Chapter Three
June 7th, 1984
For once in his life since joining the Navy, Nathan's waking process took a long time as he languished in a half wakeful, half sleeping state of mind. The sun was coming through the heavy velvet drapes...
...Velvet? Since when could he afford a room with such luxuries?
Nathan sat bolt upright in bed as the previous night's activities caught up with him. James O'Conner. Carol. His father. He let himself fall suddenly back into the feather pillows as the rarely seen hedonistic side of him demanded he luxuriate a bit longer. After all, he was on leave. He had saved a senator's life. He closed his eyes and drew in one long breath, wondering for a moment what it would like to have money like this. To be able to drop the amount of cash without a second thought required to keep up a life such as the Senator, and Geoff's.
Finally he sat up on the side of the bed and stretched.
Breakfast was becoming a need, and Nathan tapped his stomach to stop the growling. Well, he had enough money in his own pocket to at least afford breakfast and he called the room service. "Room service?" came a pleasant voice on the other end.
"Hi, I'd like breakfast brought up to my room. Just a simple breakfast, toast, maybe an egg. Coffee..." Nathan's stomach growled again. "Definitely coffee."
"And your room?"
Nathan looked at the key of the room he was now in, "P-3"
"Ah, Ensign Bridger," the voice sounded even cheerier. "I'll have that charged to the account..."
"Actually, I have cash..."
"Oh no, sir, I am under the strictest order from Senator O'Conner himself that you are to have a full breakfast charged to his own account," came the cheerful voice. "So eggs, toast, coffee, anything else?"
"Ah no thank you, that will be all," answered Nathan as he hung up the phone.
Oh man. Everything charged to the Senator's account? A knock sounded at the door adjoining the two rooms, and Nathan opened it. Carol, looking decidingly better for a shower and clean clothing, stood there. "The Senator would like you to join him for brunch."
Brunch with a Senator... Nathan looked over at the clock and saw that it was a very late eleven hundred. "Sure," he answered. "Can I grab a shower and a change of clothes?"
"Of course," she answered. "Informal brunch, Ensign. I doubt the Senator will feel up to anything more after last night."
"Okay, thanks for the warning," Nathan said, and she nodded and walked back into the Senator's suite.
Nathan closed his door most of the way and walked into the bathroom. What he saw there was enough to start the 'oh man-ing' all over again. A hot tub, large shower stall with brass... brass!... showerhead and handles. Everything a well to do hotel would have and more. Sighing, he had his shower, shave, ablutions, and then, while toweling his hair with a towel he walked back into the bedroom portion of the suite.
He stopped dead as Carol stood there as she went through his clothes. She turned and said, "I took the liberty of sending your clothes to be cleaned and pressed. I took note of your size and had a set of new ones sent up. I would suggest trying them on."
For a moment Nathan was speechless. Then he remembered that all he had on for said clothes was the towel, and he was using it on his hair. "Ah, thanks," he managed.
Pointing to where those new clothes, while casual and informal, even comfortable looking, would cost him a month in pay, she said, "Breakfast will be up in five minutes."
Or less, came a lewder thought to his mind as the petite blonde Carol was attractive. He clamped that thought down before something did react. With a slight nod, she left the room and, hopefully, this time back to the Senator's room. Nathan dressed in the black jeans that were still crisp and new, and the plain turtleneck and denim shirt. Well, at least she had picked clothing he would wear...
He combed his hair and cleaned his teeth, then walked into the Senator's suite. He was a bit surprised by the flurry of activity. The Senator looked up and smiled. He too, after a night's sleep, a shower, and some fresh clothing looked drastically different. O'Conner came over to him smiling and shook his hand, "And here is my rescuer!"
Putting an arm around Nathan's slim shoulders he pulled him into the center of the activity, "Nathan, I would like you to meet Senator Hank Ferrell. Hank, this is Ensign Nathan Bridger. This young man, if he keeps up this kind of work on duty as he does off, is going places."
"Ensign," Farrell shook his hand. "Fine work, son. From how James described you I expected taller and more meat on your bones. But I expect we will work on that during brunch."
Brunch with two Senators.
"Thank you sir," seemed to be the safest answer, then probably just to spite him, Nathan's stomach growled.
Daniel Bridger was about to go insane. If he had checked for messages at the desk he would have perhaps had found out that his son was in a better room than either would have afforded even if they had pooled their resources. But he had not checked his messages.
So he searched frantically for his son.
