It was far too early by all accounts, but then Zacky had never been a morning person. To him, noon was too early for someone to be awake and focussing on a difficult task. As it was, it was already nine in the morning and he felt sluggish, and completely not on the ball. Which was piss-poor considering the Mayor was going to be there in about ten minutes...

“Mr Baker?”

Zacky jumped, almost wiping himself out on the beam above his head. “Shit...” He groaned, sitting up and blinking hard before cocking his head so he could look up at the Mayor.

Elliott was standing about five feet away from him, an amused expression on his face.

“Good morning, Zachary. How’re things going here?”

“Ugh...the parts only just came in this morning,” Zacky grumbled. “I’m not really happy with my supplier to be honest.” He sat up, rubbing at the back of his head. “I’m not sure when I’m going to be done.”

The Mayor smiled a little, as he rocked back on his heels, hooking his thumbs into the belt which was only just holding up his suit pants. Being of lean build, his pants looked too big on him, but he wasn’t the type to really care about that. There were other things he wasn’t too bothered about either, like the fact that his car wasn’t ready yet.

“You know, that’s why I came around.”

Zacky frowned. “Why, sir?”

Elliott crossed his arms looking seriously at the younger man. “I noticed your truck out there. Looks like it’s seen better days.”

The old Ford truck had definitely been driven beyond its capacity. Zacky’s father had given it to him before he had retired from the business. Of course, Zacky rarely even drove it; he left it outside the shop because he was always meaning to fix it up. But, never got around to doing it. Shrugging, he got up, wiping his hands on his pants.

“Yeah, it’s pretty old. What of it?” Zacky was curious as to why the Mayor was even bothering to bring it up. The man probably had more important things to think about than the old ride of the local mechanic.

The Mayor started scratching at his receding hairline, his brow furrowing. “Well, I was thinking, I really need to get myself a new car. Especially if I manage to get re-elected. So, I was thinking, I could just leave the Bentley here... still pay you full cost of repairing it, of course.”

Zacky stared at the Mayor, confusion passing across his features; he opened his mouth but couldn’t figure out what he was supposed to say. Elliott solved the problem, though continuing on.

“Basically, you can keep the Bentley once you’ve repaired it.”

“Pull the other one,” Zacky shook his head.

“Zachary, I’m not joking. I want you to have it.”

“Sir, I couldn’t possibly...” he protested, shaking his head some more. He couldn’t really believe that the Mayor would just throw away an expensive vehicle like that. And give it to him, no less. It wasn’t as if he deserved to have it. Sure he worked his ass off, but he wasn’t the best and he wasn’t the type to have a ride like the Bentley. He was much more comfortable with his old truck. It suited him down to a tee.

Then again, the Mayor was offering. But, it was doing his head in. Zacky kept shaking his head.

“I can’t take it, sir.”

Elliott gave him a tired look as he said, “Well, I don’t want it. I will just leave it here; you can do what you want with it.”

Zacky scowled, rubbing at a grease stain on his cheek. “Well, thanks. I guess.”

He peered up at the vehicle of mention. The bulk of it was hanging above them looking a complete wreck. He could still fix it at least. Decide what to do with it afterward.

He glanced back at the Mayor, a thought coming to him. “How did you get here?”

“BMW. It’s on loan from the Council,” the Mayor said. “It’s a nice ride. I might get myself one.” He smiled as he added, “Anyway, I could have the Bentley signed over to you this morning. You’d have to come down to the Council with me, though.”

The younger man stretched, frowning a little his gaze moving around the shop. Other than the Bentley, he hadn’t really got much work over the past couple of months. He’d been seriously considering winding down, shutting up shop and getting out of town for a bit. Maybe try and convince the others to go with him. Of course, it probably was highly unlikely to happen, but the gist of it was that he didn’t have much work, so he couldn’t really turn down Elliott’s offer.

Shrugging, he sighed. “Fine, not like anyone’s gonna miss me.”

The Mayor lifted his eyebrows. “Your brother not here today?”

Zacky rolled his eyes. “He caught a bug; don’t want him near me right now.”

Elliott laughed softly. “Very true. I try not to catch things like that.” He went quiet when he noticed the younger man didn’t seem all too interested in what he was saying. That was nothing new though.

The younger generation tended to not respond well to authority. They kept to themselves mostly, didn’t make a fuss, but they believed they had more important things to think about, like earning a crust, or hanging with friends. Not that the Mayor thought there was anything inherently wrong with that. It was just that as an older man, he wasn’t really cool in the eyes of these young men and women.

Going over to the counter, Zacky grabbed his wallet. “Well, I guess we should get this over with, then.”

Checking that all his tools were safely back where they belonged, Zacky turned and headed for the entrance, flicking switches as he passed them.

The Mayor followed him out, saying nothing more, waiting as the younger man locked up the shop.

* * * * *

Elliott pulled into his usual spot. Zacky leaned forward, squinting through the windscreen recognising a large figure leaning up against a vehicle close to the Mayor’s.

“Isn’t that the T-One?” Elliott asked, as he put the car in park.

Zacky nodded, his lips twisting in a sour smile. “Yeah it is. Wonder what he’s doing here?”

“His wife works for me. Maybe he dropped her off.”

Zacky lifted his shoulders in a noncommittal gesture, looking out the window again. Matthew hadn’t moved. His arms were crossed over his chest, his big body held tight, closed. Those ever present Aviators concealed his expression as well as if he’d been wearing a mask, and the leather jacket he wore gave him a tough, inapproachable air.

For a moment, Zacky wondered why his friend was so tense, but then he saw that Johnny was seated in the backseat of the SUV, still with that same blank look that he’d had the day before. Matt was obviously trying not to show how worried he was about the younger male. If he was indeed worried. Zacky shook his head at that thought. Of course Matthew was worried. He had to be. Judging by the way he had talked about Johnny the day before, he couldn’t be anything less.

