Page 4 of Kill Shot

Sneaking Out

Seb

Seb laid on his bed, the very picture of a college student deep in his studies. Or reading a comic. Or sorting through his clothes.

He had never been particularly good at lying, so when he planned to look busy and innocent, he ended up overthinking everything and alternated between three different cover stories.

If anyone had been watching him, then they would have immediately seen through his little ruse, and they probably would have shaken their heads at just how bad of a job he was doing.

But nobody was watching, not in person, and not over a camera feed. Seb had the trust of his father, for better or worse. They had made an agreement that he could have complete privacy in the confines of his own bedroom, and his father had held up his end of the bargain.

At last, Seb finally heard the sweet, sweet sound that he was waiting for.

“I’ll be back late, don’t bother staying up,” his father called from down the hall. “You know how these dinners can get.”

“Alright, Dad,” Seb yelled back, immediately covering his mouth afterwards to stifle any gleeful squeals that might escape.

The soft rhythm of footsteps faded away, there was a thud as the front door closed, and then Seb was free.

He felt terrible about what he was doing. Not terrible enough to stop his hasty preparations and how he was quickly changing into a workout outfit that he had readied just for such an occasion, but he still felt bad about going behind his dad’s back.

After their latest argument three days ago, Seb didn’t want to even bring up the subject anymore. So, he had no choice but to do this. Sneak out.

“You’re not one of them, and they won’t trust you. Some of them will be polite to you, sure, but you stand out as an outsider.”

Those words had indeed bothered him. All he wanted was to be a regular twenty-one year old, seen and treated equally like anyone else. How could he be a proper social worker if the demographic of people he wanted to work with had an issue with him being an “outsider”?

Anyways, at least he didn’t think Caroline saw him as an outsider, so that was a win.

In short order, he was wearing a comfortable old pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt.

They were stretched and nearly torn in places, but the words of his father rang in his head.

He couldn’t help but wonder just how much Caroline and her family would laugh at him if he showed up on their doorstep wearing what he usually wore for working out: designer sportswear that probably cost as much as their rent.

Seb slipped out of his bedroom, relieved to see that none of his father’s men happened to be wandering about. This was the easy part of his mission, but he could still feel his anxiety going through the roof.

Over and over, he told himself that this was a good, rational idea.

As he made his way down the stairs, avoided the main entrance, and headed to one of the back doors, he reassured himself that this was the only way to make his interview subjects trust him.

He needed to visit them when he wasn’t surrounded by bodyguards, with expensive black SUVs lining the streets, and this was the only way to actually slip past them… right?

It was too late for doubts and second guesses now. Seb was very much surprised at how easy it was to get to the rear of the estate without running into anyone.

In a corner of his mind that felt rather guilty, he realized this was because his father tried very hard to make their protection seem as innocuous as possible around the house.

He went to a great deal of trouble to keep the guards out of the way and to give his son as normal a home life as could be expected under the circumstances.

But then Seb was gently easing the back door open, and the real test began. He couldn’t afford to think about anything but the challenge before him.

There was just one guard lounging about nearby, relaxing on a bench and listening to a podcast or some music with earphones in.

A complete fabrication, of course. He was watching everything like a hawk, and his attention was fully on Seb as the heir of the household awkwardly shuffled up to him.

“Going out for a run?” the guard asked. Seb thought his name might have been Hank, but he wasn’t certain. Another guilty part of his mind felt bad about never bothering to learn the identities of the men who put their lives on the line to keep him safe.

Seb nodded. “With Theo. He said he’d meet me down at the trailhead.”

Theo was another of the guards. This entire gambit suddenly seemed flimsy as hell, depending on the assumption that Hank didn’t actually know that Theo was presently taking his day off.

Seb had done the bare minimum of research, just checking which days which guards had off. If Hank asked a single question for clarification, then all was lost.

He held his breath for what felt like an eternity, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

But Hank just nodded.

“Be careful. You know how Mr. Altamirano worries.”

And then Seb was free. With a wave, he broke into a light jog, just to sell the story. Then he took out his phone and turned off the GPS tracker they’d installed. Next, he put his phone on airplane mode as an extra precaution. Hopefully no one would notice until later.

He went down to the trailhead and took off down the scenic path. Conveniently, it intersected a few service roads, and he’d memorized the map route well enough to remember exactly how to get to the nearest bus stop.

Using one of the family drivers was out of the question. If there was one surefire way to make sure that his dad knew exactly what he was doing in time to put a stop to it, it was asking for a ride alone and unaccompanied by security to the bad part of town.

And, very conveniently, it also gave him an excuse to try something new, something that he would never get a chance to experience organically.

He felt that he needed to feel what it was like to take a ride on a public bus in order to truly understand what Caroline was telling him.

As it was, he could hear what she was saying, and the words all made sense, but he still didn’t feel exactly what it was like.

He couldn’t truly empathize and help her until that changed.

Seb raced down the trail as twilight fell, pure thrill coursing through his veins. What was so wrong about wanting to be free and experience things like a normal person?

In no time at all, he found himself waiting at a bus stop, pacing back and forth and checking the schedule just to make sure that he hadn’t missed it yet.

It was a desolate little stretch of road, and he couldn’t help but wonder what sort of people used this stop regularly.

There weren’t many houses around here, and most of them were like his father’s: exceedingly rich.

Certainly none of the people living in the neighborhood would actually need to use a public bus.

Seb couldn’t remain still for a single moment, fascinated as he was with yet another mystery. Why hadn’t he ever thought about such things before? Why had he allowed himself to step into the boring shoes that his father had put in front of him, doing and believing exactly what he was told?

He slowed to a stop as realization set in.

This was practically a service road, and it didn’t lead to any of the driveways that slithered out from the dozens of opulent estates in the area.

He felt remarkably clever for finding this means to escape, but what if it was meant to be out of sight, out of mind?

If a servant didn’t have a car, then what other choice did they have but to take a bus?

And the wealthy homeowners here certainly wouldn’t want “unsightly” buses cluttering up the nice streets that led to their houses.

Logically, it made perfect sense for there to be a bus that dumped their servants out of the way, at which point they would have to trek all the way to their employers’ houses.

The thought made Seb feel dizzy. Did the maids and cooks at his house have to go through this every day just to get to work? He couldn’t recall seeing any of them driving cars to or from the house. What other explanation was there?

When the bus eventually did come into sight and rumbled to a stop in front of him, Seb boarded with none of his previous excitement.

He actually felt a little embarrassed as he easily paid the fare.

He recalled how Caroline had complained about the rising price of bus passes and compare that to his own experience, where it had been more of a struggle to find coins and small bills because he simply had too much money.

He looked out the window, watching the familiar cityscape go by, but he spent just as much time looking over his shoulder, wondering if he was actually in danger.

There were half a dozen other passengers, and he found himself afraid of them for no greater crime than wearing clothes that were threadbare or missing a few teeth.

Before, he had told himself that it was obvious that nobody would recognize him. His father had been overreacting and overprotective, as usual. If he went out without his bodyguards, without his normal clothes, then absolutely nobody would realize that he was the son of Pablo Altamirano.

At the time, that had seemed like an obviously desirable state of affairs. Now, he wasn’t nearly so sure. Now, he was embarrassed to yearn for the protection of his father’s name and resources.

But as the surroundings outside grew both more and less familiar, he felt his resolve strengthen. He was getting closer to Caroline’s home. She had said he could drop by anytime, and all he had to do was make it to her door. Once he was there, then everything would work itself out.

As to where he would sleep for the night, he hadn’t thought that far ahead. Seb knew that was a chronic problem of his, and yet he kept blundering onward.