Tucker's Law -- Babysitting a Pop Princess

Part 2 of 2: The Curtain Goes Up

The city was far behind them in the darkness now, and Tucker could finally breathe a small sigh of relief after all that had happened. He kept one had on the wheel as he drove along I-95 in Connecticut, and used his other hand to rub his neck to try and relieve the tensions and stiffness he was feeling.

The heater was set on high, blasting out hot air to keep them warm from the cold winter night that was just outside the car. It was as if they were in a small cocoon within his car, safe and warm from the danger they had just escaped from about an hour ago.

He looked over at Angel sleeping next to him in the passenger seat. She was leaning against the car window. Her long blond hair fell down around her tear stained face and her coat was pulled tight around her. Her breathing was slow and steady now, as she seemed to have finally calmed down just a little.

"She's a tough kid," he thought to himself.

The second shooting in less than two days had really gotten to her, and the tough exterior that she had always projected finally crumpled under the strain.

As they had started driving away from the Garden, she had cried quietly next to him for some time. After a while, she began to calm down and began to talk a little about what had happened..

"Why would anyone want to kill me," she asked him, as the tears continued to stream down her face. "I didn't do anything to him."

"You never know why people do things like that Angel," he replied calmly. "Some people just aren't wired right, you know. They become obsessed with something or someone and then just lose control I guess. Who knows."

"It just doesn't make sense," she said sniffling away the tears.

"There's some tissues in the glove box," he told her.

"Thanks," she said as she reached inside it, took out a couple sheets and wiped her nose. "All I want to do is make music and entertain people. Why can't it just be that simple."

"Life rarely is simple," Tucker replied.

Angel got quiet again after that. She leaned against the window, the coolness of the glass feeling good against her forehead, and just stared out into the darkness for a while before finally falling asleep.

Tucker took an exit off the highway and came to a stop at the bottom of the off ramp. He turned right and then drove down the country road, heading to the destination where he knew he would be able keep Angel safe until they had to head back into the city for her concert tomorrow night.

"Simon is going to try again, that much I know," he thought to himself. "The question is when and where and what can I do to make sure he fails."

Deep in thought, he drove on into the darkness.

===

A blanket of snow covered the fields and trees around Tucker’s home the next morning. The snow had tapered off to flurries around dawn, leaving about 10 inches of fresh white powder across the wind blown landscape.

It was cold outside, but inside it was nice and warm. Tucker woke up around 7 a.m., showered and was now puttering around the kitchen. The smell of hot, brewing coffee filled the kitchen as he poured himself his first cup of the day.

He debated what to have for breakfast for a few minutes, then decided to wait to see what his guest might want to have first. He poured himself a cup of coffee, then sat down at the table in the breakfast nook and looked out the large bay window.

"Nothing like the peacefulness of the morning after a snowstorm," he thought to himself as he stared at the pasture and rolling hills outside his home.

His house was located on a 40-acre plot of land in the rich farmland outside Fairfield, Connecticut. It was the house he had grown up in, and it held many good memories.

His grandfather, who had been in the banking business, had purchased it back in the 1920s as a weekend and vacation retreat from the hectic, stressful workdays in New York City. After his grandfather had died, his dad inherited it and just couldn't part with it, so he moved the family there and that's where he had spent his childhood.

Then, after his parents had been killed in an automobile accident 10 years ago, there was never a doubt in his mind that this was the place he wanted to live. While he loved going to the seashore, there was no place on earth that he had found that matched the beauty and peacefulness of this farm. This is where he wanted to live and, hopefully, one day raise a family of his own.

As he sat there and continued to daydream, the sound of piano music began to seep into his conscious. Slowly he realized that it wasn't part of his daydream and was for real and coming from his living room. He got up and headed through the kitchen, down the hall and into the living room.

Tucker's living room was the centerpiece of the house. It was a huge room, taking up almost one side of the house. It had a 20-foot open ceiling with wood beams crisscrossing high above the floor. A balcony ran along one side of the second floor, so that people could look down from the bedrooms above. Along another wall was a large stone fireplace, with a mantle filled with antique clocks. Along the outside wall of the living room, a floor-to-ceiling window ran the entire length of the room.

There was one-step down into the living area of the room, which was decorated for both casualness and comfort. IN the center was a sofa, which was surrounded by large, soft chairs, a coffee table and some end tables with lamps.

Over by the window opposite the couch was a grand piano, which was the source of the music filling the room. The piano had belonged to his mother, who had always enjoyed playing it while looking outside at the beautiful countryside, just as Angel seemed to be doing this morning.

Angel didn't notice him enter the room, so he stood quietly near the doorway and just listened.

