Courage & Resolve
1.15 - Headlights in the Night
Tonight was the night the entire world had been waiting for- the day the people would finally get a view of the presidential candidates demeanor and opinions. After a debate between each of the candidates, the public voted and narrowed down the number of candidates to just two finalists. It was often said that this was the stage that determined who exactly the next president would be, as candidates had been narrowed down enough for the majority of the public to tune in, meaning that what each candidate said tonight would set the trajectory they would follow throughout the remainder of their campaign.
Felix stood backstage- a space that really wasn’t all that intricately decorated, which was surprising to him considering the sheer magnitude of the event. All of the other candidates who had qualified for this round of the debate were backstage with him, as well as Mitch. Genevieve hadn’t been allowed backstage, but Felix was positive she was sitting out in the audience, eagerly awaiting his appearance on stage.
On… stage… Felix shuddered slightly.
Mitch noticed, and bid a pleasant farewell to another candidate Felix recognized as Mrs. Judith-Noelle Gruber before heading over. He strode over to Felix in the most casual way, then gave him a pleasant wave and greeting, all to hide their preexisting relationship from the other candidates.
“You better not be getting nervous now, Felix.” Mitch warned.
Felix chuckled slightly. “I'll be fine. Believe it or not, Mitch, just a few years back, I was too afraid to even speak to my own employees.”
Mitch shook his head incredulously. “You know, it really is a good thing I didn’t know that before backing you. 'Cause I wouldn’t have.”
“I’m much better at this now. Genevieve and Amelia helped me out a lot, they taught me about the importance of speaking to others directly.”
“Whatever," Mitch sighed. "Just don’t disappoint me, Felix.”
The two were startled by a voice on stage as it began calling names, expecting the candidates to begin making their entrance. “Judith-Noelle Gruber!”
Mitch focused on Felix with renewed intensity. “Just remember the talking points we went over- focus on them. And completely avoid mentioning your relationship with me, otherwise, your campaign is dead in the water. Unfortunately, people aren’t too fond of me at the moment, and I don’t even want to imagine how fast your polling numbers would drop if they found out I was backing you... Good luck, Felix. Kill it out there.”
Mitch gave Felix a brisk nod, then walked off to talk to another candidate.
Felix paced back and forth nervously as the announcer called the next name.
“Athena Cyr!”
He was nervous. He hadn’t been this nervous since the day Amelia had forced him to step out of his office and address all his employees for the first time. But he wanted this presidency more than anything. He, with Genevieve’s help, had spent so long working for this moment, and he truly believed in the positions he was supporting, and had the private backing of a figure as prominent as Mitch Laurent. He had to do well.
“Felix Beauchamp!” the announcer called.
Felix took a deep breath, then stepped out into the blinding light.
Amelia let out a little cheer as Felix stepped out onto the stage. She'd settled down in her children's deserted bedroom, and gotten the presidential debates running on Jamira's tiny laptop. Neither Cory or Jamira were there to watch with her, as when she'd asked, they had both insisted they had better things to do. Even alone, she was feeling the excitement regardless. Even if she wasn't a big fan of Mitch or the way he ran things, Felix was a treasured friend. She was certain he'd do an excellent job.
The Beauchamps had offered to fly Amelia out to Windenburg with them, where the debate was being held, but she’d refused. She wouldn’t have felt right leaving her children alone, regardless of the fact that they were no longer children. Sitting here alone now though, she found herself wishing that, maybe just this once, she’d allowed herself the luxury. But it wasn’t something she dwelled on for long, as Felix began to give his opening statement.
“As your president, my goal is to make everything more convenient for you, the people. As the president of a law firm, I understand that the ways laws and consequences work can often be confusing, or unfair, and it’s my goal to try to make the systems that keep this world running more transparent. It is also my goal to invest further government funding in companies, and allow them to shoulder some of the difficult work the government is usually responsible for. With time, my hope is that this will result in the government seeing a profit, allowing the government to dedicate further resources to you, the people. Thank you.”
Amelia got the general idea of what he was saying, and while she couldn’t agree with all of it, she was glad to see that Felix was able to get through his opening statement eloquently. It was a big step up from where he’d been when she’d first met him.
