Body Guard

Julie:
I took a deep breath, thanked Ed and then followed him out of the car. I grabbed his hand to steady myself and made sure my dress was in order before moving. I kept my face mostly down but tried to keep a smile in case there were pictures. Anything could be used against my father, even the bad attitude of is children. 

With Cody as a buffer, I managed to make it to my fathers side, where he was waiting behind his own team of protection. 

"Hi daddy!" I said, moving forward to kiss his cheek. He smiled at me warmly and pulled me against his side. 

"Thanks for coming Jules," He said. "And you too Cody," he added, holding his hand out for a shake. Cody had been apart of my life since the day he was born and he fit right into my family at most times. 
 I shrugged like it was no big deal for me to be there, because for me, it really wasn't. 

I let him do his thing, prepping for the speech and turned to Cody. "Everything okay Captain?" I asked, half kidding.

After she got out of the car I set my other hand at the small of her back while letting her set the pace. Once she was up and out of the car I could scan the crowds freely and the more I scanned the more a little nagging though came into my head. Even as we joined Mr Devlin I couldn't shake the feeling of something not quite right. I took a moment of looking at the crowds before I turned to face him.

"Pleasure is mine sir." I shook his hand firmly then tried to make myself relax. I barely even heard Jules ask me something. Turning my head to blink at her it took me a moment to process what she'd said, "Huh? Oh. Yeah...just trying to keep watch. How about you? I did my best but anyone get too close while we walked up?"

Julie: 
"No, I was okay," I assured him. I knew how seriously he took his job and he deserved to know when he did it well. 

I wrapped my arms around myself as if I was cold, even though the weather was perfectly pleasant. "But I'll be glad when we can get out of here." I said, looking around. Something felt a little off, I just couldnt put my finger on it. 

A few moments later, the crowd quieted down and my father began his speech.

I tried to give her a reassuring smile, patting her shoulder. "As will I. Now come on, lets find your seat hm?" I tried to let the nerves not show and act like everything was going okay. I stood in my assigned spot though I couldn't help but twitch as the chatter in my ear spiked. It seemed outside protesters of the foreign dignitary were getting violent but the situation was getting handled. It put me at ease but I still kept a watchful eye.

Julie:
I listened to my fathers speech and tried to look supportive and happy in the background, but there was a tension in the crowd that was making it difficult. I kept glancing back at Cody, looking for signs that anything was wrong. But Cody has always had a good poker face.

My father was not the only one speaking today. There were foreign leaders speaking the to large crowd as well. And when it was Sarin Bous' turn to speak, the boos from the crowd were loud and poweful. I sat up a little straighter in my chair.

Every bit of relaxation I'd held onto faded away just from the boos. Keying the button to speak into the radio I remarked, "I don't like this. This doesn't feel right."

"Ah it will be fine Cody."

"Yeah just a riled up crowd.

"Son. What's bothering you about it?"

The other veterans weren't going to listen to me, I had expected that much. But my father had my back. I glanced across the way where Mr Devlin was standing and the tall man standing beside him. "Just a feeling. I don't think its the family that will be targeted. But one stray attack..."

Everyone was quiet after that, as the boos continued even those who had been doing this for years took the time to consider. Eventually my father came over the line again. "Fair enough, tighten up people. Expect the worst, keep this smooth."

Julie:
It became more and more difficult to keep a smile on my face the longer the boos continued. I knew they weren't directed at my father or my family, but being on this side of the crowd wasn't exactly the most fun. 

My eyes scanned over the crowd, knowing the security teams was doing the same thing. I had stopped paying attention the man speaking, which was probably a mistake because whatever he has just said, made the booing increase exponentially. Before I knew it, something was thrown on the stage, just missing my father. 

"Dad!" I yelled, getting out of my seat. It was just a shoe. Someone had thrown a shoe, but if people started throwing things, who knew what would be next?

"Time to leave. Move it people!" My dad roared through the earpieces. But I was already moving. At Jules's side in a second I put one hand at her back and the other grabbed her arm.

"We have to go. Now Julie." It was rare that I used her real name. But this was a time that seemed to call for it. We had to get going, my job was to get her out.

Julie:
I hesitated for a second, but the rest of dads security were already rushing to him. I let Cody take over and before I knew it, the sounds of the crowd were getting lower and lower. I knew we were probably heading back for Ed and the car but we left from a different door than we had walked in and I didn't know where we were. 

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" I asked, trying to keep up with the brisk walking. My voice shook a little. I knew it was only a shoe. But in my whole life, the most I had needed to worry about where people getting a little too close to me, thinking it was okay to touch or grab at me. Occasionally there would be some creep who felt it was appropriate to come to our groups to peek through windows. But the security we had was always more than enough to keep that at bay. 

I was never really all that worried about physical violence and the anger from the crowd today rattled me a bit. I was just glad it had been directed at someone other than my family.

"Back route, we can't go through the front. Don't worry we plan for this. Ed will be waiting for us." I kept a hold of her. I didn't like to do that, touch her in such a brash manner. For all that the general population wanted to be close to her, to touch her. I felt she wasn't one to enjoy being touched. But I had a job to do, and even if she might not like I'd do whatever was necessary to keep her safe.

Julie:
His grip on my arm was tight. Not to the point of hurting, but almost. If we ran into any other trouble, I hoped he would let go so it didn't get crushed. He seemed to have a handle on things. I sometimes wished I also had a little listening device in my ear so I could know what was going on. Did Dad get out okay? Did the crowd react badly to the security rushing them? 

