Unexpected Reunion <closed>

[zydrate]

<<closed>>

"Stop fucking fidgeting!"

"Shut up, you know I'm not used to this sort of... costume." She shot back into her comm which was hidden by her long hair.

Nicole looked down at the dress she was wearing. At least the skirt part was flowy, as it needed to be as it would be kind of hard to hide her service pistol in a form fitting gown. Hell, this was the first time Nicole Mason was in a dress as such. But it was a necessity in this case because she was part of the detail that would be securing the party for when the prince arrived.

Everything seemed so boring so far. Just a bunch of dignitaries, the mayor, the governor... all whom Nicole had met for a brief moment as the party got started. In a few more minutes, the Prince would arrive for this state dinner.

Nicole hadn't told anyone she had worked with the prince before... not that he would recognize her nor know she was there among the guests. A couple of years back, while serving in the military, Nicole was on a special mission with some other handpicked members of the military from different nations. All had some sort of special skill set or talent. And the Prince just happened to be one of the ones on the mission as he was fulfilling his military duty for his country. She had been irked that he was one of the ones there because not only was that endangering the mission, but they would have to make sure nothing happened to his ass while completing this particular mission. Being the only woman on the mission also made Nicole have to act just as tough as the men. When she had first met the Prince, she flat out told him, as they were being introduced, that he had better pull his weight and not to expect to be waited on hand and foot.

She had grown up with 3 older brothers and had no problem expressing her feelings. This of course generated some 'looks' from the others and a had glare from their C.O.

The mission was completed after a few weeks of working and training together... all the time, Nicole kept her hard exterior in place as they all worked on plan after plan after plan. Later, when the mission was over and no one had gotten hurt, they all went their separate ways and that was that.

At least until now.

Now she was working for the NYPD and each officer, no matter their rank, had to work at least one state function and the least liked was the state dinner. The way she looked at it, she was only here for the food. If at all, she wouldn't meet the Prince and even if she did, he wouldn't recognize her.

 

[BeachBum25]

John Chenoweth, to most of the world he was simply Prince John. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but had spit it out at an early age. Growing up, he was always in trouble. The royal family had to deal with his misbehavior in school. He was constantly being told he was nothing like his older brother and sister. What most people did not realize was that made John happy.

When he graduated from secondary school, he decided he wanted to do his military service before going off to college. He wasn't ready for more school. Once he started to serve in the military, he distinguished himself as an elite soldier. He demanded that he not be treated differently than everyone else. His skills and his attention to detail had led him to be chosen for quite a few missions that a member of the royal family would never usually be selected for. He was not afraid of the dangerous missions... in fact he relished them.

There were several missions that Prince John was able to recall with a smile, because he had been an integral part of the success of those missions. There was one mission that to this day he still recalled, and not because it had been successful, but because of the cocky female on the international team. She was an American and so full of herself. The mission had been a success and he had been an important part of the success, but her assumption that he wasn't going to be able to pull his weight because he was from the royal family pissed him off.

That mission was particularly on his mind because of his trip to America. He was on a goodwill tour, which involved him shaking hands with a lot of people. He had been chosen for this by his parents because of his popularity as a result of his military service. The trip to New York shouldn't be too dangerous. His missions in the military did not result in any enemies from America. Of course, his security detail was concerned that someone from outside would slip in and get close enough to harm him as he interacted with all of the people paying to be at the reception.

 

[zydrate]

Fake smiles. Fake laughs. Fake interest.

As much as Nicole wanted to bulk at it all, she put up with it. Mingling with high society was called for and she would, like any other mission, complete this to the best of her ability.

Of course, she was allowed to have a few drinks and she realized she was on her second glass of champagne but also, hadn't eaten so the alcohol a little more potent than should be. But that didn't mean she didn't have her wits about her. She surveyed her surroundings and realized the Prince had arrived earlier than expected.

Good, maybe that would mean the night would end sooner and she could go home to her one bedroom apartment, where she spent most of her time when not working.

Would he remember her? Maybe...maybe not. She wasn't sure. If he did, it was probably because she had been such a bitch to him. But he had to understand, as the others during that mission was that she had to be the way she was. She didn't want to be treated as a female but as a fellow soldier. So yeah, she was a little hard on him, but someone had to be.

If she could go back and redo things, she probably would have been a little more easy on him but no... why dwell on the past?

As she was talking to a group of ladies (whom she had no idea what they were talking about, she just added a nod here and a small laugh there), she noticed they call got quiet and were looking at Nicole.. well, pass Nicole.

Nicole turned to see what they were looking at. And that's when she came face to face with the Prince.

