Flight 12 to Rome: A Nick Bracco Novella Read Free

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    “Are we gonna measure dicks now?”
    Nick shook his head. “Why are you acting like this? All you had to do was tell me who you were.”
    The guy sucked back the last few drips of his drink, then lowered the tumbler to his lap. “I don’t usually identify myself unless needed. It’s not professional.”
    Nick frowned. “Is it professional to drink on the job?”
    “Do me a favor,” the guy said. “Get me fired.”
    Nick didn’t have time to waste on a disgruntled employee. He got up and said, “Nice chatting with you.”
    He made his way toward the front of the plane, turbulence causing him to grab seats as he maneuvered down the aisle. He stopped at Kyle Church’s row. He was sitting a few rows behind Nick’s seat and had a woman sitting next to him.
    Nick offered a disingenuous smile and said, “How are you, Kyle?”
    Kyle Church looked troubled and preoccupied, but the woman seemed extremely agitated by his presence. Nick pointed to his assigned seat and looked at the woman. “Would you mind exchanging places while I chat with my old colleague?”
    The woman had an athletic build with short black hair and a slightly crooked nose which looked more appropriate on a boxer. She glared at Kyle as if tacitly admonishing him before she slowly got up from her seat.
    Nick slid into her spot and said, “What are you doing, Kyle?”
    The guy ran a hand through his thick head of hair. “I had it, Nick.”
    “Had what?”
    “The device. I had it.”
    Nick’s blood pressure spiked. “What do you mean had ? How did you find it?”
    “Never mind how,” Kyle said. “The fact is it was stolen from me and I believe the thief is on board the plane.”
    “How?”
    “It’s irrelevant,” Kyle said, getting frustrated. “We need to find it before we get to Rome.”
    Nick gave him a suspicious look, and Kyle immediately interpreted the expression.
    Kyle looked down at his hands. “You’re wrong, Nick.”
    Nick remained still, wondering just what scheme Kyle was running this time.
    “I accepted the bribe because I knew Bradford was dirty and I wanted to prove it.”
    “You have any evidence?”
    Kyle clasped his hands together, then placed them against his chin. “I had the recorder running on my cell phone but—”
    “The button malfunctioned or stopped recording when it rubbed against your keys. Yeah, I was at the trial.”
    Kyle looked toward the window. “This device is extremely dangerous.”
    “It also comes with a reward.”
    “It’s not the money.”
    “You’re not with the Bureau anymore, Kyle, so how do you even know about the device?”
    Kyle bit his lower lip, then said, “There are people who know about Kristin’s murder. They know who did it.”
    Nick understood. Kyle’s girlfriend was killed when her car exploded when she started it one morning. Kyle was there to see it happen. There was always speculation that Kyle had double-crossed the wrong people and he was being punished for his behavior.
    “Kyle,” Nick said, “you’re in way over your head here. Why don’t you tell me what you know and I’ll try to help.”
    Kyle stared into space, his eyes not fixing on anything. “I was followed to the airport. They knew I had the device and they weren’t going to let me make it.”
    “Who?”
    “Clanton.”
    “Brian Clanton?”
    Kyle nodded.
    “Brian Clanton, the assistant CIA director?”
    Kyle continued to nod.
    Nick almost laughed out loud. “Kyle, do you know how preposterous that sounds?”
    Kyle looked at Nick. “Really? Did you happen to tell anyone at Langley you were going to be on this flight?”
    Nick said nothing.
    “I didn’t think so. Apparently there’s a little trust issue, isn’t there?”
    Nick said nothing.
    “Oh, I know . . . you had to compartmentalize the intelligence so you kept it in house. Right? Except you have a team of Interpol agents waiting for you in Rome. So you trust an international agency with multinational branches over the