Chapter 3: Claire
Bridget had managed to calm down as soon as she left her home that night, sneaking out her bedroom window. It was dark so she managed to keep to the shadows just as her cellphone pinged. It was a message that read, 'I have a thing that needs your attention. Go to the abandoned garage by Grove Street. C.'
She'd met Clairice online, by chance while in a group chat. She'd never seen the woman in person but knew she preferred to go by Claire or simply, C. She was the whole reason she started going out as a vigilante. They'd spoken on the phone after months of texting until a package arrived in the mail on Bridget's fourteenth birthday.
She thought it was fucking freaky at first, reluctant to accept such a job of keeping a messed up drug addled city like Los Santos clean. She wasn't even being paid for it despite Claire offering. She feared it would be too suspicious.
Claire saw potential in her though. And appeared to be very smart about things. Claire had also told her she had files on every corrupt official, gangs, robbers. You name it, she had it.
Bridget swore she was some secret agent or something. She sighed, nervous about walking alone at night but it wasn't like she left without any protection. She may have borrowed her dad's gun. Just in case. It wasn't like he'd notice it missing right?
She managed to make it there, only having to get past at least one petty criminal. Since she started doing this she'd been working out on the regular. She was no where near being anything like Batgirl but at least she was making an effort.
Bridget neared the garage, frowning a bit and seeing a note on the door. 'Look inside.' It said. She swallowed before grunting as she opened the garage door, taking out a mini flashlight to look inside, eyes wide.
She saw a black motorcycle, with a deep red stripe and some gadgets by a red toolbox on a wooden table. Bridget walked over, examining the items. She found a grapple gun, stun gun, baseball bat and some ninja stars.
She grinned a bit. "Holy shit." She breathed. Just then her phone rang, causing her to jump a bit in shock. "Hello?!" She asked nervously. There was a feminine laugh on the other end. "Like the gifts? I thought you needed an update to your artillery. Plus, you'll need them for this job." She said simply.
Bridget hummed. "What's going on?" She asked quietly. "Car theft. Two muscle cars were stolen from a luxury dealership." She said.
Bridget nodded, frowning. "Is it the Simeon creep?" She asked.
"No. It appears to be lead by someone else. I'm gathering as much information as I can. Try to catch the thieves. They should be by the LS river." She said before ending the phone call. Bridget stuffed her phone in her back pack before gathering up the other stuff she'd been given with sigh.
She got on to the new bike, revving it up experimentally and grinning a bit. 'If only dad could've gotten me something like this. I'd never ask for anything else!' She thought to herself before setting her GPS to track the LS river and sped off.
Bridget felt exhilarated as she sped down the dark streets of LS, grinning. It wasn't long until she reached the LS river, parking her bike and taking out a set of binoculars.
She saw two men standing near the cars in question. One car she recognized from an old horror film she loved. It was a vintage black hemicuda and as far as she knew, virtually priceless.
Bridget never thought she'd see one outside of the year 1979. Hell Michael had even said they'd stopped making them! The other was a grey ruiner. She swallowed.
It was a stupid question to think about but, who would actually be stupid enough to steal super cars like these?
Certainly not the two men who appeared to be low rent hoods. She saw them about to enter the cars and decided to make her move. Bridget sped down the ledge, a dark look on her face. "Those cars don't belong to you, I think you should put them back before I have to rearrange your faces!" She growled.
One of them panicked. "FUCK ITS THAT KID! GO!" he yelled. They both sped off in the vehicles, with Bridget hot on their tails. The other one in the cuda leaned out the window, firing a gun at her. Bridget swerved, dodging the bullets with ease.
She took out her dad's gun, firing a round right into the tire. The car swerved uncontrollably, the man cursing. He and the other thief both fled into a tunnel, Bridget following them.
"You're gonna get hurt kid!" One of them yelled menacingly. Bridget huffed. "Not likely pricks!" She growled, firing another round, managing to hit the tire of the other muscle car.
It swerved and hit the cuda as they tried to flee the tunnel but the dirt didn't help their situation. Bridget slammed into the bumper of the car roughly. "Stop and maybe you won't have a busted lip!" She growled, only to yelp as the guy tried to shake her off.
He shot at her, managing to graze her shoulder. She swerved and watched as they managed to flee the tunnel. But Bridget was determined. She raced out, managing to catch up to them on a freeway.
One of the guys tried to shoot at her again but Bridget dodged and he ended up hitting his partner instead, making him scream and crash right into an oncoming truck. "FUCK! YOU LITTLE BITCH!" he yelled.
Bridget fired another round right into the second tire just as they got off the freeway, the car spinning out of control before crashing. The guy shakily stepped out, his hands up.
Bridget skidded to a halt, glaring as she eyed him suspiciously. "Sorry about your friend. You should've known better than to try something stupid like this. You must be working for someone." She said darkly as she approached. The guy glared back. "I'm not telling you shit!" He huffed.
Bridget raised a brow under her mask before swinging and hitting him hard, breaking his nose. He cried out in pain, holding it with a groan. "O-ow..I ain't supposed to say alright! The dude has connections!" He cried fearfully.
She rolled her eyes before kicking him hard. "So do the most powerful mob bosses in this city. And I know people who've kicked plenty of their asses. So tell me or I'll make you my personal punching bag!" She growled, eyes alight with a burning rage.
"H-his name is Devin okay?! D-Devin Weston..me and my buddy were told wed make a lot of money from him doing this! He's practically untouchable though! Hes rich and powerful!" The man cracked like an egg.
Bridget grinned. "That's all I wanted to know. You better stay here then." She said darkly, zip tying his wrists together before getting back on the bike, speeding off. She parked in a quiet alleyway before taking out her phone to call Claire. "So how did it go?" Claire asked.
