My Way

Ch. 4

Nick walked pass Harvey to the podium and took the microphone off. He took it with him as he walked to his sons' casket. He took out his handkerchief and wiped his tears as he began to speak.

"Hi son, I can't tell you how proud I am of you. Just sitting here listening to your friends talk about you and looking out to see the number of lives you have touched. I always knew you would be a success. You may have been a quiet kid; but boy you sure did have fight in you when it came to sticking up for yourself.

"One hope a father always has is that he lives long enough to see his children grow; I wasn't done watching you yet son, you or Bobby. But I know your mom will take care of you just like she did when she was alive. You always were a momma's boy. Thank you for caring so much about me Nash, I love you more than life itself…My memory may not be what it used to be, but I will never forget our good times, and even our stupid arguments. And don't you worry about Cassidy; she will be taken care of. May God bless and keep you until we meet again son. I love you."

He placed his hand on the casket and stood for moment of reflection.

"There's no way you're gonna go in there, Inspector and I will call the Chief if this is what's necessary to make you listen to my orders, you hear me?" Jack Thomas hissed angrily, when he saw the mock expression in Nash's face, that told him that Nash Bridges hadn't been hearing him. At all. And he was fairly sure that this was because he was being ignored, as Nash simply walked past him and over to Joe, exchanging a few quick words with his partner, at which Joe simply nodded and went along.

"I told you to stop right there, Bridges!", Jack yelled after him, and only when a couple of his officers walked into Nash's way, blocking him from moving on, only then did Nash slow down, turning around in a flash and sending a low warning at Jack. And the slight sparkle in his eyes actually sent a sudden chill down Joe's spine.

"You DO know that if that man in there has got a bomb, these kids have no way of getting out of there before it goes off.", Nash spoke up, loud enough for everybody around to hear it, and it wasn't lost to Joe, that Nash sounded like he didn't dare anybody to ignore his words.

It was the tone he rarely ever heard from Nash, just because it seldom became necessary for his partner to raise his voice like that, but if he did, Joe knew that it was better not to respond in a negative way. There had been only a few people in the past who had been so stupid to answer back at Nash, when he was in that mood, but Joe couldn't recall even one, who had ever said another bad word about Nash's ever again afterwards.

Because when Nash used this kind of voice, it was the time when decisions got made, those about life or death. And as far as he could recall, in the end, all those who hadn't gone along with Nash's decision had either died because of their own fault, or still regretted it later on with all their heart.

So he almost felt sorry for Jack, when he heard the order that, although said amidst more than a dozen of officers, was directed exclusively at Nash:

"I know, but that doesn't give you the right to go in there. And if you make one more step towards that building, I'm gonna have you taken away from here and I will lock you up until this is over. Is that clear?!"

He didn't get an answer from Nash. Not even a broken nose. But the ten miles stare, with which Nash nailed him, was enough to have Jack swallowing slightly. And Joe would have sworn that Nash was about to turn around and walk on, despite Jacks threat, but he was stopped by the ring of a phone, not more than half a second before the two officers, standing near the exit, would have stopped him by force.

Everyone's head turned to where the ring had come from, which was the phone on the counter of the bar, at which they had set up their temporary command station. Since it was right across the street, yet out of immediate range, in case the building blew up, they could see the house right in front of them on the other side of the street, without being in any danger themselves.

But the sudden ring had everybody miss a heartbeat or two, nevertheless. When a moment later another officer, the one who'd set up the camera equipment earlier, confirmed that the call came from inside the building, Jack acknowledged it and grazed Nash with one last hasty look, before he went to pick up the phone.

If they played it right, they were about to find out who the hell was in that building and if he really had any explosives with him at all. Waiting for one more moment, Jack then picked up the phone simultaneously with Nash, who was listening in on the call together with Joe on another line.

"This is the SFPD, whom am I speaking with, please?" Jack said, sounding reassuring and like somebody who wouldn't even fear an attack from the 7th cavalry. At his identifying himself, a sudden sick laughter erupted at the other end of the phone, like somebody had just signed a lottery ticket and won, but knew exactly that he wouldn't live to enjoy it. It was the laughter of a maniac. But nothing he couldn't handle.

"Say, do you have a name, friend?" Jack tried to get an approach, to get the man to talk, to find out what he wanted.

"That is really sweet...you know, you wanting to know my name...", a slow, yet in some way also hasty voice, patient and on the edge, all at once. Like one of a man who in one second was giving you his hand, the next second he has thrown you down the ditch. And the laughter that followed again was something that really was making Jack sick. It was almost...nervy. But he kept his voice friendly, continuing the standard approach, convinced it would get him somewhere eventually.

"Yes, I do want to know your name, I mean, if that's okay with you. You know, I'd really like to get to know you, you see?" A short pause, then a small cough. The sound a foot scratching over the floor, then silence again.

"Are you okay, Mister?"

"Well, yeah...think so...okay.. I...am now...", the coughing started again, covered by a wacky giggling, that had Nash looking up from the phone he was holding.

Joe, who was still listening, caught the sudden change in Nash's behavior and was about to ask him, what was going on? The long sigh from Jack a few feet away from them, though, brought his attention back to the call and Joe kept on listening to the little more risky approach that Jack took now:

"Say friend, you got any company up there? I mean, why don't you come down from there and we have a nice talk down here. What do you say? You're probably lonely up there, aren't you buddy?", Jack smiled, feeling that all this needed was a little good talking to calm the man down and get everybody home without any more excitement.

"Company?" came the kinda surprised, then quickly fading reply that ended in another giggle." No man, no...need no company, man...no company...heehee...", he continued, almost friendly, even helpful.

At those words, though, Nash no longer had the receiver in his hand, and that was enough to have Joe look up from the phone as well, at which point he got the first undistracted look at the strange expression on Nash's face.

An almost angry one, as he noticed right away. And desperate, like something bad had already happened, and he knew he would be too late. Within a heartbeat the expression in Nash's eyes changed into a determined anger, but he didn't head for Jack, who was still talking to the madman on the phone.

He was heading for the door, almost running now, and with every step he came closer to the exit of the bar, the faster he moved. From where Joe had remained at the phone he could now hear the still faint but gradually intensifying "no..." coming from the depth of his partner's throat, a heart-wrenching sound, that instinctively made him look at the building outside.

And by the time the strangled cry of Nash's voice became loud enough to hear it clearly, Joe only faintly registered the still talking madman's voice on the phone, finishing the sentence: "...need no company...company...to die..."

The next thing either of them heard was the faintest sound of a click in the phone, accompanied by a completely stunned look on Jack's face, who finally realized what it meant, just as everything in the bar was over roared by the sound shattering wave of the explosion outside...