“Yes, sorry I’m late.”
“Do you have any ID?” The woman asked, seeing the pause in Samuel’s response. “It doesn’t say where you want dropping. And do you not have any luggage?”
Samuel swallowed, reaching into his pocket to dig out his wallet while thinking on his feet. “Freeport please,” Samuel answered, taking his wallet out of his pants pocket and opening it, even though he knew his driver’s license would reveal he was not the man the steward was waiting for. Just as he was about to hand it to her though, the crowd beside him surged forward, knocking a woman off her feet who let out a loud scream. The atmosphere in the airport was getting more and more frightening, the fear of the unknown seeping through the grounded passengers.
“Just get him on!” The shout of the driver, accompanied by the sounding of his horn halted any further discussion between Samuel and the steward. She gave him one last look and ran to the bus herself. Samuel shoved his wallet back into his pocket and raced after her. He tumbled through the doors just as they started to close and the bus started to move. It tore away from the airport and left hundreds of people behind chasing after it and banging on the windows.
Samuel found the last available seat as quickly as possible and sat down. Everyone around him was silent as they watched the scene outside. No one batted an eye when Samuel took the last seat, the man who’s place he had taken clearly travelling alone. As the airport was left further and further behind, Samuel felt an overwhelming cloud of guilt settling over him. He had just stolen this seat from a man who needed it. People at this airport were doing everything they could to retain some sense of normalcy and help everyone get home and he had just walked in off the street and asserted himself into that luxury. It was quite possibly the most selfish thing he had ever done. Ashamed, Samuel started shrinking down further and further in his seat until he was slouching completely, making every effort to hide away and not be seen. Whoever Anthony Calvert-Lewin was, Samuel Westchester had just stolen his chance.
Chapter 10
“Samuel, my boy! How did you get here? Are you all right?” Charles Westchester greeted his son.
Seeing his father’s beaming face as he walked into the house in Freeport filled Samuel with a huge sense of relief, his muscles practically sagging with joy as he embraced his father. They had always been much closer than he and his mother were, and if he was ever going to share moments of affection with one of his parents, it would be with his father.
“Dad! Are you okay? Where’s mom?”
“Samuel? Is that you?”
“Hi mom, how are you?”
“Oh, what a relief it is to see you,” Samuel’s mother, Addison, gushed as she walked into the front hall and welcomed her son in. “What’s going on, Samuel? Do you have any more information? Have you been in the office?”
“Let the man come inside first, Addison,” Charles scolded his wife. “Come on, Samuel. Do you want a drink? Sit down and tell us what’s happened.”
“Thanks dad,” Samuel smiled, walking into his parents’ house properly and taking his shoes off. He knew the routine by now, shoes off and left in the front hall, no muddy footprints left behind to damage the rug or the varnished floorboards. His appearance told quite a story. That morning when he had set off for work, he had been in a neatly pressed suit and tie like always, a pocket square even peeking out of the breast pocket on his blazer. Now he couldn’t even remember where his blazer and tie were, the two of them lost to New York City. His once white shirt was an unpleasant shade of gray, with stains he couldn’t even identify – nor did he want to.
“How did you get here?”
“I got a cab to the airport and then a shuttle bus from there,” Samuel explained, still feeling guilty about the shuttle bus he had taken from JFK. Samuel hoped Anthony Calvert-Lewin had found other arrangements. He was the third on a list of people Samuel felt like he had let down since everything happened with Trident. It joined R. Hauser and Cassie, the first of whom he had completely failed, the latter being someone he wished he had taken better care of before they said goodbye.
“You left your car in the city?”
“I didn’t drive in this morning” Samuel shook his head. “I’ve told you, it’s a lot quicker for me to just walk or take the subway.”
Addison grimaced, her opinion on the subway well known by her son. She hated using it and would always choose to drive or even walk before being forced down into the tunnels below the city. She found them dirty and unsafe, despite how many years they’d been in operation without a single accident. “I wish you wouldn’t use that,” she remarked while pouring out three mugs of coffee. “I just don’t think it’s safe.”
“I know mom,” Samuel replied, aware of how pointless it was trying to argue with his mother over this. “I won’t be for some time now, at least. I can promise you that.”
“Well that’s something,” Addison tutted, handing her son
