Cowboy Protector

Five

FIVE

            Colton adjusted his jacket over his shoulder holster that carried his Smith and Wesson that had served him well when he had been on the force.  His old badge was clipped to his belt once again.  He just hoped that the airport security wouldn’t check too closely.  He was in a hurry.

            He picked up his duffel bag and gripped his ticket in his hand as he walked up to one of the security guards.  It wouldn’t do any good to set off the metal detector or the scanner.  Colton was thankful though that Glacier National Airport wasn’t busy was he flagged down one of the guards.  The guard held up a finger as he finished talking to the woman in front of him before joining Colton.

            “What can I do for you, sir?” the burly guard asked.

            Colton moved the edge of his jacket to show his badge.  “I’m Officer Pierce of Metro PD in D.C..  I’m in a hurry to get to Pennsylvania and I thought this would be the easiest way to do it.”

            The guard raised a busy brow.  “Are you carrying?”  Colton nodded.  There was no reason to lie about that.  They would figure it out quickly enough anyhow.  “Could I see your badge?  I just need to check something real quick.  Protocol you know.”

            He slipped his badge off his belt and handed it to the security guard.  “I understand.  You’re just doing your job.”

            The guard stepped a few feet away, keeping an eye on Colton.  Colton stood quietly, watching people come and go.  Some were meeting family and friends while others waited in the security line.  He just prayed that his cover story would hold.  If it didn’t then he would have failed Blake once again.  He couldn’t let that happen.

            Colton looked up as the guard returned.  “Alright Officer Pierce.  You’re cleared.  Come with me.”

            He breathed a sigh of relief under his breath as he followed the guard through the gates and around the metal detectors.  He was going to owe his old friend a big thank you.  The guard left him on the other side of security and headed back to his post.

            Colton hefted his duffel and jogged up the stairs to reach his gate.  He glanced at his watch, seeing that he still had almost an hour before his flight boarded.  Well, it would give him time to grab a coffee and sit for a few minutes to collect his thoughts.  This was quite a whirlwind trip and he prayed he wasn’t too late.  Colton jogged up another set of stairs to reach the coffee shop.

            He slipped around an older couple that was sitting at one of the three tables.  Colton looked at the menu above the cash register before stepping up to the counter.  He ended up ordering a graham cracker coffee and a banana nut muffin.  He was going to need the caffeine to keep going.  It was going to be a very long night.  The only rest he was going to get was on the plane.  He paid for his coffee and jogged back down the steps to find a seat and wait.

            Colton leaned his head against the seat and pulled his hat over his eyes.  He wanted to do some research on his laptop, but until the plane was in the air all electronic devices had to stay off.  So, for now he was going to rest his eyes.  He always hated having to take a red eye flight.  Now though time was of the essence.

            The young man yawned as the plane started to taxi down the runway.  The adrenaline was wearing off and leaving him tired.  He struggled to stay awake, but the smooth gliding of the plane got the better of him and he found himself drifting to sleep.

            He woke with a start when the plane touched down on the runway.  Colton pushed his hat up and glanced out the window.  How had he slept through the whole flight?  He groaned and scrubbed at his face.  There was a lot he had wanted to get done during the flight.  And now he was going to have to go into this situation blind.  Which was something he had learned as a cop could get you killed.  He felt like he was a rookie again, making mistakes.  Just hopefully not fatal ones.

            The fasten seatbelt light flashed off and Colton leaned down to get his duffel out from under the seat in front of him.  Well, he was here now.  There was no turning back.  Colton stood up and stepped into line.  They were soon all filing off the plane.  Once he reached the corridor he slipped around a few people and headed for the car rental.

            A brand new, cherry red Elantra set parked in front of an apartment building on one of the back streets in the better part of Pittsburgh.  A few people were walking along the sidewalks, but surprisingly it was quiet for the most part.  Of course it was still pretty early in the morning.

            Colton tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.  He had no idea if he was too early or too late.  He hadn’t seen Alexia in years, so he had no idea what shift she was working now.  He took a deep breath before stepping out of the car.  He glanced down at the paper he held in his hand, double-checking his address.  It hadn’t taken long for his previous training to kick in.

            The former cop headed into the red brick apartment building.  A couple of people stopped to stare at him, but he ignored them.  He had gotten used to the occasional odd look when he was working in D.C., as he liked to wear his cowboy hat there as well.  Colton glanced around, thankful to see that this wasn’t one of the apartment buildings that you had to be buzzed into.  He jogged up the first flight of stairs to reach the second floor.

            Colton turned right and walked the whole way down to the other end of the hallway.  A smile touched his lips when he realized the apartment he wanted was right next to the fire escape.  It shouldn’t have surprised him at all considering she was a firefighter.  A glanced at his watch showed that it was a little after five in the morning.  Hopefully she had been on the nightshift and hadn’t gone to bed yet.

            The young man knocked lightly, not wanting to wake any of the other residences up.  He stood quietly, praying that Alexia was home.  He wanted to get back to Blake.  The sound of a lock clicking and a chain being unhooked sounded behind the door a couple minutes later.  The door was pulled open a crack and Colton could just make out a startling green eye surrounded by soot like she had just come from a fire call and hadn’t had time to wash up yet.

            “Alexia Ryan?”

            “Yes?  Who are you?” she asked, keeping the door between them.

            ‘Good girl,’ he thought.  He didn’t blame her for being cautious.  “Officer Colton Pierce, ma’am,” he answered, holding up his badge.

            Her pretty eyes widened in recognition as she backed away from the door.  Colton stepped into the small, but very tidy apartment, trying to figure out exactly how he was going to explain things and convince her to come back with her.