The Hours in Between - The Devereaux Case Files Book 5

Chapter 11

"No-one said I had a visitor. The guard just grabbed me in the yard and started dragging me away. You have to be careful of that in here. Seamus owns a few of them but not enough. A kid like me, let's just say I'd not make it back." Darcy confessed, knowing fine well what happened. It had already happened to the few teenagers that had disappeared from the prison yard after a guard had dragged them away. They were either taken to the back entrance and sent off to a doctor to be experimented on, or they were sold off to anyone who had enough money and wanted strong, healthy teens to use as a commodity.

"I see. In that case, I believe you will be appreciative of what I have to say." Murray offered Darcy an understanding smile. He couldn't help but think of Doc and all that he had done in his lifetime before joining the agency. He hadn't been much better but back then. The kids had come to him off the streets, to earn some money. Darcy was much too fragile to go through that sort of treatment, but he could see enough muscle and will power in him to make him a good agent. Reed hadn't been much in the beginning either. Murray shook his head to stop himself always comparing prospective agents to Reed; just because he was the best didn't mean they couldn't do better.

"I am informed that you know Blake Remington?" He waited on Darcy's confused nod before going on. "Good. He has dealt with me before. If he lives long enough you can ask him if you can trust me. Though I'm sure once you've heard my offer, you won't want to wait so long to make up your mind." He explained shortly. If he waited for Blake to convince him, he might not be fit to accept the job offer. But he let Darcy absorb that information, and watched him suddenly sit up in his seat, looking interested. "Blake has told me of your skills and I've had a read through your file. It's impressive. I'd like to offer you a job. A legal job." Murray explained.

"A job? In case it's escaped your attention mister, I'm in prison." Darcy laughed nervously, able to see for himself that Murray was dead serious. But he was scared. He didn't know what he wanted and he was alone. He had spent his whole life being scared and now he realized it was becoming his natural instinct to be afraid of everyone and everything he didn't already know.

"That doesn't mean it has to stay that way. I work for an agency, Darcy, that deals with secret, undercover missions that are highly dangerous and are very likely to shorten your lifespan. But I can assure you that no matter what age you are, no-one will ever hurt you." Murray gave Darcy the most important information first. And the genuine concern and belief in his eyes, allowed Darcy to relax and ponder the thought that he might just get out of prison before his sentence was up.

"I am sorry to say that a lot of my boys have the same background you have. Abusive parents, trouble in prison, gang history. We can wipe that all away in a heartbeat if you wish to join us. We may, at some point in the future, place you back in prison for an undercover job, if you feel comfortable enough to do so. The beauty of our work is that you may accept and reject any job you wish. All we ask is that you complete a set number of jobs for us a year." He continued, surprising Darcy with the fact that he could refuse to do a job if he didn't want to. He wasn't sure whether he believed or trusted Murray yet, but he did know that Murray was telling him the truth that Murray believed.

"And what would I be doing?" Darcy wondered, curious and a little hopeful.

"Good lad." Murray congratulated him with a smile for trusting him enough to ask. He hated when people agreed only to get what they wanted and then complained about their job description later. At least Darcy was being smart and gathering the facts before saying yes or not. "You could get up to anything. Past cases have included artifact retrieval, bank robberies, missionary work, going undercover in gangs, and even becoming a mercenary. Of course, as highly illegal as it all sounds, we do so as an extension of the government. Only everything we do remains a secret, even from the most knowledgeable politician. The only one who knows what we do is the Crown." Murray said calmly, with a hint of smile that said he rather liked their anonymity.