Sarah was up with the sun, having spent her very first night on a pull-out couch in her new Philadelphia apartment. While most of the previous day had been spent apartment hunting, there hadn't been time to do any proper furniture shopping, so she had a simple sofa-bed brought in that would do until she could really take her time and make the place her own. Shopping was high on her priority list- as it would be for any 19 year old girl who had just become a millionairess- but Gavin Byrne had insisted that the absolute first thing that had to be taken care of was security. Boring as the task sounded, Sarah held the greatest respect for Gavin; not only for what he'd done for her, but also because she knew him to be extremely smart and a mentor to be valued. She knew she needed a voice of experience if she were to succeed in the entirely new life she was beginning.

Interviews for guards were to begin at 10:30, but with no food in the apartment yet, Sarah needed to find coffee with a quickness. She got herself dressed for the day, her mind on a small coffee shop next door. It was a gorgeous morning- sunny and already pleasantly warm out. At the coffee shop, she purchased a cup of coffee and a banana nut muffin, which she took directly back to her apartment. Sure, Burke was gone and she had her inheritance secured; but Gavin was not entirely ready to pronounce her out of danger. For some reason, Sarah felt the same, but mostly chalked it up to paranoia. Still, better safe than sorry.

She made up the sofa bed and, with some difficulty, folded it back into the couch. The apartment was large- two bedrooms, one full and one half bath, living room, separate dining area, and a chef's kitchen. The floors of the entryway were highly polished Italian marble, and the rest of the apartment had plush, cream colored carpets- save for the bathrooms which had elegant slate colored tile. The living room was lit by a grand window that was nearly floor-to-ceiling. Sarah looked around, standing in the morning sunlight and daydreaming about decor when a knock came at the door.

When Sarah crouched slightly to look through the peephole, she saw Gavin's smirking face very close to it. She opened the door quickly.

"Good girl. Always good to see who's out there. Some people will still shoot you through the door of course, so it's safer to stand at the side and yell 'who is it?', but better than just opening the door before looking."

The silver haired man strolled in, eminently comfortable as he walked around the empty room and dropped onto one side of the sofa.

"Now. First thing's first. You're a beautiful young woman with hundreds of millions of dollars and limited combat training. We can work on teaching you how to protect yourself, but it's more important to hire a professional. Some people, like my sister, constantly rotated a small team of bodyguards. Others, like my wife, prefer a system of 1-2 guards on a permanent basis. For what it's worth, I prefer the latter as well, and it's what'd I'd recommend for you. My advice to you is to find someone you connect with- someone you can trust. Then build that relationship until the person is a close friend. It's usually better to find someone younger- without a family of their own. Someone willing to trade a few years of their life protecting you for a place to live, food to eat, and a good payday. Once that first bodyguard is securely yours, then you can start adding another. Now your first bodyguard makes just as much money, bu they have more time for themselves too."

Gavin crossed his legs and rested a hand on his knee.

"I can tell you from experience that you'll want a female bodyguard. You're too beautiful for your own good; my son was willing to flush a million dollars just to take an evening stroll with you. That sort of romantic devotion is fine, I suppose... but not when it's someone's job to protect you. Love and lust complicates business dealings far, far more than it simplifies them. You need someone to devote themselves to you above anyone else in the world- that means no family. And I'd give most single men three days with you before they start dreaming of running off with you. No, if you have any illusion of a longtime, dedicated professional I think you have much, much better odds with a woman- preferably a young one with no other family. Agreed?"

Gavin looked up at Sarah with curiosity. 

"It's ultimately your decision, of course."

Sarah greeted Gavin with a warm smile and stepped aside to let him through the doorway. She peeked out into the hallway for a few extra moments to see if Will happened to be with him, but no such luck today. Sarah shut and locked the door, already listening attentively as Gavin spoke about body guards and security detail. 

Joining him on the couch, she nodded at his assessment. 

"I am so new to all of this, so I have no intentions of letting your experience and wisdom go to waste. My dad kept a close eye on me, and my security detail was two or three of his men that followed me everywhere but to the bathroom. Frankly, a female guard sounds much nicer."

She shrugged a little sheepishly. 

​​​​​​"Where do you find these people? Is there an agency or something?" 

Gavin nodded.

