Chapter 31: A Break in the System
 

The guests that weren't staying had left for the evening and Nathan and Kristin wandered off to the library so Kristin could change Nathan's two remaining bandages. She smoothed down the tape over the last cut and then placed a soft kiss on the top of his shoulder. She smiled as she heard his answering groan.

"Just how long has it been since we've made love?" she asked, her lips still pressed to the skin of his shoulder.

"Too long." Nathan moved around until he was facing her and pulled her down into his lap. His hand gently stroked the side of her face before he leaned towards her and captured her lips with his. There was no pretense about this kiss. It was intended to be passionate from the beginning and there was no doubt that it was. When their lips parted Kristin trailed little kisses down Nathan's cheek and neck until she burrowed her face in the curve between his neck and shoulder.

She could feel Nathan breathing heavily against the side of her neck. "What do you want to do?" he asked softly.

"Oh... I know what I want to do..." she sighed heavily. "But I don't think we're going to do it."

"Probably not the best place," Nathan admitted.

Kristin pulled her head up and looked at his face, her fingers coming up to trace the curve of his jaw. "No... and we've managed this long." She smiled softly at him. "And that's going to make tomorrow night all the more special."

Nathan smiled back. "Umm hmm... but if you don't get off my lap we're not going to make it to tomorrow night."

She leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on the chin before standing and smoothing out her dress. Nathan also stood and taking his shirt from the back of the sofa he pulled it over his head and slipped his arm around her waist.

Nathan opened the door to the library and stood back as Kristin walked out into the hallway. Lucas, Cynthia, Janet and Bill were standing in the hallway just looking at them.

"I win," Lucas smiled as he grinned at the others.

"What?" Nathan asked in an offended tone.

Lucas shrugged. "We had a bet about how long you two would be. I said less than 15 minutes and you were only in there 12 so I won."

Nathan walked towards the front door but kept his gaze on Lucas. "You make bets about the strangest things," he commented as he passed him.

Kristin held onto his hand as they walked out the door where a UEO car was waiting to take him and Lucas back to the seaQuest. At the bottom of the stairs she turned to face him and Nathan took hold of her other hand.

"I'll see you tomorrow afternoon then," he said softly.

Kristin nervously bit her bottom lip and nodded. "You'll be careful and make sure that you actually show up for your own wedding, won't you?"

"Absolutely. I wouldn't miss it for the world." He pulled her close and hugged her. "I love you," he whispered into her hair.

She brought her head back a little and looked at him. "I love you, Nathan." They moved closer and the kiss they shared was heartfelt and loving. Nathan pulled back and then again quickly kissed Kristin before he let go of her and moved to say goodnight to the rest.

As he got into the car he looked back at Kristin who was standing with her arm around her daughter. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said and winked at her.

"Goodnight, my love," Kristin said and blew him a kiss.

Kristin and Cynthia had headed off to Cynthia's room to talk and Bill and Janet Noyce had decided to take a walk around the yard before heading off to bed. With their arms around each other they walked serenely, comfortable in the silence, until they had made the circle around the grounds and were again standing near the stone patio.

Janet turned towards Bill and he naturally slipped his other arm around her and pulled her close. "Are you going to miss this, Bill?"

Noyce glanced back across the grounds and then at his wife again. "I'll miss the house a little but we'll find something nice." He shook his head resolutely. "But the job... no, I won't miss the job." He paused a moment. "I never wanted this, babe and I'll be glad to let McGath take it. He's a natural politician." He shook his head again. "I'm not."

Janet sighed and brought her head down to his shoulder. "No, you're not... but you were what the UEO needed at the time... and you did a good job."

"I think I did." He smiled as he kissed the side of her head. "But you know, this is a great way to go out."

"Umm hmmm," Janet sighed contentedly. "It's kind of fun to watch them together, isn't it?"

"Yup... you know I never would have imagined it."

Janet pulled her head back a little to look at him. "What?"

"That Nathan could find a woman that he loved more than Carol."

"He does, doesn't he?" Janet smiled.

"Yeah... there's that same passion, that same tenderness but this time... this time there's an intensity that I've never seen with him before."

"Intensity is a good way to put it... and it's the same on Kristin's side."

Bill leaned his lips against her forehead and kissed her. "I wonder if there'll be little Bridgers running around soon?"

"No," Janet shook her head.

"How do you know?" Bill looked down at her.

Janet frowned at him. "Obviously men don't talk about things the way women do."

"No kidding," Bill said straight-faced.

"Nathan had a vasectomy years ago."

"I didn't know that."

"Ummm hmmm. Carol couldn't have any more kids. You remember the problems she had when Robert was born." Bill nodded. He remembered most of all the hours he'd spent sitting with Nathan... those had been very long hours. "Nathan made sure that she wouldn't get pregnant again."

"I wonder if he regrets it now?"

"Not from what I've heard. Kristin says that they're very happy with just the two of them and I really don't think they're looking to become parents at this stage." Janet smiled again. "Besides which, they've got Lucas and Cynthia."

"Yeah but Cynthia is only Kristin's child and neither of them are parents to Lucas."

"Don't try to tell them that," Janet grinned and then became more serious. "Bill, what are you going to do about this clown that wants to kill Nathan?"

Bill turned her so they were walking back towards the house again. "Oh, I think the precautions we've taken will be more than enough. He'd be crazy to try and show up around here."

Janet squeezed him with her arm. "I hope you're right... God, I hope you're right."

Across town the man in question threw his boot across the room with a curse. Twice... twice that night he almost had him, he thought frustrated. He snorted in disapproval. They'd thought that the increased security would keep him out of the way. Hah, he laughed to himself... Not a chance.

Alright, he had to be a bit more careful when he was sneaking his way in but it still hadn't been a big problem getting set up in the tree he had chosen. He shook his head in disgust. First time he'd almost had him Bridger was sitting at a table on the edge of the patio to Noyce's place with a couple of his friends talking to them. He'd brought his gun up and sighted in on Bridger's head before Noyce's wife had walked out onto the patio and gotten between him and Bridger. The second time would have been the best though. She and Bridger had left the crowd eating on the patio and walked over to the grass on the side of the patio while they talked. He'd had a perfect shot until one of those damned guards and his dog had walked right underneath him. By the time they had passed Bridger and the bitch had walked back up onto the patio and his shot was gone.

Oh well... that still left tomorrow. He'd be there to see the wedding... well, what there was of the wedding after he got done with blowing the groom's head off. The man stopped and became contemplative... or maybe it'd be all solved earlier. He had a thought about that too... but he needed to get some sleep now. Tomorrow was going to be a big day, he grinned to himself.

Chapter 32: Stirring up the Bottom
 

In a berth on the UEO complex the seaQuest rested quietly. The construction crew had gone home for the night and the only ones remaining aboard were the security team and the seaQuest's captain and chief computer analyst.

Chief Lenny Akima knocked on the door to the compartment that Bridger and the kid were living in. He opened the door to Bridger's ‘come in'. It looked like the Captain was getting ready for the night also. He was sitting in a chair at the desk built into the wall of the compartment taking his shoes off.

"Hi Chief, Lucas just left to take a shower." The Chief and Lucas had struck up a friendship throughout all this.

Akima nodded. "Yeah, I know, sir. I saw him go. It was you I was actually looking to talk to."

Bridger took off his other shoe. "What can I do for you, Chief?"

The big security Chief hesitated a moment. "I heard that you had a little disagreement with Lieutenant Brakker today," he said calmly.

"Just a little difference of opinion, Chief. Brakker tell you about it?"

