Bridger was driving too fast. He knew he was driving too fast... but he also knew that he was angry. He drove too fast normally but driving too fast when he was angry was something he rarely did. One small reasonable part of his mind told him that this was stupid. Here he was, driving down the highway, passing all the other cars, and he knew he should slow down. It wasn't just that he was upset... he was more than upset... hell, he was more than angry... he was downright furious.

Bridger sucked in a deep breath of air and took the next exit ramp. He didn't even care where he was... he just needed to walk. That's what he needed. He was too angry to drive so he needed to walk. He pulled onto a side street, eased the car into the curb and turned off the engine. He sat behind the wheel for a moment and stared unseeing at the street in front of him. Finally, he got out of the car and slammed the door. Turning to his left he started walking down the street with his hands stuck deep in his pockets.

While he walked he replayed in his mind the fight he'd just had with Kristin Westphalen. Honestly, sometimes she could drive him nuts. For a woman that he found he had difficulty living without, sometimes he sure had difficulty living with her. This had started as a normal day. OK, so it was Saturday and he had to go to work, but she didn't need to get so upset about it. It wasn't like he planned to work all day. He only worked in the morning and then he went to pick her up at her place to take her to lunch. Bridger shook his head and picked up his pace a little.

Alright, so he was a little late picking her up. He wasn't very late. He'd arranged to pick her up at noon and he was finally able to make it there at 1:30. That wasn't too bad. From her reaction you'd think that he'd spent the hour and a half with a hooker for Christ's sake. And it wasn't like he didn't try to call her. If she'd get off that damned vidphone occasionally he'd be able to get through to her. And he'd left messages. Of course, she'd have to get off the vidphone to be able to pick up her messages and that was apparently something that was beyond her.

She could just be so unreasonable and stubborn. She'd said that he was the only person she knew who was more stubborn than she was but he wasn't at all sure which one of them would win that award. It wasn't like her yelling at him was going to make him any earlier once he'd already shown up late. She made such a production about it. He really didn't need the 20 minute lecture on how irresponsible he could be... and he was hungry and her yelling at him was just delaying lunch. Now it was good and delayed. He'd stood there through her lecture, he'd listened to her acerbic comments and when she started in on what he was doing wrong with building the seaQuest he'd decided that he'd had enough. If he didn't get out of there he was going to do or say something he'd regret. Well, something else that he'd regret. He'd said a few things during the last 30 minutes that he'd probably regret whenever he got back on speaking terms with her.

But right now he was just furious with her. Bridger was furious enough that he hardly noticed the three young men sitting on a bench as he walked by... and he definitely didn't notice the glances they exchanged or that two of them got up and followed him from a distance. He also didn't notice that the third man took off down a passageway running.

Boy, you'd think that he was late on purpose. It wasn't like he had nothing else in his life to do but take her out to lunch on a Saturday afternoon. It wasn't like he wasn't in the middle of building the second seaQuest. His mind kept piling up comebacks that he should have used during the argument faster and faster. It wasn't like he didn't have a major component for the engine show up with a stress fault this morning... and it wasn't like if he hadn't insisted that the part be scoped, despite what everyone else was saying, before it was installed that the damned thing would have been inside the engine when it shattered. And that was exactly what they didn't need right now. They didn't need this kind of delay. They didn't need to have to try to explain to all the pin-heads in the governments that it would be an extra couple of months before the new seaQuest hit the water. But did it matter to Kristin that he had a good reason for being late???? No!! It didn't matter that he'd been crawling inside a greasy engine housing checking on the suspect part of the engine. It didn't matter that something that he'd dreamed for and put his heart and soul into might have been damaged severely because some idiot in a plant in the Midwest couldn't produce a turbine without a structural flaw.

Bridger wasn't only angry at Kristin, he was furious at that idiot in the Midwest. He was still walking fast and was so angry that he was surprised when a young man in jeans and a plaid cotton shirt stepped out of a passageway right in front of him. Bridger moved to sidestep the man but he moved blocking Bridger's path.

