half-moon eyes still blazing at Jason.
‘Well, I’m Charley, and I
can’t tell you how glad I am not to be the only girl here any more.’
‘Of course you’re
not,’ said Ling, pointing to a small group of girls at a table beneath the
hall’s main window. ‘You should join us, instead of hanging with this
loser.’
Charley was amazed at the sudden influxof female buddyguards at the school. Colonel Black had been true to his word after
all. ‘Thanks, I’d love to. I just need to catch up with my team
first.’
‘Sure,’ said Ling, flashing
Charley a smile beforenarrowing her eyes once more at Jason.
‘Meathead here probably needs your help to eat.’
Jason scoffed. ‘Can I borrow your
bib and high chair then?’
Ling flippedhim the finger. ‘Eat
this,’ she said.
As Ling strolled away to join the other
girls, José and David exchanged astonished looks at the girl’s brazen
attitude.
‘She’s a fiery one,’
remarked Blake.
Jason surprised them all by grinning and
saying, ‘Yeah, I like her.’
‘Careful what you wish for,’
said José. ‘She might end up in your team.’
‘
Jason’s
team?’exclaimed Charley as she chose her lunch. ‘What’s happened
to our team?’
‘Given the number of new recruits,
the colonel plans to split us into different squads – Alpha, Bravo, Charlie
and Delta,’ explained José.
Charley frowned. ‘That’s the
first I’ve heard about it.’
‘He wants us experienced
buddyguards to babysit the newbies,’ said David.
‘Yeah, and by thelooks of it
they’re gonna
need
babysitting,’ remarked Jason, nodding in the
direction of a skinny Indian boy. ‘Where did the colonel find that
beanpole?’
‘Bodyguarding’s not all
about muscle,’ Charley told him.
‘Well, let’s hope his brains
are bigger than his biceps, for his
and
his Principal’s sake,’
muttered Jason, filling his plate with a mountain of pasta andsauce.
After lunch,
Charley chatted with the girls before jet lag finally caught up with her. Yawning,
she left the dining hall and headed up to her room. But she was stopped at her door
by Blake.
‘So, are you really OK?’ he
asked. ‘I heard from the colonel it was a pretty rough assignment.’
Charley responded with a tired smile.
‘Yeah, it didn’t exactly go accordingto plan.’
‘But you did your job and
that’s what counts,’ he said, trying to reassure her. When she
didn’t reply, he took both her hands in his. ‘I was really worried about
you, Charley,’ he admitted.
‘That’s sweet of you, Blake.
But I’m fine. It was my Principal who got shot.’ Charley felt a
tightening in her throat. ‘I-I tried to give her body cover, but there werejust too many bullets flying …’
Blake wrapped his arms round her and
drew her to him. Charley closed her eyes and hugged him back.
After the smoke-bomb incident, their
relationship had stalled for a while. But Blake had been persistent and, against her
better judgement, the two of them had become an item. Charley had made it clear,
though, that they needed to keep itlow key. She had no intention of being judged by
their relationship rather than her ability as a bodyguard. Yet at moments like these
she was deeply glad of Blake. Assignments took their toll and it was comforting to
have someone she could talk to and rely on, even if they did barely see each other
between missions.
Blake lifted her chin with his finger
and stared intohereyes. ‘I missed you,’ he said.
Gently brushing aside a lock of her hair, he went to kiss her.
‘There you are, Charley!’
called Jody. Their instructor bounded up the stairs. ‘The colonel wants to see
you right now.’
The colonel’s office was a large
wooden-panelled affair furnished with high-back red leather chairs and a heavy
mahogany desk. The faint aroma of polished wood and rich leather gave the rooman
aristocratic air. Yet the antique design and old-world atmosphere contrasted sharply
with the state-of-the-art LED displays on
‘Well, I’m Charley, and I
can’t tell you how glad I am not to be the only girl here any more.’
‘Of course you’re
not,’ said Ling, pointing to a small group of girls at a table beneath the
hall’s main window. ‘You should join us, instead of hanging with this
loser.’
Charley was amazed at the sudden influxof female buddyguards at the school. Colonel Black had been true to his word after
all. ‘Thanks, I’d love to. I just need to catch up with my team
first.’
‘Sure,’ said Ling, flashing
Charley a smile beforenarrowing her eyes once more at Jason.
‘Meathead here probably needs your help to eat.’
Jason scoffed. ‘Can I borrow your
bib and high chair then?’
Ling flippedhim the finger. ‘Eat
this,’ she said.
As Ling strolled away to join the other
girls, José and David exchanged astonished looks at the girl’s brazen
attitude.
‘She’s a fiery one,’
remarked Blake.
Jason surprised them all by grinning and
saying, ‘Yeah, I like her.’
‘Careful what you wish for,’
said José. ‘She might end up in your team.’
‘
Jason’s
team?’exclaimed Charley as she chose her lunch. ‘What’s happened
to our team?’
‘Given the number of new recruits,
the colonel plans to split us into different squads – Alpha, Bravo, Charlie
and Delta,’ explained José.
Charley frowned. ‘That’s the
first I’ve heard about it.’
‘He wants us experienced
buddyguards to babysit the newbies,’ said David.
‘Yeah, and by thelooks of it
they’re gonna
need
babysitting,’ remarked Jason, nodding in the
direction of a skinny Indian boy. ‘Where did the colonel find that
beanpole?’
‘Bodyguarding’s not all
about muscle,’ Charley told him.
‘Well, let’s hope his brains
are bigger than his biceps, for his
and
his Principal’s sake,’
muttered Jason, filling his plate with a mountain of pasta andsauce.
After lunch,
Charley chatted with the girls before jet lag finally caught up with her. Yawning,
she left the dining hall and headed up to her room. But she was stopped at her door
by Blake.
‘So, are you really OK?’ he
asked. ‘I heard from the colonel it was a pretty rough assignment.’
Charley responded with a tired smile.
‘Yeah, it didn’t exactly go accordingto plan.’
‘But you did your job and
that’s what counts,’ he said, trying to reassure her. When she
didn’t reply, he took both her hands in his. ‘I was really worried about
you, Charley,’ he admitted.
‘That’s sweet of you, Blake.
But I’m fine. It was my Principal who got shot.’ Charley felt a
tightening in her throat. ‘I-I tried to give her body cover, but there werejust too many bullets flying …’
Blake wrapped his arms round her and
drew her to him. Charley closed her eyes and hugged him back.
After the smoke-bomb incident, their
relationship had stalled for a while. But Blake had been persistent and, against her
better judgement, the two of them had become an item. Charley had made it clear,
though, that they needed to keep itlow key. She had no intention of being judged by
their relationship rather than her ability as a bodyguard. Yet at moments like these
she was deeply glad of Blake. Assignments took their toll and it was comforting to
have someone she could talk to and rely on, even if they did barely see each other
between missions.
Blake lifted her chin with his finger
and stared intohereyes. ‘I missed you,’ he said.
Gently brushing aside a lock of her hair, he went to kiss her.
‘There you are, Charley!’
called Jody. Their instructor bounded up the stairs. ‘The colonel wants to see
you right now.’
The colonel’s office was a large
wooden-panelled affair furnished with high-back red leather chairs and a heavy
mahogany desk. The faint aroma of polished wood and rich leather gave the rooman
aristocratic air. Yet the antique design and old-world atmosphere contrasted sharply
with the state-of-the-art LED displays on
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