Akima walked around the room a little bit checking out the workmanship in the storage areas set into the wall. "Nah, the good lieutenant and I don't talk a whole lot." He turned towards Bridger and smiled a little. "We've got a little generational problem." He saw Bridger's upraised eyebrows. "He's a little young," he explained. "Not that you can always consider that to be a fault... but it does kinda shade the way you think." Bridger leaned against the edge of the desk and folded his arms. "You see, Captain, I'm a Chief... Chiefs don't get particularly concerned about that career thing... they tend to worry more about people." He leaned against the wall just across from Bridger. "Kinda like most Captains I know."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," said Akima nodding. "There's another thing about Chiefs... it's not a good idea to get into their way because most times they have a good way to handle the little problems that arise in life, ya know?" He looked Bridger right in the face. "Again, kinda like most Captains I know. I mean they didn't get where they were without being problem solvers, right?"

"Right," Bridger affirmed. "What's your point, Chief?" he asked softly.

Akima looked down at Bridger's legs and changed the subject completely. "Ya know those are nice jeans you have there, sir."

Nathan looked down at his legs. "Yeah, I like them," he said with a small grin on his face.

"Nice enough that you'd probably wear them tomorrow before the wedding too, I suppose."

"Yeah, probably," Nathan was still grinning.

"It'd be a shame to lose track of where those jeans are, wouldn't it?"

Now Nathan knew where the big Chief was going and his grin increased. "Yeah, I suppose it would be."

Unexpectedly Akima's conversation, if you could call it that, took another turn. "You know what I find amazing these days, Captain?"

Nathan shook his head slowly, still grinning. "No Chief, what is it that you find amazing?"

"How technology has taken over the world. It's kind of awe inspiring, don't you think so, sir?"

"Absolutely, Chief. Just awe inspiring."

Akima took a small wafer of metal out of his shirt pocket and held it up. "Give you a for instance... have you seen one of these things yet?"

"No, can't say that I have," said Nathan.

"It's a locator. Just amazing that they could have made it so small that you could even slide it into... let's say the waistband of a pair of jeans."

Nathan nodded, grinning again.

"Then you'd never lose track of where those jeans were, ya know?"

"Yeah," said Bridger straightening up from the desk. "That would probably be a good thing."

"You want me to show you, Captain?"

Nathan nodded again. "Sure, why not? I'd hate to lose these jeans." He loosened his belt and then slipped off his pants and handed them to Akima.

The Chief took a small knife from his pocket and held up the pants to show Nathan. "See, you just make a small slit in the inside of the waistband in the back of the pants."

"Why on the back?"

"If you put it on the side or the front the wafer can get bent and screw up the electronics built into it."

"That makes sense," Nathan nodded.

"So after you make the slit you just slip the locator in between the layers of the waistband and you've got a locator that's almost impossible to detect." He held out the pants to Bridger who took them.

"Not too bad," Nathan said as he inspected the pants. He glanced up at the Chief. "And it's always nice to know where to find your pants."

"Kinda what I thought, sir." He glanced at the pants and then back up at Bridger. "Why don't keep that thing for the next day or so?"

"Alright, Chief."

Akima started towards the door but stopped with his hand on the handle. "Oh, and there's one other thing. Tomorrow morning we're not going to be around."

Nathan looked at him quizzically.

"We've got this meeting over at the Secretary General's place at 0830 to go over all the security procedures for the wedding so the only security crew around here will be the ones who normally keep an eye on the construction site."

Nathan nodded.

"So if you don't see us for... oh, at least a couple of hours... don't worry about it, okay?"

"Okay," Nathan said and then hesitated as Akima started to open the door. "Thanks."

"No problem, sir. If nothing else we like to be able to recover the body."

Nathan grinned at him again and shook his head. Akima opened the door to find Lucas just reaching for the handle. "Good night, Captain. Good night to you too, Lucas," he said as he headed out the door.

"Night, Chief," said Lucas as he came into the compartment and noticed Bridger standing there with his pants in his hands. He shook his head. "And I don't even want to know why you're in here with the Chief with your pants off."

Chapter 33: Escaping the Tornado
 

Bridger sat in the ward room rubbing his forehead as he squinted at a computer screen. Not a good day to wake up with a headache, he reflected. He keyed through a couple of more screens before Lucas came wandering in.

"Oh, there you are," he said.

Nathan looked up at him with a quizzical look on his face. "Where else did you expect me to be?" he asked with a small smile.

Lucas made a face and shrugged. "Yeah, I guess your options are a little limited right now."

"Uh huh."

Lucas sat down at the table. "I was just outside," he said cheerfully. "And you'll be happy to know that it's an absolutely beautiful looking day out there."

"Thanks," Nathan smiled over at him. "That'll make Kristin happy."

"Yeah... So... did you have any breakfast?"

"Yes, Mother, I did," Nathan grinned as he went back to checking out the computer screen.

"What did you have?"

Nathan looked up at the wall opposite him before shifting his glance over to Lucas. "I had some cereal with milk."

"Is that enough?"

This kid was becoming a pain. "Yeah, for now. I'll have a sandwich at lunchtime and then we can head over to the house. That should be enough."

"Okay," Lucas said satisfied. "What are you going to do this morning?"

"I'm going to review some more construction reports . . ." Nathan said patiently. "You want to help me?"

"Umm... no, thanks for the offer though," Lucas said standing up and heading out of the room.

Nathan kept his eyes on the computer screen for a moment before glancing after Lucas. Only when he was sure that he was gone did Nathan give in to the wince caused by the sharp pain in his stomach.

A couple of hours later Nathan stood in the compartment that he and Lucas shared and nodded his head to himself. He'd checked and the Security staff was still involved in their meeting at Noyce's house. Tucking a set of keys into his pants pocket he went in search of Lucas.

‘Perfect,' he thought as he spotted Lucas walking in the passageway near the access portal to the dock. He took a deep breath and walked purposefully up to him.

"Lucas, we gotta go do something," Nathan said putting his arm on his shoulder and turning him towards the dock hatch.

"What are you talking about?" Lucas said suspiciously.

"In the middle of all this I forgot to pick up Kristin's wedding present from me and I need you to drive me over to Jacobsen's quick so I can get it."

"Wait a minute," Lucas said coming to a stop in the passageway. "Why don't you get one of the security guys to drive you over to Jacobsen's?"

Nathan shook his head, "They're all over at Noyce's at some sort of meeting. They'll be tied up for at least a couple more hours... and I need to get that present now," he said insistently.

"What do you think I am??? Nuts???" Lucas asked in astonishment.

Bridger was still talking quickly. "Lucas, we'll be really fast. No one could expect that we'd be going there so if we're really fast it should be alright. That clown couldn't know that we're going there. We'll be just fine."

"What if I say no."

Bridger sighed. "Then I'll just have to take your car and go myself."

"You don't have a driver's license for another week."

"So?" He could see that Lucas was considering it. "Lucas, I really need to do this," he insisted.

Lucas sighed. "Alright, let me get my keys."

Nathan pulled some keys from his pocket and handed them to Lucas. "I've got ‘em." He turned towards the dock hatch. "Let's go."

Shaking his head, Lucas walked quickly out of the submarine with Bridger. He looked around in surprise when he didn't see any security guards manning the gangway into the sub. He followed Bridger to his car and opened the doors. They both got in and Lucas put the keys in the ignition.

"I wonder where all the guards are?"

"Must be busy with something," Nathan said as they pulled out of the parking lot and headed for the gate. Fortunately, the gate guards were checking cars going in and not those going out. Bridger slid down in the seat a little just in case they happened to look their direction. He sighed quietly in relief as they pulled out on the highway.

