Chapter 6
Doc was pretty lost when it came to understanding what was going on during the fencing round-robins, but it was fascinating all the same.
Once he figured out which one of the competitors was Ember—they were all covered head to toe in the same kind of outfit, including a mask that protected the face and head—he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
She was magnificent. And he wasn’t just saying that because he was falling hard and fast for the woman.
She was graceful and athletic. He learned that she liked to make the first move when facing her opponent, not waiting on them to try to score.
Sometimes her aggressiveness paid off and other times it didn’t, but to his untrained eye, she was more than holding her own.
There were long periods of time between matches and many of the spectators looked bored, but Doc took that time to examine everyone around him.
He was constantly on the watch for anyone or anything that might want to disrupt the competition.
He hadn’t been happy with the security, or lack of it, for spectators.
The workers barely glanced inside bags and purses people carried in with them, and he wasn’t sure the metal detector was even working.
He’d shown his credentials that gave him permission to carry his weapons.
After a cursory glance, the security team waved him in without bothering to ask for more information about who he was and what he might be carrying.
It wasn’t hard to spot Ember’s entourage.
Her parents were sitting in the front row and there were several people with them who were holding high-tech cameras.
A man sat next to her mother and barely looked up at the action in front of him.
His head was bent over his phone the entire time.
Doc remembered Ember telling him about the full-time managers for her social media accounts, and he would bet this man was one of them.
He was probably posting pictures of Ember competing and stirring up as much interest as he could.
After the competition was over, Ember had finished in tenth place.
He had no idea if she was going to be happy with that or not, but he was damn proud of her.
Doc had access to the behind-the-scenes areas of the arena because of his credentials, but he didn’t want to interfere in anything Ember had going on.
He’d told her he’d meet her by the athlete exit after she’d spoken to her parents and done whatever else needed to be done to get ready for the next day’s competition.
He knew tomorrow was going to be even longer for her than today. And much more intense. She had another round of fencing, then horse jumping and swimming the two hundred meters. Then the culmination event in the afternoon of running and shooting.
It was two hours after the competition had ended when Doc finally saw Ember coming toward him. She looked exhausted, but she was smiling.
“Hey,” he said when she got near.
“Hi. I’m so sorry I took so long,” she said, her words jumbled together as if she couldn’t apologize fast enough.
“My parents set up a digital interview with Oprah that I couldn’t get out of.
Then I had to pose for more pictures and they’d set up a mini meet-and-greet with some fans and supporters.
Samer wanted more pictures and Sergei—that’s my fencing coach—wanted me to review some of my bouts so I’d be ready for tomorrow. ”
“Em, take a breath. It’s fine.”
She closed her eyes for a second and let out a long breath. Then she looked up at him. “So? What’d you think?”
“I think you’re amazing. Tenth place. That’s good, right?”
She beamed. “Yeah. Really good. I won’t have to participate in as many rounds tomorrow in fencing, which will help since the day will be so long.
And the extra points will also help, as I’m not as strong in the horse jumping portion.
I should hold my own in swimming. So if all goes well tomorrow, I’m hoping to start in the upper third of the pack for the run and shooting.
” Her voice lowered. “I might just have a chance to medal, Craig.”
He couldn’t help it, he loved the excitement and pride in her tone. He reached for her and hugged her tight. She returned the embrace and nothing felt better. “I’m proud of you, Em. You hungry?”
“Starving,” she said, pulling back.
Doc reached for her bag and threw it over his shoulder.
“I can carry that.”
“I know. But now you don’t have to,” he said easily.
Ember linked her arm in his and rested her head against his shoulder for a split second. Then she straightened and said, “Thanks for being here.”
“I wouldn’t have missed it. I saw your parents.”
She wrinkled her nose.
“I can see where you got your good looks,” Doc told her.
“Thanks.”
“And that’s quite the entourage with them. I understand why you wanted to stay in the dorm.”