"A bit different in your father's situation. Those men either respected or feared him enough that they wouldn't dream of even thinking anything untoward towards you. As to how candidates are located... well, let's just say that my wife and I have a few 'talent scouts' spread out throughout the country. My sister started a file on mercenaries, bodyguards, and other potential hire-able assets that could be used either by us or against us. If someone starts making enough noise or displays enough talent, we usually hear about them. Our 'scouts', usually bartenders in the right kind of bar, get an easy hundred bucks for kicking up a name if the lead pans out. And if we wind up using them, they get a thousand. In these particular cases, I was looking for a young woman, aged 20-25, who has demonstrated both situational awareness and are decent enough fighters to ably protect someone from most reasonable threats. As you can guess, there were relatively few candidates. I had around a dozen possibilities, and most weren't interested in giving up their freedom for a few years for a fat paycheck. There were three who expressed interest, and I have them waiting down in the lobby."

He grinned, moving towards the phone.

"I... well, I assumed you'd listen to my advice, frankly."

Picking up the phone, Gavin dialed the lobby, making a mental note to increase security there as well.

"Good morning- this is Mr. Byrne. We spoke several minutes ago? Yes. Could you send them up, please?"

Gavin raised an eyebrow.

"I see. And an ambulance has been called? Good. Well then yes, please send her up. Yes, 109."

Gavin hung up the phone as he returned to the couch.

"Apparently one of our candidates has... incapacitated... the other two. Which certain speaks to this individual's ability, at least. I'd ask her a few questions. What's her story? Why does she want to be a bodyguard? Anything else you can think of to get an insight into her character, really, and see if she'd be a good fit with you. Better for you to conduct the interview, establish your authority early."

As he finished speaking, there was a knock on the door. Getting Sarah's attention, he prepared to demonstrate. Standing off to the side of the door, he placed his left hand in front of the peephole to make it look like someone was standing right there and looking through it. In his right hand, he reached for the gun in his shoulder holster.

"Who is it?"

"Bodyguard."

Having demonstrated proper door answering procedure to Sarah, Gavin opened the door. A young woman walked in, maybe a couple years older than Sarah, and it looked as if she'd just walked off a ranch in Texas. Her hat, her tall boots, the jeans, blouse, and light brown jacket were all worn, and the woman wearing them seemed like she'd seen her share of days on the open plain as well. Her gunbelt, which held a shining revolver, was slung low on her right hip. Her skin was tanned, her hair was blonde, and the expression on her face was skeptical as she strolled inside with her thumbs tucked into her belt. Her voice still contained a prairie twang as she glanced back and forth between Gavin and Sarah. 

"Not sure if y'all can afford a bodyguard if you can't afford chairs."

Gavin smirked as he moved next to the woman.

"Sarah, if I'm not mistaken, this is Kate Logan. She's been making some noise in the Midwest. Good awareness. Quick on the draw. Not particular masterful in hand to hand, but obviously good enough to handle herself."

Kate raised an eyebrow, considering testing this man the way she'd taken care of the other bodyguards downstairs. Whether it was the look in his eye or the fact that he seemed to be in charge, she decided against it. Gavin sat back on the couch next to Sarah as the woman stood in front of them.

"If you're hired, you'll be working for Miss Winters here. She'll be conducting the interview."

Sarah couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing that some of the competition had been eliminated. Whoever this person was, they certainly had spunk. 

Having never conducted an interview before, Sarah felt a moment of uncertainty in her ability to "establish authority" that she wasn't even sure she actually had. However, Gavin was an excellent teacher, and Sarah had gleaned a lot of useful advice from her time with him in New York. If nothing else, money talked with an extremely authoritative tone. 

When the woman entered, Sarah stood and greeted her with a polite smile, even laughing at the crack about the lack of furniture. Retaking her seat beats Gavin, she sat up straight and spoke with a cool, confident tone; her best mimicking of Gavin Byrne. 

"Miss Logan, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Sarah Winters. As Mr. Byrne has said, I am looking to form a security team to protect me and my future business interests. I won't waste our time asking about your qualifications, as you wouldn't be standing here if your abilities hasn't caught the right eyes. So, I'll simply start by asking what has motivated you to apply for this sort of work?"

Kate grinned.

