Have Body, Will Guard: Olives for the Stranger by Neil Plakcy

Author:Neil Plakcy [Plakcy, Neil]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: LGBT Action/Adventure
Publisher: Loose Id LLC
Published: 2012-05-30T04:00:00+00:00

Jean-Luc Derain

Because he was so close to the restaurant, Aidan was pushed backward against the stone building front. He stayed upright, though. Omar, Leila, and Benoit were all knocked to the ground by the force of the blast.

Aidan’s first instinct was to reach for Leila. He grabbed her under the arms and pulled her back out of the street. There was chaos everywhere—people shouting, car alarms going off, breaking glass, and the smell of smoke. A woman next to Aidan screamed for her husband, who was inside the restaurant, and Aidan realized the blast had blown out the plate-glass window. He heard someone crying behind him.

Leila was in shock. Aidan wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. Then he looked for her father.

He could just make out Omar’s legs coming out from beneath Benoit. The big bodyguard must have been trying to protect Omar and fallen on him. Aidan turned to the crying woman. “Please hold Leila.” He pushed the girl toward the woman, who reluctantly embraced her. Leila began crying as Aidan stepped out into the street.

He leaned down to Benoit and pressed his fingers against the bodybuilder’s neck. There was no pulse. Under him, he heard Omar groaning. With a huge effort, Aidan pushed at Benoit’s body. The man hardly moved. “Someone help me, please!” he called in French, and a Tunisian man joined him. Together they managed to free Omar from beneath Benoit.

The high-low whoop of police sirens added to the chaos as Aidan and the other man helped Omar to his feet. He looked back to the restaurant, his face streaked with grit and his suit jacket torn, and saw Leila. She broke free of the woman holding her and rushed to him.

The blue-and-white police lights flooded the street as Aidan shepherded them back inside, stepping carefully over the broken glass. He led them around upended tables and chairs to a booth at the rear. Omar sat close to his daughter, with his arm around her shoulder.

Aidan pulled out his cell phone and stepped back. “There’s been an incident,” Aidan said when Liam answered. “I’m fine and so are Omar and Leila. But the other bodyguard, Benoit, is dead.”

He realized that his voice was quavering, and he took a deep breath as Liam asked, “What happened?”

“We were at dinner at a restaurant in the Arab quarter,” Aidan said. “Looks like someone set off a bomb as we walked out into the street after the meal.”

“What kind of bomb?”

“I’m not a munitions expert, Liam,” Aidan said, his voice raising an octave. “A big bomb.”

“Okay, calm down,” Liam said. “You’re all right, and so is the client. That’s terrific. But I need you to give me some more details.”

Aidan took another couple of deep breaths, then began describing what had happened, in as much detail as he could remember. “Sounds like a pretty small blast,” Liam said when he was finished. “We’ll have to see if the police can tell if it was on a timer, or if someone set it off as Omar was leaving the restaurant.

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