Chapter 8:

Millie woke up with a start. The piercing sound of her mobile ringing gave her a rude awakening. Sticking her hand out from under the covers, she fumbled around the bedside table, feeling for her mobile. Finally grabbing it, she brought it to her ear.

"Hello?" she mumbled, closing her eyes and resting her head back on the soft pillow.

"Millie, it's me" Max told her briskly.

"Oh hi Sarge" she smiled weakly, her head remaining glued to the pillow.

"You alright?" he asked, Millie swore she heard a smirk appearing in the question.

"Yep" Millie answered with a small nod. "Just a little worn-out, a tad too much champagne last night".

"Please don't tell me we need to have the alcohol talk again" Max sighed, a mocking tone in his voice.

Millie laughed gently, snuggling closer into the pillow. "Give me two painkillers for the headache and a strong coffee for the hangover and I'm right as rain" she told him sleepily.

"Well first we need to get you out of bed" Max replied pointedly.

"Hmm" Millie nodded "five more minutes!" she whined.

Max just laughed softly. "No time for that. We've got to de-brief over last night and then you're going back to the docks, we need more dirt on Adamski and word is, you're his new BFF".

Millie smiled at the memory of last night with Konrad. Max was right, she was now in the top ranks of the organisation, Konrad has entrusted her with all the intimate details of a upcoming drug shipment.

"De-brief?" Millie mumbled "what time is it?" she asked with a small frown.

"9:15" Max sighed.

"How about over breakfast?" Millie suggested "I told you that I need a strong coffee and I am starving- my shout?" she smiled.

"Alright" Max agreed "Balino Café ? Half an hour?"

"See you then" Millie smiled and hung up. Sighing, she threw back the covers of her bed and slowly climbed out. Stretching out and yawning, she tied up her ginger hair as she walked across the hall to the bathroom. She took one glance at herself in the mirror and couldn't help but burst out in laughter. She eyeliner and mascara had smudged down all over her face during the night and her ginger hair was so frizzy and wild, it looked like it hadn't been brushed in weeks. Millie's memory of returning to Henry's apartment was fuzzy, and she evidently had only managed to take off the dress and shoes as she stood in her black matching underwear.

"You really need to get off the juice Amelia" she grinned to her reflection.

….

Max sat tensely at an outdoor table, glancing subtly around for Millie. Taking a long sip of his already ordered coffee, he spotted her on the other side of the road. Today, she was sporting long skinny denim jeans, a plain white tee and a bright red cardigan, contrasting with her ginger hair perfectly. She took one look at him and a smile appeared on her lips. She walked confidently up to him and sat down on a chair opposite him.

"Max" she nodded, the bright smile remaining on her lips.

"Millie" he replied, his voice blank as she watched her plant her handbag between her legs.

"So….de-brief" she started, glancing at him expectantly, resting her elbows on the table and her chin in her hands.

"Alright" Max nodded "tell me what happened last night".

Millie just grinned and tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear. "It was certainly….an informative night".

"What?" Max raised his eyebrows.

Millie leaned in a little closer, grabbing a packet of sugar and playing with it mindlessly. "Konrad is getting a large shipment of coke early this week, from Romania. I'm in charge of over-seeing the arrival and delivery.

Max's eyes just widened slightly, a sly smile forming on his lips.

"That is…..fantastic!"

"Knew you would want to hear it" she smiled contentedly, sitting back in her chair. A waitress came over to their table and glanced at Millie.

"Can I get you anything?" she asked blankly, pulling out her order pad.

"Just a black coffee with 2 sugars" Millie replied with a polite smile.

"Isn't that a little strong for the morning?" Max asked with a raised eyebrow as the waitress walked away.

"Hangover cure" Millie shrugged. "Works every time" she grinned.

Max just nodded simply as he watched her with his eyes narrowed.

"What?" she asked with a frown, staring back at him.

"What did Konrad say to you last night? You lot seemed to having a lot of…..fun".

"Were you spying on us Max?" she asked with a mischievous smile.

"That was kind of the point Amelia" he returned her tone, adding a sarcastic note to her name. "Grace and I were there to keep an eye on things, I don't usually spend my time in restaurants where the main course alone costs £90, even if it is paid for by someone else. I actually have a life"

Millie couldn't help but stifle a scoff. Instead, she just bowed her head slightly and started fiddling with her nails.

"Well?" he demanded "what happened with him?".

