Chapter 8

 

Michael

 

“So the job you had for me was as a security guard?” I asked, readjusting the straps of my boxing gloves as I looked at Spencer.

He scoffed and looked at me like I was stupid. I nodded towards the sandbag and he held it at the sides, spotting for me as I gave it a first jab.

“I said a ‘bodyguard’, not ‘security guard’, bro. Get it right,” he said in annoyance.

“Sorry,” I muttered, switching to the first set of combinations. “But the general idea is the same, right? Bodyguard just sounds cooler.”

“You’ll have to protect an individual, not a mall. And since we’re experts at taking a bullet, how could this job not be any more perfect for us? I mean, your service is up to par, right?”

“Of course it is,” I grunted. I couldn’t help but give him a half-annoyed glare as I bent down and folded my jeans up so he could see my left leg—or rather, the mechanical foot that replaced it. “Wouldn’t your tour be over too if you lost your foot?”

He winced at the sight of my leg but didn’t offer any comments of sympathy or anything like that. It reminded me why I liked him. Spencer didn’t hand out pity like everyone else, since he understood that was the last thing I wanted to hear. To be honest, he’s more of the type to tell me to stop using my disability as an excuse, and tough it out like normal people.

“Even more reason for you to take my offer,” Spencer said, grunting as I gave a particularly strong blow on the sandbag. “Come on, man. With you there, I won’t feel guilty that there’s less manpower to handle the jobs once I go on my honeymoon,” his voice took on a different level of desperation now that it made me chuckle.

“Oh, so this is a purely self-serving request, isn’t it?” I asked, amused as I finally realized his true intent.

“Yeah, totally,” he nodded, not even denying it. “Come on, dude! Help a guy out!”

“I don’t know…,” I said, dragging it on to see what else kind of groveling Spencer was capable of.

He seemed to read my thoughts because his face turned completely solemn.

“You want me to beg? I can totally beg. Do you want me to beg right now? Because I’m going to do it,” he said, letting go of the bag and moved to get on his knees. I sighed and waved him to get up.

“Fine, fine. Just get up already,” I said, turning away with a scowl. “This better be worth my time, dipshit.”

“Oh, don’t worry! My bro gets all the kickass cases, so you are never going to get bored! I can promise you that!” he exclaimed. He then proceeded to rub his hands together in glee. “Oh man, Rebecca is so not going to be able to kick my ass now that I’ve got this covered!”

I stopped mid-blow as I heard Spencer speak, that name triggered something inside of me.

“Who’s Rebecca?” I asked.

“Oh, she’s my coworker. Well, she’s my friend, too, but we bicker more than we get along. She’s best buds with the wife-to-be, though. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, nothing. I just…remember someone with the same name,” I murmured, going back to my training.

Rebecca…it was a name I hadn’t heard in a long time, not since I left my hometown long ago. It was too much of a coincidence if Spencer was referring to the same girl, and ‘Rebecca’ was too common for a girl’s name.

Still…it triggered some memories I haven’t thought about in a long time.

“How about we go to the office later and sign the contract, eh?” Spencer suggested.

“You’re very thorough, aren’t you?” I countered.

“Hey, I wouldn’t want you backing out on me,” he replied, grinning.

“A couple more sets and we can hit the showers,” I told him.

 

***

 

I let Spencer lead me to his brother’s office, all the while giving me a brief description of the people I would mostly associate with while I was here.

He told me about his stoic senior, Jason, and his close friend from college who works in the information and data security, Elliot, and the woman he called Rebecca, who had only recently joined in, but worked with him in the past. I was amused by his descriptions of his colleagues because he didn’t describe how they looked, but rather their attitude and behavior. When I asked him about a brief description on what they looked like, he just shrugged and said, “They look OK, I guess.”

