Nick sat on a bench outside JFK airport. Miraculously the people at Heathrow had believed Abby's note which he had forged to let him fly alone. And so had the people here. Now the big problem was how to get to David Hatter's plant. Nick had hoped it to be reasonably close to the airport, seeing as they would probably be shipping Emotion Elixir to other countries. In reality however it was about eight miles away. And what's more, Nick was at another major flaw. Back in London he had packed pretty much everything he thought he would need for the trip, except for US dollars. He couldn't believe he had been so stupid, now he was stranded miles away from his intended destination with no way of getting there besides walking, which in a city known for its muggers and pedophiles he did not fancy.
There was only one thing to do. Nick slipped the map into his bag and tried to look as innocent as he possibly could. Soon enough, a reasonably well off looking woman passed by.
"Excuse me ma'am" said Nick in the best American accent he could do. The woman stopped and looked at him.
"Why hello, can I help you little boy?"
"Yeah, I'm supposed to be getting to school around about 8:00. But I missed the bus and I'm thinking maybe I should take a taxi, only I don't have any money."
"I see" said the woman. "Where is your school?"
"About eight miles away."
The woman fished around in her purse for a moment, before pulling out a wad of US dollar notes, the total of which rounded up to about fifty.
"There you go, honey. That should be enough to get you to school."
"Thanks" said Nick as he dashed off to get a taxi.
Nick made his way along the crowded pavement in the direction of the plant.
He couldn't believe his bad luck. He had been so close to the plant, but when they had got to the gate, the guard had stopped them and told them that only authorised personell could get in. When Nick had explained his intent to see David Hatter, the guard had told him the boss was out and that even if he wasn't, he wouldn't waste his time seeing a ten year old kid. So Nick had been forced to make do with being dropped off about half a mile away from the plant and had paid forty dollars to the taxi driver. For the rest of the day he had sat in a nearby cafe where he had spent about five dollars on a hamburger.
Now it was around about eight o clock at night. Nick didn't know how long people at the plant worked for, but he was fairly sure that David Hatter would be in his office right now, dealing with a few extra bits and pieces from the day. Nick intended to sneak into the plant and catch him in his office. Then he would ask or, if needs be, demand to know if Hatter knew anything about his dad.
Suddenly right in front of him a door opened and a completely drunk man came stumbling out into the pavement, clutching an empty bottle in his hand. Nick dashed into a nearby alleyway to avoid him and stayed there until he was gone. Cautiously, Nick took a look at the place the man had just come from. It was a place called the Red Queen Bar. Through the window, Nick could see that it was full of scantily clad women and drunk men like the one he had just seen. He was just about to make himself scarce when suddenly something caught his eye. He had seen that brown suit and top hat only yesterday on the telly in England. Surely it couldn't be...but it was. It was Connor Temple standing at the bar sipping a can of beer. Nick was just about to burst in and run up to him when suddenly, a young woman with long brown hair came up to his dad and started nuzzling up to his chest. She looked up at him and Nick could see that she was clearly intending to snog him.
How dare she! Without a second thought, Nick dashed into the bar, grabbed the first glass of drink that came into his hand and hurled it straight into the young woman's face. She gasped in shock and stepped back amidst equally shocked gasps and exclamations. Parting her sodden hair, the woman looked around for who had thrown the drink in her face. Looking down, she saw Nick.
"What? Who the hell are you?" she snapped.
"I'm the one who's gonna do a lot worse than chuck beer in your face if you don't step away from him" said Nick in his most threatening voice. "Who do you even think you are moving in on Connor Temple like that, you bimbo!"
"I think I just happen to be his girlfriend" said the girl. "And his name's not Connor Temple, kid."
"Oh yes it is" said Nick. "And he's not your boyfriend, he's my dad!"
The young woman and the rest of the bar gasped. The woman turned to the man next to her.
"David, is this true? Is this kid your son?" The man shrugged.
"David?" said Nick quizzically.
"Yeah" said the man in question. "David Hatter, and this here is my girlfriend. Alice Hamilton."
Nick dropped the glass and stood there in complete shock. He barely noticed the bartender, a stocky black man, coming up to him.
"Look kid, this is an eighteen and above bar. You wanna go bond with daddy, go do it outside."
"It's ok, James" said Hatter. "I'll take it from here."
He took Nick by the hand and led him out of the bar admist the angry faces glaring at the kid who had completely ruined their evening. As they stepped out on to the pavement, Hatter crouched down and faced Nick.
"OK little mate, I don't know why you think I'm your dad. As far as I can tell I don't have any kids, but since you're only young I'm gonna let you off throwing beer in my girlfriend's face."
"But, but..."
"No buts." said Hatter kindly but firmly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a twenty dollar note.
"Here, this should probably get you home." And with that he went back into the bar to rejoin Alice. Nick meanwhile stood there in complete shock and silence, unable to believe what had just happened.
