She was punctual, he had to give her that, Nick acknowledged as he opened the door and saw the tall figure standing outside. He noticed that a pair of faded denim jeans, sneakers and a white knit top that was ten sizes too big for her, replaced the black suit. The effect made her seem a little.... Masculine, for some reason.

"Morning," she said, her rough, husky voice adding to the masculine image.

He glanced at his watch. "You're early." He noted.

She shrugged. "Might as well start sooner," she said tiredly, trying to hide a yawn.

"No suit today?" he drawled.

She wondered if he had any problems with suits. "I'm working," she shot back.

She was having a hard time covering up her exhaustion- she had spent the last two days and nights before extracting information from the police, getting the full background story, and hassling the NYPD for more back-ups. Frankly, she wasn't a morning person, and the lack of sleep made her a little edgy.

"Well, come in; I'll just get ready and change- Angie'll chuck a fit if I go down like this."

She looked at him up and down critically. A football jersey with a big '32' printed on it, khaki pants, and open thongs. Cosy, she noted dryly, then stepped into the suite.
She stopped.

"Won't be a minute," he called and disappeared into his room. Rachael stood there, shaken a little. The place looked as if a bomb dropped on it- or worse, a tornado. Clothes, food, toys, and a whole lot other un-nameable things lay thrown around in the area, tumbled together in a chaotic mess. The dossier on him had reported that he was a bit of a slob, but this was beyond anyone's imagination.

"Holy mother of God," she whispered.

"Bad, huh? We tried to cure him of the habit for a long time now." Said a voice behind her.

She turned around. A red-haired guy with a chiselled jaw smiled at her.

She knew him. The dossier had also included a fairly extensive and detailed report on the rest of the group- one of Frank's many talents, she thought wryly.

"You must be Brian," she said slowly.

Grinning, he nodded. "Right. And you, I sincerely hope, are the hired gun."

"Unfortunately, yes," she replied, running a helpless eye around the room. "Still no hope, I guess?" she asked in reference to his earlier quote.

"Nope. We gave up soon enough to realise that we needed a miracle to cure him of this one." he said easily, curiosity bright in his eyes. "I heard that you'll be joining us."

"Yes."

"So Nick did agree," he murmured thoughtfully. "I wonder what changed his mind."

"It certainly wasn't you," Nick said as he came back out into the living room. Brian made a face at his friend, then shrugged. "Hell, I thought an hour of groveling and apologizing was enough." He muttered. "Well, nice seeing you-"

"Rachael."

"That's right. Rachael. I'll see you later." With a final wave, Brian went out, closing the door behind him.

"Nice guy," Rachael commented dryly.

Nick grabbed his bag. "Well, come on." He said impatiently. "We gotta be there by-"

"Hold it." She said. "Give me your necklace."

"What?"

She sighed. "Just hand it over- I'll explain it later." Seeing the look on his face, she rolled her eyes. "Come on, it's not like I'm gonna run with it or anything- what am I going to do? Jump out the window?" she drawled.

Reluctantly, he unclipped the chain and gave it to her. "What are you doing?"

She ignored the question. "I need some space." She said pointedly.

Nick swept off a pile of clothes from the bench. Rachel opened her bag and produced a tiny circular instrument. She secured it behind the anchor pendant and handed it back to him. "There. It's gonna be your trademark from now on. Never, ever, take it off. Not even photo shoots."

"That could cause some trouble," he murmured, frowning as he examined the little mechanism. "What is it?"

"It's a tracking device and emergency signal."

"How does it work? I don't see any button to push."

"There isn't any. If you need me, just grip the unit in your hand and squeeze. The pressure and the heat from your palm will set the alarm off on my unit."

Nick nodded absently, clipping the necklace back on. "Where's yours?" he asked. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

She pushed up her sleeve and he saw a perfectly normal, expensive looking gold watch. "Here. The rest of the time, your devise pulses with a continuous signal that only my unit can pick up."

He froze. "Continuous?"

She nodded. "So I know exactly where you are, night and day."

He stiffened. "I thought I asked you to consider the breathing space?" he reminded her tautly. Being under observation and watched constantly didn't sit well with him.

" And I think you agreed that it would be granted within range?" she said pointedly, then sighed. "Look, I know you don't feel too good about this whole thing. To tell you the truth, me neither. But since we're stuck with each other for God knows how long, lets try not to murder each other, okay?"

Nick nodded silently, carefully probing her for any softening on her part the speech. What he saw in those cobalt blue eyes didn't promise much. They were still as cold and hard as ever.

"Good, she said briskly, turning. "Shall we go then?"

In the lobby, everyone watched as a willowy redhead stepped off the lift, followed by a grumpy looking Nick. Brian's already alerted them, Nick thought with resignation. He cleared his throat at the expecting group. "Everyone, meet Rachael Harrison. She's going to-" he coughed delicately. "Ahem, uh, join the security team."

"Bull!" Brian yelled out, a mischievous look in his eyes. "Everyone, she's Nick's new bodyguard. Be nice to her." He flashed a disarming grin at Rachael, and a smirk at an irritated Nick. Rachael kept a straight face, although there was a glimmer of laughter in her eyes.

They shook her hand one by one, the other members of the group first, then the band, then the executives, then some of the crew. They murmured their welcome, and some watched her with amusement, interest, while some regarded her with barely concealed hostility. Mildly, she wondered why, then shrugged it off. Then she finally met the security team.
"Thanks for taking on the job, "the thick bodied Marcus winked, giving her a hearty slap on the back that nearly sent her sprawling, clearly announcing that he was ready to treat her like a team member. Rachael smiled weakly.

"Yeah- Nick's been a little too much to take lately," a tall, sharp-eyed man agreed jokingly. "I'm Remo."

"Rachael," she introduced herself, shaking his hand. "But everyone calls me Rocky."

"Rocky, huh? I like that," a black man with white beard spoke up. "I'm Billy- pleased to meet yer. Welcome aboard."

"Thank you." She wondered why the other three wasn't saying anything, then saw the displeasure written clearly on their faces and understood. One was on the verge of scowling. Instinctively, she knew they were going to be a trouble.

"Well, if the introductions are done, let's go to rehearsal, shall we?" Julian said impatiently. "We've wasted enough time."

Nick shot her a glance. "We'll be taking the limo. Stay with Marcus- he'll explain the procedures."

He was deliberately dismissing her. She nodded curtly. "Fine."

He turned and joined his group, who was talking excitedly among themselves. Then Marcus drew her away, saying, "Once you get the hang of it, it's not that hard. But it is a bit straining sometimes. Have you tried......"