Unwanted Protection

Chapter 2

First Impressions

Meryl sat impatiently in her new dinning room table, waiting for her cell phone to ring. She was waiting for her best friend Milly to call, after all, she had promised to have lunch…or by this time, dinner with her. All the things her father had said, hadn't really sunk in yet, she still couldn't believe that in less then 48 hours, she would be under heavy surveillance. It just wasn't fair, not after these short months of freedom.

She sighed in defeat, she should call Melly, the poor girl must have forgotten. She was about to dial the number when her own house phone rang. She got up and answered without much feeling.

"Hello?" She sighed into the receiver.

"Is this Miss. Meryl?" A young male voice asked in the other end of the phone.

"And may I ask who wants to know?" Meryl said cautiously, she knew she should be careful.

"This is just a call to verify if she has arrived in her new apartment, and to check if everything is all right. I don't mean to scare you Miss, This is a call authorized by her father, we may get him on the line to verify this as well."

Meryl sighed in relief. "No that's not necessary, I am Meryl, yes everything is fine, tell my father I like the apartment he has picked for me. I will call him later."

"I will do that ma'am, have a good day" The young man replied.

"Likewise" Meryl murmured before hanging up.

She paced back and forth in the dinning room, this was really strange, why had her dad not called himself? Maybe he was too busy, but he couldn't be so busy to not call her. The guy hadn't even introduced himself, all of her father's employees she had ever met had told her their full name. Meryl looked up at the clock to see the time… and as she drifted into her dream world she heard the faint ringing of her cell phone on the table. She gracefully picked it up and answered.

"Hello?"

"MERYL!!, I'm so sorry I haven't called you, there was a lot of work, and I got out later then expected, I hope we can still eat together!" Milly's voice explained over the phone.

"No problem Milly, I have a lot to tell you, where do you think we should eat today?" Meryl laughed.

"I was craving sushi this morning, is there a problem with that? I know this great restaurant…it's right by the coffee shop at the mall!" Milly commented.

"That sounds great, I'll meet you there in say…. 30 minutes?"

"Yes, that's fine, see ya there!"

Meryl placed her cell phone in her pocket, and without hesitation, left the lonely she now lived in. As she stepped outside, she was encountered by a man carrying some boxes.

"May I help you?" Meryl asked as patiently as she could.

"This is for the spare room in your apartment Miss Meryl, is it OK if we put it there now?" The man tiredly said.

"Of course, but I'm going out, so if you could lock the door when you are finished that would be good." Meryl responded automatically, not really listening to what he had said. All she wanted to do is go to see Milly, to tell her the news…

1 HOUR LATER --

"So that's all of it" Meryl said finishing her last sushi, she had just told Milly straight out what was going to happen from now on.

Milly sat in silence, not knowing what to say, it was clear that her small friend did not like it one bit, but Milly thought it was wonderful that her father would care for her so much that he was going to assign her to a body guard. It just depended how you took it. "I think it's very thoughtful of your father to take that kind of security… it only means he cares about you Meryl!" Milly finally commented.

Meryl sat in silence for a while. Milly was right really, all her father was trying to do is protect his only daughter. After all, he did not want to make the same mistake twice… Meryl thought bitterly. "I guess you're right, but it still doesn't take away the pain of some guy following me around everywhere I go! I mean it's not like I don't already get talked about at school because of my rich father, now that I'm going to have bodyguard, everyone will surely think that I'm just trying to show off! Not only that, but I like my privacy! I liked being away from him to tell you the truth, it was fun not having him tell me what to do and when to do it."

Milly gave thought to this as well, then cheerfully responded. " Oh but Meryl, it won't be so bad! He even said that he was a young man! He won't be that bad! I'm sure he'll be fun to be around, and in no time, he'll be just like a friend who follows you around everywhere!"

Meryl almost fell out of her chair when she heard Milly say that, it was just like Milly to turn this into something they could laugh about. She was really a good friend, she had met her the first day of class. Well, she more bumped into her then met her, but what did that matter? All that mattered now was that she was going to help her get though this. "Want to go get a coffee, or hot chocolate at the Coffee store?" Meryl asked changing the subject.

Milly smiled widely. "SURE! That would be so nice! I wonder if they have any pudding! Do you think they do? Oh but I don't have any more money left…"

"Don't worry about that Milly," Meryl assured leading Milly out of the restaurant, " you know that I will pay for you, after all, I invited you!"

"Oh but I don't want to impose on you! You are already so kind!!" Milly said truthfully looking down at the short figure in front of her.

"You have nothing to worry about, I have plenty of money, you know that!" Meryl insisted walking through the shop's door.

"If you insist…." Milly smiled widely again.

As they found a table to sit, Meryl took a look around. The shop or store, was small, and comfy. It was very dimly lit, just like as always, and the smell of fresh coffee filled the air, relaxing anyone who entered. On the far left corner, there was the kitchen, where everything was being made. On the other end, was a table full of men in suits, maybe just getting out of work. Those where the things that stood out most to Meryl as she took a seat next to Milly, all the other customers where scattered around in smaller tables. There was a blonde waiter cleaning up after a table that was empty too. He was tall, well, taller then her at least. She could hear him humming a peppy and cheerful tune to himself.

