Chapter 40

“Ouch, ow, fuck! What did you do that for, you fucking cretin?” Director Sweeny screamed at Tom.

Tom shifted his eyebrows up and looked at the man that he had just injured, kneeling on the floor beside him. Sweeny was cradling his twisted wrist now that Tom had let go of him.

When Tom had felt the fingers tighten into his shoulder, he had instinctively dropped his shoulder, spun the wheely-chair to surprise his assailant, gripped the offending hand and twisted it, all in one fluid motion, bringing the Director to his knees.

“What does that sign say, Boss?” Tom asked as he pointed to the huge sign on the sidewall. It was the first thing you saw when you entered Tom’s cubicle.

In large red letters, it said, ‘WARNING - Trained Professional’. Slightly smaller type in black said, ‘DO NOT grab Tom when he can’t see you and he is working.’ Even smaller words underneath read, ‘Posted by order of Director Travis. 2018.’

“What the fuck! You’re just a bloody data analyst,” snarled Sweeny as he got back to his feet, still cradling his wrist. He turned when he heard sniggering and found he was surrounded by three women and two men - Tom’s Team.

“What? He isn’t anything special,” Sweeny spat. Even he didn’t believe his own words. He was just pissed that his standard intimidation method failed and that he had been taken down so fast by someone he thought was a limp-wristed pacifist.

Amanda shook her head, “Maybe you should look up the records of the people you have in this office, Mr Sweeny. Tom did train as an Officer and even did his FYC in this very precinct. Your predecessor posted that sign himself. He also learnt why you don’t grab Tom from behind.”

Tom decided to use the situation and stir Sweeny up by doing so. “I’m sorry, Boss. I thought I had gotten better at being surprised. I’ll hand in my resignation today.”

Sweeny spun back to look at Tom, with his mouth agape. Something about Tom had always irked him. He often got the feeling that the man saw right through him and didn’t like what he saw. One thing he had learnt while dealing with Tom was that he had to be careful what jobs he sent his way.

When it came to following a trail, Tom was like a bloodhound, and he’d track down every scent that whiffed of someone trying to hide something from him. Sweeny had often wondered if the man was some sort of savant. He did the job better than anyone had the right to, yet he never sought accolades.

“Um, well, now that isn’t necessary,” Sweeny spluttered.

“But I insist. I shouldn’t have reacted like that. I shall finish up at the end of the week. I should have this case fully documented for the arrest warrants by then. You should be able to set it into motion next week.”

Sweeny looked at Tom in shock, “You know who and where the money went?”

Tom grimaced, “Yes, I have to chase down a couple more avenues to make sure I have evidence on all of the people involved. I just have to be careful that I don’t make them panic and do something stupid. I’m sure that once you bring them in for questioning, you will learn even more.”

“Anyone, I need to know about?” Sweeny asked, trying not to sweat. Some of his benefactors wouldn’t be happy to know that Tom was sniffing anywhere near them. He tried to keep Tom away from anything to do with them, but he didn’t know everything they did, so that was darn near impossible.

Tom knew exactly what Sweeny was referring to but refused to take the bait. “I don’t think so, Boss. Like I said, I do have a couple more leads to follow to make sure I’ve covered all of the bases.”

“Good, Tom, good. Yes, you do that,” Sweeny replied and went to move off with a lot of thoughts swirling through his paranoid brain.

Tom called out to Sweeny, “Hey Boss, I will also be finishing up on Friday because my contract runs out. Since you didn’t send me a letter to renew, I have decided to follow a different path in my life. Can you also let Director Miller know that I’m not interested in her job offer?”

Sweeny swung back around again, in shock. The thought of Carol getting her hands on Tom totally horrified Sweeny. He was sure she was schmoozing him to try and learn his secrets. Then something else Tom said registered.

“Wait, I did send you the re-employment contract to sign. Shirly should have given it to you two weeks ago.”

Tom’s team all looked at each other and back to Tom. Rachelle said, “That is odd, we all got ours.”

Tom shrugged, “It doesn’t matter. Oh, Boss, I do need to take Wednesday off. I know I’m quitting and all, but they want me to sit my GAMSAT tests again. I have no bloody idea why, but the Guidance Officer that the Uni assigned me, requested I do the interview and retests on Wednesday.”

Sweeny’s brain was trying to remember what the acronym meant. “Medical,” he blurted out. “You’re going to study to be a doctor?” he said in disbelief.

Tom grinned, “Yes, Boss. I thought I might put my analytical skills to a different use.”

Sweeny gave Tom a calculated look. He’d hate to lose Tom since his high arrest and cases solved records would take a serious hit. Even so, he knew that if he tried to keep Tom here, Carol would do her damnedest to poach him. The last person Sweeney wanted Carol to have, was Tom.

“Leave Director Miller to me, Tom,” Sweeny said with tight lips. He turned and stalked off, totally forgetting why he had wanted to talk to Tom in the first place.

Tom grinned as he watched his boss head back to his office.

“So, you are really going to do it, aren’t you?” Cindy asked Tom.

Tom smiled at his friends. He was going to miss them. “Yes, I have even bought a house on the Gold Coast.”

“What!” The three girls screamed together, making heads appear over the top of other cubical walls. The boys just looked stunned as this was the first, they had heard that Tom was leaving them.

Tom chuckled and looked at his watch, “What say we go to smoko, I brought in a treat for you lot.”

He ushered his team down the hall to the cribroom. Noting that his coffee pot was empty again, he quickly set it up with fresh beans and water. He smiled wryly. Some people were going to be severely disappointed when he was no longer here.

It didn’t seem to matter how often he complained, the damn twelve-cup pot was always left empty when he wanted coffee. He seemed to fill it three times a day. He knew he didn’t drink that much coffee even if it seemed so at times. He even had his name on the coffee machine and a ‘Don’t touch me’ sign.

Tom knew that Shirly helped herself, and she got coffee for Sweeny using his brew. Tom rummaged in the fridge for his box of cupcake-sized muffins. He had resorted to putting an invisibility spell on the box.

He remembered the last time that he brought in muffins to share with his team. He had put them in the fridge instead of hiding them. It shouldn’t have surprised him to find the box empty when he went to get them.