Bodyguard (Closed to MyIsland)

[AlwaysFaithful]

Jeshickah Rodriguez stood in her living room, awaiting for her new bodyguard to arrive. It rubbed her wrong, that she needed protection. Afterall, she was an expert martial artist, and had served in the army for six years. She didn't need protection. But after discovering that someone was stalking her, and after having a break in while no one was home. SHe decided, for her daughter's safety, she needed some help. So she'd found a private security company that she could afford. Now she was waiting for the bodyguard that would blend into her life, acting as her husband who had been out of the country for the last several months on business.

She could hear her daughter playing upstairs, glancing over, she saw her huge solid black German shepherd laying at the top of the stairs, he was a highly trained guard dog, and should the need arise, he would put himself between either Jes or her daughter, and a threat. Glancing over, she saw a strange car pull into the driveway, "That must be him," She murmured, with a slight Spanish accent. "Hold." She ordered before Zero could charge down the stairs and rush to the door barking. The dog stood on alert, but remained at the top of the stairs. Jes rested her hand on the weapon she carried on her right hip as she went to open the door.

 

[MyIsland]

Michael Haley was an imposing figure. He stood 6'1" tall and weighed 185 pounds. He was chiseled. He had single digit body fat and he was all muscle. He worked out for at least two hours every day. Michael wasn't a body builder. He was just in incredible shape.

He had been a three sport star in high school that had multiple college scholarship offers in football and baseball. Michael chose a different route though. He enlisted in the Marine Corps. He became the best of the best, and served two tours in Afghanistan. Now, at the age of 29, he had decided to leave the Corps and to use his talents on the outside.

He didn't really want to serve as a mercenary, so, what he decided to do was start his own security company. It was slow going at first, but he picked up some jobs because he was not that expensive. He was good at what he did, and he started to get more business as word spread about how well he performed his job. The job he was heading to today was different. There was a woman who wanted him to pretend to be her husband, while acting as the bodyguard for her and her daughter.

As he pulled into the driveway, he smiled to himself as he thought about whether the job would include the normal perks of being a husband. Once he parked the car though, he was all business. Michael was extremely professional and committed to his job. Before getting out of the car, he looked around. He looked for places that someone could hide. He checked to see if anyone was watching.

As he walked toward the front door of the house, he continued to look around...ever vigilant. As he got to the door, he knocked lightly and stepped back from the door. The door opened almost immediately. The woman that answered was stunning. "Hello ma'am, I am Michael Haley." He extended his hand.

 

[AlwaysFaithful]

Jeshickah saw the man approaching, he fit the photo Id she'd asked for, prior to his arrival, but her hand rested on the butt of her weapon, though it remained holstered. "Hello," She shook his hand, "Come on in. I'm Jeshickah." Once he was iniside, she shut the door, relocking it. "Thank you for being able to do this on such short notice, and of course, having to basically be undercover." She said as she eyed him. "I just figure it'll be easier to catch him, if he doesn't think there's a bodyguard." She explained as she led him to the living room. "That's Zero." SHe said, pointing at the nearly 90 pound German shepherd standing at the top of the stairs. "He's a highly trained Security dog." She said, as she gave a hand signal, and the dog laid down, seeming to relax a bit, though remained alert. She sat down on the chair across from the couch, "Take a seat if you'd like." She said, figuring he had questions.

 

[MyIsland]

"Hello Jeshickah. It is a pleasure to meet you." He closed the door behind them and immediately began to look around the room. He noticed the beautiful German Shepherd at the top of the stairs. Michael loved dogs, especially Shepherds. He continued to look around as he listened to her talk as they walked. When she sat in the chair, Michael sat down on the sofa. He looked her over and then made eye contact with her.

"So, tell me everything about why you feel the need for a bodyguard. Trust me, I have no problem with getting paid for a job, but I want to make sure that you are really in need of my services. You see, I take my job very seriously, and despite the fact that I am getting paid to be here with a beautiful woman, I take my job very seriously. Nothing is going to happen to you or to your daughter."

