Horses Wild and Free

It had been a long, hard day’s work riding the fence of the Triple Bar Ranch, fixing the posts and wire that needed repairing as he went along. But, John Samson was no stranger to hard work and, if you asked him, he preferred the solitary work, just him and his horse, Shadow, riding the range under a beautiful blue sky on a sunny autumn day.

Shadow had been his horse ever since he picked the beautiful black stallion out of a corral in town a dozen or so years ago when he was just a young, free-spirited colt. The two-year old mustang had been caught up as part of the roundup the year before and had ended up alone in the stockyard outside of town after all of the other horses had been purchased. The young colt was a fighter though and he grew up strong, fast, and stubborn.

It took John a lot of time and patience, but he was able to calm the horse down and earn his trust, and in time, the two became a good team, rider and horse.

John found a nice place to camp for the night. It was one of his favorite spots on the ranch and he, Shadow, and Sparky, his pack horse, had been there a few times before. It was situated on the far-side of the 10,000-acre ranch on the side of a hill overlooking a small valley that had a wide stream running through it. There was grass for Shadow and Sparky to graze on and plenty of trees to shelter under if needed. There was also a small creek nearby that flowed down to the stream, which gave him and his equine companions all the water they would need for the night.

He took care of his two horses first before doing anything else. He unsaddled shadow, gave him a nice brushing, which the black horse always seemed to enjoy. He walked him over to a nice grassy spot where he began munching on some grass almost immediately.

He then did the same thing with Sparky, removing all of the gear the old boy had been carrying, then gave him a nice brushing, too, before walking him over to the grassy spot so he could graze alongside Shadow.

He didn’t stake or tie either horse up, as the trust between him and his horses that had been developed over all the years they had been together was complete. John knew Shadow or Sparky would not run off, and even if one or both did, he knew he could simply call out to them and they would return. Such was the bond between the three companions.

After his horses were settled down, John began putting his campsite together. He set up a bed of sorts with his saddle as a pillow and a blanket as a mattress to try and cushion the hard ground when he lay down. He got some water from the creek and collected some sticks for a fire.

Soon, the small campsite felt a little bit like home, with the smell of coffee brewing in the air and the crackle of beans and meat cooking in a pan over the fire.

It was beautiful and peaceful in their little campsite, John thought to himself. The sun was getting low, as the soft, late-afternoon sunlight bathed the campsite and the valley below. He sat back and relaxed as he watched the shadows grow longer as the time passed slowly while his little meal cooked. Close by, Shadow and Sparky munched contentedly on the grass. It was a nice way to close out the day.

Suddenly, John heard a snort from Shadow. He turned quickly and saw the black stallion standing with his head up high, his ears forward, and he was staring intently toward the far end of the valley. Sparky didn’t seem to notice anything for a moment, but then he too became alert, and stood tall next Shadow, looking into the distance.

John knew his horses sensed something coming. A horse’s sense of smell, hearing and eyesight were far superior to a man’s. For Shadow, and then Sparky, to react the way they did, there had to be something close by.

John watched and listened, but couldn’t see or hear anything in the direction that his two horses were looking. But then, gradually, he heard a sound. It was a rumbling sound like thunder, but the sky was too clear for a storm to be brewing. Yet, the rumbling sound kept getting louder and louder.

He got up and walked closer to his horses.

“What do you think it is boys,” he asked Shadow, who seemed the most agitated by the sound, as his nostrils were flaring as he breathed in the scent of – something, which had him very excited.

And, then, John saw something. Down on the valley floor, the source of the “thunder,” which continued to get louder, was finally revealed.

Coming out of the trees was a herd of wild horses, maybe 50 head, running at a full gallop. The power in their legs left no doubt of their strength, as their hooves pounded the ground making the thunderous sound and kicking up dust as they moved across the valley floor. Their power was in stark contrast to their beauty and to their gracefulness, as their manes and tails trailed behind them in the wind as they ran. 

The thundering herd followed their lead horse across the wide expanse of green grass in the valley and they ran directly toward the stream. It was a beautiful sight to behold, as horses of all different colors – roan, gray, brown and bay – just trusted their leader, a strikingly beautiful pure white stallion, as they followed him towards the cool crystal blue water they all seemed to know awaited them just ahead.

Soon the horses reached the stream and they all stopped. Some of the horses went straight into the water to cool off, while others stood on the bank and began to drink. All the while, the white stallion stood off to the side, standing guard over his herd. He was their protector, always on the lookout for any sign of trouble. That was his job, what nature and instinct taught him to do a long time ago.

Up on the hillside, John, Shadow and Sparky watched the herd at the stream below together. John enjoyed the beauty of what he saw unfold. Sure, he had seen a herd of wild horses running before, but there just seemed to be something different this time. Maybe it was just the culmination of a good day, or maybe it was watching it with his two companions, or maybe it was the beauty and majesty of the white stallion who stood watching over his herd.

All the time he had been watching, his hand had been resting on Shadow’s side. His horse definitely seemed to have a keen interest in the scene below. He began to notice how Shadow’s disposition and demeanor was changing. How his muscles began to tighten, his breathing became stronger, as his nostril’s flared. He began shaking with excitement as if some primal instinct within the black beauty was being drawn to the herd of horses below.

John wondered if maybe the scene of the horses running below brought back distant memories for his horse from a time before he had found him. Whatever it was, Shadow started to take some steps forward as if his instinct was drawing him to run down the hill and join the herd.

John sensed what might be happening and was not sure what he should do. His first thought was to try and stop Shadow from moving ahead. But, in the back of his mind, he also wondered whether he wanted to stop him or not. Sure, he loved Shadow and wanted his horse to stay with him, but then he questioned himself – was it right to hold his horse back from a chance to possibly return to the life he once knew and a chance to just be a wild horse again and be free.

Shadow took a few more tentative steps forward, as if trying to decide what he should do himself. But, then he stopped looked back at John, the person who had taken such good care of him all these years, and he stopped. It was as if he had made his own decision. He was going to stay.

John stepped up closer to Shadow again, reached over and stroked him along his neck. The gesture was returned with a quiet nicker. Sparky, who had been watching everything unfold, gave a quiet nicker, too.

Down in the valley, the white stallion finally took his turn to take a drink of the cool water, while his herd stood around relaxing, grazing, or lying down.

Shadow took one more look at the herd down below, and then from a place deep within himself, he let out a long, almost primal whinny that John had never heard his horse make before.

Down in the valley, every horse snapped to attention, as they lifted their heads, almost in unison, and looked in the direction from where Shadow had made his call. The white stallion looked intensely for a moment, then snorted, turned, and took off at a full gallop heading away down the valley. His herd wasted no time and followed.

As before when they first appeared, John marveled at the beautiful scene unfolding in front of him as the horses galloped off into the distance, leaving a trail of dust behind. They were wild and free; the epitome of what freedom was all about.

While Sparky only seemed to have a curious interest in all of it, Shadow continued to intensely watch the horses as they faded into the distance, and John wondered what his companion might be thinking. Did he miss the freedom of his former life, or was he happy and content living with him?

When the herd of horses finally disappeared into the distance, the three companions settled back down into their camp for the night. Shadow took one final look into the distance, then walked over and began grazing on the grass next to Sparky, while John settled in for some sleep.

It was the end of their day, and what a magnificent day it had been.

-----

(Photos used courtesy of Creative Commons)

Tuckers #2b: Tucker’s Law: Babysitting a Pop Princess (pt. 2 of 2)

Intro

Tucker had many bodyguard assignments before, but this one he did not want.

Angel looked like just another teenage, blond pop-star -- she had the tattoos, piercings, skimpy clothes, and dance gyrations like all the rest. The one thing that made Angel different was that she could truly sing.

The other thing that was different -- she has a stalker. A man named Simon who is determined to get her to love him one way or another.

It will be up to Tucker to keep her safe.

---> click here to read part 1.

Part 2: The Curtain Goes Up

The city was far behind them in the darkness now, and Tucker could finally breathe a small sigh of relief after all that had happened. He kept one had on the wheel as he drove along I-95 in Connecticut, and used his other hand to rub his neck to try and relieve the tensions and stiffness he was feeling.

The heater was set on high, blasting out hot air to keep them warm from the cold winter night that was just outside the car. It was as if they were in a small cocoon within his car, safe and warm from the danger they had just escaped from about an hour ago.

He looked over at Angel sleeping next to him in the passenger seat. She was leaning against the car window. Her long blond hair fell down around her tear stained face and her coat was pulled tight around her. Her breathing was slow and steady now, as she seemed to have finally calmed down just a little.

"She's a tough kid," he thought to himself.

The second shooting in less than two days had really gotten to her, and the tough exterior that she had always projected finally crumpled under the strain.

As they had started driving away from the Garden, she had cried quietly next to him for some time. After a while, she began to calm down and began to talk a little about what had happened..

"Why would anyone want to kill me," she asked him, as the tears continued to stream down her face. "I didn't do anything to him."

"You never know why people do things like that Angel," he replied calmly. "Some people just aren't wired right, you know. They become obsessed with something or someone and then just lose control I guess. Who knows."

"It just doesn't make sense," she said sniffling away the tears.

"There's some tissues in the glove box," he told her.

"Thanks," she said as she reached inside it, took out a couple sheets and wiped her nose. "All I want to do is make music and entertain people. Why can't it just be that simple."

"Life rarely is simple," Tucker replied.

Angel got quiet again after that. She leaned against the window, the coolness of the glass feeling good against her forehead, and just stared out into the darkness for a while before finally falling asleep.

Tucker took an exit off the highway and came to a stop at the bottom of the off ramp. He turned right and then drove down the country road, heading to the destination where he knew he would be able keep Angel safe until they had to head back into the city for her concert tomorrow night.

"Simon is going to try again, that much I know," he thought to himself. "The question is when and where and what can I do to make sure he fails."

Deep in thought, he drove on into the darkness.

===

A blanket of snow covered the fields and trees around Tucker’s home the next morning. The snow had tapered off to flurries around dawn, leaving about 10 inches of fresh white powder across the wind blown landscape.