“Ha! I’ve got you this time!” Jamira shouted as she leaped into the air attempting a shot from half-court.
Cory jumped up and grabbed the ball just as it was about to fall into the net. Before Jamira had a chance to react, he’d dribbled across the court and had already secured a shot in his own hoop.
“I don’t know why I even try,” Jamira said, shaking her head. “Booker’s too good to you if he seriously puts up with being beaten this often.”
“Isn’t like Booker has anything better to do,” Cory shrugged.
Jamira shrugged, then after thinking for a moment, she gave a slow nod.
“Hey…” Cory spoke up hesitantly. “Do you think mom is disappointed in us for, you know, not watching the presidential debate with her?”
“Hard to tell,” Jamira sighed. “Like, I know she’s well aware that the Beauchamps aren’t our friends. And their children aren’t either, especially now that they’re attending some fancy well-to-do law school overseas. But... I bet with she misses us right now.”
"I can't believe she didn't go with them to Windenburg."
"Right! That would have been such a good break for her! She never does anything for herself."
In the bushes outside of the basketball court, where it was dark enough to hide, a man smiled.
“Mr. Beauchamp. Recently, President Laurent has faced a lot of controversy over allegations that he only invests in businesses that benefit him personally. Naturally, these embezzlement claims are merely allegations, but it is clear that your plans bear some striking similarities. How would your plan differ from his?” The announcer asked.
“W-Well-“ Felix stammered. “Isn't that question a bit inappropriate? Anyway. While Mitch- or, no, sorry, President Laurent set us on a great path to start, I think that with further analysis from a broader perspective, a collective of minds, we could better avoid personal bias and still secure funds that the government needs for the benefit the people.”
A black haired candidate by the name of Cassandra, who was standing next to Felix, smiled. He’d slipped up, and she’d noticed.
“Are you on a first name basis with President Laurent, Felix?” Cassandra asked innocently. “That’s very interesting.”
Mitch, who was sitting behind all the podiums in a cushy chair, kept his fake smile plastered on his face, but internally, he was kicking himself for failing to do all the research on the man he’d chosen to back. His resume and achievements were impressive, and their political ideologies were aligned, but he'd never bothered to speak with anyone Felix had personally worked with outside of that Amelia, and that was only briefly. A man who has once struggled to speak to his own employees would never be cut out to tell the public the lies that being president required.
The evening slowly faded into night as the debate ran to its end. Felix and Genevieve were on a plane back to Willow Creek early the next morning, ready to watch the results continue to pour in over the next several hours from the comfort of their own home. They would finally know if Felix had qualified for the final debate by that evening. Hoping it would be a celebratory occasion, they invited Amelia over to their home for the first time to join them.
“Amelia, it is so good to see you,” Genevieve smiled as she welcomed Amelia into her intricately decorated living room. “I’m so sorry for my haggard appearance, we’ve just been so busy…”
“Didn’t even notice! And, by the way, you two have an incredible place,” Amelia said incredulously, looking around. “That view of the river too… it’s just really everything.”
“I still just can’t believe we haven't had you over before tonight, Amelia! I'm not ashamed to admit that Felix and I are both very proud of our home. We regularly host lavish dinner parties, but we've always had a strict rule that those dinners parties cannot be company related. And Amelia, you’re way beyond being simply company related now.”
Felix sat on the couch, unbudging. He was transfixed by the numbers on TV, watching unblinking as the number of votes for each candidate slowly rose.
“Felix is a bit nervous,” Genevieve said quietly. “That’s why we’re keeping tonight quiet- just the three of us. Mitch… he, uh, refused to talk to Felix after the debate, which really bothered him… and Felix feels like he slipped up once or twice, so we’re both crossing our fingers that people look past a few simple mistakes. His policies and personality should shine through!”
“Genevieve, I’m fine,” Felix said, turning around. He rose from the couch, and gave Amelia an unconvincing smile. “I’m glad you’re here, Amelia.”
Amelia walked over and greeted Felix with a hug. “I’m glad I’m here too. You’re going to win this, Felix. I'm pulling for you.”
Felix gave a quick nod, unsure of how exactly to respond.
“I’ll grab some refreshments,” Genevieve said before hurrying off to the kitchen.
