A Face in the Crowd

13

Gaga had no perception of space or time. But she kinda guessed she had been crying for a while curled up in her husband's arms, -'What are we gonna do babe' she whispered between sobs, Bradley sipped his whiskey, -'I dont know what to do, Stef', Gaga shook her head, -'We're gonna have to give up life in Malibu and-', -'No, no. We cant let him win. We cant let a fat little ugly man with a bloody camera win, you hear me?', Gaga nodded slightly, -'I'm tired of worrying' she cried, Bradley shook his head, -'No no babe. Stop crying, come on', Gaga sighed deeply and tried to calm down, she licked her lips and snatched Bradley's glass from his hands before downing the rest of the content. The fire felt good. Bradley chuckled, -'my little pirate', Gaga rolled her eyes and laid her head on his shoulder, -'If I wasnt exhausted I would have brainless sex with you right now' she mumbled, Bradley smiled -'I can always imagine it', -'Good.'
****

-'Mr and Mrs Cooper, my name is agent White, I'm here to be your permanent guard alright? I've been assigned by the NYCPD in sights of the recent stalking situation you've had', Gaga held Bradley's hand tight and nodded, -'We really appreciate it, we of course want protection mainly for our children, do you understand?', agent White smiled understandingly, -'Of course', Bradley nodded, -'I think I hear the little man crying' Gaga pointed, -'Excuse me please' she said politely before tending for her son.

Bradley and White went out into the balcony, -'Can we talk about something Mr Cooper?' He asked, -'Privately', Bradley nodded and closed the balcony door behind him, -'Mr Cooper I have a special report from Al Jensen, who apparently was oe of the bodyguards that was there when someone broke in...', -'Yes?', -'The suspect disconnected all the cameras wirelessly. He hid his fingerprints but he left pictures with semen on the masterbedroom bed...pictures of you, Mrs Cooper, your small son and daughter. We consider this as a threat now alright? Under no circumstances should you approach that house for now. The LAPD is working very hard on the investigation, collecting more samples and info than ever...we moved your bodyguards into a hotel, the situation is-is very tense', -'...Not a word to my wife about this please' Bradley mumbled under his breath trying to process all this new information.

*****
Bradley had no intention to tell Gaga what was actually happening so he thought about distracting her by taking her out for dinner at Joanne's.
-'Whats this dinner for, baby?' She smiled while breastfeeding baby Alex, -'I just wanna do something nice for you honey' he smiled, choosing a very good looking tux jacket and a printed baby blue shirt, -'Does this look good?' He asked, Gaga squinted, -'Yes of course! You always look dapper to me, so' she grinned, raising an eyebrow.
-'Awww look at you my sweet little baby...are you sleepy? Huh?', baby Alex looked up at his mom with sleepy eyes, she rubbed his belly until he fell completely asleep. She carefully put a small paci in his mouth and laid him on the crib makimg sure he was warm and comfy, -'Little man out' she announced, rubbing her eyes, -'My tits hurt so bad' she sighed deeply, Bradley jumped in, -'Want a massage?', Gaga chuckled, -'A tit massage? No thanks babe, theyre really really sore' she explained, kissing him deeply.

-'Do I really look good?' Gaga pouted at the mirror, -'You look amazing darling, I love you so much', Bradley's compliments always made her blush like a teenager in love.
-'Okay are we ready?', -'Yup! Grab a scarf, Stef. It's cold outside', -'Yeah I know...Goodbye my little sweet thing!' She smiled at her small daughter, Joanne giggled at her and kissed her, -'I love you baby girl! Be good to nana and papa okay?', Joanne nodded absently and continued drinking her little juice, Gaga then turned to Natali, -'Theres milk for him on the fridge, and you know how to change a diaper so youre all set', Natali chuckled and hugged her, -'Have a nice dinner guys!'.

Agent White escorted the couple into Joanne's and then he went back out to get inside the SUV to wait for them.
-'Ahh I love it when its not super busy' Bradley smiled, holding his wife's hand lovingly, Gaga grinned back wide at him, -'You look so handsome in this light I cant believe it!' She exclaimed, kissing his hand, -'I just...wanted to do something nice for you right? Just to forget about all the drama going on', Gaga nodded understandingly, -'You do a lot already, youre fucking perfect', -'I try for you babe. I love you', -'Awww honeyyy! I love you too'.

-'Ugh the ravioli is so good here all the time' Gaga sighed, -'I feel so fat' she rolled her eyes and ate a piece of the pasta, -'Youre not fat, youre curvy! You look amazing...and I honestly think youre hot as hell', Gaga raised an eyebrow, -'You know hun, if my body didnt hurt I'd seriously jump on you right now. You knoooow how that beard of yours gets me going!' She laughed, pinching his wedding band.
-'I'm so full right now I shouldnt have eaten that cheesecake', -'Oh youre full? I ate two desserts' bradley joked, holding her hand tight while he went to pay the bill, -'We can go to Central Park later if you want baby' he suggested, Gaga smiled wide at him and nodded, -'I'd really like that!', -'Okay, let's get out of here'.
The couple waiting outside in the sidewalk for agent White to pick them up.
-'Ahh its cold' Gaga complained, Bradley approached her wnd held her tight, -'Better?', Gaga nodded and nestled on him, -'Yes of course'.
The couple then suddenly heard a car racing by the curb slippimg on ice, they frowned at the sound of the tires burning, the smell of burnt rubbed filled their noses. The car sped through the street, and through its window peeked the canon of a gun.
The last thing Bradley remembers before blacking out is pushing his wife onto the floor and falling on top of her as warm blood gushed out of his side.