Bodyguard: Target (20 page)

Charley saw Vince drop and instinctively
shoved Ash sideways into a nearby bus shelter. Believing the bodyguard to have been
shot, she kept Ash pinned behind the cover of an advertising sign,
while her eyes
darted around for the shooter.

‘Are you all right?’ asked
Rick, running up to Vince and offering his hand.

‘Yes,’ Vince groaned.
‘Twisted my ankle, that’s all.’

‘Chill out, Charley!’ said
Ash, shrugging her off.

Charley relaxed her grip on him.
‘Sorry,’ she replied, annoyed at her overreaction.

Ash grinned at her. ‘Can’t
keep your hands
off me, can you?’

Charley responded with a tight smile.
‘Remind me to wash them later!’

Rick helped Vince over to the bus
shelter’s bench. ‘You carry on into the park,’ said Vince,
examining his grazed leg and swollen ankle. ‘I’ll wait here until
you’re done.’

‘Are you sure?’ asked
Rick.

‘Yeah, just make sure you
don’t run into any trouble.’

Entering
through a
main gate, the three of them passed an information board. A quick glance at the
large map told Charley that the park was a sprawling woodland of hills, valleys and
open grass areas. There was a lake to the west and running trails criss-crossed the
park like the roots of a tree. Ash followed the top path that looped across the
park’s north end, then dropped downslope
into a wooded area. Almost
immediately the noise of the city was muffled by trees and it felt as if they were
deep in the countryside.

‘So, you like keeping fit?’
asked Ash.

‘Sure,’ replied Charley.

In response Ash increased his pace.
Charley sped up to stay by his side. Rick maintained his position several steps
behind. The path wound through the woods, across
a grassy knoll and past a pond into
another woodland. Taking a trail that cut left, they crossed a bridge over a stream
and followed a gully through the middle of the park. The pace was fast but easily
within Charley’s capabilities. They ran steadily, covering three miles in
little under half an hour. The fresh air and exercise did wonders for Charley,
reinvigorating her and clearing
her mind. In hindsight, she didn’t regret
overreacting to Vince’s fall. After all, only the paranoid survive! The
question was, why hadn’t Rick responded? Was he simply more experienced? Or
was he less on the ball?

Passing a sign indicating one mile to
the lake, Ash glanced at Charley. ‘Race you to the lake?’

Charley nodded, up for the challenge. As
Ash pulled away,
Charley got the sense he wanted to prove something.
But she was used to this macho behaviour from her
bodyguard-training buddies. She lengthened her stride and drew level with him as
they followed a trail upslope. The pace was now seriously challenging and Rick
showed signs of flagging, with rapid breathing, a sweat-soaked T-shirt and heavy
footfalls.

‘Hey!’ he panted.
‘Hold up, you two!’

But Ash and Charley were in the zone and
left Rick behind. After a few twists and turns of the path, they completely lost him
in the woods. As Ash ran faster, Charley pulled out all the stops to keep up. She
was impressed by his fitness, but she shouldn’t have been surprised
considering the energy he expended on stage each night – he must run at least
half a marathon every performance! As they sprinted along the path, her heart
thrummed in her chest, her pulse raced and her breathing quickened. They emerged
from the woods with the lake only a few hundred metres ahead. Ash went flat out.
Charley pushed herself to her limit. Matching Ash stride for stride, the finish line
drew nearer and nearer. Ash was unable to shake her off.
They hit the lakeside path
together, a result too close to call.

‘Well … you’re
certainly fit … I’ll give you that,’ Ash panted, bent over double
to regain his breath.

‘Want to … keep
going?’ asked Charley, hoping he didn’t, but aiming to make her
point.

Ash glanced up at her, then laughed.
‘No … I need to save
some
energy for tonight.’ He nodded
at a sign
pointing to the park cafe. ‘Besides, I could do with a
drink.’

Charley looked
behind for Rick. He was nowhere to be seen.

‘He’ll catch us up,’
said Ash, dismissing the security guard with an exhausted wave of his hand and
striding off in the direction of the cafe.

Charley knew Rick would probably be
having a fit that he’d lost his Principal. But at least she was
still there to
guard Ash.

Following the signs to the cafe, they
found an empty table outside and sat down. A waitress brought over a menu and they
ordered a Coke and a bottle of water.

Ash took a deep draught of his drink,
then said, ‘So, Charley, are you
really
a bodyguard?’

Charley held his gaze. ‘Are you
really a rock star?’

Ash laughed. ‘OK, why be a
bodyguard then? Seems an odd decision, especially at our age.’

‘Being a world-famous rock star
seems equally odd to me,’ replied Charley, sipping her water.

Ash nodded. ‘Fair point. I must
admit, it’s been a crazy couple of years. Who’d have believed posting a
video online would have led to all this? While I wanted to be a musician, I
didn’t decide to be famous. That just
happened. But at some point
you
had to decide to become a bodyguard. Why?’