Millie opened her mouth to speak just as the waitress came back and set Millie's coffee down in front of her.

"Thank you" Millie mumbled to the girl.

"You already know most of it" Millie sighed, taking the spoon and mindlessly stirring her coffee. "He offered me a job that had higher 'stature'" Millie told him, using her fingers to make the inverted commas in the air. "He wouldn't tell me much, but he said that the job had a better pay and that we would become 'closer friends'. When we were walking home last night, Henry told me that Konrad had mentioned that I would be put in charge of ensuring that a drug shipment arrived safely to Konrad's warehouse".

"So Adamski does drugs now?" Max said wearily. "Bloody hell" shaking his head in disbelief.

Millie gave a sympathetic smile "Yeah, I knew that would be your reaction. Henry told me that its only sometimes, he does deals with suppliers, drugs for guns".

Max nodded. "Well that means that the whole operation will need to be expanded, now we need to investigate the drugs" Max sighed, running his hand through his hand.

"I'll see if I can get any more info out of Konrad" Millie offered, taking a long sip of her coffee.

"Yes" Max nodded in agreement, glancing up at Millie. "I'll talk to the DI, maybe we can set up a sting operation and catch the drugs. What do you know about them?" Max asked, determination evident in his voice.

"Just that they are coming from Romania" Millie explained "they are arriving at the docks sometime this week and Henry and another guy, Hugo are going to be driving them to one of Konrad's warehouses".

"Alright", Max nodded "sounds good, we can probably set something up. See if you can find out where this warehouse is, oh and try and get the exact date of the shipment's arrival."

"Will do" Millie nodded in agreement, taking another sip of her coffee, wincing slightly as it slid down her throat.

"Too strong?" Max smiled knowingly.

"Yes" Millie nodded meekly "but it works, the headache is going away".

"Whatever floats your boat" Max mumbled, glancing around the café at the other patrons. Millie couldn't help but smile slightly at his comment.

"Anything new with Elka?" Millie asked casually, looking for a new topic of conversation.

"She's been reporting to Stuart- he is her handler. I've heard that everything on her end is alright- but she hasn't been able to get much information from Pawel Ostrowski, he isn't too keen to talk".

"Thought so" Millie scoffed "I don't think a pretty boy like him wants to give up the wads of corrupt cash that he is being fed- God knows what will happen if he isn't able to straighten his hair!" she covered her mouth with mock shock.

"Didn't pick you to be so cynical Millie" Max smiled.

"Guess there is lot you don't know about me" Millie shrugged, stirring her coffee before taking the spoon and licking it.

Max narrowed his eyes as he watched her. She was right, even though he saw her every day at the station, and now they were working even closer together, there was plenty that he did not know about the pretty ginger-haired PC. He knew her character and how she worked on cases, but the personal details were still a mystery to him. Millie was someone who intrigued him, she would act all naïve and cutesy and then turn around and be completely spontaneous and exciting. He didn't entirely know what to make of her. Max admired the way that she was conducting herself in the operation so far, she was making all the right choices and getting all the right information. Something that was crucial in an undercover operation this large.

"Anything else I should know?" Max asked curiously.

"Well still nothing on the weapons front" Millie shrugged, placing the spoon down on the table "I guess we are focusing on the drugs now?" she asked.

"Hmm" Max nodded, taking a sip of his own coffee, "at least we now have something we can charge him with".

Millie just gave a tight smile as her phone started to beep. She opened it and found a new message.

"Adamski?" Max asked keenly.

"Yeah" Millie nodded. " meet me at the office now " she recited.

"You better get to it" Max told her with a blank expression. "We'll talk later".

"Bye" she said quickly and stood up, gathered her handbag and crossed the road, making her way to her car.

….

Millie felt the butterflies in her stomach as she approached the tiny office at the docks. As she approached, she saw Konrad, Henry and a couple of other goons standing around, talking intimately.

"…nie dotykaj jej, ona jest moja" she heard Konrad growl to another blonde man. She assumed the foreign language was Polish and whatever he was saying was serious, the glare he had pasted on his face was enough to make Millie herself shiver. However the man just returned a glare as scary, he didn't seem very afraid of Konrad.

She entered the office uncertainly, knocking gently on the door as she walked inside. Putting on a polite smile, she glanced at Konrad.

"Sorry to interrupt" she apologised tentatively.

Konrad's serious scowl relaxed slightly and he returned a small smile. "Amelia!" he welcomed her. "Come in, these are my associates. We were just the middle of meeting".