"She has a beautiful voice," he thought to himself as he listened to her sing a beautiful ballad.

Angel was lost in her own little world sitting at the piano playing her music and looking outside at the beautiful snow covered countryside. She was dressed casually in a comfortable pair of jeans and an oversized flannel shirt. She wore no makeup and her hair in a pony tail.

It was times like this that she enjoyed the most -- just herself and a piano. It brought back warm, happy memories of a time that seemed so long ago now, when she was a little girl playing the piano in her living room back home in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Then she was just Jennifer Sullivan, a typical, all-American girl playing music. She would sit and play for hours and dream of becoming a rock star one day.

Her gift was not just her voice, but also her musical talent. Learning to play the piano in elementary school had come easy to her, and once she understood music, she was able to master or become proficient in many other musical instruments as well, including guitar, flute, clarinet and saxophone. Throughout elementary, middle school, and high school she had played in the band and the orchestra and enjoyed every moment of it.

It was a poster she spotted in her sophomore year of high school that had changed her life forever -- "Battle of the Bands -- Friday night, 7:00 p.m. in the Gym."

She and her girlfriends thought it would be fun to go listen and see what the kids in their high school sounded like, and so on Friday night they headed to the school gym, bought their tickets and went in to listen to the evening's entertainment.

On the way to their seats, they overheard the members of one of the bands talking in panicky voices.

"What are we gonna do now," a tall, thin, boy with long, brown hair asked his fellow band members. "With Susan sick, we don't have a singer, and without a singer, we really don't have much.

"I disagree," said a blond haired boy, who stood holding his guitar. “We can just play our music. We don’t need to have a singer.”

Suddenly, one of the band members, Johnny Cairns, looked over in her direction and recognized her from the school band.

"Give me a second guys, I have an idea," he said to the group, and headed over to where she was standing with her friends.

"Hey, Jennifer, how's it going," Cairns asked as he approached her.

"Hi Johnny, it's going pretty good," she replied. "I'm looking forward to listening to the music tonight. Are things ok with you and your band? I saw you guys talking real serious over there."

"Well, that's the thing, Jenn," he said. "Our singer, Susan Kimbell is home sick and without her, we just can't go on."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," she said.

"Here's the deal, Jenn," he continued. "I've heard you sing in class and you have a great voice. Would you be interested in filling in for her tonight?"

"Wow, I don't know, John," she said. "I don't know your music, the songs you do, nothing. I'd probably fall flat on my face."

"Actually, you do know the songs, Jenn," he said. "We do mostly what's being played on the radio these days."

He then rattled off five or six of their songs, and indeed, she did know them.

With some encouragement from her friends, she agreed to do it, and a few hours later, Jennifer Kelly took the stage with her schoolmate’s band “Soulful Termination.” She was nervous at first, but then relaxed and really got into the show. In the end, they were the hit of the evening.

Standing there in the spotlight that night, hearing the applause and the kids screaming, she knew that’s what she wanted to do for a living.

After that, things happened incredibly fast. A few months after her performance, with her parents encouragement and permission, of course, she made a demo tape. Then, through a friend of a friend of their family, the tape made its way to a record producer who knew talent when he heard it. A few months after that, she was in a recording studio making her first CD, and then with a little packaging and marketing, voila, Angel was born.

However, the person that appeared on stage and in public appearances as Angel in the skimpy clothes and diva attitude was just all part of the marketing campaign. The person sitting at the piano in Tucker's living room playing just for herself, and looking out at the beautiful snow covered countryside, that was who she really was. And, until that very moment, it had been a long time since she fully realized it.

Suddenly, she noticed a movement out of the corner of her eye and jumped up – startled -- until she saw it was Tucker standing by the doorway listening to her play.

"Oh, it's you," she said. "You scared me to death.”

"Good morning," he said as he entered the room and sat down on the couch. "Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. I hope you were comfortable last night."

"Yes, I was very much,” she said. “Thank you for your hospitality. This is a beautiful home."

"Thanks," he replied. “It's been in our family for a long time. It belonged to my father and his father before him. That was a beautiful song you were playing. What was it?"

"Oh, it’s just a little ballad that I wrote a long time ago," she said as she walked over and joined him on the soft couch. "It’s actually one of the first songs I ever wrote. It's one of my favorites, but it's for me. I haven't recorded it and probably won't because it doesn't fit in with my pop-rock image."

"That's a shame," he said with a sigh. "I'm sure there are a lot of people who would enjoy hearing you sing that. You have a beautiful voice, you know. I'm betting you could probably be successful with just your singing if you really wanted. I really don't think you need all those skimpy outfits and all those dance gyrations to be successful."