Before long, I saw the black car that I knew so well and Ed was standing by the open door.

"Ed, get her out of here." I called, waving for him to head towards the drivers seat. The closer I got to the car the more I hesitated inside. I was listening in on the radio chatter, my charge was seconds away from being safe. But what of the others? What of her father or the other dignitaries? We supplied most of the security and had plenty of guards around. But was there more that I could do? Or should I get Jules away and call my job done?

Julie:
I frowned when I heard what he said to Ed and a second before we got to the car, I stopped and turned to face him, pulling my arm out of his hands. "Woah, why does that sound like you're not coming?" I asked. "The only reason you wouldn't come is if something was happening." I rambled. "Whats going on?"

 I knew he wasn't my friend right now. He was my body guard. I was supposed to listen to him when things got dicey. But he was also my friend and the thought of him not getting in the car was causing my stomach to turn. And the reason for why he wouldn't be getting in the car was making it worse. What is something really was happening with my dad?

I glanced back the way we had come then looked at her again. "Your father is safe, the other dignitaries are likely safe too." One last time my gaze drifted towards the door we had left from. "It is chaos in my ear at the moment. You know me, I'm not good at sitting still when work is to be done."

Taking a moment to gather my thoughts I gazed into her eyes. Normally my eyes were a stormy blue and with the right light they shifted around the blues and greys. In this moment they were dark grey as my brows furrowed. "You are my charge and only job. Get in the car Julie, we need to go."

Julie:
I looked at him for another long moment and then quickly turned around and got into the car. I felt relief that there was confirmation that my dad was okay for the time being. But with all the excitement, I didn't realize that my hands were shaking until I tried to buckle my seatbelt. 

After the third attempt, I gave up and decided that Ed was a good enough driver to not get into an accident. 

It was only a shoe. One shoe. A sneaker. Not even a threatening looking shoe. I shouldn't be this shaken up about a shoe.

I took one last look behind me then climbed in after her. Settling in my seat, not bothering to buckle in at all. A frown darkened my face as I considered the implications of everything that had just happened. The speech had been televised. Would this hurt Mr Devlin?

The longer I thought about it the more I wanted to ask Julie about it and it was then that I noticed her expression. My frown shifted into an expression of concern. Part of my training had been about what to do when my charge was experiencing shock. I took a page out of that lesson and shrugged out of my suit jacket. Draping it over the front of her frame I smiled faintly for her, "You look like you need this more than I."

Julie:
I looked up at him when I felt the fabric of his jacket on my arms. I grabbed it tighter and held it close to me, hoping that holding something would stop my body from shaking.

"Cody, my mom was at the house. But what if she changed her mind and left to meet us for the speech?" I asked, panic on my face. I turned my body to look out the back window. The building was already far out of view, but that didn't stop me from incessantly checking all the windows.

"Hey now. None of that. Your mom is perfectly safe. She has her own guards and they would have been listening in." Reaching over I gently set my hand on her shoulder while turning to face her.

Julie:
I took a deep breath and tried to settle down. "Okay...okay," I mumbled. Just a shoe, just a shoe, I chanted in my head. 

I took another few deep breaths to get myself under control and then looked at him again. "Is there anything else I should know?" I asked, pointing to his ear, asking if he's heard anything new.

While gently rubbing her shoulder I gave my head a quick shake. "Your father made it out, perhaps a bit banged up. But you know how my dad gets in situations of stress. He probably bullied your father the whole way." My dad was a quiet man, unassuming at times. He had a way about him that made you just pass your eyes over him. But when the time arose little would stop him. Even stubborn people.

Julie:
I listened to him attentively, nodding at his words. I couldn't help the small smile I had by the time he was finished. "You're not so different from your dad you know," I told him. "You used your 'I mean business' voice," I said. And he called me Julie. Twice.

Blinking I tried to think back on what I had done. Eventually a sheepish smile won out on my face. "I suppose you are right. Sorry?" The apology came with one last squeeze to her shoulder before I let go. Still I'd earned a smile from her! That was progress at least.

Julie:
I shook my head and bit my lip. "Don't apologize. You were great," I told him. And it was true. I was the first one off the stage, before my father and the other politicians. It wasn't because I was in the most danger, it was because Cody had been doing his job. 

Ed pulled up to the gate of our home and I relaxed a bit more. He put in the code and drove up right to the door so we could go inside. Before I got out of the car, I leaned up to the front seat and placed a kiss on Ed's cheek. "Thank you Ed." I said, sweetly. I saw him blush a little. He was a quiet old man but he had a heart of gold. 

The I gathered up Cody's jacket and slid out of the car.

I climbed out before she did and pulled the earpiece from my ear. I was still worried how it would all turn out, but my part in this was done. Jules was back home safely. Loosening my tie slightly I let out a long breath. The adrenaline was starting to wear off and that meant low energy and the desire to just sit.

"So what now? I think after all that relaxing is in order right?"

Julie:
I started for the door and put in another code that would open it. I stepped inside and left it open for Cody. I kicked my heels off and set the jacket down on the hall table. "I guess this means we cant go shopping," I said. I was too disappointed. I knew it was safer to stay inside for a little while. I would probably still be a little tense until my dad was home but I knew he had business to attend, probably speak to the press about what had happened and try to save face. 

"I know! Lets get out of these clothes and into something comfortable and I can shop for your tie online!" I said, holding my heels in my hand and starting for my room. "Lets go, I know you must have a pair of sweats in one of the guest rooms," I said. I didn't exactly want him to go all the way back to the employee quarters. Maybe it was selfish, but I hoped he would humor me.