Sins of the Father

by Melissa Barker-Simpson

  “What are you thinking about?” he asked, as they walked the maze of radio central.

  “I was actually thinking about how noble you looked in there. Like one of the Queen’s Guards. The ones people spend hours trying to provoke just so they get a reaction.

  He laughed, glancing across at her. “I have a friend in one of the Foot Guard regiments. I guess I, we, just adapt to the environment we’re in.”

  She waved the comment away. “I get all that. It’s your job to blend in, to be alert. But it’s also true that bodyguards are stereotyped as much as the next guy, and sometimes you fit the mould like it was made for you alone. You can be very intense.”

  The smile he threw in her direction had her heart rolling in her chest. He had a great smile. Oddly, there were times when it felt like a gift.

  “There’s a reason people call me big man, and it has no relation to a teddy bear!”

  “I can’t imagine anyone thinking you earned the name for that reason.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she wished them back. She wanted to be angry when he laughed softly at her, but she couldn’t. “You know what I mean,” she mumbled. It made Brad laugh harder still.

  “Yeah, I caught the interview. If only someone had told me I could have skipped the training.”

  She felt her cheeks heat. “Sorry about that. I was being facetious.”

  “You were funny. I enjoyed the interview, especially being objectified by you.”

  That got her attention – he was teasing her, which was, as far as she could remember, a first. To tame the excited dancing bugs in her belly she changed the subject.

  “Okay, I deserved that. So tell me how you earned the nickname?”

  Brad sobered so quickly, she almost wished she hadn’t asked. “I gained a reputation early in my career. If there was a job no one wanted, they would send in ‘the big man’. It kind of stuck.”

  “Why did you leave? I always presumed that once a marine, always a marine.”

  “That’s true enough. It’s a way of life; a family. I’m fortunate that I still have that.”

  “But you risked losing it when you left.”

  “Not really. The guys I served with will always be my brothers. But the internal politics became too much and I was beginning to forget why we were there in the first place.”

  “Is that why Kelvin left too?”

  “Kelvin’s story is a little different, but it boils down to the same thing. It wasn’t a good time – we nearly lost him.”

  “I’m sorry,” Alicia said, and meant it. On the outside, Kelvin looked like the kind of man at peace with himself and the rest of the world. She obviously hadn’t looked closely enough.

  “He’s okay, and we’re both doing what we love. We don’t know how to do anything else.”

  “Lucky me.”

  Her words embarrassed him a little. She couldn’t say how, but she knew he was feeling vulnerable after sharing a part of himself he usually kept hidden.

  “Seriously, I may have joked about it to get a cheap laugh. But I felt safe today in a way that had everything to do with my faith in your abilities.”

  He was distracted for only a moment as he escorted her to the waiting car. “It means a lot to have your trust.”

  Alicia wanted to say more but it wasn’t the time. She sat in contemplative silence as Justin filled the air with talk of the show.

  As soon as they pulled back into the studios, she saw Sarah marching towards the car; the same laptop from earlier was clutched under her arm.

  Justin did the honours and wound down the window, but Sarah wasn’t interested in pleasantries. She was a woman on a mission.

  “I’ve had Dad on the phone every half hour, and this moron insisted on bugging the hell out of me until you got back.”

  Alicia took the laptop that Sarah was forcing through the window and smiled at the faces Josh was pulling when he thought she wasn’t looking.

  “Sorry, I meant to call you. I was going to.”

  “Yeah, yeah – I’ve heard it all before.” He turned to someone off camera. It gave her time to mouth an apology to a still irate Sarah.

  “I heard the radio interview. You did good, kid.”

  “Is that because you were mentioned or because you’re genuinely impressed?” Sarah asked, making him howl with delight.

  Brad and Justin tried to blend into the jeeps interior as the three friends threw insults at each other, all in the name of affection.

  It didn’t look like Alicia was going to move anytime soon so Brad relaxed back against his seat and tried not to get dragged into their discussion.

