Her Bodyguard

Chapter Ten

Calida tore open the envelope that had been sitting on the floor at the door when they arrived. She spilled its contents on the table.

Calida rubbed her brows furiously. Someone had taken pictures of Alyssa at the bar while she was wasted. The pictures weren't something that would look great on the internet, because Alyssa was completely nude. Calida flipped the picture in her hand, there was a note on the back.

"Who knows, you might be next," Calida read out loud.

She chuckled, "that'll be over my dead body then."

The thing with the flash drive that Alyssa had sent was that it had a password. She was trying to crack the code herself. If she sent it to HQ, it would take longer.

Alyssa's password was a hard nut to crack, but not for Calida. The flash drive had more than just a video, there were files as well. Calida opened the footage.

The first thing she heard was a girl screaming. A young girl. She could hear Alyssa talking in the background. She paused the video, grabbed a headset, and pulled it on. She played the video again. Halfway through, she paused. Her hands were balled into fists. Her blood boiled.

The men Izar and her friends had met were not ordinary drug dealers, they trafficked children as well. Calida pulled off her headset in a fit of rage.

The documents in the flash drive contained video evidence as well as documents and official papers for the trafficked children. There were pictures as well. Another document had a report of which child had been trafficked and which child was yet to be sold.

Alyssa wasn't just some ordinary student. She was majoring in investigative journalism. This wasn't any coincidence. She had been carrying out the investigation long before she met Izar.

The problem now was, whoever was somehow linked to Alyssa was also in trouble. Calida wiped her brow. She made copies of the documents, the videos, and every other thing on the flash drive.

She got a new memory chip from her bag and moved everything in there. By the time she was done wiping her laptop, the memory chip was safely hidden in a gold pendant hanging from a chain around her neck.

°°

"I made coffee," Calida announced.

That seemed to make Izar alert. Calida had woken early as always. She'd done her morning run and lifted some weights in her room. Her morning routine would usually be packed with exercising and relaxing, but it was different whenever she was on a job.

"Thank you. Did you have a good night?" Izar asked, taking a sip of coffee. She groaned softly when she tasted the coffee.

"I wouldn't call it a good night, but it was alright. What do you want for breakfast? I'm making french toasts and smoothies."

"You're my bodyguard you know, not my cook."

Calida chuckled, "I know."

"So why make me breakfast and good coffee? Your coffee is so good."

"I spent years drinking colored water in place of coffee, I had to learn to make it. And I don't mind cooking, Izar. If I wasn't already a bodyguard, I'd have been a chef."

"Really?"

"Yeah. So, what do you want?"

"Jeez, I'm going to take advantage of all your culinary skills. Just know that."

"It's alright. I have no complaints, except that you can't wake me up in the middle of the night just cause you're hungry."

Izar shrugged, she drank the last bit of coffee in her cup and smiled. "I won't be making any promises, Calida."

"So?"

"Bacon and eggs. I'll also have a bit of toast too."

"Done. Go clean up. I'll set up the table."

"Okay. Thanks, Calida."

A few minutes later, Izar was back in the kitchen. She wore light blue bootcut jeans and a white off-shoulder crop top.

At first, she hadn't been paying attention, but when she did, she realized Calida was ready as well. She was wearing ripped jeans and a turtle neck sweater, that hugged her body. As usual, she had her gun holster and Izar could see her gun for the first time. It was not the same one her father had given her. This one had a silver-colored grip.

Calida served the food and they ate silently. When they were done eating, Izar offered to help clear the table, but Calida paid her no attention.

"Go wear your shoes. I'll clean up and put the dishes in the dishwasher."

After cleaning up, Calida got her varsity jacket and shoes from her room. After she wore her boots, she cuffed her jeans. Her hair was in a perfect ponytail already. Satisfied with how she looked, she left her room.

"Izar! Are you ready to leave?" Calida asked.

"Yeah, give me a minute. I'll be out."

"I'm going to get the car. We're taking mine."

"Okay! Cool."

Calida walked out of the house. She got the car and parked in front of the house, waiting for Izar. It took another two minutes before Izar walked out of the house. Calida got the door for her as always.

"Thank you," Izar said. She got into the car. As they drove away, she turned to Calida, "did you turn on the security system?"

"It's always turned on, Miss Sterling. You don't have to worry."

"I know. I just can't help it. We haven't seen Alyssa yet and we're yet to hear from Han. I'm really worried."

"You don't have to be. I'm here to protect you, Miss Sterling. I'll keep you safe as I promised."

Calida wanted to hold her hand and comfort her. It was easy not to think about what she wanted because she always put her job first. But with Izar, it was becoming difficult.

°°

Calida sat next to Izar in class. She sat quietly, listening to what the professor was saying. She was never a big fan of philosophy and she was beginning to wonder why Izar was taking the course as well. What did she have to do with some ancient Greek scholar?

The only good part of this whole thing was that she didn't have to face Prof. Gina. That was one person she needed to, wanted to avoid.

"Are you okay?" Izar whispered.

"I'm fine. Concentrate on the class. We only have fifteen minutes left," Calida responded.

Izar looked at her, confused. When she didn't get any reaction, she turned her attention to the professor.

The class ended an hour later. Calida led Izar out of the crowded class. But as she turned to a corner, she walked right into someone.

"Ooof!"

The person dropped their things. Calida politely bent down to help pick the papers and books. She raised her head to stare at the person she had bumped into.

"Oh fuck."

Professor Gina was looking back at her dark eyes.