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“You got enough. You should be proud of yourself.”
Of all the things Anna’s feeling, pride isn’t one of them. In some ways, she feels like a failure for not keeping everyone alive. In others, she feels like a coward for allowing a few of them to live. She suspects that the tug-of-war between the two will always be with her.
“What are you going to do now?” Vesper says.
Anna had asked Seamus the same thing back on the Phoenix. Now she can’t help but wonder if he survived that fall from the trestle bridge. She hopes he did. She prefers to think that he broke through the icy water, crawled onto shore, and started walking toward some bright future in which he can find a cure for his affliction, find someone who loves him, and find forgiveness for his misdeeds. Anna holds on to that image, understanding that it’s likely she’ll never know.
When it comes to Seamus, the only certainty is that, contrary to what she said on the Phoenix, she’s already forgiven him. He—and his memory—deserve that much.
As for Anna’s own future, it stretches out before her like railroad tracks pointing to a distant horizon, the destination unclear.
“I don’t know,” she says, thinking about Aunt Retta’s mansion, a place that, despite living there for so long, she’s never thought of as home. A good thing, it turns out, because she’ll need to sell it. It’s literally the only asset she has left, having spent the rest of her inheritance on this single rail journey. “I guess I’ll need to get a job.”
Vesper nods. “May I make a suggestion? Come work for me in the Philly bureau.”
“I’m not secretary material.”
“Who said anything about being a secretary? I’m talking about becoming an agent.”
Anna scoffs. “With the FBI?”
“Yes,” Vesper says. “Agent Davis told me all about you. He said you’re smart, got great instincts, and can handle yourself in a fight. Also, it’s clear you’re not afraid to shoot a fellow if needed.”
“And you believed him? After what he did?”
Vesper cocks his head. “Was he lying?”
“No,” Anna says. “All of that is true.”
“Then I encourage you to put those skills to good use in a more official capacity.”
Anna says nothing, mulling the possibility. She’s already brought three of the people who destroyed her family—plus an unexpected additional killer—to justice. But there’s no need to stop there. Plenty of other criminals remain free. Ones who’ve done bad things, destroyed other families. They also deserve punishment. Why should Anna deny herself the chance to help make that happen?
“Is that something you’d be interested in?” Vesper says.
Anna nods. “I think it is.”
“If you’ll allow me to escort you home, I can tell you more about the job.”
Anna prepares to head back into Union Station but is stoppedby Ed Vesper, who says, “I thought you’d have your fill of trains. If you don’t mind, we’ll be flying back to Philadelphia.”
No, Anna doesn’t mind at all. Trains are the past. Dante told her that. The future, he said, is in the sky. So Anna willingly follows Ed Vesper to the car that will whisk them to the airport.
Her own future awaits.