"I can come back" Millie offered, indicating to the door, a place that she wanted to be. The middle of a tense stand-off between a crime lord and his friends was the not the ideal position to be in.

"Don't be silly, I told you to come, I am not going to throw you out" he laughed, walking up to her and guiding her further into the office. Millie sighed quietly and allowed herself to be seated in the armchair next to the desk. Konrad walked around and sat down as well, smiling as he looked at Millie. "You're probably wondering why I told you to come down here?"

"Yes" Millie replied with a nervous smile. "I guess it has got to do with last night?"

"It does" he nodded "I hope that you had a good time last night?"

"The best".

"Glad to hear it" Konrad nodded again. "Now last night, we also discussed a new position for you. Are you still up to it? I don't want you to feel like you are being pressured, or that the alcohol was talking last night" he told her, a firm and serious tone in his voice as he spoke to her.

"No" Millie shook her head "I want to move up in the world, like you said, I don't want to be stuck as a lowly office clerk for the rest of my life, a girl has gotta look after herself".

Konrad grinned and nodded "that's good Millie, I am glad we are on the same page".

"Great minds think alike" she laughed uneasily.

Konrad just chuckled and nodded again. "Now, you might have heard some rumours, but like I told you, me and my associates deal with specific clients, working to satisfy their wants".

"And what are their wants?" Millie asked, raising her eyebrow.

"I'm going to give it to you in black and white Millie- its drugs".

Millie just allowed her mouth to gap open in fake surprise. She knew that she had to pretend like it was the first time she was hearing about this. But she closed her mouth and regained her posture, sitting up straighter and nodding.

"Ok- drugs, I can deal with that".

"Determination and nerves of steel, that's something that I like to see in my workers and friends" he smiled somewhat coldly, Millie couldn't help but avert her eyes as she glanced at him. As they were getting more and more serious with her, Millie couldn't help but feel less and less comfortable being surrounded with so many dangerous men. She was starting to feel somewhat isolated, this case was taking a huge toll on her emotional wellbeing.

"Are you alright Mills?" Henry interrupted her troubled thoughts. Millie glanced at him and saw he had a concerned look on his face as he spoke.

"Yeah I'm fine" Millie replied softly "I guess this is just a lot to take in" she added, trying to sound as convincing as she could. She didn't want anyone to think that she had cold feet. That was the last thing she needed- to have her cover ruined, and in turn, the entire undercover case ruined too. No, she just needed to grit her teeth and get over herself. This was a massive opportunity, and she needed to put 110% into it.

"In fact" she turned toward Konrad with a grin "I am more than fine, I'm fantastic. Now let's go and get ourselves a shipment, we've got work to do!"

Konrad simply beamed at her, he seemed to be quite happy with her performance to far so he simply nodded in agreement and started ordering some of the other men around. Millie let the smile drop and she simply stood frozen as she allowed the room to move around her.

"Don't be nervous" she heard Henry whisper gently into her ear. Millie turned and came face to face with Henry who simply smiled reassuringly at her. He reached over and took one of her limp hands, giving it a small squeeze and Millie couldn't help but smile again. Now she knew, she wasn't alone. She had Henry, and he was going to be there to protect her, she felt like she could trust him with her life.

"I'm here for you" he told her, confirming her thoughts. Millie couldn't help herself, she thrust herself forward and wrapped her arms around him in a warm hug.

"I don't know what I would do without you" she sighed, still holding onto him. Right now, he was her safe haven. In this world, a place of criminals and danger, it relieved her to know that she had someone who she could entirely trust.

"I hate to break up the family moment" Konrad frowned, walking up to the pair. "But Henry, you need to brief Millie here on our procedures when it comes to incoming shipments, make sure she is fully prepped for the delivery tomorrow".

"You got it Konrad" Henry nodded, watching his boss retreat back to the other men.

Millie grabbed the sleeve of Henry's shirt and dragged him to the edge of the room. "The shipment arrives tomorrow!" she exclaimed in a whisper. "Why didn't you tell me? You know that I have to pass all this on!"

"I'm sorry" Henry shrugged sheepishly "I swear that I only found out like 20 minutes before you arrived".

"Alright" Millie nodded slowly "you're forgiven" she grinned.

"Thank God" Henry rolled his eyes and placed a hand over his heart mockingly.

Millie just laughed and gave him a playful slap on the arm.

