Undercover: From 'Bridget's Nights'

Okay, I froze. Just for a second but it was enough. I had let my attention slip away from the room and hadn't noticed the guys had been inching closer. I did throw the first two off and made a break for the door but then something hit me over the head hard enough to stun even me for a minute and they snowed me under. I might be as strong as three men, but not as strong as eight. They pinned me and wrapped a chain around me and locked it. The links were welded and steel tough enough that I couldn't break them as a lock snapped and I was trussed like a turkey. Which is exactly how I felt.

Eliott grinned and walked over to m. Without a word he slapped me. It probably hurt his hand worse than my face. He barked "I don't know who you really are, but thanks to Annie I know that you are a fake and a fraud." He looked at one of the goons who had me trussed up. "Fit her with some nice overshoes and take her for a swim. See if she can break the underwater breath-holding record."

As the guys dragged me out I saw Annie. Far from looking triumphant, her face was pale and sorrowful. I had dug up a hint of what might be going on but had not had time to check into it. Well, as long as it wasn't daylight, and praise be they had waited till night, my usual hours, what they intended wasn't going to stop me from finding out why Annie had turned me in to Eliott. Somehow I knew there was a reason and it wasn't greed or anything like that.

So anyway, here I was at the bottom of the river. I had asked about the time to determine how much leeway I had to try to get out of my shackles and to a nice dark place before morning. I was pretty sure I was deep enough to that if I didn't make it before 6:21 AM (an intelligent vampire always keeps herself aware of when the sunrise is going to happen) that I wouldn't be reduced to drifting ashes. I might be close enough to the surface to be hurt though. Well, that was something I would have to live with, so to speak.

I worked on the chain. I worked on the concrete. Nothing was giving way very quickly. It couldn't keep me here long enough to starve but I wasn't going to get out of here in 3 hours. I kept at it, straining my more than human body against the restraints that kept me here. I had pulled one old trick, carefully taking a deep breath so that the chain slackened a bit when I released the air on my way down. Having my lungs fill with water was uncomfortable but hardly life-threatening for me.

Eventually I could see a faint glow through the water. The sun was up. I hadn't made a lot of progress getting loose. I thought that it would be best if I could see if I could move myself all the way under the barge, where its shadow would cover me.

As I have mentioned elsewhere, being a vampire and staying out of the sun isn't as easy as "Angel" or "Buffy" makes it seem. You can't just throw a coat over your head and run around safely. Clothes don't protect you as well as all that. Indirect sun is a crippler. Staying out of the direct rays generally means you won't burst into flames, but indirect sun makes me very weak and it hurts like hell. Of course, according to most religions, it's supposed to, since that's where I'm headed. I often pray that I'm not.

Speaking of praying, I was doing it. There was enough filtered light I could see vague shapes. Looks like I wasn't the only one to go swimming down here. What a mess. I wondered if Jimmy Hoffa might be down here. I couldn't see that well of course, thank goodness it wasn't that light. It wasn't far though to the dark line under the barge.

Hopping underwater with your feet in concrete isn't as easy as it sounds I assure you. Fortunately it worked, although slowly. I was in a bit of a sweat by the time I got into the cool darkness. For once, I blessed the pollution and junk floating in a river as it all helped make it murky down here.

Under the barge I was simply slightly uncomfortable rather than in any real danger. That was good, as it took me most of the next three days to get the chain off. I then used it to break enough concrete to allow me to pull myself up the riverbank and on to the barge. Since dawn was already lighting up the sky I managed to open a hatch and stayed below decks until night fell once more.

I had a lot to do and not as much time as I could have wished. I managed to bum a ride back into the city and went to a safe house that I and only I knew about. From there I made several phone calls. When the most important return one was made, I proceeded to get to where I had a car stored and drove to pick someone up I woke with a 2 AM cell phone call.

I pulled up to the curb at my first destination. I hardly got the doors unlocked when Don jerked open the passenger door and climbed in. His expression was torn between amazement, anger and relief. He proceeded to kiss the fool out of me and then bitched the entire way to our second destination about my carelessness and didn't I realize what I did to my friends when I pulled stupid stunts and... Well, you get the picture. I was happy to learn he cared that much.

We parked a couple of blocks away from the brownstone I had been informed held what I was looking for. There was one guard out front. I was all for taking him, as I had a serious need for some violence to fulfill, but Don handled him, probably quieter than I would have, and took his unconscious body into the shadows for later pickup. Then I proceeded to kick the steel door off its hinges and in we went.

I got to relieve my pent up emotions and Don demonstrated his marksmanship. Between us we handled the remaining four guards who stood between us and our goal. There was one more that, alas for him, was turning his gun on his intended victim when I reached that room. He was too frozen in fear at the sight of my face to pull the trigger and then I threw him through the outside brick wall, where he was dangerous to no one except whoever had to eventually scrape him up.

Don, sweeping the entire room as he entered right behind me, lifted an eyebrow at the hole I had made in the wall with the goon's body.

"Think you used enough dynamite there Butch?" he inquired in a dry voice as he indicated the scattered bricks

I made a determined effort to return my face to normal before I gave him my best scathing look, which affected him none at all. I then turned to the other occupant of the room.

"Robin?" I asked.

"Yes," the little blonde five year old girl answered. She was terrified and who could blame her? Her eyes lit on Don and the smile he gave her did something that let her know everything was going to be alright.