"I had thought of doing that once," she said. “But, from a business perspective, the record company I work with just wasn’t interested. So, I decided to continue on with the pop-rock. Then maybe some day, when I have enough money to stand on my own, I can make the music that I really want to make."

"So that's why you do what you do -- dress the way you do and do all those crazy dances on stage," he asked. "All part of the marketing plan."

"Yeah," she said, for the first time feeling a little embarrassed about it. "A girl has to do what a girl has to do to make a living."

"I guess it's a good business plan, though I still don't think you need to do it,” he said. ”I think if you just let people see the real you, the one I'm seeing her today, the one that has such a beautiful voice, I think you'd be just as successful. Though you might have a slightly different audience," he added with a chuckle.

"Thanks," she said. "That's sweet of you. Someday, maybe I will get to do it."

"I'll look forward to that day and that CD," he said. "You have your first customer."

They both sat quietly for a few minutes looking out the window, both lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Angel broke the silence as she thought about the day ahead.

"So, not to rush back to reality here, but what's the plan for today," she asked, a serious, business like look coming back onto her face.

"Well, no question, Simon’s still out there and I, unfortunately, expect he'll try something again tonight," he said. "But don't you worry. I'll do my job and you'll be safe. You just concentrate on getting yourself ready to entertain your fans and let me worry about him."

She should be scared she thought to herself as she looked over at him. But, she wasn't. He spoke with such confidence and strength, he made her feel safe and secure. He did save her last night, and she had no doubts that he would be able to do it again if the situation arose.

"Thanks, Joseph," she said, calling him by his first name for the first time since they had met.

"I don't suppose you'd consider playing that song one more time," he asked.

"I'd be happy to. Anything for my... friends," she said with a smile.

Angel walked over to the piano, sat down and began to play and sing again, while Tucker just sat back on the couch and relaxed, taking it all in -- her singing, the warmth in the house and the beauty of the snow-filled countryside outside.

"What a nice, relaxing way to spend a morning," he thought to himself.

===

Meanwhile, back in the city in a run down apartment, Simon stalked around his living room, still seething at missing his opportunity the previous night.

"I had her," he said out loud to himself. "I had her until that long-haired tough guy got in the way. Well, it won't happen again. That jerk won't get in my way next time. Angel is mine and if I can’t have her, no one will. “

He picked up his gun and began reloading it.

"Tonight Angel... tonight we'll finally be together, one way or another," he said, and then quietly began his preparing himself for the day ahead.

===

Tucker and Angel just relaxed on the couch in the living room for the rest of the morning and into the early afternoon.

They told each other about their lives, friendships, careers, and relationships. Somewhere during their conversation, Tucker learned that while they had such different careers, they also had a lot in common.

They had both grown up in comfortable households with loving, hard working parents who instilled a solid set of core values and a strong work ethic into each of them. They had both worked hard and excelled in school. They both enjoyed sports and they both had a lot of friends. However, while Tucker had gone on to graduate from college and then join the military, Angel had dropped out of high school when her singing career had taken off.

As they talked, Tucker began to realize that for all her bravado and diva-like persona, deep down, Angel was just a typical young woman trying to find her own way in life. And while Angel might have been her professional stage name, when you dug down deep, you found out just what Jim had been talking about -- she was just a sweet kid with a good heart. All it took was a little patience -- and a lot of trust on her part -- to begin to reveal her true self. Of course, having saved her life the previous night probably helped speed up her trusting him.

"You know, you really are a nice person once you let someone get to know you," Tucker said to her. "You should show that side of you more often."

"It's not as easy as it sounds," Angel replied. "In this business, your friends and enemies all look the same. You just don't know who to trust sometimes, which means you have to be tough and never show any fear or hesitation at all times. One moment of weakness and your history. The next superstar is always just waiting in the wings."

"Well, that's all well and good, but I still believe there is a compromise to that though," Tucker said. "You can still be nice and courteous to people, show a strong, professional exterior, without being such a, if you'll pardon the expression, bitch."

Angel giggled. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she replied. Sometimes you work so hard to be one thing, you get lost in your own creation and forget who you really are. I guess I could do a better job of that."

"You might even find that you enjoy it, because the people around you will start to like you more," Tucker said. "And, you can never have too many friends."

The grandfather clock that stood in the far corner of the room began to chime... It was 2:00 p.m.

"We probably should get ready to head back to the city for tonight's concert," Tucker said, as he got up off the couch. "If we leave here by 3:00 p.m., we should get to Madison Square Garden with plenty of time for you to get ready for your show."

