Protection, at a price ... (Closed for DM & DeathsKnight)

"Well then Samantha Buckingham, I want you two meet Adriana Frecso,"

Benjamin spoke as Samantha spun round to see whose hands had covered her eyes.

"Hello Sami."

Adriana stood before her smiling uncertainly.

"You scared me to death!"

She exclaimed speaking to both of them as she saw a glance pass between them.

" ... so this is a set up ?"

This to Benjamin.
She was annoyed with him for interfering and for drawing her friend into this subterfuge.

" ... you'd best sit down now you're here..."

She said offering Adriana a seat.
So much for their cosy luncheon for two.
She did not like being manipulated into situations and did not like the fact that the two had obviously discussed her behind her back.

" ... so ... want to tell me what the next part of this lil plan is?"

She asked curtly ...

Benjamin Krauze

"Conspiracy theory number one have just been deployed. Let me tell you what really happened, I got her number in the Diary you used as mini-missile. After deciding to take you out for dinner, I phoned her and asked if she would like to meet you, she was skeptic as it did seem you two drifted apart, but she said she would love to see you again. Before we came here I phoned her to tell her that we will be here a bit earlier and that she could come over when she was done with her things."

He leaned forward,

"Or would you rather not meet your friend and have her leave? I picked this time as it is a controlled environment and a place you can relax and talk with each other."

He smirked and finished his drink,

"Maybe you would like to alter that attitude you have going there, it was supposed to be a surprise, not some weird set-up."

"Conspiracy theory number one have just been deployed. Let me tell you what really happened, I got her number in the Diary you used as mini-missile. After deciding to take you out for dinner, I phoned her and asked if she would like to meet you, she was skeptic as it did seem you two drifted apart, but she said she would love to see you again. Before we came here I phoned her to tell her that we will be here a bit earlier and that she could come over when she was done with her things."

Samantha was still not impressed by Benjamin's explanation.

"Or would you rather not meet your friend and have her leave?
I picked this time as it is a controlled environment and a place you can relax and talk with each other. Maybe you would like to alter that attitude you have going there, it was supposed to be a surprise, not some weird set-up."

If she was beginning to mellow, his final words ignited her anger once more.

"The diary was never intended to be read by you Benjamin.
I can understand that as my bodyguard, you'd be interested in the details of place and people, but as to contacting anyone listed there with the intention of interfering with my friendships and relationships that is way beyond your remit!"

Turning to Adriana she spoke more kindly.

"This isn't your fault, Ree. You couldn't know what you'd be walking into.
If you want to see me, want to talk, then we'll do so in private!"

She cast a pointed look at Benjamin and then continued to speak to the girl.

"You're welcome to visit me at the house whenever you want."

She forced a laugh.

"I mean ... it's not as if I'm likelly to be out is it?"

She turned back to Benjamin.

"As to attitude...
I've had to accept that this whole surveillance shit can stop me seeing people I want to see and give me fuck all freedom, but I will NOT be told who I should see. And if you've any ideas of planning reunions with other friends and boyfriends according to your agenda Mr Krauze, then you can forget it."

She stood and threw down some notes.

"I'm heading back home. You can either drive me, or I'll get a taxi.
I don't give a damn either way ... "

She commented turning and crossing the room more than happy to hail a taxi rather than tolerate Benjamin driving her back to the house.

Benjamin Krauze

He looked over at Adriana and grinned,

"Well that went exactly like you said it would go, well you got the invitation, now she can't really say that you didn't want to show up."

He got to his feet and stuck out his hand,

"Thank you for coming Adriana, even if you did know she would react that way."

After shaking hands, he added a few notes to those Samantha had thrown down and walked out after her, he found her standing on the sidewalk, he stepped up next to her and murmured,

"It was not a must and if you want to throw things at me, make sure they can not come back to bite you. You may feel you have the right to cause a scene, but you should also know that publicly humiliation means absolute fuckall to me. Get in the car or I will shoot you in the leg and drag you home."

Even though the words was softly spoken, the hidden rage was evident in the accent that slipped through and the swearword. He walked to the car and only paused to see if she was following and if he was forced to take more drastic steps.