It was cold outside, but inside it was nice and warm. Tucker woke up around 7 a.m., showered and was now puttering around the kitchen. The smell of hot, brewing coffee filled the kitchen as he poured himself his first cup of the day.

He debated what to have for breakfast for a few minutes, then decided to wait to see what his guest might want to have first. He poured himself a cup of coffee, then sat down at the table in the breakfast nook and looked out the large bay window.

"Nothing like the peacefulness of the morning after a snowstorm," he thought to himself as he stared at the pasture and rolling hills outside his home.

His house was located on a 40-acre plot of land in the rich farmland outside Fairfield, Connecticut. It was the house he had grown up in, and it held many good memories.

His grandfather, who had been in the banking business, had purchased it back in the 1920s as a weekend and vacation retreat from the hectic, stressful workdays in New York City. After his grandfather had died, his dad inherited it and just couldn't part with it, so he moved the family there and that's where he had spent his childhood.

Then, after his parents had been killed in an automobile accident 10 years ago, there was never a doubt in his mind that this was the place he wanted to live. While he loved going to the seashore, there was no place on earth that he had found that matched the beauty and peacefulness of this farm. This is where he wanted to live and, hopefully, one day raise a family of his own.

As he sat there and continued to daydream, the sound of piano music began to seep into his conscious. Slowly he realized that it wasn't part of his daydream and was for real and coming from his living room. He got up and headed through the kitchen, down the hall and into the living room.

Tucker's living room was the centerpiece of the house. It was a huge room, taking up almost one side of the house. It had a 20-foot open ceiling with wood beams crisscrossing high above the floor. A balcony ran along one side of the second floor, so that people could look down from the bedrooms above. Along another wall was a large stone fireplace, with a mantle filled with antique clocks. Along the outside wall of the living room, a floor-to-ceiling window ran the entire length of the room.

There was one-step down into the living area of the room, which was decorated for both casualness and comfort. IN the center was a sofa, which was surrounded by large, soft chairs, a coffee table and some end tables with lamps.

Over by the window opposite the couch was a grand piano, which was the source of the music filling the room. The piano had belonged to his mother, who had always enjoyed playing it while looking outside at the beautiful countryside, just as Angel seemed to be doing this morning.

Angel didn't notice him enter the room, so he stood quietly near the doorway and just listened.

"She has a beautiful voice," he thought to himself as he listened to her sing a beautiful ballad.

Angel was lost in her own little world sitting at the piano playing her music and looking outside at the beautiful snow covered countryside. She was dressed casually in a comfortable pair of jeans and an oversized flannel shirt. She wore no makeup and her hair in a pony tail.

It was times like this that she enjoyed the most -- just herself and a piano. It brought back warm, happy memories of a time that seemed so long ago now, when she was a little girl playing the piano in her living room back home in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Then she was just Jennifer Sullivan, a typical, all-American girl playing music. She would sit and play for hours and dream of becoming a rock star one day.

Her gift was not just her voice, but also her musical talent. Learning to play the piano in elementary school had come easy to her, and once she understood music, she was able to master or become proficient in many other musical instruments as well, including guitar, flute, clarinet and saxophone. Throughout elementary, middle school, and high school she had played in the band and the orchestra and enjoyed every moment of it.

It was a poster she spotted in her sophomore year of high school that had changed her life forever -- "Battle of the Bands -- Friday night, 7:00 p.m. in the Gym."

She and her girlfriends thought it would be fun to go listen and see what the kids in their high school sounded like, and so on Friday night they headed to the school gym, bought their tickets and went in to listen to the evening's entertainment.

On the way to their seats, they overheard the members of one of the bands talking in panicky voices.

"What are we gonna do now," a tall, thin, boy with long, brown hair asked his fellow band members. "With Susan sick, we don't have a singer, and without a singer, we really don't have much.

"I disagree," said a blond haired boy, who stood holding his guitar. “We can just play our music. We don’t need to have a singer.”

Suddenly, one of the band members, Johnny Cairns, looked over in her direction and recognized her from the school band.

"Give me a second guys, I have an idea," he said to the group, and headed over to where she was standing with her friends.

"Hey, Jennifer, how's it going," Cairns asked as he approached her.

"Hi Johnny, it's going pretty good," she replied. "I'm looking forward to listening to the music tonight. Are things ok with you and your band? I saw you guys talking real serious over there."

"Well, that's the thing, Jenn," he said. "Our singer, Susan Kimbell is home sick and without her, we just can't go on."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," she said.

"Here's the deal, Jenn," he continued. "I've heard you sing in class and you have a great voice. Would you be interested in filling in for her tonight?"

"Wow, I don't know, John," she said. "I don't know your music, the songs you do, nothing. I'd probably fall flat on my face."

"Actually, you do know the songs, Jenn," he said. "We do mostly what's being played on the radio these days."

He then rattled off five or six of their songs, and indeed, she did know them.

With some encouragement from her friends, she agreed to do it, and a few hours later, Jennifer Kelly took the stage with her schoolmate’s band “Soulful Termination.” She was nervous at first, but then relaxed and really got into the show. In the end, they were the hit of the evening.

Standing there in the spotlight that night, hearing the applause and the kids screaming, she knew that’s what she wanted to do for a living.

After that, things happened incredibly fast. A few months after her performance, with her parents encouragement and permission, of course, she made a demo tape. Then, through a friend of a friend of their family, the tape made its way to a record producer who knew talent when he heard it. A few months after that, she was in a recording studio making her first CD, and then with a little packaging and marketing, voila, Angel was born.

However, the person that appeared on stage and in public appearances as Angel in the skimpy clothes and diva attitude was just all part of the marketing campaign. The person sitting at the piano in Tucker's living room playing just for herself, and looking out at the beautiful snow covered countryside, that was who she really was. And, until that very moment, it had been a long time since she fully realized it.

Suddenly, she noticed a movement out of the corner of her eye and jumped up – startled -- until she saw it was Tucker standing by the doorway listening to her play.

"Oh, it's you," she said. "You scared me to death.”

"Good morning," he said as he entered the room and sat down on the couch. "Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. I hope you were comfortable last night."

"Yes, I was very much,” she said. “Thank you for your hospitality. This is a beautiful home."

"Thanks," he replied. “It's been in our family for a long time. It belonged to my father and his father before him. That was a beautiful song you were playing. What was it?"

"Oh, it’s just a little ballad that I wrote a long time ago," she said as she walked over and joined him on the soft couch. "It’s actually one of the first songs I ever wrote. It's one of my favorites, but it's for me. I haven't recorded it and probably won't because it doesn't fit in with my pop-rock image."

"That's a shame," he said with a sigh. "I'm sure there are a lot of people who would enjoy hearing you sing that. You have a beautiful voice, you know. I'm betting you could probably be successful with just your singing if you really wanted. I really don't think you need all those skimpy outfits and all those dance gyrations to be successful."

"I had thought of doing that once," she said. “But, from a business perspective, the record company I work with just wasn’t interested. So, I decided to continue on with the pop-rock. Then maybe some day, when I have enough money to stand on my own, I can make the music that I really want to make."

"So that's why you do what you do -- dress the way you do and do all those crazy dances on stage," he asked. "All part of the marketing plan."

"Yeah," she said, for the first time feeling a little embarrassed about it. "A girl has to do what a girl has to do to make a living."

"I guess it's a good business plan, though I still don't think you need to do it,” he said. ”I think if you just let people see the real you, the one I'm seeing her today, the one that has such a beautiful voice, I think you'd be just as successful. Though you might have a slightly different audience," he added with a chuckle.

"Thanks," she said. "That's sweet of you. Someday, maybe I will get to do it."

"I'll look forward to that day and that CD," he said. "You have your first customer."

They both sat quietly for a few minutes looking out the window, both lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Angel broke the silence as she thought about the day ahead.

"So, not to rush back to reality here, but what's the plan for today," she asked, a serious, business like look coming back onto her face.

"Well, no question, Simon’s still out there and I, unfortunately, expect he'll try something again tonight," he said. "But don't you worry. I'll do my job and you'll be safe. You just concentrate on getting yourself ready to entertain your fans and let me worry about him."

She should be scared she thought to herself as she looked over at him. But, she wasn't. He spoke with such confidence and strength, he made her feel safe and secure. He did save her last night, and she had no doubts that he would be able to do it again if the situation arose.

"Thanks, Joseph," she said, calling him by his first name for the first time since they had met.

"I don't suppose you'd consider playing that song one more time," he asked.

"I'd be happy to. Anything for my... friends," she said with a smile.

Angel walked over to the piano, sat down and began to play and sing again, while Tucker just sat back on the couch and relaxed, taking it all in -- her singing, the warmth in the house and the beauty of the snow-filled countryside outside.

"What a nice, relaxing way to spend a morning," he thought to himself.

===

Meanwhile, back in the city in a run down apartment, Simon stalked around his living room, still seething at missing his opportunity the previous night.

"I had her," he said out loud to himself. "I had her until that long-haired tough guy got in the way. Well, it won't happen again. That jerk won't get in my way next time. Angel is mine and if I can’t have her, no one will. “

He picked up his gun and began reloading it.

"Tonight Angel... tonight we'll finally be together, one way or another," he said, and then quietly began his preparing himself for the day ahead.

===

Tucker and Angel just relaxed on the couch in the living room for the rest of the morning and into the early afternoon.

They told each other about their lives, friendships, careers, and relationships. Somewhere during their conversation, Tucker learned that while they had such different careers, they also had a lot in common.

They had both grown up in comfortable households with loving, hard working parents who instilled a solid set of core values and a strong work ethic into each of them. They had both worked hard and excelled in school. They both enjoyed sports and they both had a lot of friends. However, while Tucker had gone on to graduate from college and then join the military, Angel had dropped out of high school when her singing career had taken off.

As they talked, Tucker began to realize that for all her bravado and diva-like persona, deep down, Angel was just a typical young woman trying to find her own way in life. And while Angel might have been her professional stage name, when you dug down deep, you found out just what Jim had been talking about -- she was just a sweet kid with a good heart. All it took was a little patience -- and a lot of trust on her part -- to begin to reveal her true self. Of course, having saved her life the previous night probably helped speed up her trusting him.

