Maxine’s Bodyguard

by M. L. Ray

  “Then come to me. Bring me the original video and quit the coalition.”

  “O-Okay, I will do anything you say. Just don’t harm Michael. Where are you? I’ll go there,” I muttered in defeat. I didn’t have an option, did I?

  “I know you have very competent bodyguards, Maxine. And they’re fifty times better than the previous ones. Your first duty is to get away from them. Just drive your car. Keep in your mind: You need to be alone.”

  I filled my lungs with air after noting the instructions he had said. I knew that if I made one wrong move, Michael’s life would be in danger. Conan was never the type who would think twice about killing a child or an old woman. That’s how merciless he was.

  “O-Okay,” I mumbled, nodding as my hands continued to shiver.

  “You have exactly one hour. My people will be waiting for you at the intersection five kilometers away from your house. I will be waiting for you, my love.”

  Chapter 19

  Rico

  I was on the terrace looking through night vision binoculars to check if there were unusual things and people lurking around the house. But thankfully, there was none. Everything seemed normal. And I hoped things would go smoothly until the last hearing of Congressman Williams’ murder case.

  A few more weeks and we’d be free from all the worry and danger. Maxine would finally be able to sleep peacefully and her revenge will be over. After thinking about it earlier, it would be really nice to spend a week vacation somewhere with just the two of us. It would be an opportunity to unwind and for us to get to know each other better. I’d like us to build a camp and sing songs in front of a bonfire – like any normal couple does.

  A smile escaped my lips. I couldn’t wait for all of these issues to be settled. That would have been a very good experience. My first date and vacation with the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.

  Rest of your life? Man, are you serious? You’re only thirty-three!

  Maxine was everything I’ve always wanted. She had always been in my heart and now that she was just within my reach, I was not going to let her go. Not anymore.

  I'd been with a lot of women before I met Maxine and the happiness I feel whenever I'm with her is indescribable. She is different. And a love her for that.

  My thoughts were disturbed when I saw a familiar petite figure coming out of the house. It was Maxine rushing to the garage like she didn’t see David who seemed to be trying to persuade her to stop from whatever she was doing. Alarmingly, I marched quickly and went downstairs but when I reached the front door, I saw her red Porsche leaving.

  "What happened?" I questioned David, who seemed to be lost in space, his gaze following the smoke emitted by Maxine’s car engine. "Why did you let her leave? Get in the dammed car and follow her!" I ordered angrily, jumping on the black big bike that was nearest to me. When I started the engine, the two-way radio transceiver in the pocket of my jacket made static noises.

  "Max Tiger, are you there?" said a voice I'm very familiar with. It was Timmy, calling my code name. Taking the gadget from my pocket, the black van we got from the agency had already left the house. Jackson was the one driving and I'm pretty confident that they would catch up with her in no time.

  "This is Max Tiger, over," I answered, putting the device closer to my mouth.

  "Sir, we have a problem! Miss Clark is going to meet up with Congressman Williams"

  "What are you saying? Tell me the details,” I ordered in urgency, finally able to set out on the road. I was glad I brought my bike with me. It was one of my most trusted modes of transport and it could be of very good use if we were chased or the other way around.

  My teeth clenched in anger knowing that Maxine decided on something without thinking twice, putting her life in danger. She did not even bother to tell me. I'm her bodyguard for fuck's sake!

  "I intercepted a call from an unknown caller. Williams wanted Maxine to withdraw from her coalition with the authorities in exchange for her mother and nephew's safety." Timmy informed quickly, not sparing a second to breathe. He was an efficient hacker, tracker and programmer.

  "Damn! We're late! Ring Black Wolf. Tell him all the details and request for back up ASAP!" I mandated, referring to Calvin.

  "Roger that," he responded, and the next thing I heard was a loud static.

  There were only a few vehicles at that hour and I did not hesitate to increase my speed when I passed the first intersection. Maxine could not have gone too far. Shit! I shouldn’t have left her alone.

  Making a deal with Williams would be the stupidest thing anyone could do. The man would never do as he had promised. And Maxine got easily swayed with his tactics. Whether she'd see him or not, he would kill not only her nephew but Maxine as well!

  Why had I not seen this coming?

  Shit. Shit. Shit.

  Everything was going smoothly as planned I should have known something was up. Things going smoothly was already unusual since we were dealing with someone as wicked as Conan Williams!

  I'd let my guard down. And now the woman I loved had fallen into a trap, although it might cost her, her life. She was supposed to be under my watch. How did this thing happen?

  No.

  I could not let that happen.

  I would never make that happen.

  I promised that I'd keep her alive.

  And I never break promises.

  Taking a full swerve to the left, I accelerated to a hundred and fifty kilometers per hour, disregarding the red light. I would never forgive myself if something bad happened to her.

  When I finally got a vision of the van my men were driving, I saw Maxine’s car running furiously up ahead. She was obviously trying to get away from the guards as she swerved and took a couple of turns to the nearby town. But she has to do better than that.

