The Next Generation: Saving Her Bodyguard (Book 1)

Chapter 10

~Christa~

Christa “Okay, fine, so drugs and prostitution and big bodyguards who throw you out of clubs. Noted. But I still don’t see the war zone you are referring to. You just bust a club like that and close it down.”

My squad screams "YAY" in support.

Cappie “That is where you are mistaken. The mistress is owned by Cat, short for nothing. Someone once made the mistake of asking her if it was short for Catherine and her… Let’s just say he is missing an important body part.”

Tank starts handing out files, when I open it, a woman in her late forties is staring back at me. She looks right at the camera and is smiling while she climbs into a black city car.

Freddie “She looked like she knew she was under surveillance.”

Tank “She did at that stage. The agent that took the photographs was found dead in a dumpster two days after his camera arrived in a package addressed to his station commander. A note inside the box gave the address of where to find the body.”

Miller “Why wasn’t she arrested on the spot?”

Cappie “No evidence. Nada, nothing that points to her committing or conspiring to commit the murder. When she took over the business from her husband, everything became an entirely new ball game. She is crueler, more conniving, and better than anyone we have ever come across at hiding her tracks. She has people working for her that are tech-savvy. But don’t let her expensive suits, long nails and high heels fool you. She is trained in demolition; she ran her own black ops team before she met… In fact, that’s how she met her husband. She speaks several languages and her second specialty is her tech skills.”

Freddie “Wow, she really is a bada*s!”

Cappie looks at him with concern.

Cappie “She is not on the list to be one of your pinup girls’ cadets!”

He presses play on the video again.

Journalist “It’s early morning, and the smell is thick with fog around this part of the city.”

The camera pans out to an old abandoned building where some windows had been smashed out, but clothes were hanging out of some of them, so people were living there.

Journalist “Our press liaison told us that this building is earmarked for demolition later today, and the residents will receive their final warning to vacate. Should they not leave, they will be forced out by the police.”

The camera pans out to an entrance where people can be heard screaming at the officers while they are being helped out of the building. What do they think? If they stay, the building won’t be demolished.

Journalist “It looks cruel and unjust, but the building has been declared unsafe to live in. We have been granted access for a little while to show our viewers why it is going to be torn down.”

The journalist walks up to the door and is escorted by officers for his safety under volatile circumstances.

Journalist “Besides the fact that the lights aren’t working and only the officer’s flashlights and the camera light show the derelict condition of the place, you can see that there is trash everywhere. The elevators haven’t worked in years from the look of it. The button console is non-existing as a matter of fact.”

He points out.

Journalist “I understand why we are only allowed a couple of minutes. The smell is unbearable, and I can’t think that anyone would want to live here out of their own free will.”

They walk up a set of stairs and the camera focuses on the graffiti on the walls showing gang signs and one or two distasteful pictures of the human anatomy for the lack of a better description.

They walk past an apartment where the front door is a beaded entrance.

Journalist “This is the office of their local doctor.”

The camera is lifted to above the door frame where the word “dokter” is written in red paint.

Journalist “We are now going to walk into what the average living space would be. This is an apartment that is rented out to these people. One of the reasons why they are refusing to leave.”

The police bust opens the door, and we are faced with what looks like three or possibly four families in the living room area, all sleeping on the floor. Children are playing in a room where there are no windows. Even the window frames are missing. It’s mostly just the outer frame that is left.

Journalist “Did you rent the place without the windows?”

He asks one of the women sitting in a corner feeding her baby. She looks scared to death when he sits on his hind legs talking to her with the camera in her face, deciding not to answer him and concentrate on feeding her baby.

Journalist “Either she isn’t from around here and doesn’t understand us, or she is refusing to talk.”

He walks through to one of the bedrooms where it’s a similar thing.

Journalist “We are being told it’s time to go. They are getting ready to move in and clear out the building. We will carry on recording outside.”

I take it they didn’t edit that part out of their story…

The camera is still running on their way out, showing faces of dirty kids, holding onto the hands of their mothers, unaware of what they are going to face, the next minute or two, or where they are going to stay tonight.

The scene as the journalist walks out of the building almost looks worse. In a matter of minutes, a crowd of people had gathered outside and were chanting songs in a language I can’t make out. I hear a shot fired and the journalist and camera person duck and run for cover.

Dust is flying up as you hear people screaming and others keep on chanting. The camera moves out from behind the media vehicle back to focus on the front door and is a bit of a distance away but not completely out of the firing line. Capturing the images as the protesters push against the police and the police push back, tempers are running high and fueled even more by the removal of the people from the building.

These people are loaded onto busses and taken away.

Journalist “They will be taken to the immigration department to check if they have the proper documentation. If they don’t, they will be deported.”

The camera was still focusing on the protest when shots were fired again, and the crowd started throwing rocks at the police.