"Your Highness..." she said, with probably the same tone she had first given him the first time she had met him. Oh yeah, there was no way in hell she was going to curtsy for him.

 

[BeachBum25]

John put a smile on his face as he entered the reception. Yes, this was a necessary evil, but that didn't mean that he liked to do it. For years, while he did his military service, he had been able to avoid all of this glad-handing. Now that he was back home for a little while, he was stuck with it, so, might as well put on his happy face.

Moving slowly through the crowd, he shook hands with many of the people. A couple of times, he stopped to talk with someone; his attache would whisper in his ear who the person was and why he should take the time to talk with him or her. They all had an agenda. Most of them wanted to do business in his home country, and figured that a few minutes of face time would help their cause.

As he moved through the crowd, he noticed a group of women standing around talking. He noticed the woman with her back to him and he wanted to get a look at her. If she looked as good as she did from behind, he could only imagine how good she looked face to face.

When she turned to face him, it was all he could do to hide his surprise, and also to hide the fact that he recognized her. He smiled at her and looked to see what her reaction she would have. "Hello, my name is John. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

 

[zydrate]

Nicole gave him a small nod, not making it seem like they knew each other from another time, "A pleasure indeed.." she said, not breaking eye contact. Almost as if saying 'I know who you are..'

Their handshake was firm but brief as he moved on. Nicole eyed his security and made a small sound to herself about them. She could take them out, no problem.

"Did you see the way he looked at you," one of the ladies she had been talking with said. Her tone was almost one of jealousy. Yeah, if they only knew was that the prince probably wanted to ring her neck for treating him the way she did.

"No, not really," Nicole answered as she finished her drink and placed it on a tray of a passing waiter. Yes, she did notice. And she was pretty sure she had looked at him in the same manner. He cleaned up good. He did look a lot different without the combat paint on.

Nicole took a deep breath to bring her back into the here and now. Yes, she had a job to do and that was to make sure everyone was safe, so, she needed to do one more set of rounds before the official dinner started in less than half an hour.

 

[BeachBum25]

He smirked as he moved away. Her eyes gave her away. He knew she remembered him. Of course, how could she not... how many members of royal families had she ever worked with? It was one of the things from his time in the multi-national force that he regretted. He always wish that his position had been kept a secret. Of course, that was hard when he was always in the public spotlight.

As he continued to move, he couldn't keep his mind off of her. He had thought she was attractive when they worked together even though she was full of herself. She had reason to be that way. She was good. However, seeing her in that gown showed her in a completely new light. She was beautiful and extremely sexy.

The rounds continued as he was slowly guided toward the head table. One of the things that made him uncomfortable in these situations was that he was turning his safety over to others. He had become accustomed to protecting himself and others, and now that he was glad-handing, he had to rely on others.

 

[zydrate]

Could this be the easiest assignment she had ever had in her life? There was literally no trouble tonight. At least, so far. The party was winding down and some of the guests had left. Her job was to stay until the Prince left with his security and then, she was off also.

Not too bad.

She hadn't had dinner with the others like she thought, but that was fine. Instead, she was in the background, making sure things remained calm. There were a few female celebrities around, and Nicole had to put their private security in check.

Luckily, that was the only security mishap she had to deal with. The Prince's security kept to themselves and of course, close to the Prince.

Perfect.

All in all, not a bad night thus far.

In the end, Nicole found herself on the balcony... she needed some fresh air so bad. The atmosphere inside was a little too stuffy for her taste.

There was a slight breeze in the air as she leaned against the balcony's ledge. She gazed at the city below her and just got lost in her thoughts...she closed her eyes and enjoyed the serenity a bit more seeing as how she would have to go back in in a few minutes...

 

[BeachBum25]

John forgot just how much he hated these things. It pained him to deal with these people. They were all so phony. He wouldn't half-mind it if there were some interesting people to interact with, but that certainly was not the case.

He thought back to Nicole. Now, there was an interesting person to interact with. She certainly showed herself in a different light tonight than she had during there time together working on the mission. Of course, she had looked good in khaki and camouflage, but tonight she looked absolutely amazing.

Sitting on the dais, he started to get an uneasy feeling. He looked around, but was constantly distracted by other people trying to talk to him and act like they were really interested in him.. not just finding an inroad for their business.

Standing up, he moved away from the head table. He noticed the balcony and could not help but notice Nicole was out there. He told his security detail to wait inside. They objected at first, but he told them, "If someone is coming after me they will come from in here.. not out there." The head of the detail, nodded to him.

Walking out onto the balcony, he looked over Nicole.. once again, the view from behind was incredible. "Is it safe out here? I am happy to see they have you protecting the balcony." He smiled at her as she turned around to face him.