"At least the traffic isn't too bad. We should be able to get this done quick."

Lucas glanced over at him and then back at the road. "What would you have done if I had just taken the keys and headed back into the sub?"

Nathan looked over at him. His voice was a little calmer now. "I've got your spare set in my pocket... I would have just come on my own." He hesitated a minute. "I really appreciate you taking me though."

"I've got to be crazy," Lucas said.

"After all she's been through with this wedding, I'd really hate not to give her a present," Nathan said quietly.

"How about giving her a live groom," Lucas asked sarcastically. They'd made good time and were just pulling over the bridge to the barrier island they lived on. "They're gonna kill me for doing this."

"If we're quick enough they won't even know that we've been gone," Nathan answered calmly looking around through the car windows. "You're right, by the way, it is a beautiful day."

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Lucas grumbled.

"It'll be fine," Nathan said... even more calmly.

Lucas saw the traffic signal ahead of him switch to yellow and slowed down to stop. He sighed again and kept his gaze focused ahead as he shook his head. "Why don't I trust you?" he asked in a resigned voice.

Nathan looked over at him again. "Probably because you know me too well," he answered with a little smile.

Lucas shut his eyes and groaned. "Oh, don't do this," he pleaded.

"Thanks for the ride, Lucas," Nathan said opening the door and he quickly stepped out and shut the door.

"No!" Lucas yelled after him. He saw Bridger quickly glance up and down the street and take off running around a corner. "Captain, no!" Lucas yelled and then punched the steering wheel with his fist.

Chapter 34 - Facing the Wind
 

Nathan ran around the corner and then another. He glanced around quickly before doubling back on his original path and hiding behind a dumpster. He grinned a little to himself when he saw Lucas pull slowly down the street and waited until he had pulled around the next corner before coming out of his hiding place to run across the street and through a park. Hastily checking his watch he took off at a trot towards the west.

Lucas swore quietly to himself as he rapidly traveled up and down the streets in the area Bridger had run off. "Damn him," Lucas mumbled to himself. He could have at least picked on someone else... After fifteen minutes of checking and rechecking roads and alleys Lucas finally gave up. He pulled into a parking lot and with a shake of his head reached for his phone.

Nathan slowed his pace to a calm walk. It wouldn't do to call too much attention to himself during this last portion of his trip... and he didn't figure that it would be too long until Lucas figured out where he was going to. Turning down Manatee Drive he grinned a little to himself as he saw the water of the Gulf spreading out on the horizon. Almost there.

Lucas listened to the phone ring while his eyes kept scanning the area around him hoping against hope that he'd spot Bridger somehow, somewhere. The phone connected and from the other end Lucas heard the proper voice of one of Noyce's assistants.

"Secretary General Noyce's residence, Lieutenant Grady, may I help you sir or ma'am?"

"Lieutenant, this is Lucas Wolenczak. I need speak with Chief Akima."

"Chief Akima is in a meeting at this time, sir."

Lucas sighed a little. "I know that, Lieutenant. I need to speak with him anyways. This is an emergency."

"I'm sorry, Mister Wolenczak, but the Chief isn't supposed to be disturbed," Grady answered back in his prim, professional voice.

Lucas frowned through the windshield and mustered up his best Bridger imitation. "Lieutenant, like I said this is an emergency," Lucas said in a stern, forceful voice. "I need to talk to Chief Akima and I need to talk to him right away." He heard Grady take in a breath to begin to speak. "So go get Akima and get him now, Lieutenant," he said shortly and with even more emphasis.

Grady hesitated a moment before responding. "Alright, let me tell him that you're on the phone. Hang on" and Lucas heard the phone go on hold.

At Noyce's house Lieutenant Grady hesitated a moment outside the library where the meeting of the security officers and senior UEO officials involved in the wedding was taking place. He took a deep breath before knocking on the door and quickly opening it. All the faces of those gathered around the conference table were turned towards him. Grady quickly glanced at Noyce.

"Sorry to disturb you, sir," he looked over at Akima, "but Mister Wolenczak is on the phone for you, Chief, and he says it's an emergency."

"Ah, shit," Akima said in a heartfelt voice pushing his seat back and moving towards the desk. He picked up the headset and pressed the button to connect the call. "Talk to me, Wolenczak," he said.

"He conned me into taking him out, Chief," Lucas said trying to keep his voice even.

"How did I know that was going to happen?" Akima answered with a sigh. "Where are you?"

"I'm on Pope's Island. He jumped out of the car on me."

"Any idea where he's at?"

"Nope, I looked around but I can't find him."

Akima looked back at the faces staring at him from around the table. Noyce signed and leaned back in his chair. "I don't even need to ask, do I, Chief?" he asked in a fatalistic voice.

"No, sir," Akima frowned. "Bridger took off."

Nathan rubbed his stomach a little with a grimace as he turned onto his street. This would be a whole heck of a lot easier if it would behave itself. He slowed down a little as he got closer to the house, looking for any sign of his adversary. Cautiously looking around when he entered his drive, Nathan frowned at the obvious charred spot where his car had stood only last weekend. With a determined set to his step Nathan moved up the stairs to the porch and unlocked the door. He strode into the house and back to his bedroom where he opened one of his drawers and moving the clothes in the drawer to the side he removed a small blue box from the back. He quickly flipped it open before snapping it shut and placing the box into his pocket. Crossing to the other side of the bedroom, Nathan leaned over to pick up a shirt that Kristen had dropped on the floor before they left. He stopped and straightened up slowly when he heard a soft scraping sound from behind him.

Lucas continued his combing of the streets in the vain hope that he'd spot Bridger somewhere. With each turn he expanded his search area, driving slowly down the streets and peering into the side streets. "Damn, damn, damn," Lucas muttered. "Why couldn't that bastard have pulled this on someone else? Why did it have to be me?" He stopped at a red light and glanced ahead where he could see the water of the Gulf over the top of the buildings. After a moment he sighed. "Wolenczak, you are an idiot," he mumbled to himself in a disgusted voice. "You know where he went to....."

Nathan turned his head gradually until he could see the man standing in the doorway leaning casually back against the door jamb. His gaze moved across the man, taking in the firm set of his facial features and the steely glint in his eyes before moving down to look at the 9mm Smith and Wesson pistol that he pointed at Bridger's midsection.

"Weston?" he asked calmly.

The big man nodded. "Bridger," he said calmly. Nathan started to turn towards Weston but the man shook his head. "No, put your hands on top of the dresser, I think," he said in a conversational tone.

Nathan looked down at the shirt in his hand and shrugged before dropping it on the floor and putting his hands flat on the top of Kristin's low dresser. He looked back up at Weston. "I don't suppose you're going to tell me what the hell this is all about, are you?"

Weston pushed up off of the door jamb and moved a little closer to Bridger. "She's my wife, Bridger," he shook his head. "You can't marry her."

"I've got a newsflash for you, Weston. You were divorced from her years ago."

"So she says," Weston answered in a flat voice.

"Your divorce was finalized in the state of Virginia ten years ago," Nathan countered.

"Checked up on that, huh?" A slight grin crossed Weston's face. "Sounds to me like you don't really trust her either."

"I trust her, Weston. I don't trust you."

Weston moved closer to Nathan, now only standing a few feet from him. He glanced quickly out the window before looking at Nathan again. "We need to leave. They're going to figure out where you went soon."

Nathan shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere," he said firmly.

Weston smiled tightly and shook his head with a small laugh. Before Nathan could react his right hand came up and the butt of the pistol crashed down against the back of Nathan's head. He was propelled across the dresser sweeping its contents to the floor as he joined them, falling unconscious in a pile.

