Body Guard

“Yes, call Greg.” I stood up. “I’m going to call my father.” I drew in a breath and let it out in a long sigh, “Jules...this isn’t good.” I gripped the back of the chair with one hand while rubbing my face with the other.

Pulling my phone out of my pocket I called my dad, “Dad. Shut down the front gate, sweep the grounds. We have a problem. Jules and I will meet you in ten minutes.”

Julie:
Watching him go from carefree to complete business made my blood go cold, but I grabbed my phone and did as he asked anyway.

I spoke very briefly to Greg, but he seemed to hear in my voice that something was wrong. I didn't want to explain it to him over the phone, mostly because I didn't even really know what to say.

I hung up after explaining that he needed to meet us and I would text him with any updates.

I wanted for Cody to finish talking to his father and then I stood up. "I know I should have told you last night," I started. "I messed up."

"Yes you should have told me. But what's done is done, it is fixable, we just have a lot of work...well Greg and the security team have a lot of work to do." Sitting back down heavily I rubbed my face. This wasn't my job anymore, but that didn't make it any easier to handle.

"What's going to happen is they will search the grounds after locking the gate. Everyone will be ID'd and accounted for. After that the gates will reopen, they'll keep a closer eye on the walls and grounds. Any plans to go anywhere are now going to be confidential and on a need to know basis in case someone on staff is part of the issue."

Julie:
I nodded as he explained the course of events that would take place now. I hadn't even thought that someone on staff could be part of the issue, but it did make sense. Somehow, the mail had gotten through the usual checks and right to my door.

When he sat down and sighed, I frowned and moved closer. I had been a mess yesterday when I found out. I shouldn't expect it to be any easier for him. In fact, he had it worse. These people took a lot from him.

"Are you okay?" I asked, resting a hand on his arm and soothingly rubbing up and down.

"I'm," I hesitated after the first word. "I'm not sure." I focused on her actions for a moment then turned my hand over gently gripping her arm. "There is a part of me that wants to finish what already started, hunt them down and never let them hurt us ever again. But it's not my job anymore, its not my place."

I placed my other hand atop hers, "I do think that I should be asking you if you are okay. They sent you this, they tried kidnapping you."

Julie:
"I was worse off last night, but I'm okay now," I told him, honestly. His words worried me a little, but I hoped he meant it when he said it wasn't his job anymore. I wanted him as distant from this as possible.

"I'm not gonna do anything reckless this time, like going to an amusement park without telling anyone," I said. "So I'm not worried about me." I gripped his hand harder. "I am worried about you though. These people really hurt you and I hope you know I'm here for you too." I told him.

A smile crossed my lips for a moment, "I'm fine." I didn't quite feel fine. "Listen, one day I'm going to make you take me to DisneyWorld or something. We'll enjoy an amusement park forever away and maybe actually enjoy one together for once."

Growing serious I squeezed her hand back. "I appreciate it Jules. Really I do."

Julie:
I smiled at his response. "DisneyWorld?" I asked, feeling amused despite everything. "That's a deal," I said, leaning forward. I gently but firmly pressed my lips against his for a moment before pulling away and standing up, keeping his hand in mine and tugging a little bit.

"Now come on, I'm sure Greg is downstairs waiting for us," I said.

That’s all it took, one kiss and I felt more comfortable.  “Alright, alright. Keep your pants on.”  With her pulling helping the movement I got to my feet and away we went.

“It’s not a deal by the way. I’d call it a date.”  I gave her a look out of the corner of my eyes, testing to see what reaction those words would bring.

Julie:

I looked over at him at his very deliberate choice of words and smiled again. "Okay then. A date it is." It was nice to think that someday there might be a time in which we actually could go somewhere like Disney and not have to worry.

As we hit the base floor, I noticed Greg waiting for us. He walked over immediately. "Security has started vetting through all the staff, making sure there are no moles. We need to get you to a secure location until thats dealt with," he said.

"I thought this was the secure location," I said, looking around. All my life, at the smallest security threat, we came home. It was supposed to be safe here.

"There is no such thing as perfect. We simply do the best we can." I pulled my hand out of hers and stuffed both of mine into my pockets. "Go with Greg. Personal guards are vetted first, he'll take you somewhere safe until they are all done checking everyone."

I gave her a strained smile, "I can't come with you right now. I'm a guest of the house. I have to follow the same procedures." I glanced at Greg who nodded and offered his arm towards Jules.

Julie:
I thought it was ridiculous, that he couldn't come with me, but I didn't want to start a fight about it now. I simply sighed and nodded. "Find me later?" I asked, before grabbing Gregs arm and letting him take me with him.

Greg led the way and I let him. He took me to one of the less used offices where two very armed security guards we're waiting by the doors. One of them opened the door to let us in and I plopped down in one of the chairs by the window to wait. "How long do you think this will take?" I asked.

