“Like they wanted us to take cover.”
Nicole nodded. “I’m not sure they wanted to kill us. Seemed more like a message to me.”
“What kind of message?” Abbott asked.
“The kind that suggests we might be stepping on some wrong toes,” Bridge answered.
“This was a warning,” Nicole said.
“Who would do that?” Abbott asked.
“People who are very dangerous,” Bridge replied.
“What’s it all mean?”
“It means someone doesn’t want us looking into this.”
“Again, who would do that?”
“Someone who’s got connections.”
“So what are we gonna do?”
“You’re gonna go home and get your car fixed.”
“And you?”
“I’m gonna keep looking into it.”
“Even after this?”
“I don’t scare easily,” Bridge said. “When people want me to do something, I generally tend to do the opposite. I don’t like being threatened. And I don’t respond well to scare tactics. If someone wants a fight with me… then they’re gonna get one.”
4
Bridge and Nicole spent most of the next day holed up in their hotel room. They had papers sprawled all over the place. On the kitchen table, on the floor, on the couches, the living room table, everywhere. They were putting papers into different piles, things they might need to look at further, things that piqued their interest, things that seemed like they had no bearing on anything, and plenty of things that they weren’t sure about either way.
Bridge got up from the table to take a break, walking to the refrigerator to get a drink. He moved his arm and shoulder around, still feeling the effects from the previous night’s encounter with the man dressed in black.
“My back’s still killing me. I don’t know how those wrestlers do it.”
“What’s that?”
“They get thrown through tables and chairs and off the mat a million times, and they keep coming back for more day after day.”
“Well, they’re trained in that sort of thing.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Bridge let out a small groan as he stretched his back. “Hope I don’t run into that guy again anytime soon.”
“Why? Don’t think you can take him?”
“I can take him.”
“Your face says otherwise.”
“Yeah, well, maybe next time I’ll shoot first and kick his ass afterwards.”
“That’s cheating.”
“All’s fair in love and war, right?” Bridge leaned up against the counter and made a few more moans and groans.
“Something wrong?”
“No. It’s just that we’ve been looking at this stuff for four hours straight and haven’t found anything yet.”
“Anything conclusive. There’s plenty that might have some meaning. We just don’t know if it does yet. There’s obviously something here somewhere.”
“What makes you think that?”
“If there wasn’t, why else would that other guy have been there? He must’ve known there was something that would incriminate somebody.”
“Maybe he just thought there was. Or making sure there wasn’t. He might not have known for sure either.”
“Considering the bullets that came flying afterwards, I tend to think there’s something here.”
After consuming his soda, Bridge went back to the table and started sorting through documents and case files. Another hour went by before they finally found something. As soon as Bridge saw the address, something clicked in his mind. He held the paper out in front of him and stared at it for a solid two minutes. Nicole eventually noticed that he hadn’t moved in a while.
“What is it?” Bridge was so focused on what was on the paper that he didn’t even hear her voice. She finally put her hand on his forearm to break his concentration. “Luke?”
Feeling her touch finally snapped him from his stare. “Huh?”
“What is it?”
Bridge glanced at her and handed over the paper. Looking at him strangely, she took the paper and read it. It immediately rang a few bells for her too, but not in the same way as her boyfriend.
“You know what this is?”
“Yes,” Bridge answered.
“I can’t place it. But it looks… familiar for some reason. Like I’ve…”
“Been there before?”
“Or have seen it somewhere before,” Nicole said.
“Probably because you have.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a CIA station here in New York.”
“That’s where I’ve seen it. I remember sending a few reports to this address before.”
“I’ve been there,” Bridge said. “I used to get missions from there, debriefings after assignments, things like that.”
“But you worked out of…”
“Well, that was before then. Before I met you. But this was one of my first assignments… working out of there.”
“How would Bevell get this address? Why would he have it?”
“That’s the million-dollar question.”
“The CIA somehow ties into this?”
Bridge stared at her. “Certainly looks like it’s heading that way.”
“But how?”
“Unless Abbott was an agent. Either for us or for someone else.”
Nicole raised her eyebrows and nodded. “And if someone found that out, or someone who’s connected to the agency…”
“They didn’t want anyone digging further into Gary Abbott’s murder and took him out too. Tie off loose ends.”
“How far is this gonna go? And how far are we gonna take it?”
“As far as the clues lead us.”
Nicole made a face like she wasn’t especially pleased to follow him in that direction. “I dunno, Luke. I mean, we left the CIA on great terms; they’ve given us no issues when we left or since then. I really don’t want to make enemies with them if this is somehow tied directly to them.”
“Who’s the one who continuously tells me to help the people that need help? Even if it doesn’t exactly coincide with our mission statement.”
“Now you’re gonna use my own words against me?”
Bridge laughed. “You’ve used them against me long enough.”
“They can make things difficult for us if we don’t do this right.”
“I think we’ve built up enough goodwill over the years helping to do some of their dirty work that it shouldn’t blow up over this.”
“Depending on what we uncover.”
Bridge sighed. “Yeah.”
They looked through some other papers, though none of them ever got to the level of interest as the one with the CIA address. Bridge eventually went back to it, holding it in front of him as he stared at it.
“You know, staring at it isn’t going to suddenly bring you an answer,” Nicole said.
“It might.”
“We need to