"I guess you're right," Angel said. "It's so comfortable here though. I wish we didn't have to leave just not."

"Well, you're welcome to come back here anytime you want," Tucker offered as he got up and stretched a little. "Consider it a safe haven if the pressures of your career ever get to be too much. The door will always be open for you."

"Thanks, Joseph, that's so nice of you to say that," she said with a big smile on her face. She untangled her legs, got up off the couch and gave him a big hug of appreciation.

She slowly pulled away and looked up into Tucker's eyes. "Interesting man," she thought to herself. "Confident, strong, kind, gentle... I wonder if I'll ever find a man like this my own age someday?"

"You'd better go and clean up a little before we hit the road, Tucker said, jolting her out of her thoughts. "We'll leave here in about 30 minutes."

"Sounds good," Angel said, then headed upstairs to freshen up and get ready.

===

The drive back into New York City went fairly easy. The Connecticut and New York public service crews had done a great job clearing the snow off the highway, so they made good time getting to the arena around 6 p.m.

Tucker was directed to the VIP parking area. At the gate, he handed over the keys to the attendant and he and Angel walked toward the stage entrance. As they walked across the parking area towards the entrance, the door banged opened and out stepped Jim, surprising both of them.

Angel ran over and hugged her big, burly bodyguard, who stood there with a huge grin on his face.

"What are you doing back here already," she asked. "Shouldn't you still be in the hospital? I can't believe the doctors let you go already."

"Well, they didn't actually 'let' me go," he said, with a hardy laugh, as he shook Tucker's hand in greeting. "I sort of let myself out when no one was looking."

"What am I going to do with you," she said, half-heartedly scolding him. "Are you sure you're ok to be here?"

"I'll be fine little on," he said. "You just make sure you sing your heart out tonight and make your fans happy."

===

A few fans who had been were standing around, waiting and hoping for a glimpse of Angel, began to call her name.

"Angel we love you," said a group of high school fans.

Angel turned towards the fans, smiled and waved.

A young girl who was standing with her mother pleaded, "Angel, would you sign my magazine please?"

Normally, Angel would have walked away. But after her talk with Tucker earlier in the day, she seemed to have a change of heart. She walked towards the young girl and her mother, and the child’s eyes began to light up.

"Hello there, are you here to see the concert," she asked as she reached the young girl.

"No, we can’t afford to buy tickets," the young girl said as she handed Angel her old, worn magazine with Angel’s photo inside. "You’re my favorite singer, so my mom said we could come down and see if we could see you and maybe I could get your autograph."

"What's your name," Angel asked.

"Michelle," the girl said.

"Well, Michelle, thank you so much for coming tonight," Angel said as she handed the girl her newly autographed magazine. "I'm sorry you couldn’t get tickets... Hold on a second would you please.”

Angel called Jim over and the two huddled together, then Jim reached in his coat pocket and handed her something.

Angel turned back to the young girl and her mother.

“I’m sorry, but there just doesn’t seem to be any more tickets,” she told the young girl. “But we do have these two backstage passes that you can use and where you can watch the concert from. Will that be ok?”

The young girl’s eyes lit up as wide as saucers. She turned and looked at her mom. “Can we go mom,” the young girl asked. Her mom smiled back and nodded her head yes.

Michele turned back to Angel. "Oh, thank you so much, Angel," she said with a huge smile lighting up her face.

Angel smiled at Michelle, then looked at Michelle's mother and nodded. With tears forming in her eyes, Michelle’s mom nodded back, while silently mouthing a "Thank you" to Angel.

"Just follow that gentleman over there,” Angel said as she pointed toward one of her assistants who was standing by the door and was waving them over. “He’ll take you to where you can watch the show. You guys enjoy the show, and be sure to find me afterwards and let me know what you thought about it, ok?”

“Ok, we will,” Michelle said. The little girl then took hold of her mother hand and the two began walking over to Angel’s assistant and the exciting evening that awaited them.

Angel then turned and began walking back to where Tucker and Jim were standing..

"Well, that's something I never saw her do," Jim said as the two men watched Angel walk back towards them. He then glanced over at Tucker and asked, "Did you have anything to do with that?"

Tucker chuckled a little. "Me, no," he said. "We talked a little today, but she always had that in her. She just needed to be reminded of who she is and where she came from, that's all."

"Hmmm, I see. I didn't know you big-time security people were also psychologists," he said, grinning from ear to ear, before turning back to the business at hand. "I heard about what happened last night. Thanks for saving her. Any special plans for tonight? I'm thinking this Simon nut-case will try again before this evenings over."

