A small smile tugged at the corner of Robb’s mouth. “Well. That’s too bad for them, I suppose. A hacker of your abilities and experience – and with insider knowledge of Hargreaves – doesn’t exactly come along every day. So I’m sure you can understand why our agency might be keen to snap you up.”
Surprise rippled through Trent, and he glanced at Zina to see her looking just as astonished as he felt, if not even more so. She blinked, her eyes wide, her mouth popping open slightly.
“S-Sir?”
“I think it’s a good solution,” Robb said firmly. “You can work for us, as a show of good faith. If I can tell my bosses that you’re willing to come over to our side, it’ll make the process of smoothing this whole thing over a lot easier, I can tell you that. Not that I’m trying to make that sound like a threat – just laying all my cards out on the table. And to be honest, Iwouldlike someone with your expertise around here. I’ve read over the results you can get even in difficult circumstances.” He tapped his finger on the reports they’d given him. “Even if I can’t say I’mhappyabout how this whole thing went down, Iampleased with the outcome. So what do you say, Ms. Alden? Or do you need some time to think it over?”
Zina blinked a few more times, before shaking her head. “No, I don’t – I can tell you now that I accept. Hacking is what I’m good at – it’s what Ienjoy. If I could put my skills to use against Hargreaves, then I’m happy to do it.”
“Excellent.” Robb nodded his head, seeming satisfied. “Well, if you two don’t mind, I have a few probably unpleasant phone calls to make. But you have my word I’m behind you – I’ve got your backs. I won’t say everything’ll go completely smoothly – you might still have a few questions to answer – but you’re going to be okay. If that’s all, then you can both go.”
“Thank you, sir,” Trent and Zina both said in chorus, before they both turned to go.
Trent let his shoulders sag the moment Robb’s office door was closed behind him. He hadn’t realized just how tense he’d been until now, when he could finally relax a little. The cold feeling in his stomach that he’d been carrying around for the last few days as he’d been writing his report and then sweating over the interview with Robb had finally begun to dissipate.
“Well,” he said, looking at Zina. “I think that went about as well as could be expected.”
“Better,” Zina said, nodding. “I can’t tell youwhatexactly I was thinking would happen, but it wasn’t that I’d be walking out with my head not bitten completely offanda job offer.”
“Yeah – you’re right about that,” Trent admitted. “Robb’s a good guy – but like he said, I guess we still might have a bit of a rocky road ahead. This is more than I would have dared to hope for, though.”
There was a warm surge in his heart as Zina flashed him a smile. “You can say that again. Believe me, I wasnotlooking forward to having to go on the lam again if they’d decided they were going to send me back home, or lock me up here. I don’t know if I can stomach any more pie floaters.”
“Hey, I share my country’s culture with you, and what do I get in return?” Trent said, throwing his hands up as together they began walking through the rows of desks. “Nothing but lip! Ingratitude! Slander of one of the greatest foods ever known to humanity! Do you know how rare it is to find a meal that encompasseseveryfood group in one?”
“Yeah, as long as the food groups are mystery meat, grease, and squashed peas,” Zina shot back, grinning at him.
“You forgot pie crust,” Trent informed her loftily. “How can you criticize if you’re going to forget one of the most important parts?”
“Oh sure, my bad,” Zina said, laughing and holding up her hands in mock surrender. “How could I have forgotten that?”
Trent laughed as they came into the meeting room, where Hector, Rhys, Euan and Callan were waiting for them. Their heads turned, expressions apprehensive as Trent and Zina came into the room, but they relaxed as soon as they saw their faces – clearly, the smiles weren’t the expressions of people who’d just been told they’d crashed and burned their entire careers, if not lives.
“So, I take it that went okay?” Hector asked after a minute. “Or are you smiling because you’re trying to break it to us gently that we’re gonna have to smuggle you out of the country or something?”
“No, no, everything went fine,” Trent said, shaking his head. “Robb’s a good one – but you knew that. He’s going to help us out – and he offered Zina a job.”
“Can’t say fairer than that,” Rhys said, nodding. “That worked out well. Maybe I should consider running off without a phone call. Maybe I’d get a promotion out of it.”
“Don’t count on it,” Hector told him. “Not sure I’d bother draggingyoursorry arse back here, either.”
“Now, now, don’t fight,” Callan said mildly – he’d known both brothers since they were young, and he’d always been the peacemaker of the group anyway, Trent thought with a smile. “And especially not in front of the kids. Brooke will be bringing Dusty, Goldie and Quicksilver back from their checkup any moment now, along with the unhatched egg.”
“Yes, I certainly will be,” Brooke said from behind them, as she appeared in the doorway. Goldie and Dusty were draped over her shoulders, while Quicksilver had wrapped itself around one of her forearms. In her hands, she held the remaining egg. “I have good news. They all seem in perfect health, from what I can tell,” she said, as she crossed to the meeting room table, placing the egg down and letting Goldie and Dusty scurry down from her shoulders. They immediately started scampering around the table’s surface, sniffing curiously.
Probably looking for something to add to their hoards,Trent thought, swallowing a smile. He wondered if they might be impressed with whiteboard markers – which were definitely the most coveted items in the room, judging by the rate at which they went missing.
“I checked them over as much as I could,” Brooke said, sitting down. “Obviously we still have a lot to learn about them, but they seem energetic, their reactions were quick, and all their vitals seem totally fine… well, Ithinkthey are, anyway. Hard to tell, on a dragon and a basilisk. But given everything else, I’m happy to give them a clean bill of health.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” Zina murmured, as Dusty and Goldie swarmed over the table to her,cheep!ing andbrrp!ing ecstatically.
“They certainly do seem happy to see you,” Brooke said with amusement in her voice, as finally Quicksilver detached itself from her arms and scurried on its tiny legs across the table to Trent. “About as happy as that little one is to see you, too!”
Trent felt a surge of affection filling him as Quicksilver, blinking its enormous, silvery eyes, looked up at him.
“Birrup? Biirp?”
“You said it, Quicksilver,” Trent said, laughing, as the baby basilisk scurried up his arm to sit on his shoulder, rubbing against the side of his face like an especially affectionate cat, and purring just like one too. “Did you miss me?”
