Hired To Protect

Jackson was sitting behind his desk when his partner of five years walked in, Steve Harris. A thirty-year-old with blonde hair and a chubby build. But he was the best in the business, what he lacked in physical endurance he accelerated in cunning and wit.

“We’ve got a new case,” Steve said, dropping a folder in front of Jackson.

Picking the folder up and looking inside Jackson felt the colour draining from his face. “No, we’re not taking this case,” he said, closing the folder and handing it back to his partner.

Steve was floored, stunned was more like it. He had never known Jackson to ever turn down a case. “What the hell Jackson? Why not?” he grumbled.

Tossing the pen he was using sat back in his chair and glared angrily at Steve. “I can’t take this case because I would be distracted. If that happens I wouldn’t be able to do my job properly and a life could be lost.”

Steve flopped down into the chair across from Jackson, picking up the file he looked at the picture of the woman in question. “I know she’s drop-dead gorgeous, but we’ve helped other beautiful women before, and you’ve never had a problem. What make’s this one so different?”

“She’s my ex-wife,” he stated flatly.

Steve dropped the folder, the pages spewed all over the floor, her picture staring up at them. His mouth fell open. “Shit,” he shrieked, “I’ve known you for years, you never once mentioned you were married.”

Jackson ran his hand through his jet-black hair. “It was brief,” he answered. “It only lasted three months. I was still on the wrong side of the law back then.

Reaching into his desk he pulled out a bottle of scotch and two glasses. pouring them both a drink. “She was nineteen, I was twenty-four. We met in a bar and were married a week later.” He took a long swallow of his drink.

Steve held out his glass for another shot. “Christ man, so what the hell happened?”

Jackson stood up and going over to the window he looked out. Their office was on the top floor of a highrise building, the people below looked like ants as they rushed around, trying to get to wherever they had to be. “Alexis was so young and naive. I never told her what I really did for a living, she thought I was a traveling salesman.”

“Were you in love with her?” Steve asked, swallowing the rest of his drink.

He kept staring out the window when he answered. “Yes, very much so. She was the most beautiful and exciting woman I had ever met, despite her age.”

“So why did it end so quickly?” he asked.

Jackson turned to look at Steve. “You better than anyone else know how dangerous our old lifestyle was, being a hired killer we were always a target ourselves. Being married to me would have put her in constant danger. I couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to her, so one night I walked out and never went back.”

Steve stood up and walked over to Jackson. “But you quit that way of life, why didn’t you go back?”

“It was too late, she had moved on, married some loser. Besides, after the way I left, having divorce papers served to her, she must have hated me.”

“Jackson that was years ago. Now she needs protection and we are the best. If you want Vince and I can handle the job, that way you won’t have to be involved.”

He laughed. “Vince, no he has no experience to handle this type of work.”

“I’ll agree he’s young, but he’s learning. I’ll leave her file with you and if you change your mind give me a call.” Picking up the papers Steve replaced them inside the folder, he set them on the desk and walked out.

Locking up for the night Jackson picked up the file and tossed it into the wastebasket. As he was walking out the door he stopped. Looking at the file he went back over and taking it out of the trash shoved it in his briefcase.

At home, he popped a TV dinner into the microwave, then removing his tie and jacket sat down, pulling out the file on Alexis.

He looked around his lavish kitchen, with all the money he had made and invested he was now a wealthy man. Trading in his jeans and t-shirts for expensive tailor-made suits. And business was doing so well that he and Steve had to hire several men.

His home was enormous, had a pool out back, a cleaning crew came in twice a week. And he had the state-of-the-art security system, the best money could buy. Though he was out of the hired assassin business he still had to be careful.

Being tall and fit, with broad shoulders he had his share of women. But he always compared them to Alexis, and they never measured up to her. She was blonde, slender with a killer body and a sweet gentleness about her that drew him to her.

He met her in a bar one night after he had finished a job. She came in and sat next to him, twirling her finger through a strand of long blonde hair smiled, and asked if he’d like to buy her a drink. He thought she was awfully cocky, the way she was flirting, but he kind of liked her spunk.

So, grabbing a table they sat and shared a bottle of wine, talking till closing time. He took her back to his apartment where they spent the night making love, after that they were never apart and married one week later.

But after getting a call for another big job Jackson realized this life he was keeping from Alexis would eventually put her in danger. So he made the heart-wrenching decision to leave her, so as she lay asleep he packed his bag and slipped out in the middle of the night.

Opening the file those old feelings he once had for her came rushing back. She looked the same except the sparkle in her eyes was gone, they now looked vacant, sad. He read on, it said she was married to a Grant Emerson. Divorcing him after only being married for six months, the file didn’t say why the marriage ended.

She then went to work at a club called Paradise, it was a well-known club owned by a notorious gangster, Milo Gingrich. A ruthless and feared man who managed to escape the law on many of the charges that were brought against him. The witnesses either went missing or turned up dead.

Jackson was shocked to see a picture of Milo with his arm around Alexis. “Shit Alexis, what have you gotten yourself into?” he asked himself.

Picking up his phone he dialed Steve’s number. “Hey Steve, it’s me. I’m going to handle this case personally. Meet me in our office first thing in the morning, and see what all you can find out about Milo Gingrich, his people, the club, everything, ok, bye.”