The Kazak Guardians (13 page)

Samuel choked back a laugh. "I'd hate to see you bored and cranky. Risk or not, your little demo makes me feel better about the trip," he said. "No offense, Ann."

"None taken. I'm happy to have a Kazak along. I'll let the Assassins aggravate her."

Two limousines were waiting for us when we arrived at the small private landing strip. When we reached his house ten minutes later, it was swarming with security men. They had already checked every room, entrance, and window, and had people stationed at or within sight of each. Ann walked the perimeter while Samuel and I entered the old English manor. It was much larger than his townhouse and definitely required more security. Hopefully, they would slow down the Assassins when they came. Because if someone wanted Samuel dead, it would take an Assassin, based on his security. And anyone concerned about his project would have money to afford one or more. The grounds included several acres in an exclusive neighborhood and had ocean-front property. I decided he had more money than the Defense Department.

"I assume you're going to follow me from room to room?"

"Yep. I've nothing else to do." I shrugged.

He grinned. "Good. It no longer annoys me."

***

A few friends from Yale University stopped in to see him the next day. I watched their every move for the first hour. They, in turn, kept nervously sneaking looks toward where I stood in the back of the room. Ann spent a lot of time conferring with her security team and checking the area.

After they left, Samuel stared at me for a moment. "Why were you so attentive to my visitors? They are very old friends."

"I'd rather not say. Let's just say it's my paranoid personality."

"Out with it, Lynn. All this security would ruin my vacation if you weren't glued to me."

"The Assassins have Illusionists, who are very good at what they do. I was evaluating your friends." I brought my gun out of hiding and put it away.

"People are only considered paranoid if the threat isn't real. I can understand why you didn't want to tell me. Don't worry; I'll let you do the worrying. You're good at it." He gave a short laugh.

Two days later, he decided to take a walk along the ocean frontage. The weather was cool and few people were about. Some of the people we saw were either walking fast or jogging. They gave us a wide berth. You couldn't blame them. Each member of Ann's five-man security team was dressed in a dark suit.

As we turned to head back, I noticed a jogger about two hundred yards behind us heading in our general direction. He seemed to be running, not jogging, because when I looked back about fifteen seconds later he had covered over half the distance. I scanned ahead and saw another jogger off in the distance. I spun around, drawing my gun. The runner was now within twenty-five feet and flying toward Gerstel. It had to be a Runner Assassin as he was easily traveling at three times the speed of an Olympic runner. I knew I would need to be lucky to accurately judge the distance I would have to lead him to be sure to kill and not just wound him. To complicate things a security man seemed to be directly in his path. Before anyone else noticed, the Runner hit the shoulder of the man in his path, sending him spinning to the side with his throat spurting blood.

Having little choice, I grabbed the arm of the man closest to me and propelled him into the Runner's path. They collided instantly. The collision slowed the Runner's forward momentum enough for me to get off three rounds: chest, head, and chest again. The impact sent him spinning backward, a knife clutched in each hand. Although he lay face down on the ground, I shot him twice again.

The standing security men had their guns drawn and were looking around. One of the security men was kneeling next to his fallen comrade. Samuel lay on the ground with Ann sprawled on top of him.

"My lord, what happened?" Samuel asked, as he tried to look over Ann's shoulder. When I looked forward again, the other Runner had stopped halfway to us, hesitated, and changed direction.

"Ann, keep Samuel down." I watched the Runner disappear behind a house. I guess he decided his odds of killing Samuel and living through the experience were poor. Kazaks and Assassins have a lot of respect for each other. I could see no other signs of danger, which meant little. "Ann, you can let Samuel up. It looks clear."

Ann got off of Samuel, and to her credit stayed by his side rather than run over to the dead and injured members of her team. The one I had thrown in front of the runner probably had a few things broken, but he looked alive. I guess it would result in another complaint for Witton to post on my personal activities board. I stepped back near Samuel and Ann, still scanning the area.

"What happened, Lynn?" he asked, tapping me on my shoulder to get my attention.