"Here" Henry passed her a folder full of papers, a serious tone appearing in his voice. "This is all the info you about the shipment you will need, the container serial number, the route and address we will be using when we make the drop-off and all the other details they might need", Henry explained, not bothering to hide the sarcastic note when he mentioned Millie's bosses.

"Thank you so much" Millie told him gratefully, taking the large folder and clutching it to her chest. "You don't know how much this means to me, you are amazing".

"I'm happy to help you Millie" Henry replied sincerely, Millie swore that she saw a glint of sadness and regret in his eyes as she spoke. She knew that this was hard for him- at the end of the day, Konrad had been a close friend…

Suddenly Millie's mobile lit up, bringing out of her thoughts.

"We need to meet ASAP…..Wilson Park….15 mins- Max".

Millie groaned softly as she read the message that appeared on her screen.

"I better get going" Millie muttered.

"Bosses giving you grief?" Henry smiled knowingly.

"You have no idea" Millie rolled her eyes, pocketing her mobile. She gave Henry one last smile and patted his gently on the arm. She approached Konrad and said her goodbyes, promising to go over the files and being prepared for the delivery the next day. Konrad didn't seemed fazed by Millie's sudden exit, he seemed to completely trust, how could a young, polite and seemingly naïve girl like her possibly do anything against him. That was probably the beauty of Millie's personality and the cover created for her, nobody would ever suspect her of anything.

….

As Millie arrived at the park, she found Max sitting on a bench overlooking an empty football field. A quick glance around revealed to Millie a deserted setting. Max had obviously decided on a more remote and private atmosphere for this meeting.

"What did you need to talk to me about?" Millie asked, rather brusquely, she was a little annoying at being pulled out of a meeting with Adamski.

Max seemed a little surprised at her tone, raised an eyebrow and narrowed his eyes as he continued to stare at her. "How did the meeting go?" he asked casually, folding his arms and glancing around the park mindlessly.

"It was going great" Millie replied, sarcasm dripping on her every word "until I had to suddenly leave!"

"Did Adamski suspect anything?" he questioned, maintaining the casual but blank tone.

"No" Millie told him curtly, "we were lucky, he seemed to absorbed in his own little world today, I think he might be nervous" Millie told him, trying to copy Max's tone. She sat down on Max's bench and took in her surrounding as well.

"When would Konrad Adamski ever be nervous?" Max smirked, rolling his eyes.

"Since he's got a rather large shipment of cocaine coming in tomorrow" Millie answered smugly. She was enjoying having the upper hand over Max.

"Tomorrow?" Max demanded, his eyes going wide with surprise. "Are you sure?"

"I can even show you all the documents if you like" Millie smiled.

"Right" Max fold his arms again "and how did you manage that one?" he asked, a small smile forming on his lips as she looked at her expectantly.

"Henry gave them to me- I have been put in charge of overseeing the logistics, I think it's pretty important that I know those sort of things".

"Alright" Max nodded "and how is Henry going with all of this- is he still onside?" Max didn't bother to hide the distrust and contempt that he held for Henry. He didn't trust the bloke and just got a funny feeling whenever he was mentioned.

"Henry" Millie replied indignantly, sensing Max's feeling towards her new confidant "is great! He is being completely amazing and understanding, even though this is incredibly hard for him, he is going out of his way to help us, he got us all of those documents" Millie responded rudely, not even bothering to hide her anger as she spoke to Max.

"Oh and he is just doing this out of the goodness of his heart?" Max asked cynically.

"Yes!" Millie exclaimed heatedly "because unlike some people" she added pointedly, narrowing her eyes at Max "Henry actually has a heart and cares about people, he doesn't want people like Konrad Adamski to keep being able to hurt people, he wants to put stop to it all, and he is sticking his neck out there to help us do just that!"

Millie huffed and stared at Max angrily. She stood and started to walk away. She didn't want to have to sit there anymore and listen to his stupid remarks.

But Max caught by the arm and turned her back toward him, a frown pasted on his face.

"I don't trust him Millie" Max told her gently, he held a firm grip on her hand as he searched her dark brown eyes.

"You don't trust anyone" Millie answered, her voice mixed with both contempt and pity as she pulled her arm free of him.

…

Note: "nie dotykaj jej, ona jest moja" : means "Don't touch her, she's mine"

Please don't forget to review. Sorry its taken me a little longer to update. Writers block -_-