Going Nowhere

Worlds Apart

"Fine!" Landon Brentford pressed the end call button as violently as he could on his touch-screen phone and threw it onto the passenger seat beside him. He knew one thing: his marriage was over. He had quickly fallen in love with his writing partner in college, but little did he know that it'd end six years later; she'd found someone better—much better. 

He knew that he was away too much. He had to fly across the United States quite often for his business—err... almost his business—but he never knew it hurt his wife so much that she would end up leaving him for someone who "actually cared about her," so she had said during their phone call. 

There was nothing he could do now; he was across the country. She was in New York and he was in California, practically worlds apart. He wanted to jump on a plane that very moment, find her, and sweep her into his arms, begging for a chance to make it right. 

He thought about it for a while and realized that they both probably would have avoided each other in college if they had known what the outcome would be; a big, beautiful, messy, horrible disaster—in that order. 

He sat in the Target parking lot and rested his head against the steering wheel, wishing it was all just a nightmare. One he could wake up from, and see his wife there next to him, there to comfort him. But now she had finally let him in on her secret. No, not the one of her finding the right man, but the one of him being obsessed with his work and himself. She was rarely ever a priority. 

I'm a monster, he thought. 

He pushed the key into the ignition and heard the engine purr. The sad thing was, he had spent more time with the car he was sitting in—across the country—than he did with his own wife—soon-to-be ex-wife.

She's lucky to get away from me. Surprised she stayed for six whole years, now that I think about it. 

There he was again, drowning himself in words that could suffocate him if they got out of control. 

"Love wasn't the answer then, and love won't be the answer now. Actually, love will never be the answer to the void in my heart." 

He felt like the light in his car was getting dimmer and dimmer. In reality, he was dozing off into a, hopefully, emotional-healing sleep. 

Knock! Knock! Knock! 

Landon heard a muffled sound coming from the outside of his car. He glanced to the side and saw a man standing outside of his driver's side window. He wasn't sure if he could trust the man so he rolled down his window a crack. 

"Are you Landon Brentford?"

"Does my name matter at this point?" 

"Yes, because Jonathan is searching for you. I'm his bodyguard and you're supposed to be at a meeting." 

"How did you find me?" 

"That doesn't matter." The man wore a black suit and sunglasses—very much like out of a movie, which shocked Landon to the point where he thought he was being filmed—and glanced at the black car behind him which obviously had tons of gadgets inside. "Do you want to come with me in the car or follow me to the meeting?" 

"I'll follow you." There was no way he was getting in this odd man's vehicle, even though it looked like it came straight out of a spy movie. He was totally geeking out on the inside. 

Landon followed the chic, modern car and pulled into a small parking lot outside of the office building where he was supposed to be at an hour ago. Thankfully, Jonathan was standing right inside the entrance, maybe he could explain what was happening. 

"Mr. Brentford, would you care to describe why you're late?" Jonathan led the way to the meeting room. 

"Sir, I have a very good explanation. You see, I was on the  phone with my wife and I was trying to save our marriage." 

Jonathan didn't seem phased at all. As if to say, "Why should that hinder you from being on time?" 

"When I got off the phone with her I must have passed out because I woke up to him," he glanced at the man in sunglasses—which he oddly wore inside—and turned back to his boss, "knocking on my window." There was a silence. "...And now I'm here." 

A woman appeared, dressed in a black just-above-the-knee skirt and a white blouse, wearing red lipstick. "Sir, there's a call for you. Something about a business deal." 

Jonathan's face turned red with irritation. "I'll handle you," he pointed at Landon, "when I'm done." 

As soon as the, assuming, secretary and the boss left, the man in sunglasses confronted him. "Come with me." 

He couldn't see the reason why he should go with the man. There was plenty of seating in the room where they were standing. Why move? 

The tall man pressed on some device in his ear and quietly spoke in some code he couldn't understand, except for the part where he said, "Mr. Brentford is in the building. Phase one complete." He approached me and said, "Mr. Brentford, now that we won't be disturbed, I'd like to ask you a question." 

He took a deep breath. "Okay." 

"Does the name Molly mean anything to you?" 

His heart practically stopped. It was his daughter's name. She stayed with Jessica, his wife, while he was away. "What about her?" he asked in a soft whisper. What could have happened to her? My little baby—well, not so little anymore; she was four. Little enough. 

His mind started to wander... She'll make a beautiful little flower girl. 

"Sir? Can you hear me?" 

"Huh? Sorry. I was lost in my thoughts." 

"I was just saying that she's a very important and critical piece of this mission and I was wondering when would be the best time to locate her." 

"Why in the world would you need my daughter?" 

His head made a motion that indicated he was irritated that he'd have to repeat himself for a third time. "Sir, she's a critical piece to completing this mission."

"What mission?"  he exclaimed. 

"Follow me." 

Landon knew the building pretty well, so he tried to figure out where he was going as they walked. After obviously taking the scenic route, passing the same hallways from different directions a handful of times, they ended up in front of a very familiar room: Landon's office. 

"Head inside sir and have a seat." The man opened the door and gestured for Landon to go first. 

When he walked in, he wasn't sure if he should sit behind his desk or in one of the chairs he provided for guests. He picked his comfortable chair that he spent hours upon hours in each day. He felt like he was a little bit more in control now. 

The man sat across from him in one of the chairs and folded his hands in front of him. "Sir, there's a plane that will be ready to leave first thing in the morning."

A plane?

The man continued, "It will take you to New York to pick up your daughter and then it will bring both of you to headquarters."

"Wouldn't it be simpler to fly my daughter here with her mother?" 

"No. This isn't headquarters." 

Yes, it is. My boss is here, and—

"Now, where exactly is your daughter?" 

"In New York City, living with her mother." 

"You leave tomorrow morning. I suggest that you contact your wife and let her know that you're coming to pick her up." 

"Wait. Does Jonathan know about this?" 

"This has nothing to do with him or the company. Listen, I took this job so that I could get close to you and learn about your daughter. But there's not much time to explain now." 

"When will I be back?"

"I suggest that you say goodbye to your current life; it's about to get a lot better."