"Hello Tul."
"Saint, we have a situation at headquarters. We have a crowd of angry people demanding that we cease protecting Zee Pruk Panich."
"What??" Saint could not believe what he just heard.
"They are blocking anyone from coming in or going out the main entrance." Tul explained to Saint.
"Call the local police. We create a barricade inside our compound just in case. We let the police handle what is happening outside." Saint instructed.
"I will head back to headquarters soon. I will leave Pavel, Earth and Fluke here." He informed Tul.
"Saint, these are Mr Panich's fans. We had no issues with them before but why now?" Tul questioned him.
"I think I know why but we don't have enough proof for now. Just make sure nobody is hurt Tul... Not the fans nor our people." Saint reminded Tul.
"I will wait for you here. I will call the police as soon as possible."
Saint immediately called his people to gather in the library. Pavel stayed with Dome while Max was with Zee.
"We have a situation at headquarters. We have Mr Panich's fans who are unhappy that we are managing his security. I think it has something to do with the stalker because since the threats have escalated; he or she is trying to undermine security by doing this." Saint explained to his team.
"As for Suspect 1, we found nothing in her background check. She's clean." He continued.
"I will head back to headquarters to sort the problems there. All of you have to manage everything here. Pavel will be in command when I am not here." Saint informed them.
"Any questions?" Saint asked them.
"Saint... How did she know about the details of the investigation?" Earth questioned him.
"That is still a mystery and that is why we have people shadowing her. The police have been informed of what we know as well. For now, our main objectives are ensuring Mr Panich and his brother's safety; and of course we don't want things to get worse at headquarters." Saint answered.
"HwaHwa is still our primary suspect. She is also the closest to Mr Panich. We have to deal with this with care." He added.
"Anything else?" Saint queried.
Saint's men shook their heads.
"Stay vigilant. We don't know what else the stalker might do to get what he or she wants. Protecting Mr Panich and Mr Woranart is our main responsibility." Saint reminded them.
He left the library after talking to his men and headed upstairs. Max was standing in front of Zee's office. He nodded at Max and then knocked on the door. He could hear Zee asking him to go in.
"Good afternoon Mr Panich." Saint greeted Zee.
Zee was sitting a his table while reading some files.
"Good afternoon." Zee replied.
"Mr Panich I'm needed at headquarters. I will leave my best teams with you. Please do not leave with anyone except Dome and even with Dome; please make sure that my men are with you at all time." Saint explained to Zee and he slowly nodded at Saint.
"Is everything alright at your headquarters?" Zee looked worried.
"I hope so and that's why I have to be there."
"Okay... Stay safe."
"Will do." Saint replied before leaving Zee's office.
Outside Zee's office, Saint signaled Max to follow him.
"I heard what is happening at headquarters Saint."
"I'm heading there."
"Saint, I have a feeling that this is not an isolated case." Max asserted.
"Me too Max. Got to go Buddy." Saint told Max.
"I'll leave Mr Panich with you."
Saint quickly left Zee's house and got into his Lexus SUV. He then drove as fast as he could heading towards Saint Security headquarters. As he was about to get on the highway, he received a call from Tul. He pressed a button on the steering wheel and answered the call.
"Yes Tul."
"Saint, the fans have been using IG, Twitter and Facebook to run a smear campaign against Saint Security."
"I am not surprised." Saint replied.
"Tul, instruct our technical team to monitor the social media traffic. If we could narrow it down, to who started everything... Maybe we can trace the person." Saint asserted.
"Will do Saint."
"And Saint... Some of the press are already here as well." Tul informed Saint.
"Tread carefully with everything Tul."
"See you soon Saint."
Saint's Lexus zoomed on the highway. He knew how powerful social media platforms can be. They could easily bring you up and could easily bring you down to your knees as well. Nonetheless with the client list he had, he was not that worried about the alleged smear campaign against Saint Security. First and foremost he had to get into Saint Security headquarters. Then, he needed to diffuse what was going on. Hopefully he could contain the problems before they blew up out of proportion.
When he arrived at the main entrance of Saint Security, there were about 200 people gathering there with posters, banners and placards. The police were already there creating a line between the angry fans and the main gate. Saint drove past the main entrance and decided to get into the compound using another entrance where they usually had their training. Most people did not even know that the entrance was connected to Saint Security. Saint drove for another few minutes and finally arrived there. He pressed his thumb on a scanner and the gate opened for him. Saint waited for the gate to close again to make sure nobody was following him. The moment the gate closed he quickly drove to Saint Security main building.
