WPCTS4

“So are you going to tell me or am I going to have to drag it out of you?” Joe asked his partner as they cruised through traffic in the Cuda.

“Tell you what?” Nash returned.

“Tell me what,” Joe mocked as he shook his head. “You’re going to make me work it out of you, aren’t you?”

“Work what out?” he asked in confusion.

“I shouldn’t be surprised. Your horoscope said that you were going to be obstinate today,” he fired back.

Their conversation was beginning to sound suspiciously like a episode with his ex-wife. “Have you been talking to Lisa?”

“There you go, changing the subject again.”

“What subject?” Nash asked in exasperation.

“If you need it spelled out for you, then it must not....”

“Don’t go there Joe,” he warned. “If you want to ask me something, then just ask me.”

“Fine. What happened with you and Victoria Castle?”

Nash shot him a look out of the corner of his eye. “That’s it?” he asked in disappointment. When Joe became defensive, he generally expected the worst.

“Don’t give me that,” Joe returned. “I know this thing with Victoria is bothering you more than you’re willing to admit.”

“If you wanted to know what happened when I went to see her, why didn’t you just ask?”

“Like you would really tell me.”

“Don’t make me pull the ‘Cuda over Joe.”

“Fine! I’m asking.”

“Fine.” He let out a heavy sigh. He couldn’t understand why his marriages didn’t work when he had Joe to practice on. “Nothing happened.” He held his hand up quickly when Joe turned to attack. “We just talked,” he added. “It seems that the high rollers in town think that Teddy Malone has just made a play for the penthouse.”

“Oh really?” Joe said, his interest piqued. “So why didn’t you say anything sooner?”

Nash shrugged. “There was a bit of personal conflict.”

“Meaning Victoria Castle?” he asked, amazed that his partner would let anyone interfere with his duty or such a perfect opportunity.

Nash nodded, glancing over at him when Joe gave one of his dramatic sighs. “Relax bubba. Just because I don’t want her involved doesn’t mean that we’re not going to chase this down. We just can rush into it. We’re going to have to set up something solid. We’ve still got the web site that Rachel made so let’s start from there.”

“We’ll have them lining up to turn themselves in,” Joe smiled at the prospect. “That will be a nice change.” He waited for several seconds for Nash to continue, but no longer. He had to ask. “What about the possibility that Victoria was involved with her brother’s supposed death? Did she say anything about working with the DEA?”

“I didn’t know about that then,” he returned. “I’m not sure that I would have asked even if I did know. I just don’t like the thought of having another Tamara in my life.”

Joe looked at him in surprise. “It’s funny you should mention her. That’s exactly who came to mind when we first met Victoria and that isn’t a comparison that I thought you would ever admit to.”

“Yeah, well. Don’t rub it in yet, bubba. I’m still not entirely convinced that Tory was involved. I talked to Hayden Kellam yesterday and he told me that, as far as he knew, the shoot out was on the up and up. If there was any protective custody escape planned, he knew nothing about it.”

“Which would be routine for that sort of thing.”

“Right, but filling in the family isn’t. Tory would have been kept in the dark as well. Even if Russell Craig did go into protective custody, they wouldn’t tell the sister unless they were pulling her out too.” Nash and Joe exchanged a shocked expression when they realized the full extent of what he had just said. “The bastard left her in the loop! Craig walks out a free man because of Victoria and the bastard leaves his sister in!”

Joe shook his head. “Craig wouldn’t do that to his own sister, would he?”

“I’m damn sure going to find out!”

* * *

Harvey hesitated for a moment as he followed Rachel up the walk to her apartment, then looked back over his shoulder as a dark green Lincoln drove by. He watched it for several seconds as it disappeared up the street, then shook his head as he continued in. He wasn’t sure why he was feeling so jumpy lately. He supposed that it was because he was unable to protect Rachel the way he felt he should. He still couldn’t shake the image of her getting shot. He had been standing on the sidewalk across the street, completely incapable of doing anything to stop what was happening. The only time he had felt more helpless was when Evan had died.

“You know, there’s no point to bringing all this stuff over here,” Rachel continued to argue as she carried in their lunch. “I’m going to be back in the office tomorrow.”

