William Redman Carter: Chapter 20

Posted: December 20, 2005 - 08:30:03 pm



William walked out the front door of his house to await his visitor. His daytime

bodyguard, Colt, walked behind him wondering why they had come outside. For all

he knew, they had left the house just to stand around all day in the sunshine.

His eyes automatically checked the surroundings for any threats.

The two men headed over to the driveway with William leading the way. A minute

later, a rental car pulled up in the driveway. Colt glared at it as if it were a

direct threat. He relaxed when a green robed Druid stepped out. Looking over at

William out of the corner of his eye, Colt asked, "You were expecting a Druid?"

"Yes."

The Druid asked, "Are you William?"

"I am," answered William raising his right hand to shoulder height with his

first finger extended. It was the same gesture used by students everywhere when

answering roll call in school.

"I'm Cole," said the Druid looking over the young man with undisguised

curiosity. He didn't see the family resemblance with the Reverend. The Reverend

was black and this kid appeared to be Native American. "Your grandfather told me

that you have a problem here that could use my assistance."

"What problem?" William asked wondering what kind of details his grandfather had

provided the Druid about his neighbors.

"You have a neighbor with an emotional disorder," answered the Druid.

"I guess you could say that," said William. He looked up at the sky and watched

a small bug fly past. It was hard to say if Teenage Wasting Disease was really

an emotional problem or a problem with seeing reality.

"I'm a healer."

"Ah." Looking over at the Druid, he felt there was something else unusual about

him. Making a wild guess, he asked, "Are you a student at the Druid College?"

"Yes, I am. I'm a third year," said Cole.

On mention of the fact that he was a third year student, Oscar was reminded of

another third year student. He asked, "How's Oscar Meyers?"

Colt stared at William wondering why he was asking about a lunch meat company.

The little song about wanting to be a hotdog flitted through his mind. The

question didn't make sense unless it was some sort of inside joke from the

college concerning the food there. He was further confused by Cole's answer,

"He's fine. He's studying the Bible with your grandfather."

It was old news that his grandfather was teaching at the Druid College, but it

explained how Cole knew the man. Looking at the Druid, he asked, "How is my

Grandfather doing?"

"He's fine," answered Cole. "He sends his regards."

"I'll have to call him later," said William wondering why his grandfather hadn't

told him about sending out a Druid to help Jennifer with her problem. He flashed

on a vision of Oscar, the Reverend, a Rabbi, and another man gathered in a

street in Jerusalem. All of them were servants of their Gods.

Cole saw that William had an expression as though he were watching something

happen far away, but chose not to disturb him. When William appeared to return

to the here and now, Cole asked, "So what's the problem with the neighbor?"

"She suffers from Teenage Wasting Disease. If she isn't cured soon, she's going

to die," answered William while he knelt down and looked off towards the

horizon. He could see her death as clear as the trees that lined the front of

his house. He glanced at Cole and hoped that the young Druid would be able to

save her.

Cole nodded his understanding while Colt looked at William confused by the name

of the disease. He'd never heard of it and wondered if it was contagious. He was

about to ask, but then realized that they were talking about an emotional

problem and you didn't catch emotional problems.

"What's her name?"

"Jennifer," answered William. He thought about mentioning the mother and how she

blamed him for the daughter's problems.

"Can you tell me anything about what triggered it?"

"She came over here once. We talked, but she was basically a young teenage girl

in high school. I guess she decided that we would be an item, but there was no

way that was going to happen. She decided to starve herself to death to look

prettier for me," said William. Shrugging, he said, "I suggested to the mother

that they get help, but she didn't want to listen. There was nothing more that I

could do."

"You're right. There's nothing you can do," said Cole with regret. His hand went

to the medallion around his neck and caressed it. Reassured by its warmth, he

said, "Perhaps I can do something. Take me to them."

William shook his head as if refusing the request. His face had an expression on

it as if he had just discovered half of a worm in his apple. William said, "It's

the house next door."

Gesturing towards the street, Cole said, "Lead the way."

