by C. R. Daems
"You have my permission to enforce your rules as you see fit," Udella said continuing to glare at his son, who was trying to stop a grin. I knew he was thinking he would get around them one way or the other. "Let me show you the email and letters I been getting."
I turned to his son. "David if you're considering jumping in your car and driving off. Don't. When I catch up with you, I'll break the leg you drive with. Then I won't have to worry about that anymore. I will enforce my rules. I don't care if you hate me. I'm here to protect your life not to be your friend." I turned back to Udella who smiled. Mary had turned pale. David had stopped smiling.
"You're just what I want. He doesn't take this threat seriously. I don't know if it is or not, but I don't want to bet his life on it." We spent the next half hour looking at emails, letters, and pictures of people holding signs on the side of the road and even a couple in front of his house.
"Well what do you think, Lynn?"
"The two threatening your son's life could be serious. Whoever sent them knew how to get your attention and to make you worry. You can shrug off threats against you, but not your family. Has anyone taken any action you would consider strange or threatening?"
"No, no overt action. I've thought I've seen a strange car in the area several times, but I might be thinking that because of the letters."
"I have to take the threat seriously whether they are or not. I must keep him close to me and, therefore, will enforce my rules. He thinks he can out smart me or talk me out of them. He's wrong. If he once jumps in a car without me and drives off, I will break his leg. Are you sure you want me?" I felt he needed fair warning. He laughed. "I think the experience will be good for him. His mother spoils him and I'm frequently traveling. Yes, I'm sure."
We walked back to the living room where David and his mother were in a whispered argument. I walked over to the far wall and folded into a sitting position. Udella and his wife gave me a strange look.
"Is that what she does-sit around and stare?" David laughed and started towards the hallway. When he looked, I was two steps behind him. "Where are you going?"
"Wherever you're going." I couldn't help smiling at the look on his face. He clomped intentionally hard up the stairs and turned into a bedroom. He tried to close the door but my foot stopped it. As I walked into the room, he grabbed my arm and pulled. I knew a punch to the face was coming-typical tactic from untrained fighters. I spun around, left forearm blocking the punch and driving the arm downward out of the way. Then I spun back to the left driving my elbow into his solar plexus. The air exploded out of him as he stumbled backward into a nightstand knocking over a lamp and the contents of the table to the floor. He lay there fighting to breathe. Two minutes later his mother and father burst into the room.
"Nothing to worry. David and I were discussing my rules. Somewhere in the rules it says not to punch your bodyguard. Maybe I forgot to tell him," I said watching him. His mother ran over and knelt next to him. "He's alright, Mrs. Udella. Like any young man, he was testing the limits. Since it was the first time, I took pity on him and gave only a light reprimand."
"Who the hell do you think you are?" he screamed now that he could breathe again. The General laughed.
"If I did that they'd bring charges against me. Come, Mary, he's obviously all right and in good hands." He reached down and pulled her from the room. I ignored David as I surveyed the room: two regular windows, a connecting bathroom with a small window. The question was how serious was the threat. Udella and his neighbors each had about a half-acre of land, providing plenty of opportunities for a sniper at night. Although the room had only one door and was located on the second floor, he could get out via the window if he was desperate enough. But he would want his car.
"Who am I? I'm a Kazak. Even if I kill you, I'm immune from prosecution. Next time you pull a stunt like that, I'll break something: nose, arm, leg. Something. Your father loves you and is concerned about your safety. It's time to grow up." I picked up his keys from the desk and left the room, shutting the door quietly behind me-cruel but satisfying. It kept him from having the satisfaction of slamming the door. I spent a few minutes with the General discussing heavy drapes or blankets for all the windows at night and providing me with a comfortable chair for the hallway. By guarding the stairs to the bedrooms, I could keep an eye on access to them and the street.
***
David came down the stairs at eight thirty the next morning, ignored me, and headed for the kitchen. I stood and watched as he had a bowl of Raisin Bran and milk. I helped myself to cereal and the coffee Udella had made for himself earlier.