Samantha wanted more than anything to just get a taxi and head for home without Benjamin. She glared at him as he walked up to her, but she merely turned away.

"It was not a must and if you want to throw things at me, make sure they can not come back to bite you. You may feel you have the right to cause a scene, but you should also know that publicly humiliation means absolute fuckall to me. Get in the car or I will shoot you in the leg and drag you home."

His words shocked her, but they also showed that despite that damned impervious exterior she had gotten to him and angered him. There was no point in worsening the situation where they stood so she merely slipped into the passenger seat and refused to look or speak to him.

There was no way he was going to treat her like that again, she vowed.
Perhaps once she'd calmed down she'd see things differently, but for now she didn't want him anywhere around her ...

Benjamin Krauze

The drive back was silent and much faster than speed limits dictated, but he was always in control, yet deep down inside him he was angry. It was the same anger he felt when his plans got rejected by his peers and when afterwards it proved that he would have been right. So she wish not to meet her best friend where he could give her privacy. Fine. Let her sulk in her room and see how far she can get without his help. There was a loud squeal of tires when he turned from the road into the drive way. The gate was open and he drove up to the door and almost skid to a stop, he said nothing, just looked out in front of him, waiting for her to get out.

The ride was ... uncomfortable .. in the extreme. It was with effort that she kept quiet as he sped and skidded, this anger given vent through the vehicle he drove. For endless seconds they sat in silence outside the house.

If that was the way he wanted it, it suited her.

She shrugged off the seat belt and opened the passenger door.
She considered slamming it, but decided not to lower herself to his level.
She had been angry, had made her point and when he wanted to apologise for his high-handed interference, she would hear it, but until then she had nothing to say to him ...

Closing the door carefully, Samantha's face remained neutral as she turned on her heel and made her way into the house.

"Good day, Sammie..?"

Her father called out as he caught her making her way up the stairs.

"No daddy ... lousy day ... "

She only just managed not to swear.

"... I think you should seriously consider that plan Benjamin had ... the old friend with unconventional methods ... "

She told him, turning to meet his surprised expression at the change in his daughter's atittude in contrast with that morning.

"The sooner I can get rid of all these security STAFF the better ... "

She told him.

"Oh and by the way... Perhaps you could instruct Mr Krauze that threatening to shoot the person he's supposed to be protecting is NOT an acceptable method of 'protection'."


She turned and continued her way upstairs, anger now evident in her ascent.

" ... neither is interferring in her private life!"

She finished as she entered her bedroom, giving vent by slamming the door forcibly and turning the key to secure it against intrusion.

Benjamin Krauze

Benjamin followed Samantha into the house shortly after, his own face looking like a thundercloud, he was informed that Mr Buckingham wanted to talk to him and he went to the study, closing the door forcibly behind him and switching off his comm. Shortly afterwards loud angry voices drifted through the thick door and the guards at the door winched at the words exchanged between the two men. The door opened and Benjamin came out of the study and disappeared upstairs, shortly afterwards the security detail was pulled in closer to the inner perimeter, it was made clear that Samantha would only leave the house for her training and nothing else. Four pairs of guards was placed on constant shifts to look after Samantha, for the rest of the day Benjamin was frankly a ghost. Nobody saw him come or go, but his calm voice over the comm regularly sharpened up a guard's watch. At times he would just appear next to a guard, asking a report and disappear again, he seemed to have withdrawn so far into his professional shell that it became scary.

Samantha was in her father's study. It was about the only place left that she could go without guards and surveillance. She sipped her coffee and nibbled on the chocolates set before her, her mood low and deflated after the loud argument that had followed her return to the house.

For once she didn't ask her father for the details. It was clear that he was angry and though Samantha was sure it was with Benjamin, she couldn't help feeling that he was not entirely happy with her either. It had crossed her mind to complain about the high handed way Benjamin had but the house under lock down, but she could only hoped that this dubious friend of his was coming to escalate things and get everything sorted one way or another.

She sighed audibly and toyed with the spoon making a monotonous tapping as she stared absent mindedly in the direction of book shelf. She had gone through anything that was of any interest to her ages ago in her own room, but now as she focused on the volumes, she found little to appeal to her here. Now she had found the 'bug' to start drawing and painting again, it was harsh to have it and the recently found freedom taken away from her.

