ex-navy seal

i was a 58 year old, 6'4" ex-navy seal. i wore my hair closely cropped like i did when i was in the military, but now it was mostly grey. though i was not a young man any more, years of daily workouts had left me stronger than most- but my physical strength was not why i'd been able to make my living as a high-level body guard. i had almost precognitive awareness of negative human behavior. when i'd worked for the secret service protecting several presidents, i could spot the invisible travis bickle in any crowd. my co-workers thought i was spooky- i just felt burdened. i gave seminars to my colleagues but i could never truly distill dangerous intent in people down to a simplistic or exact formula; a flick of an eye, arrhythmic breathing patterns, artificial casual postures... i don't know, a million tiny cues that stacked up and glared like high beams into my eyes. mostly i didn't understand why everyone couldn't see it. eventually i grew tired and left the service. now i worked for pop stars. the people i protected against were sicker but less dangerous. they wanted intimate proximity but usually carried no weapons. my current gig was standing between a young blond superstar and her fans. the concerts were loud and fast. i think i only understood music as a different kind of sound, so i had no ability to judge the content of anything i heard other than degree of cacophony and volume level. her fan-base was mostly sycophantic with the exception of one man who claimed to be her father. as we toured the country, his presence intensified... his persona grew darker. 

the superstar was very young and had never known a world without technology or social media. she shared her every waking moment in real time with her galaxy of admirers. she created her own truman show. an enthusiastic fan could watch her count the steps to a stage as she walked to sing in front of 100,000 people or observe her crunching down on toast in the morning. she had no concept of private vs. public. everyone was in on every moment. this of course made it very easy for her 'father' to draw ever closer.

as we traveled to venues i became more aggressive about the buffer zone around her. i gathered more staff and soon found myself heading a small army. no matter how i increased the protections, the 'father' found a work-around and soon i could spot him within the first few rows of every show. it got to the point where i could no longer offer the illusion of total safety, i could not absorb his intent. i had to speak to the girl about the danger she faced. she would not accept the connection between her on line life and the threat to her real one. i had to show her footage of his proximity to her before she registered any fleeting concern. still, she refused to alter her on line behavior. 

the night he grasped her shoulder as she boarded the bus, she looked at me with true fear. through his hand he transferred what exactly he meant to do to her. as i pulled them apart and pushed her onto the safety of the bus, he held my eye and smiled.