The Getaway - By Tom Barber Page 0,107
6 pm, so they had the whole next day. They spent it wandering the streets, enjoying the end of the summer, Jessie back with them again, still shaken up but starting to recover with that inner resilience that kids have. They ended up in a playground in Tompkins Square Park, near Katic’s apartment. Archer looked at the surroundings and realised this was where the photo had been taken of the three of them, Katic, her husband and Jessie.
As they sat there on a bench side-by-side, watching Jessie playing around with two other kids, Katic spoke.
‘You know you’re the first man I’ve been with since Ricky died,’ she said.
He nodded, respectful.
‘Don’t feel guilty. He’d want you to move on.’
She nodded.
‘I know. I feel that now.’
She looked at the trees, at her daughter going down the slide, playing with the other kids.
‘God, it’s beautiful here.’
He turned to say something, but he never got the chance. She kissed him hard, and he kissed her back. She withdrew and looked at him, her arms around his shoulders.
‘Will you come back?’ she asked.
He nodded. ‘Of course.’
‘I’ll be here,’ she said.
And he kissed her again.
When the sun started to set in the distance, the three of them jumped into a fresh Bureau car Katic had been given and headed through the city towards the Midtown Tunnel and Queens towards John F Kennedy airport. They could have gone through Brooklyn, which would have been quicker, but Archer wanted to make one last stop first.
He was stood back in that graveyard in Queens. Unlike the funeral the other day, the crowd of mourners were gone and he stood there all alone, looking at his father’s headstone. The sun had started to move down the sky towards the horizon, and the place was lit up like gold in the late-afternoon light. He stood there, alone with his father, for ten minutes. Behind him, Katic watched him, leaning against the side of her car, Jessie beside her holding her hand, both of them looking on in silence.
In front of the grave, Archer took one last look at the headstone.
‘Take care, Dad,’ he said.
Then he’d turned and headed over to Katic, who walked forward to meet him.
They kissed again, passionately. Then she’d driven him to the airport, and they’d said their goodbyes.
He promised he’d be back.
She promised she’d still be here.
The plane crossed the Atlantic during the night and touched down in the UK at 7.30 am the next morning, Wednesday. Archer once again missed the comforts of Club Class, sleeping the entire flight, but when they landed he felt good and ready to go. After disembarking and making his way through security, he jumped on the Heathrow Express to Paddington, then took the Underground and headed straight home, grabbing a quick shower and changing his clothes. He took his car keys and locking up the apartment, moved outside to his car, firing the engine and heading straight to the ARU headquarters.
The drive took him about ten minutes and he saw the familiar building appear, moving into the parking lot and pulling into an empty space. Stepping out and locking the car, he walked inside, signing in and headed straight upstairs for the briefing room.
He walked inside, and saw all his team-mates. Chalky and Porter, drinking coffee and talking. Fox and Deakins, arguing about something. And Mac, their sergeant, standing by the coffee stand, pouring himself a cup.
They all looked over as he entered, and were all pleased to see him.
‘Hey, look who it is!’ Deakins said. ‘Welcome back.’
Archer grinned and nodded, moving to the drinks stand and pouring himself a cup of tea. Mac patted him on the shoulder as he stood next to him.
‘Welcome back, lad.’
Archer turned, cup in hand, and walked over, taking a seat with the other officers on the team.
‘I heard Cobb put you up on the Unit’s budget. Lucky bastard,’ Chalky said. ‘Free trip to New York for a week.’
‘How was it Arch?’ Porter asked. ‘You stay out of trouble?’
Archer looked over at him and smiled.
‘Yeah. More or less.’
THE END
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About the author:
Born in Sydney, Australia and raised in England and Brunei, Tom Barber has always had a passion for writing and story-telling. It took him to Nottingham University, England, where he graduated in 2009 with a 2.1 BA Hons in English Studies. Post-graduation, Tom moved to New York City and completed the 2 Year Meisner Acting training programme at The William Esper Studio, furthering his love of acting and screen-writing.
Upon his return to the U.K