by Delmire Hart
He quickly pulled his helmet on, ignoring Cameron who was now talking into his Bluetooth headset. All of his guards were now equipped with hands free headsets for their phones so they could make calls while they continued with other tasks. It surprised Daniel that they hadn’t done it sooner but apparently it wasn’t necessary for his team until now.
He hadn’t put much thought into the guard’s feelings on their job and how his great escapes affected them. He had been too busy feeling pissed off at William for doing it behind his back and trying to regain his lost sense of freedom. Now that he thought about it, they had tried incredibly hard to not lose him every time he escaped, he just didn’t think they would take it so personally. It wasn’t that he couldn’t rely on them, he only wanted to do things his way without outside interference. He chewed his lip anxiously as he mounted up and took off into the traffic, Cameron keeping close behind without being obnoxious about it.
The more he thought about it, the worse he felt. All of his security detail, particularly Ueda, had been very accommodating and discreet in their help. They always kept their distance, allowing him his personal space and were polite when he spoke with them directly. He should probably give them a little more credit. He made a mental note to talk to Ueda about it while they were planning his stakeout.
***
Daniel spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon tidying up his apartment and grocery shopping. He dragged Cameron around the supermarket with him for company. Daniel enjoyed grocery shopping, it probably had something to do with his love of cooking, so planning and picking out ingredients was exciting as he imagined all the deliciousness he could make. Cameron turned out to know next to nothing about cooking and confessed to buying store meals or takeout regularly so Daniel took great pleasure in giving him little tips and tricks to try later on. While the guard was still visibly alert and taking in their surroundings, he seemed far more relaxed and open with Daniel than he had been previously.
He had only had this new security team for just over a week and other than the team leader Ueda, most of them had been wary with him. They spent as much time keeping a tense eye on him as they did the surroundings. Daniel realised with a start that they had been expecting him to run at any time. But now he had asked for help and showed them a little trust, the guards were trusting him back. He felt another pang of guilt. Perhaps he had been unfair taking his anger at William out on people employed to help him but he still didn’t want to be babied.
Groceries acquired and Ueda due to arrive in an hour, Daniel set to making himself some lunch and dragged a very reluctant Cameron into the kitchen to show him how to make a few easy meals. The guard protested loudly about the impromptu lesson until Daniel informed him he was wanting to prepare a few meals ahead, anyway. It was always nice to eat good food even when he was busy with work or tired after a shoot. The two other guards at the door only grinned and left their teammate to his fate.
By the time Ueda showed up for the change of the guards, Cameron was fully invested and following Daniel’s enthusiastic guidance. The man let himself in at Daniel’s yell that the door was unlocked and stopped inside the doorway with a small smile hovering about his lips.
“Ueda,” Cameron greeted him with a hint of embarrassment at being caught undertaking cooking lessons with his charge. “I, uh….”
“We’re just about finished up here Ueda, although it’s okay if you need to go.” Daniel glanced over to the guard who was still looking a little flushed.
“It’s okay Daniel, I would like to help finish up…?” He glanced back at his team leader.
“It’s fine, I can wait until you’re ready Daniel.” Ueda retreated to the door to have a quiet talk with the guards outside while Daniel finished up with preparations with Cameron.
Ten minutes later and Daniel was putting containers of pre-prepared food into the fridge and freezer while Cameron saw himself out, trading places with Ueda. With lunch and a coffee handy, Daniel set up his laptop and papers with all the scoop information in front of him and beckoned Ueda to move his chair around the table to sit beside him.
“Thanks for helping me out with this.”
“I’m just happy that you’re not trying to give us the slip.” Ueda flashed him a small smile and Daniel couldn’t help the small flush at his words.
“I was going to,” he admitted, fiddling with the laptop to avoid looking at the guard. “But then I accidentally let it slip to one of my friends and he hit me over the head and called me stupid.” Ueda laughed at that. “He told me to talk to you first.”
“I like your friend.” Daniel scowled and shot Ueda a look but the guard only grinned back. “We were pretty worried that you were going to, that’s why we’ve been training hard to keep up if required.”
“The parkour course,” Daniel replied then sighed as Ueda nodded. “I…need to apologise to you.” The man turned to him in surprise but let him speak. “I shouldn’t have put you through all that. I was angry at William doing that without telling me and it felt like he was trying to take away my freedom. So, I took it out on you guys. I didn’t think about how it affected you guys when I did that. I only figured out when Cameron thanked me for relying on him that it looked as though I don’t trust you. I do…I was just pissed off at William. So, sorry.”
“Thank you, Daniel,” Ueda said as he visibly relaxed. “I’ll pass that on to the team. We aren’t here to limit you or get in your way. I know such a big security detail may seem excessive, it might be in all honesty, but you are important to Mr Hunt. He is a powerful figure with a lot of equally powerful enemies and when coupled with your own line of work, you’re potentially in a lot of danger at any given time. If I had someone that important to me in such potential danger and unlimited money, I’m not sure I would stop with just three guards,” Ueda admitted, looking pensive.