"I'm sure he can take care of himself," said his secretary. "How old is he? Twenty two, twenty three?"
"Twenty-three, and he doesn't even turn that until November," answered Bridger as he half ran to the old set of rooms.
He knocked on the door and a woman a bit taller than him answered the door, "Yes?"
"Excuse me, I'm looking for my son... he went missing last night."
"Oh my, I'm so sorry! How can I help you?" she asked, her hands flying to her mouth.
"Well, he and I were staying in separate rooms, and they were supposed to be these ones the night before last, and even last night. However, I can't find him anywhere and the new set of rooms are rented now too," answered Bridger.
She narrowed her eyes, "Just how old is your son?"
"Twenty-three in November," Daniel took out a picture of Nathan and showed it to her. "His name is Nathan Bridger, and I am really worried about him."
She shook her head, alarm over, "No, I'm sorry, I haven't seen him. Check the front desk they might know what happened there."
The door closed in Dr. Daniel Bridger's face and he turned to his secretary, "Well, I guess we should check the front desk...."
The entire night had gone from bad to worse in Terry's estimation. A simple mugging that was supposed to turn into a double assassination had gone terribly wrong and he now sat in a holding cell downtown. To add insult to injury his left wrist was broken from where that little bastard had interfered and stepped on it.
If he ever found out that nosy bugger's name he was going to kill him.
First, he had to find a way to get out of jail.
Nathan was actually enjoying his brunch once he had gotten past the two Senators and saw them as two fellow men who were just as hungry as he was. Farrell was actually interesting to talk to and had served in the Navy at one point. O'Conner, while never in the military, seemed to have a scientific side to him that Nathan could respect.
Farrell finally looked at his watch and said, "Gentlemen, while I liked staying here and talking to you... Nathan, don't give up on the Navy. We could use more men like you. James, a pleasure as always."
When Farrell was gone James leaned back and said, "Senator Farrell is a smooth talker, isn't he?"
"Excuse me," Nathan choked.
"Oh, not saying he's not a good man... but like us all, he's definitely a politician..." James shrugged almost helplessly. "A good contact to have, Nathan, is all I am saying. But I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw one of those jeeps."
He looked over to Carol, "What is my schedule like today?"
"You have a conference about the mugging, sir, at 1:25pm," she answered. "That is slated to be for a half hour. Then at 2:05pm you have a meeting with Dr. Mackenzie. At three a fax will be coming in about that bill you want to put through."
"Thank you Carol," O'Conner looked at the time. "Jesus! It's 1:15 now."
Nathan got up from the table, "I'll just take off for a bit..."
"Oh no, if I have to be at this damnable conference, my boy, so do you..."
... Which was how Daniel found his son.
Daniel was about to go insane, and was about to reach the front desk, when the elevator pinged and the doors slid open to reveal Nathan. He would have walked up to his son but then he saw the Senator with him and the bodyguards around them both. For a moment it was all Dr. Bridger could do was stare at the utterly unbelievable sight his son made. Someone, obviously with some taste, had dressed his son he felt his son should be dressed.
Nathan was, while not in jeans and a t-shirt, informally dressed in a pair of dress pants and a plain shirt. Over this plain shirt was a casual jacket and a warm fall jacket. Daniel knew that Nathan would have never been able to afford the label he was wearing, so figured it was the Senator's bill, with the fashion plate secretary's doing. The Senator, whose name slipped Bridger's mind at the moment, leaned close to Nathan as if sharing a private joke and his son even smiled.
Daniel went straight up to his room and turned on the television set to CNN, knowing that shortly his son would likely appear on it and explain what in Hell was going on...
...Terry Deschamps watched as CNN flipped to a local story, and there was the interference on national television...
"Hey, isn't that Nathan Bridger?" came one middle-classman as he pointed to the TV mounted just behind the bar.
Bill Noyce and Scott Kellar turned instantly to the TV and Bill yelled at the bartender, "Hey, turn this up!"
The bartender reached over so the entire bar could hear what had happened to one of the regulars now...
"Hey, Geoff, is that not your best friend with Senator O'Conner?" asked Monica Hill as she pointed to the large screen TV in the living room.
Geoffrey Harpe pretended to not notice, and continued his assault on her exposed breast. "I don't know, is it?"
Grabbing the remote in between moans, she turned up the volume, "Last night, Navy Ensign Nathan Hale Bridger saved the life of Senator James O'Conner."