"Can I help you with something?" Bridger said curtly.

The young man just grinned... and it wasn't a nice grin. "Yeah, you can help me," he said as two sets of hands grabbed Bridger from behind and pulled him into the passageway. It didn't take Nathan long to figure out that this had just gone from a bad day into a perfectly shitty day and he was in the process of being robbed.

He took a deep breath and with irritation still evident in his voice said to the first guy, "You don't really want to do this. I'm having a really bad day and this is the last thing you want to be doing to me."

The kid just kept that stupid grin on his face and flicked open a knife. "Keep it up and I'll make your day one hell of a lot worse." Bridger just shook his head... what next? "Your wallet."

Bridger looked at the kid with the insolent face and removed his wallet from his back pocket. He went to hand it to the kid but one of the idiots behind him grabbed it out of his hands.

"Happy?" was Bridger's snide remark.

The kid just kept flipping the knife in his hand and leaned back against the wall of the passageway. "No, we'll take your watch and that ring too."

Nathan had just about reached his breaking point. His wallet was one thing but Carol had given him the watch and the ring was his Academy ring. He was damned if he was going to part with either of them. He sighed and made like he was giving in. Turning slightly to his left to get a better gauge on where the other two were, Bridger started reaching like he was going to take off his watch. Instead he spun and aimed a hard punch at the face of one of the guys behind him while kicking the other in the groin as hard as he could.

Nathan knew he had to watch for the other guy with the knife so he spun around, bouncing off the wall, to get around to deal with him. From the groans and gasping for air behind him the one he'd kicked was going to be down for a while but he could hear the other one getting up. A quick glance out of the side of his eye showed the kid was pulling himself up on the wall while holding his nose, which was bleeding profusely. The kid with the knife still had the stupid grin on his face. He kept his eyes on Nathan as they sized each other up.

Nathan saw a flash of movement to his side as the kid with the bloody nose tried to tackle him. Nathan stepped back quickly and caught him as he rushed. Instead of hitting him or redirecting his movements, Nathan used his momentum against him. As he came running by, Nathan stepped back and gave the kid a good shove that took him head first into the other wall of the passageway. He hit the brick with a sickening thud and slid down to the ground unconscious.

At the same time the kid with the knife lunged for him. Nathan was able to deflect the kid but he felt a searing pain down his left arm as the knife opened up a slit almost all the way from his wrist to his elbow. Nathan spun around to face the kid again. Crouched in a defensive position, Nathan watched the kid's every move and shift. He figured the kid would try to lunge the same way again and he wasn't disappointed when the kid did what he had done before. He faked like he was going to swing the knife around to slice Nathan's midsection but then redirected his movements into an attempt to stab Nathan in the stomach. Nathan saw it coming and blocked the knife hand with his injured arm. The pain that shot through the arm was tremendous but Nathan was able to deflect the knife just enough. He sidestepped the kid and followed through by bringing his right arm around to hit the kid on the back of his neck as he flew by. The blow and the momentum of his attempted strike caused the kid to end up on the ground on his face. Bridger jumped on his back knocking his breath away, grabbed the hand holding the knife with his right hand and smashed it into the concrete as hard as he could. The knife went flying and Bridger heard and felt the satisfying breaking of bones in the kid's hand.

Bridger sat back and grabbed the kid's left shoulder. He pulled the shoulder to flip the kid on his back, pulled his hand back, and just as a squad car pulled into the passageway with its lights flashing, Bridger hit the kid in the face as hard as he could. The kid went limp in Bridger's hold. He heard a car door open and saw the officer position himself behind the car door with his gun drawn. It was pointed at Nathan.

"Get off of him and get on the ground. Flat on your face... and let me see your hands," the officer said forcefully.

Bridger brought both of his hands up off the kid and held them so the officer could see. Breathing heavy, he stepped off the kid and moved a little away from him so there was free room to lie down. Another squad car pulled in from the other end of the passageway and its occupant also got out with his gun drawn.

"On the ground!" the first officer yelled.

