Tucker's Law -- Babysitting a Pop Princess

Part 1 of 2: The Stage is Set

A cold December wind blew along the streets outside of The Garden. Earlier in the day, an unexpected winter storm had blanketed the city with a few inches of snow, which was now being kicked up by the wind and blown into the faces of the shivering taxi drivers, program and souvenir vendors, and other concert workers working outside the building. With their hats pulled low, and gloves, coats and scarves drawn tight around them, they were all waiting for the concert to end so they could try and make a few last bucks before heading home for the night, where they would, finally, be able to get warm once again.

Inside The Garden, the building was hot, as it rocked to the beat of another hard-pounding song being sung by the year's latest music and MTV sensation, Angel. The fans in the audience cheered wildly as the teenage singer danced around provocatively on stage, while singing her new, No.1 hit, "Catch Me If You Can!"

Angel was just another in the seemingly endless line of teenage, blonde, half-dressed, tattooed and pierced pop-rock stars in today's music scene. The type that began with Brittany Spears and who do just as much dancing, strutting, and writhing around on the stage, as they do singing, or lip-synching, as the case may be.

However, there was one major difference between Angel and the other Brittany-wannabes -- Angel could sing. She had a voice that could break glass, knock down walls, and melt an iceberg, all during the same song. Her voice could be soft and sweet while singing a ballad, then switch to a deep, throaty, sexy sound as she would belt out a hard pounding rock tune. It was amazing how such a strong and powerful a voice could come out of such a slender, almost fragile looking, 5'3" body.

She definitely had the gift, and if she wanted, she could make a living with just her voice. But she was young, and you only live once as they say, so for now, she chose to play the teenage diva while she had the looks and the energy to do it.

As she sang the final notes to her third encore song, the fans continued to stand and clap and scream their approval.

She finished the song and stood for a moment, just taking in all of the adulation coming her way.

"I love you New York," she yelled back to her fans, and with a final wave to the crowd, she ran off the stage.

The fans continued to cheer, hoping to draw her back her onstage for one last song, but when the lights came up, they knew the evening's entertainment was over. Most of the people began to work their way out of the building, while a few others stood around and talked, waiting for the "rush to the door" to thin out a little.

One fan, just an average looking guy, just stood and stared longingly at the stage for the longest time after the concert was over, and the kid cleaning the aisle he was in had to work around him to pick up the trash.

"Weird guy," thought the kid as he put another cup into the bag he was carrying around.

Such was the power that Angel had over her fans.

Meanwhile, backstage, Angel, was sitting quietly on a soft-cushioned sofa and sipping from a bottle of ice, cold water. All around her, people were running here and there, waiting on her hand and foot, making preparations to head back the hotel for the night. Every once in a while, someone would walk over to talk to her, offer congratulations on the great show, or tell her how great it was to meet her, and she would talk with each person for a minute or so, but really didn’t seem to be paying too much attention to them. It was just “another part of the job” to her.

It seemed that at 19 years old in November, and new to the business, Angel had learned quickly how it all worked. She worked hard to get where she was in the business, but she also was starting to let it get to her head a little.

For a star of her caliber, that was just as much a blessing as it was a curse, because while 99% of her fans were well behaved, there was still that 1%, which could become fanatical. In fact, in the last few months, one particular fan named Simon had been sending her cards, letters, presents and flowers, and it was beginning to make her uneasy. Luckily, she had Jim around, and she just let him handle those types of things.

Jim was James Mason, her bodyguard. A giant of a man, she had hired him early on in her career and he watched over her like an overprotective father watches over his child. Jim had been monitoring the things being sent by this one fan as well. The things he sent had started simple enough, but a few weeks before tonight's concert, Angel's publicist had brought a letter from this fan to Jim’s attention.

In it the fan professed his unending love for her, which, while strange, was nothing new. However, he ended it by saying that –-

"...We were meant to be together and I cannot bear to be apart from you any longer. I know our love will last forever, my dearest Angel. I will await your arrival in Boston so that I can ask you to marry me. I will love you forever and never let you leave me. We will die together before I ever let you go. Please say yes and let our life begin together.

Love always,

Simon."

When Jim read this, he knew this was not an ordinary fan, but someone who might be living in a fantasy world and who might just become dangerous. He told Angel about it, even asking her to consider rescheduling her travel arrangements to give this fan some time to cool down.

“That would just be such a pain,” she had said.

So the concert went on as scheduled, and while the odds of anyone actually acting on their fantasies was small, Jim made sure he was even more vigilant the entire time they were in the city. Now, with the concert over, he began to breathe just a little easier.