"My friends and I are going to the beach today. You can follow me in your car. You do have a car, don't you?" He smiled knowing damn well I had arrived in a taxi.
"Don't need one. I'll be in the passenger's seat."
"There's five of us so there's no room." Another smirk.
"Guess one of your friends will need a ride." This was like having a conversation with a four-year-old.
"There are five of us!" he snarled.
"I guess you thought I was joking yesterday when I said next time I would break something. That applies equally to your friends." I had just finished when his mother entered. She had that worried look again. I imagine David had been emotionally bribing her to arbitrate with his father for years. She looked worn out.
"Mother, this...this woman is going to ruin my life. She intends to follow me everywhere I go. I hate her!" he shouted. Before she could speak, I held up my hand.
"He's testing you, your husband, and me. Just like children do. I don't know whether the threat to his life is real, but I have to assume it is. Nothing you or he can say will make me compromise my rules and put his life in jeopardy. If you and General Udella are uncomfortable with that, I'll leave and there will be no replacement.
"Tell her to leave, Mother!" Mary looked at David and back at me.
"You're not helping..." She turned and walked out of the kitchen. I felt sorry for her. David had knifed her with his emotional blackmail. He set up a conference call with his friends and worked out the transportation situation, making sure he belittled the threat, criticized his father, and trashed me and my attitude.
***
In the end, there were three cars as three more joined the party. The idea of a Kazak guarding David made it an adventure. On the trip to the beach, David sulked while his two friends asked a hundred questions: how do you become a Kazak, what do you study, who do you guard.... I played nice but limited my answers to general information. When we arrived, the party had already started. David and his four friends, three that decided to come after they knew a Kazak was guarding him, and five girls. They all attended the same high school, were from families with money, and planned on attending college, although only two were going to the same college. I sat off to the side where I could watch everyone. From time to time someone would come and sit near me, although I encouraged a little distance so as not to restrict my vision or movement if necessary. Two boys, who had come because of me, and two of the girls were the most frequent visitors. Towards evening, there were some pairing off and booze appeared. Since I wasn't here to enforce the local laws or morality, I didn't interfere. When the party broke up, David was drunk. I studied the two boys, Mark and Jake, who rode up with us, and decided Jake was closest to sober.
I snatched the keys from David and threw them to him. "Jake you're driving."
"It's my car!" David shouted and began to grab at the key but stopped-probably remembered yesterday.
"It's my life and you're drunk. Either we sit here until you're sober or Jake drives." In the end, Jake drove. I keep asking Jake questions to keep him from dozing off, since David and Mark had passed out. When we arrived at the Udella's house, the two boys walked off. I sat in the driveway waiting for David to wake up. I was neither his nursemaid nor concerned about his relations with his parents. His father came out around one a.m. and dragged him into the house and dumped him on the co
uch.
"Why did you let him get drunk?" he said, his face flushed with anger.
"Let's get something straight, general. I'm not in the military so your rank means nothing to me. I'm a Kazak so shouting doesn't impress me either. And I'm your son's bodyguard not his nursemaid. You will notice I didn't try to help him to his room or hide his actions."
"You're very arrogant, Lynn." He stood looking at me for several minutes. "I guess that's why the government types don't like you. But you're right. David, give me your keys. No car for a week." When he put out his hand out, I dropped the keys in.
"I'm not suicidal."
