First to Kill

Nathan sat up. “Director Lansing called. Gave us the go-ahead. I guess the bombing changed things. We even get an FBI Lear at our disposal. It’s being flown out from DC as we speak.”

“No kidding?”

“Everyone from the top down is strongly motivated to find the Bridgestones. Even Henning’s in our court.”

“Talk about a change from a few nights ago. This is a pretty strong statement of trust.”

“It’s not absolute. I fully expect Henning to be Lansing’s eyes and ears.”

“Lansing’s just covering his ass by having Henning tag along. I wouldn’t read too much into it. What’s your first stop, then?” Harv asked.

“The Castle.”

“We should have the visitation logs tonight. Why go there in person?”

“A hunch. I want an insight into Ernie Bridgestone’s head.”

“The prison shrink?”

“Yep.”

“You could do it by phone.”

“I’d rather have a face-to-face.”

“Understood. I’ll coordinate things from here. I need to follow up on Ernie’s contacts too. Like you said, maybe we get lucky and one of them will be working for a bank or financial institution.”

Nathan lay back on the bed. “Wake me up in three hours.”

“Will do. I’m going down the hall and check on our boys.”

Nathan’s eyes snapped open and for the second time that day he felt disoriented, unsure where he was. As the room came into focus, Harv stood a comfortable distance away, next to the small coffeemaker on the table near the window.

“How long?” Nathan asked.

“Three hours on the button. I took your phone. Henning called about an hour ago, said the Lear will be here by twenty-three hundred. He wants you to call him back.”

“You get the logs from the Castle?”

“Yep, and it seems Ernie had a frequent visitor, besides his brother Leonard. His ex-wife from Pensacola when he was a drill instructor at the naval air station. Her name’s Amber Mills Sheldon. It’s worth pursuing.”

“Definitely. You get an address? Phone number?”

“Just what she wrote in the log, but it’s old. Our guys are checking it out. We should see if she’s in the NCIC database. If she is, we’ll get the most current info.”

“I’ll ask Henning to run her. Anybody else visit him?”

“Not a soul.”

“Why am I not surprised. Did Thorny get you anything on Leonard’s Gulf contacts yet?”

“I don’t expect to hear from him until tomorrow morning.”

“I should be back from the Castle by midday.”

“With a little luck, we’ll have a starting place to hunt these guys down.”

“Agreed.” Nathan’s cell bleeped to life from a restricted number. “Hello?”

“Nathan?”

“Dad,” Nathan said. Harv gestured, asking if he should leave the room. Nathan shook his head.

“Am I calling at a bad time?”

“You’re working late tonight.”

“Goes with the territory. We need to talk.”

Nathan said nothing.

“I hear you’ve been busy out there.”

Was this an attempt at a thank-you? “Yes, I have. We have, Harv and me.”

“You saved a bunch of lives with that warning shot you fired at the compound. I’m glad you were there.”

“Frank Ortega asked us keep an eye on things.”

“I know, he told me. He also told me you want to speak to Director Lansing.”

“I’ve already spoken with him.” But you already know that, he silently added.

“May I ask what you talked about?”

“Harv and I are going after the Bridgestones.”

“I see.”

“Before murdering twenty-one federal employees today, they beat James Ortega to a bloody pulp, cut six of his fingers off, and then burned him alive.” Nathan waited through an uncomfortable silence. “You still there?”

“Yes, I’m here.”

“Frank didn’t tell you that part?”

“No, Nathan, he didn’t tell me that part, and I didn’t ask.”

More silence. He knew his father was wondering why he hadn’t been told. In Washington, information was power. “Look, these guys have to be found and interrogated. You want every ounce of that Semtex accounted for, don’t you? Especially after today?”

“The FBI has its own people for that. They don’t need you.”

Nathan sighed.

“You need to back off and let the FBI handle things from here. I can’t-”

“You can’t what?”

“All right. I can’t protect you if you continue down this road of vengeance.”

“It’s not vengeance and I don’t need your protection.”

“You’re not in the CIA working on foreign soil anymore. This is the United States of America. You can’t just grab people off the street and interrogate them.”

“Watch me.”

“Damn it, Nathan. This isn’t Nazi Germany. Your brutal methods are illegal and insidious. Let it go. This isn’t your fight.”

“The hell it isn’t. One way or the other, the Bridgestones are going down. If the FBI finds them before I do, that’s fine with me. So you called to warn me off, is that it?”

“If you persist with this manhunt of yours, you could go to prison and I won’t be able to help you.”

“Like you helped me in Nicaragua?”

“That’s a hateful thing to say. I had no idea where you were being… held.”

“You can say it, Dad. It’s just a word. Tortured. You had no idea where I was being tortured. For three weeks.”

“They… I couldn’t find you.”

“Oh? Harv found me.”

No response.

“And guess how he did it? He grabbed people off the street and interrogated-”

“I know how he did it,” Stone interrupted.

“Yeah, well, there’s a big difference between you and Frank Ortega. Frank Ortega did everything possible to find his missing grandson, even bend the precious Constitutional rights of a couple of shit birds in the process. I don’t need you to lecture me on violating human rights, I’ve had firsthand experience with it.”

“Clearly it was a mistake to call.”

“Clearly. One last thing. I debated telling you, but what the hell. The Bridgestones know I was the shooter who killed their little brother. They also know you’re my father. That makes us both targets. So you watch yourself, Senator, because clearly, this isn’t over.”

Nathan ended the call and hurled his cell onto the bed. He closed his eyes, slowed his breathing, and tilted his head back. He was vaguely aware of Harv shifting his weight in the chair near the window. After a good minute of silence, Nathan said, “I guess I didn’t handle that very well.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“I let him get under my skin. I should’ve known better.”

“Yes, you should’ve.”