Zam the Hybrid

15. The Multi Purpose Charity

Zam had planned out his next moves carefully. In order for the coming operation to work smoothly, he'd need to be cool, calm and calculated, otherwise he could set off all sorts of alarms which would jeopardise everything. The information he sought was more than important; it was utterly vital and he simply couldn't do anything that would risk not obtaining it. When he finally saw his unassuming victim, he took a deep breath and put on a brave face. This wasn't going to be easy.

"Zam!" Emily smiled as he approached her. She wasn't wearing her usual uniform and was instead donning some rather formal clothes, a grey blazer and a smart skirt, ones more typically seen on high ranking detectives.

"Officer," Zam replied, putting on his best fake smile. "Or should I say detective?"

"Even in our force, promotions don't happen overnight," Emily said, shaking her head. "There's a whole process that goes into it, it's actually really long and complicated. There are classes to take, tests to do, paperwork to be filled out and above all that I have to keep impressing my boss with my normal work. Today is just the first little test."

"So, is this case something special then?" Zam asked, his curiosity side-tracking him from his goal.

"I think it falls under the category of weird," Emily said after a moment of thought. She had begun walking down the street, no doubt heading for the location of the crime scene. Zam was secretly hoping for a beheading; they hadn't encountered one of those in far too long. "In other words, nobody knew what to do with it so my boss stuck it with me. No Taylor today?"

"No, she said she had an urgent doctors appointment," Zam explained, regurgitating Taylor's words.

"Oh no, she's not coming down with something is she?" Emily asked, suddenly sounding extremely worried. "Is it contagious?"

"No idea," Zam shrugged. "She seemed fine to me."

Emily seemed noticeably relieved. "Maybe it's just a routine check-up."

The pair set off and Zam put his mind back to the task at hand. As they made their way through Goldenrod, Zam delicately wove her into his web. "Anyways, it sounds like you've got a lot to be getting on with. Are you sure it won't eat into your social life?"

"Oh, I'll be busy," Emily nodded in agreement, "But I think I can balance work with everything else."

"So, you won't be cutting out any... activities?"

She turned to him, her eyes narrowing to mere slits. "You clearly have something in mind."

Zam was rumbled and he knew it. "Last night. You and Tristan. Anything... happen?"

"Oh!" Emily said, sounding surprised. "No, of course not! Why'd you ask?"

"It's just that he can be very persuasive," Zam tried to explain. "And if anything were to happen between you two then it may well affect my friendship with the both of you—"

"—Zam, don't worry, there was no vaginal sex."

"Well good because—" He suddenly stopped talking, his mouth still half open as he turned to her. She was avoiding his gaze. "That was oddly specific."

"I don't know what you mean," she shrugged, feigning innocence.

Zam was not so easily fooled. "Emily, I will find out from him. He'll exaggerate the story, no doubt, but I'll still extract the facts."

"Alright fine, we shagged!" she admitted. "Am I not allowed to sleep with whoever I want?"

"You can do whatever you want, it's Tristan who needs more self-control!" Zam cried. "I can't believe this! I explicitly told him that there were three women in the world who were off limits: you, Taylor and my mother, but he just couldn't help himself could he?"