The Protector

by Dawn Marie Snyder

  Stacy actually stood still absorbing Jack’s words as if they had meant something to her. “Well, I guess I will just have to make do calling her on her cell phone. I guess I could live with that.”

  I watched intently as Jack sucked in a deep breath of exasperation. He shook his head and looked back at me. The bewilderment still had not disappeared from his face. “Stacy,” he started and then hesitated. He did not turn and look at her, but instead focused all of his attention on me. “There will be no communication what so ever until I know she is safe.” I could read the apology in his eyes. I could tell he was sorry. “As far as anyone is concerned, She will be attending meetings in Europe. There will be no contact with anyone! End of conversation.”

  I watched the anger fester below the surface and knew the explosion was coming. Stacy turned and looked at me. I had had enough and put my hand up to stop her from talking. I got up and walked over to her. “I will be ok, and you will live without me for a little bit Stacy. You did when I was in Israel didn’t you?”

  “I guess,” her voice was full of venom. She turned and looked at the stranger in her living room. “I don’t know who you are, but if she trusts you then I guess I have to.” Her voice was full of sarcasm and self-indignation.

  Jack watched her as she walked closer to me. But his eyes once again focused on me. “We will need to go soon.”

  I nodded my head and wrapped my arms around my friend. She frustrated the hell out of me. But I loved her dearly. “I’ll be safe and I’ll contact you when I can. Jack, is that acceptable?”

  Jack didn’t look at us but instead walked over to the couch and took a seat. His forehead was creased and I knew, by the way he hunched his shoulders down, he was stressed. He almost looked as if he was in pain, but I didn’t think he was, it was more deep thought than anything else.

  I watched him while Stacy mumbled something to me. Suddenly what she was saying was so unimportant in the grand scheme of things. Watching this man contemplate things was so much more important. His expression had not changed and he was now intently staring at me. My eyes were focused on his, as if we were trying to read each other’s mind.

  “Alison, are you listening to me?” Stacy shook my shoulder to get my attention and it took me a few seconds to pull my eyes away from his.

  “What?”

  “You aren’t listening to me.” Again she looked back and forth between Jack and I. “When are you leaving?”

  “Soon,” Jack responded. “Sonny do you think they have shut down Tom’s accounts yet? Cleared off his hard drive?”

  I shook my head. “Probably not.”

  “Then let’s go. I still think the key to this is on his computer.”

  “You can’t take her on base, are you nuts,” Stacy’s voice was filled with concern.

  “Base is the safest place for her. They won’t try anything there. I am pretty confident of that.” He walked over to where I stood and grabbed my arm. “Come on.” His squeeze was not hard but enough to get me to move faster than I or Stacy wanted me to. “Stacy thank you.” His words were cold.

  “Keep her safe please.” Stacy hugged me as Jack guided me to the front door and to my car.

  “I will,” Jack replied. “As soon as this is all over she will be back. You have my promise.” Jack tried to smile at Stacy but the worry in his face kept him from a sincere effort.

  I waved as we drove away from Stacy and then turned to look at the man who was my now my sole protector and friend. He was once again in deep thought as we headed toward the base. It was mid-morning now and traffic was lighter than it had been this morning. I suggested and he agreed that taking another gate in would be the wisest option. Traffic and police presence near the gate I usually went in would be extreme.

  As we drove through the security check point and I flashed my DOE badge, I broke the silence that was between us. “What is it you want off of his computer? I thought you had seen most of it. “

  “I had to have missed something. What can you get away with taking?” I shook my head as I didn’t really know. Stealing equipment from the federal government was not my idea of job security. ”I might be able to get away with his laptop. I can copy the info on his desktop to it. I would just need to sign it out.”

  “Please.” I looked into his pleading eyes and could not say no.

  “You know if I get caught, I am so claiming you kidnapped me and forced me to do this.” My voice was both joking and serious all in the same breath.

