Chapter 8

Jean walked over to James and Barbara’s table. She leaned over and said something to Barbara then came back to me followed by James Dean.

“Sweetie, I need to go to the ladies room. Barbara is coming with me.”

“Sweetie!? OK. Hurry back.”

The girls got up and left the table. I leaned over to James, who’d taken a seat next to me.

“James, is there a reason we never call her Barb or Babs?”

“Yea, and you don’t want to experience it. Let’s just say that she feels that other than Barbara is as dirty a name as you can call her and let it go at that.”

“Really?”

“Really! She’d put you down before she could stop herself and then Mr. Carlesetti would fire her and leave her with a bad recommendation. And in our business that is a death sentence as far as working security goes.”

“Point taken, Barbara it shall be and remain,” I chuckled.

While we continued to wait for our dates to return, I noticed James get a little stiff. He reached into his jacket pocket and then brought his empty hand out.

“Something wrong?”

“Maybe. I just let Barbara know on our beeper. Keep an eye on the door to the restrooms.”

I casually turned in my seat and got the door in sight just as Barbara and Jean walked out. Barbara was first and had her small handbag in her hand, instead of over her shoulder, with the chain hanging loosely. Jean followed her out, her handbag slung over her shoulder like normal and scanning the people around the door.

A couple of guys stepped in front of them and words were exchanged.

“James! The girls!” I said, alarmed.

“Barbara has it in hand,” he said calmly, while he scanned the crowd around us in time to see two men moving towards our table from behind us.

James stood quickly and the two men, seeing that James knew they were coming for us, rushed towards our table. There was a good amount of room between tables so no one really noticed the increase in movement until almost at the same time, there was a scream from the vicinity of the restroom doors and from just in front of James.

Near the restroom doors, and near Jean, a man was on the ground, his hands to his face, blood seeping from between his fingers. Everyone saw the tall woman in the sleek, black, dress standing over him, swinging a small handbag around her head. Jean was clear of the bags arc and stood with Barbara between her and the remaining assailant. In front of me, James had one man down and the second on the way from the taser he’d pulled from its holster on the side opposite his pistol.

Back towards the rest room, Barbara had nailed the second man in the face with her handbag, sending him sprawling to the floor, blood also gushing from his face. Jean was leaning over the first man spraying pepper spray into his eyes only inches away from his face and it’s open wounds.

As soon as the second man hit the floor, Jean was on him with the pepper spray as well. Both men were screaming in agony from the combination of the pepper spray in their eyes and the introduction of the spray into the various slashed cuts on their faces.

Barbara grabbed Jean and pulled her towards James and me. James gave a second shot from the taser to each man and then led the four of us out the front door and to the far end of the parking lot. With Barbara covering our retreat, we made the trip to the SUV much more quickly than the one to the dance. As we approached, James hit the remote door lock and motor starter and had the SUV ready for us.

“Get in!” James yelled as we approached the vehicle.

I opened the back door and pushed Jean in before me. Barbara reached for the front passenger door and James did the same for the driver’s door. James slammed his door shut and Barbara turned to step in but dropped to the ground with the door open screaming, “GUN!”

Barbara yelled half in warning and half in pain. I realized she’d been shot. James opened his door and had his pistol out with his arms reaching over the top of the SUV. I jumped out of the passenger side and pulled a weakened Barbara into the back seat. I quickly closed the passenger side front door and got into the back to the loud thud of pistol fire hitting the side of the SUV.

“We’re in James. Get us out of here!”

James immediately dropped to the driver’s seat and closed the door in one move. He slammed the selector to drive and floored it. Jean was squeezed tight to the passenger side door; Barbara was laying on her side with her face in Jean’s lap. I had my jacket off and was pressing hard on a wet spot on Barbara’s black dress. My hand came up red.

“James! Barbara’s been shot in the back!”

Without a seconds hesitation, James opened the center console and pulled out a first aid kit and tossed it in the back. I knew what to do from the first aid courses we needed to take at the motor shop. I quickly had it open, searching for the sterile gauze. James then pushed the button on the overhead and turned on the vehicles cell phone. He spoke loudly, “911!”

The phone was answered.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“I’m in a black SUV headed for St Luke’s ER. I have a woman with me that has been shot. ETA eleven minutes.”

“How was she shot?”

“We were attacked at the high school Prom dance an...”

There were several popping sounds to the back of the SUV. James driving reacted immediately.