"So" Milly interrupted Meryl's thoughts, " What is this I hear about you and Mr. Lee going out on next Friday?"

Meryl whirled around to face Milly. "How'd you know about that?" Meryl asked surprised. She had not told anyone at all that Jake Lee had asked her out next weekend.

"Oh you know, at work a lot of friends come around and you know them" Milly said delightfully waving her hands, " they were talking about how lucky he was to get the quiet girl to finally go out with him on a date!"

Meryl's cheeks turned crimson. It was true that she had accepted Jake's proposal, but she hadn't really thought that he would tell his friends right away. Now it seemed that more people then she had planned knew about it. "Well yes…"

"Just don't play innocent! Do you like him? Well you must because you're going on date with him! Imagine that!" Milly babbled enthused.

"It's nothing really, he just asked me if I would like to go to the movies with him, and I said yes…" Meryl tried to explain.

"Yes, yes, I know that bit, but do you like him???" Milly asked again.

"Well…" Meryl let the word drift on. The truth was that she didn't really like Jake the way he liked her. He was a nice enough guy, but conceited and overly too confident for her taste. The question was so sudden and unexpected she couldn't say no, especially when he was looking at her with those hypnotizing blue eyes. "…I…"

Milly's smile dropped. "Meryl! What are you trying to say? You don't like the guy but yet you're going on a date with him? What are you playing at? It's not like you to do this!"

Meryl would have been forced to explain to Milly what was the cause of her decision but the kind waiter interrupted her. "Good evening ladies! What may I get for you guys today?" He asked cheerfully behind aqua green eyes.

Meryl hid her face behind the menu and mumbled her order, while Milly smiled at the waiter and asked if they had any pudding. Meryl was ashamed, she couldn't look at Milly now. She had to tell her the truth or this would surely kill her.

"Are you OK miss?" The waiter asked with a worried look on his face.

"Huh? Me?" Meryl asked pointing to herself.

"Yes, you looked lively a minute ago, now you look like you want to be swallowed by the ground!" He said easefully with a wide smile.

"Yes, I'm fine, I was just thinking that's all…" Meryl said looking up to him. She noticed that he was now wearing a hat, and his blonde tips were sticking out. But she failed to notice the absence of a name tag on his shirt.

After the waiter left with their orders in mind, Meryl tried to explain to Milly her decision. "I couldn't say no! he was very close, and he was almost pleading me for a date! He said that I only had to go on one and if I didn't like it then I would be free to leave for who ever I wanted! Oh Milly don't look at me like that!" Meryl moaned.

"It's just that I don't think it's right for you to do that! My mom always said that lies lead to more lies! You need to tell him that you changed your mind and that you don't want to go on a date with him!" Milly exclaimed as many of the business men passed by, leaving only two at the table of them.

"I can't do that now!! I already said yes! I don't want to seem like a tease! All I have to do is be with him for at the most four hours and after that I don't have to talk to him at all in my life!" Meryl pleaded.

"Meryl! How can you say that? What if he tries to do things while you are in the movies? He isn't exactly innocent you know!" Milly reasoned with her.

"He promised to respect me!" Meryl fired back with pleading eyes.

Milly sighed in defeat, Meryl could be such a stubborn girl. "OK, if you say so, but no more lies! Boys aren't so dumb either!"

Meryl nodded. She was about to promise Milly that she would be careful next time, but a business from the now empty table of them approached her to ask a question. "Excuse me miss," He started, "but are you Meryl Stryfe?"

"Yes I am." Meryl responded politely.

"Isn't this wonderful Earl!" He smiled at his partner beside him. "I am one of your father's biggest fans! I would like you to tell him of some business I would like to talk to him about…" he said quietly.

Meryl looked at him quizzically, there was something disturbing about this men, she wanted to keep their conversation as short as possible. "Yes?"

He got even closer to her, and leaned in close to her ear. "But as you see, it is very private, and I need you to go outside with me, so we can discuss it with my fellow mates." At that moment Meryl felt something cold pressed to her stomach. It's a gun! she realized with fear. She quietly turned around to see where the man was pointing. Outside the shop, the men that had left, where all waiting for them.

"Milly-!" Meryl stopped short, seeing that her friend was also being threatened by a gun. What can I do? I can't say no… they will kill someone! Meryl looked around the shop, there wasn't anyone around. "I.."

The men smiled coldly at her. "We don't have all day miss… we really need to go- AHHHH GET THAT OFF ME!!!"

Suddenly the men was trying to get his clothes off, or at least his shirt. In the process he had let go of the gun in his hand, and it clattered to the table. "OH! I'm so sorry sir! That coffee was meant for the short girl there!" The calm witty waiter said innocently.