"Daddy ... can you have my supplies delivered to the house. I'll have to check through them myself to make sure everything's there and there's no one around here would know an oil from an acrylic. I'll make sure it's boxed up again so it can be taken down to the boat house once I've checked off the delivery."

That would take up about 20 minutes at least, she calculated and she could pull out a sketch pad and a few pencils and pastles and start some preliminary work on her mother's portrait ... besides which .. she still had more of the papers to read....

Benjamin Krauze

He finally got the results back from the picture of the woman he had sent through, it was as he suspected, she was part of the operation. Samantha did good to get out of there when she could, he spent some time talking to his friend over the phone and then after making sure everything was in order and the Buckinghams was locked up as tight as he could get them he went down to the garage and got into the work SUV, he drove out of the garage, down the driveway and out of the gates. Minutes later he was heading back to town, the information on his phone burning a hole in his pants.

Seems like the first mistake was to get close to her...he frowned at the double meaning of his thoughts, though not really a mistake, he had to admit that he slipped up a bit, but then again, he was warned against the action he chose. He shrugged the thoughts away and just focused on the task at hand, if he could get hold of the woman and hand her over to the Police they might get a lead that could unravel this whole story. One of the body guards asked Benjamin if he was available and he realized that he had forgotten to switch off the comm, he replied a negative and heard it being relayed, then the guard asked if Benjamin left his post as Mr Buckingham found that the amount for his payment was deposited back into his account. Benjamin gave a grim little smile and replied that it was not something he wished to discuss, but that he was still on duty and working for Mr Buckingham. He told the guard to relay that he was following up on a lead on the woman that spoke to Samantha in the bathroom of the restaurant. He switched off the comm after he heard the guard relaying the information, a few minutes later he pulled up to the apartment building that his friend had sent him. He just hoped that he was on time and that she wasn't gone.

Her father had things to work on in his study. He'd told her he had business to sort and so Samantha had taken herself off after coffee and wandered around through the dining room standing and staring at the walls considering where to hang future portraits.

She glanced back at the closed door and frowned. It was probably things to do with Benjaminn again. Why things had to be so complicated, Samantha didn't know. Just when they had been getting on fine, he had become all high-handed as if he knew better than her!

It was bad enough that she had no freedom now, but to have her first outing spoiled in that way had brought all those feelings to the surface. It had been like that all her life. Her father always claimed he knew what was best for her and now Benjamin was treating her in the same way! Why was it that those she cared about didn't even care enough to consult her and merely made decisions for her.

Samantha halted, realisation dawning. ... ... people she cared about ... ?
No ... she shook her head. She didn't care about or have any feelings for Benjamin, she insisted to herself. Sure he was efficient, but with him it was all job. She was just something he was paid to protect. Today had shown that he didn't care about her feelings ...

She sighed heavily. He couldn't know what had gone on between her and Adriana ... but like he father he hadn't asked and even though he had acted for the best, she could concede that now ... he had no idea what he was dealing with. And Adriana was convincing. She had played the 'wronged friend' very skilfully! Perhaps Samantha was ready to forgive her, perhaps not. But it was for Samantha to decide and right now she had more important things to worry about than Adriana!

With a sigh Samantha crossed the room and went along the hall and to the side door. She needed fresh air. The house, everything was claustrophobic.
She went outside, but kept to the frame of the door making sure that she didn't make herself visible. She took long breaths of air and tried to make sense of the tumult of emotions surfacing within her.

Her life was fucking shit ... she concluded.
And Benjamin had merely complicated matters.
She glanced across at the path that led to the boathouse beyond and wished that she could just run off there and escape. To be on her own for a while without prying eyes would be heavenly ...

Benjamin Krauze

She was there, but she did not want to come along willingly, the police had too many questions for him instead of her. This along with the outburst from Samantha had him on edge, but he didn't allow it to show, just bottled it up where it could smoulder and die. It was a good five hours later when he returned to the estate, he checked and saw that there was enough time left.

"Unit Eight Bravo, find out if Miss Buckingham would like to go outside, if so secure the perimeter where she want to go to, sweep it and then continue."