Greg didn't answer me. He had a few quiet words with the officers by the door and then he shut the door with them still waiting right outside. Once it was just me and him, he pulled the blinds shut on the window and turned to face me. "Probably be here a while."

I waited until she was around the corner before heading pulling out my room phone and firing off a quick message to her. ’Miss me already?’. Amused to only myself I began to make my way to the front guard station so I could check in and get it over with.

Julie:
I sighed and leaned back to settle in for the long wait when my phone buzzed. I smiled at the screen and quickly typed out a response.

'Yes! Get back here!'

Greg touched the com on his ear and spoke quietly for a second. I was sure there was a lot of activity on the security side of things and I felt guilty again for not saying something yesterday.

It was a mess in the main building. More than a few hard looks were leveled my way, not all of them leaving once recognition set in. Weaving through the crowd of bodies I found my father sitting at a desk frowning at a laptop. He didn’t even glance up for more than a second before waving my into a line with all the others who needed to be validated.

It took almost an hour to get through the line and get all of my information checked. It seemed they were taking no chances today. Even the highest level of staff were being all but interrogated today. A heavy hand on my shoulder prompted me to look up at my father before leaving the mess behind and going in search of Jules.

“This is quite a mess. Jules’s father was furious when he heard the news. Why didn’t you report this sooner?”

“I did as soon as I knew. What you should be asking is how Jules even got those pictures. We have to have a mole here dad. All mail is searched and cross checked when it comes in and yet this slipped through? Bullshit.”

His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “Hm. I will look into it. For now I need you to head back to your room, not to her side.” His hand tightened on my shoulder. “This isn’t some test Cody. Do as I tell you, I’m going to go collect her father and bring the two of them to a safe room until this ends, anyone else is against r regulations and a threat right now until we can find out what went wrong and how.”

Julie:
I stayed in the office for what felt like a really long time. Cody never answered my text and Greg barely said anything.

After a while, the doors opened and my father walked in, looking worried until his eyes landed on me. I hadn't spoken to him since Cody and I had told him about us. I still wasn't happy with him, but he rushed over anyway and wrapped his arms around me like I had just gotten back from war.

"I'm fine, Dad!" I said, giving him an awkward pat on the back.

"Julie, what happened? Why wasn't this reported sooner?" he asked me, pulling away and resting his hands on my arms.

I shook me head and sighed, still mad at myself for not saying anything. "It was my fault. I just thought it would go away if I acted like it didn't exist." I said.

Greg took a step forward. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but we're ready to head out now," he said.

"Head out? Where are we going?" I asked.

"Somewhere safe," he answered, shortly.

"Well we can't leave yet. Cody isn't here." I said, breaking my arms free of my father and reaching for my phone.

"He's not coming."

Cody:

I started to gather my things, the search was going to take a while. 'I should grab some snacks. Detour to the kitchens then. Maybe a stop to the wine racks before I get to her. A drink sounds phenomenal right now.' With a stretch and a grin at my thoughts, I started heading towards the door.

I didn't even make it to the door before I was stopped. "You need to stay here, Cody. You are cleared for being who you are. But you are under suspicion for being a part of this. On top of which we have been ordered to keep you here."

My eyes narrowed a moment, "It was Mr Devin wasn't it...don't answer. It had to have been."

"Cody please don't force our hands. We were given orders to restrain you if necessary."

I raised a hand placatingly and sighed. "Fine. Then give me an empty room."

"We can do that. Follow me."

My phone was out immeditely. 'Your father is an asshole.' I sent the message off with a grimace.

Julie:

"What do you mean he isn't coming?" I asked, my voice dropping dangerously as I glared at my father.

He crossed his arms and looked at Greg over the top of my head. "Julie, don't start. We have to leave now and I have no problem having Greg persuade you if it means getting you safe quickly."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Dad, what did you do?" I asked, my voice getting louder.

He nodded to Greg who took a step forward. I knew what it meant. I was leaving this room on my own or thrown over Greg's shoulder. I backed up and raised my arms. "I'll walk," I said, glaring at him too.

He looked genuinly sorry and I almost felt bad, knowing he was only following orders.

I grabbed my phone. "We'll lets go then," I snapped at my father.

Your father is an asshole


So Cody knew why he was being kept away as well.

"Where are you? Are you alright?" I texted back.

'I'm in a room. Laying on a table. Your dad it seems decided to give the order to keep me here. My dad is on his way to collect you all and take you to a safe place. Your father owes you a bottle of wine and snacks I was going to stop and grab some on the way.'

I sighed and set my phone down beside me. Her father was just being a dick at this point, and I couldn't figure out why. Why was he against our relationship? Was there really nothing more I could do to prove I was worth Jule's time. Worth being with her.

