Chapter 5
Elara
W e talk for a few more minutes, but Holloway clearly has no more than we do. Once we leave, we drive over to the hotel where Bardot and Holloway are staying. The manager opens the door for us and tells us to make sure the door closes before we leave.
There isn’t anything out of the ordinary in the room. I walk around and scope the room a bit. Glancing at the desk, I notice his phone and laptop that Holloway mentioned. “Probably left his electronics so they couldn’t track him.” I say.
Ryder walks into the bathroom and checks the cabinets before coming back into the hall towards the closet. “Think he used the safe at all?” He asks, opening the closet door. “I sure as hell wouldn't, but I wouldn’t put it past him.” I murmur.
He snorts. “What makes you say that?” I let out a brief sigh. “He’s not the brightest. Out of the two of them, Holloway is the brains, Bardot is the brawn.” Ryder crouches down and finds the safe in the corner of the floor. “Nope.” He pats around the base of the safe. “I don’t think anyone has used this thing in years.” He explains, showing me all the dust now coating his hand. I immediately sneeze. “Bless y-,” I sneeze three more times, right in a row. “You… Are you done?” I glare at him, unamused. “Thank you and yes, smartass, I-” and there’s another . I take a deep breath, waiting for another one. “Now I’m done. I have allergies. Too much dust makes me sneeze.” He strolls into the bathroom and washes his hands. “Good to know. Is there a bar nearby that he may have gone to?” My phone pings before I can respond, and I pull it out of my pocket to look at it. “No need to check the bar. They found his car on the side of the road about thirty miles away.”
“All right, well, I don’t think we’re going to find anything useful here. Ready to go?” He asks, motioning to the door. “Yep.” I reply.
???
We drove to the location where they tracked the car, but Bardot was, surprise , not here. I go to the passenger side of the car, checking for flat tires and glancing into the ditch when Ryder starts pondering aimlessly. “Maybe something freaked him out. He packed his shit and bolted... And then aliens abducted him.
I squint at him. "Interesting theory Mulder, but this isn't the X-files." I reply in a mocking tone. "Okay, Scully , whatever you say." He grins at me, and I chuckle. I will admit, he is funny. "He probably realized that the car could be tracked, too," I suggest. “Didn’t want to take any chances so, he dumped it and went on foot. I doubt he would have hailed a ride.” I add.
I check the front seat while Ryder checks the back seat and trunk. We once again come up with nothing. “Jesus Christ, this guy sure knows how to disappear. Are we sure he isn’t a magician?” Ryder groans. I check under the hood for any problems. “Maybe the car broke down and he walked to the next town?” I offer. “I don’t see any visible issues. I would need the key to fully check, though.” My phone starts ringing and I drop the hood back down, making the metal thud. “Unknown number.” I ignore it and put it back in my pocket. Seconds later and it’s ringing again. I sigh as I answer reluctantly. “Hello?” I only hear static. “Hello?” I repeat.
“Elara Cassidy?” I glance at Ryder and put it on speaker. “Yes, who is this?” I hear the man on the other side of the line sigh and mumble something inaudible under his breath. “There is a group of abandoned warehouses fifteen miles east of the car. Meet me at the third one.” Before I can say anything else, he hangs up. “Who was that?” Ryder asks. “I think that was Bardot.” I utter, confused. “Well, that wasn’t cryptic as fuck at all.” He deadpans. “No, not at all.” I reply sarcastically. “He sounded unsure of himself. I don’t think we should call it in just yet. I don’t want to scare him off.” Ryder nods in agreement and we get back in the car.
We drive down the empty road until we see the warehouses and park behind the second one. “We should get the vests, just in case.” Ryder pops the trunk and hands me a bulletproof vest. We get secured and head into the worn down building next door. “This place looks like it could collapse with one clap of thunder. And it’s fucking dusty in here.” I say, as I sniffle and wipe my nose. “Try not to have a sneeze attack if this goes south,” Ryder quips.
I mimic him. “ Try not to have a sneeze attack if this goes south. If I could control them, I would, smartass.” He looks at me and grins, all giddy. “You’ve called me that twice now, called me ‘Sleeping Beauty’ the other day, and a ‘bossy fuck’ yesterday. I thought we were skipping the nicknames, El. ” I roll my eyes and turn the corner. With the amount of times I’ve already rolled my eyes at him, they are going to get stuck. “I need to come up with some more for you now.” He smirks.
The first floor is clear, so we head upstairs. When I get to the top step, I hear something and motion to Ryder to keep his eyes peeled and to be quiet. We take our pistols out, pointing them down, ready if we need them. We stalk towards the increasing noise and when we turn a corner; I see Bardot, standing over a table, surrounded by wooden boxes. “Waylan Bardot!” I bellow. “Put down your weapons and put your hands up.” He quickly turns and raises his hands. “I’m unarmed, Agent Cassidy, I promise. I just want to talk.”
I slowly walk towards him, patting him down to check for weapons while Ryder checks the table and nearby area. “What the hell, Bardot? What’s with the disappearing act?” I blurt out, placing my gun back in the holster.
“I didn’t know who I could trust; thought I was being watched, so I made a run for it.” He replies, sounding genuinely uneasy. “Why did you call me?” I question. He motions towards the table and I nod, allowing him to walk over. He sifts through some handwritten notes. "I know for a fact that your loyalty is something that cannot be bought. You wouldn’t get anything out of it. I was glad to hear that you were the one investigating my disappearance.” How would he know that I was the assigned agent?
“That’s true… Still doesn’t answer the question. It also raises another. How did you find out that I was assigned to your case?” He closes his eyes, realizing he slipped up. “Does anyone else know where you are?” I ask.
“I didn’t want to bring him into this. I told him not to say anyth-'' Before he can finish the sentence, there's a quiet pop sound and next thing I know, Bardot is collapsing at my feet. What the fuck?
Bardot just got shot.