The Bodyguard

"Then his hands came to life. He went as if to rub his wrists, then he reached for the blindfold—"Lieutenant Leister!" The voice that always sent shivers down my spine. . . literally. I'm jerked out of my fantasy. I turn around, hiding my novel, Exit to Eden, as I rest on my locker.

"Yes, Chief?" I respond. I cough, breaking a sweat. Shit. She begins to walk closer to me. "This is your last chance, Leister. What's that, behind you?" She asks, our faces merely inches apart. The Chief was on my ass. I mean, almost thirty flopped attempts at busting the Narco— drug money, money laundering.

"It's nothing. I'm fully prepared. I won't fail you, Chief. You've got my word." I say, silently praying she doesn't ask me to bring forward my book.

"You're reading that shit again, right? Gimme that." I scoff awkwardly. I adjust my dress. "You like this shit don't ya? If you focused on your job, just maybe you'd finally get that damned narco bastard." She says, as she flips the pages of the book.

Leonid Volkov, leader of the most wanted Russian cartel. They were deadly. Before me, two of my senior colleagues who'd been assigned the case faced a horrible faith. The first was way less brutal. He was killed like a wild animal. Shot in the head, and tied up like a goat, then, roasted on a human sized vertical rotisserie. "I'll prove myself. I'm confident." I say, trying to coax her into returning my book.

"I want Leonid, Leister. Dead, or alive. I want him. Don't bothering returning if you're not coming with him or his head," She hands my book over. I collect it. "You're as good as fired if you fail to succeed this time around. Don't show your face here." She says, and I nod. I watch the red haired woman leave. Chief Edith Webster of the Secret Service. She'd been in command for almost 3 years. She wasn't an easy one.

"Yes, Chief!" I yell as she exits the room. I turn to my locker. I open it and quickly dump in my book. My favorite book, Gone with the wind. I was a sucker for romance novels— it was an obsession, almost like my good luck charm. Before raids or any operation, I always made sure to read a few pages or even a chapter of a new novel. It sounded crazy when I told people, but deep down, I believed that the thrill of wondering what would happen next, how the characters would end up made me survive. A lot of my colleagues died during operations. I'd never even suffered a gunshot wound. My theory was correct. Those books did save my life countlessly, although, I'd never experienced love, reading those books made me have in idea.

"Shit." I mutter as my gun falls. I pick it up and slide it up my legs. I place it in my garter. I take my second favorite pistol, my Sig P226 pistol. Inhaling, I close my locker. I head to the mirror just by the door. I cough, feeling awkward in the dress. I raise my chin up and hold my waist. I smile. Was that seductive enough? Would I be able to blend in? I adjust my hair as I notice my earpiece showing. "You're ready for this, Elena."

***

"Spread out at different angles. Do you copy?" I say, as I walk into the multi-million dollar mansion. My subordinates respond to my message. I enter the house. I scan the house as I see some of my colleagues, scattered around the place. I spot Captain Benjamin, Benji for short. I nod at him. "We must get Leonid as soon as possible. Ask questions, but try not to raise alarm." I whisper. I look around, trying to find the faceless narco bastard. I continue, "Disperse. Try to fit in as much as you ca— Someone interrupts me. "Who's this beauty, Quan?" A grey haired older man says, as he grabs me by the waist. It couldn't be Leonid. He was in his late twenties and had a taller physique.

"You better let me go." I whisper in his ear as I touch my nose.

The man cackles. He snorts, and I look at him, disgusted. "Feisty one, isn't she? I like it."

"I'm with Leonid." I respond, betting my chances. My heartbeat increases. What if he was indeed, Leonid? In a heartbeat, he lets go of me, eyeing me annoyingly. He adjusts his jacket, his stomach bulging out. He walks off with his minion. I sigh, relieved.

I worked for the Secret Service. Everyone expected us to know everything that happened, which at most point in time, we did. However, Leonid Volkov wasn't like any other man. He operated on a very discrete but loud manner. No one knew what he looked like. At least, no one in the law enforcement world. Maybe some dirty agents did, but people like me, the good guys— we didn't know a thing. How he did it, we were still uncovering. At a point, I was certain that he was in-fact, working with the higher-ups. People that ensured he could never get caught.

I climb up the stairs, watching the group of people seated beneath, on a round table. They're playing a game of cards whilst sniffing cocaine up their noses. Oh, if only they knew. I reach upstairs. There's a long hallway. It's empty. "I need backup upstairs. Something seems off here." I say, as I walk closely to the first door. Carefully, I place my ears on the door. I could hear the sound of water rushing.

"Shit! There's a problem. Take cover, unit 1, 2!" I hear Benji whisper in a panicked tone. Soon after, gunshots follow. I turn around, alarmed. My instincts tell me to look forward, and as I do, there's a man coming out of a room, aiming a gun at me. In a heartbeat, I bring out my gun and I shoot before he can harm me. The bullet pierces his head. He falls down dead. Another man comes out of the room, and a few more doors open. They're flocking out. Shit. I dock as they begin to spray bullets. I bring out my second gun from my left thigh and I begin to shoot at them whilst heading towards the opposite stairs.

"Cyka!" The last man standing yells. That was Russian. Jackpot. He was either Leonid or one of Leonid's men. I shoot his hand. "Agh!" He yells, blood spilling out of his hand. I rush up, towards him, as I see him try to reach for the gun with his left hand. I bend down. He's wailing terribly. There's still commotion downstairs. I can hear the gunshots, people screaming and glass shattering. "Ya ub'yu tebya, shlyukha!" Translates to: "I'll kill you, you whore!"

"Hey. I don't understand that. English, okay?" I say, as I search his pockets. "Where's your boss? Where's Leonid? Are you Leonid?"

"Chertova politsiya!" He growls. "I'd rather die than give up Leo!" He responds, clenching his teeth. He wasn't Leonid.

I get up. "I won't let you die. I want you to go back to Leonid and tell him that I'm coming for him."

*

"Hey! Get under the table!" I yell as I shoot at a possible gang member. The young lady looks pale, as though she'd seen a ghost. Scared shitless. The area I'm at is empty, dead bodies all over the floor, about two casualties. I'm leading the lady and a few other people out of the building. My colleagues must've taken care of the others because the gunshots had stopped.

"Just wait a while here. My colleagues have some questions. It won't take long." I say, disappointed. I lost him again. I'd either lost Leonid or he wasn't even at the party to begin with. I sigh, running my hand through my hair. Benji comes out. "We've got a few men, they're Russian but we can't know if they've got ties in connection with Volkov."

"A dead end, yet again. We had intel that he would be at this party to secure a deal with El Stefano. He wants to broaden his distribution into the States. There's gotta be someway we can nab this criminal for good!"

"I know." Benji responds, bringing out a cigar, as we watch our colleagues question the crowd.

"I was so desperate to catch him that I fell for wrong information. This could cost me my badge, hell, I'll be damned if it hasn't."

He begins to smoke. "We can always pacify the Chief, Andrea."

"No. Not this time, Benji. I've failed to get this man twenty four times. This is the twenty fifth. I'm as good as jobless. The chief won't let me in and she meant it." I was dejected. It was draining. Depressing, even. I'd spent countless nights, sleepless nights and days, working out a plan, a method of capturing Leonid. I'd been in the force 4 years. Joined when I was barely 22. I'd spent majority of the 4 years stuck on Leonid's case. It was safe to say I hated him.