"You know, you really are a nice person once you let someone get to know you," Tucker said to her. "You should show that side of you more often."

"It's not as easy as it sounds," Angel replied. "In this business, your friends and enemies all look the same. You just don't know who to trust sometimes, which means you have to be tough and never show any fear or hesitation at all times. One moment of weakness and your history. The next superstar is always just waiting in the wings."

"Well, that's all well and good, but I still believe there is a compromise to that though," Tucker said. "You can still be nice and courteous to people, show a strong, professional exterior, without being such a, if you'll pardon the expression, bitch."

Angel giggled. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she replied. Sometimes you work so hard to be one thing, you get lost in your own creation and forget who you really are. I guess I could do a better job of that."

"You might even find that you enjoy it, because the people around you will start to like you more," Tucker said. "And, you can never have too many friends."

The grandfather clock that stood in the far corner of the room began to chime... It was 2:00 p.m.

"We probably should get ready to head back to the city for tonight's concert," Tucker said, as he got up off the couch. "If we leave here by 3:00 p.m., we should get to Madison Square Garden with plenty of time for you to get ready for your show."

"I guess you're right," Angel said. "It's so comfortable here though. I wish we didn't have to leave just not."

"Well, you're welcome to come back here anytime you want," Tucker offered as he got up and stretched a little. "Consider it a safe haven if the pressures of your career ever get to be too much. The door will always be open for you."

"Thanks, Joseph, that's so nice of you to say that," she said with a big smile on her face. She untangled her legs, got up off the couch and gave him a big hug of appreciation.

She slowly pulled away and looked up into Tucker's eyes. "Interesting man," she thought to herself. "Confident, strong, kind, gentle... I wonder if I'll ever find a man like this my own age someday?"

"You'd better go and clean up a little before we hit the road, Tucker said, jolting her out of her thoughts. "We'll leave here in about 30 minutes."

"Sounds good," Angel said, then headed upstairs to freshen up and get ready.

===

The drive back into New York City went fairly easy. The Connecticut and New York public service crews had done a great job clearing the snow off the highway, so they made good time getting to the arena around 6 p.m.

Tucker was directed to the VIP parking area. At the gate, he handed over the keys to the attendant and he and Angel walked toward the stage entrance. As they walked across the parking area towards the entrance, the door banged opened and out stepped Jim, surprising both of them.

Angel ran over and hugged her big, burly bodyguard, who stood there with a huge grin on his face.

"What are you doing back here already," she asked. "Shouldn't you still be in the hospital? I can't believe the doctors let you go already."

"Well, they didn't actually 'let' me go," he said, with a hardy laugh, as he shook Tucker's hand in greeting. "I sort of let myself out when no one was looking."

"What am I going to do with you," she said, half-heartedly scolding him. "Are you sure you're ok to be here?"

"I'll be fine little on," he said. "You just make sure you sing your heart out tonight and make your fans happy."

===

A few fans who had been were standing around, waiting and hoping for a glimpse of Angel, began to call her name.

"Angel we love you," said a group of high school fans.

Angel turned towards the fans, smiled and waved.

A young girl who was standing with her mother pleaded, "Angel, would you sign my magazine please?"

Normally, Angel would have walked away. But after her talk with Tucker earlier in the day, she seemed to have a change of heart. She walked towards the young girl and her mother, and the child’s eyes began to light up.

"Hello there, are you here to see the concert," she asked as she reached the young girl.

"No, we can’t afford to buy tickets," the young girl said as she handed Angel her old, worn magazine with Angel’s photo inside. "You’re my favorite singer, so my mom said we could come down and see if we could see you and maybe I could get your autograph."

"What's your name," Angel asked.

"Michelle," the girl said.

"Well, Michelle, thank you so much for coming tonight," Angel said as she handed the girl her newly autographed magazine. "I'm sorry you couldn’t get tickets... Hold on a second would you please.”

Angel called Jim over and the two huddled together, then Jim reached in his coat pocket and handed her something.

Angel turned back to the young girl and her mother.

“I’m sorry, but there just doesn’t seem to be any more tickets,” she told the young girl. “But we do have these two backstage passes that you can use and where you can watch the concert from. Will that be ok?”

The young girl’s eyes lit up as wide as saucers. She turned and looked at her mom. “Can we go mom,” the young girl asked. Her mom smiled back and nodded her head yes.

Michele turned back to Angel. "Oh, thank you so much, Angel," she said with a huge smile lighting up her face.

Angel smiled at Michelle, then looked at Michelle's mother and nodded. With tears forming in her eyes, Michelle’s mom nodded back, while silently mouthing a "Thank you" to Angel.

"Just follow that gentleman over there,” Angel said as she pointed toward one of her assistants who was standing by the door and was waving them over. “He’ll take you to where you can watch the show. You guys enjoy the show, and be sure to find me afterwards and let me know what you thought about it, ok?”

“Ok, we will,” Michelle said. The little girl then took hold of her mother hand and the two began walking over to Angel’s assistant and the exciting evening that awaited them.

Angel then turned and began walking back to where Tucker and Jim were standing..

"Well, that's something I never saw her do," Jim said as the two men watched Angel walk back towards them. He then glanced over at Tucker and asked, "Did you have anything to do with that?"

Tucker chuckled a little. "Me, no," he said. "We talked a little today, but she always had that in her. She just needed to be reminded of who she is and where she came from, that's all."

"Hmmm, I see. I didn't know you big-time security people were also psychologists," he said, grinning from ear to ear, before turning back to the business at hand. "I heard about what happened last night. Thanks for saving her. Any special plans for tonight? I'm thinking this Simon nut-case will try again before this evenings over."

"Yeah, I feel the same way," Tucker replied. "He thought he had her last night and just missed. He seems to be getting more and more desperate. Are you up to a little legwork tonight?"

"You tell me what you want me to do," Jim said. "I'm not 100%, but I'm good enough to make sure nothing happens to her, and this is still your show until after tonight's concert. So, I'll follow your lead."

"Ok, then, let's get to it," Tucker said.

Both men were smiling at Angel as she approached.

"What," she asked, cocking her head to one side. "I can't be nice to a fan?"

"Actually, I thought that was a great thing you did there," Jim said to her. "I've been hoping to see you do that kind of thing for a long time."

"Well, thanks to my new friend over here, I learned a few things the last couple days," she said looking at Tucker. "And one of those things is that I don't have to always be a bitch!"

The three of them looked at each other and laughed and headed for the door. With Jim holding the door open, they headed into the arena.

The concert was about two hours away and there was still a lunatic out there, somewhere, who had to be stopped.

===

The three of them headed backstage where the other band members, roadies, and hangers on were getting things ready for the show. Angel talked to a few people, then went and talked about the night's show with her band. She had a special plan for tonight’s performance in mind and she told them all about it. When she was done, she headed into her dressing room to get changed into the outfit she would wear for the first segment of the show.

As she disappeared into the dressing room, her band members just kind of stared at each other with a kind of confused look. Then James, the lead guitarist, just shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever she wants," he said. "She's the boss." And they all kind of laughed.

Tucker and Jim stood off to one side of the room watching the goings on. "Wonder what she's up to now," Jim said with a grin as he watched the band members reaction after Angel had left to go get changed.

Tucker didn't think much of it though, and began discussing the events of the previous night with Jim. Together they tried to determine the best way to look after Angel until the evening's concert was over.

"The thing that has me concerned is that he didn't even try to take her last night," Tucker told Jim. "He just started shooting. That means he's lost hope and is getting desperate, and that worries me big time. He probably realizes she'll never go with him willingly, so if he can't have her, no one can, and that's not good. You just can't predict what he might do now."

"I tend to agree with you Tuck," Jim said. "Just to let you know, though, I checked out the security when I got here tonight, and they have added extra guards around the inside of the building to watch the crowd. Plus, everyone is getting scanned at the front door -- something they set up here after 9/11. That will help, but he could always slip in through another entrance. Anyway, I'm thinking, since I'm not 100% yet, and if it's ok with you, I'll just keep an eye on her from backstage while she's doing the show, and it'll give me a good view of the front rows of the crowd."

"That's exactly where I was thinking would be a good spot for you, too," Tucker said, as he finished setting up his communication's gear under his jacket and into his ear. "That'll free me up to wander around through the crowd and keep an eye out from the floor."

"Sounds good," Jim replied as he finished putting his communication gear together as well. "Is that thing working ok for you... can you hear me ok."

"Yep, working good," Tucker said, then turned when he heard a commotion behind him coming from Angel's dressing room.

Angel came out of the dressing room, but instead of being in one of her skimpy skirts and tube tops, she wore a more conservative outfit consisting of a skirt and blouse. Well, conservative, at least for her, since the skirt was still very short and the blouse was tied up to expose part of her midriff. But considering the see-through, ripped and torn outfits she usually wore, this one was downright old fashioned and definitely not her usual style.

James was the first person to ask what was already on everyone's mind.

"What's with the outfit, Angel" he asked.

"Oh, just a little change of pace to start the show," she replied. "Don't worry. I'm not converting into grandma or anything. I'll be back to normal after the first break."

Everyone laughed and resumed their conversations, while Angel walked over to the food table, picked up a bottle of water, opened it up and took a long, drink. Just then, the lead engineer stuck his head in the room. "Fifteen minutes to show time folks. Everyone get in to your places. Let's have a good show tonight."

Angel and her band got together in the middle of the room and formed a circle. They joked a little among themselves, said a little prayer, gave each other high fives, and then laughing and enjoying the moment, headed for the door.

Tucker was already ahead of the pack, leading the way down the hall towards the stage. The band members were behind him, followed by Angel, then Jim. As Tucker rounded a corner leading to the stairs, Angel suddenly stopped in her tracks. So suddenly, Jim almost walked right into her.

"Oh damn," she said. "I forgot that bottle of water. I'm gonna go get it. You keep going and I'll catch up with you in a sec."

"No, no, you keep going up to the stage," Jim said. "I'll go get it for you."