"Nothings happened so far," he thought to himself. "Now, just get her back to the hotel and safe in her room, then tomorrow we board the bus and we're off to New York City. If we're lucky, this guy was just another overly, excited fan, who was all talk and nothing more. Can't wait to put this one behind us."

The limo driver pulled into the parking garage at the back of the building and let Jim know things were set to go.

He looked across the room to see Angel speaking to one of the managers of the building. When he caught her attention, he nodded his head to let her know it was time to leave.

"It was great to meet you Mr. Thompson," Angel said with a warm, friendly smile on her face. "I loved performing here at The Garden. Maybe we can do it again someday?"

"Anytime you want to come back here to perform, you just let me know," Thompson said. "We'd love to have you here again."

She shook his hand, then put on her hat, coat and scarf, and walked with Jim towards the exit and the waiting limo.

Jim opened the door, and Angel stepped outside into the frigid night air. The cold wind was still blowing. A few fans who had stood around, waiting and hoping, for one last glimpse of Angel, began to call her name.

"Angel you were wonderful," yelled one fan. "Would you sign my program please?" But Angel just gave a curt wave and headed for the limo.

Jim had been watching the whole thing take place, and just shook his head in dismay. “How hard would it have been to take a few seconds to sign that kids program,” he asked himself. “Oh, well, not my business I guess.”

As she walked towards the limo, he continued to scan the crowd one more time for any trouble. Then, just as Angel reached the limo door, a young man jumped out from the crowd and called her name.

"Angel, it's me, Simon," he called. "I'm here as I promised I'd be."

Angel looked over at him, frozen in fear, while Jim quickly assessed the entire situation. The man stood about 25 feet away. He was about 5'10" and 180 pounds. Just kind of average looking, not muscular, not much of anything actually.

Angel didn't know how to react. She had never faced a fan like him before, but Jim knew exactly what needed to be done.

"Sorry Simon, Angel can't talk to you right now," he said. "She has an interview to do and then needs to get rest for the next stop on the tour. Thank you for coming out tonight though."

As he was talking, Jim was slowly putting himself between Simon and Angel, while guiding her to the limo.

"I wasn't talking to you," Simon said, the anger rising in his voice. "I'm talking to Angel. Who the hell are you, anyway."

"I'm Angel’s friend, and she has to go now," Jim said as he was finally able to get Angel into the car and close the door. He then began to walk to the front passenger door so he could get in.

Suddenly, Simon tossed the flowers on the ground and started running towards the limo.

"Angel, Angel, don't leave," he yelled.

Just when he thought he would be able to open the back door to the limo, Jim intercepted him and pushed him back away from the limo.

"I'm sorry, but we have to go now," Jim said.

"Get out of my way," Simon snarled. "Angel and I are meant to be together."

By now police sirens could be heard in the distance, as someone in the crowd had called on their cell phone.

"What do you say, let's not have any trouble," Jim said, trying to calm the man down.

Simon was not to be denied, however, and he ran forward and tried to push past Jim. But, Jim was just too big for him and easily pushed him back, this time knocking him to the ground in the process.

"No one will get in my way," Simon snarled angrily, and began to get up for one more run at the limo.

Jim stood his ground and waited for Simon's next attack, then sidestepped the lunging man at the last minute. Simon smashed into the limo hard, then turned to take a swing at the bigger man and missed. Jim just used Simon's forward momentum from the swing, and let him fall to the ground one more time.

As Simon got up, Jim was beginning to tire from this and hoped the sirens, which were getting louder now, would bring the police here soon to put an end to this. He never saw Simon reach into his coat pocket though.

"Come on man, let's just call it a night and go our separate ways," he said.

"Never," said Simon. "I am here to take Angel away."

As he said that, he raised his hand and Jim saw the gun for the first time. Simon fired three shots – all of which hit Jim in the chest, slamming him back against the limo. He stood looking at Simon in disbelief, then slowly slid to the ground and into unconsciousness.

The limo driver, instead of hitting the accelerator and getting the car and Angel out of there, jumped out of the car to try to help Jim. Simon calmly turned and fired, killing him instantly.

Angel was in shock at what she had just witnessed, but she still got out of the limo and rushed to Jim’s side. She knelt down next to him, crying, not sure what she should do to help him.

Simon calmly walked over to her, grabbed her arm and tried to pull her up.

"Let's go," he said, but Angel struggled against him. As he got ready to try and subdue the struggling singer, a police car pulled up and two officers jumped out of the car.

Panicked, Simon let Angel go, then turned, fired a few shots at the cops, and then ran into the darkness.

