Edward (3 page)

Three days.  Three dreadfully long
and boring days.   Nothing but policy and
procedures.   How to interact with the local
law enforcement, where they did and did not have the authority to work. 
Edward had a hard time sleeping at night, he was doing far too much of it in
the day.  But it all was for their benefit.  They had asked for, and
the governor had granted them, limited authority to investigate the actions
against his daughter, Tatiana.   At first they had expected a lot of
push back from the local police, but it was soon apparent that they were glad
to dump the responsibility off on someone else.  Between the news coverage
and the governor breathing down their necks, they were happy to have off
worlders take over.  Okay, 'happy' was a strong
word, but definitely relieved.   They were at half strength, only
twenty five of the team were available.  They
still kept the moniker of the 517
^th
, but Edward actually missed the
other half of the team.  Fifteen Shukurae, five humans
and five Taik.  Not much of a team for a normal operation, but it
was
just
a guard detail after all.  Tomorrow they were taking
over.  Finally!  As the day's meetings finally dragged to a close,
the realization of going live finally started to take hold.  Giddy, school
boy anticipation started to kick in as they left the conference that final day.

Trevor, one of the Lowland Taik, and the one who was going
to be the direct liaison with the local police, caught up with Edward as the
meeting broke up, “Are you sure you are okay being the point body guard for
her?  I know you have awesome reflexes, but you are definitely going to be
a sitting duck.”

“My look and accent are way too
far off base for me to work as the undercover type.   No one would
believe I was a local.  Besides, like I said back on the ship, it does
sound like the fun part of the job.”

“Okay, but if you change your mind, just
yell and we can cycle people through your spot.”

“I got you on the local's cameras, Jake and Paul on the
rooftops, Kestrel ready to roll in as bomb tech on a moment's notice, Kadu as
my own personal crowd plow and all the rest of the team less than thirty
seconds out.  I'm good, seriously.”

"I do wish we could keep more of the Shukurae out
front and center.  They do a good job of keeping people in line."

"Yeah, but Tatiana runs rock shows not freak shows, so
Shukurae wouldn't play well with the spectators.  I do understand that for
the actual big concerts that they are going to be far easier to embed."

"I really hope so; ever worked a crowd of thirty
thousand?  It's a mess even if people are on their best behavior."

"I'll take your word for it," laughed
Edward.  "That is one reason for being a point guard for her, I don't have to worry about organizing all that. 
I let you handle that and I just make sure no one hands her a set of roses that
ticks!"

"Yeah, but you have to deal with the diva."

"How bad can she be?"

Trevor laughed, "Very!"

The next morning, Edward found himself on the way to meet
Tatiana for the first time.  She was going to be heading out to a simple
interview downtown.  Their first big event wasn't for several weeks, but
Edward's first job was to figure out how to be her shadow without getting in
her way.  He smiled as he waved his pass in front of the security door at
the front of the massive hotel.   He knew that Jake was already
across the street and twelve stories up watching the whole place with a high
power rifle beside him.  Across the street were four armed and armored
Shukurae ready to shadow them when they left the building.  It was day
one, but it felt like old times.  The joy of working with people you had
known for a year.

Edward passed through the hotel security screening portal
without setting off even a simple "beep."   He approached
the elevator and pressed the call button as a service attendant came out to
meet him.

"That is a private elevator, sir."

"I should hope so," Edward flashed his ID,
"Edward Silverglade of Tatiana's new security detail."

"Shouldn't you have a sidearm to declare?"

Edward flashed an evil grin as the doors started to close,
"No, I'm fine.  Thank you."

The attendant did not actually check his face to the
photo.  Bad form.  That was going to have to
change.  The private elevator could not be seen by the second sniper across
the street.  They were going to need a covert camera to help fill the
gap.  Sloppy. 

Edward stepped out to the atrium of the penthouse to only
mild bedlam.   No furniture or plants were being thrown.  No
signs of the level of insanity that Trevor had teased him about.  It was
all quite calm.  Well calm for a war zone.  There were three
attendants screaming at each other while the local hotel security stood by the
door and ignored them the best he could.   Edward flashed his ID to
the rent-a-cop.  Hey!  He actually checked the picture.  That
was a start.   Edward quickly surveyed the three and their high
octane conversation.  He could place all three as employees based on his
earlier briefing.  Gillian was who he was looking for, Tatiana's 'handler'
as it were.  She kept the appointment books and was the administrative
brains behind the operation.  She wasn't among these three so he pressed
on to the door to the penthouse proper.