“ ... and we are being followed and fired on. We are on Avenue C heading to the ER. Have the police catch up to us. I’m sure when the bad guys see where we’re going, they will take off.”

“What is your cross street?”

“Damn! It is currently 13^th, now 12^th.”

“Police units are on their way. Your ER ETA?”

“About 7 minutes.”

There were more popping sounds and spider cracks appeared on the windows in the back and driver’s side of the SUV but nothing broke.

“James, are we bullet proof?”

“We’re not but the SUV is. How’s Barbara?”

“She’s unconscious. I’ve got several layers of gauze on the wound.”

“Check her other side for an exit wound? The bullet might have gone through and she may be bleeding out elsewhere.”

I reached under Barbara’s body and found a spot on her abdomen that was wet and then a hole that I could stick two fingers into.

“Got it! Jean more gauze!”

Jean reacted immediately, reaching into her purse, then the first aid kit, and handed me three sterile gauze pads.

“Can you get your hand under her? I can’t apply pressure to both spots at the same time.”

Jean knelt on the floor of the back seat and got her hand and the gauze to the exit wound while I applied pressure to the entry wound. The SUV moved quickly from side to side a few times and then steadied up.

“Looks like the cops are on us and are after the bad guys. We should be safe to the ER.”

Minutes later, James pulled the SUV into the ER drive. He pulled right up to the automatic doors and killed the motor. Jumping out, pistol in hand, he ran around and opened the passenger side back door, and helped the attendants get Barbara out of the seat and onto a gurney that two attendants had halfway outside the automatic doors. When they had Barbara fully on a gurney and were running her into the ER, I relaxed, Jean fell into my arms, sobbing, as the adrenaline began to wear off.

“Are you two OK?” James asked quietly.

“Yeah, James. Jean’s a little shaken.” I answered quietly.

“Let’s get her inside, she may be getting shocky. Then I’ll park the SUV and wait for the police.”

I scooted back out of the SUV and helped Jean to her feet. She sank a little in my arms and before I knew it, Jean was dropping into a wheelchair and an attendant was pushing her into the ER and off to an exam room. James got into the driver’s seat and I slammed the back door and quickly got into the front passenger seat.

“What the fuck was all that?”

“It would appear that our gambling friends wanted to do us harm. And since we’ve been pretty much holed up or tightly guarded all this time, Prom was an open opportunity.”

“How did they know we were going to Prom?”

“My guess? They have been watching the house and caught us going to the mall and figured out we were going to Prom. They didn’t figure on two bodyguards and a bullet proofed SUV. They certainly didn’t figure on Barbara’s thirty pound handbag.”

“Thirty pounds?”

“Yeah, no one would guard against getting hit by a handbag. So Barbara carries one with lead inserts surrounded by a titanium frame. It’s covered with little, sharp, steel sequins. She’s so strong she can move the bag like it only has lipstick in it. It does a job when it hits bare skin.”

“Where did she get a gun from?”

“From a holster on her calf.”

In the few minutes that it took us to speak, James had driven and parked the SUV in front of the hospitals security office.

“Are you sure that you’re OK, Paul? Have you checked yourself for any wounds? Adrenaline will keep a victim going at full speed until the danger is over.”

“No, I’m good. I’m just worried about Barbara and Jean.”

“Let me worry about Barbara. After all, she’s my girlfriend.”

“Yeah, heck of a Prom night ... damn! I wonder if anyone else was hurt. It seemed that bullets were flying everywhere.”

“I don’t know. Right now that’s not our concern. I do need to call Mr. Carlesetti.”

As we walked back across the parking lot, James made the call.

“Leo that was a lovely dinner,” Joyce O’Dell said as she set down her after dinner coffee.

“It was, and the company was pretty good too,” said Leo Carlesetti, as he reached into his jacket pocket.

Joyce blushed a little and smiled at her date.

“Only one thing can make it better, Joyce,” Leo said, kneeling before her, ring in hand, and drawing the attention of the surrounding diners. “Will you make it official and say that you’ll marry me?”

Joyce’s hands flew to her face and she began to nod slowly.

“I’m sorry, Joyce, I didn’t hear you.”

“Yes, Leo! Yes, I’ll marry you.”

The people surrounding them applauded while Leo slid the ring on Joyce’s finger. Then the two stood and embraced before kissing. Their server, having been warned earlier by Leo, came out of the kitchen pushing a cart with a chilled champagne bucket. The server stopped beside their table and the sommelier appeared to open the bottle and pour a small amount of wine into one of the flutes, presenting it to Leo.