Angel rushed back to Jim, holding on to him and pleading with him to hold on, that help was on the way.

The two officers decided not to give chase. Instead, one called for an ambulance, while the other tried to help Jim. That split-second decision made by those officers probably saved Jim’s life.

However, somewhere out in the darkness, Simon was planning his next move to make Angel his wife.

===

The sun was setting behind the clouds as Tucker drove north on the Garden State Parkway back towards New York City. He was heading home after a nice, relaxing week-long vacation down the shore in Asbury Park, New Jersey. While he loved the countryside and owned a nice home on a few acres in Connecticut, he still loved to visit the seashore every chance he got.

"Nothing like looking out at the ocean to relieve all of life’s little stresses and tensions," Tucker thought to himself.

He loved the beach and went down to the Jersey Shore as much as he could. Spring, summer, fall, winter, it didn't matter. Every season was beautiful in its own way there.

The sounds of the waves crashing and the call of the seagulls could be almost hypnotic, and he would lose himself for hours just sitting with his eyes closed, listening to the sounds at the seashore.

The week came to an all-to-soon end, and now he was heading back into the city and wondering what his next assignment would be.

As he drove, his mind wandered back to his old friend Stacy. He wondered how she was getting along after the ordeal she went though a few months back. He had heard from her uncle, Nicholas Salvatore, who also was his boss, that she was doing better and was back in school teaching.

She was a strong woman, Tucker always knew that. They had known each other since childhood and had become good friends. As a young girl, she would never allow any of the other kids to push her around. She always stood her ground if she knew she was right about something.

As they got older, Tucker found himself falling in love with her, but was too shy at that time in his life to say anything. Then, after he graduated high school and began to gain his confidence, the timing between them was just never right -- when he started college in another state, she was finishing high school, then he joined the Navy and was traveling around the world while she was in college and had a serious boyfriend.

He thought of her often while he was in the service and ever since he got out. They had lost touch for a few years, but knew what she was up to because he worked for her Uncle. It had hit him hard when she was attacked, and he made sure the two high school thugs ended up in jail.

He was glad she was back teaching now, because he knew how much she enjoyed it. They had talked about it while she was recovering and he knew that now that she was back at work, she was well on her way to getting her life back in order.

As he shifted gears and changed lanes to pass a slower car in front of him, his cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his shirt pocket, checked the caller id and saw that it was the office, then flipped it open.

"Hello, Tucker here," he said.

"Hey Tucker, did you have a nice vacation," Syd asked. Syd was short for Sydney Malone, his boss's secretary.

"Yeah, it was really nice," he told her. "The weather was great and I just relaxed for the entire seven days."

"Well, that's good to hear," she said. "I'm glad you got a lot of rest, because he's got a big assignment for you as soon as you get back. Can you be here first thing in the morning -- 8 am?"

"Yeah, shouldn't be a problem," he said. "I should be back in town about 10 tonight and be able to be in the office by then. Do you know what the assignment is?"

"Not the specifics, but from what I heard he wants you to play bodyguard for some big celebrity who's in town this week," she said.

"That's strange," he said. "He usually gives those to Sam or Don. Wonder why he's giving this one to me?"

" I don't know," she said. "Maybe it's someone extra important."

"Interesting. Guess we'll find out in the morning," he said. "See you then."

"Ok, Tucker," she said. "See you tomorrow."

He snapped his cell phone shut and put it back into his pocket.

"Guess the vacation is officially over," he said to himself as he reached the outskirts of the city. "Babysitting a celebrity, huh? Wonder who it is for Mr. Salvatore to give me the assignment. Anyway, how hard could it be?"

He would soon find out.

===

He got to the office around 7:30 the next morning, grabbed a cup of coffee, then sat down at his desk and began to go through a week's worth of emails.

"Sheesh, almost 300 emails," he muttered to himself and he scrolled down the list in his mailbox. "Don't people have anything better to do these days."

He sipped his coffee and proceeded to read, respond and delete the emails that had piled up since he had left.

Around 10 before 8:00 a.m., Sydney popped her head into his office.

"Hey there stranger, good to see you back in the office," she said.

"Good to see you too Syd," he responded. "Anything exciting happen while I was gone?"

"Not much, same old, same old," she said as she came in and sat on the corner of his desk. "So, did you meeting anyone exciting on your vacation?

"Nah, pretty much kept to myself for the week," he said looking up and see her staring intently back at him.

"Oh, that's too bad," she said. "You are gonna be a good catch for someone someday if you would just stop playing the lost soul and open yourself up to possibilities."