The minute she was gone, Felix sank into the couch and dropped the confident facade he was putting on. “Amelia, I can feel it. I know I’ve lost. I- I’m not cut out for the role of president. As nice as it would be to be in a position like that where I could really bring about change, that debate showed me that I’m not the kind of man who’s meant to be in that role.”
“No,” Amelia said firmly, sitting down next to him. “While Genevieve may be the person who speaks to all of us and makes sure we’re on the right track, you can’t ignore how good you are at what you do right now as the president of Beauchamp Law. Your ability to organize a massive number of employees in a worldwide business into a functioning law firm conglomerate is nothing short of incredible! I don't think it's a stretch at all to think that skillset could extend to the presidency. While you may not be the most vocal person ever, you are a leader Felix, regardless of if you win or not.”
Felix broke eye contact as he looked off into the distance for a moment, thinking. Then he turned back to Amelia, this time with tears in his eyes. “Thank you. That’s… that’s what I really needed to hear right now.”
“What’s Genevieve been saying?”
“I love her, but constantly telling me that I’m perfect, the perfect president, the perfect husband, the perfect man when I know that... I’m not. It just doesn’t feel true. I have strengths along with my weaknesses, and not acknowledging the weaknesses is wrong. No one is perfect, and I'm not going to shine a presidential debate, of all things.”
Genevieve walked back into the room with three glasses of wine on a little silver tray. “This is a very expensive merlot imported from Forgotten Hollow we’ve had sitting in our wine closet since the day Felix first decided he was going to run, all those years ago. We told ourselves this would be the day we finally opened it, and what do you know? Here we are!”
She passed out the wine glasses, then plopped down on the couch next to Felix. “We all ready to watch Felix crush this?”
Felix responded by busying himself with his wine.
“I sure am,” Amelia smiled.
“We should be getting close now,” Felix said, his wine glass already nearly empty. “They’re just counting the last of the votes now.”
The three of them sat there for the next few minutes with bated breath, not wanting to interrupt the tense feeling in the air.
“And that should be the last of them” the news castor said. “Let’s read out the results.”
Genevieve clutched Felix’s arm excitedly.
“Well, to start, Geoffrey Landgraab’s votes have been discounted. However, he came in fourth place. In fifth place… we have Judith-Noelle Gruber.”
“You made it into the top three placements!” Genevieve exclaimed.
“In third place… Felix Beauchamp. Congratulations to Cassandra Goth and Athena Cyr! You have both qualified for the final debate!”
The world seemed to slow down for Felix. He'd had a feeling that he wasn't going to make it to the final round, but it was still absolutely soul crushing. People had definitely voted for him, but, even with Mitch’s help… it hadn’t been enough.
“Felix, I’m so sorry,” Genevieve said, her eyes welling with tears.
Felix shook his head. “It’s okay, Genevieve. It’s okay. Cassandra, or Athena… whoever wins, they’ll do a great job. We’ll just stick with what we know we’re already good at. Beauchamp Law. We already have to be one of most renowned law firms in the world... why not keep it going?”
“Oh, Felix!” Genevieve exclaimed, embracing him.
“You two are an incredible team,” Amelia smiled. “I’m sorry you didn’t make it to the final round, Felix, but look at the bright side! You two get to go on working together! And third is not a bad placement at all, I mean, it could have been so much worse. Imagine placing behind Geoffrey Landgraab.”
“That’s true, at least,” Genevieve said, wiping away a tear.
Samson walked proudly down the street, all the contents of the cheap, run down apartment he’d been staying in since he ran out of money for the hotel in a backpack that he'd stashed away in a bush by the river. He was never going back there. Ever. Tonight, he’d get Jamira and Cory back. No matter what. Reaching the bush he'd stashed his stuff in, Samson opened up the backpack, and checked that the gun was still there. Running his finger along the barrel, he smiled to himself. Carefully slipping the gun back in, Samson threw the backpack on, then resumed walking.
Felix’s phone started ringing, and when he looked down at the caller ID, his face lit up. “Genevieve! It’s Connor and Elise!”
“Our children,” Genevieve said breathlessly. “It’s been so long. Amelia, if you’ll give us a moment?”
