Page 10 of His Witness To Love

He flung a small pouch with two cards.

“Jesus, going to get me in trouble with all that yelling.”

The man walked away with a look of disgust on his face. Rachel looked up at Brie, and they both began to laugh. It was a guttural thing, straight from their stomachs, strong and free. It brought Brie to her knees, hugging Rachel's balled-up frame. Then the tears began to flow. The sobs came faster and stronger than any laugh they could muster.

CHAPTER SEVEN

They found Mack in the house when they came through the door. He could immediately tell something had gone wrong. There were no words. He got up and went straight for her, hugging her and spreading an arm out for Rachel. Tears claimed them at the doorstep; he did the best he could. He held them until the worst was over. No words were shared over the incident.

The day passed in silence. Robert and Lidia picked up on the atmosphere and decided to stay over with some folks for a visit that was “long overdue.”

At dinner, Rachel and Brie shared the story with Mack, who could do nothing but listen in dismay to how far the mental scarring of their previous experiences had gone.

The rooms weren’t shared that night. Mack walked into anempty bed and laid down with a sigh. Tomorrow was an important day. For all of them. 8:30 p.m., the South Gate Bridge.

Mack was lulled to sleep by the fears of his own failure.

The next morning had been a spill-off from the night before. Rachel had left the first chance she got to “clear her head.” Mack was unsure how much of a dent his problems had put in the girls’ perfectly good relationship.

He couldn’t think about those things now. The afternoon had run by, and all he had to do was prepare. The time crawled closer and closer to 8:30 as he inched his way to the bridge.

There was only one place to meet under the bridge, a small compartment meant for smokers or the odd stranded fellow, made ominous in the nightlight.

He heard a low chuckle as he walked in and stared off into every corner, trying to make sense of the darkness.

“I’m right here, agent.”

Mack turned around.

He had a mask on. It was unlike anything Mack had seen before. An orange wooden dome with hot iron sear engravings. The man seemed to wear all black aside from the mask; it made it hard to pick out his silhouette from the shadows. He sat on a ledge teetering over the bridge's edge. The fall wouldn’t kill a man, but it was unpleasant.

“Hello, agent.” There it was, the same voice that he’d heard chuckling a while ago. It sounded manipulated. Perhaps a voiceundulator, something to mask its pitch? That could mean the masked fellow was a woman.

“So, who exactly are you?” Mack tried to stall for time.

“Such a stupid question, agent. If I had known you were going to start with that drivel, I might have saved myself the trip here,” the man sounded impatient.

“I don’t think it’s that stupid; we’re here to negotiate, aren’t we? I could get you what you want if I get what I want.”

“Oh no, agent, that won’t do. You misunderstand what I’m here to negotiate over. You see, we’re both very smart men, backed by large organizations. I’m just a mouthpiece, just like you’re a pawn. We serve a purpose,” the man chuckled.

“And what’s your purpose?” Mack yelled at the semi disembodied voice.

“I’m here to let you know that handing over Brianna Miller is your best bet at a peaceful exchange.”

“And who exactly is us?” The sound of Brie’s name hadMack clenching his teeth from giving an overly dramatic reaction.

“Oh, that’s a detail you don’t necessarily need to know just yet. We simply require the girl.”

“And what if I say no?” Mack spat back.

“As I said, you’re a smart man, agent. You know enough to understand we’d spill more than a little blood to get what we want.”

“So, you’re with the Brotherhood?”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Now, agent, did I ever say that? Assumptions like those could be your undoing.”

The form came full out of the shadows for the first time since the conversation had started. It definitely wasn’t a woman. It was evident from the bulkiness of the shape that the figure had bulletproof material on. The mask was most likely equipped for night vision, and the statue was of a man who was ready to fight at all times.

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