"A Runner just attempted to kill you. He's dead." I nodded in his direction.

"Very," Ann added. She called for a team to pick up the dead men and transport the injured man to the hospital. He was found to have two fractured ribs and a dislocated shoulder. He would probably get a medal for saving Samuel's life.

"You threw Jackson in front of the Runner, didn't you?" Her voice sounded neutral. Very restrained under the circumstances.

"He was all I had handy. Give him credit for saving Samuel's life. He earned it."

***

Samuel decided he'd had enough vacation, and we returned to the Pentagon. Witton had finally decided to send another Kazak, so we each stood a twelve-hour shift. Six months later Samuel finished the project, and we were dismissed. The incident hadn't resulted in another complaint against me, since the injured man was given credit for saving Samuel's life. Ann received a promotion, and everyone seemed happy.

"I'm going to miss you, Lynn. At times it almost felt like we were married,"Samuel said as I was leaving.

"I hope the divorce was amicable," I quipped.

When I entered Witton's office, I found Jessie in one of the tufted leather chairs with a cup of coffee. Although he looked relaxed, I could feel his readiness to pounce at the slightest movement-like the Tiger he had been named for. I sat in a chair next to him. Witton leaned back, appraising us as if he didn't already know us.

"I've asked you here because the assignment I have will require twelve-hour shifts." That hardly seemed a reason. Working twelve-hour shifts appeared to be a luxury based upon my previous experience. I waited for the punch line. "There's an Air Force Major General Sharer managing several contractors that are working on a new anti-missile design. It's a revolutionary concept, which she designed. She has contractors building separate components, so that no one contractor knows how the pieces fit together. The project is further complicated because she's independently developing a fourth component. Yes, she's paranoid. She's worried about security leaks, since one has already occurred."

"And?" I ventured. That wasn't the punch line.

"She's paranoiac, so I doubt she is going to cooperate with our normal method of guarding a client. Nevertheless, the Defense Department wants her protected and has requested our help."

"Meaning?" I asked. This didn't sound good. Normally, I ignored the client's wishes and did my job as I saw fit. This sounded like I wouldn't be able to ignore her.

"Meaning she has restrictions that you must comply with."

"It's her life she's playing with," Jessie chimed in. The typical reaction I expected from a Tiger. No sense being ready to pounce, if the game stayed too far away. The Fox would try to figure out how to lure the game to her.

"Yes, it's her life; however, I expect you to try hard to keep her alive, given the restrictions she'll impose. You're to meet her tomorrow at nine a.m. in the administration building at Andrews Air Force Base."

***

Jessie and I retired to my condo to discuss the assignment. I put on a pot of coffee and joined him in the living room.

"This is the first time I've seen you without bandages. I was beginning to think it was a disguise of some kind." Jessie smirked.

"Witton thought it was an excuse for me to visit my friend in Denver," I said. I missed Jessie's company after the Hill. He had become like family. I was looking forward to this assignment and an opportunity to see him often. Jessie put down his coffee and smiled.

"I really think you would have shot me that time in the Senate's cafeteria. With blood dripping down your face and your arm wrapped in rags, you looked like some mad killer in one of those B movies."

"I would've shot anything that moved. Everything was blurred; I couldn't distinguish individual features." It had been a scary time.

"I had to laugh when I shouted you were a bad shot, with an Assassin lying there with half his head missing. I'd imagine it was the last thing anyone expected me to say. But you have to admit you weren't the best shot on the Hill."I knew he was comparing me to him. He could hit a bird in flight with a Glock. I would be lucky to scare it.

"What do you think about this assignment, Lynn?"

"I don't like it. Either an Assassin will kill her, or I will." I didn't smile. It was true. Although I tolerated no nonsense from the people I guarded, since Governor Masson, I would put my life on the line to protect them. "I don't understand people. How can they feel they are secure if we're out of sight? The trouble with most government security is that they cater to the person they're protecting. They try to prevent them from being attacked by checking out the places they're going, so they don't have to inconvenience them while they are there. I'll bet that before this assignment is over, I'll get another complaint for Witton to add to my board."