"Nonsense," Angel replied. "You shouldn't even be out here tonight. No, you keep on going. It's only just down the hall there. I'll get it and meet you backstage in a minute."

Jim was hesitant to let her out of his sight, but she was right. He was tiring already. Besides, it was only a few feet away and no one had been anywhere between here and that back room when they walked up here.

"OK, but go quickly and don't stop to talk to anyone," he said.

Angel gave him a quick hug and took off back to get the water. Jim watched her go and disappear around the corner down the hall from where he stood.

Just then, Tucker popped out of the stairwell and saw Jim looking down the hall.

"Where's Angel," he asked the big man.

"Oh, she forgot her bottle of water and just went to get it," he said, looking down the hall where they had all just come from. The two men stood quietly in the hall and waited together.

Angel walked quickly down the empty hallway towards the waiting room they had all just left. The hall echoed with the sound of her footsteps. She heard a noise and began to feel a little nervous, then just shook it off.

"Sheesh, I'm getting too paranoid," she thought to herself.

She reached the room where they had been a few minutes ago and pulled the door open. As she took her first step inside, an arm reached around her waist and pulled her all the way into the room. Angel struggled with all her might, but whoever it was that grabbed her, held her in a steel-like grip, with her arms pinned to her sides. She couldn’t move.

"Finally gotcha, Angel," Simon sneered in her ear as he held her tight against his body.

As soon as Angel realized who it was, she began to fight and struggle even harder to gain her freedom.

"Let me go you asshole," she said defiantly as she tried to swing around and step on his toes.

Simon continued to hold on to her tightly as she struggled, figuring she would tire soon. He was definitely a lot stronger than he looked, which surprised Angel a lot.

"Damn it, let me g...," Angel began, but Simon clamped a hand over her mouth to cut off her scream.

"Now, now," he said. "Screaming will only bring others running and we don't want that. I've waited a long time to be alone with you. Don't go ruining the party before it gets started. Now shut up, stop your struggling before I hurt you, and let's get out of here."

With that, Simon began to drag the still struggling singer towards the back of the room. There he pushed against the wall and opened up a back door to the room. It wasn't a visible door. You had to know it was there. It was a door that was used by celebrities and athletes to avoid large crowds of fans and media after an event -- a back passage down to the garage.

Simon dragged Angel through the door and let it close behind them. When it clicked shut, it meshed once again with the wall into a seamless seal that no one would be able to see.

Meanwhile, back up the hall Tucker and Jim were beginning to wonder what was taking Angel so long when they heard the partial scream. As soon as they heard it, both men began to run down the hall -- Tucker in the lead, and Jim laboring behind him.

They didn't see her anywhere along the hall and they picked up their pace a bit. They got to the waiting room and rushed inside. It was empty.

"Dammit, where is she," Tucker said. "I told her from the start not to go anywhere without someone. Damn! She just didn't listen."

The two men went back into the hall and looked both ways up and down the hall.

"Jim, why don't you head for the stage in case she took another way up there," Tucker said. "I'll go this way and see if she's went this direction."

"I knew I shouldn't have let her go by herself," a despondent Jim said. "If anything happens to her..."

"Hey, don't worry, we'll find her,” Tucker said, patting the big man’s shoulder. "Now let's get going."

A concerned Jim walked up the hall as fast as he could heading for the stage, while Tucker began to walk down the hall the other direction. Suddenly, he stopped, then quickly headed back to the dressing room.

"Let me make sure I didn't miss anything in there first," he said to himself as he walked back into the room.

He looked around the room. Things looked pretty much the way they had been. Nothing really out of place. Then he noticed the water bottle on the table -- the one Angel had come to get.

"Ok, she never got that far," he thought. "So now the question is, did she get to this room at all?"

He looked around a little more, then noticed something on the floor against the far wall. He walked over, then bent down and pushed around some dirt and dust that he had spotted. It was the only spot in the room with that kind of dirt and it made him wonder.

He stared at the wall, then stood up and started tapping.

Tap! Tap! "Solid," he thought. He tried another part of the wall.

Tap! Tap! Solid. He moved right a little more.

Tap! Tap! Thunk! Hollow.

"Bingo!," he thought to himself.

He pushed hard and the wall moved inward, opening up a passage. A sign inside the passage pointed to the stage to the left and the garage to the right.

Tucker thought for a second. "Ok, Jim's up by the stage, so if she goes that way, he'll spot her." With that, he started to run toward the garage.

Right about the same time that Tucker found the doorway, Simon and Angel had reached the garage. Simon continued to half carry, half drag Angel along with him as he headed toward a large, black van near the back of the garage – the same van he had used the night before in front of the hotel.. Angel, meanwhile, continued to struggle, and Simon was beginning to lose patience with her.

"If you don't stop jumping all over the place...," Simon started.

"What, you'll beat me up, kill me, what," Angel asked sarcastically.

"As a matter of fact...," he said, while pulling a gun out from under his coat and holding it against her head.

That definitely got her attention and she froze in place. When he had first grabbed her, she was more mad than scared. Now she was just scared.

"That's better," he said as they reached the van. "If I had known the gun would calm you down this much, I would have used it sooner. Now, get into the van and let's get out of here."

As he lifted Angel into the back of the van, the door they had just come through into the garage slammed open against the wall. Angel and Simon both looked back to see Tucker.

Tucker spotted them immediately and quickly took in the situation.

As soon as Angel saw Tucker, she began struggling in earnest once again, but Simon reacted quickly, holding her tighter with one arm and firing off two rounds at Tucker.

Tucker ducked behind the closest parked car as Simon's shots went high over his head.

Simon grabbed Angel and put her in front of him as a shield, waiting for Tucker to reveal himself once more.

"Come out where I can see you Mr. Bodyguard," Simon said. "Let me see you now or I put a bullet through her head."

Tucker hunkered down behind the car, trying to determine his next move. He pulled out his gun, then keeping low, moved along the length of the car.

When he reached the driver's door, he raised up a bit and tried to look through the car's windows. He had a clear view of them and saw that Simon was holding Angel in front of him with his gun in plain view and ready to fire.

As Tucker dropped back down, Simon called out again... "Last warning mister," Simon called out. "Come out now or she's history."

Simon tucked his gun into the back of his pants, still within easy reach, but out of sight from anyone in front of him. Then he stood up and came out from behind the car to face Simon and Angel.

"Well, well, well. So, you're the new bodyguard, huh?," Simon asked. "Good of you to join us. Now, let's make sure your hands are in plain sight there."

"Why don't you just let her go," Tucker said. "No harm done so far. Let's keep it that way."

"No can do," Simon replied. "I gave her a chance. I told her how I felt, but she never answered any of my letters, and then in Boston she had her old bodyguard stop me from talking to her. I know now she doesn't love me, but out destiny still lies together. We were meant to be together, forever.. And that's where I want to take the two of us."

"Great," Tucker thought to himself. "This guy is (nuts), and that's not good."

Tucker tried to think quickly, not sure what his next move should be. With Simon’s gun pointed at him, his options were limited. If only Angel could distract him in some way.

Angel and Tucker exchanged looks, and somehow, Angel knew what she had to do. With all her might, Angel twisted, then jammed her right elbow into Simon's stomach. Simon had been paying so much attention to Tucker, she caught him completely off guard and the wind was knocked out of him.

For one split second, his grip on Angel loosened and she pulled free of his grasp and dove for the ground.

In that same instant that Simon held his stomach and watched where Angel was going, Tucker reached behind him and pulled out his own gun and aimed it at Simon.

Simon saw Tucker move and aimed his gun back in his direction, but it was too late. Tucker fired off three rounds -- the first two hit Simon in the chest, driving him back and to the left. The third shot hit him in the head. He was dead before he hit the concrete.

Tucker walked towards Simon carefully, then used his foot to push Simon's gun away from him. He knelt over and put his fingers to Simon's neck and felt for a pulse, but there was none. He lowered his gun and then rushed over to Angel, who was just getting up. She was shook up, but not crying.

"Are you alright," he asked her, as he reached out and gave her a protective hug.

"Yeah, I will be," she said. "Is...is he..."

"Yes, it's over. He won't be bothering you anymore," Tucker said, as he heard her sigh and finally begin to relax. It was as if the all of the tension of the last few days just left her body.

"Thank you," she said, as she pulled away from him and looked up into his eyes. "Thank you so much. I don't know how I can ever thank you."

"All part of the job," Tucker said. "Now, I know this was a tough thing to have to go through, but don't you have an arena full of people upstairs waiting to hear you sing? Do you feel up to it."

"Yeah, I think so," Angel replied. "It'll help get my mind off of all this, that's for sure."

By now, with all the commotion and gun shots, the police had arrived, and a crowd of others had started to flood into the garage with Jim in the lead.

He saw Angel and Tucker talking, and he saw Simon's body lying on the ground. When he saw that, he finally was able to relax knowing it was all over.

"Well, glad to see you two are ok," Jim said as he approached them.

"Yeah, thanks to Tucker here, I'm ok," Angel said.

Tucker just shrugged his shoulders and smiled at the big man.

"A job well done, for sure," Jim said.

"Jim, I'm going to have to do some talking to these police for a little while. Why don't you escort Angel back to the stage and let her get this show going before we have an arena full of people trashing the building."

"Good idea," Jim said. "Angel, shall we?"

"Let's go," Angel replied, as she and Jim began to head for the stairs. After a few steps though, she turned back to Tucker. "You are going to come back and listen to the show aren't you?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Tucker said. "I'll be up as soon as I can."

"Great," she said. "I'll be watching for you." And she and Jim disappeared through the doorway., while Tucker walked over to the police officer standing by Simon’s body.

===

Tucker explained to the police all that had happened. He told them how Simon had been stalking Angel and had tried to kill her three times in the last three days. Finally, he told them about the final showdown in the garage and how it had all gone down.

It didn't take that long though, as the police had already been made aware of the situation from Mr. Salvatore. In addition, Tucker had a good working relationship with the police from past experience. They knew him to be a professional.

After about 30 minutes, Tucker was allowed to go, but would have to show up at the police station in the morning to give a complete, formal statement.