  “You never got a chance to tell everyone about our postal fun and games,” Josh said, wiping the humour from his eyes.

  “I got side-tracked.”

  “Maybe it’s a good thing. The comfort packages you send one another are only funny to the two of you.” Sarah leant further into the car. “Now beat it so we can all get some work done around here.”

  “Okay. Call me later,” Josh said, without much emphasis.

  “I will.”

  Before she’d even had time to say goodbye, Sarah had exchanged the laptop for a Smartphone. “I picked this up personally so it hasn’t been tampered with. Use it.”

  Alicia moved to kiss her cheek before she could duck back out. “Thanks. I’ll call Greg right now. I postponed my visit to Jack because he’s resting. He had a bad night.”

  A worry frown sprang up on Sarah’s forehead. “Is there a problem?”

  “No, Becks said he’s overdoing things because he’s anxious to get back on his feet. I’ll drop by later and do the sisterly thing.”

  As Sarah pulled the door open, Brad signalled to his colleagues – they were on the move.

  “Okay then, let’s get you fed and watered before your appointment with hair and makeup.”

  Justin gave a salute and watched Brad trying to stretch out his limbs as he followed closely behind Alicia.

  It was a distraction technique because his instincts had kicked in the moment he’d alighted from the car. They were being watched, he was sure of it. He just had to figure out his next move.

  Chapter 14

  Paul Meeks sat in his car watching the action. He knew they would soon realise the dialect coach, Thomas Morley, was fake. That particular character had taken the longest to set-up. He’d created a false agency, some bogus recommendations and spent the entire week with a whiny American actress, just so the production company trusted him enough to work on the movie.

  The industry’s finest dialect coach – the best according to most sources - had conveniently taken a leave of absence. Before sealing his fate, he’d persuaded Nicholas Tomlinson to write him a letter of the highest recommendation.

  Being Thomas Morley required a lot of energy. He spent hours on the makeup required for such a part, and made sure he never looked anyone in the eye for a prolonged period. He was the shy artist, the eccentric son of a whole generation of actors.

  Now it was time for Thomas Morley to meet a timely end. Paul needed to get Alicia away from Lundwood Studios and that meant sacrificing one of his finest characters. He had to choose his timing carefully. Morley was a respected part of the team. If he wasn’t whispering into the actor’s ear to make sure they had the accent just right, he was editing and advising on script issues.

  He would normally enjoy that particular function, but too much was at stake and the security team were on the ball. They were beginning to dig a little deeper into his past – before long they would find holes in his back-story.

  Paul looked at his watch. He was looking forward to wiping that smug look off Alicia’s face. The marine had caused him a bit of trouble so far, but he wouldn’t be able to stop him today. He intended to time it so that, regardless of his reaction time, he wouldn’t be able to step in until it was too late.

  ***

  Alicia sighed heavily as she wiped stray tendrils of hair from her face. Stuart was irritable and dissa
tisfied with every shoot. She was growing weary driving around in circles. The external tank was an impressive resource. They had used it for most of the afternoon and were now utilising the lake that backed onto the studio.

  She looked across at Brad who was circling in another boat. He wasn’t happy about the setup - that much was obvious. His two colleagues, Frank and Alvin, were on opposite sides of the bank, observing quietly.

  Despite his views on the subject, he looked perfectly at ease on the water. He was wearing khaki pants and a matching t-shirt – very much the action hero. She blinked in surprise when their eyes met; there was a new intensity in the dark depths, something akin to fear. It was hard to interpret.

  “Let’s go again,” Doug screamed, sounding as frustrated as she felt.

  They were filming close ups – reaction shots which would form part of a water pursuit.

  The studio owned the lake, but it wasn’t exclusive. The biggest portion was sectioned off from the public, but they had a generous area for their own leisure pursuits. It was the main reason for Brad’s objection to his positioning. He wanted to be in the same boat, almost insisted on it, but she’d managed to talk him down.