  “Sweetheart, you can tell them I held a gun to your head if it gets me the information I need to keep you safe.” A smile finally appeared on his face as he parked my car in the lot. He took a deep breath and looked at me. “I can’t follow you in but I know someone who can.” Jack’s eyes grew wide as he saw the soldier who had helped him at the coffee place walk toward the car. He opened the door and was greeted by the handsome Lieutenant.

  “Lt. Thompson, you don’t know how glad I am to see you.”

  “Sir?” The Lt. dipped his head and smiled at me as I stayed in the car. I wasn’t sure if I should get out or not. “I need to talk to you.” He lowered his voice and stepped closer to Jack. “The cops have told the media I was the man who shot the guy on the roof. I didn’t.”

  “I know. I told them that. Please play along with it for Alison.” As he said it Jack pointed back into the car for me. I could only smile. I watched as Lance’s eyes filled with concern once again, obviously for my safety. There was something about this Lieutenant that made me want to smile. I had always had a secret crush on him. And my heart usually skipped a beat when we ran into each other at work. But today was different, at least with Jack there.

  “There were some men who came around the scene looking for her. Said she was wanted for questioning. They claimed to be FBI.”

  I could see Jack’s face go dark with this new information. He quickly turned to look at me. “They’re not FBI.”

  “Who are they,” the Lieutenant and I said in unison. I got out of the car and walked to where the two men stood. I moved in close to Jack and Lance absorbed every bit of my movement.

  “Look sir, the Sergeant at the scene said when they ran your badge it was authenticated as Federal Law Enforcement, but that was it. They wouldn’t give me more than that. What I can gather effectively your clearance is higher than a lot of people’s here. Who the hell are you?”

  Jack glanced up at the sky and took a deep breath. “Look, all I can ask is for you to trust me. And trust Alison. Those guys aren’t who they say they are. I am not sure who they are but they are here to hurt her.” He once again looked at me in the eyes. And once again, it was a blatant reminder about someone trying to kill me.

  Lance looked past Jack and then at me. “Do you trust this man?”

  I only nodded to his question.

  Jack didn’t wait for him to contemplate my answer. “I need two things, someone to go in with her and stick by her side. If anyone asks, you are simply a security escort. Second, bring her to me when she is done someplace off base.”

  Shock radiated through my body as I listened to his words. Before I could even ask, Jack turned to look at me, He answered the questions that raced through my mind. “I need to take care of a few things Sonny and this is the only time I can do it. And you are safer here with the Lieutenant right now than with me. I also need you to get a few things. Give me an hour and meet me at the main gate. I will follow you out.”

  I took a deep breath and looked around the full parking lot. I really had no choice in the matter so arguing with him would have been a moot point. I put my backpack over my shoulder and turned to the Lieutenant. “Well, I guess I’m ready for my armed escort Lieutenant.” I tilted my head and looked up into the soldiers blue eyes. I had always thought he was handsome. Tom used to tease me every time we went to his section. I remembered one of our conversations resulting in me hitting him in the arm. ‘He wants you Alison.’ Tom was always trying to find me a date. I think finding a
man for me had become his mission in life. He used to tell me not to become an old bitter scientist like him. What was ironic, much like Stacy, he did not like Eric. He had joked several times not to settle. I wondered what he and Stacy saw in Eric that I didn’t.

  I looked at Jack, his eyebrows furrowed together as he looked me in the eyes. “Please,” he hesitated for a moment and grabbed my hand, “I’ll be back. Please don’t do anything stupid.” His eyes were almost a liquid gold and I could hardly tear my eyes away from them. He looked at Lance. “Please don’t let her do anything stupid!”

  “Stupid, Jack? Too late for that!” Total disbelief washed over me. The last thing I was going to do was something stupid. My heart was racing as he got into my car and drove away. I looked from the retreating car to the man who was now in charge of my safety.