Tucker headed up the stairs to the stage to listen to the concert. When he got there, he spotted Jim and headed over to join him. On stage, Angel was performing one of the many hit songs.

"How she doing," Tucker asked Jim as he moved up beside him.

"Considering what she's been through the last few days, she's doing very good," Jim said, as he silently moved a little to the beat of the music.

The crowd out in the arena was going wild as Angel finished up her song. She happened to glance back stage and spotted Tucker standing with Jim. She gave him a little wink of acknowledgement, and he smiled back at her.

As the applause died down, Angel walked across the stage towards the piano. Scott, her keyboardist and piano player, stood up and smiled at her as she sat down.

"This is new," Jim said. "Wonder what this is all about."

"This is a song that I have never sang in public before," Angel announced to the crowd. "It's a song that is different from what you are used to hearing from me, but it is very special too me. A friend of mine said I should have the courage to try something different with my music once in a while, and that's what I'd like to do. I'll let all of you decide if I did the right thing. It’s called, “Peaceful as the Snow Falls.”

The lights dimmed and a single spotlight focused down on Angel and the piano, as she began playing the song that Tucker had heard her play at his house earlier in the day. The audience was completely silent as they listened to her sing.

Angel's voice carried through the arena, and her heartfelt song moved many in the audience. It was one of those special moments that happen once in a lifetime at a concert, when the singer and the audience connect.

When she finished playing the final note on the piano, the arena remained silent for a few seconds. Then, as one, the audience erupted with cheers and applause. Even her band applauded. She had told them before hand what she was going to do, but they didn’t believe it would be this good. They were amazed.

At that moment, Angel knew Tucker had been right. It's not about the marketing. It's about the music and it is about her voice. She would have to think about that more in the days to come. In the meantime, she had a show to continue...

She jumped up from the piano and acknowledged the crowd. "Thank you, thank you very much," she told them all. She also looked backstage to see Tucker and Jim applauding as well. "I'm glad you all enjoyed it," she said, more to Tucker than to the crowd.

"Ok, let's move this show moving along," she said, and with that the pounding drumbeat began anew with another of her pop-rock hits, and she fell right back into the rhythm of her usual songs. She danced across the stage with the rest of her dancers, singing another of her hits off her latest albums, and the crowd went wild.

"Interesting choice of songs," Jim said to no one in particular about the previous song. "Any idea where she came up with the thought of doing it in the show there Tucker?"

"Nope, not a clue," Tucker replied with a grin.

"No, didn't think you would," Jim said. "Beautiful song though. Hope she does it again sometime."

"Me too," Tucker said. "In fact, with her voice, I'll even bet you that's her next hit song."

"Tell you what, Mr. Security man," Jim said. "You stick to your job, and let the music professionals do theirs. That song is so out of her normal play list, they'll never let her do it."

"Well, one thing I learned over the last two days is not to underestimate the power of that girl," Tucker said. "You just never know."

Out in the arena, the crowd continued to cheer and shout as Angel sang her heart out for all of them. It turned out to be one of her best concerts according to everyone who was there and the newspaper and radio reviews the next day.

===

A few weeks later, Tucker was driving through the city heading to the office one morning. As he weaved through the morning traffic, he kept searching the radio dial trying to find something good to listen too. Then, just before turning the dial again after another too-loud song, the DJ caught his attention as he was announcing the next song.

"Here's a new one from Angel everyone," he said. "Not her normal stuff, but it's already at No. 3 on the charts and climbing fast. It's called "Peaceful as the Snow Falls."

Tucker smiled to himself as Angel's new song began to play on the radio. He turned the volume up and hummed along with the song. His drive to the office just became a lot more enjoyable.

The End

-----

© Copyright 2005 RC3056 (UN: rc3056 at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
RC3056 has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work. (Originally published on Writing.com on March 11, 2005.)

Tuckers #2a: Tucker’s Law: Babysitting a Pop Princess (pt. 1 of 2)

Intro

Tucker had many bodyguard assignments before, but this one he did not want.

Angel looked like just another teenage, blond pop-star -- she had the tattoos, piercings, skimpy clothes, and dance gyrations like all the rest. The one thing that made Angel different was that she could truly sing.

The other thing that was different -- she has a stalker. A man named Simon who is determined to get her to love him one way or another.

It will be up to Tucker to keep her safe.


Part 1: The Stage is Set

A cold December wind blew along the streets outside of The Garden. Earlier in the day, an unexpected winter storm had blanketed the city with a few inches of snow, which was now being kicked up by the wind and blown into the faces of the shivering taxi drivers, program and souvenir vendors, and other concert workers working outside the building. With their hats pulled low, and gloves, coats and scarves drawn tight around them, they were all waiting for the concert to end so they could try and make a few last bucks before heading home for the night, where they would, finally, be able to get warm once again.

Inside The Garden, the building was hot, as it rocked to the beat of another hard-pounding song being sung by the year's latest music and MTV sensation, Angel. The fans in the audience cheered wildly as the teenage singer danced around provocatively on stage, while singing her new, No.1 hit, "Catch Me If You Can!"

Angel was just another in the seemingly endless line of teenage, blonde, half-dressed, tattooed and pierced pop-rock stars in today's music scene. The type that began with Brittany Spears and who do just as much dancing, strutting, and writhing around on the stage, as they do singing, or lip-synching, as the case may be.

However, there was one major difference between Angel and the other Brittany-wannabes -- Angel could sing. She had a voice that could break glass, knock down walls, and melt an iceberg, all during the same song. Her voice could be soft and sweet while singing a ballad, then switch to a deep, throaty, sexy sound as she would belt out a hard pounding rock tune. It was amazing how such a strong and powerful a voice could come out of such a slender, almost fragile looking, 5'3" body.

She definitely had the gift, and if she wanted, she could make a living with just her voice. But she was young, and you only live once as they say, so for now, she chose to play the teenage diva while she had the looks and the energy to do it.

As she sang the final notes to her third encore song, the fans continued to stand and clap and scream their approval.

She finished the song and stood for a moment, just taking in all of the adulation coming her way.

"I love you New York," she yelled back to her fans, and with a final wave to the crowd, she ran off the stage.

The fans continued to cheer, hoping to draw her back her onstage for one last song, but when the lights came up, they knew the evening's entertainment was over. Most of the people began to work their way out of the building, while a few others stood around and talked, waiting for the "rush to the door" to thin out a little.

One fan, just an average looking guy, just stood and stared longingly at the stage for the longest time after the concert was over, and the kid cleaning the aisle he was in had to work around him to pick up the trash.

"Weird guy," thought the kid as he put another cup into the bag he was carrying around.

Such was the power that Angel had over her fans.

Meanwhile, backstage, Angel, was sitting quietly on a soft-cushioned sofa and sipping from a bottle of ice, cold water. All around her, people were running here and there, waiting on her hand and foot, making preparations to head back the hotel for the night. Every once in a while, someone would walk over to talk to her, offer congratulations on the great show, or tell her how great it was to meet her, and she would talk with each person for a minute or so, but really didn’t seem to be paying too much attention to them. It was just “another part of the job” to her.

It seemed that at 19 years old in November, and new to the business, Angel had learned quickly how it all worked. She worked hard to get where she was in the business, but she also was starting to let it get to her head a little.

For a star of her caliber, that was just as much a blessing as it was a curse, because while 99% of her fans were well behaved, there was still that 1%, which could become fanatical. In fact, in the last few months, one particular fan named Simon had been sending her cards, letters, presents and flowers, and it was beginning to make her uneasy. Luckily, she had Jim around, and she just let him handle those types of things.

Jim was James Mason, her bodyguard. A giant of a man, she had hired him early on in her career and he watched over her like an overprotective father watches over his child. Jim had been monitoring the things being sent by this one fan as well. The things he sent had started simple enough, but a few weeks before tonight's concert, Angel's publicist had brought a letter from this fan to Jim’s attention.

In it the fan professed his unending love for her, which, while strange, was nothing new. However, he ended it by saying that –-

"...We were meant to be together and I cannot bear to be apart from you any longer. I know our love will last forever, my dearest Angel. I will await your arrival in Boston so that I can ask you to marry me. I will love you forever and never let you leave me. We will die together before I ever let you go. Please say yes and let our life begin together.

Love always,

Simon."

When Jim read this, he knew this was not an ordinary fan, but someone who might be living in a fantasy world and who might just become dangerous. He told Angel about it, even asking her to consider rescheduling her travel arrangements to give this fan some time to cool down.

“That would just be such a pain,” she had said.

So the concert went on as scheduled, and while the odds of anyone actually acting on their fantasies was small, Jim made sure he was even more vigilant the entire time they were in the city. Now, with the concert over, he began to breathe just a little easier.

"Nothings happened so far," he thought to himself. "Now, just get her back to the hotel and safe in her room, then tomorrow we board the bus and we're off to New York City. If we're lucky, this guy was just another overly, excited fan, who was all talk and nothing more. Can't wait to put this one behind us."

The limo driver pulled into the parking garage at the back of the building and let Jim know things were set to go.

He looked across the room to see Angel speaking to one of the managers of the building. When he caught her attention, he nodded his head to let her know it was time to leave.

"It was great to meet you Mr. Thompson," Angel said with a warm, friendly smile on her face. "I loved performing here at The Garden. Maybe we can do it again someday?"

"Anytime you want to come back here to perform, you just let me know," Thompson said. "We'd love to have you here again."

She shook his hand, then put on her hat, coat and scarf, and walked with Jim towards the exit and the waiting limo.

Jim opened the door, and Angel stepped outside into the frigid night air. The cold wind was still blowing. A few fans who had stood around, waiting and hoping, for one last glimpse of Angel, began to call her name.

"Angel you were wonderful," yelled one fan. "Would you sign my program please?" But Angel just gave a curt wave and headed for the limo.

Jim had been watching the whole thing take place, and just shook his head in dismay. “How hard would it have been to take a few seconds to sign that kids program,” he asked himself. “Oh, well, not my business I guess.”

As she walked towards the limo, he continued to scan the crowd one more time for any trouble. Then, just as Angel reached the limo door, a young man jumped out from the crowd and called her name.

