Edward (8 page)

Tatiana snuggled up tight to Gillian who put her arm around
her. 

“This is why we have professionals, dear.  It’s a
little bit of a rough ride, but it's safer than a bank in here,” mothered
Gillian.

Tatiana tried to smile.

Zoë looked all alone, so Edward made the diplomatic
solution and moved to sit between her and Tatiana.  That way he was next
to both.  They both smiled and snuggled a little closer as the armored car
hurtled down the street.

“How fast does this thing go?” asked Tatiana. 
She was making idle conversation to hide her nervousness, but Edward didn't
mind.

“When they open it all the way, it can maintain about 150
km/h on level ground.  They'll end up swapping out the engine with a new
one tonight due to all the stress.  But it gets the job done in the
meantime.”

Tatiana nodded.  She was out of questions.  She
was scared and it showed.

Edward smiled, “We'll be there is just a few minutes. 
Hang on.”

The next five minutes dragged by in an uneasy silence as
they all sat huddled together in the back of the car.  They could have
turned on more lights, but no one really seemed inclined.  They just
wanted it over.  Edward strained his ears to hear the comm chatter
upfront.  He wanted to know what had happened with the other vehicle, but
it was just too confusing to sort out.  Finally, the car pulled into the
parking garage, under the comforting watch of four very perturbed
Shukurae.  Well, they were comforting to Edward, not to anyone trying to
enter the garage.

“Ladies, this is our stop.  Zoë, we'll have to drop
you off a little later this evening.”  Edward quickly stepped out and made
eye contact with the Shukurae.  They quickly nodded back.  Patuk, the
Shukurae that had been riding escort in the front seat of the car, got out and
joined Edward as the ladies carefully exited the car.

“Alex here yet?” asked Edward.

“Negative, five minutes out.  Jake is side eyes, Eric
is top.”

“Have you heard what happened?”

“Unclear.”

Edward nodded, Shukurae weren't
the kind to pass rumors.  Facts or not at all. 
“Okay, stay together on the stairs.  Once we hit topside, we should be
home free.”  Edward led the way with the ladies close on his tail, while
Patuk brought up the rear with his pulse rifle at the ready.  They quickly
mounted the stairs and crossed the lobby and headed toward the elevator. 
A police officer nodded to Edward as they crossed the room.

Half way across the room, just as the girls were starting
to calm down, Edward suddenly let out a short whistle and launched a reverse
roundhouse at the police officer.  It connected, not cleanly, but enough
for Edward to maintain initiative.  In a blue shower of sparks a pair of
night sticks formed in each hand and Edward closed again with a furious
exchange while Patuk quickly got between the dueling pair and the ladies.

The cop's attempt to draw his sidearm was met with a
violent strike to his forearm that sent the weapon sliding across the
floor.  As he grimaced in pain, he went for his own night stick with his
off hand.  It wasn't going to be a fair fight; Edward was faster, more
skilled, and had already gotten in two very crippling blows, but that didn't
mean he wasn't going to try.  The cop's pupils dilated as he launched into
a furious exchange with Edward.

Edward expertly parried the blows and carefully struck
back.  The police officer was swifting; Edward could tell that from his
frenetic pace.  But that meant time was on his side.  It also meant
higher brain functions were on his side as well, so Edward took his time and
just let the man wear himself out.  Sure enough three minutes later, the
cop's internal reserves depleted, he collapsed to the floor and blacked
out.   Edward quickly secured the cop with his own restraints as the
rest of his own team finally gathered around him.

Edward stood there catching his breath as Alex caught up to
him, “Good job, you took him alive.”

“How did you know he was crooked?” asked Gillian from the
edge of the crowd.

“Under lockdown, no police were supposed to be
here.   Then there is the problem of the smell of gunpowder and blood
in the air.  That's a big warning sign there too.”  Edward nodded
over to where the concierge was always present.

“The concierge,” gasped Gillian.

Neither the concierge nor the hotel security officer had survived. 
But the police officer in question did, and he was going to have a lot to
answer for.  But that was for Trevor and his crew to worry about. 
Alex and Meeka were able to get Zoë safely home.  It was the end of a long
day, and Edward just sat in a chair in the penthouse and stared at nothing in
particular.

“You okay?” asked Tatiana as she walked through the living
room.  She looked radiant.  Well, she always did.  But now she
looked relaxed for a change and actually happy as opposed to just acting. 