"I'm so glad you're here Saint." Tul said when he got out from his car.
"Me too Buddy. Me too." Saint replied as he closed the door to his Lexus.
"The police is trying to disperse them but it is quite difficult." Tul explained.
"I know how passionate some of the fans are." Saint asserted as he slowly made his way to the main gate.
His people were lined up behind the main entrance. They were all wearing black together with their standard issue black boots and tactical vest. One of his people came to him with a vest in her hands.
"Saint. This is yours."
"Thanks." Saint said and put on his own tactical vest.
Normal fans may not want to harm them because normal fans worried more about Zee than hurting Saint or his people. Nevertheless, Saint and his team knew that some may not be Zee's normal fans and they do want to hurt them. Saint did not want to take any chances. He did not want anyone hurt. When Saint had strapped on his vest, he walked past his people and got closer to the gate. He signaled for his men to open the gate and he slowly walked out. The crowd went crazy. They began shouting and yelling. The police continued to prevent them form getting closer to the Saint Security entrance. An inspector immediately saw Saint and jogged towards him.
"Good day Mr Suppapong. I am Inspector Lin."
"Good day Inspector Lin." Saint replied.
"For now we have everything under control, their leader demands that you terminate your contract with Mr Panich as soon as possible. If not, they will not move from this place." The Inspector looked sympathetic.
"That is quite unlikely to happen. I cannot simply terminate my contract with Mr Panich." Saint responded.
"I understand that. These people are very loyal and extremely passionate in what they believe in." Inspector Lin smiled.
"What is the course of action on your part Inspector? If... This continues?" Saint questioned her.
"Negotiation, but it's should be decided either by your company or Mr Panich himself." Inspector Lin asserted.
"I agree. As for the moment, I am not ready to terminate my contract because Mr Panich and his brother need us more than before." Saint explained to her.
"Why don't we have a meeting with the leader of these people? We at least show them that we are taking this issue seriously." Inspector Lin suggested.
"I am not NOT taking this issue seriously Inspector. With big crowds like this... things can go from bad to worse in a matter of seconds and I have witnessed that many times. I don't want anyone to get hurt. Regardless of who." Saint told the Inspector.
"Where do you propose for us to have the meeting?"
"We can do it in Saint Security main building if they agree." Saint stated.
"Alright... We shall see what happens." Inspector Lin said and left Saint.
*******************************************************
Zee was trying to focus on reading the scripts given to him by HwaHwa but he simply could not. His mind was preoccupied with many things. He sighed and stood up. He then stretched his body. He walked towards the huge window overlooking his spacious backyard and smiled when he saw Mister Fluffy Mitten playing with Pavel's two huge dogs. Then his mind was transported to the bloody images of the severed puppy heads. His breathing became erratic and he began to panic. He quickly sat down and controlled his breathing. Saint tried his best to control his breathing first and then he closed his eyes. He pictured Saint in his mind and began describing him. The more he describe Saint; the lesser his anxiety became. When he could not find anything else to describe about Saint; he shifted to describing Dome. He found that he had more descriptions to describe his little pain in ass brother more than Saint. Zee's breathing became normal and the disturbing images slowly disappeared from his mind.
He opened his eyes and felt proud with what he had done. 40 minutes. He took 40 minutes to calm himself down. It was better than passing out or experiencing terrifying catatonic state. Zee touched his coffee mug and it was already cold but he was too lazy to go down to the kitchen. He decided just sipped the cold coffee. He touched his heart and it was beating quite steadily. He swallowed nervously. He knew attacks could happen again but at least he had learned to cope with it a little. Saint had been helping him a lot. For the past few weeks, he had guided him through the worst attacks. Zee was faring much better now. He was about to read another script when his office door burst open. A distraught Dome was standing there with his iPad in his hand.
"Zee... Have you seen your IG or Twitter today?" Dome asked him as he entered his office.
"No... Why?" Zee questioned him.
"Look..." Dome gave Zee his iPad.
Zee read the thread but he could not believe that his fans could have actually done this. They were running a campaign to bring Saint Security down. They blamed Saint Security for the actions done by the stalker and that Saint Security had failed to fulfil their responsibilities as Zee's bodyguards.
