The Recruit(9)

‘Yeah, I can’t help it!’

‘You know St Michael was the Archangel, field commander of the army of God, leading God’s armies against Satan’s forces. Maybe your father was religious?’

‘I guess I’ll never know.’ From time to time, she’d wonder about him, especially those days when she felt so different. She stood out in all their family portraits, her silky black hair and darker skin making her the odd one out. But she had her blue eyes that kept the link to her mum and her brother. When she saw them in the mirror, that’s what she clung to.

‘So where do you think Pax is off to this time?’ asked Taylor, changing the subject.

‘My bet is overseas somewhere.’ Anna smiled.

‘Ha, talk about hedging your bets, would you like to be more specific and pick a country? I reckon he’ll be off doing another bloody course in something,’ said Jaz.

‘Probably on how to prune bonsai trees,’ added Anna before laughing.

It’s true. Pax loved doing all sorts of weird courses. He had certificates from Thai cooking to Woodwork 101.

Taylor pulled up next to the uneven pathway alongside The Ring. It was a big, white, rectangle building with a flat roof. The Ring was painted across the front in blue and red, now faded and flaking. Pax lived next door in a house that was built like Fort Knox with window bars and alarms. A must, apparently.

Jaz got out of the Mustang. ‘Thanks Tay. See ya tomorrow.’

‘Yeah, don’t shoot anyone living.’ Anna smiled and waved energetically as he drove off. ‘Kinda wish we were going with him. I like spending time with Tay.’

‘Me too.’ When Jaz walked inside the gym, the smell of the mats, leather from the gloves and sweat greeted her. She took a deep breath, feeling right at home. Yes, she was weird.

Inside, a boxing ring stood in the back corner of the room with a large floor mat in front of it. A few boxing bags and speedballs were along the side wall where Jimbo, a large, black guy with huge muscles pounded away. Jimbo was a regular, along with Niles who was a furniture removalist and very tall, then there was Tick, a twenty-five-year-old street-smart guy who had reformed himself by coming to Pax’s gym instead of getting drawn up into the street warfare. Tick was half Asian and could kick higher than anyone she’d seen. He was helping her learn his secret. There were a couple of other guys who came seasonally, and Bags, who Jaz loved the most, did the boxing classes, but this lot were the main crew.

Then there was Pax.

‘There’s my girls,’ his warm voice spread over them like hot gooey chocolate. He was sixty-odd, middle filling out…too much beer apparently, although Anna reckons it’s his love of pastries…he still had most of his dark hair and wore steel-rimmed glasses when at his computer. And he smelt like cinnamon and coffee.

‘Hi ya, Pax,’ they both said, each wrapping their arms around him.

Pax is Anna’s great-uncle and he’d brought the gym before they were born. He was a computer geek like Anna and the words computer and gym just don’t seem to go together. But if you knew Pax then you knew of his love of Muhammad Ali.

Pax was also the grandfather Jaz never had and it’s how she and Anna first met. Tasha would bring Jaz for training and Anna would be on Pax’s knee at the computer.

‘So where to now?’ Jaz noticed his stuffed black carry bag beside him.

Pax tapped his large nose. ‘Ah, you’ll just have to wait and see when I return.’ The same old answer. ‘Think bright colours, beautiful landscapes and water.’ The same old clues too.

‘Are you going to Hawaii? Bali?’ Anna asked. But Pax just smiled and shook his head. They followed him into his office, positioned behind a huge glass window. It was a two-way mirror. Pax said it was so no one could watch him playing games on his computer and he could see if a new customer came in.

‘Think quick.’ Pax threw his set of keys to Jaz, which she caught with one hand. ‘You right to run the place for me again?’ he asked.

Jaz just laughed and rolled her eyes.

‘I know,’ sighed Pax, ‘You run it more than I do. I should probably pay you more.’

‘She’d like that,’ added Anna. ‘Can I use your stuff while you’re gone, Pax?’

‘Sure thing, sweets. Just stick to the simple stuff, hey?’ In other words don’t go hacking into ‘major’ stuff. ‘I don’t wanna come home to the cops,’ he laughed as he caressed Anna’s check. ‘Alright, I’d better head off or I’ll miss my flight.’

‘Ohh, I told you it’d be overseas,’ said Anna.