Assassin's Blood - part 1
5:01 AM
The quiet was shattered by the smooth notes of a saxophone, the sounds of modern jazz flowed from the speaker built in to the side of a box-shaped alarm clock. But no hand came crashing down on it, nor was any attempt was made to cease the music coming from the grey box.
Liam likes jazz.
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhh..."
'Stupid noise. Why?'
He lay there about 20 seconds before shifting his head, looking across the room to the clock on the shelf. Unlike his gun, his alarm clock was far from his bed. He never had time to hit snooze, because his job comes first.
He stretched first one leg, then the other, then one arm, then the other, then, drawing a breath, his jaw stretched wide, ears clenched closed, eyes squeezed shut, neck straining for a few tense seconds as his lungs drew no breath till they exhaled at the end of his lung straining yawn.
Liam sighed and mentally ran through his list for the day: employee briefing; limo bomb check; breakfast interview; real breakfast; meeting with mayor; meeting with celebrity; meeting on camera with celebrities dog; lunch with his wife; meeting with his new personal chef to lay ground rules; dinner with wife, cooked by new chef; cut ribbon to release campaign balloons at democratic convention; speak at democratic convention; discreet transportation to undisclosed hotel; check hotel room, thoroughly.
.........sigh, "The day starts."
Being head of the democratic presidential candidate's security team sucked, and noone new that better than Andrew Liam Hodges.
-knock-knock-knock- "LIAM??"
... 'Why does he do this?'
"LIAM!!"
"EVERY SINGLE MORNING BOB, EVERY SINGLE MORNING!!"
Bob opened the door seeing what he expected, his boss still under his sheets, not dressed, not shaved, and not ready for the day.
"...and yet you're still not up..."
"IT'S FIVE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING!!!!"
"Should have set your alarm sooner."
"AGAIN, IT'S FIVE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING!!!!!!"
"You don't like your job, do you Liam?"
Andrew's eyes narrowed. "I believe in the cause."
"Then get up..." Bob said, and left.
Liam sighed, and swung his legs out of bed, mumbling "freakin' over-achiever..."
"I HEARD THAT!" Bob shouted from the hall.
Mr. Hodges sighed and grabbed his toothbrush from the drawer.
He thought to himself, 'Something tells me this won't be a normal day...'