"This is not what I want to be doing," said William as he rose from his kneeling

position. He'd been dreading this moment since Cole had shown up in a vision the

previous evening.

"But you're going to do it anyway."

Colt had finally figured out what Teenage Wasting Disease was. He wondered why

William was so reluctant to go next door. He asked, "So what's the big deal?"

"The mother blames me for the fact that her daughter refuses to eat," answered

William shaking his head. He frowned as he flashed on the future. Disgusted at

what he had seen, he said, "You will have to restrain her after she answers the

door."

Colt lifted an eyebrow at the statement. He wasn't sure that he believed what

William had said, but he wasn't going to take a chance. If the young man

suspected danger, he'd be ready for it. Clearing his throat, he said, "If she

moves towards you, back away. I'll step in and hold her."

"I thought you said it was the girl with the problem."

"The mother thinks I'm the reason the girl has the problem. I really think that

you should go over there without me," William said.

Hearing that it was a mother protecting her child, made Colt reconsider allowing

William to go over there. Nothing was more dangerous than an excited mother. He

said, "I'd rather not have you go over there if there is a good chance she'll

attack you."

Cole looked at William for a moment trying to decide how to handle this

situation. He didn't want to go over there without an introduction and William

was the only one who could do it. He said, "We'll go over there and, if she

attacks you, then your guy can restrain her."

"I hope that I don't have to hurt her," Colt said shaking his head. He didn't

like the idea of going over there. Frowning, he said, "Maybe I ought to wake up

Rock."

Shaking his head, William knew that Colt would be able to handle the mother. He

said, "Let Rock sleep."

The Druid looked at the bodyguard and said, "I'll have to get background

information from the mother before I try to treat the daughter. Don't harm her."

"I don't like this," said the body guard. He grumbled to himself as he followed

the Druid to the house next door.

From a tree next to the house, a raven croaked. William looked up at the bird

and nodded his head acknowledging the warning the bird was giving him. Neither

of the two other men noticed the exchange between man and bird. Even if they

had, neither of them would have believed it as a true exchange of information.

The trio reached the front door. After a pause, it was William who rang the

doorbell. He took a step back and waited for Marjory Mitchell to answer. It

seemed like forever, but was probably only thirty seconds before the door

opened. William said, "Hello, Mrs. Mitchell."

Spotting William, Marjory felt her blood boil. She stepped forward and, with her

hands clenched in fists, shouted, "You little bastard! Have you come over here

to make sure she dies?"

"I'm here to save her life," said William holding up his hands in a

non-threatening manner. He stepped back as the angry woman leapt towards him

with arms outstretched and hands reaching towards his throat to strangle him.

All rationality appeared to have fled the woman. She was practically foaming at

the mouth.

Because of William's warning, Colt was prepared to move in and subdue the woman

even though he hadn't been prepared for the insanity she displayed. He reached

her before she could touch William. It took him half a minute to get handcuffs

on the struggling mad woman. She practically ignored Colt despite the fact that

he was holding her back. Even after she was cuffed, she tried to kick William. A

stream of profanities emerged from her mouth.

"You weren't kidding, were you?" Cole said looking at the furious woman.

Realizing that he was going to have two patients instead of one, Cole let out a

sigh. Turning to the body guard, he held out his hand for the key to the

handcuffs.

Colt handed the key over without stepping away or releasing the woman. He knew

that if he let go of the woman, she'd be all over William in a second despite

the fact that her hands were cuffed behind her back. He looked over at William,

expecting to see anything except pity on the young man's face. William was

looking at the woman in pity.

The Druid looked at the woman and saw that he would have his work cut out for

him. In a calming voice, he said, "Marjory, I am here to help you save the life

of your daughter."

In an effort to calm the situation, William retreated out of her direct line of

sight. Cole moved over and took charge of the woman. The woman crumpled against

the Druid, sobbing wildly. Barely intelligible, she said, "He's killing my

daughter."

Colt stepped away from the Druid while staring at the woman. When he reached

William's side, he whispered, "I'm not sure this is legal."

