Beauty and the Bodyguard

Chapter 2: Showdown

"Ma'am, Sir, this is the team - Dhawan and Siraj will be setting up the surveillance room, with shifts changing every 8 hours for optimal security. Parameter and office security teams have already been deployed. For your individual security, Yuzi will be with you Mr. Gill, Mrs. Gill will have Yash, Rinks here will accompany Ms. Gill at all times, and we've paired Ishan with Mr. Gill Jr. We have all our personnel files here if you wish to peruse - every member is fully trained and is perfectly suitable to take on any dangers."

Mr. and Mrs. Gill, sitting beside each other, apprised the team silently. They looked every inch the silver spoon-fed rich snobs, Ishan thought bitterly, who probably thought the stray dogs outside the gate were the real danger.

After a beat, Mr. Gill spoke.

"We...are very thankful for your assistance, Mr. Rohit. Shera spoke very highly of you, but you must understand - we are putting our and the children's safety in your hands. The team we had in the past was good, no doubt, but what we are looking for is a bit different. Our children are sensitive to strangers, and it makes our jobs very difficult if security is always in the way. So we'll need to come up with something that works with both parties involved. Is that something we can do, Mr. Rohit?"

"Absolutely sir, you will have no issues from ICT. Now, let us meet our charges, shall we?"

Everyone dispersed, and Ishan wandered around the house, taking in all the entry and exit points and the people milling around; he was told that the young Mr. Gill was due to come home in about 15 minutes - apparently, he took some classes, and then joined his father's office in the evening. Ishan couldn't wait to meet this shehzaada, this superhuman who apparently studied, managed a company, and if he really was 24, partied and kept a string of girlfriends.

He was about to enter the kitchen when a maid called him to let him know that "Shubman baba was in his room". Well, here goes nothing, he thought, and climbed the stairs to a room at the far end of the hallway.

He knocked, and heard a soft 'come in.'

Whatever he expected from the room of a millionaire, this was not it. For starters, it looked incredibly cozy. There was a bed and a couch, a study table, and a wardrobe, but what really grabbed Ishan's attention was the light hitting the room - it looked like a sanctuary more than a room. It looked lived in, with the book-filled racks, the softest couch, and throw blankets everywhere - it was a far cry from the sterile rooms he had seen in some of the posher homes. The room was filled with art - postcards and graffiti - and in the middle of them stood a boy.

Ishan blinked.

Whoa, his new charge was hot.

He had seen the photos of young Mr. Gill of course, but they did not do him justice. He looked like a god cursed to live among mortals, with cheekbones that could cut through glass, and eyes that looked like two orbs of molten chocolate; he stood a couple of inches taller than Ishan (which was an easy feat), and reminded Ishan of runway models.

He looked equally gobsmacked to find Ishan in his room, but Ishan quickly remedied that.

"I am your new bodyguard, Mr. Gill."

He extended his hand for a shake, but Mr. Gill stood stock still.

Maybe he was hard of hearing? Ishan thought.

"I AM YOUR NEW BODYGUARD, MR. GILL." he all but shouted.

Mr. Gill smiled at that, and replied,

"Oh, I can hear you."

Ishan turned a brilliant shade of red. Great, first day and I have already made a fool of myself in front of my employer.

He pointed at his hand again, at which Mr. Gill shook it and gave him a small smile.

"A bodyguard, huh? How old are you?"

"Old enough to protect you, Mr. Gill."

"Please call me Shubman, Mr. Gill makes me sound like I am 50."

"Sure, Mr. Shubman Gill."

Mr. Gill, no, Shubman let out a hearty laugh at that.

Ishan was aware that he was staring shamelessly, but he could not help it. He had been around the world, and seen thousands of people, but none came even closer to the beauty that was Shubman Gill. It wasn't even the face, or the physique (it truly did seem to be carved by Michelangelo) but the way he laughed, the way it made you want to believe that everything was right in the world...

Alright alright, Ishan scolded his mind, stop drooling over your boss.

"I am sorry, I am being awfully rude. What's your name?"

"IshKi."

"I am sorry, what?"

"Um, it's Ishan, sir."

"So what was that earlier?"

"It's...it's our codenames, sir. We need those during our missions."

"Riiighht."

An awkward silence descended over them. Ishan had never been this quiet ever since he was born, he was sure of it. But put him in front of his equally awkward boss, and he was as tongue-tied as Surya Bhau on 3 shots of vodka. Still, Ishan was nothing if not accommodating.

"So Mr. Gill..."

"Shubman, please."

"No can do, boss. Mr. Gill, tell me something about yourself no one knows."

Shubman's face whipped around at that.

"What? Why?"

Now in his element, Ishan walked around his boss's room, checking the perimeter and trying to get a good read of the person he was assigned to protect.

"IshKi style samajh lo. I need to know what kind of person you are, if you will be willing to follow orders when your life is at stake. So, tell me a secret."

He waited, while his boss seemed to go through some internal debate. Finally, he answered.

"I don't like people standing too close to me. I've always hated it."

Ishan nodded. He was more of a hugger, but he was sure that hugging duties were not on his task list when it came to his boss.

"Alright then bucko - let's kick some enemy ass."