’

‘Well, I might be disguised and I might be out in ten minutes or three hours.’

‘Oh damn, really! I’ll never have time to look for a dress if you take that long,’ she whined but nodded her head none the less. ‘Alright off ya go, I’ll be watching.’

And watch she did. The doorway was quite large and people were in and out but she thought she could see them all okay. None were Ryan so far. But after twenty minutes she had to try hard to stop her eyes wandering off. This would be so much easier with her music. After another twenty minutes, and a few close look-a-likes, she was still sure he hadn’t come out. Or was she? If she blinked at the wrong time, he could have slipped out unnoticed. What if he’d been wearing a hat? Oh crap, this was mental.

Ten minutes later and she felt like she was being watched. Abandoning her post, she looked behind her to see Ryan standing there. He was wearing a sexy leather jacket, a trendy surf hat and a stupid smile because he’d won. How could she have missed him! Anyone would have noticed someone that good-looking, surely.

‘Okay, obviously I suck at this! But on the plus side, I like that jacket on you.’

Jaz crossed her arms as Ryan sat down beside her, ditching the hat on the other side of the chair. ‘Hats aren’t my thing, but you like the jacket?’ Jaz nodded and was rewarded with another smile. ‘It’s a keeper then. Don’t worry, surveillance is a hard job, especially as I knew you would be looking for me and I know how to blend in, hide behind a group and stay out of your line of sight.’