"When did this happen?" Zee asked Dome.
"I don't know... And at this moment some of your fans are at Saint Security."
"WHAT?"
"Turn on your television Zee... Find the news channel." Dome asked and Zee quickly opened the drawer in front of him. After that, he found his remorse control and turned the television on.
"News channel Zee." Dome said impatiently.
"Shut up Dome! I know!" Zee growled.
They found a news channel that was showing a live broadcast of what was happening at Saint Security. Zee could see disgruntled fans with his fan club T-shirts on. Then, he saw a row of police between his fans and the main gate at Saint Security.
"What are they thinking?" Zee asked in confusion.
"This has never ever happened Zee." Dome replied.
"I know Dome..." Zee continued to listen to the news while looking at the live footage from Saint Security headquarters.
Zee learned that a few representatives from the Zee Pruk Panich fan club had gone inside to discuss with Saint. Dread filled his heart. They demanded that Saint Security to terminate their contract with Zee and Dome. He did not want that to happen.
"Zee... Would Saint terminate Saint Security contract with us?" Dome turned to Zee.
"I don't know... But I hope not." Zee murmured.
The brothers were so engrossed with the news that they did not notice Pavel standing at the door.
"Mr Panich, Miss HwaHwa is here. Should I bring her here?" Pavel asked Zee.
"Sure Pavel..." Zee replied without even looking at Pavel as his attention was focused on what was enfolding on the television.
Zee and Dome continued to watch the news when HwaHwa came into the office.
"Hey Zee."
"HwaHwa... Do you know about this?" Zee pointed at the television.
"I just knew about it just now and that's why I am here." She answered.
"Why are you here?" She turned to Pavel and Max who were standing near the door and questioned them.
"Mr Suppapong instructed us to always be with Mr Panich and Mr Woranart." Max smiled politely and explained.
"This is a personal discussion between Zee and I." HwaHwa argued.
"HwaHwa... It's not important that they are here... And I don't mind." Zee responded while waving his hand.
"What are we going to do with this?" Zee pointed the television.
"We wait and see the outcome of the discussion." HwaHwa explained.
"It's MY life we are talking about." Zee asserted.
"They are my fans but they have no right to decide for me." He continued.
"Zee... They are worried about what is happening and they have valid reasons! Saint Security is not the only security company out there." HwaHwa shared her opinion on the matter.
"HwaHwa... They are the best and I know they are." Dome countered.
"By allowing a box of severed puppy heads to get here? OF COURSE they are worried!" HwaHwa defended.
Zee tried his best not to be overcome by his anxiety. The images began to fill his mind, but he practiced what he and Saint had been training for the past weeks.
"Are you alright Mr Panich?" Max asked him sympathetically.
"Yeah... Yeah... Thank you." Zee nodded.
"Saint Security is replaceable Zee. I know this and you know this." HwaHwa scoffed.
"HwaHwa... What has gotten into you?" Zee questioned her as he felt like she was out of line.
"I'm worried about you Zee! Since the day you decide to live here with Dome. It is not safe!"
"That's why we have Saint Security." Dome replied.
"YOU! Stay out of THIS!" HwaHwa pointed at Dome who looked as shocked as his brother Zee.
"HwaHwa... This discussion can be done later... What I want to know is... How and why are my fans there at Saint Security demanding that we terminate the contract." Zee asked her.
"I told you that I just knew about it!" HwaHwa answered.
"But you are the Vice President of the Fan Club... Shouldn't you know about it?" Zee queried.
"I didn't know about Zee!" HwaHwa countered.
Zee closed his eyes and sighed out loud.
"We need to help Saint Security and my fans." Zee murmured.
"I understand helping your fans but Saint Security?" HwaHwa looked confused by Zee's decision.
"HwaHwa... I care about my fans and Saint Security. They both matter. I don't want anyone to get hurt in this." Zee explained.
"I don't understand you Zee... We... The fans have been with you since the beginning and you are now siding with Saint?" HwaHwa questioned him.
"I am not siding with anyone HwaHwa. I want everyone to be safe. I don't want anyone to get hurt." Zee looked exasperated.
"How did this happen?" Zee murmured as he rubbed his head.
"Zee... Something is happening." Dome told Zee.
