Deep Cover (The Extractor Series Book 4)

by Mike Ryan

  “Unhappy that I did?”

  Bridge leaned over and kissed her again. “Never.”

  “I’m sorry I got us into this.”

  Bridge shrugged. “It is what it is. We both know that whenever we’re on a case, we never know where it might lead, or who it might lead to. Just one of the perils of the business.”

  “You’re sure you wanna do this?”

  “No. But I think we have to.”

  Bridge got up and grabbed his cell phone. He dialed a number that he hadn’t dialed in a long time.

  “Hello?” a woman answered.

  Bridge didn’t miss a beat. “This is Alpha Two-One-Seven-Six-Five.”

  “What is your business?”

  “I would like to speak with Pinnacle One.” There was silence on the other end of the line. The operator wasn’t used to someone asking for that. Bridge knew it was an unusual request, but that wasn’t going to stop him from demanding it. “I need to talk to Pinnacle One. Today. You get him the message. Tell him it’s about Gary Abbott. I can be reached on this number.”

  “I will see what I can do.”

  “Thanks.”

  Bridge hung up and looked at Nicole.

  “How’d it go?”

  Bridge shrugged. “We’ll see. I put the line out. Now we just have to wait and see if we get a bite.”

  “No reason why we shouldn’t. We left on good terms.”

  “You know as well as I do that leaving on good terms doesn’t exactly mean you get a free access card to sensitive information should it ever come up.”

  “True.”

  Bridge went back to the table and started looking at more papers with Nicole, though he knew it was unlikely they were going to find anything else. He thought it was all going to hinge on getting the meeting he was requesting. About ten minutes passed before Bridge’s phone rang. He looked at Nicole once it did, a little surprised he was getting a call so fast. He looked at the number. It was unfamiliar. He knew that meant it was probably the call he was hoping for.

  “Yes?” Bridge said.

  “State your ID,” a man replied.

  “Alpha Two-One-Seven-Six-Five.” Bridge could tell by the voice that it was not Pinnacle One. He had a deeper voice than the one he was listening to. It was most likely one of his assistants.

  “And your business?”

  “I need to speak with Pinnacle One.”

  “What for?”

  “It’s about Gary Abbott.”

  “Who’s that?”

  “That’s what I want to speak with Pinnacle One about.”

  “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

  “Listen, you all know who I am and what I do. I’m on a case that I think has something to do with you guys. Now, you can either let me in on it so I don’t step on any toes, or I can just go about it on my own and risk blowing something that you don’t want blown. Now which do you prefer?”

  It was quiet on the other end for about ten seconds. “Hold on.”

  As he waited, Bridge looked at Nicole and shrugged. He wasn’t sure which way this was going yet. They might decide to do business with him, or they could decide to blow him off and hope he goes away.

  After a good solid minute, the man got back on the phone. “Pinnacle One will see you in one hour.”

  “Where?”

  “Bethesda Fountain in Central Park.”

  Before Bridge was able to get off another question, the line went dead. He looked at his phone for a second before putting it back in his pocket.

  “Well?” Nicole asked.

  “One hour. Central Park at the Bethesda Fountain.”

  “With Pinnacle One?”

  Bridge nodded. “With Pinnacle One.”

  Nicole gave him a look. At least it was in a public place. That meant there would be no funny business. If it was in an abandoned building or somewhere with no people, that would give them pause to worry. But when meetings were done in public, there was usually little to fear in terms of one’s personal health. Usually.

  “What do you think?”

  Bridge shrugged. “I really don’t know. I really don’t know.”

  “Well, at least the park is good.”

  Bridge nodded. “Looks like we’re going for a stroll.”

  5

  Bridge walked around the fountain until he got to the edge of the lake and watched a few of the rowers go by in their small boats. He touched his ear to make sure his earpiece was working.

  “You on?”

  “I’m here,” Nicole answered. She was dressed in running attire, shorts, shoes, a baseball hat, all to try to disguise her appearance if their guests knew what she looked like.

  “See anything yet?”

  “Not yet.”

  Bridge looked at his watch. “Still got a few minutes.”

  Bridge took his eyes off the rowers and turned around. His eyes immediately went to the statue in front of him. The Bethesda Fountain was one of the largest fountains in New York, as well as in the world, standing over twenty-six feet high and ninety-six feet wide. It was also one of the more well-known fountains in the world. The sculpture in the middle of it, also known as Angel of the Waters, featured an eight-foot-high bronze statue. The angel carried a lily in one hand, while the other hand remained outstretched, to signify the delivering of a blessing from the water pouring down from around her feet and into the fountain.

  Bridge walked around the fountain to stand in front of it. He looked around, and not seeing anyone, turned back around to look at the fountain again. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen it. He’d been there many times. But it was always a peaceful feeling that came over him every time he was there. He sat down on the ledge of the fountain, his back to the angel as he waited for his visitor. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Nicole walking by, pretending like she was just a regular tourist. She then went up the steps that led up to the terrace, just off of Terrace Drive. She stood there and looked out, having a front-eye view of Bridge.