Bridger nodded his head and went down on the ground on his stomach.

"Spread eagle... spread your arms and legs!" yelled the second officer. Bridger complied. Then the two officers got the one that Nathan had kicked in the nuts down into the same position. Nathan felt one of the officers take his right hand and bring it behind his back. He felt the cold steel of a handcuff being attached to his wrist. Then the officer reached up and pulled his left hand behind his back also. Nathan groaned and twisted his left shoulder up from the pain of moving the injured arm. The officer pushed his shoulder back down on the concrete and told him not to move.

After he and the other conscious member of this charade were both secured Nathan heard one of the officers call in on his radio.

"HQ, Adam-41"

"Adam-41 go"

"Adam-41, we've got two in custody. We're going to need some ambulances here. I'm not quite sure what we broke up but I've got two unconscious men, one groaning and another one bleeding all over the place."

Several other squad cars had shown up while the cuffing and calling in process was taking place. All of Nathan's anger and energy from earlier was gone. Now he was just feeling exhausted... and hurt. His arm really hurt. One of the officers gave Bridger a thorough pat down and pulled him up until he was sitting against the wall of the passageway. Nathan could feel the blood run down his back from the cut on his arm.

The kid he'd kicked was sitting against the opposite wall with his knees drawn up. It looked like he was crying. The kid who'd smashed his head against the wall was still down. He was bleeding from a sizable cut on his head as well as his nose. The knife guy was flat on his back in the middle of the passageway. He was still out too.

More sirens could be heard and soon Bridger saw an ambulance pull up at either end of the passageway. The paramedics went to work on the two unconscious forms first. Nathan could see one of the officers talking to someone from the neighborhood down near the street. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He was surprised by a hand on his shoulder. When he opened his eyes he was looking into the face of one of the paramedics. Bridger reflected that he must be getting old. All these guys looked like kids.

"Lean forward and let me have a look at that arm." Bridger did as he was told. "Well, I think I can guarantee that you're going to need some stitches... but for the moment, let me get some bandages on it to see if we can get the bleeding to stop."

"Thanks." Bridger realized that was the first word he'd said since he'd talked to the robbers. Despite his position and the handcuffs the paramedic was able to get a bandage around Bridger's arm. He could feel the comforting pressure of it pull the slit in his arm together. "Pal, you're kind of the least hurt of all here so you get to wait for the next ambulance. It won't be too long."

Bridger nodded. "Okay, thanks." He called the paramedic back as he turned. "Hey, how are they?" He indicated the direction where the three young men had been taken.

"Oh, they'll all live... but they're going to be darned uncomfortable for a while." The paramedic patted his shoulder and went to go in the ambulance with one of the other patients.

Bridger was left sitting against the wall surrounded by squad cars and police officers. None of whom had spoken to him except to get him down on the ground. The first officer who had arrived was talking to an older officer with brass on his collar. The older officer nodded his head and glanced over at Nathan a couple of times. Eventually, he left the younger officer and came to squat in front of Bridger.

He took a card out of his shirt pocket. "I need to talk to you but I'm going to need to read you your rights."

Bridger was surprised. "Lieutenant, you're kidding." He'd figured out the rank when the officer had squatted down.

The lieutenant shook his head. "Yeah, well, those kids claim that you attacked them." It was Bridger's turn to shake his head but the lieutenant put up his hand. "Humor me, I need to do the rights thing first." Bridger nodded. After the lieutenant had read off his rights and Bridger said that he understood them, the lieutenant, apparently tiring of holding the squatting position, knelt forward on his knees to talk to Bridger.

"What's your name?"

"Bridger, Nathan Bridger."

"Talk to me, Bridger."

"Where do you want me to start?"

"How about the beginning?"