“Everyone in our team did their job perfectly.  As a
result, we were able to prevent an attack on you, yet still, two innocent
people were killed.”

Tatiana sat on the couch next to Edward and frowned, “A
police
officer
of all people was involved.  No wonder they were getting
nowhere before you showed up.  It is because of you and your team that it
has come to an end.  The loss of life is
his
fault, not
yours.  So don't you go all moody.  Besides,
I've claimed all the moodiness around here.”  She smiled, “You can't have
any.”

Edward tried to smile back, “Yes ma'am.”

“Oh, don't you dare start to 'ma'am' me,” she groused.

That finally got a real smile out of Edward.  “You are
quite the trooper, Tatiana.”

She wrinkled her nose, “I'm not sure I want to know, but
what happened with the other armored car?”

“Roadside bomb, pretty much where Kestrel and Trevor
guessed it would be too.  It rolled the car, but both gals got out with
only cuts and scrapes.”

“What would have happened if
we
had been in that
car?”

“Probably just a sprained wrist or
dislocated shoulder.  Those are
darn tough cars.”

“Do they know why the cop went psycho?”

Edward shook his head, “Trevor has some loose theories, but
we probably won't get any good answers for a day or two.  It will take a
day at least for him to come to.”

“They worried about his partner or anything?”

“His partner is on voluntary leave, but there is nothing
linking them at this point.  It's all a big mess.”

“So it's all hurry-up-and-wait.”

Edward laughed, “Yep."

“I guess that is why you are all stressed out.”

Edward laughed again, “I'm sorry.  Does it show that
bad?”

“It has been a long day for both of us.  You can
always just spend the night here with me, and I'm sure we could both work out
the stress.”

Edward looked into Tatiana's eyes.  He half expected
her to be making a joke, but there she was with her big wistful eyes staring
back at him.  There was both a warmth and a
sincerity there that he hadn't expected, and that made things very
uncomfortable.

“I... I'm going to have to decline your offer.  I'm
flattered, don't get me wrong.  We can talk about this a few weeks from
now when there isn't stress in our systems, and, well, then
there is the problem of you being a client.”

Tatiana sat back and smiled, “Too sudden is it?  You being professional and all.  I can respect
that!”  She suddenly reached forward and kissed him on the forehead. 
“Well, I'm going to bed alone then.  I'll see you in the morning.” 
With a smile and a twirl she got up and sashayed off to her bedroom.

Edward just sat there in awe.  What was he supposed to
do?  What could he do?  Was she being serious? A
flirt? What had he gotten himself into?  What would happen if this
got out?  

“I continue to be impressed with you,” Gillian's voice caught
Edward by surprise.

“Do you often spy on her?” asked Edward as he fought for
composure.

Gillian stepped into the light of the room. “Quite often I
have to, or get to, play the role of mother for her.  As such, well, yes,
I spy a bit.  For her own good.  I think you two would make a
wonderful couple.  She is comfortable around you and you don't have to do
any stupid testosterone laden stunts to get her attention.”

“Being a guard isn't testosterone laden?”

“I think Kadu would say otherwise.”

Edward had a good laugh at that, “Yes.  Yes, she
would.”

“You do your job well and you do it with poise.  You
are driven from within, not to show off.  Don't get me wrong, you do have
your flourishes, we both know that.  But the respect of your team means
far more to you than the media.  That is far
far
different than
anyone else she has been around.”

“Even the real estate guy?”

Gillian laughed, “Oh, bringing him up are you.  He was
more interested in money than anything else, but at least he wasn't a
narcissist.  I can tell you are still driven.  You still think you
have something left to prove.  But it is something you have to prove to
yourself, not Tatiana, and that is a big difference.  You are trying to be
the best you can be, for better or worse.”

“How can it be 'for worse'?”

Gillian laughed again. “I'm in the music business.  It
is all about pushing yourself to be the best.  To stand
out and be noticed.  And often, even as people are discovering
exactly what makes them the best that they can be, they also push themselves
too far and succumb to a horrible mess of ills that make the tabloids, oh, so
hungry.  Take Tatiana, for example.  She is a child star ready to
start transitioning.  She is at a crossroads with three obvious paths: she
breaks through as a superstar on her own and in control, she becomes a star in
name only and becomes a personal and emotional ruin, or she quietly fades into
the background and finds a new path.  I've been with her for three very
long and very successful years.  I wish her the best, and the best for her
may be to fade from the limelight and find something new to do.”  Gillian
laughed, “Heavens knows she's made enough money to last her a lifetime. 
But if she really wants to truly break out and shine, I'll comb my fur backwards
if that’s what it takes to make sure she has that opportunity.”

