Page 10 of Second Chances

It doesn’t take long to drive to the head office. I know I have a briefing first thing this morning about a new role I’m going to be taking on. I feel nervous. It feels strange even though I know this job like the back of my hand, and it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.

Matthew Carter is standing outside the building when I arrive, his car parked on double yellow lines. The traffic warden near by is purposefully trying to avoid looking at it because Matthew Carter is one scary son of a bitch.

“Morning.” He smacks his lips together and reaches into his car to get a Starbucks coffee for me. “It might be a little cold. I was expecting you a bit earlier.”

“Mum and Dad wanted to make a show of my first day back at work.” I chuckle and take the coffee. It’s not cold, thankfully. I need it.

“How are you feeling?” Matthew pushes off his car and glares at the traffic warden when he dares to pop his head up to see where the owner of the car is going. Matthew holds his hand up to show five minutes, and the traffic warden feverishly nods his head to confirm he won’t be issuing a ticket.

“Won’t James be pissed if you do get a ticket?” I question, looking back at the warden who’s still seems to be debating whether to follow his job to the letter of the law or not.

“I think your brother can afford it if I do.” Matthew turns back and winks at the warden who scuttles off down the street at a quick pace—his decision to turn a blind eye finally made because Matthew really is damn scary.

“I don’t think I’ve ever said thank you for clearing it for me to return to work. I don’t quite know how you dealt with my whole name change thing, but MI5 seem perfectly happy to employ me under my real name now.”

When my grandfather took over mycarefrom Charlene and Dwayne, he changed my name from Ryan North to Jasper to stop my parents finding me. When I started working for MI5 I used that false name along with fake records. They never suspected. But now I want to be known by the name my parents gave me.

“Let’s just say your boss owed me a favor.” Matthew’s face turns dark. I know that his family were hurt by a rogue agent a few years ago. He nearly lost his life. His mother lost her arm, and his girlfriend, Sonia Jackson, was kidnapped. I’d watched the proceedings from the sidelines. I hadn’t rushed in to save Matthew when ordered to, but equally, his situation wasn’t aggravated by anything I did or didn’t do in the name of revenge. I guess I should feel grateful for that now. I can see Matthew becoming a close friend—our interests and abilities are similar. I just need to get over the fact that it was Matthew who ultimately killed my grandfather. A blessing rather than a curse when I look back at it now. The old man was evil and deserved to die. He was the reason for my suffering. I’m just sad I didn’t see his true colors earlier and put a bullet in his head myself. Matthew nudges me and brings me out of my reflection.

“Sorry,” I tell him.

“That’s ok. I’ll get my own back in the cage.” A smirk comes over his face. It turns my blood cold.

Before I can ask him what he means, we enter the building and have to separate for security checks. The man who takes my ID looks at me and then at my card.

“I thought you were called ...” he starts but doesn’t finish, because he suddenly realizes he shouldn’t question anything in this place. Well, he should in most circumstances, but this type of thing no. In fact he’s likely to get fired for asking the wrong questions.

He hands my ID back to me.

“Welcome back, Mr. North.” The guard smiles and allows us up to the top floor of Thames House where my office is situated.

I follow Matthew. I know he’s here to see my boss and ensure that everything goes ok. I don’t need him to do it. I’m perfectly capable, but my mother would have made sure he did, and I don’t want to disappoint her.

“So what is the cage?”

“You’ll see.” Matthew chuckles again.

I growl just as my boss walks out of his office.

“Good to see some things never change.”

He holds his hand out to me, and I shake it. “Ryan, how are you?”

“Good, thank you, sir.”

He then offers his hand to Matthew, who does the same.

“There’s an easy case to get you back into the swing of things. All the details are on your desk. Have a look over them and let me know your thoughts. We’ll meet again at ten. Is that ok?”

“Of course.”

I glance across the room to where my desk is situated. It looks exactly the same as it did six months ago before I took my sabbatical. It feels strange knowing I’m a completely different person from the one I was when I sat in it before. Matthew goes into my boss’ office, and they shut the door. I expected more of a debrief on my return, but I’m glad I’m being left to get on with it.

I say hi to a few people I know and to a couple of new faces as I make my way to my desk. The atmosphere is lively, and I instantly feel at home.

“Hey.” One of my old work partners, a woman called Gemma, winks at me from across her desk. “Where’s my coffee?”

I instantly remember that I used to bring her a coffee in the morning because with two kids and a useless husband at home, she was always running late.

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