Side Story 11: Bodyguard – part 1

Before leaving the shopping mall, Mia searched for a present to give to Billy Patel, and then they took another subway to get to the hospital where he was recovering.

During the entire voyage, Mia was silent, lost in her thoughts and memories, and Jack let her be after his second attempt at engaging in a conversation.

When they reached the hospital, Mia looked at the entrance and shivered. Jack noticed she was looking pale and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Kind of. I don't like hospitals that much. I thought I would be alright, but now that we are here, I am remembering a few things, and it is making things hard for me."

"How come? Are you afraid of doctors? Or you really hate being sick, and you had a terrible experience in a hospital?"

Mia slowly nodded and explained, "When I was very young, my mother got sick. Cancer. She fought for as much as she could, but her body couldn't handle the treatment, so she stopped doing it. Over the months, she became weaker and weaker, and she spent all that time in a hospital. My last memory of her was seeing her so thin that she looked like a different person, but she still gathered enough strength to tell me that she loved me, and she hoped I would be happy forever."

"I am sorry to hear that. I had no idea. Do you want to go somewhere else? You don't need to force yourself if it is so painful for you."

"No, I have to do this. Your friend could have died because of me, so visiting him and thanking him is the least I can do." She then looked down and asked in a lower tone, "Do you mind… if we hold hands? It's just… my father would always hold my hand whenever we went to visit my mother, and… maybe it makes things easier for me… I mean… if you don't mind."

While holding gently Mia's left hand, Jack said, "If you are not worried about being seen holding hands with me, I don't mind. But what if some of your acquaintances see us?"

"I am more worried about entering by myself… Thanks…"

As they were walking through the windowed doors, Jack felt Mia trembling, and she squeezed his hand, making him say in a low voice, "Everything is alright; I am right here next to you."

They walked towards the front desk, and Jack asked the nurse about his friend, and she kindly pointed him to the nearest elevator and told him his room number.

As the elevator was going up, Mia sighed and said, "The smell… that is what is more difficult. I totally forgot about this smell. Our minds are weird, don't you think?"

"It will be alright. We can just go say hi to him, you give him the present, say thanks, and we leave. Maybe we can go for a walk in a park before going home for you to get your things. I just remembered! What about your car? We left it in that car park."

"My father already sent someone to retrieve it. I told him about it."

The elevator door opened, and Mia squeezed Jack's hand and accompanied him. They walked along the corridor and stopped in front of Billy Patel's room number.

Mia let go of Jack's hand, tapped her chest a few times, and after a deep breath, she mumbled, "I can do this… It will be just a moment, and then we leave… He saved me, so I must thank him… That is the proper thing to do…"

Jack opened the door and waited for her to go in, closing the door behind him. Billy Patel was seated on his bed, watching something on the television, and he faced the door the moment he heard it opening.

Mia stared at him and gasped. She walked to the surprised Billy and held his hand, her eyes wet with tears. His face was swollen; he had one black eye and a bandage over his left eyebrow and forehead. While fighting to hold back her tears, Mia said, "I had no idea you were like this… Because of me, you ended up here… Are you feeling alright? Is there something I can do for you?"

"Miss Mia… What are you doing here? You didn't need to come visit me!"

"I had to come. You are here because of me. You could have died because of those bastards that were after me! My father caught them, and when I see them, I am going to make them pay for doing this to you! I am going to break them in half! I am going to-"

Billy made an awkward smile and said, "You don't need to worry about that, Miss Mia. Your father was here yesterday, and it seems those guys are still having a hard time. He didn't hand them over to the police because he was waiting to get the ones who made the plan to kidnap you. I got the feeling those guys were being tortured for them to speak, but he didn't actually say it. Your father can be scary!"

"I think he was only worried about me. It is just the two of us, and we have a few relatives who live far away, so we can only count on each other. Besides the fact that I gave him a lot of trouble over the past few years. He used to complain a lot every time I made some scandal that put me in magazines or newspaper pages, but I know he loves me very much. Did he thank you properly, or do I need to punch his head when I see him?"

"He did, and he even said I was going to get a bonus and a raise as thanks." Billy then looked at Jack and said with a grin, "If it weren't for that crazy bastard, I wouldn't be here in the first place! I didn't even notice what was happening until I heard him shouting at me. Is he taking care of you properly, or do I need to split his head open?"

Mia smiled and faced the frowning man behind her. "Yes, he is. He seems angry with you, but I know he is pretending. He was also very worried about you, but because of me, he couldn't come to see you."

Jack approached the bed and said, "You look like a mess, Billy. Those guys really arranged your face for you. Maybe after going out from here, you find out you got prettier."

"Thanks, dumbass! You could be happier that I am still alive! I fought like crazy to keep those guys from going after you, but they managed to escape after breaking two of my ribs. I may need to train more so that I don't lose to some random thugs ever again!"

"I think I can help you with that. I am quite good at unarmed combat, you know?"