  After giving it deep thought, I gestured to Jackson, who opened the windows on his side of the car, to stop chasing her and to leave it to me. It was easier for me to stay unnoticed. With a nod, they already knew what I meant to say.

  They slowed down and I passed them in a blink of an eye. They will be looking out for me in case something bad happens. I’m sure Williams had something planned aside from kidnapping Maxine’s nephew.

  Believing the words of a criminal was a hard thing to do. And I’m sure that if it was not because of her family’s safety, Maxine would not be so rash in making this kind of decision. There was nothing I could do. The resolve to save her family was strong and I could not blame her for that.

  She had already lost a lot.

  Maxine’s speed continued to increase and it was freaking the hell out of me. She would die even before meeting Conan Williams at this rate.

  Damn!

  Chasing her for almost five kilometers felt like a quick trip to the kitchen whenever I’m hungry. I’ve been cursing madly the whole time and only the wind heard every word I have spoken. When she made a full turn, I hastily took a swerve, almost hitting a lamppost, gripping the handles of the bike.

  What the fuck is this woman doing? Does she really plan to die tonight? Get your fucking ass working out there Rico or you will end up with a woman’s dead body!

  The idea itself was something I didn’t want to think about but watching her drive carelessly made me realize that it was not far from reality. It could happen – but I’m not going to let it. I stopped the bike a few meters away when the red Porsche stopped at an intersection. Hiding my presence, I saw her meet up with a bunch of armed hoodlums, alarming every cell in my body. She could not have made a deal with these people!

  The spot where they were standing was dimly lit. Maxine’s silhouette was surrounded by men with high caliber firearms. There were six of them and two had bodies like Jackson – wide and bulky. If I was alone, I’d be confident that it would be easy to take them down without firing a single bullet.

  But I needed to be extra careful. My priority was Maxine’s safety – to rescue
her unharmed.

  “Did you bring what he asked?” said a man with spiky hair. He took a step closer to her and cradled her face, pushing her chin up with a hand. It took me more than the necessary self-control not to come running up and giving the man a big blow to the face. I knew I needed to stay calm while waiting for back-up.

  I could not risk getting in a losing situation.

  “I-I did,” Maxine responded, in a firm yet quivering voice. Anyone could tell that she was scared. And with that thought, I studied her figure, my eyes landing on the flash drive she was gripping in one hand.

  Of course, to withdraw from the coalition and from being the star witness, Williams needs to destroy all the evidence. The flash drive contains the one and only copy of the video Maxine took at the murder scene. If my memory served me right, she had given it to Timmy a few days after we started guarding her. How did it ended up in her possession when Timmy spends most of his time in the AV room when she’s not at work?

  It’s a fake. That’s why she is nervous.

  Instead of feeling relieved, fear consumed me. What if Conan finds out? He would never think twice of taking Maxine’s life if that happens. I need to find a way to get her out of here.

  “Are you sure you’re alone?” said the spiky-haired man.

  Maxine’s silhouette nodded in response before saying, “Where is he? I need to see him.”

  “Come with us.”

  “No,” she retorted, raising her hand with the flash disk. “You will lead the way and I will drive my own car. Coming with you is not part of the deal.”

  The guys chuckled and this time, I felt a bit of relief. I had completely forgotten about how wise Maxine was. It took me quite some time to realize that she was not able to come up with a plan before coming out of the house. Of course, there must be something.

  “How can we make sure that your car is not bugged with a tracking device?” the tallest figure asked, pointing a finger at Maxine.

  I gritted my teeth as I continued to watch them, silently hoping that my transceiver would stay quiet until they leave. It has been over fifteen minutes since I left the house and there has not been a word from Calvin and the others. I just hoped they would arrive on time before something wrong happened.

  “What if I decide that I don’t want to give this file to Conan?” Maxine asked instead. Her voice sounded calmer. In fact, she sounded fearless.

  “You’re smart. I like that,” said the spiky head, giving Maxine another stroke on the face. Fuck him for touching her.

  “Touch me once more and you’ll end up dead by your own master’s hand. Lead the way,” Maxine ordered, finally turning on her heels, walking back to her car.

  Running quickly back to my bike, I watched the six guys get inside the van and drive away. The red Porsche followed. And despite feeling a sense of relief, I knew something was off. The hoodlums were clearly not amateurs and letting Maxine have her own way was suspicious. Things like this don’t always happen.

  There’s always a catch. Keep your eyes and ears open, I reminded myself.

  Quickly starting the engine of my bike, my transceiver made static noises followed by Calvin’s voice. “Max Tiger? Max Tiger, are you there?”

  I pulled out the device to hover it below my chin. “Max Tiger speaking, over. Where’s the goddamned back up I requested? They’re taking away Maxine!”

  “We’ve got everything covered. Our people have secured the institute where her mother is staying. Her nephew and his nanny are both in one of our safe houses,” Calvin spoke, as if he knew how worried I was. How could he tell me this now?

  “What are you saying?” I asked angrily, suppressing the urge to grip the device until it breaks.

  Calvin sighed over the line.

  “When we learned about her family’s situation, I immediately hired people to watch over her relatives. We caught the people Williams hired. And Miss Clark is totally aware of this.”