"Yeah, but...," he stammered. It was the same old subject with Syd. She was determined to match him up with someone, herself included, but he just wasn't interested in long term relationships right now. Especially with Stacy back on his mind once again.

"No buts, no excuses," she said. "You just have to go out there and get into the game."

“One of these days," he said.

With a heavy sigh, she hopped off the desk and headed for the door.

"Don't forget about your 8 o'clock, she said over he shoulder as she disappeared around the corner.

"Wouldn't miss it," he said, as he picked up his notebook and headed to Mr. Salvatore's office to find out what his assignment would be.

===

He knocked on the door and heard a voice from inside call "Enter."

He walked into the office and saw his boss sitting behind his desk pouring over some paperwork.

"Good morning sir," he said as he walked across the room towards the desk.

"Come in, come in, Joseph," he said looking up from his paperwork, visibly happy to see the young man. "Have a seat. How was your vacation?"

"Really nice sir," Tucker said. "Very relaxing. Nothing like the seashore to help you unwind."

"I'm glad you had a good time," he said, as he pulled out a folder and handed it over to him. "Guess we should get right down to it. Here's your assignment. Jennifer Sullivan -- she's some sort of big time pop star these days... goes by the name of Angel. She's has a lot of “admirers,” and it looks like one of them has become your classic stalker. He made an attempt to grab her after a concert in Boston a few nights ago, but her bodyguard intervened. He saved her, but got shot in the process and is in the hospital. That's where you come in."

Tucker had been looking over the paperwork in the folder while listening to his boss talk about the assignment.

"Oh, jeez," he thought to himself. "He knew this Angel. Another of those stuck up, teenage-diva strippers who run, thrash, and gyrate on stage, scream some words to music and make millions while doing it. Then they think the world owes them and should come running when they call."

"You'll be her bodyguard for the next two/three days while she's in town for her New York concert," his boss continued. "With her bodyguard in the hospital recovering, and a possible psycho on the loose after her, she needs someone to watch her for the next few days until her bodyguard, Jim, gets out of the hospital and can take over again."

"With all due respect sir, isn't Sam or Don better suited for this type of job," he asked.

"Normally, yes," the older man responded. "But, Jim called us himself from the hospital. He knew about our company and he asked that we put the best person in the company on this case, and that would be you Joseph. He also wants to speak with you before you get started. He's right here in town at Mt. Sinai Memorial. He got himself transferred from Boston General just to be closer to her. He's really dedicated this one."

"Ok, sir. I'll go talk to him, then go meet Ms. Angel here," he said, semi-sarcastically.

"Sounds like you already have an opinion about this young lady," the old man with a smile.

"Yeah, I've heard and read about her a little sir," Tucker said. "A teenage diva in my opinion. I don't really like her music all that much."

"You know what they say Joseph," Salvatore said. "Never judge a book by its cover, or in this case, by her news clippings. Get to know her before you judge her, you might be surprised. Besides, you'll have plenty of time to do it.

"Yes sir, will do," Tucker said. "Is that all you wanted to see me about?"

"That was it," his boss replied.

"Ok, then. Let me get over to the hospital and then to the hotel and see what this is all going to be about," Tucker said, as he got up out of the chair and headed for the door.

"Good luck Joseph," the old man said. "Oh, I almost forgot. Stacy said hello and to give you her regards. I talked to her over the weekend."

"Thanks sir," Tucker said with a smile. "How's she doing?"

"Doing well, Joseph," he said. "She said she received a lot of support from the other teachers at the school, and they are all helping her get back into a daily routine. She's really happy at that school. I'm glad it wall worked out, especially after you were able to catch those two guys"

"Good to hear she's doing good sir," Tucker said. "Guess I'd better get going. Thanks for letting me know. Please tell her I said hello when you speak with her again."

“I’ll do that Joseph,” he said. “You could call yourself though you know. I’m sure she would enjoy hearing from you.”

“Yes, you are right, I should do that,” he replied, though he knew he wouldn’t because each time he talked to her, it just dredged up all of his feelings again. It would be like trying to get over her all over again and he just wasn’t up to that right now.

"OK, Joseph. Let me know if you need anything as you find out what's involved with this case," Salvatore said.

"Will do sir," Tucker said, then walked out of the office, closing the door behind him.

"Three days babysitting this pop princess," he thought to himself. "This is going to be interesting."

===

The scene outside the New York City Plaza Hotel where Angel was staying was complete chaos. The crowd in the front of the hotel was big – bigger than anyone at the hotel had ever seen before. Angel’s fans had starting showing up at dawn to try and catch a glimpse of her, and by 10 a.m. had swelled to over a thousand. By 11 a.m. there were so many people, they began to spill out into the street and were blocking traffic.