“Anything but tabloid bait.”

Gillian smiled, “Exactly.  Well, I'm probably keeping
you up past your bedtime.  Just do me a favor and try to consider yourself
as a person, to both her and the cast.  Heck, I think I saw you making
eyes at Zoë too.”

Edward blanched.  “Oh, it is
so
past my
bedtime!”  He scrambled to get up and headed toward the door.

“Edward, just do yourself a favor:
don't sell yourself short as a person.  You are far too young.”

“Now you are starting to sound like my brothers.”

“That doesn't make it any less true.  Good night,
Edward.”

“Goodnight,
Mom
.”

“Don't you dare,” laughed Gillian.

The trek out to the armored car was as it had been the previous
day, with Shukurae keeping the fans well clear of the trio as they
approached.  Tatiana was initially put out at the continued heightened
security, but as quickly as Gillian went to smooth her nerves, she found
Tatiana was already grinning like a school girl: she wasn't holding Edward's
arm, she was holding his hand.  Edward sheepishly grinned back, more than
a little confused.  Gillian just laughed and enjoyed the upbeat morning
after such a dreadful previous day.

Trevor met them at the car, “Ma'am, do you mind if I ride
with you this morning?  I'll try to fill you in on what all we know.”

Gillian smiled and opened with her traditional
admonishment, “You may only ride with us if you don't call me 'ma'am'.”

Trevor smiled broadly, “Gillian then?”

“Yes, please.”

The four of them quickly found their seats in the car and
it quietly and effortlessly pulled away.  Far more
quietly and smoothly than previously.  Apparently there had been
even more work done on the car overnight than
expected. They had done far more than just simply change out the engine!

“First of all, the bomb attacks over the last few days we
believe were the solo work of Police Constable Johann Talvis.  The first
bombing, he used a mule to drop the bomb...,”

“Mule?” interrupted Gillian.

“Pardon me for the jargon.  A mule is an unsuspecting
person that unknowingly carries some form of contraband.  In this case, it
was a fan who had recently been picked up on a drug
violation.”

“So the cop lets him go if he takes a package to his
favorite star.”

“Pretty much.  He then killed the guy to cover his tracks.”

“Eww!”  Tatiana was more than a little creeped out.

“Yeah, not a nice guy.”

“I don't understand,” began Gillian, “He was a police
officer, constable, whatever.  Why attack Tatiana?”

Trevor took a deep breath, “From what we can tell, he was
trying to put pressure on her father, the governor.  A recent task force
had nailed Talvis's parents for involvement in organized crime.  The
problem
with Talvis's plan is that the threats never made it up the food chain;
neither the Governor nor any of his security knew that
any
of this was
related.”

“So the threats were being made in a vacuum,” grumbled
Gillian.  “Bureaucracy at its finest.”

“Excuse me,” piped up Tatiana timidly, “but does that mean
he is
not
related to the earlier bombings or the shooting?”

Trevor looked at Tatiana square in the eyes, “We are unsure
about the shooting.  But we know for certain that he
wasn't
responsible for the earlier pipe bomb attacks.”

“So we are back to where we were a week ago,” groused
Gillian.

“On one hand, yes, we are back to having a bomber on the
loose.  But on the other hand,
that
bomber was much less dangerous,
and we have a lot of security and surveillance that has been brought to bear.”

Gillian forced a smile, “Well, you never said it would be
all good news.  But I do appreciate the  candor. 
Besides, I think we have one of the best at our disposal.”  She smiled
broadly and honestly at Edward.

“I
know
you have one of the best!” retorted Trevor.

Edward would have been embarrassed, but with Tatiana still
holding his hand, he wasn't sure which of the two situations was more
embarrassing.

The morning’s rehearsal, however, did not go near as well
as the drive in.  Once again, the fourth number proved to be the downfall
of the troupe.  What little progress they had made the day before seemed
to fall by the wayside.  Gillian was beyond livid.  Tatiana was
exhausted.  As Edward watched from the side, Zoë caught up with him.

“So, I heard you caught the bad guy!”

“Only one of the bad guys, unfortunately.”

