Free No Corner to Hide (The Max Masterson Series Book 2) by Mark E Becker Page B

exclaimed one, while the other attempted to roll Max onto his back with arms that resembled tree trunks.
    “But I don’t want to be saved,” sputtered Max as he slipped beneath the hold and pointed his finger in the face of the SEAL in front of him. “I was enjoying a restful dip in my favorite spring until you guys came along.”
    “Sir, it is my duty to protect you from danger, and I would give my life to defend you from harm—”
“Did it ever occur to you…what is your name?”
“Shields, sir.”
“No, your first name! There will be no formality, as long as you maintain respect.”
“Benjamin, sir. Well…Ben,”
“And you?” Max shouted.
The other Navy SEAL treaded water silently, witnessing the exasperation of Max, and wondering whether he and his companion were about to get re-assigned to somewhere cold and lonely on the first day of their privileged duty.
“Mr. President, sir, my name is Jonathan Schlitz, but my friends call me Schlitz. I prefer it. I’m duty bound to protect you,” he said over the roar of the helicopter.
Max contemplated his next move, knowing that if he attempted to exercise independence that violated their stringent training, he would likely be trussed up, stuffed in a metal basket, and hauled by cable into the helicopter, which continued to hover overhead.
I have been coming to this spot since I was a young kid, and one of my favorite things to do is see how long I can hold my breath at the bottom of this spring, Max thought. While I’m here, I’ll be damned if I am going to let them spoil my fun in the name of security! What I’m gonna do is take three deep breaths and free dive down to the bottom, thirty-five feet down below, and I’m going to hang upside
    MARK E. BECKER
    down from that piece of limestone down there until I can’t do it anymore. Then I’m going to float to the top all by myself. “After I’m done having my fun, you can take me home.” He didn’t waste his breath with a lengthy explanation. The sound of his voice was nearly drowned out by the rotor wash. Max could see black SUVs pulling into the clearing near the boat launch on shore. One of them was already stuck in the white sugar sand, wheels spinning and throwing dust into the air.
    “Yes, sir, Mr. President!” They replied in a unified baritone. Max took three deep breaths and flipped under the surface, pulling his way toward the bottom of the spring.
    From shore and from above, the scene of the President of the United States disappearing beneath the surface, followed quickly by the SEALs, was enough to cause unrestrained panic.
    “The president is down. I repeat, the president is down!” they yelled into their communicators.
They watched helplessly as the water whipped in circular waves from the hovering blades. The effect was to obscure what was happening beneath the surface of the clear water, and the anguish of those on land became horror as each second ticked away.
After two minutes and fourteen seconds, Max popped to the surface with Ben and Jonathan within arm’s length, regulators still in their mouths. Max was ecstatic.
“A new record,” he managed to say between deep breaths of fresh air.
Immediately, the Navy SEALs communicated with the hovering helicopter.
“Drop a basket, and get Wizard out of here. The other helo can pick us up.”
The abrupt intrusion into his placid respite was startling, but he was coming to understand that his ability to be alone had gone away on election day. He had become the property of the United States of America. With that position came the sacrifice of trips like this—it was deluded to assume that the president had a reasonable expectation of privacy.
And his inauguration was still over a month away.
    u

CHAPTER 22
    A
    ir Force One was to be flown to Tallahassee, where it would remain on the tarmac until Marine One returned from the Gulf. With it was Rachel, who had been eagerly training to fly the presidential jet and helicopters since days after