Meanwhile, every once in a while, a few of the more daring members of the crowd would go into the hotel, sneak into the elevator and try to get up to the penthouse in the hopes of getting to meet her in person. This, of course, kept the hotel security staff running around trying to catch them and throw them out.

Tucker saw the crowd in front of the hotel from a few blocks away and just shook his head.

“So much for security,” he thought to himself as he drove toward the hotel. “How am I supposed to protect her from one loan maniac when half the city knows she’s here.”

When he got the assignment a few hours earlier, he had hoped, considering a nut was chasing after his client, that news of where she was staying would have been kept under wraps. But after talking to her bodyguard, Jim, at the hospital, he learned that letting the news media know where she stayed was great for publicity. Shots of screaming fans always did wonders for record sales – not to mention, the stars ego.

While he was stopped in the traffic jam, Tucker’s mind drifted back to a few hours ago, when he had stopped at the hospital on the way to the hotel to talk to Jim and learn a little about his client, who he now was assigned to bodyguard while she was in town for her concert. What he learned, though, didn’t exactly increase his enthusiasm for the assignment.

According to Jim, Angel was a sweet kid, who had a lot of growing up to do. She played the diva-role to the hilt and acted like a spoiled child most of the time, demanding things, bossing people around, and, generally, getting her way because she was a “star.” But, Jim also firmly believed that underneath all the hype was a young, intelligent girl with a good heart. She just didn’t show that side of herself that much, but he knew it existed deep down inside of her. He saw it in her eyes and actions the night he was shot, as she stayed by his side all the way to the hospital.

Jim also filled Tucker in on all that he knew about Simon, the guy that had tried to grab Angel and who shot him after the Boston concert. He gave him a description as best as he could remember, copies of all the letters that he had sent her, and Angel’s itinerary for the two days she was scheduled to be in New York City.

According to the schedule, Angel had a sound check this afternoon, followed by interviews with the local and national media. After that, she was scheduled for some “down time” -- shopping at some of the upscale department stores. After that, return to the hotel for dinner and rest until tomorrow evening’s concert.

“Looks pretty straight forward, ” Tucker said as he got up to leave.

“Be careful, Tucker,” Jim said. “Simon’s still out there and I know he’s going to try again – it’s just a matter of when and where. Call it intuition, a feeling, whatever you want, but he’s out there and he’s determined. You have to stop him if he does.”

“I’ll make sure nothing happens to her Jim,” Tucker replied. “You just rest and get your strength back so you can get back on the job. And, don’t worry about a thing. I’ll make sure she’s safe while she’s in New York. You can count on it.”

The two men shook hands and Tucker left to go to the hotel to meet his client.

Jarred back to the present by the car honking behind him, he realized that he couldn’t even pull up anywhere near the hotel because of the crowd. Luckily, a few members of hotel valet staff was walking up and down the sidewalk outside the hotel to make sure that hotel guests would be able to get their car parked so they could go to their rooms. It was one of those kids that spotted Tucker trying to get to the hotel and offered to park his car for him.

Tucker was already running a little late and it took a few more minutes for him to work his way into the hotel lobby, then a few more minutes before the elevator came down. He stepped in and pushed the button for the top floor.

After a minute or so, the elevator doors opened and he stepped out and followed the sign to room 2801. He read the plaque on the door as he knocked..

“The Queen Suite, of course,” he said to himself.

When no one answered, he knocked again.

“Hold your horses, I’m coming,” yelled a young, female voice from inside the room.

A few seconds later, the door opened.

“Yeah,” inquired the short, stocky brunette woman that answered the door.

“I’m Tucker from the Salvatore Security Agency, here to see Ms. Angel,” Tucker replied.

“Oh, you’re the bodyguard,” she said as she brazenly eyed him from head to toe. “Nice. You’re late though. Come on in.”

“Thanks,” Tucker said. “Is she here?”

“Oh, she’s here, but she’s pissed because you’re late,” the woman said, then turned and yelled toward the master suite. “Angel, your knight in shining armor has come to protect you.”

She turned back to Tucker and ushered him into the living area.

“Go get a drink at the bar and relax,” she said. “She’ll be out in a minute or two.”

With that, the woman headed into the other suite and Tucker was left alone in the living area of the hotel room. He wasn’t thirsty, so he walked over to the window to look out at the view of New York City. There was nothing more breathtaking than the view of the city, except for the view of the city at night. He just stood by the window and enjoyed looking out at the skyline while he waited for his client to appear.