“Oh. Quick question:  why did the guy attack the hotel
if he bombed the car that he thought Tatiana was in?”

“That was an odd one.  Jake figured it out in a
heartbeat.  There was a camera watching us leave and there were four of us
in the back of the car.  But when we swapped, they only put in three
mannequins.”

“Oh, man!  They give me a lift and then the guy... oh,
that's terrible.   I should have just ridden home with Tomish.”

Edward shook his head, “You had no way of knowing. 
Never blame yourself for the actions of an evil person.  If he hadn't
gotten desperate and attacked the hotel, we wouldn't have stopped him when we
did.  Things may have been worse.”

Zoë stuck out her tongue as if it had a bitter taste,
“Yuck... I think I was happier not knowing.”

Edward smiled, “You're strong, you'll
pull forward.  Can I ask you a question?”

Zoë pantomimed scrubbing her tongue.  “Huh? 
Sure.  Anything to change the subject.”

“Why did you take this gig?  It seems way off in the
wilderness for you.”

Zoë smiled, “It pays very well!  I have a scholarship
to the prefecture university, free ride.  But I've been supporting my
little brother for the last two years, so I'm trying to save up so I can go to
school and not have to work.”

“That is terribly practical.”  Edward thought about
that a bit.  Support her little brother?  What was that all
about?   It wasn't really his business.   “You have a heck
of a motorbike; you could probably sell it and buy something more modest...”

Zoë laughed, “I've thought about that a dozen times, but I
just can't bring myself to do it.  My big brother bought it for me when I
was sixteen, and he is gone now.  It's all I have left of him.”

“I'm sorry about your loss...”

Zoë looked confused and then laughed again, “No! Not
gone
gone, he just went off planet.  To get away from here....”  The
last part wasn't quite as jovial.  Time to change the subject!

“I meant to ask, did I damage your bike suit?  There
when you really laid on the power I had to extend my claws in order to hold
on.”

That brought a smile back to Zoë, “Nah, it'll take a bit
more than claws to damage one of those things.  Hey!  I think Gillian
has finally beaten them into shape.  Time to get back to
work!”

“Good luck, Zoë!”

She smiled back at him, “You too, Edward!”

Zoë bounded back onto the stage and quickly seated herself
behind the large ebony piano.  The fifth piece was getting ready to kick
off and it was Edward's favorite.  Or at least it was his favorite in
spite of himself.  He loved the piece, how it made him feel, how easily he
got lost in it.  But he hated that it always seemed to take his guard
down! 

As the piece slowly launched, Kadu walked up behind Edward.

“I didn't turn into a zombie today, Kadu.”

“Not yet.  It is early in practice.”

Edward
 thought
 that was a
joke, so he took it as such.  But as the piece continued, Kadu's warning
was showing closer to the truth.  But then suddenly, Tatiana stopped the
piece.

“Gillian, can we try something different with the piece?”

Gillian looked confused, but for only about two
heartbeats.  “That piece is going solid, so now is a reasonable time to
experiment.  What did you have in mind?”

Tatiana walked over to Zoë and her piano, “Do you still
have the music, as it was originally scored?”

“As a duet?  Yes,” replied Zoë with eager curiosity.

Tatiana smiled broadly, “How about we do it as a
duet.  Just a simple duet.  The two of us and the piano.  No other instruments or
backing vocals until the very last verse.”

Gillian nodded, “We can give that a try.  Zoë, are you
up for singing?”

Zoë beamed, “I'd be delighted!”

“Tatiana, if we bill the piece as a duet, you have to share
more of the royalties,” warned Gillian with a grin.

Tatiana blew a raspberry, “It's
part of
one
song.  Wah! 
 
Heck, she's already
getting a cut for writing it.  Why not a piece for
performing it?”

Gillian smiled and nodded.  With that nod came a brief
flurry of movement as another microphone was positioned for Zoë.  Just as
quick as the motion had started, it was over.  It was a very good stage
crew! 

With barely a word, the piece started again.  Slowly
and hauntingly it crept across the stage and nailed Edward's feet in
place.  The two girls’ voices, so very different, played very well off
each other and complemented the piece.  Why had it ever been rendered a
solo piece?  Sacrilege!  Edward just stood there transfixed as the
piece played on.  He could feel his fur rippling and standing on end like
a young schoolboy, but he didn't care, or at least wasn't able to care. 
The piece moved on and on and he hoped it would never end.  As the chorus
and rest of the instruments came in for the final verse, Edward knew he was
probably doing something foolish again, and Kadu was going to let him hear
about it for the rest of the day, but he just didn't care.  He didn't
care.

