Conflicted (Buddie) ENGLISH VERSION

Manhunt

The car was running at full speed on the main track with all lights on and howling siren. At the wheel, Athena was wearing her sunglasses, after the news of the day announced a bright day.

-Are you sure what you're saying? She repeated for the third time of the quarter of an hour.

Buck's face appeared again between the two seats and he nodded, a pout blocking his face.

-At ninety percent. There are a lot of details that came back to me, I don't know if I have any misconceptions, but something tells me that this is the right track.

He turned his head towards his bench neighbor who was gnawing his nails to the blood.

-I want to do everything to find him Eddie, he assured. I hope you believe me.

The firefighter stared at him for a moment before slowly shaking his head. He reached out his hand and grabbed his colleague's hand by shaking it.

-There has been no ransom request so far, even if it's only been six hours. This probably means that Christopher is only an insurance in his eyes. He won't hurt him.

Eddie crossed Athena's gaze in the interior mirror and shifted his attention to the outside.

Eighteen minutes earlier, the lieutenant had opened the door to the interrogation room and Buck had come out of it like an arrow, debunting a lot of information of which he was so certain, that it seemed that he had done this all his life. Solve mysteries, look for red threads, connect dots. If only everything he said made sense. His way of proceeding may not have been very orthodox but at least it seemed to work.

Before taking to the road, Athena had taken the time to check the validity of his theory. She had made several phone calls, mentioned the disappearance of a child which made things faster and checked a few boxes.

-Francis Ortega is unknown to the police, he does not have the slightest record, but I still managed to find his trace thanks to a university form that locates him in San Diego.

-So the guy is clean, the only thing that connects him directly to us is that he lives in America? It's a little thin, Buck had found, dropping on a wheelchair.

-If you say that this guy is the guy we are looking for I believe you Buck, but for now, he has nothing to reproach himself for.

When Athena sided, she turned to her two passengers.

-I know you absolutely want to find your son Eddie, but I'm asking both of you one thing. I ask you to stay here. Last time, the situation could have been dramatic, I don't want to take the slightest risk by exposing you both to criminal potential. In case I'm not convincing enough, I took two pairs of handcuffs, and if necessary, I will use them.

-That's okay, said Eddie. Buck and I don't move from there, all I'm asking you is to bring my little boy back to me.

Athena frowned and consulted the second passenger, expecting him to protest, but he approved, looking serious. She pivoted towards Bobby, who smiled discreetly, unable to help feeling a slight pride.

-I'm going to stay here with them, he preceded her, putting his hand on his knee.

Athena thanked him with a brief look and left the cabin, heading towards the entrance to the Charlestone squat, where neither of the two firefighters sitting in the back of the vehicle would have wanted to set foot.

Bobby turned to them, their two pairs of eyes landed on their captain.

-How are you? He asked, relying on the headrest.

The two boys glanced at each other, looking like saying « are you starting »?

They both shrugged their shoulders.