Charley stared out across the lake.
‘It’s complicated. I’m not sure I even had a decision to make.
Certain events in my life took me to this point …’ She thought back to
that fateful day in the coffee shop. ‘
We cannot change the cards we are
dealt, just how we play the hand.
’

‘What did you
say?’

Charley looked at him. ‘We cannot
change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.’

‘That’s a great
lyric!’ said Ash, grabbing a napkin and trying to get the waitress’s
attention for a pen. ‘So, what do your parents think of you being a
bodyguard?’

Charley’s face clouded.
‘They’re dead … but I hope they’d be proud.’

‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ said
Ash, instantly forgetting his need for a pen. A similar dark cloud settled over
Ash’s expression. ‘I understand how you must feel. I’m sure you
know, it was in all the papers, but my mum died last year from cancer. And I
don’t speak to my father. He left me and my mum when I was a baby – so
he’s pretty much dead to me. Of course, now I’m rich and famous, he
wants to know me!
It’s Aunt Kay who’s been my rock in this whirlwind of
fame. She looks out for me now.’

‘Well, she certainly has your
safety as her top priority. Otherwise she wouldn’t have contacted
Buddyguard.’

Ash nodded, then a frown creased his
brow. ‘Charley, is my aunt telling me
everything
? It’s just
that after finding out about the pig’s blood letter, I question if I’m
being told the whole truth. I mean, have I received more death threats that I
don’t know about? When Vince tripped up on the street, you literally leapt on
me like my life depended on it.’

‘Only the paranoid survive,’
replied Charley.

‘That’s Big T’s
tattoo!’ laughed Ash, but his laughter quickly died away and his expression
grew dark once
more. ‘He mentioned there
might have been
an intruder that first night. Am I really in danger on this tour?’

For the first time, Charley saw the
scared boy behind the facade of a self-assured, ever-smiling rock star. She thought
carefully before answering. ‘You’ve got Big T, me and the rest of the
security team watching out for you. And, as far as I’m aware, no further
threats have been made. But
that doesn’t mean the threat has gone away.
That’s why I react the way I do. There are no half measures in this
–’

‘Excuse me … are you Ash
Wild?’

Ash looked up into the bright eager face
of a young girl and her friend. He smiled.

‘You are, aren’t you?’
she squealed. ‘Can I have your autograph?’ She held out a paper
napkin.

‘Sure,’ said Ash. ‘Do
you
have a pen?’

The girl shook her head and there was a
moment of panicked dismay. Charley wished she’d brought the pen Amir had
supplied, but it wasn’t exactly running gear. The girl’s friend darted
off and grabbed the waitress, who helpfully provided hers, then requested an
autograph for herself. As word spread and the excitement grew among the cafe’s
customers, the two
young fans took selfies with Ash on their smartphones. Then they
skipped off, thrilled at the chance meeting and instantly sharing their experience
online.

‘You like the attention,
don’t you?’ said Charley.

‘Who wouldn’t?’
replied Ash, finishing off his drink. ‘Besides, my fans make me who I am. If I
don’t give them the time, why should they give me theirs?’

Charley
spotted a
group of excited girls hurrying along the path towards them. ‘Well, by the
looks of it, a lot more are about to give you their time.’

‘We need to go, Ash,’ said
Charley as more and more fans descended on the cafe.

Wildlings seemed to be materializing
from the woods in their thousands. As word spread, girls of all ages
swarmed into
the park. But that was the power of social media: instant communication, instant
crowds.

Ash seemed oblivious to the growing
numbers. He finished signing a girl’s T-shirt, then posed for a photo. Before
Charley could pull him away, another girl leapt beside him with a camera and he
dutifully smiled.

‘Come on!’ insisted Charley,
taking hold of his arm.

‘Hey, I’m next,’ said
a disgruntled fan, shoving Charley aside with an elbow to the ribs.

Briefly, Charley considered dropping the
girl with a ridge-hand strike to her neck. But she remembered her unarmed combat
instructor’s advice:
Any self-defence must be
necessary
,
reasonable
and
proportional
to the attack
. So Charley
waited for the fan to have her photo with Ash
before stepping sharply on the
girl’s toes. A little twist of the heel ensured maximum impact.

‘Sorry,’ said Charley with an apologetic smile as the girl’s
eyes widened and she gasped in pain.

‘Is she all right?’ asked a
concerned Ash.

‘Yes,’ Charley replied
breezily. ‘Just a little overcome at meeting you.’

Leaving the injured fan to limp over to
the nearest
chair, Charley escorted Ash away from the cafe.

‘Gotta go!’ called Ash,
waving goodbye to his fans.