“Keep dreaming sweetheart. Nash isn’t going to let you anywhere near the place until you have a doctor’s release.”

“Tomorrow,” she repeated, then looked over her shoulder at him. “Maybe even sooner.” She finally managed the lock on her door and went straight for the kitchen as Harvey carried in a box with files and software for Rachel. “Do me a favor and switch my computer on while I grab something for us to drink.”

“Already done,” he told her after setting the box down on her desk in the tiny little nook. The cubbyhole that was just off of the hallway was laughingly referred to as the guest bedroom. Harvey met her in the kitchen where she was already looking through the assortment of cardboard boxes. “There’s no point in getting any plates out. I’ve got to meet Antwon in a few. I’m going to have to eat and run.”

“Harv, we’ve been sharing meals for years. Since when do I give you a plate?” she asked, only half joking as she selected a carton of noodles and twirled her fork inside. In all of the years that they had been working together, they rarely had a meal in his or her apartment.

“True,” he acknowledged as he grabbed an egg roll and took a bite while looking through the other boxes himself.

Rachel studied him for a long moment while he picked up the fork that she had left for him on the counter and dug into his food. “Do you have plans for this weekend?” she asked.

Harvey swallowed hard. “With everything that has been going on lately, I haven’t planned anything beyond the moment,” he confessed.

“What do you say about coming over here for dinner?” she suggested. “I’ll even get out my good china if you promise not to critique the pattern,” she teased.

“Aren’t you suppose to be taking it easy?” he asked reflectively. She had spent very little time actually resting since she had left the hospital.

“Come on Harv,” she cajoled him. “I’ll even fix you my specialty.”

His eyes widened. “The infamous chicken cacciatore?” he asked and got a broadening smile in return. “Hey, wait a minute. Isn’t that the dish that you fix when you’re dating a guy that you’re about to sl....”

When realization struck, Harvey started choking on a piece of fried rice. Rachel looked at him with confusion as she handed him a bottle of water. It wasn’t exactly the reaction she had been expecting. Their relationship had settled back into the comfortable friendship that they were accustomed to, but she wanted to move beyond that.

He was finally able to stop coughing and took a long drink from the bottle. His eyes were still watering when he was able to look at her again. “Are you sure?” he asked, his voice still a little rough.

“I’m positive,” she returned without hesitation. She smiled as she reached up and brushed away the tears clinging his cheeks. She stepped closer to him as her hands dropped to his shoulders. “If I remember correctly, our relationship was headed on a similar path before we got sidetracked.”

His eyes searched her face as he slipped his hands around her waist. All of the passion that he had pushed aside due to the circumstances suddenly began resurfacing. “If you’re waiting for me to say something incredibly meaningful and romantic....” He shook his head, a little dazed. “It’s not happening. All of the blood has suddenly left my brain.”

She laughed as she slid her hands down his back. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

* * *

“Mr. Bones,” Nash said in greeting as he and Joe walked into the gothic store. The owner stood behind an old counter that use to be a working soda fountain. The wall behind him was filled from top to bottom with herbs of every description while other shelves were stocked with an assortment of clothes, ornaments and party favors for the gothic sect that frequented his store.

“Nash Bridges,” he returned as he held out his hand, then turned to his partner. “How’s it hanging, Joe?”

“Low and little to the left,” Joe returned as he shook his hand.

Mr. Bones laughed as he pointed a finger in Joe’s direction, then he turned his attention back to Nash. “What can I do for you today, Nash man? Finally going to try some of my herbals?”

Nash glanced around the macabre items in the store. “Not even on a dare,” he returned. “No, Bones, we’re looking for a kidney. Got any handy?”

“Oh yeah! I heard about that,” he said in surprise. “I didn’t think it was the real deal because there were a lot of numbers flying around. Somebody shelled out some major bucks for that particular item.”

Joe and Nash exchanged a relieved glance. “You wouldn’t happen to know who the buyer was, do you?” Joe asked.

He thought for a moment as she shook his head. “No man. Like I said, I didn’t think it was the real deal, so I just blew it off. I can tell you who was scoping for the hacker, though. Tony B.”