"You can't go in there," one of them suddenly
barked in his direction.

He flashed another toothy grin, "False."  He
swept his pass across the door lock and it opened with a click.  He
quickly stepped into the apartment and closed the door briskly behind
him.  It was a lovely place.  Large and elegant
without being gaudy.  At least someone had taste.  The main
room was occupied by Tatiana pacing back and forth while Gillian ran down the
day's schedule.   Edward slipped into the shadows of a corner of the
room and let his fur shift in hue to match the walls.  He hadn't been
observed at all.  Perfect.  Not that he was to be a spy, but his goal
was to interfere as little as possible and not being noticed fit the bill quite
well.

Edward stood there and watched the two.  Gillian was
probably in her mid to late thirties, sharply dressed and very professional in
her manner and organization, that was obvious.  Tatiana was eighteen  according to the files and had been in the music
business since she was fifteen.  She looked dazed and frazzled, much like
someone that had just awakened.  She showed none of the tell-tale signs of
substance abuse, that was good.  Just too little sleep.  She was a striking girl. 
Very!  She had a beautiful orange coat with black rosettes and a white
stripe down her chin.  She looked like a sleek, if not sleepy, jaguar
standing there with long white hair.  He wasn't sure if that was her
hair’s natural color, but it did look good on her.   Heck, a rock
would look good standing next to her.  She was easily as pretty as the
others in the unit had heckled him about.  Suddenly the conversation
shifted.

"Where is the new person they were going to send for
security?  He was supposed to be here ten minutes ago," snapped
Gillian as she checked the time.  "We need to be heading out
soon."

"Present, ma'am," replied Edward as his fur coat
shifted to its normal sandy tones with black highlights.

Tatiana screamed and almost fell out of her
nightgown.  Yep, quite attractive.

Gillian stifled a laugh, "That was most impressive,
but we don't need your theatrics."

"I was told to blend in and just be her shadow."

"How did you get past those three outside," asked
Tatiana as she started to regain her composure.

"I walked past them.  They seemed preoccupied
with yelling at each other."

"Isn't this where you guard types try to snuggle up
close to my client, flex your muscles and show off whatever hand canon you are
carrying?"  asked Gillian more than a little
impressed.

"I'm not sure what that would serve, and I don't carry
a sidearm."

Tatiana looked at him more than a little annoyed, "You
don't carry a gun?  How do you expect to protect me?   Glare
menacingly?"

 With a bit of a showy flourish Edward winked a
longsword into his hand, and with blue sparks still springing from the blade,
neatly cut down a bouquet of roses, leaving a single rose intact.  With a
similarly showy spin he winked the blade out of existence in a second shower of
blue sparks.  "I do get by, ma'am."  He plucked the
unmolested rose from the vase and handed it to Tatiana.

Her eyes glowed brightly as she took the rose from Edward
and grinned at him with a becoming school girl grin.  "Um, thank
you.  That was actually quite impressive.  You are a Highlander from
Afon aren't you?"

"You are welcome.  Yes ma'am, I am an old world
Highlander.  Edward Silverglade.  At your
service."

Tatiana's fur fluffed as she giggled lightly.  "I
like him better than those police guys already."

"I bet you do," replied Gillian with a terse
smile.  Suddenly her face melted, "You said Edward
Silverglade.   Were you related to David Silverglade?"

"Yes, ma'am.  He was one of my older brothers."

"My condolences on your loss.  My younger sister owes her life to him and his
unit.  He will be missed."  Gillian's voice was professional and
sincere, Edward appreciated that.

"Thank you, ma'am.  We all miss him."

"I'm Gillian, Tatiana's personal secretary, agent and
whatever else is needed."  She politely shook hands with
Edward.  "Please, do just call me Gillian.  ‘Ma'am’ makes me
feel old."

"As you request," replied Edward with a polite
nod.

"I'm Tatiana, but I guess you already knew that,"
she grinned as she shook his hand.

"Delighted to meet you, too.  What is your preferred form of address?"

"What?  Oh!  Just call me Tatiana. 
Everyone does anyway!"  she hadn't taken her
eyes off of Edward once.