 

[zydrate]

Nicole heard someone approach her and although she should have been more on guard, she didn't worry when she heard him spoke.

Smiling, she shrugged, "I don't know, depends on who's out to get you," she leaned against the balcony, "And from what I've read in the society pages, I say the only reason you need those guards is because of some jilted lover.." she said, teasing him before turning around and looking out at the city, "How have you been John?" She figured it was OK to address him by his first name...although she could have addressed him by his old rank but he stayed in the military a few months longer and gained a promotion as she had gotten out, one rank lower than him.

"I had to get out of there...this isn't my scene and all. But hell, gotta try something new once in a while, right? It was either this or stuck at home with my cat."

 

[BeachBum25]

"I have to tell you Nicole, although this might not be your scene, you look amazing. Not that you looked bad in uniform, but this uniform is much more becoming of such a beautiful woman." His eyes roamed down her back as she looked out at the city.

"Tell me... what made you leave the service. You were so good at what you did. Private security details just don't seem to suit you.. especially for some royal dignitary. It seems to me that you would look down at such a person. I seem to recall you saying something about not wanting to have to watch out for me or babysit me."

He smiled to himself; knowing that she would know exactly what he was talking about. There was no doubt she remembered the time that she gave him a hard time about being a prince and holding his own weight.

He moved up next to her and leaned on the balcony rail. "I know you miss the service, because I miss it as well, and I know you enjoyed it even more than I did." He looked at her and smiled. Just then there was a commotion inside... followed by automatic weapons fire. He turned suddenly and reached for his weapon... that wasn't there.

 

[zydrate]

Was he hitting on her?

She looked over her shoulder at him, their eyes meeting for a brief moment before she turned back to look out at the city. "Well, to tell you the truth, it wasn't really my decision to leave that early.." she hadn't really told anyone her reason for an early retirement and didn't feel like it now. "And it's not that I look down on private security...It's just... I don't know. I came home, took some time off and then was asked to join the police force, so, here I am."

"As for babysitting you..." she looked down at her hands and chuckled, "I was wrong, OK? You pulled your weight but, you can't blame me for what I said or how I acted. I assumed we'd have to take care of some spoiled, rich kid."

"I guess family obligations took over for both of us, I-"

The sound of gunshots cut her off and almost in one fluid motion, she grabbed her service pistol from her thigh-holster and had it ready, automatically putting herself in front of John as she took in her surroundings. "Stay down.." she said as she moved toward the entrance and tried to make sense of the chaos going on in the dining hall. Luckily, one of the Prince's guards made it to them but as quickly as he was almost in the clear, he went down.

Fuck! What the hell was going on?! Her earpiece was buzzing with chatter...all she could make out was that they were there for the Prince.... last minute intel found out too late...

"We have to get out of here," she said hastily, grabbing him by the arm, her weapon raised and ready as she lead him to the exit nearest the balcony.

 

[BeachBum25]

As Nicole led him out, he stopped at the member of his detail that went down... just long enough to grab his weapon. Nicole yelled at him to keep up. John felt better now that he had something to protect himself with.

Following Nicole to the nearest exit, shots were ringing all around... glasses were shattering... people were screaming. John even thought for a moment about all the rich people who were there to try to promote their business... they sure weren't prepared for this.

As John went through the door, he felt a burning sensation in the back of his thigh. "I'm hit." He continued to follow Nicole out the exit... limping as he went... doing his best to keep up. "You find a place to take cover. Don't wait for me, I will get there."

 

[zydrate]

What the hell happened?! Nicole's mind raced. They had checked everyone out!

She heard John say he was hit and that made her stop and place his arm over shoulders, "Shit! Lean on me, you know I'm not going to leave you behind!"

They went down two more flights of stairs before Nicole dragged John with her onto the floor from the stairwell. The floor seemed quiet and it was there she could see the service elevator.

No... they might have that guarded but...what choice did she have?

She turned to John and saw the wet sheen on the of his pants from the blood. She quickly assessed the wound and saw it was graze..a deep graze, "You're fine... just.." she looked at the elevator, so far so good, "We need to get out of here and so, I need you to stay with me, OK?" This night was not going as planned, that was for sure.

Nicole wanted to take the elevator down to the first floor and from there..well, make it up as they went... not the best plan but hell, it was something...

 

[BeachBum25]

"I am fine. I don't need you to babysit me. Go ahead and make sure the coast is clear. It will just take me a little longer to get there." He almost pushed her toward the service elevator. He knew what she was thinking. It was like they were back working together again.

