He watched the whole scene unfold, putting in his 'two cents' whenever he felt at appropriate, but after Ana left and things started to quiet down, Bradley saw a side of Marty that he never even knew existed.
Marty was talking about his father, Bradley was sure of that, and the accusation he made against Ana; it wasn't one that could be made lightly.
Bradley was silent for a few moments as he wondered just what the hell he could do. Sterling-Bosch was a pretty powerful company, not easy to take down especially if Ana was telling the truth. After about thirty seconds Bradley opened his mouth and said, "I believe you. That was the first time I ever met that woman and already I can tell that she's trouble."
He raised an eyebrow. "You do? No one ever does. No one ever believes a word I say, especially about Ana and her sister. Everything thinks his death was a shoot and run," Marty said.
"I think if we work together we can bring her down but only if that is what you want to do."
Marty shrugged. "I don't care. All I want is my bike kept safe. I don't care about anything else. I don't have anything else left to care about," muttered the boy.
He watched Marty closely; knowing that it probably wasn't the right time for all of that but when was it ever going to be the right time?
Ana was evil and downright creepy, Bradley had gotten that feeling the first time he had laid eyes on her, and he had seen for himself the kind of control that she spouted over Marty. To him it was all too clear that something had to be done about her.
"Her company...it wanted everything. It got everything, except the bike. They won't get that. On my life I swear to that," he whispered. "But, they will try to get it. I wouldn't be surprised if they got rid of me."
Martin shook his head. "That car wasn't meant to hit you last night. It was meant for me. Whoever drove it followed the ambulance to the hospital. I saw it through the window as we drove off," he continued. "And you know...every time you stopped me from speeding or arrested me you saved my life? Did you ever wonder why I sped? Yes, I like going fast, but I was being chased."
He looked at Bradley. Fear was in his eyes. "You see, my father was very rich. He was very smart...too smart. Before his murderer, he was studying time travel and the 10 dimensions theory, which basically discusses how everything is linked and it discusses how we perceive things. My father made a time machine. He claimed it worked. He also willed all the research and documentation to me. They are hidden away in a lock box somewhere. I haven't seen them. But, people didn't like his research nor did they like his machine so they killed him and destroyed the thing."
For once Bradley said nothing right away. He just lay in his bed and thought about everything that Marty had said. Could it be true? Could he have only seen what he wanted to see out of Marty, rather than the entire picture? Could he really have been that blind?
"She is going to make a grab for that bike; sooner rather than later I would think." Bradley surmised, thinking out loud to himself. If they had any chance of keeping that bike away from her something had to be done and fast.
"So what? If she does I'll steal it right back from her," Marty muttered. "I'll steal it form impound too, if I have to. Then, I'll just take off – riding through Wales and Scotland. I'll just disappear from this world. Everyone would be happier if I did – at least I'm guessing."
Hearing the nose, he wrinkled his nose. "She'll still get it," Marty muttered. "Why are you helping me? If the roles were reversed I wouldn't be doing a thing."
"Why am I helping you," Bradley repeated, "Because you need a friend. You can deny that you don't all day long, I don't care. The fact remains that you do. I think you've been running for so long that you don't know how to just stop and ask for help. You've been hurt so many times and by so many people that you have lost the ability to trust. I understand that. To tell you the truth, I don't like to see anyone being taken advantage of."
Making a decision Bradley reached under his pillow and pulled out a cellphone. It was plain, simple even but it worked. When his coworkers had come by to check on him, they had brought him the phone he kept it his desk. He called it his 'burn phone,' something he could use in an emergency if his regular police issue cellphone was out of commission.
Turning on the phone, Bradley texted one of the guards at the impound yard, just to make sure Marty's bike was still there. After receiving confirmation that it was, Bradley sent a text to an old friend of his; well...Bradley called him an old friend but for all he knew Lance could have really been younger than he himself!