"Yeah, I feel the same way," Tucker replied. "He thought he had her last night and just missed. He seems to be getting more and more desperate. Are you up to a little legwork tonight?"

"You tell me what you want me to do," Jim said. "I'm not 100%, but I'm good enough to make sure nothing happens to her, and this is still your show until after tonight's concert. So, I'll follow your lead."

"Ok, then, let's get to it," Tucker said.

Both men were smiling at Angel as she approached.

"What," she asked, cocking her head to one side. "I can't be nice to a fan?"

"Actually, I thought that was a great thing you did there," Jim said to her. "I've been hoping to see you do that kind of thing for a long time."

"Well, thanks to my new friend over here, I learned a few things the last couple days," she said looking at Tucker. "And one of those things is that I don't have to always be a bitch!"

The three of them looked at each other and laughed and headed for the door. With Jim holding the door open, they headed into the arena.

The concert was about two hours away and there was still a lunatic out there, somewhere, who had to be stopped.

===

The three of them headed backstage where the other band members, roadies, and hangers on were getting things ready for the show. Angel talked to a few people, then went and talked about the night's show with her band. She had a special plan for tonight’s performance in mind and she told them all about it. When she was done, she headed into her dressing room to get changed into the outfit she would wear for the first segment of the show.

As she disappeared into the dressing room, her band members just kind of stared at each other with a kind of confused look. Then James, the lead guitarist, just shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever she wants," he said. "She's the boss." And they all kind of laughed.

Tucker and Jim stood off to one side of the room watching the goings on. "Wonder what she's up to now," Jim said with a grin as he watched the band members reaction after Angel had left to go get changed.

Tucker didn't think much of it though, and began discussing the events of the previous night with Jim. Together they tried to determine the best way to look after Angel until the evening's concert was over.

"The thing that has me concerned is that he didn't even try to take her last night," Tucker told Jim. "He just started shooting. That means he's lost hope and is getting desperate, and that worries me big time. He probably realizes she'll never go with him willingly, so if he can't have her, no one can, and that's not good. You just can't predict what he might do now."

"I tend to agree with you Tuck," Jim said. "Just to let you know, though, I checked out the security when I got here tonight, and they have added extra guards around the inside of the building to watch the crowd. Plus, everyone is getting scanned at the front door -- something they set up here after 9/11. That will help, but he could always slip in through another entrance. Anyway, I'm thinking, since I'm not 100% yet, and if it's ok with you, I'll just keep an eye on her from backstage while she's doing the show, and it'll give me a good view of the front rows of the crowd."

"That's exactly where I was thinking would be a good spot for you, too," Tucker said, as he finished setting up his communication's gear under his jacket and into his ear. "That'll free me up to wander around through the crowd and keep an eye out from the floor."

"Sounds good," Jim replied as he finished putting his communication gear together as well. "Is that thing working ok for you... can you hear me ok."

"Yep, working good," Tucker said, then turned when he heard a commotion behind him coming from Angel's dressing room.

Angel came out of the dressing room, but instead of being in one of her skimpy skirts and tube tops, she wore a more conservative outfit consisting of a skirt and blouse. Well, conservative, at least for her, since the skirt was still very short and the blouse was tied up to expose part of her midriff. But considering the see-through, ripped and torn outfits she usually wore, this one was downright old fashioned and definitely not her usual style.

James was the first person to ask what was already on everyone's mind.

"What's with the outfit, Angel" he asked.

"Oh, just a little change of pace to start the show," she replied. "Don't worry. I'm not converting into grandma or anything. I'll be back to normal after the first break."

Everyone laughed and resumed their conversations, while Angel walked over to the food table, picked up a bottle of water, opened it up and took a long, drink. Just then, the lead engineer stuck his head in the room. "Fifteen minutes to show time folks. Everyone get in to your places. Let's have a good show tonight."

Angel and her band got together in the middle of the room and formed a circle. They joked a little among themselves, said a little prayer, gave each other high fives, and then laughing and enjoying the moment, headed for the door.

Tucker was already ahead of the pack, leading the way down the hall towards the stage. The band members were behind him, followed by Angel, then Jim. As Tucker rounded a corner leading to the stairs, Angel suddenly stopped in her tracks. So suddenly, Jim almost walked right into her.

"Oh damn," she said. "I forgot that bottle of water. I'm gonna go get it. You keep going and I'll catch up with you in a sec."

"No, no, you keep going up to the stage," Jim said. "I'll go get it for you."

"Nonsense," Angel replied. "You shouldn't even be out here tonight. No, you keep on going. It's only just down the hall there. I'll get it and meet you backstage in a minute."

