by Mike Ryan
“Awe, c’mon, Nic, I gave you everything you wanted already.”
“Come on, Luke, I let you sleep for an extra hour.”
Bridge’s eyes suddenly flashed wide open. “You did?”
“Yes. I was last in here an hour ago.”
“Wow, it feels like it was only five minutes.”
“Well, it wasn’t. It’s now eight fifteen. Time to get up.”
Bridge sat up and stretched his arms out. He yawned, then leaned over to give his lovely girlfriend a kiss. “Thanks for letting me sleep that extra hour.”
Nicole faked a cough. “Oh, yeah, no problem. Feel better?”
“Yeah, I think I really needed that extra time.”
“Well, you deserved it.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t forget what you agreed to later.”
“Wait. What?”
“For letting you sleep extra, you agreed to a few of my suggestions.”
Bridge batted his eyes. He kind of sort of remembered something, though he was fuzzy on the details. “What did I agree to?”
“Two little sessions later on tonight.”
“Little sessions?”
Nicole grinned at him seductively. “Well, we’ll see how little it is.”
Bridge closed his eyes and slumped his head, wondering what he had agreed to. “Oh, boy.”
“It’ll be great. One will be in the shower. Nothing unusual.” Bridge made a face, suggesting it wasn’t so bad. “The other will be on the kitchen counter.”
“Wait, the kitchen counter?”
“If you want to keep things fresh and alive, Luke, you have to be willing to experiment with different things.”
“Are you sure I agreed to this?”
“Yep.”
Bridge put his hand on the side of his head like he had a headache coming on. “I think I need some aspirin.”
“It’ll be fine. You’ll love it.”
“We’ll see.”
“Anyway, none of that is why I came in here.”
“It’s not?”
“No. We’ve got news.”
“You got a new sex toy in the mail?”
“Don’t be funny.” Nicole’s concentration then slipped, thinking of a few other possibilities with her boyfriend. “Though that does give me a few ideas about—”
“Never mind.” Bridge snapped his fingers. “Focus. What news?”
“Oh. That. Yeah, well, I figured out who those two names are.”
“What names?”
Nicole looked up at the ceiling and rolled her eyes. “Are you still sleeping?”
“I honestly wish I was after this conversation.”
“Kenny and Stash.”
“Did Stash replace Cartman or Stan?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Will you stop fooling around so we can get down to business?”
“You talk about sex toys and different positions, and I’m the one fooling around?”
“You brought up the sex toy.”
“I did?”
“Yes.”
“Oh. See what you do to me.”
Nicole couldn’t resist the opportunity since she was wearing his shirt buttoned only at the bottom. She leaned forward and put her ample breasts into her boyfriend’s face. Bridge, like always, couldn’t resist her charm. After enjoying her body for a couple of minutes, he was finally able to pull away, thinking about what he assumed she came in there for.
“Wait, what about them?”
“Who?” Nicole asked.
“Business first.”
“You promised.”
“I didn’t promise you anything in bed.”
Nicole sighed as she pulled away. “You’re such a buzzkill.”
“You love me anyway.”
“I do. But why can’t you just enjoy the moment.”
“Because you were going to tell me something.”
“I was?”
Bridge snapped his fingers again. “Focus, Nicole, focus.”
She put her hands on his crotch. “I am focusing.”
“On business.”
“This is business for me.”
“Oh my god, you’re impossible.”
“But you love me, anyway.”
Bridge smiled. “I do.” He gave her another long and passionate kiss that he hoped would satisfy her long enough that they could finally get back to their original business. “Our business-business first. Then our personal business later.”
Nicole sighed again. “Fine.” She pulled the covers off of his naked body and admired his form. “I love it when you sleep like that.”
“Well, I don’t have much of a choice when you wake me up for some extra activity in the middle of the night.”
Nicole smiled. “That was fun, though, wasn’t it?”
“It was.”
“You should sleep like this more often. Even if we aren’t doing anything.”
“If you finally tell me about Kenny and Stash, I’ll think about it.”
“Will you do it tonight?”
“Am I not on the hook for enough things later?”
Nicole shrugged. “Don’t you like to make me happy?”
“I do.”
“Well then?”
“Why is everything like a bargaining session for sex with you?”
“Because I love sex. I love you. And I love putting the two together. Would you prefer if I took my needs elsewhere?”
“Of course not. Wait, would you?”
“Don’t be stupid.” Nicole leaned forward and started kissing him again. “You know you’ll be the only man who’s ever good enough for me.”
They kept kissing before Bridge was finally able to remove his lips from hers. “Wait, wait, wait. See, you’re doing it again.”
“What?”
“Everything just always turns into… you know.”
“Why do you say it like it’s a bad thing?”
Bridge put his hand on his head again. His headache was now fully formed. “Now my head really does hurt.”
“You want some aspirin?”
Bridge nodded. “Yes.”