"Angel, it's me, Simon," he called. "I'm here as I promised I'd be."

Angel looked over at him, frozen in fear, while Jim quickly assessed the entire situation. The man stood about 25 feet away. He was about 5'10" and 180 pounds. Just kind of average looking, not muscular, not much of anything actually.

Angel didn't know how to react. She had never faced a fan like him before, but Jim knew exactly what needed to be done.

"Sorry Simon, Angel can't talk to you right now," he said. "She has an interview to do and then needs to get rest for the next stop on the tour. Thank you for coming out tonight though."

As he was talking, Jim was slowly putting himself between Simon and Angel, while guiding her to the limo.

"I wasn't talking to you," Simon said, the anger rising in his voice. "I'm talking to Angel. Who the hell are you, anyway."

"I'm Angel’s friend, and she has to go now," Jim said as he was finally able to get Angel into the car and close the door. He then began to walk to the front passenger door so he could get in.

Suddenly, Simon tossed the flowers on the ground and started running towards the limo.

"Angel, Angel, don't leave," he yelled.

Just when he thought he would be able to open the back door to the limo, Jim intercepted him and pushed him back away from the limo.

"I'm sorry, but we have to go now," Jim said.

"Get out of my way," Simon snarled. "Angel and I are meant to be together."

By now police sirens could be heard in the distance, as someone in the crowd had called on their cell phone.

"What do you say, let's not have any trouble," Jim said, trying to calm the man down.

Simon was not to be denied, however, and he ran forward and tried to push past Jim. But, Jim was just too big for him and easily pushed him back, this time knocking him to the ground in the process.

"No one will get in my way," Simon snarled angrily, and began to get up for one more run at the limo.

Jim stood his ground and waited for Simon's next attack, then sidestepped the lunging man at the last minute. Simon smashed into the limo hard, then turned to take a swing at the bigger man and missed. Jim just used Simon's forward momentum from the swing, and let him fall to the ground one more time.

As Simon got up, Jim was beginning to tire from this and hoped the sirens, which were getting louder now, would bring the police here soon to put an end to this. He never saw Simon reach into his coat pocket though.

"Come on man, let's just call it a night and go our separate ways," he said.

"Never," said Simon. "I am here to take Angel away."

As he said that, he raised his hand and Jim saw the gun for the first time. Simon fired three shots – all of which hit Jim in the chest, slamming him back against the limo. He stood looking at Simon in disbelief, then slowly slid to the ground and into unconsciousness.

The limo driver, instead of hitting the accelerator and getting the car and Angel out of there, jumped out of the car to try to help Jim. Simon calmly turned and fired, killing him instantly.

Angel was in shock at what she had just witnessed, but she still got out of the limo and rushed to Jim’s side. She knelt down next to him, crying, not sure what she should do to help him.

Simon calmly walked over to her, grabbed her arm and tried to pull her up.

"Let's go," he said, but Angel struggled against him. As he got ready to try and subdue the struggling singer, a police car pulled up and two officers jumped out of the car.

Panicked, Simon let Angel go, then turned, fired a few shots at the cops, and then ran into the darkness.

Angel rushed back to Jim, holding on to him and pleading with him to hold on, that help was on the way.

The two officers decided not to give chase. Instead, one called for an ambulance, while the other tried to help Jim. That split-second decision made by those officers probably saved Jim’s life.

However, somewhere out in the darkness, Simon was planning his next move to make Angel his wife.

===

The sun was setting behind the clouds as Tucker drove north on the Garden State Parkway back towards New York City. He was heading home after a nice, relaxing week-long vacation down the shore in Asbury Park, New Jersey. While he loved the countryside and owned a nice home on a few acres in Connecticut, he still loved to visit the seashore every chance he got.

"Nothing like looking out at the ocean to relieve all of life’s little stresses and tensions," Tucker thought to himself.

He loved the beach and went down to the Jersey Shore as much as he could. Spring, summer, fall, winter, it didn't matter. Every season was beautiful in its own way there.

The sounds of the waves crashing and the call of the seagulls could be almost hypnotic, and he would lose himself for hours just sitting with his eyes closed, listening to the sounds at the seashore.

The week came to an all-to-soon end, and now he was heading back into the city and wondering what his next assignment would be.

As he drove, his mind wandered back to his old friend Stacy. He wondered how she was getting along after the ordeal she went though a few months back. He had heard from her uncle, Nicholas Salvatore, who also was his boss, that she was doing better and was back in school teaching.

She was a strong woman, Tucker always knew that. They had known each other since childhood and had become good friends. As a young girl, she would never allow any of the other kids to push her around. She always stood her ground if she knew she was right about something.

As they got older, Tucker found himself falling in love with her, but was too shy at that time in his life to say anything. Then, after he graduated high school and began to gain his confidence, the timing between them was just never right -- when he started college in another state, she was finishing high school, then he joined the Navy and was traveling around the world while she was in college and had a serious boyfriend.

He thought of her often while he was in the service and ever since he got out. They had lost touch for a few years, but knew what she was up to because he worked for her Uncle. It had hit him hard when she was attacked, and he made sure the two high school thugs ended up in jail.

He was glad she was back teaching now, because he knew how much she enjoyed it. They had talked about it while she was recovering and he knew that now that she was back at work, she was well on her way to getting her life back in order.

As he shifted gears and changed lanes to pass a slower car in front of him, his cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his shirt pocket, checked the caller id and saw that it was the office, then flipped it open.

"Hello, Tucker here," he said.

"Hey Tucker, did you have a nice vacation," Syd asked. Syd was short for Sydney Malone, his boss's secretary.

"Yeah, it was really nice," he told her. "The weather was great and I just relaxed for the entire seven days."

"Well, that's good to hear," she said. "I'm glad you got a lot of rest, because he's got a big assignment for you as soon as you get back. Can you be here first thing in the morning -- 8 am?"

"Yeah, shouldn't be a problem," he said. "I should be back in town about 10 tonight and be able to be in the office by then. Do you know what the assignment is?"

"Not the specifics, but from what I heard he wants you to play bodyguard for some big celebrity who's in town this week," she said.

"That's strange," he said. "He usually gives those to Sam or Don. Wonder why he's giving this one to me?"

" I don't know," she said. "Maybe it's someone extra important."

"Interesting. Guess we'll find out in the morning," he said. "See you then."

"Ok, Tucker," she said. "See you tomorrow."

He snapped his cell phone shut and put it back into his pocket.

"Guess the vacation is officially over," he said to himself as he reached the outskirts of the city. "Babysitting a celebrity, huh? Wonder who it is for Mr. Salvatore to give me the assignment. Anyway, how hard could it be?"

He would soon find out.

===

He got to the office around 7:30 the next morning, grabbed a cup of coffee, then sat down at his desk and began to go through a week's worth of emails.

"Sheesh, almost 300 emails," he muttered to himself and he scrolled down the list in his mailbox. "Don't people have anything better to do these days."

He sipped his coffee and proceeded to read, respond and delete the emails that had piled up since he had left.

Around 10 before 8:00 a.m., Sydney popped her head into his office.

"Hey there stranger, good to see you back in the office," she said.

"Good to see you too Syd," he responded. "Anything exciting happen while I was gone?"

"Not much, same old, same old," she said as she came in and sat on the corner of his desk. "So, did you meeting anyone exciting on your vacation?

"Nah, pretty much kept to myself for the week," he said looking up and see her staring intently back at him.

"Oh, that's too bad," she said. "You are gonna be a good catch for someone someday if you would just stop playing the lost soul and open yourself up to possibilities."

"Yeah, but...," he stammered. It was the same old subject with Syd. She was determined to match him up with someone, herself included, but he just wasn't interested in long term relationships right now. Especially with Stacy back on his mind once again.

"No buts, no excuses," she said. "You just have to go out there and get into the game."

“One of these days," he said.

With a heavy sigh, she hopped off the desk and headed for the door.

"Don't forget about your 8 o'clock, she said over he shoulder as she disappeared around the corner.

"Wouldn't miss it," he said, as he picked up his notebook and headed to Mr. Salvatore's office to find out what his assignment would be.

===

He knocked on the door and heard a voice from inside call "Enter."

He walked into the office and saw his boss sitting behind his desk pouring over some paperwork.

"Good morning sir," he said as he walked across the room towards the desk.

"Come in, come in, Joseph," he said looking up from his paperwork, visibly happy to see the young man. "Have a seat. How was your vacation?"

"Really nice sir," Tucker said. "Very relaxing. Nothing like the seashore to help you unwind."

"I'm glad you had a good time," he said, as he pulled out a folder and handed it over to him. "Guess we should get right down to it. Here's your assignment. Jennifer Sullivan -- she's some sort of big time pop star these days... goes by the name of Angel. She's has a lot of “admirers,” and it looks like one of them has become your classic stalker. He made an attempt to grab her after a concert in Boston a few nights ago, but her bodyguard intervened. He saved her, but got shot in the process and is in the hospital. That's where you come in."

Tucker had been looking over the paperwork in the folder while listening to his boss talk about the assignment.

"Oh, jeez," he thought to himself. "He knew this Angel. Another of those stuck up, teenage-diva strippers who run, thrash, and gyrate on stage, scream some words to music and make millions while doing it. Then they think the world owes them and should come running when they call."

"You'll be her bodyguard for the next two/three days while she's in town for her New York concert," his boss continued. "With her bodyguard in the hospital recovering, and a possible psycho on the loose after her, she needs someone to watch her for the next few days until her bodyguard, Jim, gets out of the hospital and can take over again."

"With all due respect sir, isn't Sam or Don better suited for this type of job," he asked.

"Normally, yes," the older man responded. "But, Jim called us himself from the hospital. He knew about our company and he asked that we put the best person in the company on this case, and that would be you Joseph. He also wants to speak with you before you get started. He's right here in town at Mt. Sinai Memorial. He got himself transferred from Boston General just to be closer to her. He's really dedicated this one."

"Ok, sir. I'll go talk to him, then go meet Ms. Angel here," he said, semi-sarcastically.