John moved behind Nicole as she advanced toward the elevator. She moved so gracefully even in the fancy dress. She wasn't dressed for battle, but she didn't let that interfere. She was incredible. her talents were truly wasted on the P.D.

He arrived at the elevator as the doors opened. Once they were on, she closed the doors and the car started to descend. "Be ready. They may have people on the first floor waiting for us." He held the weapon pointed at the door as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened.

 

[zydrate]

There was no time to argue. They had the same training, the same tactics...the same thoughts of how to carry it all out. Nicole took the lead and lead them to the elevator, where once inside she pressed the button for the first floor. She didn't have time to look back at John as she kept her weapon ready in case the elevator stopped. Her heart was racing but she kept her breathing steady.

Looking up at the floor numbers, she watched as each floor's lighted number go dark. Mentally, she counted down and raised her weapon back up to eye level when they were one floor away from the first floor.

"Get ready.." she said quietly.

The doors opened and Nicole pushed herself up against John so he couldn't move. She knew he was about to push her away from him but stood her ground. She had figured they would be shot at as soon as the doors opened but they weren't. Instead, once the doors opened and guns readied, they were greeted by guns but on the other end was the police department and some of the Prince's security team.

Nicole didn't lower her weapon until the others did first. She moved out of the elevator and nodded, "The Prince is injured." Was all she said and the security team rushed in to help him out. Nicole addressed one of the security teams leaders, "Get him looked at and get him to safety."

How the hell did this happen?!

About 20 minutes into the chaos, some patrol officer handed her a phone. She didn't even have to ask who it was.

"I hired you to protect my son, now I hear he was almost killed tonight?!"

"Calm down. I've been watching him for over a year and this is the first time something like this has happened... if you don't like it, fire me." She hung up on the King.

She had to find out how John was doing and to finally tell him the truth. She owed him that much after tonight.

 

[BeachBum25]

John was not happy with his security detail. He was especially not happy with the head of his security detail. John never liked trusting his safety to someone else. He was the best person for the job, and it frustrated him to have such incompetent people protecting him.

"What the hell happened in there? How is it that weapons were brought into the reception? Yes, I know there was more than one. I could tell by the sound of the shots and from the direction they came from."

He climbed into the rear of the SUV and sat there thinking. "Do not take me to a hospital. Take me back to the hotel. I will take care of my wound and I will decide what I should do about the assholes that were supposed to protect me." he sat the weapon he had taken from the fallen protection agent on the seat next to him. "Is Philip dead? Does my father know about this yet?"

 

[zydrate]

Nicole stood outside the Prince's hotel room. She had gotten a debrief from the remaining security detail. Nicole might have stood outside the hotel door for longer than normal as she was preparing herself for the rage she knew she was about to experience from John.

She had talked to the King on the way over. She never did apologize for hanging up on him. She also knew he wouldn't fire her for what happened. Nicole told him that she would bring him back home ASAP and from there, she would gather up security and re-evaluate the threats against the Royal Family.

Nicole didn't like running things from the background. She needed to front and center on this from here on out... Once she got to the hotel, she had gotten a report that John was tending to his own wound, which was since at this moment, they couldn't trust anyone nor letting his injury hit the media.

"Commander? Are you alright?"

Nicole sighed and looked over at one of the security details... what was his name? Ethan? Yes, Ethan...

She shook her head slightly and gave him a faint smile, "I'm fine. Please make sure to keep the patrols going, no one, not even hotel staff are allowed on this floor. We'll be leaving in half an hour so make sure a chopper is ready."

Ethan went on to carry out her orders as Nicole swiped the key card to allow her access to John's suite. Once inside, she closed the door behind her. She found him in his room, changing into a different pair of slacks. At the door, Nicole cleared her throat, getting his attention.

 

[BeachBum25]

John worked on stopping the bleeding from the wound to his leg. What was initially believed, by Nicole, to be a graze wound was actually a through and through. Fortunately, the projectile did not hit any bone. His concern was whether there was muscle damage.

Looking up he saw her. "Hello Officer. How did you happen to get past my crack security detail? From now on, I will arm myself and protect myself, and there will be no more of these stupid meet and greets. My father and I are going to have a serious discussion."

He stood up and pulled on a clean pair of pants. "I need to get out of here. So, if you don't mind, we can say goodbye now. I must admit that it was nice to see you, Nicole, and under different circumstances, I would like to spend more time with you. However, I need to get out of town."

 

[zydrate]

"I am your crack security, John... I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

How was she going to tell him that she had been there for over a year?

She pulled herself up straighter and purposefully stood in his doorway. "I'm sorry for what happened at the party, John. There was no suspicion or hint of any hits on the family. Things had been safe for weeks..hell, even months."