  He too looked back and forth from the car to me. Finally, when Jack was out of sight, he turned to face me. “Alison, if you are in any sort of danger with him, you need to tell me now. I can help you. I want to help you.” I wanted to tell him what was going on, but I knew deep down I couldn’t. It wasn’t safe for him, and the last thing I wanted was another innocent person involved.

  “No, he’s my security right now. I’m pretty sure if it weren’t for him I’d be dead right now.” The Lieutenant stared at me for a minute, trying to figure out the magnitude of the situation in his head. He finally shrugged his shoulders and painted to the office building with his hand. I could only grin as the shock of the day’s events and Jack leaving began to drift through every vein of my existence. “I guess.” was all I could manage. I followed the Lieutenant into the building I walked into every day but today it was different. Life was different.

  I managed to get everything I needed. I only nodded at my coworkers who looked at me in utter disbelief. I heard the whispers as I walked from my office to Tom’s. Apparently word had spread of my little escapade this morning at the coffee shop. Lance kept his hand on my back as we walked together. He too, was aware of the stares and the whispers.

  “They just don’t understand why you are here. Most people would be would be hysterical right now. You, on the other hand, are remarkably calm.” Lance tried to reassure me. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s just keep going.” His hand was still firmly on my back guiding me down the hall. I was actually grateful for the guidance. It wasn’t so much that people were staring at me, it was more that they were staring at me when I was about to steal Tom’s laptop.

  I did as I was told and didn’t stop to talk to anyone but Jane, Tom’s assistant. “I need to get some information from Tom’s laptop before CSU takes it back. Tom and I were working on some papers together.” The woman just stared at me, like the others in disbelief.

  “Alison, are you ok?”

  Fear filled my voice as I wondered if she knew what I was up to. “Yeah, just tired. Been a long two weeks.”

  She looked at me sympathetically as I turned to walk away.

  “Ooh, Alison,” her voice sang and I stopped and pivoted to look at her. Jane was in her late thirties, married twice and the mother of four. Her second husband, we all thought was too nice for her. But they were both happy and that is all that mattered we had all told ourselves.

  “Yes, Jane?”

  “We were wondering who the guy was you were with at the funeral?” I looked around for Lance, but he had stayed back at the door. I sucked in a deep breath and looked into the bottle blonde’s brown eyes. “Just a friend of Tom’s I met in Israel.” I did not elaborate any further as I walked into Tom’s office and sat at his desk. I booted up his laptop and began to transfer the information from his CPU hard drive. It took a few minutes and as I waited I looked around my boss’s office. There were no personal pictures, which I hadn’t really noticed before. I suddenly felt sorry for him. Work was his life. The computer beeped and the transfer was done. I grabbed the computer and quickly walked out of Tom’s office. I began to walk to where Lance was standing but stopped briefly and looked at Jane. “I am going to get some rest. Tom’s sister will be picking up his stuff later this week. Please have it ready.”

  Jane stood up, “Some guy by the name of Seth called looking for you? He said he would call back later. Are you coming back today?”

  I didn’t look back as I walked past her. But I could feel the fear rise in my face. Why would Seth be calling here? “No. I’m taking some time off.” I could tell she wanted to know more but I wanted to desperately get out of the building and away. I wanted to be near Jack. I wanted to feel safe and right now I didn’t feel all that safe even as Lance put his arm on my shoulder.

  “You’ve been through a lot today,” Lance said quietly as we walked away from Jane.

  “Yeah, and you. You were shot at too.” I did not look at him as I said this. We continued to walk toward the elevator.

  “Yeah, but there’s a big difference. You my dear have not had the benefit of basic training with the US Air Force or U.S. Marine Corps.”

  ‘Marine Corps’ I thought to myself. Had Jack been in the Marines? And how did the Lieutenant know that. As we walked into the elevator, a sigh escaped my lips. We were alone in the elevator.

  “How did you know Jack was in the Marines?” I tried to ask as if I had already known this information. It must have succeeded, because the Lieutenant turned to answer my question without hesitation.

  “The cross tattoo on his arm.”