***
David refused to talk and tried his best to ignore me. I found it an improvement and interesting that he wasn't talking to me because he got drunk and his father caught him-so it was my fault. It didn't help that his friends were talking to me and found the situation amusing. They attended movies, visited arcades, played a variety of games at each other's homes, and met with girls in the evening. David didn't seem to be good at games. One girl who had been at the beach party seemed to have latched onto him. A good thing since the other girls didn't appear interested in him. After the first couple of days the novelty wore off and they ignored me. I knew all the kids by now but it didn't stop me from paying attention. From what I could tell the old group had several new faces, probably due to my presence. The second week his father gave him his keys back, but little changed except he didn't need to bum a ride. This assignment had elevated boredom to a new level I never thought possible. What was worse, Udella had received another letter threatening his son, so it was unlikely I would be relieved until I could neutralize the wannabee assassins. I just wished I could find some way to make them hurry. Unfortunately, there was a high probability that they had no intention of taking any overt action. In that case, the normal ninety-nine percent boredom was going to reach one hundred.
***
The summer flew by and only a week before he and his friend would be departing for their respective universities. I could just image how much fun that would be for me. That night, David tried to ditch me because he had a date with, Irene, the girl who had been seeing a lot of him since the beach party.
"I've got a date tonight, and you're not coming," he screamed and shook his fist at me. I opened the back door, entered, and fastened my seat belt. Eventually, he got in and drove to her house.
"I can't get rid of her, Irene," he whined when she came out.
"It doesn't matter, David. I don't mind her watching."
"I do!"
"Believe me, you won't care." Her smile was sultry and David went all gooey-eyed. The road he took weaved through heavily treed back roads. An hour later, Irene pointed to a dirt road and a few minutes after that told him to park off to the side of the road. Judging by the way she directed him here, I wondered how many times she had done this before. She grabbed his hand and began walking up a dirt path. She walked slightly in front of David blocking my view of her so I didn't see her pull a gun from her bag. She put her arm around his waist and leaned against him and whispered something while nibbling at his ear. A few steps later they both turned. She still had her arm around him and lips to his neck, but she had moved part way behind him, a gun held waist high pointing at his ribs. The gesture was clear: move and he's dead. He stood looking at me and grinning, oblivious to everything.
Just then, a boy stepped out from behind a large tree ten yards in front of me and then another an equal distance behind me. They were the two who had joined David and his friends supposedly because a Kazak was along. Both had guns aimed at me. Mistake. You don't play with Kazak's- you kill them immediately.
"Well, Davy, don't you think it's time to teach your big, bad guard-dog a lesson?"
"Ya, that bitch has been following me, ordering me around, and talking to me like I'm a dog. The bitch even hit me and got me in trouble with my straight-assed father. She needs to be taught she's not as tough as she thinks," David's face had twisted in anger until Irene kissed his neck and whispered something.
"Jimmy, she has a gun some place, get it."
"My pleasure, Jacob. She's not much in the tits department but her ass isn't bad."
I felt the barrel of a gun in my back as he began to reach around me. They teach you on the Hill that it takes a second for someone to react to your movement, whether it's a gun or a knife. I spun right. My right arm knocked his arm left and the bullet went well past me. I kept spinning. My left arm snaked around his neck while my right drew my gun. Irene reflexively turned toward me, but too late. I spun, jerking Jimmy's head with the arm around his neck and back-kicked Irene in her chest. She flew backward dropping the gun. I then moved so I stood between David and Jacob, who stood, gun lowered and frozen. Then he smiled.
Clare was going to be pissed. I had made a fatal mistake not shooting the three, but I had thought them kids wanting to prove they were smarter than a Kazak, intending only to tie me up and leave me stranded miles from anywhere. I never doubted I could overcome them and, therefore, didn't consider them dangerous.
My head exploded in pain and my knees began to buckle. I tried to keep focused on Jacob and maintain control of my gun, but the inside of my head was spinning like a tornado.
