Paladin de Amor.

By Rollie Tyler

All his life he lived in the shadows, always in the background. For the first eight years of his school life he was harassed, his parents tried, but they couldn't stop it. He was abused, jumped twice everyday after school and called many names. After sixth grade he was growing stronger, and more resilient. He was walking home and he confronted the bullies, he won. They had come at him with bikes and he had gotten them off and he won. After that year he transferred to a new school, Lake High School. Through out the years he had taken up fencing, martial arts, but he liked swimming so he joined the team like the rest of his family, so with the exception of swimming he stayed in the background.
His days were still lonely, but eventually he started his own business in his junior year of High School, he was an independent contractor. He was good at what he did and due to the nature of his business he dealt with strict confidentiality. Over the course of a year he had amassed over one hundred and sixty thousand dollars which was stored in his account. He didn't really trust anyone at school; so he built himself an artificial intelligence program that would do all the jobs he couldn't while out and about. He formed it out of the girl of his dreams and called her Katie. At the beginning of his senior year in high school Max met someone, Karla, she was just like Katie, only he had created Katie from his dreams, so Karla was his dream girl. When he first got to know her he thought she would be stuck up and a messed up girl. He found out that she wasn't she was an awesome girl who cared for all around her which is why she joined the medical program Max was in at school. He got along and started dating. This is where our story picks up, a cold December morning 3:35am.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Max woke with a start as Katie activated the mini holoprojector next to his bed.

"Max." She said patiently.

"Yes Katie what is it?" he ask.

"We have someone interested in our services."

"Alright, who is it and what do they want done?"

"It is a private company and they want someone kidnapped."

"Katie you know what my answer will be, we don't do kidnapping unless it's the government." Max said sitting up and eyeing her.

"Yes Max." She replied.

"Katie, who is it that they want to kidnap?" Max asked merely curious.

"One Karla Victoria De La Cruz, Age 19, residence…." Katie carried on, but Max had stopped listening, Karla, His girlfriend, the person who he cared about the most in the world was targeted.

"Max!" Katie said.

"What?"

"They buyer says he has another person interested in the job and killed the connection."

"Shit!" Max swore, he jumped up and grabbed his bag. He opened his dresser and pullout out a shirt, "Katie, back trace the call and tell them I accept. I want to know who these people are."

He pulled on his shirt and walked over to the storage locker in his room, he pulled his silver belt, 2 flash-bangs, his gun holster and 9mm Browning hand gun. He threw a couple of extra magazines in his bag, pulled on his jacket and ran outside to his car. His pride and joy, a gift from his uncle, a 69 charger painted black with his symbol on the top; a winged sword inside a triangle.

He climbed in and clicked the button under ashtray which red his fingerprint and opened all the added features that were added on the charger, the holoprojector linked him to Katie.

"Katie, remote connect me to Karla's laptop, turn on the camera."

"Yes Max" Katie replied, an image appeared on the windshield, it was Karla's room it looked dark.

Max pulled onto the highway and it was 5 minutes from Karla's house.

"Katie did you back trace and take the offer?"

"they already gave it to the other interested party, I'm sorry max." Katie's voice came over the link.

"damn," Max flew off the highway and onto bridgeway road which was near Karla's house. He saw movement on the screen and pulled to a stop outside Karla's house an unmarked van was waiting at the end of the street.

"Katie, keep me updated on whats going on inside."

"yes Max" she said.

He slide out the passenger side window and walked around to the back of Karla's house.

"Max three personages have entered the subject's house and are searching the rooms."

"Thanks" Max said. He pulled out one of the flash bang grenades and stood by the living room windows, they were thin and hidden by drapes, he slipped one open and entered Karla's house. He closed the door and then he heard her scream. Karla was very physical; she loved to workout and practiced regularly with max in kung fu.

'That's my girl.' Max thought, he waited seeing if he was needed. He heard something hit the wall hard and then he heard a shot. Max went around the corner and he saw Karla slumped against the wall, one of the intruders with a gun out. She fought to get up and the other brought out a taser, he fired the bolts into her until her body shook.

Anger filled Max to the breaking point; he pulled the gun from his holster and tossed the flash bang into the room. He waited the 3 seconds. There was a boom and his closed eyes registered a flash. He ran into the room, kicking one of them down. The other was recovering and kicked Max in the shoulder, spinning him around as the other got up from the floor. As he spun Max grabbed the barrel of his gun and used the momentum of the spin to pistol-whip the man getting off the floor in the head. He sun back to the ground and max jumped, completing the spin with a fist to his opponents face, another to the gut and a kick to the chest. He pulled out some zip-ties and hog tied the men together.

He then knelt next to Karla, he hands still twitching from the taser. He eyes were closed, her breathing was ragged and shallow, Max was a trained EMT, and he found where she was shot, upper shoulder, passing right through her body. He ripped open the packet of shot patch and pressed it to her wound. Picking her up in his arms he carried her outside to his car. He slid her into the passenger seat and sped out of her driveway.

"Help…" was the first word to escape her mouth. Max heart broke; he grabbed her hand and went faster.

"Hold on Karla, I've got you." He said, he was driving to the best hospital in the state and government funded; he had good contacts and wouldn't have to worry about her there. He ran into the ER and grabbed a medic and a gurney. They lifted Karla onto it and rolled it inside.

"Max…" her voice returned against her hand grabbing his, "lastima tanto, me ayuda im muy asustado.

…"

"im aquí mi amor, no teme, permanecer con mí." They had rolled her into the emergency room and began to cut off her clothes to attach EKG leads and check her for more injuries. Max helped as he could, but he was watching her vitals and mostly her eyes, the usual Latina fire was less and less. It scared Max.

They had cleaned her wound when the doctor grabbed Max's shoulder, "Max, she has to go into surgery now, ill let you know how it goes, she is in bad shape but ill take care of here."

"Thanks Doc." He shook hands with Dr. Michael Summers, MD. The doctor that trained Max as an EMT and he was in the CIA's medical division. He also taught every summer at john Hopkins in Baltimore. The best doctors have the word "professor" on their name tag.

Max pulled on his jacket and went out to his car. He sat in the parking lot and cried. He cried for being to slow and not being able to protect the woman he loved. He made a promise then and there to bring the ones who did this to justice.