Page 4 of Unexpected Hero

At some point, it begins to rain. Instead of running for cover, I let it soak me to the bone. My tears mingle with the rain drops, cascading in rivulets and falling to the earth where Papa’s body will remain when I leave.

Once I’m all cried out, I tuck the swirling emotions deep inside and prepare to leave.

And I don’t mean the cemetery. It’s time to leave my old life behind.

Chapter 2

Well, well, well. What do we have here?

TOMER

If I ever see Millie Amos-O’Malley again, it’ll be too soon.

I grit my teeth as I remove the Chuck Nofunfuck sign from my office door and toss it in the trash can. Just as I’ve done every single week for the last two years.

Damn Millie — a former client — for giving me that nickname. And damn my coworker Sawyer for running with it.

When he first put up the sign, I laughed along with everyone else. A few days later, I took the sign down, assuming he got his jollies. Unfortunately, he wasn’t done milking the joke.

Another door sign appeared.

Then another and another.

It’s the running gag among the bodyguards who work here. And I let them have it. Just like I did when we all served together in the Army Rangers, where I often found myself as the butt of a joke. Same as in High School and before that. As long as I can remember, honestly.

I’ve become an expert at letting it roll off my shoulders. But I’d be lying if I said it didn’t get to me at times.

But here, I know my Redleg brothers don’t mean it maliciously. It’s good-natured ribbing. Something you expect when you’re part of a unit like this with a bunch of military vets.

Although, I don’t usually feel like I’m part of the unit. I tend to hover along the periphery. It’s safer that way.

Now that I’ve properly disposed of the sign, I can move on with my day without giving it another thought. Until Big Al hires someone full-time to help me run the brains of Redleg Security, I don’t have the mental power to waste on stupid pranks.

Not that I would ever squander my thoughts on shit like that anyway.

First in the office, same as always, I power on the computers and adjust the thermostat since the heat from the machines will hike up the temperature, making it unbearable in here.

After settling in, I run the morning reports and start on my never-ending task list: updating programs, pushing out firmware patches, and monitoring for new issues or network vulnerability. Plus, these damn bodyguards are always getting into shit they shouldn’t be, and I need to be ready for anything.

There’s no rest when you’re the designated guy-in-the-chair, and lives are on the line.

An hour or two later, my on-again, off-again office partner Klein arrives. “Morning, T. I see you’re here bright and early, as usual.”

Without looking up from my primary screen, I quip, “And you’re here bright and late, as usual.”

And I do mean bright. He’s almost too much for me to deal with at times. I wouldn’t quite call him a ray of sunshine, but it wouldn’t be far from the truth.

Surprisingly, he has good taste in music. Although, I’ll never admit that. It’s better if he thinks I have no opinion on the matter. That’s my preferred approach with everyone.

Once he’s taken his seat and docked his laptop, we go over the plan for the day — a mixture of training and tasks for him.

Two years ago, he assisted with designing our proprietary security system for all the Redleg employees’ homes. Since then, he’s been sporadically training with me here in the lair between his bodyguard shifts. He’s a fast learner and great with gadgets too. But I haven’t decided if he’s got what it takes to be my number two.

Since he’s eager to get out of the field, Boss wants me to feel him out.

Klein’s good out there, though. Most of our guys are top-notch. At least the A and B-team guys are. Like me, Klein’s a former Army Ranger. But unlike me, he doesn’t have a top-secret intelligence background.

Then again… finding someone with my skill set in Clearwater isn’t likely, so I’ll take what I can get. A warm body is better than no body.

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