Jim was hesitant to let her out of his sight, but she was right. He was tiring already. Besides, it was only a few feet away and no one had been anywhere between here and that back room when they walked up here.

"OK, but go quickly and don't stop to talk to anyone," he said.

Angel gave him a quick hug and took off back to get the water. Jim watched her go and disappear around the corner down the hall from where he stood.

Just then, Tucker popped out of the stairwell and saw Jim looking down the hall.

"Where's Angel," he asked the big man.

"Oh, she forgot her bottle of water and just went to get it," he said, looking down the hall where they had all just come from. The two men stood quietly in the hall and waited together.

Angel walked quickly down the empty hallway towards the waiting room they had all just left. The hall echoed with the sound of her footsteps. She heard a noise and began to feel a little nervous, then just shook it off.

"Sheesh, I'm getting too paranoid," she thought to herself.

She reached the room where they had been a few minutes ago and pulled the door open. As she took her first step inside, an arm reached around her waist and pulled her all the way into the room. Angel struggled with all her might, but whoever it was that grabbed her, held her in a steel-like grip, with her arms pinned to her sides. She couldn’t move.

"Finally gotcha, Angel," Simon sneered in her ear as he held her tight against his body.

As soon as Angel realized who it was, she began to fight and struggle even harder to gain her freedom.

"Let me go you asshole," she said defiantly as she tried to swing around and step on his toes.

Simon continued to hold on to her tightly as she struggled, figuring she would tire soon. He was definitely a lot stronger than he looked, which surprised Angel a lot.

"Damn it, let me g...," Angel began, but Simon clamped a hand over her mouth to cut off her scream.

"Now, now," he said. "Screaming will only bring others running and we don't want that. I've waited a long time to be alone with you. Don't go ruining the party before it gets started. Now shut up, stop your struggling before I hurt you, and let's get out of here."

With that, Simon began to drag the still struggling singer towards the back of the room. There he pushed against the wall and opened up a back door to the room. It wasn't a visible door. You had to know it was there. It was a door that was used by celebrities and athletes to avoid large crowds of fans and media after an event -- a back passage down to the garage.

Simon dragged Angel through the door and let it close behind them. When it clicked shut, it meshed once again with the wall into a seamless seal that no one would be able to see.

Meanwhile, back up the hall Tucker and Jim were beginning to wonder what was taking Angel so long when they heard the partial scream. As soon as they heard it, both men began to run down the hall -- Tucker in the lead, and Jim laboring behind him.

They didn't see her anywhere along the hall and they picked up their pace a bit. They got to the waiting room and rushed inside. It was empty.

"Dammit, where is she," Tucker said. "I told her from the start not to go anywhere without someone. Damn! She just didn't listen."

The two men went back into the hall and looked both ways up and down the hall.

"Jim, why don't you head for the stage in case she took another way up there," Tucker said. "I'll go this way and see if she's went this direction."

"I knew I shouldn't have let her go by herself," a despondent Jim said. "If anything happens to her..."

"Hey, don't worry, we'll find her,” Tucker said, patting the big man’s shoulder. "Now let's get going."

A concerned Jim walked up the hall as fast as he could heading for the stage, while Tucker began to walk down the hall the other direction. Suddenly, he stopped, then quickly headed back to the dressing room.

"Let me make sure I didn't miss anything in there first," he said to himself as he walked back into the room.

He looked around the room. Things looked pretty much the way they had been. Nothing really out of place. Then he noticed the water bottle on the table -- the one Angel had come to get.

"Ok, she never got that far," he thought. "So now the question is, did she get to this room at all?"

He looked around a little more, then noticed something on the floor against the far wall. He walked over, then bent down and pushed around some dirt and dust that he had spotted. It was the only spot in the room with that kind of dirt and it made him wonder.

He stared at the wall, then stood up and started tapping.

Tap! Tap! "Solid," he thought. He tried another part of the wall.

Tap! Tap! Solid. He moved right a little more.

Tap! Tap! Thunk! Hollow.

"Bingo!," he thought to himself.

He pushed hard and the wall moved inward, opening up a passage. A sign inside the passage pointed to the stage to the left and the garage to the right.

Tucker thought for a second. "Ok, Jim's up by the stage, so if she goes that way, he'll spot her." With that, he started to run toward the garage.

Right about the same time that Tucker found the doorway, Simon and Angel had reached the garage. Simon continued to half carry, half drag Angel along with him as he headed toward a large, black van near the back of the garage – the same van he had used the night before in front of the hotel.. Angel, meanwhile, continued to struggle, and Simon was beginning to lose patience with her.