Nash rubbed the bridge of his nose as he grimaced. “Why am I not surprised?” he asked rhetorically.

“Everyone’s favorite broker,” Mr. Bones added.

“Wait a minute,” Nash began. “I thought you and Tony B. were best buds. Why didn’t you get the job?”

“That two ton traitor. Tony screwed me on a....” His eyes darted between the pair. He almost forgot who he was talking to. “It’s a business thing. And he’s not talking to me.” He waved the entire scenario away. “It wouldn’t have mattered. Stealing a vital organ is bad karma, man. I wouldn’t have done it anyway.”

“But it’s not bad karma to roll over on an old buddy?” Joe asked.

“Hey, you can tell him that I was the one that turned you on to him and that I’m going to kick his ass next time we cross paths,” Mr. Bones returned. “Here,” he began, turning around to pull out his address book from behind the counter. “I’ll even give you his new address.”

Nash gave his head a slight shake. “Nothing like a good feud to get the real skinny on someone,” he quipped.

“There’s nothing skinny about that clown,” Mr. Bones grumbled as he continued to write.

* * *

“Give me some good news, Harv,” Nash said into his cell phone as he slowed down for traffic.

“I wish I could, boss,” Harvey returned. “Antwon and I just left SF General. The surgeon said that his patient has gone critical. If we don’t find the kidney within the next few hours, it’s not going to matter anymore. As if that’s not enough pressure, this is the guy’s last shot at a kidney, then he comes off the donor list. How are things on your end? Have you been able to talk to the press yet?”

“Joe is working on that right now,” he returned as he glanced over at his partner in the passenger seat talking on his cell phone. “In the mean time, I’ve got a lead for you. It seems that Tony B. has been offering big bucks to any hacker without principles.”

“I guess that being buried alive wasn’t enough the first time. Mind if I put him there permanently?” Harvey asked.

“Just don’t make a mess,” Nash returned. “He’s currently residing at 426 Wilsher Boulevard. Apartment C.”

“Got it. We’re ten minutes away.”

“I don’t believe this,” Joe complained as he slapped his cell phone closed just after Nash. “It’s going to take at least another hour to get anyone over to the SIU for a press conference. It seems that everyone is over at the courthouse covering the Parker trial.”

“That actor who discharged his guns in a public place?” Nash asked in disbelief. “Let me get this straight. You’re telling me that we’ve got a vital organ missing with a guy’s life on the line and the press would rather cover an actor on trial for something that he will probably get a slap on the wrist for? There’s something majorly wrong with that, bubba.”

“So we’re going to the courthouse, I take it?”

“Hit the lights.”

Joe and Nash walked into the courthouse where a sea of reporters and camera men stood waiting for the trial to recess. They were recognized quickly and were soon surrounded with cameras and reporters. The press may not be willing to leave such a high profile news story, but they weren’t about to miss one that walked right up to them either.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Nash began as the cameras rolled and microphones were shoved in his face. “We have a very serious situation here. There is a patient at San Francisco General in critical condition who is awaiting a kidney transplant. A donor was found and the organ was in route to the hospital when it was intercepted by persons unknown. What we know thus far is that someone hired a computer hacker to break into hospital records, presumably to find compatible people in the system, so they were ready when the donor was found. We need your help in finding the men responsible, but most of all, we need your help to locate the missing organ itself. It would be in a container the approximate size of a small cooler and it would be marked with a bright red donor label. It is imperative that we get this to San Francisco General as soon as possible. A man’s life hangs in the balance. The patient’s name is Jeremiah Bails. He has been a member of the San Francisco community all of his life. He went to school here and works here. He has a wife and three beautiful little girls. And he needs your help. If you have any information, please contact the Special Investigations Unit directly at 555-0748.”

* * *

Harvey tapped on the door marked C and gave Antwon a nod. “Be ready for anything man,” he warned him. When his partner reached for his pistol hidden under his jacket, Harvey shook his head. “I don’t mean that.”

“This had better be important,” Tony B. growled when he jerked open the door wearing only his boxers, a cape and a cowl.

Harvey shook his head. “Have you moved on to superheroes now Tony?”