  “Must be nice having an angel on your shoulder, huh?”

  Bridge laughed. “If only that were true.”

  “Maybe you can figure out a way to keep her there.”

  “I think she’d be a little heavy lugging around all the time.”

  After only a minute or two, she looked to her right and saw several men dressed in expensive looking suits walk past. She knew who that was. A few of them walked down the steps on the way to meet Bridge, while a few more stood near her, just taking in the view and making sure that nothing happened to their boss. Not wanting to stay in such company, Nicole put her earbuds back in and started running, though she really went to a nearby path so she could get a better look at what was happening. She could still hear what was going on when Bridge was talking.

  Bridge sat on the edge of the fountain, leaning forward, with his elbows on his knees, watching Pinnacle One’s guards disperse as the boss moved closer to Bridge. Bridge didn’t take his eyes off the sixty-year-old leader as he approached. Pinnacle One stopped just in front of Bridge, not looking at him, instead looking at the statue behind him.

  “A beautiful sculpture, don’t you think?”

  “It is,” Bridge replied.

  Pinnacle One continued talking in his gruff-sounding voice. It was a deeper voice that had done a lot of barking out of orders over the years, though his tone had softened in recent times. “I must say it was a surprise to get a call from you.”

  “Was it?”

  “It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other.”

  “Eight years isn’t really that long.”

  “In this business… eight years is almost a lifetime.”

  “I guess it is.”

  Pinnacle One sat down next to Bridge. “So what’s this all about?”

  “Gary Abbott.”

  “Who?”

  Bridge chuckled. “C’mon, don’t play me for a fool. I worked for this agency a long time. I know how things work. I also know when thing
s aren’t what they seem.”

  “And you think you’ve got that here?”

  “I do. Gary Abbott was an international salesman who died under mysterious circumstances a year ago.”

  “So? That happens to a lot of people.”

  “A man that had, on the surface, no enemies, killed somewhere else, then dumped in an alley. It was a super clean kill, police had no leads, and the case soon dropped off the map.”

  “Sounds like you’re dealing with an intelligent killer.”

  “Or agency.”

  Pinnacle One smiled. “And you think that was us.”

  “Well, when a private investigator starts looking into the matter, then he suddenly disappears, it starts to sound off the alarm bells. Then when that investigator also has the address of a certain station based in New York, a lot of things start adding up.”

  Pinnacle One continued grinning. “Careful, Luke. Sometimes things don’t always add up to what you think they will. Two plus two doesn’t always equal four.”

  “Sure it does. It doesn’t add up when you start throwing in different equations to mask the true answer.”

  “You were a good agent. Too bad you’re not still in the field.”

  “I’m good where I am.”

  “Yes, still making a difference from what I hear. That’s always been in your blood.”

  “About Gary Abbott…”

  “There’s nothing I can really say about him.”

  “Sure there is. You just won’t. I came here to give you the option of clueing me in on what’s going on so I don’t start stepping on toes that I don’t want to step on. But if I’m kept out of the loop, I can’t really help that much, can I?”

  “You could always move on.”

  “Afraid I can’t do that. I’ve been hired to do a job and I’m gonna do it.”

  “Regardless of where it may lead or whose path you may cross?”

  “That’s the way I operate. Always have.”

  “I know. That’s what makes you unique. That’s what makes you great. That’s what makes you…” He started to laugh. “What is it you call yourself? The Extractor?” He kept laughing. “I must say I do enjoy that name. It’s fitting, though. You earned it.”

  “Back to Gary Abbott.”

  “Why are you so hell-bent on believing that he’s one of ours?”

  “Are you saying he’s not?”

  “I’m not saying anything.”

  Bridge was tired of the games. He could see that he wasn’t going to get anywhere this way. At least he could say he gave it a chance. He stood up, ready to leave.

  “Well, you can’t say I didn’t give you a shot.”

  Just as he started to walk away, Pinnacle One grabbed his arm to prevent him from leaving. “Sit down.” It was said in a warm fashion. He then nodded toward the ledge. “Please.”

  Bridge slowly sat back down, ready to hear whatever else the man had to say, though he still wasn’t sure it would be much of anything. “Gary Abbott?”

  “I am familiar with the name.”

  “He worked for you?”

  “Not in the way that you think.”

  “He wasn’t an agent?”

  “No. But we did use him on a few things here and there.”

  “Why was he killed?”

  “I don’t know. That’s something we’ve never been able to figure out.”

  “So it wasn’t you guys that did it?”

  Pinnacle One grinned. “Now, Luke, you know we don’t operate on U.S. soil.”

  Bridge laughed. “Yeah.”

  “We did not kill him. But we did approach him two years ago about working for us.”

  “Why?”

  Pinnacle One shrugged, not able to give away all the details. “Well, let’s just say he had a job travelling around the world, and we wanted to use that to the best of our abilities. He had a natural cover that we thought would blend in nicely with some of the things we were working on.”

  “What was he doing here when he was killed?”

  “Nothing to my knowledge. At least nothing for us. Just one of those dumb luck type of things that got him killed.”

  “So you don’t know who did it?”