"Your board has attracted a lot of attention lately. Some believe you're going beyond a Kazak's responsibility. The fact that you've killed three Assassins is making more Kazaks consider using your rules. Only ten other Kazaks have managed to kill three Assassins. I'm not sure if Witton likes this evolution or not since he is getting more complaints. Whether they're for or against you, everyone looks forward to reading your newest complaint. We are actually disappointed when you go months without one." Jessie grinned. "I should have warned everyone what a pain in the ass you were on the Hill."

***

At the air base the next day, Jessie and I were led to a small conference room where we sat for a half an hour waiting for Major General Sharer. When she entered, she stood looking down her short nose at Jessie and me. I think she expected us to jump to attention. Her mousy brown hair was cut short. She had a round, plain face and a big-boned figure tending toward plump.

"Well, I suppose you're my bodyguards?" She sounded disappointed. When neither of us answered her rhetorical question, she continued. "Here are the rules. You're not allowed into the Pentagon or any room where I'm having a meeting. Those meetings will involve Top Secret material that you aren't cleared for. In the Pentagon, I've air force security, which is more than adequate. You'll stay out of my way at all times. Is that understood?"

Jessie looked at me and shrugged. "It's her life." I nodded in agreement. Normally I would've given her
my
rules; however, I considered this an experiment-not that I wouldn't try to protect her.

She gave us a look of disapproval before turning and walking out the door with us tagging along behind her. When we reached the street, a limousine waited for her. She turned back to us.

"You'll follow me in your own vehicle."

At least her driver had the sense to wait until we were behind him before he drove away.

"I'll give her two to three weeks, at most," Jessie said as he followed her car. I let him drive, as he was a much better driver than me. Actually, anyone who had a driver's license was a much better driver than me. "Unless you shoot her before then."

"Normally, I'd ignore her and follow my rules. She'd either have to put up with it or fire me. But I'm curious to see if we can really protect her under these conditions. She reminds me of Governor Masson, and I couldn't stop him from being assassinated. It'll be interesting."

When we arrived at the Pentagon, I told Jessie I would take the first shift. When he stopped behind the limo, I jumped out and followed the general. When we reached the checkpoint, she turned to me.

"This is as far as you go. This building is secure." She continued through without me having any clue as to when she would be back. I shrugged, found a place in the corner, and sat facing the checkpoint. Shortly afterward, two security guards approached me with their hands on their holstered guns. I almost laughed.

"You can't sit here. You'll have to leave, immediately."

"I'm here by authority of the Defense Chief of Staff."

"Let me see your authorization." The chubby one held out his hand. I rose and walked out the door. I wasn't going to win an argument with robot guards who needed a paper signed in triplicate and notarized. I wandered into the parking lot and picked a spot where I could observe the entrance. She still hadn't come out when Jessie came to relieve me.

"Do you think she's dead yet?" Jessie quipped.

"If I were an Assassin, I'd be embarrassed to kill her. It would be like fishing with hand grenades." I smiled at the thought. Jessie choked back a laugh.

"I'll call you on your cell if I change location. Oh, tell Witton that if I get kicked off this bench, I'm going home and she can find her own security."

Thirty minutes later, Jessie called me and asked me to go to Witton's office and wait. I had only been in Witton's office a few minutes when he showed up.

"Lynn and I can protect that idiot from our condos as well as we can sitting five miles from the Pentagon. They kicked Lynn out of the building and me out of the parking lot. Right now, any Assassin has more access to her than we do."Jessie sat and I followed suit, waiting for Witton's response.

"Go to bed. I'll terminate the contract."

***

The next morning, Witton informed Jessie and me that the contract had been reinstated at the request of the Defense Department. When I arrived at the building later that morning, Sharer met me and handed me a badge. "This will authorize you to stay inside the building; however, you're not authorized to pass the checkpoint. I don't appreciate you getting my superiors involved."