"Okay, girl.  Go get dressed,” lectured Gillian. “Security is here
and we have a tight schedule this morning.  The afternoon is open for
pleasantries."

Tatiana nodded as she turned and headed across the living
room.  With her back to Edward, she let her nightgown fall to the floor as
she walked into the bedroom.

Edward did his best to maintain his composure.  This
job was either going to be fantastic or a horrible nightmare.

The trio of attendants descended into the room from the elevator
landing and set upon Tatiana, dressing her, grooming her, tending to her hair,
claws, teeth even painting up her eyelashes.  Edward didn't know people
ever painted their eyelashes, but he was just a Highlander and she was a big
city rock star.  Whatever they all did, quickly defied Edward's
expectations: it was, in fact, possible for Tatiana to be even more
attractive.  Wow!  They knew what they were doing.   The
attendants were also snarky, snippy,  and bad
tempered drama queens.  Edward was suddenly curious if the bombings and
other attacks might actually be just the attendants trying to kill each
other.   They seemed vicious enough but they struck him as not
mentally tough enough to engage in that level of violence.  Maybe it was
time to review their background more.  That and their
significant others.  Edward was tickled, however, to find that they
seemed to be more than a little skittish around him.  They would take long
protracted paths to avoid coming too near him.

As the petty drama started to escalate, Edward could tell
Tatiana was becoming worse for wear.  Fortunately Gillian stepped in and
kept them under control, quickly subduing the trio until only simple snarky and
evil glares were left.   “Finish up, people.  You are behind
schedule.”  Much to Edward's relief, they were soon done and heading out
the door, just Gillian, Tatiana and Edward, leaving the three vipers to
themselves.

 The hotel guard nodded to the trio as they entered
the elevator landing.  Edward was the first on and first off the
elevator.  As they walked across the hotel lobby towards the outside,
Edward could already make out a small mob of fans waiting.   Nope, fans and protestors.  Several in the back were
carrying large signs with witty, and often misspelled
quips, berating her father, the governor.  Edward glared at the
protestors, it seemed petty to be using Tatiana's media exposure to try and
trumpet their causes.  If they had any decency, they'd be picketing in
front of the governor's office rather than feeding off of the local
circus.  Well, it would make his job easier at least.  Tatiana was
timid in the hall, following just behind Gillian, but as they hit the doors and
stepped outside, suddenly Tatiana sprang to life and was glowing.  She was
in the spotlight and she knew how to shine and was happy to let everyone know
it.  Edward was curious if it was an act, or if the calm little girl
hiding behind Gillian was an act.  Or was it just multiple sides to a very
complex personality?  It was day one.  There was a lot to learn.

The crowd pressed in close to her, but didn't actually
hinder her progress.  Edward stayed close and alert.  It wasn't the
fans that bothered him, it was the protestors.  Something didn't feel
right.   Ah!  There was Kadu in the back of the crowd. 
Perfect.  She was wearing only light armor, far more subtle than her
normal assault rig, but she still had the carrying straps on the back for
Edward, if he needed a lift.   Kadu calmly and smoothly, nay! elegantly moved along the back of the crowd.  He had
never seen her so calm, non-threatening.  She was doing an excellent
job.  She always did. 

Suddenly something caught Kadu's attention in the back of
the crowd, Edward reflexively drew himself closer to
Tatiana.  Suddenly someone from the back of the crowd threw
something.  What was it, was it going to hit the client?  Edward's
mind raced in practiced form and he suddenly scooped Tatiana around the waist
and spun her, much like they were dancing.  He tucked her head in the
middle of the spin and then set the surprised, but not shocked, girl square on
her feet while a large glass bottle smashed harmlessly against the wall. 
Edward quickly scanned the crowd again just in time to see Kadu spinning the
assailant around and driving him to the ground, with his arms already bound
behind him.

The crowd skittered a bit at the brief excitement and then
quickly pressed in against Tatiana as if nothing had happened.  To her
credit, Tatiana was completely unfazed, just another day in the
limelight.  Edward, however, was relieved when they finally made it to the
door of the waiting car.  Edward held the door for the pair and then
quickly joined them, closing the door behind him.

“Staff rides up front,” barked the chauffeur.

“I'm not staff, I'm security,” he replied showing his
teeth.