A few minutes later, the master suite door opened and out stepped Angel. She was dressed in a micro-mini skirt, a ripped, t-shirt that completely exposed her midriff, and black, high top sneakers. Her face, what he could see of it since her long, blond hair covered most of it, was heavily made up. She wore several earrings and a nose ring, and he could see the outline of a nipple ring under her blouse.

“Not quite an angel, that’s for sure.” Tucker thought to himself.

“Hello, I’m Tucker from the Salvatore Security Agency,” he said to introduce himself. “I’m here to escort you around for the next few days and make sure things go smoothly for you.”

“You’re late,” she said. “I don’t like people who are late. Make sure it doesn’t happen again. Now let’s get going. I have a sound check to get to.”

Tucker just looked at her like a father would look at a belligerent child.

“Considering you were still getting ready, whether I was early, later, or on time seems moot to me,” Tucker stated casually, but to the point. “In the meantime, if we’re going to get along for the next few days, here are the ground rules. When you are not on stage or doing a promotional event, you will do what I tell you, when I tell you. Never, ever go anywhere without someone you know, but make sure someone is with you at all times. Follow those rules, you’ll be safe and we’ll get along without killing each other. Is that all clear? ”

Angel stared dumbfounded at Tucker. No one had ever dared speak to her in that tone of voice since she had “made it,” and she was more than a little miffed.

“You can’t talk to me like that,” she said incredulously.

“Yeah, I know who you are and I really could care less,” Tucker said. “What I do care about is that someone is out there looking to hurt you and it is my job to protect you until Jim can get back on the job. I’ll do whatever it takes to do that, but I can’t do it if you don’t do as I say so I know where you are and what you are doing at all times. It’s as simple as that. So, do as your told, I’ll get you where you have to go in one piece and then two days from now we’ll part company and we’ll never have to see each other again. Now, are you ready to go?”

With a huff, Angel picked up her bag and stomped out of the hotel room leaving Tucker standing by himself.

“Oh yeah, this is going to be a thrill a minute,” Tucker said out loud to no one in particular, and he followed her out the door to the elevator.

The two of them rode silently down to the lobby, then headed for the front door. As they neared it, the throng of fans waiting outside spotted Angel and began screaming and crushing in toward the waiting limo. Tucker made Angel wait inside the hotel for a second, while he stepped outside and scanned the crowd quickly to make sure things were safe, or at least as safe as they could be with all the chaos.

When he felt secure that it was safe and that Simon was not around, he went inside, took Angel by the forearm and quickly led her towards the car. It was all he could do to make a path to the limo door and shove her inside. He made a mental note to speak with the hotel manager when he got back about putting up some barriers to keep the fans away from the front of the hotel.

Once inside the comfortable confines of the limo, the two of them sat facing each other. The limo driver slowly pulled through the crowd out into traffic and headed towards Madison Square Garden, where Angel’s concert would be held the next night.

The ride to the Garden was even quieter than the ride the two had shared in the elevator. Angel was still mad at him for the way he had spoken to her, but there was something else. Since her rise to fame, she had always been in control of everything. People were always doing things for her, bending over backwards to make her happy. No one had ever stood up to her like he just did a few minutes ago.

But this Tucker character had walked into her hotel room and didn’t seem fazed at all by who she was when she snapped at him like she usually did to everyone else. Who did he think he was?

She looked over at him off and on during the ride. He was a definitely a good looking guy. Tall, long hair, well groomed, handsome, and very serious, for sure. But there was something there behind the look in those dark, mysterious eyes of his that said he was someone people should not mess around with. She was both attracted to him and intimidated by him, but damned if she’d ever let him know it.

Tucker looked over at her off and on during the ride as well. Blond hair, half dressed, all that makeup, the nose rings… where were her parents? Such a spoiled brat. What’s with these celebrities – they think they make it big and the world should bow at their feet. What did Jim say to him – she had a good heart, just didn’t show it? Well, I don’t know where Jim sees that, because I sure don’t. These next few days better go by quick, that’s all I can say.

Twenty-minutes later, the limo pulled up to one of the many back entrances to Madison Square Garden and before Tucker could act, Angel was out of the car and heading for one of the doors, which she opened and quickly disappeared inside.

Tucker just shook his head and followed after her. When he caught up to her he took her by the arm and spun her around to face him.

“Angel, remember what I said back at the hotel,” he said, his eyes looking directly into hers. “Make sure you always have someone you know with you at all times. Next time, wait before jumping out of the car. You just never know if this Simon character, or anyone else for that matter, will be out there.”