  “ACTION,” Stuart called, and Alicia immediately stepped into character.

  She gave it everything she had, until he was finally satisfied. It was a relief when he beckoned them ashore. Their well-earned break was almost upon them.

  Chase Masters, a member of the water sports association, took the wheel. He looped around and headed towards the specially built jetty. As he opened the throttle, neither of them noticed one of the other boats change trajectory. Even if they had, they had no way of knowing the driver’s intentions.

  It wasn’t until Brad called out that Alicia realised what was happening. Chase turned the wheel to divert their course. He was a skilled driver but he was too late to avoid a collision. The impact was sudden and powerful; one minute Alicia was standing beside Chase, and the next she was airborne. She flew over the side of the boat, towards the water below. Her body fell awkwardly, and although she was in the air only seconds, it felt like an eternity. The cracking sound frightened her - she couldn’t understand what it was or why everything had turned white. It was as if someone had shut off the picture. An odd thought, and her last before the darkness engulfed her.

  Brad was in the water a second before the two boats collided. He saw the moment Alicia went overboard, feeling rather than hearing the crack her skull made when she hit the other craft on her way down. A cold chill rushed over him, the impact had tossed her like a ragdoll – he couldn’t get the image out of his head.

  He cut through the water, intent on getting to Alicia. At the same time, he saw Frank and Alvin heading towards the action, hell bent on catching Thomas Morley before he could escape. The moment Brad spotted him in the other boat he knew something was wrong. He’d ordered his colleagues to be on full alert, even though he couldn’t prove what was in his gut. There was no logical reason for Morley to be on the water, whatever excuse he used. Something about the man screamed fraud.

  He saw Chase dive under the water to the left of the wreckage, and recognised Theo when he brought him back up. Morley was climbing over the dam wall that separated one part of the lake from the public domain. Another boat had entered the water. It was hurtling towards them as Brad reached the point where Alicia fell.

  Before he dove under, he heard Chase calling to the colleague steering Brad’s craft. Their co-worker was missing. He’d been with Morley and Theo. Chase couldn’t go back under the water because he was already supporting an injured Theo.

  Brad didn’t miss the blood already seeping down the kid’s face. But he couldn’t think about that, not yet. His priority was Alicia. He turned left and right, struggling to see, even with the torch strapped to his belt. In his mind, he was trying to calculate Alicia’s route, but he was running out of oxygen.

  As he broke the surface to take a huge lungful of air, his heart hammered against his chest; it had nothing to do with shortness of breath. He dived again, frantic now; he couldn’t understand why he couldn’t see her. As he turned, he felt something brush against his fingertips and he grabbed onto it, without really thinking about what it was. Luckily, his hand curled around an arm. When he saw Alicia’s small frame, he pulled her to him and rushed back up for air, relief flooding over him with the water from the lake.

  The rescue craft was ready and waiting to bring Alicia aboard. He pulled himself up and dropped down beside her, checking for vitals. She wasn’t breathing, so he worked with the onboard paramedic to resuscitate her.

  Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty...breathe, Alicia, just breathe. It wasn’t until he heard her gasp for air and felt her body convulse under his hand, that he realised he’d been holding his own breath. There was a chorus of cheers from across the lake, which somehow summed up what was in his heart – they were celebrating some kind of gala, he was just happy Alicia was alive. He sat back to let the paramedic do his job, glancing towards the party on the other side.

  Morley must have known about the event or he would never have risked his suicide mission. The fact that he was one-step ahead of them didn’t bother him as much as knowing they had missed a vital piece of information. He should have known about the gala. If he had, the extra security would have prevented Morley from carrying out his plan.

  He helped lift Alicia from the boat when they arrived back to shore. Her lack of colour and response concerned him. It made him angry, and with each step towards the ambulance, his anger grew; it reared up and turned his cool skin red hot. His face became a frightening mask, which is what Frank saw when he approached, his clothes dripping wet.