The chauffeur looked to Gillian.  She nodded her
approval and they were soon gliding down the street in the most elegant vehicle
Edward had ever been in.

“You were very quick on your toes and elegant in how you
handled the little problem.  Just about any other bodyguard would have
slammed my client to the ground,” remarked Gillian.

“You went through all that effort to clean and prep her
hair and clothes, I would have hated to have gotten them dirty,” replied Edward
with a smile.

Gillian smiled broadly, “Yes, yes.  I think you will
do nicely!  But how about the rest of your team?  
Day to day activity I get the impression you all can handle quite
well.   It is the concerts themselves that I have worries. 
There are a whole lot of people and it does become a bit of a madhouse once the
crowd was been whipped into a frenzy.” 

“Trevor, who is also the police liaison, used to work for
the Altshea government’s DSS.  He was...”

“Pardon me,” interrupted Gillian, “the DSS?”

“Pardon me for the jargon.  DSS—Diplomatic
Security Service.  His last job was coordinating the security for
large diplomatic functions.  Hundreds of people at a reception or ball and
half of them hating the other half.  All nice and smiles while they uttered veiled threats at each
other.”

“Indeed.  You do seem to have quite a group.  And the Shukurae that apprehended the heckler?  I was
impressed that he managed to not stick out of the crowd very much. 
Especially considering how tall he was.”

Heckler, Edward would have used a stronger word. 
“That is Kadu,
she
is my partner.  The lady has amazing situational
awareness and intuition.”  

“My apologies to the lady; I do find it hard to tell their
gender apart.  Your partner you said?  I figure you would have been
teamed with another Taik.”

“No, ma'am.  The unit is first and foremost a Shukurae
unit.  We support them.”

“You did it again,” Gillian scolded with a smile.

Edward's mind raced.  Oh!  “Sorry,
Gillian
.”

Gillian smiled back at him approvingly, “So, Tatiana, what
do you think of the new security team.”

She giggled a bit, “Much cuter than the last.”

Edward smiled back and fought to keep his fur from rippling
in color.  This was going to be a long day.

The first interview led to a second, and then a
third.  It was a whirlwind morning, fortunately
all of it was happening within one block.  One studio to the next, one set
of giant smiles for the camera and hosts; it seemed like it should be
exhausting for Tatiana, but instead she seemed more alive and awake after each
one.  The girl seemed to eat up the limelight like it was going out of
style.  Always in the distance was Kadu, at the very least.  Others
from the unit came and went as well.  Finally things started to wind down
and lunch was the new pressing topic.  Edward made his way over to Kadu as
Gillian ran through Tatiana's schedule again.

“Is Gigi going to be available at lunch?  They are
talking about a restaurant that is a little more open than I care
for.”   Gigi, or Gigirena more correctly,
was a Lowland Taik from the Kulpgurie Republic.  She was short, even for
Taik standards, but was perfection in motion at unarmed hand-to-hand
combat. 

“Trevor anticipated your concerns and she had already been
deployed in an undercover mode,” replied Kadu.

“On the ball as always.”

“Yes, Trevor is quite efficient.  Interesting
that both you and he opted for Gigi not Alex.”

 “Alex is a Highlander like me, we stick out in a
crowd, not very good for undercover or casual.    If I
understood Trevor's plan from before, Alex was going to be my alternate or late
night replacement.”

“I still find it amusing that you say you appear to the
locals so different in style, dress and language than the others. 
Honestly, my ear cannot differentiate your accent at all.  You all sound
the same to the first approximation.”

“Well, to the first approximation, most Taik have a heck of
a time determining gender on Shukurae.”

“That is a fair, if not amusing, counterpoint.  Ah…
Client is on the move.”

Edward nodded and quickly rejoined the party as they headed
out of the studio and to the waiting elevator.  Once again, Edward was
first on and first off of the elevator, all the while Gillian and Tatiana
gabbed back and forth.  Gillian also seemed to serve as Tatiana's
confidant as well as manager and secretary.  Complaints and comments about
the interviews, her media outlook, the view she
presented for her fans, concerns that she was over the hill...   Good
night!  She was only eighteen and her music was still selling well, what
was she worried about?  Was she fishing for complements, or actually
worried?  Tatiana was a complicated girl. 