"I don't think so, either," said William in a soft voice. He gestured towards

Cole and said, "Doing it this way was his idea."

"I don't care whose idea it was, those are my cuffs on her."

After a few minutes of conversation, Cole went into the house with Marjory.

Hoping that all would turn out for the best, William said, "Let's return to the

house."

Colt walked beside William wondering why Ling had not warned him of the danger

living next door. Irritated at William for not having mentioned it in any of the

previous briefings, he asked, "Why didn't you tell me that your neighbor hated

you that much?"

"I've avoided thinking them as much as possible," answered William. He didn't

like the fact that he couldn't help them to get beyond their weakness.

Lucy walked across campus thinking about her schedule. Natalie walked next to

her watching the crowd for threats. Natalie moved in a deceptively casual

manner. They were passing the dorms when a young woman stepped in front of Lucy

and, aggressively pointing a finger at her, said, "You think you're something

special, don't you?"

Lucy froze and looked at the woman standing in front of her. It was Missy, her

former roommate. Forgetting that she had a body guard, Lucy answered, "Get out

of my way."

"Don't act like little miss innocent with me. I bet you're spreading your legs

like a two-bit whore for that famous boyfriend of yours," said Missy. The woman

had hated Lucy from the day she had moved into the dorm. Her parents, so

protective of the young woman, were sickening. The innocent wide-eyed expression

that Lucy wore irritated her beyond belief.

"Get out of my way," said Lucy moving to step around Missy. She didn't want to

have a scene with the young woman.

Missy was going to stop her, but suddenly found she was facing Natalie. The body

guard did not have a pleasant expression on her face. In fact, she looked ready

to kill. Without looking away from Missy, Natalie asked, "Lucy, is this woman

bothering you?"

"Yes, she is," answered Lucy thankful that Natalie was there.

"Get out of my way bitch. This has nothing to do with you," said Missy in a low

growl. She then made the biggest mistake of her life and slapped Natalie.

Natalie reacted and threw the woman to the ground. Rolling her over onto her

stomach, Natalie attached a handcuff to the woman's right wrist. She reached

down and grabbed Missy's left foot and pulled it back. The other end of the

handcuffs went around the ankle. Natalie stood and put her foot in the center of

Missy's back pinning her in place.

In all, it took less than five seconds for Natalie to render Missy helpless and

on the ground in an extremely awkward position. Missy reacted by spewing vile

threats of what she would do as soon as she got free. The fact that her face was

in the grass muffled her words beyond understanding. Her hate for Lucy blossomed

into something even uglier.

Surprised by the sudden violence, Lucy had stepped back several paces. Once

Missy had been subdued, she stepped forward to stand next to the woman on the

ground. She stood for a second staring at the sight in front of her. With just a

touch of satisfaction in her voice, she said, "I didn't know you could do that

with handcuffs."

Stepping back, Natalie pulled out her cell phone and dialed the campus police

while keeping a watchful eye on the area around her. After a short conversation

with the dispatcher, she closed the phone and put it away. Kneeling down, she

said, "You're a very stupid young woman. You assaulted me and I'm pressing

charges."

Missy screamed out her frustration. She rolled over onto her side and yelled,

"I'm going to kill both of you bitches!"

Staring at the woman on the ground, Lucy backed away. The look of pure hate on

the woman's face terrified her. She hadn't taken more than three steps when

Natalie said, "Stay here with me. I can't protect you if you run off."

Shaking, Lucy moved closer to Natalie. The bodyguard was tense, her eyes moving

constantly while seeking out threats from any quarter. The situation had

attracted attention and students began to crowd around them. In a commanding

voice, Natalie shouted, "Everyone get back."

The crowd didn't step back, but it did stop advancing. Lucy was reminded of the

effect that Ling had on crowds. William's mother could convey a threat with just

a look and the crowd would have backed away if she had been there.