  “Did you get him?”

  “He got away, sir. We lost him in the crowd.”

  “But we found this,” Alvin chipped in, holding up a wig and what looked like part of a face.

  “Goddamn, he’s a slippery son of a bitch.” Brad looked towards the waiting ambulance. “Follow me to the hospital and we’ll debrief there.”

  He stepped forward without waiting for a response and climbed in beside Alicia – he wasn’t going to leave her side. For a brief moment, the fear that had clutched his heart when he saw her plunge into the water came back. The feeling was stronger than it should have been because he couldn’t imagine a world without her in it. It scared him to death.

  To refocus he played the scene in his head; looking at it from a professional standpoint instead of an emotional one. He realised something immediately; Thomas Morley had blown his cover for a reason. He wanted Alicia off the project and away from the studio. The son of a bitch would get his wish, but he had underestimated the team protecting her, and now he would find out exactly what happened to people who took him on.

  Chapter 15

  Alicia struggled towards the sound – someone was calling her name. The answer on her lips wouldn’t form. Her eyelids were dipped in lead; that had to be why she couldn’t open them. The voice was louder now, clearer, so she continued to work at it and regretted her attempts as soon as the light invaded her comforting darkness. The pain was intense; she shrank away from it, trying to focus on the images that swam in front of her eyes. The first face she saw was Brad’s. He looked different, more vulnerable somehow.

  “Alicia. Welcome back.” His voice was a soft whisper.

  She tried to smile, but it was a weak attempt. “Hi,” she croaked, horrified at the sound.

  “How’re you feeling?”

  “Sore!” Her voice sounded a little stronger now.

  “Sorry. I’m rehearsing the top-ten list of worst possible questions to ask a patient.”

  “It’s better than, ‘You look like hell’.” Alicia touched the bandage around her head tentatively. “So, what’s the verdict?”

  “You look like hell.” Brad grinned when she rolled her eyes. “The doctor said you’ll be fine. They’re keeping you overnight… for observation.”

  “That’s an interesting way of
saying they’re worried I might have dislodged something up there. What about Chase?”

  “He’s fine. He was lucky. Theo on the other hand is in a bad way. I’m sorry.”

  Alicia closed her eyes again, tempted to give in to the darkness. She was struggling to remember the details.

  “It’s about time you woke up, sleepy head,” Jack said from the doorway.

  “Hi, Jack.” Alicia tried to turn but it hurt too much.

  “I should have known you’d worm your way in here,” he added, making his way over to the bed.

  “I couldn’t let you steal all the limelight.” She caught a glimpse of Kel waving at her through the glass.

  “He wants to talk to you,” Jack said, looking at Brad. “Don’t worry, she’s in good hands.”

  “I have no doubt about that.” Brad stood and looked down at Alicia. “I’ll be back soon.”

  She smiled again in response, not daring to try out a nod in case she did permanent damage.

  “Rumour has it he hasn’t left your side since you arrived,” Jack whispered when Brad left the room.

  “That’s his job.”

  “What, sitting vigil by your bed? Whatever, I’m just grateful to him for saving your life…no, don’t say it, I know, it’s his job.”

  “Do I need to be involved in this conversation? If not I’m going to sleep.”

  Jack pulled a face at her. “I see you didn’t break your sense of humour.”

  She took the hand he offered and squeezed. “I think Thomas Morley tried to kill me.”

  “I know. They’ve been trying to find him. He disappeared at the scene.” She felt him shudder.

  “At least we know who we’re looking for now.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” Brad said from the doorway. He looked pained by what he was about to tell her.

  “Kel has been liaising with Detective Potts and it’s not good. They did a little digging and discovered that your mystery stalker was bribing a delivery guy to leave the messages. Potts traced the bomb threat to his phone too.”