"If you don't stop jumping all over the place...," Simon started.

"What, you'll beat me up, kill me, what," Angel asked sarcastically.

"As a matter of fact...," he said, while pulling a gun out from under his coat and holding it against her head.

That definitely got her attention and she froze in place. When he had first grabbed her, she was more mad than scared. Now she was just scared.

"That's better," he said as they reached the van. "If I had known the gun would calm you down this much, I would have used it sooner. Now, get into the van and let's get out of here."

As he lifted Angel into the back of the van, the door they had just come through into the garage slammed open against the wall. Angel and Simon both looked back to see Tucker.

Tucker spotted them immediately and quickly took in the situation.

As soon as Angel saw Tucker, she began struggling in earnest once again, but Simon reacted quickly, holding her tighter with one arm and firing off two rounds at Tucker.

Tucker ducked behind the closest parked car as Simon's shots went high over his head.

Simon grabbed Angel and put her in front of him as a shield, waiting for Tucker to reveal himself once more.

"Come out where I can see you Mr. Bodyguard," Simon said. "Let me see you now or I put a bullet through her head."

Tucker hunkered down behind the car, trying to determine his next move. He pulled out his gun, then keeping low, moved along the length of the car.

When he reached the driver's door, he raised up a bit and tried to look through the car's windows. He had a clear view of them and saw that Simon was holding Angel in front of him with his gun in plain view and ready to fire.

As Tucker dropped back down, Simon called out again... "Last warning mister," Simon called out. "Come out now or she's history."

Simon tucked his gun into the back of his pants, still within easy reach, but out of sight from anyone in front of him. Then he stood up and came out from behind the car to face Simon and Angel.

"Well, well, well. So, you're the new bodyguard, huh?," Simon asked. "Good of you to join us. Now, let's make sure your hands are in plain sight there."

"Why don't you just let her go," Tucker said. "No harm done so far. Let's keep it that way."

"No can do," Simon replied. "I gave her a chance. I told her how I felt, but she never answered any of my letters, and then in Boston she had her old bodyguard stop me from talking to her. I know now she doesn't love me, but out destiny still lies together. We were meant to be together, forever.. And that's where I want to take the two of us."

"Great," Tucker thought to himself. "This guy is (nuts), and that's not good."

Tucker tried to think quickly, not sure what his next move should be. With Simon’s gun pointed at him, his options were limited. If only Angel could distract him in some way.

Angel and Tucker exchanged looks, and somehow, Angel knew what she had to do. With all her might, Angel twisted, then jammed her right elbow into Simon's stomach. Simon had been paying so much attention to Tucker, she caught him completely off guard and the wind was knocked out of him.

For one split second, his grip on Angel loosened and she pulled free of his grasp and dove for the ground.

In that same instant that Simon held his stomach and watched where Angel was going, Tucker reached behind him and pulled out his own gun and aimed it at Simon.

Simon saw Tucker move and aimed his gun back in his direction, but it was too late. Tucker fired off three rounds -- the first two hit Simon in the chest, driving him back and to the left. The third shot hit him in the head. He was dead before he hit the concrete.

Tucker walked towards Simon carefully, then used his foot to push Simon's gun away from him. He knelt over and put his fingers to Simon's neck and felt for a pulse, but there was none. He lowered his gun and then rushed over to Angel, who was just getting up. She was shook up, but not crying.

"Are you alright," he asked her, as he reached out and gave her a protective hug.

"Yeah, I will be," she said. "Is...is he..."

"Yes, it's over. He won't be bothering you anymore," Tucker said, as he heard her sigh and finally begin to relax. It was as if the all of the tension of the last few days just left her body.

"Thank you," she said, as she pulled away from him and looked up into his eyes. "Thank you so much. I don't know how I can ever thank you."

"All part of the job," Tucker said. "Now, I know this was a tough thing to have to go through, but don't you have an arena full of people upstairs waiting to hear you sing? Do you feel up to it."

"Yeah, I think so," Angel replied. "It'll help get my mind off of all this, that's for sure."

By now, with all the commotion and gun shots, the police had arrived, and a crowd of others had started to flood into the garage with Jim in the lead.

He saw Angel and Tucker talking, and he saw Simon's body lying on the ground. When he saw that, he finally was able to relax knowing it was all over.

"Well, glad to see you two are ok," Jim said as he approached them.

"Yeah, thanks to Tucker here, I'm ok," Angel said.

Tucker just shrugged his shoulders and smiled at the big man.

"A job well done, for sure," Jim said.

"Jim, I'm going to have to do some talking to these police for a little while. Why don't you escort Angel back to the stage and let her get this show going before we have an arena full of people trashing the building."