He noticed that the door was open as he came to it, he could also feel the blood slowly creeping it's way down his arm where that silly bitch had nicked him. He didn't mention it as he knew that he could look after it himself. He saw her as he came closer to the door, noticed that she stayed out of sight and a brief smile flickered at the corners of his mouth. He entered and saw that three guards had a direct view on her,

"Miss Buckingham."

He nodded and walked in, oblivious to the two drops of blood he left on the doorstep.

Samantha was lost in thought.
So much so that she didn't see Benjamin until he passed her by.

"Miss Buckingham."

His nod was courteous, yet distant.
Samantha had no chance to react before he had entered the house.
She turned to watch as he crossed the hall. Sighing heavily she glanced downwards and noticed the blood drops on the doorstep.

Turning rapidly, she noted that he was not obviously injured yet how else could the doorstep have become stained.

Slowly she re-entered the house. Benjamin was climbing the stairs and seemed to be heading towards his room. She moved to follow him then lost her nerve, halting instead at the bottom of the stairs.

" ... are you hurt ..?"

She called after him, her enquiry hesitant and half expecting him to wish her in hell rather than respond.

Benjamin Krauze

"Are you hurt?"

Part of him wanted to reply No, another wanted to be all macho and say it's nothing, but instead he turned to face her.

"Yes I am, that woman that cornered you in the bathroom? She was a part of the group that is trying to harm you. She is in Police custody at the moment. She didn't want to come with me so I had to persuade her to come along without the pistol she had in her hand."

He pointed at the hole in his shirt's sleeve,

"Went in just past the kevlar, lucky shot so to speak,"

he was amazed at how friendly he sounded, explaining to her without her even asking. He gave her a smile, then turned to continue up the stairs,

"I'll just grab a shower and then patch myself up."

"Yes I am, "

Samantha hadn't expected that, nor had she expected the explanation that followed.

" ... that woman that cornered you in the bathroom? She was a part of the group that is trying to harm you. She is in Police custody at the moment. She didn't want to come with me so I had to persuade her to come along without the pistol she had in her hand."

She took a few steps closer to him as he pointed out where the injury was.

"Went in just past the kevlar, lucky shot so to speak.
I'll just grab a shower and then patch myself up."

She couldn't believe how casual he sounded.
She watched mutely as he turned, then set off after him, catching up with him as he reached the door of his room.

" .. my God ... you were SHOT?"

She was shocked. She took his arm and moved it gently to get better sight of the hole in his sleeve.

"What do you mean, patch yourself up? You should go to A & E, surely?
Do you want me to drive you or call an ambulance?"

In her concern she had forgotten the tension between them for the moment.

Benjamin Krauze

The shock in her voice made him wonder for a moment if maybe the wound was worse than it felt, but as she inspected it he noticed that it wasn't.

"No it's really something like a scratch, here let me show you,"

He pulled off his shirt and lifted the sleeve of his t-shirt, the bullet had not really entered the skin, but it had cut open a good part of the skin. It was still oozing blood,

"I can promise you, it looks much worse than it feels. Some disinfectant and a bandage and I'll be just fine."

"No it's really something like a scratch, here let me show you,"

Samanta knew very little of bullet wounds, but even so it looked like a graze rather than a deep hole that held a bullet inside. Even so, it was still bleeding!

"I can promise you, it looks much worse than it feels.
Some disinfectant and a bandage and I'll be just fine."

She nodded, allowing him to convince her.

" ... ok ... "

She responded, now her fear for him was receding she felt awkward with him again.

" ... Do you want me to help...?"

She found herself offering.
He was capable and had no doubt dealt with this sort of thing before, but she wasn't squeamish and another pair of hands might be useful. However, he still probably didn't want her near him longer than necessary so she assumed that her offer would be rejected.

Benjamin Krauze

He smiled again,

"I would really appreciate it, sometimes it can get really tricky especially if it's still bleeding."

He opened his door and pushed it open, scanning the interior out of habit and allowed her to go in. He kept the door open, stripped off his t-shirt and removed his kevlar vest, placing everything in their place he stepped into the shower room, pulling the door close behind him.