  “You bastard! Are you saying she’s setting herself as bait in this operation?” I shouted, hitting the clutch and followed the two vehicles that were almost out of my sight. Pressing hard on the bike’s throttle, I increased my speed to catch up with the red Porsche, uttering a silent prayer that Maxine’s going to be okay.

  “She decided this on her own. We are all on standby in case something wrong happens. It’s your duty to make sure everything goes according to her plan,” Calvin stated, in a firm voice. “Record everything.”

  “Where the fuck are you? This isn’t funny!”

  I was expecting for my cousin’s reply but only the static answered my furious inquiry. What the hell were they doing?

  It’s your duty to make sure everything goes according to her plan, Calvin’s voice echoed in my mind as I got closer to Maxine’s car, making me wonder what the plan was. They should have told me. Damn it!

  Chapter 20

  Maxine

  I couldn’t remember the last time I held my breath for so long. The few minutes I spent with Conan’s men seemed like forever. When I saw them carrying high caliber firearms, I started wishing that a hole would swallow me whole.

  But the moment they started talking, it was easy to tell that they were not as scary as they seemed. Yes, they appeared to be professionals when it comes to this kind of business, but they were just a big lump of meat with no brains in their heads – easy to manipulate.

  The moment I went back inside my car, I released a heavy breath and relieved myself from the sudden rush of fear. Asking the goons to let me ride in my own car was a long shot. And I was not even expecting to have it my way. But as expected, they would never dare touch me when I said ‘no’.

  And I knew that was Conan’s orders.

  After receiving the threat from Conan, I made a fake copy of the video before leaving the house in a rush. I was not mad enough to yield to his conditions. He would never be able to manipulate me. Why would I even marry him? I’d rather die than spend my life hating myself for falling for Conan Williams’ antics.

  And I knew Rico would save me. He promised he’d keep me alive. I could feel that he’d soon be with a whole bunch of agents to take the enemies down.

  I was totally relieved when Calvin informed me that both of my mother and nephew were safe and heavily guarded. After quite some time of spending time with Rico and his team, I knew that their agency only had the best security there is. And they have always kept their words.

  Tonight, I’m offering myself as bait to end this ridiculous case.

  It was all part of the plan – the plot I arranged with Calvin, knowing that Rico would never agree to it. It didn’t take me a lot of time to think about it, I just knew I wanted all of this to end. And having Conan confess with the presence of the authorities would be the best.

  I maneuvered the steering wheel, stealing a quick glimpse of the flash disk and a forty-five caliber gun that I got from Rico’s stuff. I didn’t have any idea on how to use the pistol. I’ll just cross the bridge if the situation calls for it. All I knew was that it would be the best to bring it with me.

  It’s going to be a long night.

  Tricking Conan Williams would not be easy but it’s better than letting him do whatever he wants. I would never give him another chance to send me death threats. I would not give him another chance to put the lives of my loved ones in danger. Not again.

  As I drove my car on the dark highways, I wanted to question the security and the police department for allowing these men to walk around the city with firearms. Where’s the fucking public security? What if these people go amok?

  What if they shoot you? Stop thinking about things like that and focus on your mission to keep your head. Keep your mind straight and alert, said a voice in my head. As much as I wanted to stop thinking about unnecessary things, I just couldn’t. If none of these people were free to roam then crime rates would have gone down. There would be less kidnapping, homicide and robbery. And this was all impossible
because of officials like Conan Williams – pigs who have the money and power to abuse the government position they hold for their own benefit.

  When the van slowed down to pass through the checkpoint area, I was not even surprised when the police did not bother to check the vehicle. The spiky head pointed at my car, probably saying I was with them, nodding his head before settling back in the van. The police did not even bother to knock on my car window for check-up but just gestured that I could pass.

  Following the car, I travelled with a mixture of restlessness and fear. But my thoughts were disturbed when the two ways transceiver started making static noises inside the pockets of my vest. I knew it was Calvin.

  “Are you okay? My cousin is going to fucking kill me if something bad happens to you,” he inquired, in a serious tone. But his last sentence made me smile despite the mixture of emotions I was currently feeling. “You can always back out if you want, Clark. My men are already dispersed in the area where Williams is waiting for you.”

  I took a quick look at the road to find any signage but there was none. But I have a hunch that we were near the place he was referring to. “I’m still on the road. I think we’re near the place you’re talking about,” I responded, following the black van when it took a left turn. “I suggested this, Calvin. I’m not going to back out. It is your duty to keep me safe, right? Then do your part. If something really bad happens…” I murmured, trailing off with a grimace, still hoping that nothing goes wrong. “Then I guess that this is really my destiny, don’t you think?” I added, turning off the transceiver.

  Yes, this was my decision. And backing out was never in my vocabulary. I’d finish this once and for all. If luck would continue to be on my side, I’d get out of the place lightly injured. And if not, I’d probably be dead even before reaching the hospital.

  But my priority tonight was to send Conan Williams behind bars without giving him the chance to lie and manipulate the law and public. It has to be done – by me.