Everyone in the room was watching the television. They knew that the negotiations between the representatives from Zee's Fan Club and Saint Security just ended. The representatives did not look happy. Saint looked as stoic and as serious as ever. They were all walking out of the main entrance with an Inspector. Out of the blue, someone lunged at Saint but he stopped the person by holding the person's arm and subduing her. The crowd suddenly became out of control. The police seemed unable to control them. Saint Security people were suddenly outside the main entrance and were helping the police to control the situation. People were screaming and yelling.
"SHIT!" Pavel growled when a bottle landed on Saint's head and broke into pieces.
"Oh my GOD!" Zee froze when he could see blood trailing down the side of Saint's head.
"What's happening?" Zee asked but nobody could answer.
"Pavel... Max... We need to go there."
"No Zee!" HwaHwa shrilled.
"HwaHwa, I must do something to stop this craziness! People are getting hurt!" Zee reminded her.
"What if you get hurt Zee?" She argued.
"What's the difference between them and I?" Zee shook his head.
"Pavel... What's the fastest way to get there?"
"I can get you a helicopter." Pavel told him.
"Get us one." Zee instructed and Pavel left them immediately.
"We need to protect him..." Zee trailed as he watched the thing unfolding on the television.
"Zee..." HwaHwa called him.
"HwaHwa... We MUST do something!" Zee replied.
"Zee!!" HwaHwa glared at him.
"I must protect him HwaHwa and I must do something to protect everyone else too." Zee countered.
"Dome... You stay here..." He said to his brother.
"Earth and I are with Dome here. We also have 2 more teams on standby Mr Panich." Max explained while Zee nodded.
"What about me Zee? You can't leave me here." HwaHwa demanded.
"HwaHwa... We'll wait for Pavel and see what he he says." Zee explained.
Max's cellphone rang and he answered. He stared at Zee and nodded at him.
"ETA 5 minutes. Get ready Mr Panich." Max informed him.
"Zee... be careful." Dome stared at his brother.
"I will Dome."
"Maybe you could consider retiring after this." Dome joked and Zee gave him a faint smile.
"Don't joke about things like that Dome!" HwaHwa growled.
"What is wrong with you HwaHwa? Do you care more about Zee's career than those people there?" Dome pointed at the television.
"Zee and his career are the only things that matter to me... I AM his manager!" HwaHwa answered. Dome shook his head in disgust.
"Mr Panich... We have to move now." Max stated and Zee nodded.
"Max... Protect my brother okay..." Dome said while Max nodded.
"Brother! Stay safe!" Dome said as Zee left his office.
"Zee! Zee!!" HwaHwa called for him.
"I'm sorry Miss HwaHwa, we can only bring Mr Panich and Pavel." Max explained while HwaHwa glared at the man.
"I'll talk to you soon HwaHwa... I need to go." Zee told HwaHwa.
'ZEE!!!" HwaHwa shrieked but nobody was listening to her.
**********************************************************
The helicopter landed on Saint Security main building less than 10 minutes later. Throughout the short flight, Pavel was in constant contact with his team at the Saint Security headquarters. They knew that the police had brought in reinforcements and that the injured had been taken care of by Saint Security medical team for the moment. The local hospital medical staff were also there to help them. Zee and Pavel immediately left the helicopter and got into an elevator. Zee was still shocked by what had transpired. Never in a million years that he could imagine such a thing to happen and cause by his loyal fans.
When the elevator door opened, Pavel brought Zee to their command centre on the ground floor. There were people clad in black uniforms that Zee assumed was Saint Security people. His eyes quickly scanned for Saint but he could not find the man. A few Saint Security men and women reported everything to Pavel and Zee for the first time finally saw what Saint had been saying about his second in command. He was a leader just like Saint. He might act like a recalcitrant man when it came to Dome but at that moment he was a leader and leading his people.
"Mr Panich, we think that the best thing to do now is to address this matter through you." Pavel informed Zee.
"We need to control your fans because they are... Quite emotional right now." He added.
"I understand. I don't want any party to get hurt. I don't want this to get any worse than it already is Pavel." Zee responded.
"Is... Is Saint alright?" He asked Pavel.
"Don't worry Mr Panich... He'll be fine. Bottle hitting his head is just a scratch for people like him." Pavel smiled.
"We will bring you out to the main entrance... Then we will talk to your fans." Pavel explained.
"Don't worry... The police have brought in reinforcement and we also have our people there." He continued.
"I'm not worried about me... I am worried about you guys. They did attack Saint." Zee pointed.
