Barry Berkman

Part 13

As I get out of my car I stand outside of a nice hotel. Fuches called me there earlier to discuss the stash house raid. I told him I would be a little late because I had to get my clothes from the laundromat. I locked the car and walked across the parking lot. A doorman was waiting and bowed to me as he opened the door. I thanked him and walked in. I asked the hotel clerk where the buffet was and made a beeline.

After waiting for the waiter to make sure Fuches was listed in the reservation registry, he finally let me in. I looked around confusedly for Fuches, but I couldn't find him. I heard a 'psst!' coming from my left and I saw him sitting at a secluded table. With Barry.

Fuches was smiling at me and Barry was looking down, probably fidgeting with his fingers. I went wide eyed and gave Fuches an 'are you crazy' look. I quickly sat down and Barry looked up. He also went wide eyed. He and I both glared at Fuches.

"So nice of you to join us Y/N!" He chuckled.

"What the hell Fuches?" I said in a whisper. Barry closed his eyes and sighed.

"What? I just wanted to call you two here to talk about how friggin awesome the raid went!" He emphasized the word awesome and took a sip of water.

Barry and I looked at each other and kept quiet, allowing Fuches to continue.

"Seriously you guys, you two are the dream team. I mean, Y/N completely kicked those Bolivians asses, and Barry," He thought hard about what to say. "Uh, you did really well, waking up!" Barry scoffed and slumped in his seat, arms crossed over his chest. I did the same and Fuches seemed to get a little nervous. He scratched the back of his head and continued.

"What I mean to say is, Barry, you were a great leader and you two are a great pair. Hank seems very pleased with your uh, acquirement and for now, he doesn't have anything else he needs from you both, but I will definitely keep you posted!" He smiled, pleased with himself. I looked down at the table, thinking of what to say and before I could come up with anything, I blurted out,

"Hank is using you." I realized what I had just said and quickly added, "I mean, it just seems like that, y'know?"

I nervously chuckled and Fuches started chuckling too. All the sudden he was laughing very forcefully and then went quiet and glared at me.

"I would never fall for manipulation kid. You don't know what you're talking about." He took one more sip from his glass and said,

"Good job on the raid." And left.

Barry and I sat there in confusion at what had just happened. Finally he spoke up.

"I agree. Hank's using Fuches." I sat up straighter at this and he continued, "But maybe it will teach him a lesson not to manipulate others." I simply nodded my head and checked my watch. 12:47 pm.

Barry turned to face me and hugged me. I sat there uncomfortable and taken aback of what he had just done. After a minute, he pulled away and I looked at him blankly. He became a bright shade of red.

"Sorry." Was all he said.

"Don't apologize." I replied. He gave me a half smile and said,

"I just wanted to thank you for saving my life back there."

I blushed and said, "You're welcome Barry."

I had been saying that a lot lately.