"Sounds like you already have an opinion about this young lady," the old man with a smile.

"Yeah, I've heard and read about her a little sir," Tucker said. "A teenage diva in my opinion. I don't really like her music all that much."

"You know what they say Joseph," Salvatore said. "Never judge a book by its cover, or in this case, by her news clippings. Get to know her before you judge her, you might be surprised. Besides, you'll have plenty of time to do it.

"Yes sir, will do," Tucker said. "Is that all you wanted to see me about?"

"That was it," his boss replied.

"Ok, then. Let me get over to the hospital and then to the hotel and see what this is all going to be about," Tucker said, as he got up out of the chair and headed for the door.

"Good luck Joseph," the old man said. "Oh, I almost forgot. Stacy said hello and to give you her regards. I talked to her over the weekend."

"Thanks sir," Tucker said with a smile. "How's she doing?"

"Doing well, Joseph," he said. "She said she received a lot of support from the other teachers at the school, and they are all helping her get back into a daily routine. She's really happy at that school. I'm glad it wall worked out, especially after you were able to catch those two guys"

"Good to hear she's doing good sir," Tucker said. "Guess I'd better get going. Thanks for letting me know. Please tell her I said hello when you speak with her again."

“I’ll do that Joseph,” he said. “You could call yourself though you know. I’m sure she would enjoy hearing from you.”

“Yes, you are right, I should do that,” he replied, though he knew he wouldn’t because each time he talked to her, it just dredged up all of his feelings again. It would be like trying to get over her all over again and he just wasn’t up to that right now.

"OK, Joseph. Let me know if you need anything as you find out what's involved with this case," Salvatore said.

"Will do sir," Tucker said, then walked out of the office, closing the door behind him.

"Three days babysitting this pop princess," he thought to himself. "This is going to be interesting."

===

The scene outside the New York City Plaza Hotel where Angel was staying was complete chaos. The crowd in the front of the hotel was big – bigger than anyone at the hotel had ever seen before. Angel’s fans had starting showing up at dawn to try and catch a glimpse of her, and by 10 a.m. had swelled to over a thousand. By 11 a.m. there were so many people, they began to spill out into the street and were blocking traffic.

Meanwhile, every once in a while, a few of the more daring members of the crowd would go into the hotel, sneak into the elevator and try to get up to the penthouse in the hopes of getting to meet her in person. This, of course, kept the hotel security staff running around trying to catch them and throw them out.

Tucker saw the crowd in front of the hotel from a few blocks away and just shook his head.

“So much for security,” he thought to himself as he drove toward the hotel. “How am I supposed to protect her from one loan maniac when half the city knows she’s here.”

When he got the assignment a few hours earlier, he had hoped, considering a nut was chasing after his client, that news of where she was staying would have been kept under wraps. But after talking to her bodyguard, Jim, at the hospital, he learned that letting the news media know where she stayed was great for publicity. Shots of screaming fans always did wonders for record sales – not to mention, the stars ego.

While he was stopped in the traffic jam, Tucker’s mind drifted back to a few hours ago, when he had stopped at the hospital on the way to the hotel to talk to Jim and learn a little about his client, who he now was assigned to bodyguard while she was in town for her concert. What he learned, though, didn’t exactly increase his enthusiasm for the assignment.

According to Jim, Angel was a sweet kid, who had a lot of growing up to do. She played the diva-role to the hilt and acted like a spoiled child most of the time, demanding things, bossing people around, and, generally, getting her way because she was a “star.” But, Jim also firmly believed that underneath all the hype was a young, intelligent girl with a good heart. She just didn’t show that side of herself that much, but he knew it existed deep down inside of her. He saw it in her eyes and actions the night he was shot, as she stayed by his side all the way to the hospital.

Jim also filled Tucker in on all that he knew about Simon, the guy that had tried to grab Angel and who shot him after the Boston concert. He gave him a description as best as he could remember, copies of all the letters that he had sent her, and Angel’s itinerary for the two days she was scheduled to be in New York City.

According to the schedule, Angel had a sound check this afternoon, followed by interviews with the local and national media. After that, she was scheduled for some “down time” -- shopping at some of the upscale department stores. After that, return to the hotel for dinner and rest until tomorrow evening’s concert.

“Looks pretty straight forward, ” Tucker said as he got up to leave.

“Be careful, Tucker,” Jim said. “Simon’s still out there and I know he’s going to try again – it’s just a matter of when and where. Call it intuition, a feeling, whatever you want, but he’s out there and he’s determined. You have to stop him if he does.”

“I’ll make sure nothing happens to her Jim,” Tucker replied. “You just rest and get your strength back so you can get back on the job. And, don’t worry about a thing. I’ll make sure she’s safe while she’s in New York. You can count on it.”

The two men shook hands and Tucker left to go to the hotel to meet his client.

Jarred back to the present by the car honking behind him, he realized that he couldn’t even pull up anywhere near the hotel because of the crowd. Luckily, a few members of hotel valet staff was walking up and down the sidewalk outside the hotel to make sure that hotel guests would be able to get their car parked so they could go to their rooms. It was one of those kids that spotted Tucker trying to get to the hotel and offered to park his car for him.

Tucker was already running a little late and it took a few more minutes for him to work his way into the hotel lobby, then a few more minutes before the elevator came down. He stepped in and pushed the button for the top floor.

After a minute or so, the elevator doors opened and he stepped out and followed the sign to room 2801. He read the plaque on the door as he knocked..

“The Queen Suite, of course,” he said to himself.

When no one answered, he knocked again.

“Hold your horses, I’m coming,” yelled a young, female voice from inside the room.

A few seconds later, the door opened.

“Yeah,” inquired the short, stocky brunette woman that answered the door.

“I’m Tucker from the Salvatore Security Agency, here to see Ms. Angel,” Tucker replied.

“Oh, you’re the bodyguard,” she said as she brazenly eyed him from head to toe. “Nice. You’re late though. Come on in.”

“Thanks,” Tucker said. “Is she here?”

“Oh, she’s here, but she’s pissed because you’re late,” the woman said, then turned and yelled toward the master suite. “Angel, your knight in shining armor has come to protect you.”

She turned back to Tucker and ushered him into the living area.

“Go get a drink at the bar and relax,” she said. “She’ll be out in a minute or two.”

With that, the woman headed into the other suite and Tucker was left alone in the living area of the hotel room. He wasn’t thirsty, so he walked over to the window to look out at the view of New York City. There was nothing more breathtaking than the view of the city, except for the view of the city at night. He just stood by the window and enjoyed looking out at the skyline while he waited for his client to appear.

A few minutes later, the master suite door opened and out stepped Angel. She was dressed in a micro-mini skirt, a ripped, t-shirt that completely exposed her midriff, and black, high top sneakers. Her face, what he could see of it since her long, blond hair covered most of it, was heavily made up. She wore several earrings and a nose ring, and he could see the outline of a nipple ring under her blouse.

“Not quite an angel, that’s for sure.” Tucker thought to himself.

“Hello, I’m Tucker from the Salvatore Security Agency,” he said to introduce himself. “I’m here to escort you around for the next few days and make sure things go smoothly for you.”

“You’re late,” she said. “I don’t like people who are late. Make sure it doesn’t happen again. Now let’s get going. I have a sound check to get to.”

Tucker just looked at her like a father would look at a belligerent child.

“Considering you were still getting ready, whether I was early, later, or on time seems moot to me,” Tucker stated casually, but to the point. “In the meantime, if we’re going to get along for the next few days, here are the ground rules. When you are not on stage or doing a promotional event, you will do what I tell you, when I tell you. Never, ever go anywhere without someone you know, but make sure someone is with you at all times. Follow those rules, you’ll be safe and we’ll get along without killing each other. Is that all clear? ”

Angel stared dumbfounded at Tucker. No one had ever dared speak to her in that tone of voice since she had “made it,” and she was more than a little miffed.

“You can’t talk to me like that,” she said incredulously.

“Yeah, I know who you are and I really could care less,” Tucker said. “What I do care about is that someone is out there looking to hurt you and it is my job to protect you until Jim can get back on the job. I’ll do whatever it takes to do that, but I can’t do it if you don’t do as I say so I know where you are and what you are doing at all times. It’s as simple as that. So, do as your told, I’ll get you where you have to go in one piece and then two days from now we’ll part company and we’ll never have to see each other again. Now, are you ready to go?”

With a huff, Angel picked up her bag and stomped out of the hotel room leaving Tucker standing by himself.

“Oh yeah, this is going to be a thrill a minute,” Tucker said out loud to no one in particular, and he followed her out the door to the elevator.

The two of them rode silently down to the lobby, then headed for the front door. As they neared it, the throng of fans waiting outside spotted Angel and began screaming and crushing in toward the waiting limo. Tucker made Angel wait inside the hotel for a second, while he stepped outside and scanned the crowd quickly to make sure things were safe, or at least as safe as they could be with all the chaos.

When he felt secure that it was safe and that Simon was not around, he went inside, took Angel by the forearm and quickly led her towards the car. It was all he could do to make a path to the limo door and shove her inside. He made a mental note to speak with the hotel manager when he got back about putting up some barriers to keep the fans away from the front of the hotel.

Once inside the comfortable confines of the limo, the two of them sat facing each other. The limo driver slowly pulled through the crowd out into traffic and headed towards Madison Square Garden, where Angel’s concert would be held the next night.

The ride to the Garden was even quieter than the ride the two had shared in the elevator. Angel was still mad at him for the way he had spoken to her, but there was something else. Since her rise to fame, she had always been in control of everything. People were always doing things for her, bending over backwards to make her happy. No one had ever stood up to her like he just did a few minutes ago.

But this Tucker character had walked into her hotel room and didn’t seem fazed at all by who she was when she snapped at him like she usually did to everyone else. Who did he think he was?

She looked over at him off and on during the ride. He was a definitely a good looking guy. Tall, long hair, well groomed, handsome, and very serious, for sure. But there was something there behind the look in those dark, mysterious eyes of his that said he was someone people should not mess around with. She was both attracted to him and intimidated by him, but damned if she’d ever let him know it.