As the fifth piece ended and the hyped up sixth number
started, it wasn't Kadu, but rather Gillian checking in on him.

“Are you okay?” she asked more than a little worried.

Edward shrugged sheepishly. “Sorry, that piece really just
gets to me.”

Gillian wasn't convinced, “That was a little creepy. 
I mean I've seen you do that weird color change thing before, but that was, well,
weird.”

“At least he was breathing,” interjected Kadu.  Oh,
there she was.

“You were afraid he was going to stop, like in the elevator
that time?”

“It was a legitimate concern based on his previous
responses.  During the concert, we will have to make sure we have
additional assets on station for that piece.”

Edward was beyond flustered, “I..
I'm sorry Kadu... I don't know why....”

“I don't know either, and I don't care.  I've known
you for over a year now, and I've seen you deal with situations that would most
assuredly cause Lady Gillian to regurgitate just from the simplest
description.  If there is a five minute window in which you are a danger
to the crowd, then so be it.  We can work around it.  You are far too
exceptional in all other regards to...

“Wait a minute,” interrupted Gillian, “you said 'danger to
the crowd?'”

“Correct.”

Gillian blinked, “Well, yes.  Could you explain what
you meant by that?”

“My initial hypothesis is that if anyone were to attack the
two young ladies, he would stop them.  Period.”

“As in ‘stop them even if it meant taking out half the
crowd’,” murmured Gillian.

“That is, in fact, my present concern.”

“I can work this out, Kadu.   There is a lot of
time before the concert,”  interjected Edward.

“Maybe.  But we must have a plan if you cannot.”

“Okay, I'm all about having plans.  But please give me
the benefit of the doubt and let me
try
to work this out,” retorted
Edward.

“That is perfectly acceptable.  Shall we say, three
days until the concert?”

“Agreed, Kadu.”  Edward turned to Gillian, “I am so very sorry about
all of this.  I never...”

“It's okay!” interrupted Gillian
with a smile, “I was just worried about
you
.  I'm sure the team can
take care of this.  You do have fantastic people you work with.”

Edward tried to smile, “Yes, ma'am.  They are the
best!”

“You did it again!”

“Sorry,
Mom
.”

“Ugh!” replied Gillian playfully.

“Nine o'clock.  Reception at the Cobalt Lounge,”
chirped Gillian to Tatiana as they drove home.  “You still game for it?”

Tatiana, tired from the day’s work, still managed to beam
broadly, “Of course!  First time to mingle with the fans in quite some
time!  Or is security going to close it down?”

Eyes went quickly to Edward. “My understanding is that
Trevor thinks we can do it safely.  We've pulled in two more Lowlanders
from the other half of our team, and they'll be ready to help tonight. 
Their external security will be a little more intense than normal, but once
inside, things should be a lot more mellow and relaxed.”

“Happier when you have a guest list to work?”

Edward laughed, “Hey, I'm not organized enough for
that.  That is Trevor's area.  But statistically, it’s the caterers
that are more dangerous for political attacks.  They have more time to be
sneaky.  The problem is we still have no motivation.”

“And if you had a motivation you would have a better idea
of how, where, and when an attack would come,” offered Gillian.  “Well,
your people have been through my mail going back six months now and still
haven't a solid lead.  Quite annoying.”

“Paul is curious if the person, or persons, is doing this
strictly as a matter of getting attention for themselves.  Nothing to do with Tatiana,
per se
, and everything to with
the fact that it is certain to be covered by the media.”

“Crackpots will always be there.  But can't we please
have crackpots that don't risk people getting seriously hurt or killed?”

“If they were that rational, they wouldn't be called
crackpots,” interjected Tatiana.

Gillian had a good laugh at that.  “Unfortunately, I
think you nailed it there, girl.”  Gillian’s eyebrows knitted, “Paul. Have
I met him?”    

“Doubt it.  He ’s a human
sniper.  Spends most of his time crawling around roof
tops.”

“Ah!  Then, no, I don't think I have.”  Gillian
paused for a moment as she rearranged her thoughts.  “There is also the
larger reception this Saturday. That is still a go, too, yes?”

“Assuming nothing goes too bad with this one, then yes.”

“Fair enough.”