Journalist “The shots you are hearing are rubber bullets. They are meant to scare and not hurt, but from what we heard in the previous segment when talking to some of these protesters. The bullets have caused more damage than they are worth it.”

The next moment a fire flares up and you hear someone screaming and chaos breaks out. An officer comes running out of the crowd, and he is on fire! His buddies are trying to put the fire out around him!

While the camera person is busy shooting the footage, you hear someone saying “UH,” then the camera loses focus and drops to the floor. The journalist shouts and officers come running. The footage cuts short and Cappie switches off the video.

Cappie “As you can all see, the cameraman didn’t make it to the final edit of the documentary. The journalist decided to leave it like that in honor of the cameraman, or that’s what he says. He was put into protective custody right after that because it was a professional hit and probably meant for him.”

I sit there and take a deep breath.

Christa “Cappie, permission to speak freely?

Cappie looks at me then gives me a nod.

Christa “I think we all need a drink after that, and maybe just tonight to think about this.”

I get up and look at my squad.

Christa “Look, guys, we knew when we joined that we would be in the thick of it. Maybe not this thick, but we all joined because we were looking to serve and protect our citizens. I know I need a couple of hours to digest what I’ve just seen, and it’s not because I’m a girl. So, if you are willing to face that under my command, meet me at the training grounds tomorrow morning at three am. Our colleagues need us, but they will need us to work as one squad. Thank you, Cappie. I will give you my decision in an hour.”

I nod at him. Tank dismisses us without further formalities.

~Cappie~

Cappie “What do you think? Are we going to have an entire class drop out for the first time in history?”

He smiles at me.

Tank “I don’t know, Cap, she might just surprise you. Her dad is an army man. After their second pass weekend, she came back with stitches in her hand and carried that pole like a pro. That girl is tougher than she looks.”

Cappie “That’s not what I’m worried about.”

Tank “Yeah, I know. That is exactly what is going to get her into trouble. She is going to think she is invincible. That is what I am worried about.”

Cappie “I’m worried that this lot aren’t as tough as she is, and she will be standing on that damn training ground alone at three o’clock tomorrow morning!”

He laughs at me, and I roll my eyes at him. We have been working together for many years and have been friends for many more. He knew exactly what I was thinking, but was just pulling my leg.

Cappie “Tank, I really wish I could get them out of this assignment. There are way more qualified people they can use for this.”

Tank “None of them are as trained as this squad of yours, Cappie. There is just something about these guys from the first day they walked in that made them stand out and the brass noticed. You can’t do anything about that. You know that their destinies were planned out long before they even joined up.”

Cappie “And you know that I don’t believe in that sh!t! Come on. I think I need that drink Bradley mentioned.”

I sigh and we walk to my office, finding her waiting outside my door. It hadn’t even been fifteen minutes yet.

Cappie “Bradley? Are you ready to run yet that you decided so fast?”

I unlock the door and tell her to come in.

Christa “No, Sir. I couldn’t find anything strong enough to drink, so I called my father. He is the best drink I know. I’ve made my decision, Sir. I will be there tomorrow morning, Sir. I accept the assignment.”

I look at Tank, and he raises his eyebrow at me with a smile in the corner of his mouth. His I told you so face.

Cappie “Take a seat, Bradley. I need to find out what this father of yours said that you made such a big decision so fast.”

Grabbing three glasses from my cupboard, I pour each of us a glass of whiskey on the rocks and hand one to her before sitting down. In true army brat style, she waits for me to sit down before taking her seat.

A lot of her previous actions make more sense.

Christa “Sir, since I was a little girl, I wanted to protect those who could not protect themselves. All through my teens I watched every movie or series about crime-solving and was convinced I would be able to commit the perfect murder and solve it without anyone’s help.”

Tank “Bradley? That makes no sense at all.”

She bursts out laughing.

Christa “Most of my teen years didn’t make much sense. The one thing that did was that I wanted to be in law enforcement. The part my dad reminded me about is the enforcement part of the law. Sometimes you protect, but you also have to enforce, and if that is what is required of me, then that is what I will do. I’ve never wanted to be anything else. I never played with dolls or had tea parties. My dad took me to the gun range so I could practice. I didn’t have princess birthday parties, I had cops and robber parties, and most of my friends refused to be robbers!”

Tank bursts out laughing this time.

Christa “It’s in my blood. It’s who I am. I won’t be able to go home and try to do something else.”

I look at this pretty girl sitting in front of me that can become the next big-time model if she wanted to, telling me she is ready to face what I just showed her.

Cappie “Okay.”

I sigh.

Cappie “But then you do what we train you to do. Keep your head down until you know the streets. Don’t rush in until you know you can handle the situation. And remember, Tank, I will always be here if you need help or guidance.”

She nods, and Tank raises his glass just as her two rug rats walk in.

Cappie “Here’s to Bad*ss.”