Bridget sighed. "I think only one of the cars will be salvageable. The other one crashed into a truck after his partner shot him on accident. I did find out who they were working for though." She said softly, leaning against a building. Claire hummed. "Who?" She asked softly.
Bridget shrugged. "Some billionaire called Devin Weston. Never heard of him but I'm guessing he's some kind of crime boss or con artist. The guy said hes got connections." She explained.
Claire went silent for a moment before speaking again. "Bridget, I don't think you're ready for that. Let me try to handle that one okay?" She asked calmly.
Bridget frowned a bit. "Claire? Come on this guy is hiring idiots to do his dirty work for him. I'm sure you have other contacts we can have help take him down." She tried to say.
"No, Bridget he's very dangerous. He could kill your family with just a phone call! Look, just stay out of this one. Go home. You did enough for tonight." She said softly, though there was an edge of fear in her voice.
Bridget sighed heavily, suspicious but deciding not to push it any further. "Fine.." she said, hanging up. She was feeling tired anyway. She got back onto the motorcycle, revving it before speeding back to the abandoned garage to store it.
She wished she could bring it back to Rockford Hills with her but she knew mom and dad would wonder where the hell she got it from. After closing it, Bridget made her way back home quickly and carefully, just as dawn approached. The pain from her shoulder registered, though she felt lucky that it was a scratch. Could've been worse.
She took off her costume and put on her tank top and shorts once she climbed back into her dark bedroom. Bridget passed out luckily, at least for a few more minutes. School would be hell.
When Bridget woke up the next morning, she could hear her parents arguing and her sister leaving. She groaned, going to put on a long sleeve dark red shirt and some denim jeans.
Bridget grabbed her bag, avoiding her hurt shoulder as she walked downstairs. She could hear that the arguing had finally stopped and that her mom must be off to do tennis. She swore something was up with her tennis coach.
She only hoped whatever it was, that the dude was not a relative of one of the bitches at school. Bridget thought her mom was petty as fuck for cheating just because her dad did. It embarrassed the hell out of her and practically ruined her school life.
Michael actually got sight of Bridget and rushed to greet her. "Hey kiddo. Sleep well? You were awfully quiet." He said, trying to smile. He seemed tired and trying his hardest to hold off one of his self loathing episodes. Bridget turned to him, smiling. "Hey dad. I slept fine for once. No dreams this time." She said honestly.
Michael nodded. "Well, better than nightmares. Want me to drive you to school?" He asked, honestly just needed to get out of the house for a bit though he did also want to spend time with her.
Bridget smiled and shrugged. "Sure. Just try not to fly off the handle?" She said softly, going outside. "Hey, LS is full of shitty drivers. Why do you think I don't want to buy you a dirt bike? Or that I even dread you getting your license?" He asked with a raised brow.
She snorted. "You were the same way with Tracey and yet, she hasn't crashed yet. Jimmy though, you might wanna worry about him." She said simply. Michael huffed. "Oh don't you start getting smart with me. Its different because you're the baby in the family still. I'm surprised I haven't screwed you up." He said with a sigh.
Bridget got into the front seat of the tailgater, stuffing her school bag on the floor so she could put on her seatbelt. "You aren't that bad. You can be a jerk at times but I don't hate you for it." She said honestly.
Michael seemed silent then as he got in the driver's side. There was that fucking guilt again. He knew she was right but would she still not hate him if he told her the truth? About her real parents? He swallowed hard, maybe Amanda was right.
Bridget frowned, looking at him curiously. "Dad?" She asked quietly. Michael looked over at her, breaking his train of thought for a moment. "Yeah honey?" He asked, smiling a bit and trying to snap himself out of it.
She could tell something was up. "What's wrong? You had that look like you were about to burst out crying again." Bridget said, eyeing him closely.
Michael swallowed, shaking his head. "I..I'm fine kiddo. Remember when you were little and you used to try to sneak up on me? Your brother and sister used to think it was the funniest thing." He said with a chuckle, quickly changing the subject.
Bridget raised a brow but decided to drop it for now and go along with the subject change. "Yeah. I was being a superhero and you were a robber so I was trying to stop you." She said with a small laugh of her own.
That was one of the best memories of her childhood. Playing superheroes with Jimmy and Tracey, pretending their dad was a robber they had to stop or some other evil super villain.
The living room would usually be a mess of couch cushions and pillows after. Little did she know her dad had some big secrets that even her mom and siblings were keeping from her. She knew nothing about North Yankton and so help him, Michael hoped she never ever figured it out.
He felt awful that Tracey and Jimmy missed out on a normal childhood because of his profession, despite his attempts to fix that in Los Santos. But he'd be damned if he didn't at least try to make it up for the youngest.
His best efforts appeared to be failing during the girl's teen years though, since now all Bridget seemed to know was their constant screaming matches. It made him feel worse and drink even more. It wasn't good for her or his other two kids.
God what would Sarah say..? He'd promised that woman she'd be in safe hands with him and Amanda. Safe from Him.
He hoped that somehow light would filter in from the massive storm he was sure was heading their way, as he thought back to his conversation with Franklin the day after that kid broke into his house. He parked at the school entrance, not a moment too late. He smiled at her. "Have a nice day alright?" Michael said softly.
Bridget nodded, giving him a quick hug. "You too dad." She said before getting out and grabbing her bag as she walked toward the school. Michael watched her a moment before driving off, getting lost in his thoughts again as he often always did.
He hoped Sarah knew that he was doing his best. He hoped she wasn't disappointed in either him or Amanda. It wasn't like raising a third kid was planned after all. Especially the baby of his best friend who he was sure was dead too now. Right..?