"Not like you've got a choice," Weston said disgustedly as he pulled the comforter off the bed.

Chapter 35 - The Heart of the Storm
 

If Lucas had only been a couple of moments earlier he might have seen the red and white sailboat pull away from the dock. As it was, the sailboat motored away just before Lucas spun around the corner at Manatee Drive. His yellow Mustang quickly crossed the slight rise at the end of the drive before skidding to a stop next to the sidewalk leading to the house. He jumped out of the car and ran down the walk and up the stairs pulling his key out as he climbed. The open door of the porch caused him to stop momentarily and slow down. He considered backing out and calling help for just one moment before dismissing that thought and cautiously pushing the door open. Moving warily and listening for any noise, Lucas crossed the porch and went into the house through the open door. He stopped for a moment trying to catch any noise or sound but the house was silent. Moving watchfully again he crossed the living room and holding tight against the wall crept down the hallway, glancing quickly into his room as he passed it. Seeing nothing he continued onto Bridger and the Doc's room. With his foot he pushed the partially shut door open and then sighed in disappointment as he saw the disarray in the room. He must have missed them. Everything from the top of Westphalen's dresser was now strewn all over the floor, the bed clothes were all pulled apart and it looked like the comforter was missing from their bed. "Damn," Lucas muttered to himself again as he moved towards the den and the vid-phone there.

"You have no idea how much I don't want to be doing this," Bill Noyce muttered to Crocker as they stood outside the drawing room of the Noyce house.

"I can imagine, Admiral. To be honest, I'm damned glad that it's you and not me."

Noyce nodded with a grimace and turned the doorknob. As he walked through the door the faces of all three occupants of the room turned towards him. He glanced quickly at his wife before clearing his throat and starting.

"Um," Noyce said hesitantly. He didn't get any farther.

"Oh, no," Kristin said in a resigned voice and slid down in her chair a little. "What's he done now?"

"He took off," Noyce said softly.

"What do you mean 'took off'?" she asked sharply.

"He conned Lucas into giving him a ride to Pope's Island and then he jumped out of the car and took off from him."

Kristin leaned her elbow on the arm of the chair and covered her eyes with her hand while shaking her head a little. When she spoke her voice was choked with emotion. "Damned idiot is going to get himself killed."

"For what it's worth, I do have some good news," Noyce said gently.

Kristin looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "What," she asked shakily.

"Chief Akima suspected that he was up to something and convinced him to wear a hidden locator."

"So you know where he's at?"

Noyce fidgeted a little. "Not yet. The locator was Akima's idea and not anything that went through authorized channels. We're working on getting someone on the tracking equipment. They should know in a few minutes though."

Chief Akima came into the room followed by Lieutenant Brakker. The lieutenant was looking more than a little disturbed.

"Wolenczak figured it out," Akima said to Noyce. "Bridger went to his house."

"Good heavens, why?" Kristin asked.

Akima looked at her and at her daughter who had a firm hold on her mother's hand and shrugged. "For some reason he must have known that Weston would be there."

"Was he?" Noyce asked.

"Musta been," Akima responded to Kristin and not Noyce. "Wolenczak says that the house was sitting wide open and it looks like there was a struggle in your bedroom."

"And Nathan's not there," Kristin stated.

"No, ma'am."

"Well at least that probably means he's still alive," Noyce said.

"How do you figure that?" his wife asked.

"If Weston had killed him, there wouldn't have been any point in taking Nathan's body with him."

"Oh I don't think you need to worry about that just yet," Kristin said bitterly.

"Why?"

Kristin answered in a voice that was dripping with venom. "Knowing Dan he hasn't changed much... and there's always been one consistent thing about him." She paused and looked right at Akima. "He likes to play with his catch. He doesn't like to finish something, especially something that he's worked on as hard as this, quickly without tormenting his victim." She paused again and swallowed hard. "It might give you a little time."

Chapter 36 -Turbulence in the Air
 

Lucas sat drumming his fingers on desk in the den and frowning at the computer screen. Akima had told him to stay here and watch the house. Obviously, Akima thought he was an idiot. That was just the Chief's way of keeping him out of it. Damned if he was going to just sit here while everyone else tried to help the Captain, Lucas fumed... but what the hell could he do? Lucas scowled at the computer again, leaned forward and brought up some of the searches he'd been doing for the last two weeks trying to find any sign of Weston.

He'd been able to trace him pretty easily for a couple of years after he and Westphalen had divorced. The guy had been working as a consultant for some defense contractors inside the Beltway. Then things started to get dicey. When Westphalen had left the District of Columbia area to accept a position at the Woods Hole Institute for a few years Lucas had thought that Weston had disappeared. That was until he'd decided to look for Weston in the area that Westphalen was living. That did it. After only a short search he'd found Weston living just north of Boston and then when the Doc had moved down to Sarasota to the university, Weston had moved too. It didn't look like he'd ever contacted the Doc but he'd always been around her... probably watching her, Lucas supposed.

Then the Doc had taken the position on the seaQuest and for a while it was like Weston had fallen off the face of the earth. Lucas had lost him completely for the whole year and didn't know how to find him again. They'd been here in New Cape Quest for about a year now and this was the first time he'd shown up but Lucas was making a bet that he had been here almost the whole time that they'd been living in the area. But where???

"Ow," Nathan groaned as he tried to move. He raised his head a just little and then slowly let it fall back keeping his eyes closed until the room stopped spinning. Then he assessed his condition. Alright, his hands were handcuffed behind him and from the feel of it they were hooked to the end of the bed he was sitting on and his head and his stomach were vying for the title of which one hurt more. He took a couple of deep breaths and pushed up the wall he was leaning against and looked around. Small room, he looked up, but a high ceiling... and windows on the walls but not outside windows. Nathan frowned a little. The room looked familiar... well, not really familiar but he'd seen this kind of room before.

His gaze fell over the comforter from their room that was now lying crumpled and ripped on the floor. Weston must have used it to get him out of the house. Hell, did that jerk have any idea of how long it took Kristin to find the 'perfect' comforter for their room? Now he was going to have to go through that all over again, he thought disgustedly. Then he sighed, well, if he survived this he supposed.

Nathan shifted his shoulders a little to try to fight the cramping that was developing in them. Then it came to him... industrial... this building was a warehouse or something. He'd been in a room just like it when Stark had kidnapped him about 8 months ago. Hell, that hadn't been too pleasant either.... The bed looked like a standard military issue type.... metal frame and single mattress. Not particularly your most comfortable place to sleep. >From the various items sitting on the only table in the room this must be where Weston was staying. No wonder Lucas was having such a hard time finding him.

"Crap," Lucas said vehemently as another search came back negative. He chewed on one of his knuckles and frowned at the screen again before punching up the results of another search. Then he stopped. The boat. Weston had to be somewhere on the water to be able to use the boat. Then he frowned again. Well, that sure didn't narrow things down much in this area. Then he stopped again. This area..... Suppose he was close to here??.... That would make sense. He must have been keeping a pretty close eye on the Doc to know about the wedding so fast so maybe he was staying close to here. Lucas sat up eagerly in his chair and started punching keys again. He was going to have to hope that Weston wasn't renting a private residence. That would be almost impossible to trace. Instead he concentrated on leases and sales of commercial and industrial properties that had waterfront exposure in the last year and then narrowed it down to this island and the two barrier reef islands on either side of it.