He burst through double doors without knocking, but the man behind the desk wasn’t the least bit startled as he barely spared us a glance while he talked to someone on the phone. Spencer gave him a maniacal smile before settling his ass on the chair in front of the desk, gesturing towards the chair across from him for me to take. I closed the doors first before doing what he said, and waited for his brother to finish the call.

After a couple of minutes, Spencer’s brother nodded and hung up the phone before adjusting the papers scattered on his desk, still not looking at us.

“I see your impending marriage hasn’t done anything to improve your lack of tact, Spence,” he said, flipping through a document before putting his signature on it.

“I highly doubt even George’s powers would be capable of turning me into a respectable guy,” Spencer answered slyly before nodding his head in my direction. “Anyways, I brought my replacement. He’s here to sign some shit. Chase, this is Michael Gardner, ex-Special Forces. Michael, this is my brother, Chase. He’s ex-army.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Chase said politely, extending his hand for me to shake. We shook hands before he furrowed his eyebrows at his brother, scrutinizing him. “Did he come willingly or did you kidnap him? Because I don’t want a repeat of what happened with Elliot, you hear?”

“Aw, come on, bro. That shit’s all water under the bridge. Besides, Elliot likes it here now, right? So no harm done!” he explained. Chase rolled his eyes, shaking his head before turning his attention back to me.

“So, before we go to the actual ‘shit signing’, I need to know what sort of lies my brother told you to get you to apply here. For transparency, you know?” he said, folding his hands over his desk. I smirked at him.

“He just told me it would be worthwhile,” I said, before showing him my prosthetic leg. “He also said it was going to make me feel useful again after my Army stint left me with this.”

He gave me a critical eye and said nothing, and like his brother, he didn’t look at me with pity after showing him my leg. I could see the resemblance between them now.

“Well, he got that right, at least. A first for my brother, I must say,” Chase said mildly.

“Hey!” Spencer called, taking offense.

“It just so happens that Spencer here will be taking an indefinite leave after his wedding, so we will need someone to fill his spot,” Chase said, smiling slightly. “The call I got earlier was a request for three units, but since I’m confident with the agent I had in mind, I told them only two people would suffice. What do you say? Would you like to fill the other position?” he asked.

I blinked at him.

“What? Just like that?” I asked, and he nodded.

“Just like that.”

“You’re not even going to ask me about my skills? Techniques? Anything?”

“My little brother’s manners may be questionable at best--,” he started.

“Do you really have to say that?” Spencer cried.

“But if it’s one thing I know, he has an eye for people. He wouldn’t have vouched for you if he didn’t think you were going to be good at this type of job. Besides, I’m sure our resident hacker could find out every single thing about you, so why bother asking?” Chase said.

“So I’m hired?” I clarified, and he nodded.

“I’ll contact my attorney and have the paperwork ready for you.”

“Sweet!” Spencer cried. “By the way, what’s the assignment and who’s he going to be working with?”

“It’s a request to protect a singer, and by extension, the singer’s daughter, which is why they asked for more than one person to take on the job. Michael, you’re going to be supporting one of our agents in this mission, which will also serve as your trial because the both of you are new recruits.”

“You mean my partner for this mission is a newcomer, as well?” I asked. “Is that wise? I mean, shouldn’t you put me alongside a veteran?”

“Well, we say she’s a newcomer, but to be honest, she has more experience working in this field than Spencer. She just recently transferred her contract over to us, which is why she’s considered a new recruit,” Chase explained.

“Oh, awesome! You’re pairing him up with Red! Nice,” Spencer exclaimed. I furrowed my brows at him. “Oh, I mean Rebecca. Red is just a nickname because of her red hair,” he expanded.

My eyebrows shot straight up at this additional description. Surely not a lot of redheads were named Rebecca, were there?

“Um, excuse me, sir,” I said, addressing Chase. “May I please ask my partner’s full name? I think I know someone matching her description,” I said honestly.

“Certainly. Her name is Rebecca Hayes,” he provided, and my heart stopped. “Well? Do you know her?”

Hell yes. Oh, I knew her, alright.