“Yeah, whatever,” she replied and pulled her arm free and headed towards the main auditorium where the stage and crew were setting up. She knew he was right, but her pride and ego wouldn’t let her admit it.

Tucker once again followed after her, keeping an eye out for any trouble.

“I hope she got the message that time,” he said to himself, though he sincerely doubted it.

The sound check seemed to go well. Angel sang bits and pieces of some of her songs so the production crew could get the sound system set up just right. The roadies, meanwhile, continued to set up the stage and lights and other things needed for the next night show.

The Garden crew went about their tasks as well, setting up the floor seating and other things, while others went about training the staff on what they’ll need to do when the fans started arriving for the concert.

Tucker watched and took it all in. It amazed him all of the things that went on and how much work was involved to put on one of these concerts. The few he had been to in his life had been enjoyable and he always wondered what was involved in putting it all together. Now he was getting the idea.

He was amazed when Angel started singing. He had only heard her songs on the radio – the loud, hard pounding rock songs, or soft, yet-still-too-loud love songs. He knew she had a strong voice, but he never realized just how smooth and beautiful it was until one moment during the sound check when she started singing Paul McCartney’s “Yesterday,” with only a single guitar for a backup.

One of the older looking roadies came up next to him during that song and listened as well.

“Amazing voice, just gorgeous,” the roadie commented.

Tucker nodded his head in agreement.

“How come she never records a song like that,” he asked.

“Not her style,” the roadie said. “Her fans just don’t want to hear her singing that kind of music. Too bad, she’s got a beautiful voice for that kind of music.”

Tucker agreed, as he watched the roadie pick up the cables he was carrying and head off to do his work.

The sound check lasted about two-and-a-half hours and when it was over, Angel walked off the stage and headed straight for Tucker.

“Ok, mister protector,” she said somewhat sarcastically. “Time to go shopping. I can still go shopping, right?”

“Yes, Angel, you can still go shopping,” he said. “We can go right now if you want.”

“Great, let’s go,” she said.

The two of them headed through the labyrinth of corridors in the Garden and towards the exit where the limo was waiting.

“Well, she was sarcastic, but at least she didn’t go running off on her own this time,” he thought to himself.

They went out the back door and were hit by a blast of the cold, afternoon winter air. It had gotten much colder since they arrived, that’s for sure.

The limo was only a few steps away, and Tucker opened the door for her once they reached it.

“Such a gentleman,” Angel said with a smile. “Chivalry is not dead.”

“Get in,” Tucker said with a grin. “Ok,” he thought, “this kid is a Jekyll and Hyde – one minute she’s on my case about everything, next minute she’s all sweet and friendly. Go figure.”

As the limo driver headed out into the traffic and towards the stores Angel had specified, the two of them sat facing each other once again in the limo. This time, however, they talked a little.

“So, what did you think,” Angel asked him.

“About what,” Tucker asked.

“About the sound check and all that went on the last few hours,” she said.

“It was definitely interesting,” Tucker replied. “I didn’t realize so much went into putting a show together.”

“Yeah, it’s definitely a lot, but I have a good crew and they always have everything under control,” she said.

“Tell me, Angel. That one song you did where it was just you and the guitar playing, how come you don’t sing or record songs like that,” Tucker asked. “That was really beautiful.”

“I’m glad you liked it,” she said. “But, that’s not the kind of song my fans want to hear, and I only sing what they want to hear. The more fans I have, the more records I sell, the more concerts I do, and the more money I make. Simple business, that’s all.”

“So, it’s all about the money for you,” Tucker asked.

“It’s always about the money, “ she said nonchalantly.

“That’s a shame,” Tucker said as he looked out the window. “Such a waste of talent.”

“I’m not wasting my talent,” she snapped back at him. “I’ve sold over 2.5 millions copies of my last CD. People want to hear my music. That’s not wasting talent. It’s using talent to do what the people want to hear you do.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to hit a sore spot or anything,” Tucker said, trying not to make her angrier than she seemed to be getting.

“It’s not a sore spot,” she said as the limo pulled up to the curb outside Saks Fifth Avenue. “I know what I’m doing and I don’t need anyone telling me different.”

With those words, she was out of the limo and heading for the front door of Saks.

“Ughhh,” Tucker grumbled to himself. “Guess Ms. Hyde is back again.

He got out of the car and followed after her. He had to get her to stop storming out of the limo like that. It’s just too dangerous with this Simon character lurking about somewhere.

Tucker went into the store and spent the better part of three hours following Angel around and watching in amazement. She was a whirling dervish, trying on clothes, one minute, checking out jewelry the next, then off to cosmetics for the latest in hair color and other assorted things.

