Five minutes later and I’m a goddamn brunette.
“Ticket?” I ask.
He hands me the ticket. I glance down at the details staring back at me.
“So I’m heading to America.”
“Los Angeles,” Donal confirms. “You can make your way from there.”
He makes it sound fucking simple. Just make my way. La-dee-fucking-da. Like I’m going through the woods for a fun little picnic.
Part of me wants to ask him what the hell I’m supposed to do when I arrive. But he’s not the kind of man to offer much in the way of reassurances.
And fuck him. Fuck that.
I don’t need anyone’s help.
I’m on my own now.
“Thanks, Donal,” I tell him.
He looks up at me, his eyes kind of scrunching together as though he can’t see me clearly.
“I’ve been working with your father for over twenty years now,” he says. “That’s older than you are.”
“I appreciate the help with the math there, mate,” I drawl. “Are you getting all sentimental on me, Donal?” I ask.
It was a joke, but honestly, he looks conflicted as he hands me the rest of my documents in a black satchel. Odd. He never betrays emotion like that.
“You take care, Master Cillian.”
It isn’t a title he’s ever used with me, but I understand the sentiment he’s trying to get across.
“Aw, Donal. I love you, too, you miserable old bastard.”
His eyes bulge out as though I’ve just said something obscene. “What the fuck are you on about?”
Usually, I’d be cracking up right about now.
But laughing is painful. Even the smile on my face feels stiff. Half-formed.
I slap my hand against Donal’s shoulder. “I’ll be seeing you, old friend.”
“Stay out of trouble now,” he says. Almost like a warning.
“Impossible,” I reply. “You haven’t seen the last of me.”
“Don’t I fucking know it…”
I give him a nod and then leave the storage room to head back into the main body of the airport.
It’s bustling, fit to bursting with people coming and going. Off on holiday, on business, flitting from here to there without a care in the world.
I can’t relate to any of them. I’m neither a tourist nor travelling for work.
I’m a fugitive.
I have no home. I have no family. I have no friends.