Harpe nearly choked on his own tongue as he sat bolt upright and turned to watch the TV. Monica sat up in disgust, but watched with him anyway. It was her own fault for pointing it out anyway.
Nathan shifted his weight imperceptibly under the attention. As he knew it would, the cameras turned to him and reporters were asking awkward questions. James stepped away from the microphone and let Nathan step up to it. "I did what was necessary. I did what anyone else would do. I knew that the police couldn't get there in time so I..." he shrugged. "I was well trained and all I did was use it."
He stepped back quickly and Carol looked on with more than a little bit of curiosity, whispered, "Modest, aren't we?"
"It's the truth," he maintained, his voice also in a whisper.
Harpe turned off the TV, open mouthed in shock. Trust Nathan to truly stick his nose where he probably would get him killed. He stood up suddenly, knocking Monica to the floor. He never even noticed. I've got to get to Chicago... he thought frantically. Nathan is going to get eaten alive... He's too innocent... He can't handle this kind of intrigue...
Even if he didn't know what he was already caught up in, Geoff was going to make sure that he would swiftly get out of it. Although, knowing Nathan, he would likely dive even further into it. There was a heroic streak to Nathan Bridger a mile wide. Harpe had often tried to convince him of the futility of such a streak but he wouldn't listen.
Monica stood and pulled her angora sweater down to cover her breasts and middle. "I take it the fun's over?" came her acidic voice.
"Get out," was his answer. "And take this thing with you."
She turned up her nose and grabbed her bra before storming out.
Nathan practically collapsed into the armchair in his suite after the news conference. Carol had escorted him back, though O'Conner remained at the embassy. He looked up as she handed him a drink and said, "I hope I don't have to do that very often in my life."
She shrugged as she sat down in an opposing chair. "If it is any consolation, he says that after every conference," Carol looked over to the blinking phone and picked it up. "I see. Does he have proof? Very well, let him in."
Carol walked over to the door and Nathan closed his eyes for a second. A moment later someone sat across from him and he opened his eyes. His father sat there, and his assistant stood behind the chair. "Hi Dad," said Nathan.
"Nathan..." for a moment Daniel looked as if he was trying to find words. "Nathan Hale Bridger... if you ever scare me like that again..."
"I swear I didn't plan this," answered Nathan wearily.
"I gathered that from the news," came Daniel's dry answer. "Did the Bridger heroics have to continue in you, Nathan? Did you really have to take after your grandfather that much?"
A grin escaped him, "Hey, one of had to. You got the brains, I got the nose for adventure."
A pained expression, a wince, was Daniel's response. Then the phone began to blink again. Carol picked it up, stiffened, and said, "Are you sure?"
A moment later she sighed and said, "Very well, he has one visitor, may as well make it another one. What? There are three of them? Hang on a second."
Nathan realized that she was looking at him, "Sir, do you know a Mr. Harpe, a Mr. Noyce, and a Mr. Keller?"
Running his fingers through his hair, and ignoring his father's chuckles, he answered, "Yeah, they're my three stooges. Let them up, I know them. Jeez, how the Hell did they get here?"
And why were they all here was another question he wanted an answer to. Daniel stood and walked over to the bar, "I think if they are going to be here, I am going to need a drink to handle them all in one room."
"Who are they?" asked Carol, concerned.
"Well, Geoffrey Harpe I grew up with. Trust me, if he showed up he can afford his own penthouse suite, and while he's at it let him pay for the other two," answered Nathan. "William Noyce and Scott Keller I met in the Academy. You could say..."
"...That they are his back up," answered Daniel. "I called William and Scott. Geo... I assume he found out on the news. I had a feeling that this mugging was not random."
They all looked at Daniel, including Carol, who now was even more concerned, "Why do you say that?"
"Well, remember what you said on the news conference," pointed out Daniel. "You were not very far from the entrance of the hotel, right?"
She nodded.
"Well, where was the doorman? Sleeping on duty?" asked Daniel.
"No," answered Nathan, remembering. "He let us in as soon as we reached the doors, which means he saw everything, but did nothing to prevent it."
"Exactly. So why did he not call the police as soon as he observed the fight?" Daniel took a sip of the drink. "When you called them, my dear, that was the first it had been reported. If not for Nathan you would not be standing here right now."
Her eyes widened and her hands flew to her mouth, "My God, it was planned."
A knock on the door distracted her, and she went to answer it. Before she did, Nathan caught her wrist. "Everyone at that door is suspect now, Carol. Anyone could be there."