Lucas pushed back and tapped the top of the screen with a satisfied pat. There he was. Kristin had told him that Weston's middle name was Philip. Not much of an imagination... a warehouse on the other end of Pope's Island had been rented under the name of Daniel Phillips only one month after the Doc moved here. Right on the water and even with a dock. Betcha that was where he was at... Lucas got a little more serious... and where he'd taken the Captain. He pulled the vid-phone closer and hit the redial. Grady was the one who answered the phone.

"Let me talk to Akima," Lucas said shortly. This time Grady didn't argue but just connected Lucas into the library. "Chief, I think I know where he is," Lucas started.

"So do we," Akima cut in. He was obviously in the process of moving out.

"Do you have him in a warehouse on the north end of Pope's Island at 1226 Seminole?"

"Yeah," Akima answered shortly.

"I'll meet you there," Lucas said also beginning to stand.

"No you won't," Akima responded angrily. "You stay right where you are, Wolenczak!"

"I'm a whole lot closer than you guys are," Lucas protested emphatically.

"I don't give a damn, Wolenczak. Leave this to us. You stay at the house," the Chief said forcefully as he reached to break the connection.

"Like hell I will," Lucas said to the blank screen.

Chapter 37 - A Chilly Forecast
 

Janet Noyce came back into the drawing room and quickly looked at the other two occupants. Kristin was standing at one of the full length windows staring outside and Cynthia was sitting in the same chair she'd been sitting in for the last hour watching her mother with concerned eyes. Kristin accepted the cup of tea that Janet offered with a wan smile and then turned her gaze back out the window again. Sitting in the chair next to Cynthia, Janet tried to talk to Kristin.

"I'm sure he'll be just fine, Kristin. He's been in loads of tight spots before."

"He's never met Dan before," Kristin commented hollowly.

Janet looked over at Cynthia. "Is he really that bad?"

"He's worse," Cynthia answered with a shake of her head.

"Why did you marry him?" Janet asked Kristin who finally turned from the window and moved slowly over to sit in her chair.

"The guy I married was a nice guy," she paused a moment with a sad look on her face. "He was charming, kind and attentive. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately he began showing his true colors rather quickly." She paused again and shook her head reflectively. "You can't imagine what he's like. The constant mind games, mentally breaking you down until you're sure that dirt is more valuable than you are. The physical abuse... and the pleasure, almost the joy, that he takes in tormenting his victims. The total lack of any morals or compassion in him." She looked Janet fully in the eyes. "He's truly evil."

"But why does he want to kill Nathan?"

"I don't know," Kristin answered sadly. "Unless he's figuring to get to me through him." She shrugged her shoulders. "I really don't know... he isn't the kind of man you can understand very easily."

"Is he crazy?"

Cynthia looked at her mother and answered that one. "If he is, he's crazy in a very calculated way. He reasons everything through and he's even willing to accept a small defeat if it means that he'll have a chance to get what he wants later." She took a sip of her tea and turned a concerned face towards her mother again. "After we left, Dan was very patient but very insistent that he wanted to see us even though Mom thought that it wasn't a good idea. He worked on Mom gradually for over six months before he finally got her to agree to meet with us outside of a courtroom setting." She shifted her eyes over to Janet. "Thank God Mom listened to the funny feeling she had about the meeting. Just before we would have met Dan in a park on the outskirts of Georgetown she decided to have a friend accompany us. Dan started to act really strange and suddenly terminated the visit. After looking around we found all the equipment he would have needed to kidnap us hidden behind bushes."

"I honestly don't think that he's crazy," Kristin said still staring out the window. "I think that he is just a wicked person... and I hope to God that Nathan knows what he's doing."

Nathan looked up as the door to the small room opened and Weston sauntered in and leaned against the table.

"Damn well about time you woke up," he said in a disgusted voice.

"How long was I out?"

"Almost 40 minutes. A lot longer than I expected."

Nathan shrugged the best he could. "Probably a combination of causes."

"Like what?"

"Oh, a few too many concussions in the last year combined with the amount of meds that I'm on and the fact that, for some reason, my sleep has been a bit screwed up lately."

"What are you on meds for?" Weston asked curiously.

"I've got an ulcer," Nathan answered with a frown.

"I gave you an ulcer?"

"Nah, Kristin gave me an ulcer."

Weston pushed up off the table and nodded. "Yeah, I could understand that." He walked over and kicked the comforter into a corner. "You're not having a very good year, are you Bridger?"

Nathan leaned his head back against the wall. Somehow talking to this guy in this conversational manner seemed to be rather surrealistic. "What do you mean?"

Weston leaned back against the table again and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, you get engaged but I'm screwing up your wedding, you've got an ulcer now and you've been injured or sick several times in the last year, I just figured out that you've lost your driving license and someone's trying to sabotage your new boat."

"I knew about the first three but I only suspected the fourth," Nathan frowned. "What makes you think that someone's trying to sabotage the seaQuest?"

"Get real, Bridger," Weston said in a disgusted voice and shook his head. "They tried to hire me but I wasn't concerned with the boat. Only with her captain and my wife."

"Who tried to hire you?"

Weston fixed him with a patronizing look, "I wouldn't know," he dead-panned.

Oh well, nice try. "You know, there's something else I don't understand," Nathan said straightening up a little. "What's with the sudden interest in the relationship between Kristin and me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I've got a feeling that you've been watching her for a while."

Weston shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much all the time since we split."

Nathan's curiosity was piqued now. "I know that you followed her to Woods Hole and then to Sarasota but we couldn't find you when she came aboard the first seaQuest."

"I was in Hawaii," Weston confirmed. "One neat thing about the big island is that you don't necessarily have to live in one particular place, especially if you're used to living on the land." He grinned a little, "I guess you would have considered me domestically challenged... I pretty much lived in the bush."

"What did you do for money?"

Weston pushed up again and paced the room a little, stopping occasionally to stare out the windows of the office which looked over the warehouse interior. "Kristin wanted the divorce and she wanted it quick. I agreed to sign the papers without contesting the divorce if she agreed to pay me off and she paid me enough to let me live comfortably for a while."

"And you've used that money to stalk her," Nathan said in an even voice.

Weston stopped his pacing and looked right at his captive. "I consider it my responsibility to watch out after her," he said seriously.

"Even if she doesn't want you to?"

"She doesn't always know what's best for her," Weston said simply as he resumed his pacing.

"And how long have you been here in Cape Quest?" Nathan asked.

Weston shrugged again. "About 11 months."

"So the whole time she's been here?"

"Pretty much."

Nathan really couldn't decide if this guy was crazy or not but as long as he was talking there was a chance that Nathan could find out something useful so he continued. "So you know that I've been dating her for the whole time?"

Weston stopped again and looked over at Bridger. "Yeah, and I know that you've been sleeping with her for almost the whole time and that she moved in with you and that kid six months ago."

"And that didn't bother you?" Nathan frowned.

"Nah, why should it? I used to sleep around on her all the time."

Nathan stared at him for just a moment. "But us getting married does bother you."

Weston moved to stand at the foot of the bed and fixed Bridger with an intent stare. "When Kristin and I were married we both swore that it would be until death do we part," he hesitated for just a moment. "Last time I checked neither one of us was dead." He moved back over to the table and pushed himself up until he sat on it. "But I'm getting tired of this game. I'm going to fix that little problem." Nathan cocked his head quizzically. "After I kill you I'll take care of her."

Chapter 38 - High Pressure Ridge
 

It was a little over an hour until the wedding was scheduled to start and Kristin, Cynthia and Janet had moved up into the room that Kristin was using as a bedroom and dressing room.

"What do you want to do, Mom?" Cynthia gently asked her mother who was sitting in front of the dressing table.