"Jacob, shoot the bitch." David's voice. Sensing another hit was coming, I managed to turn enough to deflect some of the force-but not enough. I dropped to one knee, fighting for control. Jimmy and Irene were on their feet again, guns pointing in my direction. If I didn't get control soon, I would die. The inhuman training on the Hill was all that kept me up and fighting to recover. Before I could focus, a bullet slammed into my chest, throwing me backward. I lay there feeling the blood leaking across my belly. Like a dream, I could see the Witch Meztlil in front of me. Think, Fox, she whispered. If I could have, I would have laughed. Thinking was all I could do, I was in no condition to move. My only option was to play dead and hope. I left my eyes opened, staring, and unmoving. I quieted my heart and breathing to almost nothing, as I had often done in meditation, and let myself go limp. It took superhuman effort to lay there unprotected, against all my instincts.
Jacob came walking over and kicked me in the side. I had expected something like that and prepared for the pain. The training on the Hill no longer seemed cruel. When he saw no reaction, he walked away.
"The great Kazak is dead. Now it's Davy boy's turn."
"What? Why me? I helped you kill that bitch."
"Why you? Because of your maniac father my brother is dead. He was part of your father's thirty thousand troop surge," Irene shouted. David screamed. I could hear but could see from where I lay, but I knew their attention was totally on David. They were going to kill him, but not until they assuaged their anger.
"My aunt and her two children were killed by a drone attack on her village," Jacob shouted, pain evident in the words. Another scream from David.
"But you're Jewish," David sobbed.
"Jews live in Afghanistan, too. Your killer of a father doesn't care." More screams.
"My brother's without a leg and has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder because his unit was part of the surge." Jimmy's voice. "Maybe your father will understand the horrors of war with your death."
"I doubt it, Jimmy. It made me want to puke having to kiss this piece of shit. He'll probably be glad to get rid of him. But maybe others who have suffered like us will get some satisfaction from him losing his son." Irene's voice.
I rolled over, rose to one knee and almost passed out. I had never felt so weak and dizzy. Find your center, Lynn. That place without pain, doubts, and confusion, Meztlil whispered, her black hood hiding all but a thin smile. I closed my eyes and sought the peace I had found in the temple on the Hill. When I opened them, David's back was against a tree and the three were facing him. A shot sounded and David screamed and collapsed holding his knee.
"There. That's how my brother felt when an IED blew off his leg," Jimmy growled. I drew both knives and rose, unsteady. Taking a d
eep breath, steadied myself, and focused on Jacob. I drew my knife and lunged forward. The knife flew from my hand and sank up to its hilt in his back in the area of the heart. As Jacob fell forward, Jimmy looked back in my direction. But didn't react for several seconds-he was a kid with a gun not a combat veteran-as I continued to stagger and lunge closer. I threw my second knife as he began to raise his gun. It sunk deep into his chest and heart. He dropped the gun and staggered backward into Irene. Her eyes went wide and mouth opened in shock. Before she could decide what to do, I stumbled into her, driving my fingers into her throat. She fell backward with me on top. I lay there listening to her gasping for breath, which never came. I laughed although it hurt. My wound was pressed against her ample breast. It acted as a compress. I flipped open my iphone and hit "1" automatically.
"Yes?" Witton's voice. I had one last thing to do before I died.
"Tell Meztlil, I love her." My iphone slipped from my hand.
***
The faint smell of lilac reminded me of Clare after a shower. She loved her lilac scented soap. A light minty breath kissed my cheek in a steady rhythm I remembered with Clare asleep in my arms. Content, I lay relaxed.
I felt pressure along my body, strands of hair in my face, and the smell of Clare. A lovely dream. I reached up, and ran my hand over her body. Pain coursed through my chest as she jerked up. Pain. I was alive.
"She's awake!" Clare shouted. Kisses rained down on me: cheeks, eyes, forehead, nose, chin, and lips. It was worth the pain. When I looked around, actually around Clare's head, I saw Witton standing at the foot of the bed and Sam the Panther sitting in a chair off to the left. He nodded when my eyes caught his.
"Witton wanted to make sure you didn't shoot one of the nurses," he grinned. Witton didn't know what happened and was being cautious having Sam sitting guard.
"Lynn, how did you let a high school kid get the drop on you? And-" Clare ran towards him.