Julie:
Once I established that he was alright, I stopped being worried and devoted my time to just being annoyed.

I glared at my father just at the door opened and Cody's father entered. "You can't keep us apart forever," I told them both.

"Julie, stop being dramatic, lets go."

With one more glance at Greg, I made sure I had my phone and I followed him out.

No where is safe is you aren't there... I texted back.

’Well. Not entirely true but I appreciate that.’. I texted back and sat up with a groan as two of the guards stepped into the room.

“Cody we need you to come with us. We have the FBI here wanting to talk to you.” The one who spoke turned his head to glance out the door then back to me. His voice dropped to a whisper and he stepped closer. “They seem pretty ticked off and intense. Just warning you, you might want to be on your best behavior.”

My brow furrowed and I climbed carefully down. FBI? Why were they here? Was this situation being elevated to a terrorist threat? Or was it just Jules’s father pulling strings to get his handled.

Following the pair I was led to another room where three people waited for me already seated at a conference table. “Welcome Cody. We had some questions for you.”

A woman sat in the center. Graying hair and a stern face that wasn’t helped by jade green eyes that all but glared at me. To her left was a blonde who was all smiles but her short sleeves exposed just how fit she was. A practiced eye told me she was likely no stranger to a fight. Across from her was a man with thinning hair and a couple laptops in front of him. He didn’t even glance up, simply leaning forward to adjust a microphone that sat in the center of the table.

“You know my name. Do I get the favor of learning yours?”

“No. We don’t have time for that. Sit down and tell us everything you know about the group targeting the young lady of the house.” The woman in the center pointed at the chair across from them, the only other seat in the room.

I blinked then sat down ignoring their question for a moment as I studied them. “Fine, ill tell you everything I know.”

Julie:
I followed Greg down the hall and into an unmarked police car. My father slid in the back next to me, Greg took the drivers seat and Cody's father sat with him up front. I stubbornly looked out the window while my father and Mr. Hale started talking.

"Once I get you two set up at the house, I'll come back here and work with FBI to figure out who sent the pictures and how they got all the way to Julie's door without being detected," Mr. Hale, said.

I sat up in my seat, and looked over at his sharply. "The FBI?" I asked, incredulously.

I was ignored.

"Well have a secure line set up so as soon as there's information, I can contact you," he continued. He turned in his seat and started speaking to Greg, something about directions.

"Dad, Cody should be here. It's not safe," I tried to plead with him. He sighed and faced me, but I could already tell he wasn't going to say anything I would like.

"We couldn't wait for Cody. They want you Julie. It was more important to get you out. Cody understands that," he raised his hand to gently move my hair away from my face and I could tell he believed what he was saying. But he was wrong.

"I'm not the only target! Didn't you see the photos? Read the note?" I turned to grabbed Mr. Hales shoulder. "Cody isn't safe either." I insisted. This was his son we were talking about surely he had to care.

"He's not alone. He's perfectly fine. This is our job right now."

I let out a sound of frustration and turned back to the window, wondering what it was going to take for someone to start listening to me.

It felt like hours until Greg pulled the car over and when he did, I was told to wait while they canvased the area.

My phone was running low on power but I turned it on to send another text to Cody.

Miss you

It took a while to get it all out. Reliving the experience in as much detail as I could remember was a miserable time. Our fight, her disappearance, the attempted kidnapping.

The gun fight.

Taking the bullet for her.

I went quiet at the end of it, staring at the table in front of me for several minutes before looking up at them. "They are organized, armed, and a threat. I expected that incident to be the end of it. Several dead and yet here we still are."

A buzz in my pocket drew my attention away for a moment, a soft smile lighting up my lips. I started to type up a response but had my attention drawn back towards the trio at the table.

Julie:
I waited several minutes for a response from Cody and when I didn't receive one, I slipped my phone back into my pocket and got out of the car. Yes, I had been told to stay where I was, but I wasn't a well trained puppy.

Besides, this was the safe house. No one was supposed to know it was even here. Hell, I didn't even know where we were.

The building was small and nondescript. Easy to drive past and not think a thing of it. A perfect hideaway.

I started towards the door and Greg came out to retrieve me, stopping when he saw I was already out of the car. He gave me a gently disapproving look, but said nothing, just gestured for me to come inside.

As soon as I crossed the thresh hold, my father and Mr. Hale were heading out the way I had come in.

"Alright. We're going to head back and try to figure all this out. You stay with Greg and wait until you hear from me," my father said. I bit my tongue to stop a snarky comment and nodded. There was no use fighting with him.

"You're gonna send Cody as soon as he's done with being interrogated?"

My father sighed. "You'll see him soon, I'm sure."

With that, they were gone.