Kristin appeared to consider that for a moment and then glanced over at her daughter. "I think that we'll assume that we're having a wedding here today. Nathan said that he'd be here and I believe him." She nodded her head a little and sighed. "We get ready for the wedding, that's what we do."

"Alright," said Cynthia as cheerfully as she could as she started collecting the items she'd need to work on her Mom's hair. Janet began laying out Kristin's wedding dress on the bed and Kristin herself began applying her makeup.

A soft knock was heard at the door of the room and Cynthia went to answer it. She opened the door and then stood back a little shocked as an older, taller version of Nathan smiled at her from the other side of the door.

"Any chance I can come in?" he asked peering around Cynthia to look at Kristin.

Kristin was out of her chair immediately. "George! Yes, of course, come in," she said throwing her arms around his neck and tucking her head into his chest as his long arms encompassed her tightly.

"Hello, gorgeous," he said into her hair as he held her close. "I understand that my idiot of a brother is making your wedding day truly exciting."

"That he is, George," Kristin answered as she loosened her hold on him and then led him to a chair. "Oh, Cynthia, I don't think you've ever met Doctor George Bridger, Nathan's brother."

Cynthia exchanged handshakes with him. "Wow, you and Nathan look just like each other," she commented.

George Bridger chuckled. "Oh, we all look alike. Even my sister, unfortunately for her, looks like us... and I'm the oldest so actually, they all look like me." He glanced over at Janet and smiled. "Hello, Janet, it's been a while."

She exchanged a hug with the big man. "Yes, it has, George. It's good to see you again."

George sat down in the chair next to Kristin. "So, how are you doing?" he asked her gently.

"Other than going a little crazy waiting, I suppose alright." She paused for a moment, "You know what's happened?"

"I know. I talked with Bill downstairs. Sounds like your ex is a charmer."

"Oh, Dan is truly a jerk," Kristin said vehemently. "I just pray that Nathan is craftier than Dan is." She looked over at the kind face of the man that hopefully would soon be her brother-in-law. "Has he always been like this, George?"

"Who? Nathan?"

"Yes. Has life with him always been this thrilling?"

George leaned back in the chair a little and smiled. "Yup. Did you know that when he was ten he and my grandfather managed to foil a bank robbery?"

"You're kidding," Cynthia said.

"Nope, they were in the bank where grandpa was cashing a check when two guys with guns rushed in. I guess things started going wrong for the bad guys right away and they ended up holding the employees and the customers hostage with the police standing outside. Then grandpa faked a heart attack and creamed the guy who came to check on him while Nathan managed to bite the other guy on the arm until he dropped his gun." George shook his head a little, "Not something that should have worked... but for the two of them it did."

"It doesn't surprise me," Kristin said quietly. "But from what I've heard Nathan and your grandfather made quite a team."

"Oh yeah," George said with a grin. "They even managed to catch some drug runners in Boston Harbor one year." He smiled at Kristin's look of disbelief. "Nathan was like thirteen or so and he and grandpa were out sailing. The druggies were acting weird, I guess, and the two of them went to check them out." He shrugged. "The druggies got a little irritated and they started shooting at Nathan and grandpa on their sailboat. So Nathan fought back with the only thing they had available... he shot at their boat with his emergency flare gun and managed to hole their boat and sink it."

Kristin shook her head a little with a sad smile and George brought his hand up to caress her cheek. "He'll be alright, Kris. I know he will." Kristin just smiled a little, closed her eyes and leaned into his comforting hand.

The handcuffs clanked against the pipes of the metal bed as Nathan straightened up a little again. He winced just a little when a sharp stab raced through his stomach and looked back over at Weston who was regarding him intently. "So what were you going to do if you didn't manage to get me prior to the wedding?"

Weston grinned just a little. "I had a place all set up in the trees on the Secretary General's grounds with a perfect view of the proceedings. You guys didn't think that you'd actually be able to keep me out did you?" He shrugged, "My first thought was to blow your brains out right in the middle of the ceremony but then I decided that it would be better to put a shot right at your heart so that you'd bleed to death in her arms." Now he was smiling and there was a certain twinkle in his eyes that unnerved Nathan just a little. "But now I can take my time." He nodded a little and moved closer to Nathan while fingering the large k-bar knife that he'd been playing with for the last several minutes. He held the knife out until it rested under Nathan's chin and used it to raise his head a little. "See, first, I figure that I'll send her your wallet so she knows for sure that I've got you." The knife was dragged down the front of Nathan's neck and he could feel the sharpness of the blade as it crossed his skin.

"Then we'll start working on body parts," Weston grinned. "Maybe your hand first, the one with the Academy ring." He dragged the knife down to the opening of his shirt and used it to lift the chain around his neck. He frowned at the anchor with the St. Christopher medal imbedded in it that hung on the strong chain. "Did she give that to you?"

"Yeah," Nathan answered being careful not to move. "Twice."

"How come?"

"It got stolen the first time."

Weston reached down with his other hand and grasped the chain yanking it from Nathan's neck. "It just got stolen again." Nathan winced as he was pulled forward into the point of the knife. As he fell back Weston watched the cut on Nathan's collarbone start to bleed. "Aw gee, didn't mean to do that," he said in a patronizing voice.

Chapter 39 - The Storm Breaks
 

Lucas cautiously pulled into the industrial park at the end of the island. Since it was Saturday the area was almost deserted and he pretty quickly figured out the numbering pattern, identifying the warehouse that Weston had rented as being all the way at the end of the complex. Not wanting to get too close, Lucas pulled his car behind another building and went the rest of the way on foot. He crept down to the water and peered around the building that he had parked at. The small warehouse Weston had rented was three buildings down and Lucas took advantage of the low tide to slip under the boards of the docks and move through the shallow water between the pilings. It was dark and damp under the docks with only slivers of light sneaking in between the slats above. His hands brushed against the slimy wood of the pilings as he crept closer and closer to Weston's hideaway. By staying as close to the building as he could the water only came up to just over Lucas' knees. He sloshed through the water under this dock and then the dock for the next building. A small drive separated this building and Weston's with a sea-wall protecting the water's edge. Lucas considered crossing up on the drive for a moment before deciding that he might be seen so he quietly slipped into the deeper water and pulled himself along the sea-wall until he reached the dock of Weston's building.

A small smile crossed his face when he saw the white and red sailboat tied up at the end of the t-shaped pier and Lucas carefully climbed up the ladder attached to the side of the dock. He lay for a moment on the planks of the dock listening to the rapid pounding of his heart as he looked around. A closed overhead door and one small door led to the building from the dock and Lucas slowly crept towards them. He flattened his body against the side of the building, crouching down to avoid the window next to the door as he reached to check the doorknob and then swore softly as he found that it was locked. He glanced at the overhead door but decided that any attempt to open that would make far too much noise.

"Damn," he whispered in a frustrated voice and looked back at the door and then stopped, suddenly noticing that the latch on the window wasn't shut all the way. Standing to the side of the window he carefully peered through the dusty panes to see if he could spot anything inside the building but saw nothing. He put his hand in his pocket and grinned a little as his fingers closed around his penknife and he brought it out and started to work on the latch.

Two blacked-out vans pulled just inside the entrance to the industrial park and parked behind the largest building in the complex. Overhead a helicopter in silent mode gave a report on any vehicles or movement in the complex. Each van opened and teams of black-garbed security officers got out. The team in the first van was led by Chief Akima and the second van was headed up by Lieutenant Brakker. As they got out Akima was listening to his headset.

"The helicopter reports that the complex is almost deserted, sir," he said to Brakker. "No people visible and the only vehicle around besides the expected commercial trucks is a yellow Mustang parked about four buildings over."