"Money, mostly. And risk. Or the lack of it. The way I see it, guarding someone is a hell of a lot easier than bounty hunting. If I spend the next five years hunting down criminals or taking contracts on people, I'll make a ton of money, but if I make one wrong move I eat a bullet. I figure that working as a bodyguard is easier. Not sayin' I'll be lazy or nothin'. But keeping my eyes open, looking for threats... I'm doing that every second of every day whether I get paid for it or not."

She shrugged.

"And how often are you expecting people to come after you? My guess is that there might be some trouble here or there, but the way the job was presented to me, it didn't seem like you'd be throwing yourself into combat zones every other day. So yea, a place to live. Food. Drink... you drink, yea? If you do, we'll be fine. All that stuff covered, plus a good paycheck. I figure I'll stick with you a few years, build up a bunch of cash, and then go do whatever the hell I want. I'll keep you alive, you keep my bank account growing, and we both win. Just bein' honest with you."

Pleased with her candid honesty, Sarah answered honestly in return. 

"I assume you know the nature of the sort of work I am associated with; you're a smart woman so I doubt you'd come here without having done research. That being said, I believe it best to be prepared for anything. At the moment, no, I only plan to do a lot of listening and learning, and hopefully some wise investing. The only 'trouble' I worry about for now is residual from my recent inheritance which left a number of people disappointed that they didn't get what they felt was their fair share. Now, that may not even be a concern at all and I'm overly cautious, but I'm not in a position to take many risks."

Quickly, she added, 

​​​​​​"and yes, I'm a fan of a good drink here and there. No need to worry about that. Should you become my guard, you'll have a salary, as well as a generous weekly stipend for incidentals."

Sarah then moved onto a few things she'd thought of on her own. 

"As far as living arrangements, I have purchased this apartment as well as the units on either side. My intention is to have my security detail residing there. I would like to keep the number of guards as streamlined as possible for now. I am not a well known player in Philadelphia, so I see no reason for an army right now. I'm interested to know what you recommend as far as putting a team together. What's your take on protecting a 19 year old girl with a lot of money and a lot of ideas?"

Kate's grin got wider as "good drink", "salary", and "generous weekly stipend" were rattled off in quick succession. Her expression got more thoughtful, though, as Sarah asked about putting a team together.

"Ah. Well, I'm not as much of a team player, really. Never met anything I couldn't handle myself. So I guess the first thing I'd say is that if you don't really need a team if I'm there. Still, 24/7 is a tough cover, so if you really wanted a couple guys..."

Her eyes drifted over Sarah's body and she frowned.

"Problem is, any guy you hire is going to try to fuck you. Some of the girls too, I bet. Even the ones who don't try to screw you immediately might think to take advantage of you. So I'd stick with younger people. Something to prove. Or with ancient people. Although most people in this line of work don't last that long.  Good idea to buy the apartments to the sides. I might put in some connecting doors if you haven't already."

What's your take on protecting a 19 year old girl with a lot of money and a lot of ideas?"

"Depends what kind of ideas you've got, I suppose. For physical threats, I'd keep an eye out pretty much all the time. If things out here are the same as Kansas City, some clubs are safer than others. I'd stick to these... and have you communicate with me a lot about what you want. If you want me to keep everyone 2 feet away from you, I can do that. If you want to..."

Kate glanced at Gavin and shrugged.

"Sorry pops. Not sure if you're her dad or sugar daddy, but whatever."

She turned her attention back to Sarah.

"You let me know how close you want people to be able to get, or a specific person, so I don't accidentally break someone's nose. But uhhhhh. I don't know. I'm not really a planner type for stuff like this. But if anyone causes you trouble."

Kate froze for a moment- and then her gun was in her hand and cocked, pointed off to the side, in a single swift movement. With a wink, she holstered her gun again.

"I tend to work things out as I go."

At risk of breaking the in-charge impression she'd been trying to give off, Sarah looked at Gavin and grinned widely. Somehow, she just knew Kate was exactly what she needed. Sarah stood and took a step toward Kate. 

"I think I've seen everything I need to see. Kate, I'd like to formally offer you a job as my body guard. You can start in the morning, and if you'd like, we can get you moved into the apartment of your choice and discuss your salary over drinks tonight?" 

For a moment, Kate and Gavin seemed to share the same amused, confident, successful grin. Then Gavin stood, buttoned his jacket, and bowed his head to Sarah. 