Their ride was waiting for them in the parking garage, far
easier to dodge the fans.  Tatiana was a little grumpy, she really enjoyed
working the crowds, but they were late for lunch and Gillian had a
schedule.  Soon they were zipping across town to the commercial
district.  Lots of banks and high power businesses. 
More importantly, very nice restaurants for the workers of said businesses.

They arrived at the chosen fare with little interruption.  
Edward exited first, followed by Gillian; he then helped Tatiana out the door
to the dismay of the chauffeur.  He didn't know if it was a union thing or
if the chauffeur was hunting for tips.  Edward could care less either way
as he became Tatiana's shadow.  As they entered, he let his fur darken a
bit to more easily blend in the dimly lit room.  Tatiana was here to meet
Charta, some local ridiculously overpaid sports figure and he was already
waiting at their assigned seat.  Edward held to the back as Gillian said
her polite hellos and goodbyes before seating herself
a few tables away.   Tatiana and Charta started gabbing almost
immediately, Edward took that as a good sign and started casing the room.

Less than four meters from the table was a large gruff
looking Taik.  He was easily the largest customer in the room, and while
not Shukurae large, he was big enough.  It wasn't his pure size that
bothered Edward, the man was wearing a sidearm under
his jacket.  That would not do.  Edward started to close when he
suddenly recognized the girl hanging off of the brute, it was Gigi.  Good
girl, already in place!  Gigi looked spectacular,
and young too.  Edward knew she was five, maybe six years older than himself, but as things were, Gigi looked barely
sixteen.  That made sense, appear as harmless as possible.  Edward
noticed Charta firing a glance at the man every so often.  Bodyguard or stalker?  Edward decided to press the
point with Gillian.

“Oh, the big guy, yeah, that is Charta's body guard. 
Well some of us have other guesses too, but that is a bit
gauche
I do
confess,” offered Gillian with a stifled laugh.

The man, bodyguard or otherwise, bothered Edward, but he
couldn't place why exactly.  If he was to be a regular feature in Tatiana's
life, they were going to check him out more carefully.

Edwards ears burnt as he caught part of Tatiana's conversation,
she was waxing eloquently about Edward to Charta.  Charta started off
taking it in stride, but soon it was obvious he was getting more than a little
upset.  Edward watched with curiosity, was Tatiana oblivious to her lunch
date's feelings, or was she just trying to force a response?  Suddenly the
tempo of the conversation took a turn for the worse as Charta started sniping
back and offered a variety of socially inappropriate terms in her
direction.  Suddenly he grabbed her wrist and Tatiana recoiled in
fear.  Show time!

Edward swooped in grabbing Charta's opposite arm and twisted
it behind him sending the unsuspecting Taik's head crashing to the table. 
Edward caught Gigi in motion out of the corner of his eye; the big guy was on
the floor, probably unconscious, and Gigi had already plucked his sidearm from
its holster and tossed it to Kadu who had been lurking far in the back. 
Charta let go of Tatiana's wrist almost immediately as Edward increased the
torque on his arm and shoulder joint.  Edward pushed him clear of the
table and quickly circled behind to Tatiana, “Shall we go now, miss?”

She nodded quickly and got up from the table.  Gillian
quickly aborted her lunch and joined her charge, “Are you okay dear?”

“Yes, just kind of frightened.”

Charta glared at Edward.  Edward smiled back, “When
your friend wakes up, you might wish to point out that he was floored by a girl
half his weight and easily three heads shorter.  He can reclaim his
sidearm at the police station tonight, providing he had a license for it in the
first place.  A 15mm Warwickshire Automatic, a little overkill don't you
think?”

“He was probably overcompensating for something,” murmured
Gillian.  “Come on, let's go.”

Edward turned his back on Charta as the three headed for
the door.  Three steps into the egress, his senses went wild and he deftly
dodged a roundhouse kick from the still furious Charta.  Edward turned and
faced his would-be attacker, “Please try that again!”

Charta instead fired a left hand jab square at Edward's
face.  Edward held his ground and rather than blocking or dodging the
shot, waited until the last minute and the summoned his Live Steel armor in a
flash of blue sparks.  Charta's shot hit square
on the steel helmet.  A shocked look on his face was quickly replaced by
one of pain.   Edward winked out the armor in another blue flourish and
rejoined his charges.