"We can take care of ourselves Mr Panich. Rest assured."
Zee followed Pavel and a few other men that he did not recognise. He was quite nervous. When they neared the entrance, Zee could see a few injured people being taken care off by Saint Security medical team. Zee knew they were his fans. There were also the police monitoring what was happening. His fans were shocked to see him.
"Wait here for us Mr Panich." Pavel told him.
Pavel opened the gate and he went out. Zee was more and more nervous. He had some sort of idea of what he was going to say but he was still a nervous wreck nonetheless. His hands were freezing cold and he had them on the sides of his body. Zee was surprised Saint suddenly stood beside him. His head was wrapped in a bandage and it was a little bloody.
"You okay? Are you alright? Do you still hurt?" Zee bombarded him with questions.
"I'll live." Saint replied.
"You and Pavel are the same! He'll live! I'll live! People are actually worried sick about you! Mr MACHO I'm not going to die!!" Zee glowered and Saint actually smiled at him.
"Don't SMILE! You could've gotten hurt badly Saint!" Zee nagged.
"You okay?" Saint questioned him and he put his hands on Zee's shoulders. He stared into Zee's eyes.
"Me? I'm not the one bleeding here!!" Zee muttered.
"It's the nature of my job Mr Panich." Saint bemused.
"Ready to talk to your fans?" Saint asked him and immediately Zee deflated.
"No... I have talked to my fans before but NOT LIKE THIS!" Zee pointed at the main gate.
"Mr Panich... If you decide to terminate the contract, I would totally understand. We at Saint Security live to serve and protect you. If terminating the contract is actually the best... Then... I would understand." Saint explained to Zee.
Zee stared at the man in front of him.
"ARE YOU CRAZY? Did the bottle hit your head THAT hard?" Zee shook his head.
"Mr Panich?" Pavel came back to where Saint and Zee were standing.
"Yeah?" Zee turned to Pavel.
"Shall we?" Pavel asked and Zee slowly nodded.
"I'll be standing next to you." Saint whispered in Zee's ears.
"Okay... Thank you." Zee licked his lips nervously.
"You will be fine... You are Thailand number one star Mr Panich." Saint murmured and held Zee's freezing hands.
"These are your fans. They love you. They will listen to you." He added.
"Hey lovebirds... Hurry up!" Pavel grumbled.
"Shut up Pavel!" Saint growled at his second in command.
"Ready?" Saint questioned Zee and waited for his response.
"Yes." Zee slowly nodded.
"Let's!" Saint walked side by side with Zee to the main entrance.
The moment the gate opened big enough for the both of them, the crowd began to stir. Zee's fans who were sitting on the pavement, some with with umbrellas on and some were not under the scorching sun. It was extremely unbelievable. Zee felt awful that they were there for him. He knew they loved him but to an extent that was mind-boggling to say the least. They were willing to take on Saint Security who were security experts where most of them were in the special force before joining the company. They were willing to go against the police for him. Zee felt terrible. Then, Saint's words filled his mind. They made the decisions themselves. He chanted the mantra again and again trying to convince himself that he was not responsible for what was happening.
"Are you alright?" Saint whispered.
"I just can't believe they are doing this because of me... I am just... Me..." Zee trailed.
"Some people are really caught up with artistes' lives. As if they are theirs. As if they are their family. They feel obligated to do something for those people that they worship." Saint explained.
"I hope what I'm going to tell them makes sense." Zee replied.
"You'll be fine Mr Panich." Saint gave him an encouraging smile.
"I will protect you Mr Panich." He said.
"I will protect you too." Zee responded.
"Mr Panich?" Pavel called Zee.
They had set up some sort of a makeshift rostrum.
"Break a leg." Pavel said to Zee.
The crowd began to stand up. They were surprised that Zee was there. The police and Saint Security personnel tried to control them. Journalists too began snapping pictures and recording him. Zee tried to calm himself. He needed to make sure that the issue was resolved and no unwanted things to happen again. He licked his lips. Suddenly he could feel someone standing close to his right and he immediately knew that it was his beautiful bodyguard. A sense of calm overcame Zee. He turned to his right and smiled at Saint. The man smiled encouragingly at him. It was at that moment that Zee knew that he was going to be alright. Saint gave him strength and the calmness that he never knew he needed. Saint nodded reassuringly at Zee. He faced the crowd and began talking.