  “Oh, we briefly looked into it, making sure no one knew his connection to us. But we didn’t find any leads to indicate who it was and nothing ever blew back to us. So the matter’s been closed as far as we’re concerned.”

  “And the fact that it was a nice, tight, clean job doesn’t mean anything to you?”

  “Like I said, just happened to be dumb luck.”

  Bridge took the paper out of his pocket with the CIA address on it. He held it up to show his former boss. “And the fact that a private investigator had this in his possession doesn’t ring any bells for you?”

  Pinnacle One took the paper from his hand and looked at it. “I can’t honestly say for sure how this man would’ve come across this in his possession.” He leaned over slightly. “You mind if I keep this? I would hate for it to somehow fall into the hands of someone less scrupulous than yourself.”

  “Go ahead.”

  Pinnacle One folded it and put it in his pocket. “Thank you.”

  “So what do you think happened to this PI who was investigating Abbott’s death?”

  “Can’t say I know anything about it.”

  “You didn’t have him taken care of?”

  “I don’t even know who he is.”

  “Darren Bevell.”

  “Doesn’t ring any bells.”

  Bridge smiled. “You also said that before.”

  “Yes, well, I can say for sure that this man’s name doesn’t sound familiar at all.”

  “How ‘bout the fact that I was shot at last night coming out of this man’s home?”

  “You were?”

  “Yep.”

  “By who?”

  “Well, I guess that’s the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question, isn’t it?”

  “You don’t believe it was us, do you?”

  Bridge chuckled. “Well, it did cross my mind. I mean, in light of all the other connections and all.”

  “Now, do you really think I would have my men try to kill you over this?”

  “The world of espionage is a dangerous game. Sometimes people are in the game and they don’t even know that they’re playing. And they don’t know the rulebook.”

  “But you do.”

  “That’s right, I do. And I also know when I’m not getting the whole truth.”

  “You know as well as I do that I can’t reveal sensitive information.”

  “I’m not asking you to. I’m just asking that I be let in on what’s going on. Because if I start digging deeper into this, and I find out that I’m being lied to, or I start being followed, or I start being led in a different direction, I’m gonna be very unhappy. And I don’t want any bad blood to come out of this.”

  “Or spilled blood.”

  “That too,” Bridge said.

  “Luke, Gary Abbott did not work for us. We did not kill him. I do not know who did. And we did not shoot at you last night. All of that is the truth.”

  “The whole truth or just a version of it?”

  “The version that I can reveal.” Pinnacle One then stood up and put his sunglasses on. “It’s been good talking to you, Luke. If you find anything else of interest on this case, I’d appreciate you filling me in on it.”

  “You can count on it.”

  Bridge sat there as he watched his former boss walk away. As the man did so, his other men fell in behind him as they walked back to their car. Once they were completely out of sight, Nicole came over to the fountain and sat down next to her boyfriend.

  “Hear all that?” Bridge asked.

  “Sure did.”

  “What’d you think?”

  “I think he’s lying.”

  “About which part?”

  “Most of it. Maybe he’s telling the truth about Abbott not being an agent. I’m not sure about t
hat. But I think he knows a lot more than he’s saying.”

  “Question is how long it takes us to prove it.”

  “I can prove some of it right now.”

  “How?”

  “Well, I can’t say for sure whether he’s the one behind us being shot at last night. And I can’t say whether he had Abbott killed. And I can’t say for sure whether he’s behind the disappearance of that PI.”

  “Then what can you say?”

  “I can definitely say he knows about Bevell.”

  “How?”

  “You remember that guy we fought with the blond hair? The one who put you through the table?”

  Just hearing it brought back bad memories for Bridge. He put his hand on his back as if he were still feeling the pain. “I’m not likely to forget it anytime soon.”

  “That guy’s one of Pinnacle One’s guards.”

  Bridge was astonished. “What?”

  “Yeah. He was standing up there on the terrace. I didn’t notice him at first when I was there. But when I walked around and stood by the trees on the side there after they showed up, I noticed him.”

  “You sure it was him? The same guy?”

  “Positive. I’d recognize him anywhere. So unless he’s acting on his own, I’d say there’s one guy who sent him to Bevell’s house.”

  “Pinnacle One.”

  “Which means that he knows him. And he knows more of what’s going on.”

  Bridge sighed. “I’m pretty sure I hate this case.”

  “Not too late to back away from it.”

  “Yes, it is. We’re already into it.”

  “But not so far where we can’t go back. I mean, it’s not like we’ve got some pivotal information that we’re not acting on. We still don’t know much.”

  “But we know enough,” Bridge said. “We know things don’t add up. And we know there’s a brother out there who wants answers. And he’s not gonna give up until he gets them. And if he keeps on, without our help, he has no idea what he’s dealing with. You know as well as I do what’s likely to happen to him and whoever else he brings in if it’s not us.”

  “There’s gonna be more dead bodies.”

  Bridge nodded.

  “If we keep going… I just hope we’re not joining them.”

  Bridge took a deep breath, then flipped his lips together and blew air through his mouth. “Yeah.”