But that didn’t stop them
following him. Like the Pied Piper, Ash led his ever-expanding flock through the
park. All the time people snapped away with their cameras, filmed with their phones
and demanded autographs. Even as he walked, Ash kept his trademark smile and turned
his head towards each and every lens he could: the consummate professional.

‘Excuse me! Make way,’
Charley requested as several fans stood directly in his path.

‘Who do you think you are?’
challenged one of the girls, squaring up to her.

‘Let him through!’ ordered
Charley, her gaze taking on a steely quality that convinced the girl to step
aside.

With ever more
fans demanding his
attention, Charley had to be Ash’s eyes and ears as she shepherded him in the
direction of the main gate. But it soon became apparent they’d never reach it.
As the woods opened out on to a grass area, she spied a mass of people heading their
way. The fans waiting at his hotel must have got word and rushed the four blocks
down to find him.
Where the hell was
Rick?
Without him or Vince to back her
up, Charley
was way out of her depth. She simply didn’t
have the physical presence or authority to protect Ash among so many people. To
those surrounding the rock star she was just another fan.

Charley reassessed their options. If she
could get him to the main road, then perhaps they could dive into a taxi and get
back to the hotel.
‘I hope you’ve got the energy for a final
sprint,’ she whispered to Ash, pointing to a nearby side gate.

She rushed Ash towards the exit. But
this only excited the fans more. Like a herd of wildebeest they stampeded across the
park, chasing their idol down. Reaching the gate only a few paces ahead of everyone
else, Charley burst on to the street with Ash and looked up and down
for a taxi
… but there were none in sight.

As countless fans spilled out of the
park and clogged the road, the traffic came to a standstill.

‘We love you, Ash!’ cried a
group of ecstatic girls wearing Wildling Tour T-shirts.

A teenager, waving a banner pronouncing
KIM & ASH 4EVER
, screamed ‘Marry
me!’

‘Sign this for my daughter,’
panted a red-faced middle-aged
man, thrusting a notebook into Ash’s face.

The barrage of requests and declarations
of love were overwhelming and the crush of the crowd quickly turned frightening.
Although Ash was used to his fans’ hysterical response, without the rock of
Big T, he was being tugged and torn like a kite in a storm.

Charley tried to keep hold of him, but
she was equally
drowning in the
sea of people. Her phone
vibrated on her arm. A few moments later it rang again, but there was no way she
could answer it in the mayhem of the heaving crowd. Paparazzi now jostled
shoulder-to-shoulder with the fans, cameras flashing like strobe lights.

‘Hey, Ash! Have a good run?’
called out Gonzo, his rat-face grinning from among the pack.

Suddenly the crowd lurched sideways.
Ash
stumbled and fell to the pavement. Charley fought to pull him to his feet. His fans,
she realized, could be the death of him – trampled and crushed by love.

‘Back away!’ Charley
shouted, dragging Ash to standing and forcing a path through the horde. But mob
mentality had taken over. People pushed, shoved, kicked and elbowed to get a glimpse
of their idol. No one took
any notice of Charley’s requests. She now
understood why celebrity bodyguards had to be so huge and intimidating. In a crowd
like this nothing but a battering ram would get them through.

‘
Where’s
Big T?
’
cried Ash over the hysterical screaming. His voice
was taut with panic as countless hands reached out and pulled at his clothes and
hair, everyone trying to get a bit of
him.

Charley felt herself losing him to the
crowd. She had to find a safe haven. Fast. She spied a bank on the other side of the
road and grabbed Ash’s hand, hauling him across the street with her. Every
step was a battle, like fighting the current of a massive flood. She could feel
Ash’s hand slipping from her grip.

Then somehow she
reached the bank. In a last-ditch
effort she shoved Ash through the door, following
in behind. A perplexed security guard rushed up to them.

‘Lock the doors!’ shouted
Charley.

Confronted by a mass of screaming
hysterical girls, the guard slammed the doors shut and barricaded them in. The fans
clamoured at the windows, hundreds of faces pressed up against the glass, peering in
at their idol.

Ash
collapsed into a chair. ‘That
was beyond crazy!’

‘You can say that again,’
gasped Charley, amazed they’d escaped in one piece. Glancing up at the
fan-plastered windows, she was glad the glass was reinforced. Then amid the mayhem
she spotted a familiar face. Staring at Ash, his gaze unwavering, Pete raised a
bandaged arm and smiled. The smile sent a small shiver through
Charley – it
was like a ghost copy of Ash’s trademark grin.

‘So, where do we go from
here?’ asked Ash, oblivious to his stalker clone.

‘Well, there’s always the
vault!’ Charley half-joked, as she took out her mobile and saw the multiple
missed calls from Big T. Guessing he was worried about Ash’s whereabouts, she
immediately rang him back for an emergency pick-up.