Billy nodded and said, "I got the impression you were darn good when I saw you knocking out those two guys so easily. I am going to take that offer because there is no way I am going to end up in a hospital bed again!"

With a smile, Mia gave Billy the bag she was carrying and said with a gentle smile, "I bought this for you to thank you. Jack also put something in there, but I didn't see what it was. I bet its something weird because he was grinning. Mine is the bigger package."

"You didn't need to do that, Miss Mia! Having you visit me is already enough!" After unwrapping the bigger package, Billy opened the case inside and gasped at the sight of what appeared to be a very expensive watch. "Miss Mia! This is too much!"

"You don't like it? There is a receipt inside with the shop's name, so you can go there and change it for something more to your liking! You can even sell it if you want it; I don't mind. This is yours for you to do whatever you want with it."

With a big smile, Billy answered, "I will treasure this forever, Miss Mia. Thank you very much." He then started to unwrap the smaller package, and after taking it out, he laughed. It was a small rubber duck carrying a gun and with a t-shirt saying, 'I got your back!'

Jack Cross said with a smile, "When I saw that, I thought that guy looked like you."

"I am not this yellow, but thanks, this is darn funny! So, tell me what you have been doing while I was lying in bed?"

"Nothing much, besides making sure Miss Mia was safe, and she didn't get too bored. It was a difficult task, considering how different her life is from mine. But she is going home today, back to her usual life."

With a smile, Billy spoke. "You may need to go with her to talk with her father. He seemed very pleased with how you were so carefully hiding his daughter, considering that no one could find her or even see her in the City."

"That was because we never went to her usual places, and she was always wearing a disguise."

Seeing how his friend looked so puzzled, Jack told him where they went, with him laughing occasionally every time Mia said that she found everything weird the first time she went there.

After a while, a nurse came, saying that visiting hours were about to end and that Billy needed to take his medicine and rest.

Mia and Jack left the hospital with her saying that after getting her things from his house, she could go directly to her father's building because he told her he would be working until the end of the afternoon, but to go there, they had to meet with her father's driver at a certain address. Her driver was still recovering from the gunshot, so that was why he wasn't available to get her.

Before Jack even had the time to say something, she told him she was going to visit her driver the next day to thank him as well. That was why she had bought two watches when they were in the shopping mall. One for Billy Patel, the other for her driver.

While they were waiting in the subway station, Jack said, "You know, I am quite surprised that you are being so nice to employees who got hurt because of you. Is that a recent change? Because you usually treat everyone around you like rubbish."

Mia was about to complain, but she noticed he was grinning, so she nodded with her face all red. "I used to act like that, but maybe all that happened made me grow up? I used to be a spoiled brat…" Seeing him chuckling, she explained, "I know I am still spoiled, but at least now I know I must be kind to people!"

"At least you got that from all this ordeal. That's good, I suppose."

"Stop grinning! Sometimes you are so annoying!"

They both laughed, and the subway's arrival stopped their bickering.

…

Her father's limousine stopped in front of his enormous building, and Jack Cross opened the door of the passenger's seat and went to open the sliding door from where Mia exited.

He was dressed in his usual dark suit whenever he was working, and she was wearing her tight dress and high heels. She walked by his side in silence and greeted with a nod and a smile the two security guys who were on both sides of the entrance, surprising them. They both smiled back, and one of them quickly opened the door for her and Jack.

They walked to the front desk, and the moment they got there, Mia greeted and thanked the young woman for her help every time she wanted to contact her father.

Mia's behaviour surprised not only the young woman, but everyone who was near the counter or was at an earshot. Everyone except Jack Cross, who was as silent and serious as ever.

They went to the elevators, and when the doors closed, Jack burst into laughter, making Mia gently punch his shoulder and begging him not to mock her.

She was trying to be kind and polite, but instead of congratulating her, he kept mocking her, flicked her forehead and said, "You wanted to be congratulated for acting like a normal human being? Instead of looking for recognition from me, get used to treating people kindly every day, you spoiled brat!"

"Hey! Stop calling me that, geez! I am trying, okay? It is not easy for me! The moment I entered and saw all those people idling in the hallway and pretending to be working the moment they saw me, I just wanted to scold them! But I didn't!"

"Like you had any right to scold anyone! You are not their boss, nor do you work here! First, get a job here, then you can complain! But if you complain too much, you might find that people get back at you! Every time you slack off, there will be someone to scold you!"

Mia stopped trying to grab his hand to prevent him from flicking her forehead again and said, "I see… I think I understand that… So, first things first! Let's talk with my father, and then I will see if he can find me a place around here to work!"

"A lower job. Don't you go asking for an administrative position! You must start low and go up as time goes by so that you learn how things are done. It is never a good idea to inherit something without understanding how things work. I have seen that happening, and they didn't end up well."

"I suppose I could start as a receptionist… That would let me learn-"