Game of Patience

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

"Okay, thank you." Phillips hung up the phone. "Another school that won't take a new student." He didn't sound angry, but there was definitely a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Phillips had been ringing around for weeks to find her a place. But the later it got in the school year, the less likely it was that a school was going to take her in. Especially after being expelled.

Brooke had been writing up a report on her week, just as the team had to write reports on cases. Phillips thought it would be a good idea to do it as a project, to get her used to writing more. He would read it and examine it like any other report, and then he would tell her how she did with her writing and anything she could improve on.

She was just handwriting the draft before typing it out on her laptop upstairs, it would be easier to read that way. It hadn't been too eventful, just her lessons with the team. Howell had been helping her with her reports and showing her how they laid theirs out. Knox had been showing her how they assessed certain pieces of information such as CCTV. She had put together a short clip of the building's own surveillance and set up a little puzzle. Who has a toy that was stolen from the office? It was Pierce, who then passed it onto Jak.

Pierce had been testing her fitness, taking her on runs around buildings and towns. It had been nice to get out and about for a change. He liked to talk on the runs, whereas she had always been used to doing them in silence.

"How are you finding everything?" He asked as they were running this morning. "Settling in okay?"

"Yeah. Just getting used to everything still."

"How's the search for a new school?"

That was the big question. Phillips had been given a list of schools by Wares, and he was slowly working his way through the list. But part of her knew that she wouldn't get into another one. Maybe if she was younger she'd have a chance. But she was exactly experienced with school and no one was willing to give her much of a chance.

"You'll get there." He said through pants. "How's living with Phillips? He can be strict at work, let alone living with him."

"Yeah he has some odd rules. But I guess I'll get used to them."

"How's your room? I know Phillips was working on building you something."

"He built me a bookcase. Yeah the room's good, very pink and white." She laughed. "He said it was painted for his niece. I wonder when I'll get to meet her."

"Niece?"

"Yeah, he said she stays over sometimes. She is around six, so I guess I'll be playing with her and her toys, it might be nice to have someone new to talk to."

Pierce was quiet for a moment, concentrating on his running. "That will be nice for you." He said quietly.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"No, there's something."

"I just never heard him bring up a niece before." They turned a corner and stopped. Pierce placed his hands on his knees. "But he is a private man."

"How did he become the leader of the team?"

"Well him and Abbie go far back. He used to be a copper in his youth, just like I did. Then he slowly climbed the ladder and changed units completely. Now he is an agent, and a good one at that. He's taught us a lot."

Brooke looked at Pierce. Sweat was dripping down his forehead. He lifted the top of his shirt and wiped it away.

"My parents and the officers back at the station taught me a lot. But they never taught me how to be normal. Maybe that's why I failed at school."

"What is normal really? What's normal for one person, isn't normal for another. Don't try to shove yourself into a box when you're much bigger than that." He stood up and looked at her. "And don't ever try to trim yourself down to fit inside someone else's idea of normal."

Pierce started to walk and Brooke followed him.

"Did your parents teach you that?" She asked.

"No." He said quietly. "I didn't know my parents, not really. I was put into care at a young age."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He smiled at her. "Everything leads to something. Maybe if that didn't happen I wouldn't have gotten into a lot of trouble when I was younger." He laughed at the memories. "It started with a little bit of shoplifting so I could sell sweets to the other kids. Then I guess it grew from there. One thing leads to another. I spent a lot of my childhood being passed between care homes and foster homes. But I never had a home."

"How did you become a cop?"

"Well I spent a lot of time in police stations." He winked at Brooke. "Then one day this officer sat next to me and he spoke to me. He had a conversation with me like I was any other kid and not a number in the system. I tried to become a better person. My social worker and care workers had already branded me as a troubled kid at this point. They thought I was only being good to get something and that it wouldn't last. I fought through all of that alone. I started running more, I was getting my grades up in school. At eighteen I left, no parents, no family ready to take me in. I started police training, proved myself, and here I am."

"So you have no family?"

"The team are my family. Phillips, he's taken care of me. Taught me things a parent should. He is the closest thing I have to a dad. He looks after me, gets me out of trouble, keeps me in line." He laughed. "He'll look after you Brooke, if you give him a chance. But he is stubborn. That will never change."

"I feel like one minute he is there supporting me, the next, I don't know where I stand."

"Tell him. He cares Brooke. You should have seen the way he was preparing for you the moment he got the call. He was panicking that he was going to mess up. We all agreed to help, that's what family does. We help one another, and family isn't all about blood."

"Does that make us family?"

"I guess if Phillips is my father figure, and one of yours, that makes us siblings."

"I've never had a sibling before."

"Me neither."

Pierce started running. "Race you back to the station sis." She heard him laugh as he put some distance between them. She could help but smile, she always wanted a brother. She started to run after him, she wasn't going to let him win.