Ember chuckled. “Yeah. Between my three coaches, Samer and Alexis—who’s another one of my social media managers, and who I didn’t realize was coming—it’s a lot.
They all mean well, but the constant picture-taking and talking about what will make the biggest impact on social media gets to be a bit much. ”
“I bet. But it seems as if most of your twenty-five million followers are happy for how well you did today.”
She looked up at him. “You have Instagram?”
“Well…I may or may not have created an account with a fake name so I could check you out.”
She laughed. “Thank you? I think.”
“Do you ever get worried about some of those crazy people who comment on your posts? Some of them seem…unbalanced.”
“I’m sure they are. I don’t worry too much about it.
I mean, I can’t. There are lots of people who hate me because of my looks.
Others because they think I have a perfect life.
Others because they don’t like that I’m a good athlete.
And still others because they don’t like red, and I wore a red shirt once.
I can’t let myself get bogged down with that stuff.
I rarely read the comments anymore. I used to all the time, but it got me in such a funk, I had to stop.
“I read some of the letters that people send. Someone who doesn’t like me is a lot less inclined to go through the trouble of writing that hate on paper and sending it through the mail.
But online? People are way too mean. They don’t think twice about saying they wish I would die, or telling me how much they hate me…
when they wouldn’t dare say something like that to my face.
It’s difficult, because social media literally earned me enough money that I don’t have to worry about anything for the rest of my life, but it also feels like such a scourge on society.
To say I have mixed feelings about it is putting it lightly. ”
“How about if we don’t think about it for the rest of the night. I need to get you back to the dorm so you can eat, then rest. You have a big day in front of you tomorrow,” Doc told her.
They headed out a back door of the competition venue, thereby avoiding most of the crowds hanging around hoping for a glimpse of a famous athlete.
There were shuttles taking athletes back and forth to the Olympic Village, but because of the interviews and pictures she’d done, they’d missed the last one.
It was late enough that the sun was no longer beating down, but not so late that it was dark outside.
They had to walk about a half mile to reach the entrance to the Olympic Village, and from there they could catch a shuttle to the building where they were staying.
Most of the shops in this part of the city were full of Olympic souvenirs and everyone they passed seemed to be in good spirits.
Doc was aware that they didn’t exactly blend in. He was taller than most of the locals and Ember was…Ember. She was beautiful. The crowd around them was a mix of tourists and locals, giving the area a very international flair.
Feeling good about their safety, Doc was enjoying simply being with Ember, who was still basking in the glow of a successful competition, when his phone rang. Seeing it was Trigger, he immediately answered.
“What’s up?”
“Where are you?” his team leader asked without preamble.
“About half a klick from the entrance to the village. Why?”
“Trouble’s brewing outside the gates,” Trigger told him.
“What kind?” Doc asked, taking hold of Ember’s arm to stop her.
“You know those protestors who’ve been camped outside various venues since we arrived?
Well, things are turning ugly. Now there’s a big crowd outside the Olympic Village, and some protesters are trying to force their way inside.
Everyone’s being locked down as we speak, but there are still way too many athletes making their way back here after competing today. ”
“Shit. I hate when we’re right. The security should definitely be tighter than it is. We’ll step up the pace and after I get Ember safely in the dorm, I’ll head back out to help.”
“Be careful, Doc. If you can’t get in safely, find somewhere to hole up.”
“Will do. Keep in touch,” Doc told Trigger.
“Of course. Let me know when you’re in.”
“Ten-four.” Doc clicked off the phone and put it back in his pocket.
“What’s wrong?”
“Hopefully nothing,” Doc told her. “But it looks like our slow stroll back to the dorm has been changed to a power walk. You okay with that?”
“Of course. But what’s wrong?” she asked again.
“Protestors outside the village are getting restless. Trigger’s afraid things might turn violent. Stay by my side—right by my side.”
Her eyes got big, and she nodded.