The Bodyguard
Matthew Ryan Fischer
66 had killed a boy. He was at best fifteen or sixteen and had no
business being at a place like this where men were faced off against other men.
He was lurking in the halls outside Gideon’s penthouse when 66 arrived with Von
and his men. The boy turned and saw them and had a decision to make – to run
and sound the alarm or to stay and try to fight them off.
66 could see the boy was terrified, frozen, unable to make a decision.
He could have reacted a second slower, allowed the boy time to think, give him
a chance to run. If he ran, he would probably still be dead. Either 47 would
have gotten him, or someone else. Maybe he could have warned his compatriots. Or
maybe someone would have killed him in a loud enough fashion to warn them.
Either way, the boy would be dead. Nothing would be different. Except 66 wouldn’t
have to think about the additional stains of blood.
66 reacted as he always had before. He moved, there was a flash of
a blade and the boy fell.
Von and his men moved towards Gideon’s penthouse.
There was a gunshot, but 66 wasn’t looking to see who shot first. His
eyes were still on the boy. Someone screamed and an older woman dropped to the
ground.
The penthouse was full of too many strangers 66 didn’t recognize. There
were too many moving parts. A man and a woman stood guard in front of Gideon. 66
was fairly certain they were on the same side, but whether everyone else knew
that, he wasn’t sure.
Gideon gave them the signal that it was alright and 66 watched as
the man’s guns moved from 66 and his men back towards the other gang. There
were arguments about who owed who what and who fired the first shot.
Job number one was to get Gideon out alive. Job two was to kill
anyone that got in their way. 66 told his men it was time to get Gideon and go.
When the police arrived, 66 recognized them from Club B. The woman
was new, but she wasn’t in charge and even her own partners didn’t take her
seriously when she waved her gun around.
The boy was dead and another young man, barely twenty actually
seemed despondent. The old woman was bleeding and another man was trying to
save her life. 66 didn’t have time for that, there was the boss to protect.
The man didn’t address 66 or explain who he was. 66 heard him call
others and give commands. He spoke to men with numbers for names. It was
obvious this was a Dragon Claw Agent. The man didn’t pay attention. Or if he did,
he didn’t know what 66’s tattoo meant. That was fine by 66, he didn’t feel like talking
to this man either.
66 and 47 and Von’s men were there to protect Gideon. So far no
one had asked why Gideon had so many bodyguards or why they weren’t recognizable
as members of the Dragons. That might come up later, but 66 guessed Von and Gideon
had answers for that already.
The old woman was in surgery. She lost a lot of blood, but it wasn’t
a deadly injury. Of course, there was her age to consider, but 66 thought she
was going to pull through. Gideon was talking about some meeting they were
supposed to have with the Japanese. Men like Gideon didn’t care how dangerous
it might still be. If there was a meeting and it was important, he’d be going.
66 couldn’t say the same about the old lady.
If anyone would be convinced it was a bad idea it would be the Agent
or his father, but the Agent wasn’t interested in talking and the father was
hung up on the old lady dying. 66 wondered why they had to stick around here. Sure,
Von had bosses, but this sort of chaos was a bad sign. Things were falling
apart and assassination attempts were taking place. It was only a matter of
time before another strike came. A few more Agents weren’t going to make much of
a difference. They should be in a bunker somewhere not in a backroom doctor’s
office.
“You look like a man who knows how to kill people. Your whole team
as good as you?”
Finally, the man with the number for a name deigned to speak,
thought 66.
“I’m better than the rest, but we’ll get your job done. What do
you need?”
“The boss wants to move. I can’t watch him and protect Queenie. It’s
been a long night but there’s a meeting in a few hours and he has to be there.”
“Which one do you want us on?”
The man actually looked stumped, thought 66. He was torn. He knew
his job, but his gut told him to be there with his father. He’s a fucking kid
at heart, 66 told himself. That’s what will get him killed someday.
“Take Gideon. You can’t go back to his penthouse, but he’ll need a
new suit before. Another Agent, Nine, will meet you and take you the rest of
the way.”
“Yes sir.” No questions, not a hit of defiance to his voice. 66
knew his job, and he knew he’d never take another order from this kid again.
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