“I can’t comment on your relationship with Mr Hunt or the way he did things but I can see why he’s so worried. The fallout over the Barrett incident was proof enough. Not only did people find out where you lived and try to harm you, the rumours of the threat and underground offers to take you out took far too long to quell. People are figuring out who you are and it will only become more dangerous from here. We aren’t here to get in your way nor to be your friends. But we would like to know you and have your trust so we can protect you better.”
“Ah, sorry, I shouldn’t have dragged Cameron into the kitchen with me.”
“That’s fine. You had two guards outside and having him close with you is even safer. Remember, each member of your team is highly trained and can react within seconds if needed. Anyway, I think he enjoyed the lesson,” Ueda said with a chuckle. “From what I have been told, he can’t cook at all! I’m sure he was just relieved that you're willing to trust us.”
Daniel nodded, still feeling a little embarrassed over the whole thing. “I just really like to cook and wanted to share, I guess.” He glanced over and was reassured by the encouraging smile Ueda gave him. “I’ll organise with you every time I get a stakeout and we can work out the plan of attack together. I usually scout out the place multiple times at different times of the day if I have the chance, to make sure I don’t miss anything.”
Daniel went through all the steps he normally took and went over the information he already had on the area, as well as what he would look for in terms of hiding spots. They planned out potential locations that could be used to park their vehicles and how they could approach the area using maps found online. Ueda asked a few questions over their team security channel, finding a few of the men were already familiar with the area and organised a guard swap for later that evening when the stakeout would occur.
All in all, the preparations were completed with terrifying speed and efficiency compared to Daniel’s normal slog on his own. It left him feeling a little uneasy. Not over the job, he was certain he would be the safest he had even been on a stakeout and he was far, far more prepared than normal even without scopin
g out the area. It felt…cheaty, almost. Like he was using his influence with William to aid him with his job and it didn’t sit right. Ueda must have seen some of his thoughts on his face because he asked if everything was okay.
“It’s fine. It’s nothing to do with the stakeout…” He frowned and Ueda waited for him to continue. “I just don’t like using you guys to help me with work like this.” It was surprisingly hard to admit, so it looked like his pride was trying to get in the way. “It feels like I’m using William’s…wealth? Influence? Instead of doing things off my own back. This is my job, my pride as a journalist, and it doesn’t feel right.”
Ueda was silent for a moment before speaking, “We might be hired by Mr Hunt but at the end of the day, you’re only utilizing my and the rest of the team’s skills and knowledge. We are here to keep you safe. If that means following you around the mall or making sure you don’t get found while on a stakeout, it doesn’t matter to us. We aren’t the ones who got the intel and we won’t be taking the photos. Most of the planning was done by yourself with not that much help from us, really. You’re not cheating by using resources available to you, especially if they are available to you at any given time. It’s not like you took his money or asked him for a favour,” he pointed out.
Daniel groaned and ran his hands over his face. “It still doesn’t feel right. But I’m not going to say no. It just…feels like all this extra help has nothing to do with me and my abilities and everything to do with William and his.”
“You are a very special person to the boss,” Ueda said gently with a small, knowing smile. “Anyone can see that. It’s like his whole persona changes around you.”
“That’s because he has to take off the damn mask with me.”
Daniel froze. Mask. That’s what was bothering him earlier. His eyes widened in surprised understanding. William ignoring what happened and the reason it hurt Daniel so much was because it was a mask. He was putting another mask in place.
“I’ll take it, anything you can throw at me, I don’t care. But don’t do it with that mask in place.”
Except this time, it wasn’t just the outer businessman mask. Oh no, this was much deeper. This mask was covering a part of his heart, part of his soul. That hurt. It didn’t matter that they hadn’t known each other that long, he was still his other half. His soulmate. He shouldn’t hide something that painful, something that must reach deeper inside William than Daniel had initially thought. The photographer waved off Ueda who was shooting him worried looks and they set to organising their scouting foray at the warehouses.
Daniel vowed that he would find out what William was hiding and he would do whatever it took to take away the pain.
Chapter Eighteen: Mission
All the planning was complete. The warehouse had been scouted and a suitable location found for Daniel to snoop from and two of his guards to watch the perimeter for signs of trouble. Daniel even managed to snag a nap after dinner and now felt pumped up and ready to go. Three guards stood in his living room looking surprisingly keen for the upcoming event.
Honestly, it all felt a little over the top.
He had a total of five guards for tonight, each with an earpiece radio device to talk to the whole team on a secure channel and multiple escape routes established, each with their own code name. Looking at the excited men in front of him all done up in dark, easy to manoeuvre in clothing complete with multiple high-tech gadgets, Daniel felt the need to sigh. Ueda handed over an earpiece and instructed him on how to wear it.
“Isn’t this a little over the top?”
“Nope. Safety first, so as long as you're safe, nothing's too much.”
Daniel did sigh at that but did as instructed. “This feels like some over the top action movie or TV series. And you guys are all way too excited about this.”
He got three equally big grins and groaned. They acted like excited children ready for the park but they were grown men about to go undercover.