"Good idea," Jim said. "Angel, shall we?"

"Let's go," Angel replied, as she and Jim began to head for the stairs. After a few steps though, she turned back to Tucker. "You are going to come back and listen to the show aren't you?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Tucker said. "I'll be up as soon as I can."

"Great," she said. "I'll be watching for you." And she and Jim disappeared through the doorway., while Tucker walked over to the police officer standing by Simon’s body.

===

Tucker explained to the police all that had happened. He told them how Simon had been stalking Angel and had tried to kill her three times in the last three days. Finally, he told them about the final showdown in the garage and how it had all gone down.

It didn't take that long though, as the police had already been made aware of the situation from Mr. Salvatore. In addition, Tucker had a good working relationship with the police from past experience. They knew him to be a professional.

After about 30 minutes, Tucker was allowed to go, but would have to show up at the police station in the morning to give a complete, formal statement.

Tucker headed up the stairs to the stage to listen to the concert. When he got there, he spotted Jim and headed over to join him. On stage, Angel was performing one of the many hit songs.

"How she doing," Tucker asked Jim as he moved up beside him.

"Considering what she's been through the last few days, she's doing very good," Jim said, as he silently moved a little to the beat of the music.

The crowd out in the arena was going wild as Angel finished up her song. She happened to glance back stage and spotted Tucker standing with Jim. She gave him a little wink of acknowledgement, and he smiled back at her.

As the applause died down, Angel walked across the stage towards the piano. Scott, her keyboardist and piano player, stood up and smiled at her as she sat down.

"This is new," Jim said. "Wonder what this is all about."

"This is a song that I have never sang in public before," Angel announced to the crowd. "It's a song that is different from what you are used to hearing from me, but it is very special too me. A friend of mine said I should have the courage to try something different with my music once in a while, and that's what I'd like to do. I'll let all of you decide if I did the right thing. It’s called, “Peaceful as the Snow Falls.”

The lights dimmed and a single spotlight focused down on Angel and the piano, as she began playing the song that Tucker had heard her play at his house earlier in the day. The audience was completely silent as they listened to her sing.

Angel's voice carried through the arena, and her heartfelt song moved many in the audience. It was one of those special moments that happen once in a lifetime at a concert, when the singer and the audience connect.

When she finished playing the final note on the piano, the arena remained silent for a few seconds. Then, as one, the audience erupted with cheers and applause. Even her band applauded. She had told them before hand what she was going to do, but they didn’t believe it would be this good. They were amazed.

At that moment, Angel knew Tucker had been right. It's not about the marketing. It's about the music and it is about her voice. She would have to think about that more in the days to come. In the meantime, she had a show to continue...

She jumped up from the piano and acknowledged the crowd. "Thank you, thank you very much," she told them all. She also looked backstage to see Tucker and Jim applauding as well. "I'm glad you all enjoyed it," she said, more to Tucker than to the crowd.

"Ok, let's move this show moving along," she said, and with that the pounding drumbeat began anew with another of her pop-rock hits, and she fell right back into the rhythm of her usual songs. She danced across the stage with the rest of her dancers, singing another of her hits off her latest albums, and the crowd went wild.

"Interesting choice of songs," Jim said to no one in particular about the previous song. "Any idea where she came up with the thought of doing it in the show there Tucker?"

"Nope, not a clue," Tucker replied with a grin.

"No, didn't think you would," Jim said. "Beautiful song though. Hope she does it again sometime."

"Me too," Tucker said. "In fact, with her voice, I'll even bet you that's her next hit song."

"Tell you what, Mr. Security man," Jim said. "You stick to your job, and let the music professionals do theirs. That song is so out of her normal play list, they'll never let her do it."

"Well, one thing I learned over the last two days is not to underestimate the power of that girl," Tucker said. "You just never know."

Out in the arena, the crowd continued to cheer and shout as Angel sang her heart out for all of them. It turned out to be one of her best concerts according to everyone who was there and the newspaper and radio reviews the next day.

===

A few weeks later, Tucker was driving through the city heading to the office one morning. As he weaved through the morning traffic, he kept searching the radio dial trying to find something good to listen too. Then, just before turning the dial again after another too-loud song, the DJ caught his attention as he was announcing the next song.

"Here's a new one from Angel everyone," he said. "Not her normal stuff, but it's already at No. 3 on the charts and climbing fast. It's called "Peaceful as the Snow Falls."

Tucker smiled to himself as Angel's new song began to play on the radio. He turned the volume up and hummed along with the song. His drive to the office just became a lot more enjoyable.