Nicole went into the bathroom to get the aspirin bottle. Bridge admired her tanned legs, which were totally visible since she was only wearing one of his dress shirts. Though he often sounded like he was complaining about her sex-crazed ways, he usually didn’t mind. He actually liked that she was like that. He just had to sometimes rein her in and keep her focused.
She walked back in a minute later with some aspirin and a glass of water.
“When’d you get that dress?”
Nicole laughed. “Like it?”
“I do. Looks better on you than me.”
“Doesn’t everything?”
“True.” After Bridge downed the aspirin and water, he desperately tried to get the conversation back on track. “Now, can we talk about Kenny and Stash?”
“Oh. Yeah, I guess so. If that’s more interesting than me.”
“It’s not. But we really need to figure out what’s going on here. Besides, you are booked for two sessions later.”
“I guess so.”
“What’d you find out?”
“Kenny’s full name is Gregory Kenny.”
Bridge looked away for a second, tilting his head as he let the name go through his memory bank. “Gregory Kenny. Why does that name sound familiar?”
“Usually goes by the name Greg Kenny.”
Bridge whispered it again. “Greg Kenny. It feels like I know the name, but I can’t place it.”
“Maybe you know it because he’s an ex-CIA agent.”
“He was an agent?”
“Yep.”
Bridge kept thinking about the name, then suddenly snapped his fingers. “Greg Kenny. Now I remember him.”
“You do?”
“He worked out of a few European stations. I crossed paths with him in Russia and in Ukraine. I didn’t realize he was out of the game.”
“Well, out o
f that game maybe. Seems like he might be in this one.”
“How so?”
“According to all the records I was able to get my hands on, Kenny left the agency about a year ago.”
“On good terms?”
“Eh, doesn’t look like it.”
“What happened?”
“That I can’t say for sure. There’s a ton of information about him that’s been redacted and is still listed as classified. I don’t have the clearance to get into it, and it’s too encrypted for me to hack into it.”
Bridge was silent for a few moments as he thought about things. “Wait, he left a year ago?”
“Yep.”
“Same time as when Abbott was found dead.”
“Kenny left the agency exactly two weeks before that.”
“Huh. That can’t be a coincidence.”
“Probably not.”
“Where’s he at now?”
Nicole shrugged. “Don’t know. Agency doesn’t know either, apparently. They’ve got an alert out on him that if anyone runs into him or finds him, they’re to call it in immediately.”
“He’s definitely not on good terms then. They only do that for people they want off the street.”
“How’s he figure into all this?”
“Well, I’m kind of assuming it involves Stash.”
“Who’s he?”
“He’s on the agency’s hit list.”
“Why?”
“Associating with known terrorists, illegal arms dealing, trafficking, I guess you can take your pick of which.”
“An all-around bad guy.”
“Seems like.”
“What have we gotten ourselves into here?”
“I’m just guessing,” Nicole said, “but maybe we’ve fallen into a case of a rogue CIA agent who’s in bed with a criminal who’s selling illegal arms to people who are even worse than he is.”
Bridge nodded. It sounded as good as any other theory they’d come up with since they’d started this case. “Should I also assume that Stash isn’t his real name?”
“You shouldn’t. I can’t find out what his real name is. He’s apparently just known as Stash. First name, last name, nickname, I don’t know.”
“Is he American, European, what?”
“Sure.”
“Nobody knows?”
“That’s apparently the gist of it. They know the name. Don’t know the face.”
“So I take it nobody knows whether he’s here or abroad.”
Nicole pointed at him. “You’re correct.”
“And Kenny? Is he here?”
“They believe he’s in America, probably on the East Coast, though they can’t exactly pin it down at the moment.”
“He’s probably got so many fake passports and aliases it’ll make your head spin.”
“Don’t you?”
“Well… that’s different.”
“You use your powers for goodness instead of evil?”
“That’s right.”
They sat there together thinking for the next several minutes, though only one of them was thinking about the situation with Abbott. With the sheets only halfway up Bridge’s thigh, Nicole was doing some thinking—and admiring—about some other things. Bridge finally threw the sheets off entirely and stood up, Nicole putting her hands on both sides of his lower half. Bridge stood there, enjoying what she was doing, though he closed his eyes and sighed, knowing he had to proceed. He put his hand on hers and somehow was able to find the strength to take it off of him.
“Business first.”
Nicole sighed, and her shoulders slumped. She shook her head. “The only man in America who would do this. Everybody else would happily let whatever happens happen. But not you. Oh no. You have to be professional all the time.”
Bridge smiled, grabbing his phone off the nightstand. “If it makes you happy, I’ll stand here naked while I make my call.”
Nicole grinned. “Oh, that’ll make me happy.” She began fondling him again as he dialed the number.
Bridge tried to block out what he was feeling as he began talking. “This is Alpha One-Two-Seven-Six-Five.”
“What is your business?”
“I need to speak to Pinnacle One. Tell him it’s important.”
“Hold on.”