  “You knew he served in the Marine Corps because of his tattoo?,” I asked trying to keep up the façade. His tattoo was mysterious to me. It represented something about the man I hardly knew but trusted.

  “Marine Corps Recon. There are only three men on the planet that have the right to have that tattoo.” He stopped talking as the elevator opened and people stood waiting to get on. I wanted him to continue and tell me something more but Jack and the tattoo and he did. “His unit was legendary during the Gulf War.”

  “Really,” I asked with as non chalant curiosity as I could.

  “He is only one of three men that survived an ambush by the Iraqi Republican Guard.” He said those words, proud of his new acquaintance and amazed that I didn’t know the story behind the tattoo.

  “How do you know this?” This seemed like such personal information. Although I had suspected he had been in the military, I really had no confirmation until now.

  Lance looked at me as the elevator came to a stop on the bottom floor. “My brother is a Marine and served in Desert Storm. He had heard about it from a friend of his who was in a similar unit. You could say they all had a come to Jesus meeting one night in the desert.”

  I wanted to ask why the cross and thorns, but I didn’t. I continued to follow him out of the building. I didn’t want to push him any further with information about Jack. We walked toward a silver Ford Mustang and I heard the click and a honk of the horn as the Lieutenant disabled the alarm. It was a car for performance and speed, not one for the daily commute to work.

  I watched as he confidently walked to the passenger’s side of the car and opened the door for me. “Thank you.” I managed to mumble as he closed the door. He had a long stride and was a little taller than Jack and slightly more muscular. His dark, almost black hair was hidden beneath his hat. His eyes were ice blue and almost didn’t fit his dark hair and tan complexion. He was handsome and under any other circumstances, I would probably be completely lost in his presence. But his eyes, his posture and the uniform were nothing compared to the unmistakable presence of Jack. Within seconds I could hear the harsh hum of the Mustang. It had obviously been souped up for performance. As he turned to look out the back window, I felt the force of the car throw me back in my seat as he put the car in reverse.

  “Aren’t you going to get into trouble? You know unexplained absence or something like that?” I was trying to make conversation. I always talked excessively when I was nervous. Silence disturbed me.

  I could hear the unmistakable chuckle come before he answered. “I’m actually not on
duty until later this afternoon.” I looked at him with a puzzled expression.

  “If you didn’t have to be at work until later why were you at the coffee shop so early this morning? Obviously you didn’t have to be there?” I watched as the smile on his face slowly disappeared. I cringed at the still too vivid memory of this morning’s events.

  “I was actually waiting for you,” he said sheepishly. “I finally got the nerve to ask you out to dinner.”

  I could feel the heat rise in my face and I knew my cheeks were as red as the stoplight he was stopped at. I didn’t know what to say to him. My heart sank when I realized he had been in danger this morning because of me. I managed to open my mouth and only two words escaped, “I’m sorry.”

  “Please don’t be. I am glad I was there for you, or at least to help.”

  I was speechless, to say the least. If circumstances were different, I probably would have said yes to the Lieutenant. I watched Lance as he drove toward the gates. I watched as his face grew from a sheepish grin, to one of hardness.

  “I don’t suppose you want to tell me what the hell is going on? I know you said you trust this guy, but Alison this is some serious stuff.”

  I suddenly became absorbed by the iciness of his stare. I didn’t know how to answer as I didn’t know how much I was allowed to confess. I decided to error on the side of caution, “I can’t.”

  “Fair enough,” he didn’t push me further for an answer. He drove off base heading North. I replayed the last few hours over and over in my head as Lance and sat in silence. Surely Jack had a plan and I would just have to trust his instincts. I suddenly became wrapped up in my own little world and it wasn’t until Lance took a hard right turn that I looked up at him puzzled.

  His face was suddenly serious and there was anger in his eyes. I turned and watched in horror as the car behind us took the same right turn just as hard. I could feel Lance step on the gas and the car accelerate at an alarming speed. He began to weave in and out of the traffic with the precision of a NASCAR driver.