It was several minutes before the campus police arrived on the scene with a

single cop driving a little golf cart. The policeman took one look at the woman

on the ground, the woman standing over her, and the youngest woman looking

terrified. The way Natalie was standing and acting identified her as a

professional. He got on his radio to call for backup and a real car. When he had

finished, he walked over to Natalie and asked, "What's going on here?"

"She struck me and I subdued her."

"Why would she strike you?" asked the cop looking down at the woman on the

ground. He'd never seen a person handcuffed in that manner.

"She was harassing my client and I stepped in to protect my client," said

Natalie.

"Your client?"

"I'm a bodyguard," answered Natalie. She reached into her purse and pulled out a

thin leather case. Opening it, she held up her private investigation license and

her carry permit for the cop to examine.

Looking over at Lucy, he asked, "Who is she?"

"Lucy Wilkins," answered Natalie.

"Never heard of her," said the cop wondering why she would need a bodyguard.

Glancing back at the woman on the ground, he asked, "What's the history between

them?"

"I don't know," answered Natalie. She glanced over at Lucy having wondered

exactly the same thing. The easiest way for a body guard to fail their job is

not to be informed about potential threats. The whole idea of blowing a job

assigned by Ling was enough to give her nightmares for a year.

Lucy stepped forward and said, "She was my roommate for most of my freshman

year."

"For most of your freshman year?" asked the cop knowing it was unusual for

students to change roommates during the course of a school year.

"I found her having sex on my bed and moved out with the help of my boyfriend,"

answered Lucy looking at Missy with disgust.

"Your boyfriend? Who is that?"

"William Redman Carter," answered Natalie as another police car pulled up at the

scene.

The cop recognized that name and looked over at Natalie. The reason for the

young woman having a bodyguard was obvious. Nodding, he said, "You'll need to

come by the station so that I can take a statement. I assume you are pressing

charges."

"That's right," said Natalie as two more cops came over to discover what was

going on.

Lucy watched as Natalie dealt with the cops. This was the first time that she

had ever been involved with a crime and was amazed with the ease with which

Natalie handled the situation. The discussion between the bodyguard and the

senior officer flowed without pause or interruption.

Once things were cleared up, Natalie took Lucy by the arm and led her away. Lucy

followed numbly to the student center. After making sure that Lucy was seated,

Natalie sat down opposite the young woman. Lucy was pale and her hands were

trembling. She kept seeing the expression of raw unbridled hate on her former

roommate's face.

"It's not that bad," said Natalie.

"She hates me," Lucy said. Confused, she said, "I don't understand. I never did

anything to her and she was so horrid to me. Why?"

"I don't know why. I've seen some pretty strange things in my time. You're

situation isn't all that abnormal."

"I'm glad you were here. I have no idea what I would have done if you hadn't

been here," said Lucy. The entire situation struck her as ironic. She had a

bodyguard because William was such a public figure, but it was someone from her

past who wanted to hurt her.

"That's my job," said Natalie examining the young woman. She knew that Lucy was

involved with William, but there was a sense of innocence to her that tugged at

her heart. She only hoped that the innocence of the young woman wouldn't make

her job harder.

"Do we have to tell William about this?" asked Lucy.

"Yes, we will cover it in our daily briefing," Natalie answered. She didn't know

what to make of Lucy's desire to keep the incident from her boyfriend.

That evening, eight people gathered around the dining room table to discuss the

events of the day. William sipped his hot chocolate and listened as Natalie

described the events on campus. Glancing over at Lucy, he said, "I was afraid of

that. When I heard what kinds of things the roommate had been doing, I knew that

Lucy was in danger."

"Danger?" asked Lucy.

"Yes. I had hoped that by moving out, the woman would get over it."

Face crinkled, Lucy asked, "What kind of danger?"

Looking around the table at the bodyguards, William answered, "I expected her to

arrange a rape at some point in time."

Lucy stared at William in shock. She looked over to the bodyguards seated around

the table finding them nodding their heads in agreement. Stunned by the

revelation, she asked, "Why?"

"She hated your innocence. When you started telling me about the kinds of things

she was doing, I could see that she wanted to destroy your innocence. Why do you

think that I moved you out so quickly?"

