Repairman Jack [07]-Gateways Read Online Free PDF Page A

shrugged. “No place I want to go.”
    She stared at him. “Is that the truth?”
    “Of course. Anything I could ever want is right here in this city.”
    “You don’t think the fact that flying is so much of a hassle, a risky hassle for you, has anything to do with it?”
    “Maybe some.” Where was this going?
    Gia slipped her arms around him and squeezed, pressing herself against him.
    “Don’t you see?” she said. “Don’t you see? You’ve built this anonymous, autonomous life for yourself, but it’s become a trap. Sure, no one knows you exist and you don’t spend the first four or five months of every year working for the government like the rest of us, and that’s great in its way, but it’s also a trap. Everywhere you go you’ve got to pretend to be someone else and run the risk of being found out. I go anywhere I want without a second thought. If I go to an airport and someone scrutinizes my ID, I’m not worried. But you’ve got the anxiety that someone will spot a flaw.”
    She released him and fixed him with her blue stare.
    “Who’s freer, Jack? Really.”
    She didn’t understand. Jack figured she’d never fully understand. But that was okay. It didn’t make him love her any less, because he knew where she was coming from. She’d been on her own for years, a single mother trying to make a career for herself and a life for her child. She had responsibilities beyond herself. Her days, spent dealing with the nuts and bolts of everyday life, were hectic and exhausting enough without adding multiple layers of complexity.
    “It’s not subject to comparison, Gia. I’ve lived the way I felt I had to live. By my rules, my code. My not paying taxes has nothing to do with money, it has to do with life, and who owns mine, or who owns yours, or Vicky’s, or anyone’s.”
    “I understand that, and philosophically I’m with you all the way. But in the practical, workaday world, how does that work for a man with a family? ‘Oh, I’m sorry, honey. Daddy’s not traveling with us because he’s using a false identity and doesn’t want us involved if he’s picked up. But don’t worry, he’ll meet us there. I hope.’ That’s no way to bring up a child.”
    “We could all have false identities. We could be an under-the-radar family.” He quickly held up his hands. “Only kidding.”
    “I hope so. What a nightmare that would be.”
    This time he pulled her close. “I’m working on it, Gi. I’ll find a way.”
    She kissed him. “I know you will. You’re Repairman Jack. You can fix anything.”
    “I’m glad you think so.”
    But coming back from underground with his freedom intact…that was a tall order.
    You’d better come through for me, Abe, he thought, because I’ve hit a wall.
    He didn’t want the hassle of parking at the airport so he called a cab to take him to LaGuardia. Since Gia lived in the shadow of the Fifty-ninth Street Bridge, a minimal detour would allow him to drop her off at home along the way.
    “Be careful,” she whispered after a long goodbye kiss. “Come back to me, and don’t get into any trouble down there.”
    “I’m visiting my comatose father. How on earth could I possibly get into any trouble?”

8

    Jack reached the OmniShuttle Airways counter an hour before the next scheduled flight.
    Before dropping Gia off, he’d had the cab take him over to Abe’s where he left the package to be overnighted to his father’s place. Abe used a small, exclusive, expensive shipping company that didn’t ask questions. The cab ride had been uneventful, but it felt so odd to be moving about the city without a gun either tucked into the small of his back or strapped to his ankle. He didn’t dare risk trying to sneak one onto the plane, though, even in checked luggage, now that they were x-raying every piece.
    The ticket purchase went smoothly: A mocha-skinned woman with an indeterminate accent took the Tyleski Visa card and the Tyleski driver license, punched a lot