Cal Lightman felt unkempt as he stepped off the plane in Dulles Airport. He supposed it was only natural that he should feel so seeing as he had only shaved sporadically for the last 18 months.
He'd seen the news in the small hotel he'd stayed in for the last few days, on a TV that somehow had an English news station. He'd made the call as soon as he'd seen it and booked a flight. And now here he was…
OXOXOXO
"Lightman, you have to do this! They'll kill you if you don't. We can't protect you if you stay here." Ben Reynolds was yelling at Cal in his office. Gillian Foster stood outside the door, taking a deep breath, braving herself to go inside. To go inside and convince Cal that Reynolds was right.. To go inside and do what the FBI had told her to do, to get Cal out of their hair for a couple of months. She sighed and swallowed hard, opening the door and pushing her way inside…
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Cal picked up his bags from the carousel and made for the front door. There was no one there to greet him. No one knew he was coming. He hadn't called Emily, or Gillian or anyone to let them know he was back. He just assumed they'd know. Assumed they'd know well enough that as soon as he got the chance he'd be back…
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Convincing Cal Lightman to go into witness protection was the hardest thing Gillian Foster had ever had to do. But she managed it and as she left his office that afternoon she felt a thin stab at her heart when she saw how hurt he looked at the thoughts of having to leave. She pushed it aside. It was for his own good. He was better off in hiding than dead…
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Cal hailed a cab easily enough and gave him his address, finding the house keys in his pocket, kept safe despite everything. He sat back in the taxi and sighed, hoping the cabbie wasn't one of the talkative type. He wasn't. He navigated his way through the busy rush hour traffic without as much as a cough. Cal was glad. He didn't really feel much like talking…
OXOXOXO
On the night before Cal was due to go into witness protection, he went to Gillian's house. She was wordless as she let him in, remained silent as he stopped in the hallway to pull her to him and hug her. She couldn't stop the stray tear escaping from her eye though and when he reached his thumb to brush it away his lips brushed hers. That was their undoing.
They fell into bed and made love three times before Cal got up, dressed and left just after 3am. Gillian pretended to be asleep.
By the time Gillian got to work the next morning Cal was gone. There was no letter, no email, phone call, nothing. Nothing until just after 11am when the bank called and informed Gillian that $50,000 had been withdrawn from the company bank account.
Gillian had found it odd until the FBI phoned to tell her that they couldn't find Cal. That was when it all made sense.
He'd done a runner.
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Cal was surprised to find his house smelling clean and aired when he stepped inside, dropping his bag and locking the door behind him. He took a deep breath and was sure he could smell lavender and it made him feel sleepy. He wondered if he'd slept properly even once in the last 18 months. He didn't think he had.
He let himself flop down onto the couch in the living room and shut his eyes momentarily. When he opened them, the sunlight had turned to darkness.
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Gillian Foster had gone to work that morning somewhat apprehensive. At 11am she had a meeting with the FBI as regards the whereabouts of her business partner. As had been the case for the previous 18 months she told them she didn't know. And she really didn't. But she knew that he would be back now that the gang he'd been hiding from had been annihilated. She just didn't know when.
After it had become clear that Cal wouldn't be back for a while, Gillian had hired a HR manager¸ someone who took on her role of book-keeper and payroll attendee. His name was Tom Lowy and not long after he'd been recruited he'd asked Gillian out. They'd been seeing each other for 13 months now.
Gillian sat in her office that evening deliberating over what she should do. She looked at her phone and picked it up. Tom had taken off an hour ago, he had to have dinner at his sister's house and Gillian had not yet been invited. She didn't mind. She wasn't in the mood for socialising anyway. She looked at the phone again and put it back down on the desk.
She stood up and grabbed her coat. It was time to go home.
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Ok, chapter a little all over the place but bear with me!