 

[AlwaysFaithful]

She nodded, already finding confidence in the choice she'd made in hiring him. He seemed very capable. "First off I'll say, If it was just my life, I wouldn't have hired you. I am an excellent shot, I did 6 years in the Army, and I have two black belts. I can handle myself just fine. Especially with the dog helping. But I have a 4 year old daughter. And I won't risk her life, so if having another set of eyes and another trained person hanging around, then I'm fine with that." She explained.

"I'd been feeling like we've been being watched for the last month or so, nothing concrete at first, just a feeling you get." She shrugged, "I noticed the same car a lot. a silver old chevy car, same dent in the rear bumper, but no plates. Then one day we'd been out at the park, and when we got home, someone had broken in, through a back window, messed with some stuff in my room, in Ari's room, nothing taken that I can find but that was the last straw, that was last week." She paused, frowning a bit. "Honestly, I don't have the slightest idea why I've attracted a stalker, I try to lead a pretty mellow life. Ari's dad is out of the picture, he was a drunk one night stand, I told him I was pregnant, and he said he just didn't have the desire to be a father. I was okay with that, I'd rather honesty, than him start to put the effort in and decide it wasn't for him. So I doubt that it's him, but I can give you his name, if you still want to check him out." She said.

 

[MyIsland]

Haley listened as Jeshickah talked. He paid attention to every word. He watched for signs of deception. There were always tells...everybody had them. It wasn't that he did not believe her, but he was always certain to vet his clients stories. He was not going to get caught by someone trying to play some kind of game. There was nothing in her story, nor was there anything in her demeanor that led him to believe she was being anything less than honest.

"I did not mean anything by saying I was protecting you Jeshickah. There is no doubt in my mind that you can take care of yourself. There is no doubt in my mind that you can handle that piece on your hip. Your daughter will be just fine. Trust me, I am not going to let anything happen to her." Michael took his job seriously, and he was willing to sacrifice whatever he had to in order to protect his client. His Marine Corps training did not go out the window when he had left active service.

"I think we need to get some cameras placed around the house. I noticed a few good locations as I came in. I will find the right places out back. They will be placed by me discreetly, so that if he is watching, he will never even know. I am going to put in an alarm system, that will send a signal to my phone and to yours if someone enters the house that is not authorized. IF they come in while we are here, I feel bad for them, because I have a feeling that we will battle one another to get a piece of him." He tried to lighten the mood a little with that comment.

 

[AlwaysFaithful]

Jes nodded, listening, all of it sounding just fine, and as she expected. SHe laughed, "Honestly, the dog would get'em first." She chuckled. The looked at him, "You have free access to do as you please around the house." Standing up she hollered up the stairs. "Arianna! Come down here please." She gave a hand signal and Zero bounded down the steps. "Zero. Friend." She indicated Michael. The dog trotted over, sniffing and greeting the man. A young black haired girl came racing down the stairs, she had ice green eyes. "What, Mommy?" Jes picked her daughter up, carrying her over. "Ari, I'd like to introduce you to a friend, this is Michael, he's going to be staying with us for a while." Ari knew nothing of the break in and nothing of being stalked of course, and Jes wanted to keep it that way, Michael would simply be a friend that would be living with them for a bit.

 

[MyIsland]

"To be honest with you, I would enjoy watching the dog make a meal out of him. It might take some time before the dog was called off of him." As the dog approached him, Michael held the back of his hand out for the dog to sniff. After a moment, Michael began to rub behind the dogs ears. He knew how important it was to establish a rapport with the dog. He felt they were off to a good start.

Michael watched the young girl come down the steps. She was beautiful. She looked like her mother. "Hello Arianna. I want to thank you for sharing your home with me for a little while. I hope that I don't get in your way." Seeing this beautiful little girl made Michael even more determined to not only find out who was stalking them, but to find him, hurt him and then make sure he understood that the pain that was inflicted upon him was nothing compared to what would happen if he ever came near Jes and Ari ever again.