In Pursuit Of ✔

What Happened in Houston?

They drove east. Beyond that, Henley had no idea where they were or where they were going. She doubted Nick even had answers to these questions.

Despite his earth-shattering announcement that apparently the organization that had been protecting her was the organization that was also hunting her, Henley still felt safe with him. He seemed more panicked about the realization that she was. Unfortunately, Nick still hadn't offered any more details in how he got this information.

They were driving for about an hour and were in the middle of nowhere when Henley spotted a small restaurant up ahead. "Pull over," she instructed.

Nick ignored her.

"Nick, pull over!"

Just as about he was about to blow past the restaurant, Nick jerked the steering wheel and they barreled into the almost empty parking lot. He kept the car running.

"Look, you need to get it together." Never in a million years did Henley think she would be the one with the level head who had to get Nick to come back down to Earth. "You're driving like a madman and you're going to get us pulled over or killed. You also haven't told me anything except your theory that the top-secret organization you work for is actually evil, which really isn't a great comfort to me given that my safety is riding on said top-secret potentially evil organization. So, you need to tell me what's going on. You can do it in the car or in the restaurant, but you're not moving this car until you tell me what's going on."

Henley technically had no way of stopping him from driving again, except for maybe pulling the emergency brake handle. Fortunately, Nick's hands relaxed slightly on the steering wheel before dropping into his lap.

Henley let him think in silence.

"I think there's more parking around back," he finally said. "The car won't be visible from the road that way."

Henley felt relieved. He was beginning to sound more like his usual logical, level-headed self again.

There were only a few spots around the back, but the car was well hidden there and they could enter the restaurant through the back door, keeping themselves out of sight from the main road. Only one table was occupied. Henley and Nick seated themselves in the back of the room.

A waitress appeared immediately, setting down menus and glasses of water in front of them. "Let me know when you're ready," she said kindly before leaving them alone.

There was more silence. Henley was beginning to detest silence.

The waitress came back a few minutes later and because Nick still wasn't saying anything, Henley ordered for both of them. She just picked a few random things off the menu, not really caring about the food. As the waitress left with their menus, Henley turned her attention back on the man sitting in front of her.

"Start talking." Henley didn't want to be mean, but she was getting frustrated.

After a moment of hesitation, Nick launched into speech.

"The phone call I got was from a friend of mine, actually. I worked with him for a little while in D.C., but he was transferred to Houston about six months before I ended up in San Francisco. Apparently, D.C. sent Houston all the same information they sent me, and my friend, his name's Daniel, his boss wanted me to come in and fill them in on any gaps in their information. I guess the Houston office had their own lead, that's why D.C. sent them the information. And as I said before, I know this case better than anyone, so I was the best one to help them figure out if their lead was worthwhile to follow or not."