The Other One *Editing*

Chapter 20 - New Recruits: Part 2

By the next morning Scarlett already had a phone call from Big T telling her that her newest recruits had arrived. Eager not to keep them waiting she text Lizzie then phoned her driver to pick her up. Drivers were always the least know from The Back, they were constantly having to be changed round to make sure they were never followed. Only Scarlett had a regular driver- Joe. Scarlett liked Joe. He knew when to keep quiet and let her think and when to blast the tunes. He knew her favourite coffee and which route to take to The Fox for the time of day. He pulled up in his old ford focus- one of many cars, within fifteen minutes coffee in hand and Scarlett hopped in the front.

When Scarlett arrived at The Fox Lizzie was sitting on her bike flicking through her phone. Her hood was pulled up against the wind and her leather jacket was slightly rain splattered. "You look happy." Joe said sarcastically when they pulled up.

"Complete lack of sleep and an evening with my brother does that to me."

"Good job I grabbed this then." Joe said, passing Lizzie a coffee cup out the window as Scarlett jumped out the car.

"Knew I kept you round for a reason." Lizzie said, grinning and taking the coffee.

"Catch ya later." He winked at the two girls before driving away.

"So, what have we got then?" Lizzie asked, as they started walking into the pub, arms linked.

"Two girls, one guy. No police records, no missing persons, not even so much as an up to date social media account for any of them. Three invisibles."

"Perfect." Lizzie said, sipping her coffee.

"I know I am." Scarlett smirked.

"You are what?" Big T asked.

"Perfect." Lizzie said, sipping her coffee.

"Oh definitely." Big T grinned." You got three waiting for ya. They look dead nervous."

"Could always leave them a bit longer?" Scarlett smirked at Lizzie as she hopped onto the counter. "See how they hold up."

"Who else is here?" Lizzie asked sitting down at the bar resting her head on her arms.

"Erm..." Big T thought for a second before counting on his fingers. "James, Emilia and Simon."

"Hmm, they'll be fine for a bit longer." Lizzie chuckled as Scarlett started pouring herself a drink from her spot on the counter.

"How many times Scarlett?" Big T said, picking her up with ease and putting her down next to him. "You can only make drinks from this side of the bar."

"Well since I'm here now I'm going to Irish up my coffee."

"Oh no you don't." Big T shouted, chasing after her as she ran down the bar.

"Lizzie!" Scarlett called.

"Yeah?" Lizzie called back not looking up from the bar.

"Help." Scarlett was being held at arm's length away from the bottle of whiskey she'd tried to grab from the shelf.

"No thanks." Lizzie said assessing the scene and then returning to her dozing.

"Great." Scarlett said giving up her struggled when Big T put the whiskey on the highest shelf, way out of her reach.

"Oh, Owen's here as well." Big T said suddenly.

"Shit." Lizzie said, suddenly awake. Her and Scarlett stared at each other sharing a concerned look. "Come on they've been left with him too long."

"Owen." Lizzie shouted over to him. A man around the same age as Lizzie turned around goofily grinning. Like a lot of the men in The Back he was well built. With dirty blond hair and dark brown eyes, he had an aura of cocky confidence about him.

"Hey Little L how's things?" He said, standing up to give her a hug and lifting her off the floor. "And sassy Scarlett always a pleasure." Owen bowed dramatically and kissed Scarlett's hand.

"Stop it you dofus." Scarlett said smacking his shoulder. The two girls sitting at the table look disappointed as he flirted with Lizzie and Scarlett. "You love it really." He said tapping her bum and giving her a wink. As he did this the smaller of the two girls look down at a burn mark on the table.

"So, these new recruits?" He said, looking over at the three.

"Hopefully." She grinned at the group. The two girls shuffled slightly in their seats and the boy put his arms round them both. "If you've not scared them away already."

"Well Lizzie looks after her people, so I'd go for it man and if you need a hand just ask. You scratch my back, I scratch yours."

"In every sense."

"Hey!" Owen said, giving her a small elbow in the ribs.

"I'm just saying that you are overly friendly nothing wrong with that."

"Only for you Liz." He winked.

"Not what I hear." She smirked back.

"Think you better get those sources checked." He grinned, before walking away.

"Don't worry about him." Lizzie said to the three who were staring stunned in his direction. "He a bit much but basically harmless. Amazing with girls though could get any information out of one in a matter of hours."

"He seems nice." The smaller girl said, still staring in his direction.

"I wouldn't get involved if I were you. Nice but will break your heart."

"Oh."

"But never mind him right now. We're here to get to know you guys." Three pairs of eyes snapped up to Lizzie. "My name is Lizzie I'm going to be your boss should you wish to work here; you've already met Scarlett my right-hand woman. You are?" She said turning to the boy.

"I'm Aaron, this is Rosie." He said gesturing to the smaller girl. "And this is Max." Both the girls gave a small nod of the head in response to their names but didn't speak.

"Excellent!" Lizzie said smiling and clapping her hands together. "So, this is how it works: We rehabilitate you, feed you, give you a home and protection and in return you work for me. You will become part of the back community."

"Any questions?" Scarlett said grinning at the 3 stunned faces.

"Who are you?" Max asked, her eyebrows creasing.

"We're Lizzie and Scarlett silly."

"No, I mean who's the back what do you?"

"We are a small group of people who get together to use our collective skills for money and information."

"What are we here for?" Aaron asked.

"We needed three individuals who can fly under the radar and who would need us as much as I needed them."

"Anything else?" Scarlett asked looking at Rosie who shook her head.

"Now for the boring bit, the rules." Lizzie grinned. "There are three main rules to follow working with us. You do not leave before you've paid off your debts, you do not speak of this place to people who don't belong here and most importantly: do not fuck over anyone who works here. You will be making enemies you do not want to make."

"How do you know we've decided to stay?" Aaron asked.

"Same way I know that you and Max are twins but all three of you are escaping the same person. Definitely a guy, probably a stepdad. Too old for child protection, too young to know what else to do. Uncaring mother, easy to fall off the radar and you were happy to do so. Yet a mysterious woman approaches you in the middle of the night and you do as she says. So, you're not scared easily. Brave, reckless and a little bit intrigued of course you're going to stay."