"But your friends..."
"If this person is powerful enough to plan an attack on a Senator, then they know enough about me that they could get three more thugs off the street, dress them up, and have them masquerade as my friends," answered Nathan, then another thought struck him. "Which means I'm on their hit list now too."
She looked out the peephole, and then let him look out, he laughed. "But as luck would have it, it's actually them."
He opened the door and motioned them in. Harpe walked in and politely greeted Nathan's father and his assistant. The other two ogled for a moment, then Scott said, "Wow, Nate, can I save a Senator too?"
Closing the door he asked, "Okay, Geoff I can see getting here this fast. How in Hell did you two get here."
Both of them pointed to Harpe, who merely shrugged. "That answers how, anyway," he sighed and turned to Geoffrey. "But why?"
"Nathan, how much experience do you have in the political arena?" asked Geoffrey.
"None, but I'm not running for office either."
"That does not make any difference. You have meddled in it," answered Geoffrey. "By now I think you know that whomever is after the Senator will likely be after you too. Likely this is a political enemy who sees outright assassination as an easier solution to a very political problem. Or perhaps kill the savior..."
Daniel made a choking sound, "Good lord, I hadn't thought of that."
"Neither did I," conceded Nathan. "I knew I was likely a target, but to embarrass the Senator by killing me instead. That's cold."
Geoffrey shrugged as if that was a minor issue, "So goes political intrigue."
He walked over to the phone and dialed the front desk, "Yes, I would like a suite big enough to house me and two of my friends. Harpe. Now would be nice. My credit rating? Look up Harpe. H-A-R-P-E. Yes, I can hold, but not for very long."
A moment later he smiled and said, "I expected it would not take very long to look up. Ah, yes, that will be fine. Indeed? Well, that is even better, I am standing in Nathan's suite right now. Yes, yes thank you."
He hung up the phone and sat down. "They are bringing up three keys to my suite. I expected that Will and Scott have no lodging, and if you need back up it would better to have it close by," Geoffrey said as if he did this everyday. Carol could only stare.
"Harpe, as in Reginald and Amalie," she said. "I thought I knew you from somewhere."
He inclined his head, "My parents, yes."
"Geoffrey is one of my son's more... affluent friends," said Daniel. "I was surprised when he brought him home for a sleep over one night. He had sleepwear that would have paid off my car."
"Not that expensive!" defended Harpe, turning a bright red and Daniel grinned. "You're teasing me again."
"But it's so easy..."
"Dad, please," came Nathan's voice.
But Carol had a smile on her face, "I think that's wonderful that you two get along so well. So many richer parents are too snotty to let their children associate with children who are not."
Geoffrey snorted, "And Nathan was a charmer. My mother fell head over heels for him the first time she met him. She's so proud of him right now you would think that he was her son too."
"My mom likes you," answered Nathan.
After that Nathan checked the door before Carol answered it. After coming back into the room, she handed Geoff, William and Scott their keys. "I am still not sure why you came. We could get guards..."
"...Yeah, but would they protect Nathan?" asked Noyce. "I have no doubt the Senator would be protected."
A short nod was her answer. "There is that. You are quite correct to assume that even if we got guards they would likely not be as diligent in protecting Ensign Bridger."
"So, who would attack the Senator?" asked Scott once they had finished recapping what had happened during the attack.
Carol shook her head. "I don't know."
"Let's start on his platform," said Nathan. "Is there any bills he wishes to put through that would have opposition?"
Geoffrey rolled his eyes. "All bills have opposition."
"Exactly," said Nathan. "So what does Senator O'Conner want that the others don't? Once we know that we have our starting point."
hey all thought for awhile. Around five the door to the ajacent suite opened to admit the Senator himself. He was, to say the least surprised to find four young men, and one older man, in a conference while Carol helplessly looked on. "What is going on?" he asked.
They all looked up, and the elder said, "Trying to figure out who would attack you."
Carol explained, "Senator, this is Nathan's father, Dr. Daniel Bridger, his assistant Monica St. Jean. Clockwise from Nathan is Ensign William Noyce, Ensign Scott Keller, and Mr. Geoffrey Harpe. Ensigns Kellar and Noyce, and Mr. Harpe are staying in the suite next to you. Dr. Bridger is staying in a room here in the hotel, as is his assistant. They have come up with an interesting explanation of what truly happened during the mugging..."
"...And?" prompted O'Conner.
"I think they're right," she answered.