Page 43 of Secret Redemption

Chapter Seventeen

An hour and a half later, Zack was pulling into Fortis. Riley had the same bug as his grandmother according to the doctor. Frank and Ava had promised to call if they needed him, and he had promised to have Lucy and Sly go over after the meeting.

Zack pushed the code for the door and entered the reception area to find Celeste typing away. She had started to do a lot of the admin for him. He had liked to do it himself, but with everything he had going on, he was swamped.

She lifted her head and smiled a greeting. Samson trotted over, and Zack smoothed his hand over his soft downy head.

“Hey Zack,” she said, and he was sure he saw a slight smirk.

“Morning Celeste.”

“No Ava?” she asked.

“No,” he shook his head, “Riley is poorly, and she wanted to stay and keep an eye on him.”

“Oh no! Let me know if there is anything I can do.”

“I will. Thanks, Celeste.” Zack moved on through the internal door, towards his office. Unlocking the door, he entered and crossed to his desk drawer. Reaching underneath, Zack used the fingerprint panel to access it. It slid open smoothly, and he grabbed the file he had been compiling on all the players they had so far.

A knock on his door came, and Daniel poked his head around the door. “Everyone is ready and waiting in the conference room.”

“Come in for a sec, Daniel,” Zack replied and beckoned his team leader in. Daniel moved smoothly into the room and not for the first time Zack noticed that Claire’s death had changed him. The carefree Joker was gone. The compassionate warrior was still there, but he was darker now, his energy felt different. The only time he smiled or laughter filled his eyes was when he spoke of Paige.

“I have a few things I want you to know before I talk to the team.”

Daniel sat, and relaxed back in the chair, his right ankle over his left knee, his hands hanging loose on the arms of the chair. “Okay.”

Zack sat and watched for a second, “Firstly, I spoke to Zin yesterday. Ava and I went to the Cathedral for the book, and he was in the crypt. He was with Roz.”

“Fuck!” Daniel bit out, but Zack continued before he could say anything else

“This goes no further than this room, but Roz is his older sister. They were implanted with chips into their frontal lobes by their father as toddlers. The chips were set to be triggered by a certain phrase. They could also be remotely detonated to explode. Roz escaped by faking her death and having the chip removed. She later helped Zin and her mother escape. Zin has also had the chip removed. But the Denisovich family got hold of the phrase when Zin’s father was killed. However, they didn’t know he’d had the chip removed.”

Zack could see Daniel connecting the dots. “So, when the call came he went undercover.”

“Exactly!”

Dan was nodding his head, “Clever and perfect for getting close to them. So, what’s the plan?”

“I’ll tell the team about Zin’s undercover status, but only the team, not the wives or the partners, and not Celeste. This needs to stay real and believable. I also don’t want Eidolon or Zenobi to know. Not because I don’t trust them but because I only trust my team.” he said and knew Daniel understood him. His trust only went so far.

“Nobody will hear anything from me,” Daniel stated.

“I know,” Zack replied. “There is something else though.” Zack then explained his idea for the Cunningham Estate.

Daniel was silent until Zack had finished telling him the plan. “Is this optional?”

“At this point, yes, but I won’t have my people in danger and my operatives having their minds on their families when they need their minds on the tremendously difficult task we have. Families are a weakness, but they are also a strength. This allows us to keep them safe and give us the peace of mind we need to concentrate on our jobs.”

“It is a good idea, and if we can keep it secure and under the radar, then it can work. Yeah, I’m on board. It will be good for Paige to have people around her and it will also allow me to see her more. Claire’s parents are great but they are struggling still, and a toddler is a handful.”

Zack felt a smile creep across his face and gave an ironic smile, “Yes I found that out this morning when I was cleaning up vomit.”

Daniel laughed and stood, “Yep. Get used to it. Kids get sick all the time.”

The two men walked in a companionable silence to the conference room. Zack took his seat at the head and looked around at his team. The addition of Kanan was noticed, but he sensed no animosity.

“I’m sorry I’m late, but let’s get a crack on before the others get here.”