Nathan took a deep breath and leaned his head back. "You ever have a really bad day?" There was the faintest hint of a smile on the lieutenant's face. "Well, I'm having one of those today. First I end up having to go into work on my day off... then I had a really lousy morning at work... I was late picking up my... my girlfriend for lunch... and then we had a fight and I left in my car." Nathan shifted a little and grimaced when a sharp pain reminded him of his cut arm. "I was driving... but I realized I was too angry to drive so I pulled off the highway to walk for a while. I parked down the street some," Bridger indicated the direction with his head, "and just got out and walked... those three were sitting on a bench a couple of blocks down." He shook his head. "I never even saw them follow me. They pushed me in this passageway and the one kid pulled a knife. I gave them my wallet but then they wanted my watch and my ring." Nathan looked at the lieutenant and shook his head wearily. "The watch was given to me by my late wife and the ring is my Naval Academy ring. I guess I just kind of snapped."

The lieutenant looked back at the blood stains on the concrete. "I'd say that was an understatement. Where's your car parked?"

Nathan indicated the direction again with his chin. "Up there three blocks on the side street to the right."

The lieutenant nodded and looked up towards the street. "What kind of car?"

"A blue Mercedes."

The lieutenant slowly turned his head and fixed Bridger with a stare. Finally he said, "You're lucky they didn't kill you."

"I know," Nathan said tiredly. More sirens were heard and an ambulance pulled into the end of the passageway.

"I think your limousine has arrived," joked the lieutenant. As the first officer walked over to them he asked, "Any reason why we should keep this guy in cuffs?"

The officer looked confused. "Are we going to arrest him?"

His answer was a smile and a shake of the head from the lieutenant. "No... I don't think so..." He looked at Nathan as the officer removed the cuffs. "Which one has your wallet?"

"The one in the black shirt." Now not only his arm hurt but his right hand did too. As he brought it around in front of him it was evident from the bruising and swelling that Bridger had also broken his right hand.

"That looks like it hurts," said the lieutenant indicating Bridger's hand.

"Yeah."

The lieutenant chuckled. "According to junior here," he indicated the young officer, "that guy's head almost spun around when you hit him."

"His timing was lousy. He decided to pull a knife on me on a day when I really needed to beat the crap out of someone."

The lieutenant chuckled again and helped Nathan stand to walk to the ambulance. After a short ride to the hospital Nathan spent the better part of two hours getting his arm stitched up and his hand casted. Just when they were about to release him the lieutenant showed up again.

"Mr. Bridger, we need you to come down to the station to give a statement about what happened. I'm assuming that you're going to sign complaints against these three."

Nathan nodded. "Yeah, no one will tell me... do you know how badly hurt they are?"

"The kid you kicked is back to breathing normal but will be singing soprano for the better part of a couple of weeks. The clown with the knife has a broken hand and a broken cheek but he'll be alright." He paused a moment... the third kid was the one Nathan was worried about. "The other one has a pretty nasty concussion and a broken nose but they'll all be okay." He glanced over at Nathan who was just staring at the floor. "Why?"

Nathan raised his head, looked at him and shrugged. "I may have needed to hit someone but I didn't want to kill any of them. I wasn't too sure on the third kid. He hit the wall awfully hard."

"Ah, he'll be just fine... he'll live to mug another day. Come on, I'll give you lift to the station."

Bridger went to the police station and spent the better part of two hours answering questions and giving statements. By the time he was done he was exhausted. He'd used up all his spare adrenaline during the fight and now he was just tired and his arm and hand throbbed. The pain meds they'd given him at the hospital were making him even more tired and Nathan knew for sure that he shouldn't be driving now. The detectives had left him in an interview room while they finished up his statement for his signature and they had told Nathan he could use the vidphone to call for a ride. He could call Lucas but that wasn't who he needed to talk to.

He knew who he wanted to call... he knew who he needed to call... and it didn't matter what he had to say. He pulled the vidphone to him and dialed the number. As he listened to it ring on the other side he thought, ‘please answer the phone'. Just before it would have gone to answering machine mode the phone was picked up and Nathan thankfully heard her melodious British accent say "Hello."

She looked just a little surprised to see him and almost immediately her face got a resolute look to it.

"Kristin, please don't hang up," Nathan started.