"You're right, you need to leave...there will be a chopper here in less than 20 minutes. You know the drill, from here and directly to the airport and then back home. Your father has the entire immediate family gathering there...as a safety precaution."

 

[BeachBum25]

John looked up at her when she said that she was his security team. He wasn't quite sure he understood what she was saying.... at first, anyway. "Sooner? Sooner as in earlier tonight? Or, sooner... as in you have been doing this for a while without my knowledge?"

There was something about her body language that told him that she was holding something back. When she changed the direction of the conversation to the extraction plan and the plans his father was making, he knew she was not totally forthcoming.

He was able to get the bleeding from his GSW stopped. "Why 20 minutes for the chopper extraction? Why wasn't the chopper staged closer? You are better than that Nicole, so, I am thinking that decision was out of your hands."

Pausing as he looked at her ,trying to get a read on her, John wondered what was going on. "You are going home with me... correct? We will have plenty of time to talk all of this through. I am interested to know what is going on."

 

[zydrate]

She shrugged about his comment on the chopper, "Politics....bureaucracy, call it what you want. They're always in the way of plans."

Nicole looked at her phone and waved a hand in front of her, "Shall we?"

The team surrounded the Prince as they entered the elevator, Nicole stood in front of the doors. It was go time.

***

The ride from the hotel roof to the airport wasn't long at all. But there was tension, she could sense that. It took more time from when they boarded the private jet to when they were finally able to take off. During that time, Nicole stayed near the back of the small cabin (actually, it was fairly large and spacious) to finish up some business as she left John alone as he got settled in. She knew he wanted to talk to her about all this and yes, she would be more than happy to answer anything he asked but for right now, he had requested to be left alone while he was on the phone with his father.

"So..." Nicole said as she took a seat across John, "We have several more hours to go... I guess now's a good time to talk?"

 

[BeachBum25]

John's conversation with his father was not a pleasant one. He was not happy that his father had done things behind his back. They agreed that they would discuss it more at length when he returned. He disconnected from the call and sat the phone on the arm of his seat.

"Sure, we can talk now, if you would like. It is probably a few months too late to have this conversation, but better late than never." He looked across at Nicole. "Your uniform tonight was certainly different than the one I remember you wearing.

Having broken the ice, he stared at Nicole. "You need to give me answers Nicole. I want all of the details. How did you get hired for this detail? How would my father even know about you? Why would you not reach out to me and let me know what was going on? You know that you would have nobody better to plan security with than me."

 

[zydrate]

Nicole smiled, "Yes...the dress. Probably the first and last time you'll see me in something like that."

"The job... well, I was recommended, if you will. Your father wanted someone from the outside. Something about not being able to trust anyone anymore. There was some doubt about me being female and all. Plus, it would put off whomever he thinks is after the family. That and I'm the only one who pointed out all the faults in your then security measures. I think he liked the fact that I didn't try to be polite about any of it."

She shrugged, "He doesn't know we worked together," she said, lowering her voice, "No one does. Remember, that mission was classified. And I didn't reach out to you because we thought it best if you didn't know I was there. I agree...to a point, but your father wants you to concentrate on this...whatever it is. And now that I'm front and center in security, I can assure you what happened tonight will definitely not happen again."

 

[BeachBum25]

"Oh, so I won't see you in it. Will I get to see you out of it?" He raised his eyebrows to her..... he was only joking a little bit in what he said.

"What does my father know about what is best when it comes to the security of the family. I realize that he may have wanted to keep this a secret, but I think it would have been best for me to be read in... especially by you. I also think you know I am right."

He paused as he thought about his father's decision. "Nicole, I am not upset that you are the head of the security detail. The only reason I am upset with you is that you didn't let me know. I don't care that you haven't shared details of us working together. You need to trust me, just as I trust you. I am glad you are in charge of security."

 

[zydrate]

"I know you're right. But again, that decision was out of my hands. Listen, I'll let you know what's going on from here going forward, deal?"

"But remember, all I'm handling is security for you. Any one you date or are seeing on the side will not get security unless they are with you at the time. And with the way you partied in Monaco...well..yeah..." with that, she left that hanging as she stood up, "I'll leave you to yourself now, your Highness. We'll be landing in a few hours and after that, we'll depart to your father's home, stay there for a day or so and afterward, well, that has yet to been determined."

She walked to the back of the plane where she had her laptop plugged in and a small carryon of her own. She knew she'd have to get more clothes once she was able to. The day's activities went on in her mind as she thought of how this all happened and how could she have prevented it. Damnit! It would be something she'd be dwelling on for the rest of the flight, that was for sure.