"That would be Lucas," Jonathan Ford said.

Brakker hadn't been too sure about letting Ford come along but he'd given in to the instruction of the Secretary General to bring him with. "I thought he was told to stay at the house."

"He was," Ford said with a sigh. "But over the last year he's learned stubbornness from a master."

"Terrific," Brakker said in a fatalistic voice. "Alright," he addressed the whole team, "Besides looking for Bridger watch out that you don't shoot Wolenczak who's running around here somewhere." He paused a moment to collect his thoughts. "The building that Weston is renting is the far one on the water side." He looked over at Akima. "Chief, your team takes this side of the building and the east end. My team will take the north side and dock side and get someone up on the roof since it looks like the building has roof vents." He looked at all of them again. "Keep low, move fast, keep in touch, remember that this guy is dangerous and get Bridger out alive." He nodded at Akima.

"Meet you in the middle, Lieutenant." Akima looked over at Ford. "You're with my group, Commander. Come on." Akima and his team slid around the side of the building as Brakker's team went around the other direction.

Lucas dropped to the floor with a little noise and stopped immediately to see if anyone had heard him. Barely breathing, he listened intently trying to catch any sound of someone coming but heard nothing. Gradually he moved up from his position on the floor and slipped down one of the corridors in the warehouse. Once he got away from the window he moved in almost complete darkness and he gingerly felt his way along the walls. His heart dropped in his chest as his foot unexpectedly contacted a metal pail sitting next to the wall and it clattered a little as it rolled on the ground. Lucas flattened himself against the wall expecting a hand to come out of the darkness at any minute to capture him. He started breathing again gradually as no noise of any pursuit was heard. Moving again cautiously, Lucas slid along the wall until he reached a corner. Now he stopped because he heard a noise... he could hear voices. Voices that were talking, not in angry or disturbed tones but just like normal conversation.

He listened hard trying to make out the voices. The first one he didn't know but the second... yes, the second voice was Bridger's. Lucas let out a sigh of relief at that voice, even if he couldn't tell what Bridger was saying. He glanced carefully around the corner and he could see into a small room off the large warehouse floor. He saw the legs of one person swinging as they sat on a table or something and just the arm of another person sitting on what looked to be a bed. Well, he could see the upper arm... it looked like the person's arms were tied behind him... that must be Bridger. Lucas saw the man sitting on the table start to stand and he pulled his head back so he couldn't be spotted. His eyes had become somewhat accustomed to the darkness and Lucas could just make out a pile of scrap wood sitting against the other wall of the passageway. He reached over and grabbed a four-foot length of 2x4 wood and leaned back against the wall again trying to come up with his next move.

Both teams were staged around the building now with someone working silently on the locks of each of the doors. Brakker's team had gotten two people up on the roof and he was sitting against the side of the building listening intently to their report. He looked across to Akima who was relaying the information to Ford.

"They're both in there, Commander," Akima said putting a finger on his headset to hear better. "They're in a room in the middle of the building. It looks like Bridger's hands are tied behind his back and there's a possibility that he's secured to a bed that he's sitting on but he looks like he's alright."

"How do we get to the room without being seen?" Ford asked.

"Looks like there's empty warehouse space all around the room. It's gonna be tough."

Weston stretched and stood up. "How come you keep wincing?"

"I've got an ulcer, Weston. My stomach hurts," Nathan said with a frown.

"Does it hurt a lot?"

"Yeah, it does."

"Good," Weston said saucily.

"Your concern is under-whelming," Nathan said in a disgusted tone.

"You know what I'm going to do after I kill you, Bridger?"

"Do I care?" Nathan asked tiredly.

"Yeah, you probably do," Weston said with a snide grin on his face as he sat down on the far end of the bed. "I'm going to kidnap her."

"You'll never get near her."

"Oh yes, I will," he said confidently. "It may take me a while but I will." Nathan could see the tense muscles working in the man's jaw as he continued. "I'm a very patient man, Bridger, I've worked on this for ten years." He stood and turned towards the table. "I'll get her," his voice almost leered, "and then I'll make her mine again."

Nathan winced again and pushed against the end of the bed to straighten up. His eyes flashed momentarily to the roof as he spotted some motion. In just that split second... just that quick glance he'd seen someone on the roof looking in a vent. Keeping his eyes on Weston again, inside Nathan grinned... good going, Akima. Now it was up to him to see about getting a diversion for them.

Weston was leaning against the table watching him again. "You're sick, Weston."

"Maybe," Weston grinned. "But I'm also the one in charge of this situation. Oh, she'll fight me." Nathan saw the grin turn evil. "But I like it when she does that." He was staring fixedly at Nathan, his eyes almost the color of coal. "I like it when she struggles and I have to make her cooperate. She puts up quite a fight. She's got a lot of spirit."

"Is that why you hate me, Weston?"

"What?"

"Because she gives to me what you have to force on her?"

Weston smiled a humorless grin and turned towards the table picking up the knife again. "Get real... She's not that good in bed." He turned back when Nathan didn't respond to see a shocked look on his face. "What?" Weston asked defensively.

"You're joking right?" Nathan countered seriously. "She's not good... She's incredible."

"You're full of shit," Weston answered vehemently.

Nathan shook his head a little. "Now I feel sorry for you, Weston." He paused just a moment for effect. "You've never really known her, have you? You've never known the absolutely unbelievable lover she can be," he said incredulously. He shook his head again and laughed a quick, humorless laugh. "God, have you missed out."

Weston was getting upset now and that's what Nathan wanted. "I don't know what kind of experience you have with women, Bridger, but trust me she's no great shakes."

"Weston, I've been married twice and I've had my share of women outside those times and I can tell you honestly that she is the most amazing woman I've ever known," Nathan said sincerely. He could see that Weston was getting more and more agitated as he spoke. "She's gentle and forceful, passionate and quick-tempered." Bridger goaded Weston some more. "And you missed it. You dumb bastard, I feel sorry for you. You'll never know what it could have been like. You've spent all these years following her... watching her... and you missed the best part." Nathan laughed disparagingly. "You're an idiot, Weston."

Nathan had seen the muscles in Weston's jaw working overtime and his face became redder and redder as Nathan talked. His eyes had fixed Nathan with a malevolent stare and when Nathan called him an idiot the color suddenly drained from his face and he leapt towards him with the k-bar in his hand. Nathan swiftly kicked out as hard as he could catching Weston solidly in the groin. He heard the deep intake of breath as Weston suddenly stopped and dropped to his knees and Nathan kicked out again striking him in the chin. A flash of steel arced through the air as the k-bar knife went flying across the room to skid under the far end of the table. Weston looked up at Nathan, blood pouring from his split lip and he started to push his way up when they both heard a crash at the far end of the building. Weston leaned against the table and, looking quickly through the warehouse windows, he saw the light of the outside as all the doors opened and armed men poured into the building.

"This isn't finished, Bridger," he spat out as he turned and ran for the dock.

Lucas glanced around the corner again when he heard Bridger's voice rise and saw Weston moving across the room towards the bed with a knife in his hand. Lucas had started around the corner before he saw Weston get kicked hard by Bridger and drop to his knees. Bridger's foot came flying out again and caught Weston under the chin. Lucas looked quickly to the right as he heard the crashing sound of the doors being broken in and saw tactical team members start streaming into the building.