“Who is it Bat babe?” a woman’s voice called from further inside the apartment.

“Just a salesman sweetheart. I’ll be back in a second.”

“Let me guess,” Antwon said as he tried to stifle a laugh. “Cat woman?”

Tony B. cleared his throat. “Wonder woman,” he mumbled.

Harvey shook his head. “Tell her to untie her magic lasso because you’ve just made a change of plans.”

“Aw, come on guys. You can’t keep doing this to me,” Tony complained.

“Tony, as angry as I am with you right now, you’re lucky that I don’t drag you down to the SIU wearing what you’ve got on,” Harvey told him. “Get your clothes on.”

“All right. All right.” Tony held up his hands, trying in vain to defuse the situation. “Just tell me what you want to know and we can get this over with.”

Harvey shook his head. “You don’t get it, Tony,” he said with venom. Harvey shook his head again as he grabbed the ear of his cowl, getting a fist full of Tony’s hair as well. Harvey pulled him all the way over to the television set in the tiny living room and switched the power on. Nash’s image was on the local station, the message he had sent out to the city repeating at fifteen minute intervals until the missing kidney is found.

Harvey gave Tony B. a hard glare. “That hacker that you hired rerouted a kidney that was meant for a guy named Jeremiah Bails who, unfortunately, won’t be available for his eldest daughter’s wedding in June because he will be dead. I’ll be sure to give the family your condolences.”

“Wait a minute,” Tony pleaded, rubbing his scalp vigorously when Harvey released him. “All I did was act as the middle man. I have no knowledge of what was done after that. What happened between the employer and employee had nothing to do with me.”

“It had everything to do with you!” Antwon argued. “If the buyer didn’t have the hacker, he wouldn’t have been able to intercept the kidney and that’s your doing, Tony B.”

“Not only that, but all of the patient files that your hacker trashed is your responsibility as well. I figure, you could have as many as a hundred or so possible wrongful death suits waiting for you in the future. And let me tell you something. I’m going to red flag all of those files and, twenty years from now, if someone so much as gets the wrong kind of aspirin, I’m going to hunt you down to account for it.” Harvey took a long pause to allow Tony B. a chance to speak, but he remained silent. “You went looking for that hacker, Tony, and that makes it premeditated.”

“The guy goes by the name Byte Man,” Tony returned. “I met him at one of the underground clubs. I can tell you what he looks like, but I don’t know where he lives.”

No one had noticed that Wonder woman had joined them in the living room until she confronted Tony B. “You’re behind this?” she asked in shock as she pointed to the television. “Our daughter goes to play school with the Bails’ youngest, you moron! How could you do that?”

Harvey backed up an sat down on the arm of the couch when the woman launched herself at Tony, her tiny fists pummeling him as she cussed him. When Antwon looked at him, Harvey gave his head a shake. “You should never get into the middle of a domestic dispute.”

* * *

Special Agent Truitt of the DEA was sitting at his desk at the back of the federal building when he heard a commotion coming from down the hall. Through the blinds on his glass wall, he could see Nash Bridges making his way through the office with little resistance. The office secretary trailed after him drawing as much attention possible as he yelled for the SIU Captain to stop to no avail.

There wasn’t any doubt in Truitt’s mind who he was coming to see and he leaned back in his chair. His smug smile greeted Nash as he walked through the office door without knocking. He was going to enjoy this. “Well look who has graced our dreary lives with his presence. The television star himself,” he mocked. “I caught your little speech. Very touching. I thought you were going to launch into a chorus of Amazing Grace at any moment.”

Nash rubbed his fingers over his mouth. There was so much that he wanted to say to the DEA agent he didn’t know where to begin. “So where is he?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he returned, practically laughing as the words came out of his mouth.

“We already had an arrangement with his sister,” Nash seethed. “An arrangement that would have gotten them both out safely and put Cruz Montipinia behind bars.”

“You and I both know that neither one of them would have survived a week if Montipinia had been able to walk away from the restaurant.”

“Which is why Craig killed him,” Nash concluded. He had known that the instant he saw the body. “At the time, I thought that he did it to protect his sister.”