Getting out of the car, Zacky pondered whether he should go over and ask Matt what he was doing, but the Mayor was waving him toward the building.

“Come on, we’d better do this so you can get back to the shop.”

Zacky paused, looking over at his friend. He still made no motion, not even lifting his head to look over toward them. If Matthew knew they were there, he wasn’t giving it away.

Sighing, Zacky turned and walked toward Elliott, hoping that when he came back out Matt would still be there.

* * * * *

As the door shut behind the Mayor and his friend, Matthew lifted his head. His eyes narrowed behind the safety of his shades. Then he shifted his gaze to Johnny who was watching him with cool eyes. He looked away again, thoughts roaming around his brain.

Seeing Zacky made him think on what he was planning to do that day. The request he’d made of Matt Berry. Maybe, just maybe he should involve someone else, other than Johnny. After all, Johnny was a criminal or at least was labelled as such by the authorities. He really wasn’t an appropriate accomplice in Matthew’s scheme. Someone he could trust, a true friend would be a better fit. Even if that friend was pissed beyond words with him.

Scowling, he turned slightly and tapped on the glass, pointing down with the other hand. Johnny evidently figured out what he meant because the window slid down with a soft hiss.

“What?” Johnny’s voice was hoarse. Considering he’d hardly spoken two words since waking that morning it wasn’t really all that surprising.

“I need to talk to Zacky. Stay here, okay?”

Johnny just gave him a look like it was totally unnecessary for him to say that.

Matthew sighed. “I...uh...won’t be long.”

The younger male shrugged, looking away. Again that was probably a pointless statement.

Matt observed him for a moment wondering not for the first time what was going on in his head. Then he turned and headed for the front of the Council building.

He hit the entrance mat, the double doors sliding open in front of him. Stepping through them, he cast his hidden stare across the reception area. An officious looking woman at the front desk noticed him and came around from behind it, approaching him. She stopped several feet from him a wary expression in her eyes.

Everything about her screamed extreme professional but she seemed anxious. This was no shock really. Being who he was, with the reputation that he had only those who knew him well were never nervous around him, and even they had their moments.

“Good morning, sir. How may I help you?” The secretary’s voice was crisp, and efficient.

Matthew smiled a little. “I just saw the Mayor coming in with the local mechanic. Do you know which way they went?”

“Yes, of course.” The secretary, Phillipa – her name was on the badge clipped to her blouse – pointed to the left of the desk. A corridor led off to a series of offices in the direction she indicated. “The Mayor’s office is that way, sir. Do you have an appointment?”

He gave a low chuckle. “I’m the TaskerOne. I don’t need an appointment to see the Mayor.”

That ruffled her feathers a little. “Oh, I...uh...I apologise, I thought- of course, go right ahead, sir.”

Matthew smiled at her fumble, but inclined his head in thanks before making his way to the corridor. Before he could head down it though, a familiar voice called to him.

“Matt?”

He swivelled around to see Val standing in the doorway of the office right next to the front desk. A curious expression flickered across her face.

“Hey,” he said, his lips twitching.

“What are you doing back here? I thought you said you were going to take Johnny to his parents?” Val asked, frowning at him.

That morning, he and Val had gotten into an argument over that. Matthew couldn’t see the benefit of taking Johnny to his olds’. His wife was adamant that it would do the younger man a world of good. He didn’t think they’d had such a heated argument in a long time. But then, it wasn’t as if they’d been in each other’s company long enough to blow up at each other.

Eventually, while he’d been trying to hustle Johnny out of the tent – which had been another sticking point for Valary – they’d come to an uneasy truce. Matt would take Johnny to his parents but only if Val promised to drop the subject and not mention it again. She’d agreed and had said nothing more about the conversation. Not even when he decided, after some thought, to drive her to work before heading off to the Seward’s.

Changing his plans last minute was a little difficult on Matthew, because he’d wanted to head to the Locker first thing that morning, but considering his whole routine had been turned on its head, anyway, one more change was no huge deal.

Matt grimaced. “I have to talk to Zack.”

“What? Then why come in here?”

“He’s here. With Elliott.”

Val tilted her head to the left. “Oh?”

“Yes. I have to ask him something.” Matthew turned, walking to her. He looked down into her face, his features tightening into a pained mask.

She looked up at him, anxiety passing in her eyes. “What question, Matt?”

He shook his head, lifting a hand to run his fingers across her cheek. “Nothing you need to worry about. I’ll come back later and tell you how it went with the Seward’s.”

Val grabbed his hand, squeezing it firmly. He leaned down, brushing his lips gently against hers. Then he stepped back, turned on his heel and walked away down the corridor.

If he had looked back, he would have seen his wife standing in the doorway with her fingers pressing at her lips. Would have seen the wistful expression in her eyes. But, he didn’t look back, his mind focussed.

He stalked down the corridor, his strides purposeful, his gaze fixed on his destination. The double doors that heralded the Mayor’s office were right down the end of the hall. He paused before them, wondering for a second what the Hell he thought he was doing.

Matthew knew when he asked Zacky the question that was on his mind, more a request than anything, it would definitely cause some issues. A lot of confusion in particular. But, he felt he had to do it. Somehow he knew it would go a long way to solving the rift that had appeared between him and his friends. He didn’t exactly know how, it was just a gut feeling. And from experience when he acted on a gut feeling, he had never been proven wrong.

He took several deep breaths, rubbing his hands together, adjusting his shades, focussing his mind on the task ahead. Then steeling himself, Matthew placed his palm against the heavy wooden door and pushed it open.