"That's all we can ask," Pierce said, shaking Dominic's hand and offering a man-thump on his back.
"I'll be in touch," Dom said, turning to look at Genevieve as she leaned against the bench, mug in hand. "Walk me to the car, sweetheart?"
A knowing smile curved her lips and she hurriedly placed her cup on the bench, and then followed her man out the door.
Pierce pulled a chair out beside him and started to pour me a cup of coffee, adding the milk and sugar without having to be asked. I saw the odd look from the women around the room indicating they hadn't missed the familiarity he showed.
"You'll eat some dinner before you go?" Abi asked.
"That's the plan," Pierce replied, nabbing a muffin and placing it on a plate before me.
I tried to hide my amused smile, but failed. Pierce just raised an eyebrow and then sipped from his own drink.
"Any idea how you want to play this?" Nick asked.
"Yeah," Pierce said. "We go in, we have a few beers, we look like we're there for the atmosphere and Marie gets the book while the rest of us shield her from view."
"Easy," Adam remarked, but I think it might have been a little sarcastic.
"What if it's not there?" Nick asked. "It's been a while since you checked on it, Marie."
"The Birdcage never changes," I replied, sipping my drink and receiving a "Here, here!" from a couple of the guys at the table.
"Why on earth did you choose a Police bar?" Ben asked, his arm draped over Abi, as they leaned against the bench.
"It was either that or Mt Eden Prison carpark, but the odds of one of McLaren's men frequenting the prison for any reason, were greater than the bar."
Ben grunted an amused sound as he smirked into his mug.
"Why didn't you just put it in a safe deposit box?" Adam asked.
"Because McLaren could trace a registered box back to me given the right circumstance."
Silence met that statement, we were all aware of what kind of circumstance would enable a thug like McLaren to get that sort of information out of me. It wasn't a pretty picture, but for a moment we all let the images have free rein. Sometimes reinforcing why we were here, what was at stake, helped to put things in perspective.
McLaren was an evil man, capable of evil things. That ledger was proof enough of that.
"And once you've got the ledger?" Nick asked, directing his question to Pierce.
"That's where Dominic comes in. I won't proceed if Dominic can't hold up his end of the plan."
I wasn't sure how Dominic intended to persuade the Crown Prosecutor that I could avoid indictment. How he could organise such a thing without letting them know what information I held and about whom. But he obviously had an idea of how to go about it, or he knew someone, another lawyer perhaps, who did. Either way, it was my only hope of doing the right thing and surviving the fallout afterwards.
Nerves were still getting the better of me. Gut wrenching, soul destroying nerves. I was walking a precarious tightrope between right and wrong. The desire to stay on the side that didn't threaten to tear me away from Daisy was unfathomable. But the need to finish what I started over five years ago, make McLaren pay for the death of Rick, and give Daisy a reason to respect her mother, was just as great.
Unfortunately I vacillated between the two. Right in this second the need to protect my daughter and stay out of harm's way to do it was winning.
The room began to disperse once afternoon tea had been consumed, the ASI men all heading off to prepare, the women all moving into the lounge to pass the time with conversation. It was just Ryan, Daisy and me left at the table, and although I was trying my best to hide from Daisy the nerves that kept churning inside me, Pierce could see right through my shields, like he'd been able to from the very first day.
But rather than call me on it, he turned his attention to my daughter and started helping her finish her latest drawing. This time there were no penguins in it, but a colourful stylised picture of three people standing under a Cherry Tree, the pink blossoms brightening the paper and even tumbling to the ground at their feet.
"Who's this?" Ryan asked, pointing to what was obviously a little girl.
"Me," Daisy replied, cheerfully, taking extra care to paint a smiling face on the little girl.
"And this?" Ryan asked, although I was sure, like me, he knew exactly who Daisy was drawing.
"That's Mummy," Daisy announced, colouring in my light brown hair, but unfortunately making me look a little frazzled when she was done.
"Very pretty," Ryan said, his eyes on me and no longer on what Daisy was doing. I returned his smile, I couldn't help it.
"She is, isn't she?" Daisy remarked and then purposely started colouring in the third person's beard.