I nod and follow Zander down to the first floor. He goes right down the hallway to the last door on the left. Knocking, he opens it, and ushers me in. It’s a small room with a bunch of monitors displaying different parts of the house and yard. Nick is sitting in front of the monitors, watching the screens.
“Report, Nick,” Zander says.
“All clear, Z. Only the reporters at the end of the driveway, who were denied entry,” he replies, glancing at me before returning to the screens.
“Good. Summer, I’ll catch up with you in a little while,” Zander says, and leaves, closing the door.
Nick doesn’t say anything to me, so I take a seat in the chair beside him. He clicks on the keyboard, flipping through cameras and watching the monitors. I can see Finn employees are spread out everywhere.
“What should I watch out for?” I ask, sliding the container of cookies towards him.
“The ex and anyone suspicious,” his gravelly voice replies, grabbing a cookie but not taking his eyes off the screens.
That’s the most words I’ve heard from him yet. Not speaking may be his default, but he is on a job, so it’s good he’s taking it seriously. I keep an eye mostly on the outside area since there seem to be more Finn employees inside the house where the party is. It’s pretty boring work, but I try to stay diligent. After a few hours, I stand and notice a small fridge in the corner. I open it up to find soda and water. As I reach for a Coke, I ask Nick if he wants anything. “Water” is all I get in response.
I grab a water and unscrew the cap, and set it in front of the keyboard. As I sit back down, I continue to monitor the outside area and notice movement in the left hedge. There don’t seem to be any Finn employees nearby. “Nick, there’s something in the hedge. It might be nothing, but...”
Nick looks over to where I’m pointing and talks into his comms. “Jensen, check the hedges 25ft north of your position.”
I watch as someone slinks along the hedge where I noticed the movement. Jensen pushes into the bushes about 10 ft before the spot I pointed to. A few minutes later, two guys come back through the shrubs. “Reporter apprehended” comes through my earpiece.
“Copy, en route,” comes from Zander. Jensen is walking quickly, holding onto a guy’s arm. Zander runs up to them, and they escort the guy to the guard post. I hear nothing else, so I’m assuming they turned off comms.
Around 20 minutes later, a police car arrives at the guard post. The police place the man in the back of the car and drive off.
The party winds down by 1am, with nothing else exciting happening except for the removal of a few drunk guests and some heavy making out. Only the bride’s family remains in the house. I remember from the handouts at the meeting yesterday, they’re staying the night here.
Once Troy gives the all clear, Nick packs up his laptop and turns off the monitors. I get up, following him out into the hallway. He says nothing, only looks back to make sure I’m following him out to the guardhouse. Seb and Bay are there, along with a few other Finn employees. I wait quietly beside Seb until eventually everyone working shows up, including my father. “Are you okay, Summer?” Zander asks.
“Yeah, I’m good.” I give him a tired smile. It’s not often I’ve been up this late on purpose and using my brainpower.
After nodding at me, he turns to everyone else. “Debrief at 9am tomorrow. Thanks, everyone. You can head out.” He turns back to me again. “Summer, Jensen is going to fly the chopper back. You can ride home with me. I’m parked by the house,” he smiles.
I walk back to the house when Seb yells, “Bye, Sunshine.” I turn and wave as he and Nick head to the staff parking.
“So, how was your first security detail?” Zander asks.
“I enjoyed the helicopter ride a lot. I found the monitors boring, but things got interesting when they caught the reporter.”
He chuckles. “Yeah, that’s not my favorite part either. Let’s go home and rest.”
Chapter 24
Zander and I drive into the office the following morning for the debriefing, and I sit beside Seb again at the end of the conference table. “Hey Sunshine. How are ya? Did you sleep well? Did you like the helicopter ride? Want to join the security team yet?”
I shake my head, smiling. “Good. Yes. Yes. Maybe.”
Troy comes in following the rest of the employees, walking to the front of the room. “Okay, everyone, let’s get started,” he says. Each team member summarizes his or her night, including any issues they had or suggestions for next time. Zander takes notes on his phone as people talk. When it’s Nick’s turn, he mentions I spotted the hedge moving, and everyone shifts their attention towards me.
“Sunshine, you saw that?” Seb asks.
“Um, yeah,” I nod, feeling my face flush red.
“You’re a natural!” He exclaims. “Z, we gotta get her trained up for real,” Seb tells him.
Zander holds up a hand for Seb to stop talking and gives me a smile, telling Nick to continue. Once done, Troy and Zander give their reports, and the meeting wraps up. Zander asks me to give him a few minutes before we leave, so the guys and I hang back around the table.
“You did well catching that movement, Summer,” Bay comments.