"Your mommy asked us to come get you."

She brightened as only a child can. "Am I going to get to see her soon?"

"Very soon. I promise." Don scooped her up in his arms and we were off. I drove and Don held Robin as though he was never going to let her go. I made a call to have the clowns picked up that we had left behind. Well, one to be vacuumed up. Have I ever mentioned how angry I get at a threat to a child? Okay, perhaps "Homicidally enraged" is a better term.

I insisted that Don sit out the major bust. He didn't want to, but Robin clung to him and that pretty well took him out of the game. NYPD, Customs, ATF and the FBI hit the warehouses, the ship and the principals' meeting place all at one time. I went on the last raid, as I had a particular person I needed to see.

Somebody dressed my in body armor and pressed a Sig-Sauer into my hand. I technically know how to use a gun, but felt the safest thing to do was unload it before I waved it around as we stormed the building. We took everyone by surprise, doubly so in the case of the guys who thought they had safely dropped me off the barge. They proceeded to curse each other, and then whimper as Eliott lashed out at them for being double-crossers. I didn't enlighten anyone on how I had survived.

We all trooped down to One Police Plaza. A whispered word to Robert, who was there of course, saw Annie brought to an interview room where I was waiting. Her eyes grew to the size of saucers when she saw me.

"Faith? Oh my God." She swallowed, started to say something, and then shut up.

"Kind of a surprise, isn't it?" I offered to the female hacker. "By the way, my real name is Bridget O'Brien and I'm an agent for the CIA."

She nodded. Then her self-restraint broke. "I'm so SORRY. I didn't mean to, I didn't know what they would do, but even if I had, I didn't have any choice." The poor girl was babbling. Fortunately, I now knew exactly what her situation was, and I thought I had fixed it. The first part anyway.

"It's okay Annie." I took her hand. "I know why you gave me up to Eliott. But you don't have to worry about that anymore."

"What do you mean," she whispered. I could tell she was hoping, but hope had not been a part of her life for a long time.

I smiled and pressed the button for the intercom. "Don, would you bring our guest in?"

The door opened and a Don carried Robin into the room. The little girl raised her head from where it had snuggled against the Marine's shoulder. Her eyes widened and she squealed "Mommy!"

Annie spun around as Don set Robin down and the little tyke scampered forward to throw her arms around the woman, who broke into sobs even as she gathered Robin in her arms. The two clung to each other as Don came to my side and hugged me. Big old softie, I swear he had tears in his eyes. Of course I had to blow my nose as I watched the mother and daughter.

Annie finally managed to turn back to face us, although she never slackened her grip on Robin.

"How did you know?"

"Hey," I lifted my eyebrows. "I'm a CIA agent; I'm supposed to know these things." I relented. "Actually a friend of mine with the FBI searched your background at my request. We couldn't understand why someone with such a fine reputation as your's would be working for the Mob, much less a terrorist organization. However once he discovered your daughter had not been seen in weeks, her last appearance coinciding with your dropping out of sight, it was easy to put two and two together."

Since vampires can't blush, all I had to do was control my body language and pick my words carefully. "The time we spent together showed me that you were under an enormous amount of stress. I felt sure that it had to do with your daughter. So I asked my friend Robert to make finding her a top priority. I don't know how he managed it, but when I checked in this evening he informed me of her suspected whereabouts. Then all that was left was for Don and me to go get her."

Annie dashed the tears from her face. "I'm so grateful to you. To both of you." Don smiled and bowed. "I'm even more thankful that you allowed me this time to be with her before..." her voice faltered before she regained control, "Before you have to take me away."

"Take you away? I have no idea what you are talking about." I said with my straightest face. "Didn't you function as my informant throughout the entire time I was undercover? Didn't you agree to testify against everyone involved? In fact, didn't you approach ME with that thought in mind?"

Annie's mouth dropped open. "But Bridget, I turned you in! I ratted you out. I didn't have a choice, I was afraid it was some elaborate trick by Eliott, but still, I condemned you to death."

"I have NO clue what you mean. I'm sure any such allegation from Eliott and his former partners would only be made to try to drag you down with them." I paused, "You ARE planning on testifying before you disappear into the Witness Protection Program, right?"

She tried not to burst into tears, which she knew would probably upset Robin, who had had enough traumas to last a lifetime already. Instead she simply nodded.

There were more hugs and an introduction to be made. Don was already smitten with Robin and I noted that that attraction seemed to extend to her mom too. As for Annie, I'm sure the previous men in her life had never included someone was honest and caring and honorable as Don. And when Robin stretched out an arm from her mom towards the marine, well, I had to suppress a smile.

I started to take my leave when Annie, without the slightest hesitation, passed Robin back to Don and walked over to me.

"Bridget. How did you survive? They told Eliott they dropped you into the river with cement overshoes and that huge chain wrapped around you."

"Did they now? I guess it just goes to show you can't believe everything you hear." I hugged Annie one more time and left.

Incidentally, it turned out that Annie and Robin didn't enter the WitSec program after all. However they both got new names after Don married Annie and adopted Robin, the documentation of which was buried so deeply that it could never even be suspected that Robin was not his daughter.

And me? I got several big pats on the back and an all-expenses paid trip on a cruise ship where no doubt everyone expected me to work on my tan or something. Fortunately the "or something" was quite fun once I conquered a slight problem but then I've already told that story.

(The End)