His attention was drawn back to the small room when he heard Weston yell, "This isn't finished, Bridger," and then the man ran out the door towards Lucas' hiding place. Lucas quickly pulled back around the corner and listened to the pounding feet. The thud of Weston's feet kept pace with the thumping of Lucas' heart and he held his breath as he heard them come closer and closer. Lucas waited, gauging when the thudding footsteps were just close enough and, with a prayer, he swung the long piece of 2x4 as hard as he could about waist level. The force of the blow shot up his arms as the wood caught Weston right in the stomach and he hit the ground hard gasping for air.

Jonathan Ford and Chief Akima came running up with their weapons at the ready.

"Nice shot," Ford said to Lucas staring at the man curled up on the ground wheezing and the security officers restraining him.

"Remind me never to piss you off," Akima said appreciatively.

Lucas smiled wanly at them and then his face became suddenly serious. "The captain," he said desperately, dropping the wood and running towards the small room. He slid to a stop in the doorway, a panicked look on his face as he saw Bridger lying down against the wall with his eyes shut. Suddenly Nathan's eyes opened and he grinned slightly.

"Nice timing," he said tiredly.

Lucas continued across the room and sat next to the older man, helping him to sit up. "Are you alright, sir?"

"Yeah, I'm alright, Lucas." He grinned a little more. "I'd be better if someone had keys for these damned handcuffs though."

"I can manage that, sir," Chief Akima said handing his weapon to Ford and pulling out his keys.

Bridger rubbed his bruised wrists and swung his legs off the bed. "You got Weston?" he asked.

Ford chuckled. "Lucas got Weston." Nathan looked at him inquisitively. "He creamed him with a 2x4."

"Good," Nathan said looking at Lucas appreciatively. "Look, if you guys don't mind, I think I've got a wedding that I'm supposed to be at."

Chapter 40 - Preparing for the Best
 

The yellow Mustang had barely skidded to a stop in front of the Secretary General's residence before Nathan was out of the car and through the door. Followed closely by Lucas and Jonathan he rushed up the stairs taking two at a time and headed into the room where he was supposed to be getting ready for the wedding. Stripping off his shirt, Nathan started pulling various, carefully packed items out of his bag and tossing them all over the bed.

Down the hallway Bill Noyce knocked on the door of the room where Kristin was. George Bridger went over to open it. Kristin only saw that George was having a quick discussion with someone on the other side of the door before George turned back into the room with a small grin on his face.

"Elvis has entered the building," he quipped.

"George...," Kristin said cautiously.

"Nathan has arrived," he reassured her. "He's down the hallway tearing the room apart trying to get ready," he said with a small smile.

"Are you going to go see him?"

"Yeah, I suppose so," George said grinning a little more and moving back over to Kristin.

"Would you be kind enough to tell him a couple of things for me?"

George brought one hand up to rest on Kristin's cheek. "Anything you want."

"First, I need you to tell him that I said he was an idiot," she paused just a moment. "But tell him that I love him anyways."

"I can do that," George said with a big grin.

"And I need you to tell him one more thing...."

George Bridger knocked on the room Nathan was in quickly and opened the door. A flurry of activity met his eye with Nathan standing there dressed in jeans and a t-shirt while Lucas was down on the floor searching for something under the bed. As he came through the door Nathan noticed him and a big smile lit up his face.

"George!" he said coming over to envelope his older brother in a bear hug.

"How you doin', Squirt?" George said returning the embrace eagerly.

"Great, except that I'm late for my own wedding," Nathan said hastily turning from him and starting to search for his belt again.

"Nathan, sit down," George ordered.

Nathan quickly looked up at his brother. "I'm late," he explained.

George pulled two chairs over to them. "Nathan, sit!" he said in a forceful voice.

To the surprise of all the others in the room, Nathan sat.

George took the other chair. "I just got done talking to Kristin and she wanted me to give you two messages."

"What?" Nathan asked hesitantly.

"The first one is to tell you that she thinks you're an idiot."

Nathan's face suddenly became serious and he took a deep breath. "Oh."

"She said to tell you that you were an idiot but she loves you anyways."

"Oh," Nathan repeated, this time in a relieved voice.

George put his hand on his younger brother's knee. "The second thing she said to tell you is that as long as she leaves here tonight married to you, she doesn't care when the wedding takes place. I'm supposed to tell you to relax, calm down and take it easy. She'll wait for you."

Nathan smiled softly and leaned against the back of the chair. "Oh," he said for a third time. "Okay."

"When's the last time you ate?"

"Um, I don't know... last night I guess."

"Uh huh." George shook his head and went to the door. They heard him talking to someone in the hallway for a little while before he returned. "Janet is going to get you something to eat. They've already started the guests on the appetizers to keep them busy so she says you can take all the time you want."

"Cap, how about if we bandage that cut on your shoulder," Lucas said. "It'd be a shame to bleed all over your choker whites."

Nathan visibly relaxed and nodded his head while his brother patted him fondly on the cheek.

Back in the other bedroom Kristin was getting a report from Janet on what was going on. "George is going to force feed Nathan if need be and then get him dressed," she said as she watched Kristin smile knowingly. "The guests meanwhile are chomping down on the appetizers right now so anytime we want to we can interrupt their feeding frenzy to stick the wedding in there but there's no rush."

"You knew that we wouldn't be having a normal wedding, didn't you," Kristin said with a sad smile.

"Kristin, with Nathan there is no such thing normal."

"As long as he's alright."

"George said he looks like he's fine. He'll watch out for him," Janet said patting Kristin on the knee.

Nathan had calmed down enough to let Lucas put a bandage on the cut on his collarbone and then to sit and eat a couple of jelly sandwiches. His brother kept a close eye on him as he ate and drank his milk.

"I've got a question for you," Lucas said to George.

"Hmm?"

"How come you always call him 'Squirt'?"

George crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair. "That's easy." Lucas noted that the Captain had gone a little red in the face. "Look at him," George nodded his head towards Nathan. "He's a runt."

"He's not that short," Lucas objected.

"He is for our family. Hell, even his sister is taller than he is."

"Mom isn't taller than I am," Nathan said around a bite of his sandwich.

George frowned at him. "She used to be... but she shrank. It's why he went out for baseball... he wasn't tall enough for the Bridger family basketball team."

"I went out for baseball because I'm good," Nathan muttered.

"Oh, puleeeze," George groaned.

Lucas was grinning broadly now. "How tall was your Dad?"

"Oh about six foot five."

"Really?"

Nathan grinned ruefully and shook his head as he popped the last piece of his sandwich into his mouth. "Are we going to get ready for a wedding here or talk about people being vertically challenged?" he asked punching his brother in the arm.

George grinned over at him again. "You think you can dress yourself?"

"Probably not at this point but between all of us I think we can remember to be sure I put on my pants."

"That would be a good thing, Nathan," George dead-panned. "I'd hate for you to flash the whole assembly." He ruffled Nathan's hair as he stood to resume getting dressed.

A short time later, George stood in the bedroom critically regarding his younger brother and picking pieces of lint off of his uniform. Nathan took a deep breath and stood straight during the inspection, holding his hat under his left arm and stretching his neck a little in the high collar of the uniform. George reached over and brushed an imaginary piece of dust from Nathan's ribbons. He fondly looked on as Nathan chewed on his bottom lip. "Nervous?"

"Uh huh," Nathan said with a quick nod and then looked up at George with a calm face. "But never more sure of anything in my life." He looked sincerely at his brother. "You can't imagine how much I love her," he said quietly.

"You've got good taste in wives, kiddo."

Nathan nodded. "Yeah," he said with a catch in his voice.

"Ready?"

Nathan nodded again. "Yeah," he repeated.

"I'll go let them know." He smiled and patted Nathan on the side of the head before turning and heading out the door.