Bradley knew that Lance could get Marty's bike out of impound and he knew that Lance wouldn't ask him any questions right away. So, Bradley quickly explained part of the situation to Lance, at least enough to let his partner know that haste was needed. Soon after he sent the text he got a reply from Lance. The bike would be removed from impound and taken to a secret location within fifteen minutes; the length of time it would take to sign something out of impound.
"Well...if all goes well your bike should be safe...hopefully. I have a friend taking it out of impound as we speak. Hopefully he will get to it before Ana, but if not we will track it down." Bradley said.
The young man glanced over at Bradley with a wary and untrusting expression shining in his blue eyes. "Even though you probably saved me, I didn't want it. I was so mad at you. I was always mad," Martin admitted. "I can take care of myself, you know. I've been doing it a long time."
He stopped speaking. His lips went into a thin line as he his mind drifted. "But, it's still scary to know that when I get out of here I have nowhere. I don't even know if I have any extra clothes. No one wants me. I don't want anyone," he replied. That was a lie and he knew it, but he didn't care. He sure did not correct himself. "Why would I?"
He lay there silently for a moment, considering a few things before he spoke up again. "You say you don't have a place to stay. That may have been true then, but it doesn't have to be true now. If you want to you can stay at my house."
Bradley really didn't even know why he was offering this in the first place. He was putting so much trust and faith in to Marty and receiving none back. Why would he just accept Bradley's offer out of the blue? Deep down Bradley had a feeling it would have to fight to get Marty to see reason. Even as he watched Marty, Bradley suddenly got the image of himself arguing with someone who looked and sounded like Marty, only this kid was wearing a blue shirt, red scarf and brown coat. Shaking his head he thought to himself, 'I have been watching way too much BBC.'
Marty snorted a little bit at the answer. "How do you know what I need? You just know me as the punk you've arrested 6 times," the man spat back. "I don't need a friend. I don't need anyone. They'll just leave or die or I'll hurt them. I can take care of myself…at least I have control over what I do or don't do so I don't get hurt."
With a great struggle, Marty crossed his arms over his chest. He shifted a bit so he was lower on his pillows and then he picked at the chipped, black fingernail polish on his nails. "Well yeah, dollop head, I don't. Ana's company, whatever it's called, took it. And my mum and uncle don't exactly want me around," Martin remarked.
At the offer, the dark-haired man raised an eyebrow. "Um, well…if you want an offender with multiple counts against him and who is known to have a drug problem then sure…at least until I can find something. I'm warning you now I'm not going to be able to stay clean and I'll probably do just about anything to get a fix," Marty said. "Why would you even offer? I'm your least favorite person."
Marty yawned. "I'm going to sleep now," he whispered. The man closed his eyes and quickly drifted into a deep slumber. A tortured and troubled expression creased his forehead.
Lance had signed out Marty's bike on the request of his partner. It was a rather unusual request and one that the officer was going to get an explanation for once he cornered his friend. Getting on the bike, Lance stuck the key in to the ignition, turned it and then fired up the bike. It roared to life, to handlebars trembling slightly in his grasp.
Seeing the gate to the police impound open up and his captain step through looking none too happy, Lance knew he was probably about to get a major ass chewing. The question was, why? He had done everything correctly; gone through the proper channels. Why would his captain care if he signed out a piece of police property?
Lance knew he had two choices, stay or ride off before his captain got to him. If he stayed he'd more than likely have to leave the bike which would anger his partner. Then again if he just rode off he would probably be looking at an APB being called out on himself and the bike; oh the joys of being a police officer!
Making his decision, Lance gunned the engine on the bike, roaring out of the impound lot and on to the street. He knew exactly where he was going to take the bike to keep it safe and if this Ana person ever did get her hands on the bike, Lance had a trick or two up his sleeve which would allow them to easily find it again, but for now he knew that he should at least get as far away from police headquarters as he could before he could contact his partner again.