He sniffed it, swirled it around in the flute looking for particles of cork on the sides of the glass, then he sipped the beverage and found it to be wonderful. He smiled at the sommelier and nodded. Joyce’s flute was filled first then Leo’s was topped off. The two touched glasses.

“To a long and happy married life.”

“Indeed,” was Joyce’s answer.

Each had another glass while sharing a rather large Crème Brulé. Leo gave the server his card and signed for the tab. Picking up his cell phone, he dialed the security driver. As the happy couple left the restaurant, the SUV pulled up and stopped.

Leo opened the back door on the passenger side and held Joyce’s hand while she got in. He closed the door and walked around to the other side and got in next to her. Ronnie began moving down the long driveway, stopping before he came to the exit and the cross street.

“How was dinner?” Ronnie asked.

“Dinner was the best, Ronnie. She said yes for real. Turn left,” Leo answered.

Ronnie turned left and drove to the one of two possible destinations. Had Joyce said “no”, Ronnie would have been told that dinner was “just fine”. But since she said “yes”, Ronnie’s second destination was to a spot where couples were known to park and neck.

Being Prom night and still early by Prom standards, the area was virtually empty. Ronnie backed into a spot that had the best view of the valley and parked.

“Don’t mind me. I’m going for a little walk,” Ronnie said before he got out.

“Leo, you had this all planned out. You must have felt pretty confidant,” Joyce said.

“I was. But I had a plan “B” that would have us home instead.”

“Well I’m not the sort of girl who puts it out in the back seat of a car.”

“It’s an SUV.”

“Regardless!” Joyce declared. “And I still don’t want to have sex before we’re married.”

“I agree. In my mind, I’m still married to Sandra until we both say, “I do” in front of a judge.”

“That doesn’t mean that we can’t just cuddle and look at the scenery, right?”

“That works for me.”

The two cuddled together and began kissing. The kisses were not what one would call “passionate” but they were loving. Joyce pulled back and had just laid her head on Leo’s shoulder when Leo’s cell phone went off. He smiled at Joyce.

“You should answer that, it might be the kids.”

Leo took out the phone and looked at the caller ID before he answered it.

“Hello James. Is everything all right?”

“No! Get back to the house ASAP. Barbara’s been shot and we were attacked at Prom and on the way to the ER. You might be a target as well.”

Suddenly there was a pop on the passenger side window that turned into a large, round, spiderweb on the glass.

“Guns!” Ronnie said as he flew into the driver seat.

It seemed that he had opened the door, jumped in, closed the door, started the SUV, and floored it all in one quick movement.

“We’re being shot at James. Where are you?”

“St. Luke’s ER. Jean and Paul and I are fine. There are cops all over.”

“Ronnie’s on 911 right now. We’ll head for the nearest police station. The house might be under surveillance. As soon as we get to a station, I’ll call you back.”

Leo disconnected the call, wrapped an arm around Joyce and yelled at Ronnie.

“Ronnie! Take us to the nearest police station.”

“Not home?”

“No! It might be watched.”

“On it!”

Ronnie stopped long enough to turn on the GPS and activated it by voice. As it turned out the nearest police station was the one down the street from St Luke’s hospital.

“Ronnie! Head for St Luke’s instead!” Leo ordered.

“Is someone hit?”

“No. Well Barbara was shot.”

“Fuck!’

“RONNIE!”

“Sorry, Boss. Sorry, Mrs. O’Dell.”

“I understand, Ronnie,” Joyce said quietly. “And you should probably start calling me Mrs. Carlesetti or just Joyce.”

Ronnie didn’t reply, he just floored it again and took the next right towards the hospital.

“Doctor Broussard. I’m the ER attending. Are you the lady’s husband?”

“No, sir. She and I are on the same security detail. I’m fully authorized to take care of any medical issues,” James said, showing his company ID and driver’s license.

“Very well, Mr. Dean. I’ll need you to go to admitting and take care of all the paperwork. Before that, what is the ladies name?”

“Her name is Barbara Edwards.”

“Well Barbara is one lucky young woman. The bullet passed through her. It missed everything important but has made a mess of her intestinal tract. It looks like it’s going to take about an hour to an hour and a half to get inside her and clean everything up. She’ll be in the hospital for at least a week.”

“Thank you, Doctor.”

“She’ll be with us until we’re sure she’s stable. Then we’ll move her to a surgical room and get her put back together.”