The Fugitive

The Comm

Nick Sievers' POV

I found myself wandering throughout the hideout, trying to form a mental map of the place.  Its layout was fairly simple.  The only hallway, the one I had met everyone in, led only left and right in a straight line.  There were no bends or turns.  Several doors led to an assortment of rooms, some unlocked and others requiring a card to swipe.

Currently, I was opening every door I could. The bathroom and training room were at one far end of the hall, along with my room. But as I ventured further the other way, I found more and more rooms with locks.

One of those locked doors, however, was cracked open. I pressed my ear to it, listening to soft voices.

"You mean you can't find him, James?" That voice belonged to Finn.

"I'm sorry," came the timid answer.

"Does Vincent have any known associates?" This came from Derek.

"There is one, although we don't know the person's real name," Aldridge said. "When I was director of the FBI, we managed to intercept and decode a message sent from Vincent to someone he called Madrugal."

"Can you search for Madrugal, James?" Maisie asked.

"I'll do my best," James answered.

They were having a meeting about Vincent. Without me.

I threw open the door and stepped into the room. Surprise flickered through everyone's faces except for Aldridge. Her lips curled upward in a smile. Had she left the door open on purpose?

"What are you doing here, Nick?"  Finn.

"Why wasn't I invited?"

Finn sighed.  "Look—we think, you act."

"Please.  You don't think I know how to think for myself?"

"If I recall," he responded with a grin, "Jay did that for you."

I clenched my fists as rage overcame me.  But multiple pairs of hands were on me before I could attack Finn.

"Don't you dare say his name," I growled.

Finn smirked, eyes darting to each person in the room before nodding.  "I think we're done here.  James, you know what you need to do."

Everyone began filing out as I forced myself to inhale and exhale.  I realized, though, Aldridge didn't move to go.  Once the others were gone, I turned to her.

"You left that door open, didn't you?"

She shrugged.  "I'm not going to incriminate myself.  But I have been meaning to talk to you."

"You have my attention."

After a moment, she sighed and produced a small object from her pocket.  I took it from her palm and studied it.

"This...was my comm."

She nodded.  "We took it off you after capturing you.  You know, after the whole setup with Richard."  She practically spat the name.

"You don't need to remind me." I rubbed it between my fingers. "Why are you giving it to me now?"

"The connection isn't necessarily shut off, is it?"

I frowned. "Of course it is. Unless someone is listening on the other side, it won't work. What does that have to do with anything?"