"I would really appreciate it, sometimes it can get really tricky especially if it's still bleeding."

Again a response she had not expected. She smiled and nodded following him up the stairs and waiting for him to invite her through into his room. She tried not to let her eyes be drawn too closely to hsi body as he took off his t-shirt and kevlar vest and looked away as he stepped into the shower room, closing the door behind him.

She walked across to the window, looking out as she awaited his return.
She didn't know where his medical kit was kept and didn't want to pry through his belongings, so she just kept a careful ear in case he had any difficultlies in the shower room.

Benjamin Krauze

He finished his shower and came out of the room, dressed in clean pants and underwear, barefooted he padded up towards her and looked out,

"Nice view, and then of course the estate isn't too bad to look at either."

He chuckled softly and got out his medical kit from one of the closets,

"If I'm not mistaken everything you need should be in there, stuffing, needle, thread and buttons."

Samantha glanced back into the room as Benjamin came out of the shower.

"Nice view, "

She noded turning from the window.

" ... and then of course the estate isn't too bad to look at either."

She was sure her face must have shown her suprise for he chuckled as he went to get out his medical kit.

"If I'm not mistaken everything you need should be in there, stuffing, needle, thread and buttons."

She blinked at his words.

"Am I patching you up or acting as your tailor?"

She quipped easily and looked carefully at the wound as he turned towards her.

"Seriously though ... just tell me what you need doing ... and I'll do my best ... "

Benjamin Krauze

"Well you could try to tailor my arm if you want to, but I would prefer if you cleaned it and pasted the edges together again, there should be some glue in there as well."

He chuckled,

"You can just disinfect it, maybe add some anti septic cream to keep it clean and just slap on a waterproof bandage. That ought to do the trick."

He sat down and opened the bag for her to get to all the tools inside, holding his arm for her.

"Well you could try to tailor my arm if you want to, but I would prefer if you cleaned it and pasted the edges together again, there should be some glue in there as well."

She nodded and checked through the kit.

"You can just disinfect it, maybe add some anti septic cream to keep it clean and just slap on a waterproof bandage. That ought to do the trick."

She smiled at him.

"OOOOkay, I can do that .. "

She told him and arranged the items she needed.
Carefully she poured disintectant onto a sterile gauze and dabbed at the wound careful to make sure it was entirely clean before disposing of the gauze and taking out the antiseptic. Gently she blew across the wound to dry the surface before applying a thick layer of cream and spreading it across the wound.

"Just hold it steady there ... "

She instructed, her focus entirely on his arm as she reached for the waterproof bandage. Taking his arm again, Samantha drew it closer to her, positioning it against her chest as she turned his arm into the optimum position to apply the bandage, her fingers working deftly around the edges to seal the dressing without any of the cream escaping.

"There ... that should do ... what do you think?"

She enquired ..

Benjamin Krauze

He found that he loved her touch, it was so gentle and cool, without him knowing it, it brought a smile to his face. He watched her as she worked, that same intensity when she focused on doing something was there and her fingers was very secure in what they did.

"How is that? Wow I think you missed your calling, think I should phone the hospital and tell them that one of their doctors escaped."

"How is that? Wow I think you missed your calling, think I should phone the hospital and tell them that one of their doctors escaped."

She laughed then at his unexpected praise and the humour of his response.

" ... least I could do ... "

She responded as she deftly began to pack the kit up again.

"Samantha?"

She turned as her name was called to find her father stood in the doorway, his eyes moving from Benjamin to Samantha. The last thing he had been aware of was Samantha screaming at him to get rid of Benjamin and Benjamin going off to 'follow up a lead' whatever that meant. He hadn't mistaken the shared laughter he had overheard, nor could he mistake the flush on his daughter's cheek as she turned away to stash the kit back in Benjamin's wardrobe.

"Ben, I wonder if you could update me on your ... leads ...?"

His voice was sharp with concern and it was clear he did not want to discuss details in front of his daughter. He had noted the dressing on his arm, but did not panic. He knew Benjamin was a professional.

"When you're ready ... "

He instructed turning and heading downstairs without a further word. He fully intended to get an update from Benjamin about his daughter before he even began to broach the subject with Samantha herself ...