Nicole pulled him down onto the bed and began working him over as Bridge kept the phone pressed to his ear. He hoped he wasn’t going to be put on hold long, as he couldn’t be sure how long he could hold out from the pleasant feelings that were happening to him. Luckily, it was less than a minute.
“Pinnacle One will see you in one hour at the location of your previous meeting.”
Bridge cleared his throat as he took a deep breath. “Uh… better make that two hours.”
“Very well. I will let Pinnacle One know two hours.”
As soon as the line went dead, Bridge dropped the phone from his hand, letting it fall onto the floor.
“What happened to later?” Bridge asked.
“I’m calling one of them in now. What are you meeting with them about again?”
Bridge tried to keep his thoughts clear, though it was tough to do so. “Uh... what?”
“You’re meeting with P-One again?”
“Oh. I have more information to present this time. If he thinks I know more, and we’re working on the same side, and I can help him, maybe he’ll be more forthcoming this time.”
“Someone else is going to be more forthcoming. Right now.”
“Oh, boy.”
8
Just as he did the last time he met Pinnacle One, Bridge was sitting on the ledge in front of the Bethesda Fountain. It was a little busier than the last time they were there. A few more kids, a few more parents with their strollers, a few more eyeballs. Right after Bridge looked at his watch, he saw his guests arrive. They came down the same steps as the last time; the guards moving over to the side, while some watched from the patio area. There was no need for small talk this time. Pinnacle One immediately took a seat next to Bridge, looking at his surroundings as he always did to make sure there were no uninvited guests.
“I must say, I was surprised to hear from you again so soon. It’s been what, two days?”
“I like to work fast,” Bridge replied.
“Yes, that’s always been your reputation. So what are we doing here again? You have something else for me?”
“You might say that. Or you might be able to give me something.”
“Like what?”
“Like the truth about what’s going on here.”
“Luke, we’ve already had that conversation.”
“No, you had it. Now you’re gonna listen to what I have to say.”
“I don’t have to.”
“But you will,” Bridge said.
“What makes you think so?”
“Because you don’t want to be burned, do you?”
“In what way?”
“You told me you didn’t know the PI I was talking about, Darren Bevell.”
“That’s right, I don’t.”
“You’re lying. You know him and I can prove it.”
Pinnacle One shrugged. “And where’s this going?”
Bridge tapped on his earpiece. “Go ahead and send it.”
His former boss became slightly alarmed at knowing there was someone else out there that was unaccounted for. He started to squirm and thought about going back to his guards.
Bridge could see that he was getting antsy. “Just relax. There’s nobody out there other than my associate.”
“That doesn’t exactly make me feel better, knowing who your associate is. I hear you and Nicole have become more than just business associates.”
“How’d you find that out?”
“Do you really have to ask? Knowing her proficiency and love for guns, not seeing her makes me a little nervous.”
“Just relax. She’s just sending me a picture.”
Bridge then looked at his phone an
d saw the message from Nicole coming through. There he was. Nicole had taken a picture of the blond-haired man from their encounter at Bevell’s house. He was still standing guard by the patio on this encounter too. Pinnacle One continued to look around, trying to locate Bridge’s girlfriend, though her disguise seemed to one-up him. Bridge immediately held the phone up to show Pinnacle One the picture of his employee.
“Know him?”
Pinnacle One’s gaze rose above the phone to where the man was standing. It wasn’t hard to see, due to the background, that the photo had been taken in the last few minutes.
“I guess denying it at this point would do no good.”
“Well, you could,” Bridge said. “Be pretty foolish, though.”
“So? He’s one of my guards.”
“He also happens to be the man we ran into at Bevell’s house the other day. Dressed in black, mask, also a pretty good fighter. I got first-hand experience with that. And a few bruises to go along with it.”
“Was he at Bevell’s? I’ll have to speak with him about that.”
Bridge laughed. “Don’t go there.”
“Where?”
“Don’t insult my intelligence by pretending he was somewhere without your knowledge and approval. Everything he does, from his morning trip to the bathroom to his lunch eating a Happy Meal, to his nine o’clock bedtime holding his teddy bear… it’s all approved by you. Every second of his day has to be accounted for. Don’t forget who you’re talking to. I know it all. I know what it means.”
Pinnacle One rubbed his cheek and his chin as he deliberated on whether he should reveal anything.
Bridge was getting a little frustrated with the runaround. “Dammit, Joe, I’m trying to help you. Stop giving me the brush-off and tell me what’s going on here. I can help you if you let me, but if I’m left to freelance on this, then we both know I’m gonna step on some toes eventually, whether unintentionally or not. Help me sidestep that. I’m not some run-of-the-mill schmuck goofing off here. You know me. You know what I can do. I’ve never betrayed this agency and I still won’t. But if you shut me out, my options will be limited.”
Pinnacle One sighed. As much as he was trying to keep everything in-house, he knew Bridge could be trusted. Bridge had worked for him for a few years before he got assigned elsewhere.