Tucker looked over at her off and on during the ride as well. Blond hair, half dressed, all that makeup, the nose rings… where were her parents? Such a spoiled brat. What’s with these celebrities – they think they make it big and the world should bow at their feet. What did Jim say to him – she had a good heart, just didn’t show it? Well, I don’t know where Jim sees that, because I sure don’t. These next few days better go by quick, that’s all I can say.

Twenty-minutes later, the limo pulled up to one of the many back entrances to Madison Square Garden and before Tucker could act, Angel was out of the car and heading for one of the doors, which she opened and quickly disappeared inside.

Tucker just shook his head and followed after her. When he caught up to her he took her by the arm and spun her around to face him.

“Angel, remember what I said back at the hotel,” he said, his eyes looking directly into hers. “Make sure you always have someone you know with you at all times. Next time, wait before jumping out of the car. You just never know if this Simon character, or anyone else for that matter, will be out there.”

“Yeah, whatever,” she replied and pulled her arm free and headed towards the main auditorium where the stage and crew were setting up. She knew he was right, but her pride and ego wouldn’t let her admit it.

Tucker once again followed after her, keeping an eye out for any trouble.

“I hope she got the message that time,” he said to himself, though he sincerely doubted it.

The sound check seemed to go well. Angel sang bits and pieces of some of her songs so the production crew could get the sound system set up just right. The roadies, meanwhile, continued to set up the stage and lights and other things needed for the next night show.

The Garden crew went about their tasks as well, setting up the floor seating and other things, while others went about training the staff on what they’ll need to do when the fans started arriving for the concert.

Tucker watched and took it all in. It amazed him all of the things that went on and how much work was involved to put on one of these concerts. The few he had been to in his life had been enjoyable and he always wondered what was involved in putting it all together. Now he was getting the idea.

He was amazed when Angel started singing. He had only heard her songs on the radio – the loud, hard pounding rock songs, or soft, yet-still-too-loud love songs. He knew she had a strong voice, but he never realized just how smooth and beautiful it was until one moment during the sound check when she started singing Paul McCartney’s “Yesterday,” with only a single guitar for a backup.

One of the older looking roadies came up next to him during that song and listened as well.

“Amazing voice, just gorgeous,” the roadie commented.

Tucker nodded his head in agreement.

“How come she never records a song like that,” he asked.

“Not her style,” the roadie said. “Her fans just don’t want to hear her singing that kind of music. Too bad, she’s got a beautiful voice for that kind of music.”

Tucker agreed, as he watched the roadie pick up the cables he was carrying and head off to do his work.

The sound check lasted about two-and-a-half hours and when it was over, Angel walked off the stage and headed straight for Tucker.

“Ok, mister protector,” she said somewhat sarcastically. “Time to go shopping. I can still go shopping, right?”

“Yes, Angel, you can still go shopping,” he said. “We can go right now if you want.”

“Great, let’s go,” she said.

The two of them headed through the labyrinth of corridors in the Garden and towards the exit where the limo was waiting.

“Well, she was sarcastic, but at least she didn’t go running off on her own this time,” he thought to himself.

They went out the back door and were hit by a blast of the cold, afternoon winter air. It had gotten much colder since they arrived, that’s for sure.

The limo was only a few steps away, and Tucker opened the door for her once they reached it.

“Such a gentleman,” Angel said with a smile. “Chivalry is not dead.”

“Get in,” Tucker said with a grin. “Ok,” he thought, “this kid is a Jekyll and Hyde – one minute she’s on my case about everything, next minute she’s all sweet and friendly. Go figure.”

As the limo driver headed out into the traffic and towards the stores Angel had specified, the two of them sat facing each other once again in the limo. This time, however, they talked a little.

“So, what did you think,” Angel asked him.

“About what,” Tucker asked.

“About the sound check and all that went on the last few hours,” she said.

“It was definitely interesting,” Tucker replied. “I didn’t realize so much went into putting a show together.”

“Yeah, it’s definitely a lot, but I have a good crew and they always have everything under control,” she said.

“Tell me, Angel. That one song you did where it was just you and the guitar playing, how come you don’t sing or record songs like that,” Tucker asked. “That was really beautiful.”

“I’m glad you liked it,” she said. “But, that’s not the kind of song my fans want to hear, and I only sing what they want to hear. The more fans I have, the more records I sell, the more concerts I do, and the more money I make. Simple business, that’s all.”

“So, it’s all about the money for you,” Tucker asked.

“It’s always about the money, “ she said nonchalantly.

“That’s a shame,” Tucker said as he looked out the window. “Such a waste of talent.”

“I’m not wasting my talent,” she snapped back at him. “I’ve sold over 2.5 millions copies of my last CD. People want to hear my music. That’s not wasting talent. It’s using talent to do what the people want to hear you do.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to hit a sore spot or anything,” Tucker said, trying not to make her angrier than she seemed to be getting.

“It’s not a sore spot,” she said as the limo pulled up to the curb outside Saks Fifth Avenue. “I know what I’m doing and I don’t need anyone telling me different.”

With those words, she was out of the limo and heading for the front door of Saks.

“Ughhh,” Tucker grumbled to himself. “Guess Ms. Hyde is back again.

He got out of the car and followed after her. He had to get her to stop storming out of the limo like that. It’s just too dangerous with this Simon character lurking about somewhere.

Tucker went into the store and spent the better part of three hours following Angel around and watching in amazement. She was a whirling dervish, trying on clothes, one minute, checking out jewelry the next, then off to cosmetics for the latest in hair color and other assorted things.

“The amount of money she spent in those three hours was probably equal to the entire year’s economy of some small world country,” he thought to himself. “Must be nice.”

The good part of the shopping trip is that it put her back into a good mood and there were no more snide comments or arguments between the two of them the entire time.

When they walked out of the store, followed closely behind by a store employee who was fumbling with all of Angel’s packages, it was dark and the temperature had dropped even more. Angel pulled her coat tightly around her as she walked to the limo. Tucker followed, but kept a look out to make sure no one was lurking around.

When they reached the car, Tucker opened the car door and had the store employee put all the packages inside first. Tucker smiled to himself watching the young kid try not to stare (too much) at Angel.

“Thanks for carrying my packages,” Angel said to the young man.

“You’re welcome,” he stammered in reply, before blurting out, “I’m going to your concert tomorrow. I’m a big fan.”

“Thank you,” Angel replied. “I hope you enjoy the show.”

“I know I will,” the young boy said as he backed away from the limo, and then turned and ran for the door to the store, half to get out of the cold, and half out of excitement because he just got to talk to Angel, his “absolute favorite singer in the whole world!” He couldn’t wait to tell his friends.

“Looks like you made a fan for life,” Tucker said as he held the door for Angel, then climbed in himself.

“Yeah, he seemed like a nice boy,” she said nonchalantly.

Tucker just shook his head. “She has no clue of the power she holds over people,” he thought to himself. “Of course, that’s probably a good thing.”

The limo worked its way through the early evening traffic back towards the hotel.

“Just a few more minutes,” Tucker thought, “then she’ll be back in her room and as safe as humanly possible.” He wasn’t looking forward to spending the next few hours in a chair in the hall outside her room, but at least his night shift replacement would be here in a few hours and then he could go home, unwind and rest up for tomorrow..

There were still a lot of fans outside the hotel when they pulled up, but not as many as before due to the cold weather that evening.

The limo driver pulled up to the front door and Tucker got out first. It was the first time all day that Angel hadn’t bolted from the limo, and he was happy about that.

Tucker asked one of the hotel clerks to please take the packages out of the limo and bring them up to Angel’s suite, which the young man did.

“Another fan, no doubt,” Tucker chuckled to himself, as he took Angel’s hand and helped her out of the car. He couldn’t help but notice the big smile on her face.

“You seem awful happy all of a sudden,” he said.

”I guess it does pay to wait for you before I get out of the car,” she giggled.

Tucker just smiled to himself, closed the car door and then guided her through the small crowd towards the front door. He scanned the crowd, saw no sign of Simon and gave a little sigh of relief.

“Almost home free,” he thought.

Suddenly, there was a screech of tires in the street. Tucker, Angel, and almost everyone else turned to look -- all expecting some kind of accident.

Instead, a disheveled lone man jumped out of a van and yelled – “Angel, I’m here for you.”

Tucker recognized Simon instantly from the description Jim had given him earlier. Tucker also saw the gun in his hand, which he was raising and aiming toward them.

Tucker reacted instinctively, pushing Angel behind a concrete column of the hotel an instant before Simon started firing his gun. He felt one of the bullets whiz right by him as he ducked to the ground. Other bullets hit the building, while one ricocheted and hit one of the fans in the shoulder.

As the fans started screaming and scattering in all directions, Tucker pulled out his .45, got up on one knee and started to return fire, but it was too late. Simon had emptied his gun and was already in the van and heading back down the street into the night.

Simon was mad as hell. “That’s the second time I missed Angel,” he growled to himself. “I will not fail again.”

Tucker had run out into the street to try and get the license plate number, but there wasn’t any. He ran back to where Angel was and found her sitting on the ground, leaning against the column, crying.

“The big girl is not so big after all,” Tucker thought to himself. “Well, I guess two attempts on her life in two days. That’s enough to scare anyone, that’s for sure.”

Tucker thought for a few minutes, saw his car parked nearby, and made a decision. In the distance, he heard the sirens and knew the police and paramedics were on the way. No reason for them to hang around and get caught up in all the police paperwork and media frenzy that was about to break.

“Let’s go,” Tucker said as he took Angel’s arm, lifted her off the sidewalk and headed for his car.

“Where are we going,” a very scared, very frightened Angel asked.

“Someplace where I know you’ll be safe,” Tucker said.

“Where’s that,” Angel asked.

“Far away from here,” Tucker said as they reached his car. He opened the car’s passenger door and quickly helped her inside, then walked around to the driver’s side and got in. He started the car and within seconds, they were out on the street into the evening traffic and heading out of town.

To be continued...

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© Copyright 2005 RC3056 (UN: rc3056 at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
RC3056 has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work. (Originally published on Writing.com on March 11, 2005.)