“Hey, this beats normal security detail, and we actually got to help and plan and you know, not have to sprint over half of New York.” The photographer flushed at the comment. “Right, you got the earpiece in?” At Daniel’s nod, Ueda helped him turn it on. “Rules are, it stays on until the mission is called in complete.” He rolled his eyes. Mission. Really? “So no turning it off and do not take it out. Nakahara, you there?”
A low male voice sounded in Daniel’s ear, “I’m here, what you need?”
“You hear that?”
Ueda turned to the other two guards at Daniel’s nod. Once he confirmed that everyone in the room could hear and be heard, he checked in with the two guards situated outside. All set, Ueda ran over the plan again along then ushered everyone out to their respective vehicles. Daniel clambered into a black sedan along with Ueda and one other guard. Another guard would follow behind in another car and the last two would scout ahead on motorcycles. Sitting in the front seat with his camera bag in his lap, Daniel was hit with amusement over the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. It was a far cry from him zipping out on his scooter and his solo preparations. Ueda spoke again as the procession pulled out into the street and started towards their target location.
“Nakahara, any extras sitting in our channel?”
“Yeah, a few.” It was weird hearing the low voice directly in his ear and knowing the man was sitting in a little office in Synnite.
“All right, if you aren’t part of the team, get the fuck off my channel.” Daniel looked at Ueda with eyebrows raised at the language, but the man’s face was deadly serious. The guards might be excited for the change of pace but they were still taking everything very, very seriously.
“Still got peepers.” Ueda opened his mouth to say something else when a deeper voice beat him to it. It took a moment to recognise it as belonging to Demetrius.
“I know who you are, last chance to leave the channel if you aren’t part of the team.”
There was a pause then Nakahara spoke up again, “All peepers out.”
Ueda gave a small sigh of relief. “Thanks, Demetrius.” He didn’t get a reply and the line lapsed into silence.
Daniel wondered just how many people were in on this ‘mission’ of theirs tonight. It was supposed to be a low-key stakeout, small game but still an undercover assignment, and now it had turned into this massive undertaking. He knew William had been told about it after a message popped up on his phone during dinner. It had been short and simple but it sent Daniel’s heart stuttering.
Thank you for not running.
Heaven forbid the man ever confessed to him, because if a simple thank you over text made his heart race, he would probably die if he received a love confession. Still, he was surprised Demetrius was sitting listening in and wondered if maybe William was also keeping tabs on it. He supposed this was the first stakeout he asked for help on and everyone wanted to make sure things went smoothly; no drama this time would make things less tense next time.
It wasn’t long before they arrived at the district and parked the car where they had planned. One guard stayed back to protect the vehicles while three of them walked together into the alley. It was quiet and dark, so they could make their way forward easily while sticking to the shadows and keeping alert for any unusual sounds. The third guard peeled away as they approached the warehouse and Ueda and Daniel continued forward together. The door was unlocked just like when they tested it that afternoon and they slipped inside the darkness, peering around using dimmed flashlights. It was quick work to scale a decrepit ladder and soon both were perched on a second-story ledge near two large broken windows and nicely hidden behind a few large boxes. The other guards confirmed they were in position soon after and so they all settled in to wait.
***
William sat in his office with Ken and Demetrius, attempting to complete some paperwork around the distraction of Daniel’s team’s conversations. Demetrius had set up a link into the channel so they could listen in on the first stakeout
the team helped with. The relief he felt when the message came through that Daniel had not attempted to ditch his guards and had also asked for help was huge. They had spent the afternoon planning and scouting around the area and were about to head out to the location provided by Daniel’s source.
William could admit he was incredibly distracted but at least anything he managed to get done now would save him time later to capture his little soulmate and drag him back to the penthouse again. It felt surprisingly empty without the photographer and William was already planning excuses to drag him back even just for an evening. He glanced over to the tablet that sat in the middle of his desk. It was how they were listening to the secure channel and it displayed a map with multiple GPS markers showing the location of Daniel and his guards. All dots were still centered on what he knew to be Daniel’s apartment.
He had just started to focus on his work again when the first voices spoke over the line. He kept an ear on the conversation as they set up and smiled when he heard Daniel’s mutter about how ridiculous it was. His soulmate hadn’t replied to William’s message earlier, leaving William feeling put out until he realised the photographer might be embarrassed. It wasn’t often that William thanked anyone and Daniel was easily embarrassed over anything that could be construed as even slightly romantic. Except for cooking dinner—apparently his enthusiasm for cooking and for food in general nullified any embarrassment over that.
William frowned at Demetrius when Ueda’s voice snapped out to get any eavesdroppers out of the channel and his chief of security picked up the spare headset sitting at his elbow and cast out his own threat. He nodded in thanks once it was confirmed that only Team Miller was present in the channel. Soon they were heading out in their designated vehicles and silence let William reluctantly turn his attention back to his reports.
It had been a very uneventful hour, most of the chatter came through when the guards were confirming they were in position. William glanced over to the little markers on the tablet to confirm they were indeed all in position and settled in to wait for the appointed time. There was some talk between Ueda and Daniel as he set up his camera with an impressive lens. William smirked as he remembered that it would be one he purchased for the photographer on the day they met. The easy back and forth between the two was good. They seemed to have almost a big brother, little brother air about their interactions, which relieved William immensely.