“The amount of money she spent in those three hours was probably equal to the entire year’s economy of some small world country,” he thought to himself. “Must be nice.”

The good part of the shopping trip is that it put her back into a good mood and there were no more snide comments or arguments between the two of them the entire time.

When they walked out of the store, followed closely behind by a store employee who was fumbling with all of Angel’s packages, it was dark and the temperature had dropped even more. Angel pulled her coat tightly around her as she walked to the limo. Tucker followed, but kept a look out to make sure no one was lurking around.

When they reached the car, Tucker opened the car door and had the store employee put all the packages inside first. Tucker smiled to himself watching the young kid try not to stare (too much) at Angel.

“Thanks for carrying my packages,” Angel said to the young man.

“You’re welcome,” he stammered in reply, before blurting out, “I’m going to your concert tomorrow. I’m a big fan.”

“Thank you,” Angel replied. “I hope you enjoy the show.”

“I know I will,” the young boy said as he backed away from the limo, and then turned and ran for the door to the store, half to get out of the cold, and half out of excitement because he just got to talk to Angel, his “absolute favorite singer in the whole world!” He couldn’t wait to tell his friends.

“Looks like you made a fan for life,” Tucker said as he held the door for Angel, then climbed in himself.

“Yeah, he seemed like a nice boy,” she said nonchalantly.

Tucker just shook his head. “She has no clue of the power she holds over people,” he thought to himself. “Of course, that’s probably a good thing.”

The limo worked its way through the early evening traffic back towards the hotel.

“Just a few more minutes,” Tucker thought, “then she’ll be back in her room and as safe as humanly possible.” He wasn’t looking forward to spending the next few hours in a chair in the hall outside her room, but at least his night shift replacement would be here in a few hours and then he could go home, unwind and rest up for tomorrow..

There were still a lot of fans outside the hotel when they pulled up, but not as many as before due to the cold weather that evening.

The limo driver pulled up to the front door and Tucker got out first. It was the first time all day that Angel hadn’t bolted from the limo, and he was happy about that.

Tucker asked one of the hotel clerks to please take the packages out of the limo and bring them up to Angel’s suite, which the young man did.

“Another fan, no doubt,” Tucker chuckled to himself, as he took Angel’s hand and helped her out of the car. He couldn’t help but notice the big smile on her face.

“You seem awful happy all of a sudden,” he said.

”I guess it does pay to wait for you before I get out of the car,” she giggled.

Tucker just smiled to himself, closed the car door and then guided her through the small crowd towards the front door. He scanned the crowd, saw no sign of Simon and gave a little sigh of relief.

“Almost home free,” he thought.

Suddenly, there was a screech of tires in the street. Tucker, Angel, and almost everyone else turned to look -- all expecting some kind of accident.

Instead, a disheveled lone man jumped out of a van and yelled – “Angel, I’m here for you.”

Tucker recognized Simon instantly from the description Jim had given him earlier. Tucker also saw the gun in his hand, which he was raising and aiming toward them.

Tucker reacted instinctively, pushing Angel behind a concrete column of the hotel an instant before Simon started firing his gun. He felt one of the bullets whiz right by him as he ducked to the ground. Other bullets hit the building, while one ricocheted and hit one of the fans in the shoulder.

As the fans started screaming and scattering in all directions, Tucker pulled out his .45, got up on one knee and started to return fire, but it was too late. Simon had emptied his gun and was already in the van and heading back down the street into the night.

Simon was mad as hell. “That’s the second time I missed Angel,” he growled to himself. “I will not fail again.”

Tucker had run out into the street to try and get the license plate number, but there wasn’t any. He ran back to where Angel was and found her sitting on the ground, leaning against the column, crying.

“The big girl is not so big after all,” Tucker thought to himself. “Well, I guess two attempts on her life in two days. That’s enough to scare anyone, that’s for sure.”

Tucker thought for a few minutes, saw his car parked nearby, and made a decision. In the distance, he heard the sirens and knew the police and paramedics were on the way. No reason for them to hang around and get caught up in all the police paperwork and media frenzy that was about to break.

“Let’s go,” Tucker said as he took Angel’s arm, lifted her off the sidewalk and headed for his car.

“Where are we going,” a very scared, very frightened Angel asked.

“Someplace where I know you’ll be safe,” Tucker said.

“Where’s that,” Angel asked.

“Far away from here,” Tucker said as they reached his car. He opened the car’s passenger door and quickly helped her inside, then walked around to the driver’s side and got in. He started the car and within seconds, they were out on the street into the evening traffic and heading out of town.