Agent Truitt calmly took a sip from his coffee mug. “You know, when I first met Russell Craig, it amazed me how naive he was considering all that he had seen and done.”

Nash turned to look at Joe standing by the door and saw that his partner was just as stunned. “Let me get this straight,” Nash began as he looked back at Truitt. “Even though we already had an arrangement with Victoria Castle, you went behind our back to make new arrangements with Russell Craig. He would still get to go into the witness protection program, but now he was to assassinate Cruz Montipinia in exchange for his freedom.”

Truitt attempted a bored look, but his smile couldn’t be squelched. “I am not at liberty....”

“Save it,” Nash said as he waved the standard excuses away as he started to pace. “Now, just to make certain that I have it right, when you spoke with Craig, you didn’t happen to mention the fact that you were going to keep his sister in a position to help you bring down other drug king pins, did you?”

Agent Truitt thought about his response for a long moment, enjoying the sensation of having the irrefutable Nash Bridges marveling at his genius. “I told you that we had a plan worked out. You simply didn’t want to listen.”

“Three people died because of your brilliant plan. Doesn’t that bother you at all?”

He shook his head. “Go ahead,” he encouraged him. “Get it all out. I know that you’re just jealous that I was able to pull the rug out from under you and take all the glory.”

Nash looked back at Joe who was shaking his head. “What do you think Craig is going to do when he finds out that you double crossed him and have been using his sister?” Joe said in exasperation. He couldn’t believe that Truitt was that dense. “Do you seriously think that, just because you gave him a new identity he has suddenly grown a conscious and won’t kill you? He has murdered at least six other people including his own boss.” He shook his head at the stupidity. “You’ve just typed, signed and certified your own death warrant, you moron,” he mumbled.

Nash watched shock, then understanding, then panic cross Agent Truitt’s face in a matter of seconds. He was just starting to realize what sort of consequences he would be facing. Nash clarified it even further for him. “I doubt that there’s going to be any place that you can hide when Russell Craig comes gunning for you, Special Agent Truitt. I hope you kept up on those life insurance premiums.”

Joe opened the door for Nash as he turned and started out of the office. “Have a nice life,” Joe said in parting. “What’s left of it.”

* * *

Harvey shook his head when he walked into the SIU with Tony B. in cuffs and saw Rachel sitting at her desk, pecking away at the computer keyboard. He gave Ronnie a nod when he took custody of Tony B. then continued toward Rachel’s desk. The casing was off of her computer hard drive as she ran a test on the new equipment she had just installed. “It has been less than two hours since I took you home,” Harvey said in amazement when he stepped up to her desk. “I cannot believe that you got back to the SIU before me. You’ve got some impressive contacts, lady.”

“A piece of cake,” Rachel returned as she stood from her chair to replace the outer shell over the hard drive. “All I had to do was say that I was needed on the kidney search and I got not one, but two physician to sign off on my work release.”

“I should have guessed. So what are you doing here?” he asked as he gestured to all of the electronic equipment she was working on.

“I had to put the Tracker prototype into this computer. Mine didn’t have the links we need to properly utilize the system.”

“You’re awfully brave. You might want to put some police tape around your desk. I’ve seen Joe crash a computer by just looking at it.”

“Don’t remind me. I just put my retirement into this computer,” she said, then shook her head. “But I don’t have a choice. I’ve got to repair the software before the backup will even work again and there’s no time for that.”

“So you’re up and running?” he asked hopefully.

“Ready to go,” she assured him.

“I’m not going to say another word about you coming to work because your timing couldn’t have been better. We got the name of the hacker from Tony B. and wonder woman was able to get the address out of him when she started choking him with her magic belt.” When Rachel looked at him in confusion, he shook his head. “Don’t ask. Byte Man is the guy’s alias, but it’s going to take a hacker to get him. I want to know everything on him from his blood type to his favorite tooth paste. I was about to start a search on my computer, but you just saved me the trouble. Now ‘Twon and I can head right over to this guys apartment.”

“If this jerk is willing to steal a kidney for cash, there’s no telling what he’s capable of,” she said ominously. “Be careful.”

“Always,” he returned and gave her a wink as he turned to leave.

* * *