"Miss Winters, I'll leave you and Miss Logan to arrange things. If you need anything, you know how to reach me."

Kate watched him leave with a raised eyebrow before turning to Sarah.

"So are the two of you...?"

Kate paused, the implication clear. Whereas most people would let the sentence gently trail away. Kate did not.

"... fucking? I mean, he's not your dad. He called you Miss Winters."

Sarah's eyes went as large as dinner plates, and her skin blushed to match her hair. She let out an awkward laugh, shaking her head. 

"Oh, god, no no. He's...well, I guess you could say a mentor. He helped me with a situation a week ago and...you know what? I'll explain everything over drinks. I really need to get some furniture today. If you don't have anything else planned, you could come along. Your place will need some things too, after all."

Nothing tickles a 19 year old girl more than a practically unlimited shopping spree. After all, Sarah had an apartment to fill. With Kate right by her side and watchful as a hawk, Sarah spent the late morning in a high-end furniture gallery downtown. Three bedroom suits and two living rooms later, she and Kate had lunch to refuel before doing an eye-popping amount of damage at Strawbridge & Clothier's and Macy's department store. Once everything was arranged for delivery, Sarah hailed a taxi to take them to Gavin's new place for drinks. 

The two women settled in at a table that Kate seemed to insist on, explaining to Sarah that she should always sit as far away from the main entrance and windows as possible, and never with her back to any entrances. 

Over the course of the marathon shopping day, Sarah had explained her story to Kate; from the day she went missing to the day before she interviewed Kate for the job. They ordered drinks and, as the waitress headed off to fulfill the orders, Sarah grinned. 

"Will is supposed to meet me here when he's done with what ever he's doing today. He hasn't seen my new place yet. I'm hoping he'll have some time tonight to see it."

The waitress returned, setting a glass and bottle of wine in front of Sarah, and a shot glass and another bottle in front of Kate. Curiously, Sarah peered at the bottle. 

​​​​​​"So, what does a gun-slinging lady like you do for fun?" 

​​​​​​

Kate Logan tended to stick to jeans, leather, and sturdy clothing that would last a long time before it needed replacing. She felt a little out of her depth walking around a city, and she certainly felt like she didn't belong. Until the West, no one really seemed to be carrying here. Kate felt like a relic... if she was going to really help Sarah, maybe she would have to change her clothing. Maybe. 

But shit, this girl liked shopping. Kate just smiled and nodded when asked her opinion, but inside she just wanted to yell that all these fucking couches were the same. And the clothes... shit, her new boss was loaded.

When Kate finally slid into the booth at Gavin's, she was desperate for a beer and a slug of whisky. And it seemed like Sarah was desperate for this Will fella, the way she was talking about him seeing her place.

Knocking back her shot of whisky and ordering her beer, Kate thought about the question.

​​​​​​"So, what does a gun-slinging lady like you do for fun?" 

"Drink. Screw. Sleep. I dunno... I'm not really that normal. Mostly I just bounce around different towns and find work for myself. What do you and other regular people do for fun?"

Nearly laughing a mouthful of wine back into the glass, Sarah swallowed it quickly and raised an eyebrow.

"Regular people? Like me? Good grief, I don't think I've been normal since the day I was born. Dad was a gangster, surrounded by other gangsters all my life- private schools, getting kidnapped. I don't really think 'normal' applies to me either."

Sarah circled her finger thoughtfully around the rim of the wine glass.

"Before I got captured, my idea of fun was going to the movies and skipping class. I was 17 years old- that's just what we did, you know? I guess I grew up really fast in the time after that, and haven't really had a lot of time to figure out what 'fun' is now. Well, other than shopping."

She smirked a bit. She knew Kate had only tolerated the whole thing, likely repeatedly reminding herself of her new paycheck. That was fine, such days weren't going to be very regular. In fact, Sarah had some very important plans that were much less frivolous.

"I don't know, Kate. Drinking, screwing, and sleeping sounds like a pretty good way to live."

"I mean like..."

Kate waved a hand that encompassed all of Philadelphia.

"... city folks. You must have a lot more to do here. I've seen a couple movies, but..."

She shrugged. Those were rare bright moments in a life of near-constant fighting. 

"I don't know, Kate. Drinking, screwing, and sleeping sounds like a pretty good way to live."