"But I didn't do anything to her!"

"You existed and that was enough," William said.

Rock said, "I'm surprised that you picked up on that, William."

When William had told her once about being disappointed in people after his

family had been attacked, Lucy had not understood. Sitting at the table and

hearing what was being discussed, she understood what he had been saying. She

was disappointed. Staring at the table, she said, "I'm sorry. I never thought it

was really that dangerous."

Glaring at William, Colt said, "Speaking of dangerous, it appears that the woman

next door is not quite sane. Even worse, she hates William."

All eyes turned to look at William. The young man didn't flinch at being the

sudden subject of attention. Rock asked, "What happened?"

Colt described the events of the morning. When he described the almost immediate

reaction of the woman to William's presence, the other bodyguards shook their

heads. Rock asked, "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I've avoided her," answered William.

"Did Ken know?"

"He's witnessed a tirade or two from Marjory."

Nicole swore and said, "I'm going to have a long talk with that man."

Raising a hand, William said, "He's not a professional bodyguard. His official

role here is as handyman and driver. The only reason he has a carry permit is

because Ling insisted. Leave him alone."

Natalie threw a manila folder on the table as she said, "Here's our first threat

file."

Throwing a second folder on the table, Colt said, "Here's our second one."

Nicole collected the two folders and went over to William's file cabinet.

Opening the top drawer, she filed the folders. Looking over at William, she

said, "You've got a couple dozen files in here of people who've threatened you

in the past. How come you never started a file on Marjory Mitchell?"

"I knew that she would never be a real problem for me," William answered. He

couldn't explain why he knew that, but he did.

"Well she is!"

Shaking his head, William replied, "No she's not. Cole is treating her. She'll

never be a threat again. Neither will her daughter."

Staring at William, Rock said, "You can't count on that."

Smiling at the denial, William said, "I can count on that."

Correcting himself, Rock said, "Maybe you can count on that, but we can't."

Looking around the table, Natalie said, "We'll have to start a folder on the

daughter, too. I guess I'll do that tomorrow."

Colt asked, "How many folders are there in the file?"

"Looks like about twenty or so," answered Nicole not bothering to count.

"We should update them over the next few weeks," said Rock. People moved and

circumstances changed. Someone who might have been a threat at one time might

have left town so that their significance was decreased. Frowning, he said, "I

think someone should call Ling and find out what files she has on the locals."

Lucy had listened to the discussion in horror. It dawned on her that the evening

discussions around the table were not friendly exchanges about what a good day

they had. Those discussions were actually working meetings in which information

about threats had been forwarded from one shift to the next. She realized that

was the same of the breakfast discussions.

Putting an arm around Lucy, William said, "Don't worry. You'll never get used to

it, but you'll learn how to cope with it. It's all part of being a public

figure."

"I can't live like that my whole life," Lucy said on the verge of tears.

"We won't live like this for much longer," William said. With a soft smile, he

said, "Even as we speak, our home is being built. Every morning, we'll wake up

to a glorious sunrise over an amazing view. Every night, we'll watch a

spectacular sunset. We'll be far enough from people that we won't be disturbed,

but close enough that we'll have a large network of friends."

"What about now?"

"Once my computations are complete, I'll be away for a while to write my

Dissertation. I expect it will take about three months. You'll have to stay here

and finish your classes," said William. Nodding in the direction of the

bodyguards, he added, "Pebbles and Bam Bam will go with me. Wilma and Betty will

stay with you."

Lucy laughed at the joke. Her laughter got even louder when she saw the looks of

horror on the faces of Natalie and Nicole. Rock grinned and winked at Colt.

Natalie was the first to recover and said, "If you ever call me Wilma or Betty,

you'll never sleep with me again Bam Bam."

Returning to the table, Nicole said, "That goes double for you, Pebbles."

The events of the day had upset Lucy more than she would have predicted. At the

moment, she wanted a little comforting. Taking William's hand, Lucy stood and

said, "Let's go to bed for a while."