Lady in Red Pt. 02 Ch. 12

"Sir, I'm sorry to bother you at dinner, but I.."

"Pete?" cried Becky as she quickly rose from her chair and hugged the young man."You're getting around a lot better. Would you join us for dinner?

"This is my sister Ashley, then there's Lieutenant Naomi Wilson, and Gwen's sister, Kate Anderson. This is Pete. Gwen and I met him at Walter Reed last summer when Jason was here recovering from the wounds he received in Colombia. I'm sorry, Pete, but I never heard your last name."

"It's Walker, Ma'am. I don't want to intrude on you during dinner. I had hoped to make an appointment to speak with Lieutenant Hammer, if I could," finished the young soldier.

Steve had been carefully observing the situation. It was obvious that the man limped, that he was a veteran and that Becky seemed to feel he was at least okay.

"Let's make that appointment for right now and right here," stated Steve as he shook the man's hand. "Is it of a personal nature, or can we discuss the matter in front of the ladies?"

"If you'll listen to me right now, I'd be fine with the ladies listening in," replied the man named Pete as he took the seat next to a smiling Becky and across from Steve. I'll get right to the point so I don't waste much of your time."

"We'll place your order first," insisted Becky as she summoned a waiter. "Get this man the same order as Steve and a cold bottle of Bud and a frosty mug, please."

"Thanks, I wasn't expecting to eat with you folks. I know you're all busy and famous and must be bothered by people all of the time. You're being very good to me and I appreciate it," stated Pete.

"Maybe you haven't heard, but we treat our soldiers and veterans really well," interrupted Becky again. "Steve, Gwen, and Jordan have set the tone for all of us. We're proud to be Americans and appreciate our freedom and those that fight to keep it."

"Becky, why don't you let Pete tell Steve what he wants to ask?" prodded Ashley. "I'm sure Pete knows all about Steve Hammer. Let's find out a little more about Pete Walker."

"I lost a foot in Iraq. I've been rehabbing for a few months and I'm pretty well done with it," began Pete. "I've been looking for employment, but no one's been interested so far. Mom read on the internet that you're all staying at this hotel and she made me promise that I'd try to speak with you. She heard Becky and Ms. Anderson say that I should look them up if I needed a job. Mom thought you'd just up and hire me with no questions asked since it was Ms. Anderson that said it. I know it doesn't work that way, but I promised Mom and she'd never let me live it down if I didn't ask."

"You're right," responded Steve. "It isn't quite that easy. What are you qualified to do? What's your education? What branch of the military were you in?"

"I have a degree in computer science, so the Army made me an MP. I guess it was because I was good with weapons and managed to keep a cool head, at least back then. I'd be willing to do about anything to get started, and to live almost anywhere. I joined the army because I was having trouble paying for college. I finished my degree while I was in the service. Like I said, I lost a foot in Iraq, so I'm a little slow moving around, but I can walk all day and stand for hours without trouble."

"You said you were good with weapons. Can you handle a hand gun? Do you have a permit, or is there any reason you wouldn't be able to get one?" asked Steve.

"I kept all of my paperwork up and have a concealed weapon permit in Vermont. I should be able to get one in any state. Are you thinking about some sort of guard job or something?" asked Pete.

"Yeah, I am. I want to start hiring security for the girls, I mean the ladies here. Ashley and Gwen are at the top of my list of concerns. I'm not too worried about Gwen at school, but when she's in Washington and not with me, I need to be sure that she's safe. Ashley will be working with her and I'm a little worried for her safety here in D.C. Do you think you'd be interested in taking on a job like that?" asked Steve.

"It makes me a little nervous, simply because of the responsibility, but I could do it. I wouldn't be as useful in hand-to-hand combat as I once was. I wrestled in high school and college and boxed a little when I joined the service," revealed Pete. "If you're serious, I'd be very interested."

"You think I need a body guard?" asked a surprised Ashley. "I've never felt I was in danger here. Have you heard something?"

"No, I haven't," admitted Steve. "But I worry about it a little. You're alone a lot, you're beautiful, have an influential position with a high profile congresswoman, and have the cutest little butt around. I think it's best to be proactive. It would be security and not a 'body guard'. This isn't a movie.

"So, Pete, if the salary is right, will you be interested in the position?" asked Steve. "You can start when you get a permit to carry here in D.C. and we run a background check on you that's satisfactory. We'll put you on the payroll tomorrow. On Monday, if everything checks out, you'll need to pick a room on the fifteenth floor here. We have the entire floor reserved and there are quite a few rooms to pick from.

"One other thing. You'll be assigned to keep Ashley safe, but if any of these ladies has a problem and you're in the area, consider it your job to help them out. I'd be extremely upset if harm came to any of them. You can understand my feelings there, can't you?"

"I sure can! These are the best looking women I've ever seen, and they've been really good to me. I won't let you, or them, down," promised Pete. "Thanks for giving me the opportunity to prove myself. You're even giving me a place to live! Mom's not going to believe this!"