"Well... it's worked out so far."

She grinned.

"So you mentioned big business plans back there. What are you thinking?"

"Oh, yes!"

Sarah finished her first glass of wine and began to pour another as she went into her thoughts.

"My Dad, bless him, was a patient man, and a smart one. He always tried to teach me to be wise with what I have; and rarely ever 'spoiled' me as a kid. Despite what you saw today, I took a lot of that to heart, so I know that  I need to be careful with this inheritance. Trust me, it's not going to deplete any time soon- at least not in my lifetime- but I want to make sure it lasts several lifetimes for...you know...kids or whatever. If that happens."

She almost chuckled at the idea. 

"Anyway, I want to invest a good bit of it, and I want to do something else. Something big. I've had several ideas, but the one that's sticking with me is creating a specific charity for Irish immigrants. Something to help them find America more welcoming; to give them a hand up so that fewer people feel like they have to turn to crime."

Shrugging, Sarah revised her statement.

"I mean, it worked for my Dad, but it's not a life for everyone, you know?"

Kate grinned as she sipped her beer and listened to Sarah. The redhead seemed to want to stress that she wasn't spoiled- something spoiled people did a lot. Frankly, Kate didn't give a shit if Sarah was 'spoiled'. If you had the money, why not spend it? But she did appreciate that Sarah seemed to care enough about how Kate thought of her to make a point of saying it.

Invest. What did that even mean? Hopefully she'd make enough money to find out.

"Charity sounds... interesting. How do you make money doing that? Do you help a lot of people avoid getting into crime except the really talented ones or something?"

Again, Sarah laughed. 

"Kate, you are just fantastic. And, well, perhaps I might keep an eye out for potential talent; similar to how you came up on Gavin's radar. The charity itself wouldn't make money, but it would be a good way of cleaning money for 'connected' businessmen. I funnel their dirty money through my charity for a fee, the needy get help, and the big fish get clean cash."

The plan was scribbled into a notepad somewhere in her bag, but far more detailed than she bothered boring Kate with. Laundering money was a skill Sarah had picked up from her father. 

​​​​​​"Anyway, that's more than enough about me. I'm dying to know where you learned to shoot and fight."

Hoping she didn't come off as nosy, sipped her wine with a genuinely interested smile. 

Kate took a long drink of her beer before leaning back in her chair and crossing her legs.

"Grew up in an orphanage, where you had to fight everyone for everything. I learned how to take care of myself, especially against people bigger than I was. The shooting..."

Kate grinned.

"... call that a gift from the man who took me in. He was older- wanted me to be able to defend myself after he was gone. Don't think he expected me to do it professionally, though."

She shrugged.

"I dunno. I've just been forced into scrapping just about my whole life. I don't go looking for trouble that often, but it seems to always be looking for me."

Her blue eyes flickered up to a pair of attractive looking Italian men sauntering by the table before watching them walk away.

"I don't have any secrets though. Anything else you want to know about me?"

Already on her second glass of Rosè, Sarah reminded herself to go slow, not wanting to be silly by the time Will arrived. 

"I don't worry about secrets. I think everyone has them at some point or another and for good reason. I figure that you and I will learn as we go. I am not as nosey as a lot of women seem to be."

Sarah reached into her bag and pulled out a photo,showing it to Kate. The man in the photo was very handsome, standing beside a brand new Cadillac with his arms folded proudly over his chest. 

​​​​​​"That's my dad. He's the one who taught me to shoot. I'm not any great marksman, but I'll hit what I'm aiming for...somewhere.

Kate glanced down at the photo.

"He seems like a good guy. And if you can hit what you're aiming for somewhere... well, between the two of us we'll do just fine."

Her eyes flicked up as the door opened and an attractive young man strode through the door, followed by a middle-aged black woman. Will was wearing a custom tailored grey suit with a black tie, and his hair had been trimmed since he'd traveled with Sarah to New York. Raini gave Sarah a small wave and headed to the bar as Will sauntered over and slid in the booth next to Sarah with a grin. With a raised eyebrow, he looked at- but made sure not to look too long- at the blonde sitting across from this.

"Hey Sarah. Who's your friend here? New bodyguard?"

He looked at Sarah as he said it, and it was somewhat obvious that he was resisting making some sort of pun about Sarah's body.