"You little!!-" The man behind him said, but he was shut up by the clumsy waiter dropping the remaining drinks on his tray on his face while he turned around to face him. He also let go of the gun in his hand.

"I'm sorry sir, but you really shouldn't do that! Sneaking behind people isn't very nice!" The waiter nodded at him, discreetly getting hold of the gun in the table, so that only Meryl saw him hiding it in his pocket. Yells from both men made the other six men outside come rushing in. Meryl looked around in horror, the waiter might be smart enough to knock out two men, but what about these? He would surely get killed.

"Get away from the girl!" A gruff man said, obviously the leader.

"Witch one?" The waiter asked without much worry.

"You know witch one you bastard!"

"How can I know? I can't read your mind! If I could do that I wouldn't be working here…" he said putting his empty hand that wasn't holding the tray behind him trying to reach for the broom.

"Get away before I shoot you, you imbecile!" The man said getting his gun out, and the others doing the same. The guns where all aimed at the waiter but he still kept calm.

"You're gonna shoot me? But I did nothing wrong! Wait, isn't that illegal?" The waiter dared to ask.

"I've had enough of you! Shoot but be careful not to kill the girl!" The leader hissed.

All at once there was gun shots everywhere and Meryl felt herself going down on the ground. She looked up and saw the waiter putting the broom down, and turning the table so that it shielded them all, including Milly.

"Good thing they are made out of metal!" He joked with sweat gleaming on his forehead and pointing to the table. "Are you OK?" He asked looking around and getting hold of his the broom and the gun in his pocket. The scared girls only nodded. "Well this table won't hold on for too long, they aren't invincible, so what I want you to do, when I knock out three of the men, is to run for your lives! You can cover yourselves with the tray" He explained hurriedly.

Before they could respond, he took of his hat, revealing his wild hair, and stood up and fired some shots. Meryl heard a light being shot, and some screams. She edged to the edge of the table and looked at was going on. The waiter had shot at the lights, when he did so, he also had shot through a string holding on to another light. The result was two of the men being hit by the heavy loose light, and being on the ground moaning.

"Wow!" Milly said now behind Meryl. "he's like a professional!"

Meryl nodded, she was getting ready to run with Milly when the next guy was taken down. As she did so, the waiter took cover again. "So I thought about it, and I think that you guys should go out springing, and get some help… they aren't dead, but they might be bleeding a lot." He commented calmly.

Milly nodded. "Yes sir, whatever you say!"

He smiled and stood up again. They all noticed that the shooting had stopped. "Don't get any closer or I'll kill her!" Meryl heard the waiter warn with a cold voice. She looked discreetly at was going on. The men had closed in on them, It was getting harder to shoot, without actually hurting them severely.

The waiter took aim, not at a man, but at another light bulb, this one was bigger, and of course could take out all of them. All Meryl heard was the shot being shot at and the glass being shattered before she grabbed on to Milly's hand and rushing out of safety. She was almost to the entrance when she felt Milly trip over a fallen chair.

"ahh!" Milly squealed.

Meryl didn't waste anytime, she grabbed on to Milly and pushed her in front of her, out of the war zone and in to safety. Outside, there were many specters already calling the ambulance. But that was all she could do, because a hand held on to her foot. "AHH" Now it was her turn to scream.

The man that was holding on to her foot made her fall, and with his death grip, paralyzed her. With his other hand he held a gun aimed at her chest, he was about the pull the trigger, when there was another shot heard through the air. Meryl thought for sure she was going to die, so she closed her eyes tight, and just waited for the pain to come to her, but there was none. She opened her eyes to see that the shot that was heard was from the waiter, the bullet had knocked off the man's gun out of his hands. Now that the men was distracted with surprise, she stood up and ran outside.

Milly greeted with a hug, and when she looked up, she saw many police officers and medics approach the scene. Meryl buried her face into her friends arms until two medics asked if they were all right.

Meryl looked around, and her eyes fell on the waiter. The medics had just finished with him, there were some scratches, but his arm was covered with a bandage. Meryl walked over to him and stood silently there until she felt Milly behind her.

The waiter looked up. "Hey there! You OK? That was something huh?" he asked with a smile.

"Yes, I'm fine, but I need to thank you for what you did…." She looked for a name in the waiter's uniform, but she found none.

"Ahh, all in a day's work! Soon enough you'll get sick of it." He responded sadly.

"What do you mean?" Meryl asked, but then replaced the question. "What is your name anyway? I didn't get your name in all of this…"

The waiter stood up, now that she was beside him, she could tell he was very tall, and young at the same time, but his eyes were wise, and old. He gave her his hand and shook hers " Miss Meryl Strife, my name is Vash, it was very nice meeting you."

Meryl gasped looking up at the teasing sea foam green eyes of her young bodyguard.

Well here it is!! I know it took a while, but it was worth it I didn't want to make the chapter so short because it wouldn't be fair for you guys, but thanks for those who reviewed!! You were my inspiration when my muse left me. REVIEW REVIEW!!!