the Presidents Security Guard

Protecting Secrets - Chapter 3

"Where are we going?" Chris asked. The sun was starting to set, and yet Dee showed no sign of slowing down. The two hadn't spoken a word since their fight at dawn that morning.

"Somewhere safe."

"Where's that?"

Dee sighed, her hair falling over her face for a second, as her shoulders slumped forward for a bit. She was so tired. But she knew she could rest. Not when Chris was in so much danger.

It was well into the night when Dee finally pulled over, into a rundown hotel that sat off the main road by 40 miles, and appeared to not have many customers. Like, ever. After Dee had organised a room for them, she helped drag Chris in. He slumped over the bed, exhausted from the movement, and apparently still hung over from the night before.

She left him lying on her bed, and had a shower. By the time she had climbed out and rugged herself in a blanket, he had somehow got himself a 12 pack of beers, and had made a considerable effort in drinking them all. She groaned inwardly.

"Why do you do this to yourself, Christopher?" He pulled himself way from her, and dragged himself over to the other side of the room.

"It's my fault. Ya know." He randomly stated. He was drunk by now, having not even sobered up before starting to drink again.

"What's your fault?"

"That Emily died. S'all my fault."

Dee's breath became deep and sharp, scratching along the inside of her throat. She had no idea he blamed himself for it. From her perspective, she thought the situation was a little his fault, but she never voiced it out loud. They never talk about what happened. It just did.

"I got her KILLED" Chris suddenly burst out, his voice echoing loudly around their cheap and dirty room. Instantly Dee was by his side, and clamping her hand over his mouth.

"Shhhhh. You HAVE to be quiet! No drawing attention to yourself!"

"That kinda rings a bell. Why do I have to be quiet?"

"Do I have to explain it to you again?" Dee muttered.

"YES!" He shouted, little an eager 5 year old.

"Shhhhh." She muttered yet again. "There are people hunting you. If they find you, they will kill you Chris. I am trying, desperately, to keep you safe!"

"What the hell did I do?" He snapped.

"On your last mission, your identity was exposed. You've been running ever since."

He gulped down the rest of his bottle, and swayed a bit.

"Mission. Mission. Dee, I'm a spy, aren't I?"

"Kinda-ish. Its complicated Chris."

"How can I be kinda-ish a spy?"

"Well, if ya were a spy, you wouldn't be asking that question, cause ya wouldn't be smashed off your face all the bloody time!" Dee stood up and went ova to the fridge, hoping for some water to swop for his beer.

"I'm not a spy cause I drink too much? Thats stupid!" he giggled at the end. Then his eyes faded, and he stared emptily at the spiders web in the far corner of our room. "Ya know, I always wanted to be a spy... Ever since-"

"- ya saw the movie spy kids, when ya were 6. I know. Christopher, I am your best friend. Of course I know."

"Yeah Yeah. You know everything about me. We have always been friends. And always WILL BE!" Dee's heart pounded at his last triumph statement, but she pretended like that didn't hurt her to hear.

"Yeah. We will always be best friends Chris. Nothing is ever going to change that."

"So tell us again why I'm.... OH the spider caught a moth!"

"That's nice Chris."

"Its killing it. The moth is pretty too. Why is that?"

"Its animal instincts. The spider needs to feed. Its terrible, I know-"

"- No No! Why am I not a spy?"

"Oh!" the conversations ability to chance directions so quickly, caused her head to spin, despite her lack in alcoholic consumption. "You trained up to be. We both did. Okay, well you trained and then taught me everything. We were very good. And together we decided (for a short and simple description of what happened) that it was shit and we got out."

"How could my dream be possibly shit?"

"We were in a division, lots of espionage and secrets. It was exciting, and we both enjoyed it greatly, but it wasn't long before lines started to blur. Originally we worked for the good guys, and destroyed the bad guys. But then it changed. We were helping the bad guys kill the good guys. And it was wrong."

"What did we do when we stopped working for the government."

"Well, it was never really the government. It was more a special division, which worked privately. Gave us the experience to swop in security actually."

"Security!" he barked a laugh.

"Yeah." Dee smiled. "It's a solid job. We get to keep innocent people safe."

"Do I like it?"

"Yeah. You get to be normal. We take on the hard jobs, the ones other people pass on. But we get to go home in the evening. That's how you had time to meet Emily, remember?"

"I met her at a party."

"Sure did."

The two fell silent at the turn of the conversation, neither wanting to think about Emily, but now unable to.

"You are really good aren't ya Dee? I mean, at the spy stuff."

She didn't answer for a moment. Her one big screw up wasn't common knowledge. "Yesterday I was requested by the President himself to join his security."

"No way!"

"Yeah, pretty sweet ain't it?"

"When do ya start?"

"I turned it down chris"

"WHAT! WHY?"

"Shhh! Inside voice, Chris, for crying out loud. And what do you mean, why? Of course I said no. How could I leave you when you need protecting so much?"

He stood up, attempting to make his way straight over to Dee, however fell straight over his feet and head first into the ground.

"I don't need protecting!" Came his muffled voice from his new position. She didn't even respond, instead helping him up and back onto the bed. This time she took his drink, and helped him under the sheets. He smiled up at her.

"You should take the job Dee. Do your part for America, ya know?"

"And what do I do with you? Take you with me?"

His eyes slowly started to drop, and he seemed content to fall asleep in his drunken state.

"Why not?" He mumbled and sleep finally took hold.

After drenching a cloth with some water, she returned to his bed, and softly tried to clean up his dirty face a little.

Why not? Dee thought. There are so many reasons why not. To risk bringing all his trouble towards the president, to risk the president's enemies discovering Chris. Both equally good reasons to not drag the two of them together.

But to not bring them together meant that Dee would need to make a choice between one or the other. And as she debated between the choice, between the American President, and the man she has vowed to protect and keep safe, she knew what the right choice was. To protect the President is of uttermost importance. But how could she do that? How could she abandon her best friend.

How can Dee possibly abandon her best friend, who for years now, she has been utterly, madly, terrifyingly in love with?