"Are you kidding?" laughed Becky. "She knew Steve would give you a job when she heard Gwen suggest it months ago. Listen to your mother. She's a smart woman."

Not wanting to overstay his welcome, Pete gave Ashley his contact information, thanked Steve and the ladies for the great time, and then headed out. Becky was smiling as she watched him leave.

"Did you really want security for Ashley, or were you just trying to help the guy out?" asked Kate, who had been unusually quiet during the meal. "Do you think we all need security? Are we in danger?"

"I hired him because I think he'll do a good job. I'm worried about Ashley. I'll feel better if she has someone looking out for her. I also hired him because Becky vouched for him. I get the impression that she thinks he's a pretty good guy.

"I've already arranged for someone to keep an eye on you, Kate. He should be here by the weekend, and he's pretty good. You're a very wealthy woman now. You could be a target of all sorts of unsavory characters. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you."

"You hired someone to watch over me without getting my opinion? That seems just a bit presumptuous to me. I should have been able to interview the guy, at the very least," insisted an annoyed Kate.

"Okay, do you want me to call Chip and tell him he's been fired already, or do I just tell him that you want to interview him?" asked Steve with a straight face.

"Chip?" repeated Kate excitedly. "Chip's going to be my security? Why didn't you say so? I always feel really safe when he's around. That's a great idea!"

"He was bitching and moaning about how he couldn't be an active SEAL any longer with his leg not being 100%, so I suggested that we could use him to keep an eye on you. He immediately started feeling way better about getting a discharge from the Navy and working in the private sector."

"Are you telling me that you think Kate will be safe around Chip?" demanded Becky. "You're asking the fox to watch the hen house."

"No, I'm asking the SEAL to watch the stone cold fox," responded Steve with a straight face.

"You do realize that if Gwen hadn't found you first, you'd be the one keeping me warm and safe at night, don't you?" beamed Kate. "You say the nicest things sometimes."

The next afternoon, Steve left Senator Chatham's office a little earlier than usual. He knew Ashley's schedule and expected to meet up with her and Becky well before they reached the hotel. He was surprised when an arm slipped inside his and a soft voice asked, "Going my way, Sailor?"

"Becky? What are you doing over this way? I thought I'd catch you and Ashley walking home from the office," offered Steve as he gave Becky a big smile.

"Ashley went over to the senate chambers to get some information from an aide of Senator Wolf's. I did a little shopping. I'm meeting her at the corner in a few minutes, unless she's late," replied Becky.

As Becky and Steve approached the corner, they saw Ashley hurrying along the sidewalk, less than thirty yards from them. Suddenly, a black SUV screeched to a stop in the street near Ashley and two men jumped out. They left the passenger doors open as they quickly grabbed Ashley and tried to drag her into the van! Ashley struggled until one of the men jabbed her in the neck with a needle of some kind. She went limp immediately and one of the men scooped her up while the other held the door open.

"Son of a bitch!" screamed Becky as she launched herself forward to help her unconscious sister. Becky was quick, but Steve was already several steps in front of her. Before the man could place Ashley into the SUV, Steve grabbed the man's arm and spun him around. As the man turned, Steve's fist caught him flush on the chin. Steve deftly caught Ashley as the man crumbled to the sidewalk.

The problem with that was that with Ashley in his arms, Steve was unable to protect himself from the second man. He staggered back as he absorbed several quick shots to his face. While still holding Ashley, Steve swung around as fast as the situation would allow. His heel caught his assailant in the knee and that man went down.

Steve quickly handed Ashley to Becky and turned to face the first man he had punched. The man was back on his feet and delivering blows to Steve's back and kidneys. Steve stepped back and turned to face the man, just as the man with the injured knee limped back into the fray.

It became immediately obvious to Steve that his opponents had some serious martial arts training. If they weren't stopped soon, they would batter him into unconsciousness. Even as he fought the two men, he processed the information and determined he was in a life or death conflict. Once he determined the severity of the situation, his right leg swung around and delivered a death dealing blow to the face of the attacker on his right.

Steve was well aware of the outcome of the blow as he felt his foot strike the man. He felt the impact jar his leg and heard the snapping of ligaments and bone. That left one assailant and Steve turned to face him. He was taller than Steve and about the same weight. The two men exchanged blows with sickening force for a short time. Steve managed to stand the man up with a sharp left to the chin. Then he followed through with a right that he drove into the man's face. That man dropped to the sidewalk a couple feet from his fallen comrade.

Becky had been clutching Ashley as she watched the battle in horror. She feared for Steve when the two men ganged up on him. Then she saw Steve drive his foot into the face of the one man, and heard bones snap as they man went over backwards, hit the sidewalk, and remained still.

She watched in awe as Steve and the second man exchanged tremendous blows so rapidly she couldn't follow their movements. Suddenly, Steve hit the man twice in the face and he toppled over and landed near his cohort. That was when she noticed the driver race around the front of the vehicle. He saw Ashley in Becky's arms and pointed his gun at her! Becky dropped down to the sidewalk with Ashley and covered her limp form with her own body as a loud blast roared in her ears.