“Of course,” Amelia smiled. “Actually, I think I’ll just head out. It’s getting late, and I don’t want you to cut a call with your children short because I’m here.”
“Goodnight, Amelia,” Felix nodded, giving her a grateful smile as he walked out of the room to answer the call.
“Thank you for being here,” Genevieve said, giving Amelia a tight embrace.
“Wouldn’t have missed it.”
Back at Amelia’s house, Cory and Jamira were struggling to cooking themselves dinner.
“You’re telling me this was supposed to be food?” Cory asked, sniffing at something that had been burnt beyond recognition.
“If you hate it so much, why don't you try to cook for yourself?” Jamira asked snarkily. "I'm sure you'd do so much better."
“We just should have ordered takeout,” Cory sighed, stirring the burnt mess in his bowl.
“You have a phone.”
“You know what? I will!”
Cory whipped out his phone and quickly looked up and dialed the number of a local pizza chain.
“Uh, yeah. Thick crust… Pepperoni, extra cheese, chili… sure, I’ll add some mushrooms too. Large. Thanks!”
“You’re ridiculous,” Jamira sighed as she discreetly scrapped her food out of her bowl and into the trash.
The two were startled by a sudden knocking on the door.
“That was fast,” Cory said cheerfully. He headed over to the door, opened it, and came face to face with a man he never expected to see again.
“Samson,” Cory breathed.
“Samson?” Jamira exclaimed from the kitchen.
“No. It’s dad,” Samson smiled as he stepped into the house. “I want you two to pack your things. You’re coming with me.”
“Fat chance,” Cory snorted. “Why would we do that?”
Samson kicked the door shut, ripped off his backpack, then quickly opened it and produced his gun, throwing the bag on the floor in the process.
“I think you understand now. Yeah?” he said dangerously.
Cory nodded slowly as Samson walked forward with the gun, slowly backing him further into the house.
“Holy shit, Samson,” Jamira said with barely disguised panic. “A gun? Are you kidding me? Is this really your plan to get us to love you as a father again?”
“Nothing else worked,” Samson laughed. “I tried being nice. I tried the legal system. Nothing. I spent a long time thinking, drinking, and I realized that the world isn’t built to favor people like me. You make one mistake, and suddenly, the entire world is against you, you're stuck fighting some bullshit uphill battle until the day you die. Now, you two go and gather your things. Don't force me to do something drastic... you see, I realized that what I want most in the world now is to see Amelia, childless… I only really need one of my own. So, make it snappy.”
Cory and Jamira hurried to their room. They didn’t need to be told twice.
As Amelia waited at the bus stop, she looked at her dead phone. She hoped Cory and Jamira hadn’t tried to call her for anything.
“Why isn’t she picking up?” Jamira whispered violently as she kept redialing and redialing Amelia’s number.
“Pack, Jamira, please,” Cory begged. “We just need to get out of this situation alive right now, we can figure out the next step later!”
“Mom would know what to do,” Jamira said firmly, punching in Amelia’s number again.
“What’s taking so long?” Samson yelled from the kitchen. “Don’t make me come in there!”
Cory gestured frantically towards the closet where Jamira’s suitcase was as he threw whatever he could into his.
Jamira ignored him and dialed Amelia’s number again.
The two were startled by sudden harsh footsteps as Samson marched to the door. Spotting Jamira on her phone, he let out a guttural yell, and slapped the phone from her hand. Once it was on the floor, he stomped on it with a violent rage that shattered it into pieces.
“That’s it. You two are coming with me now. You don’t deserve the opportunity to pack.”
Samson trapped Jamira’s arm with a forceful grip, and grabbed Cory’s arm with the other hand. He dragged them out of the room, ignoring the pain his grip was clearly causing the both of them as Jamira screamed and Cory grunted in pain.
A man with messy black hair openly sobbed as he sped down the roads of Willow Creek. He tried to sing along to the radio, but only found himself choking on his own tears.
Samson kicked the front door shut as he dragged Cory and Jamira out onto the front porch. Both were now in tears.
“I can’t believe you’re crying,” Samson snarled. “I’m your dad, remember? You should love me! I heard you two yesterday, saying you didn’t even understand Amelia anymore. Now’s the time for your dad to step in- a strong role model for you to look up to!”
Once they were on the sidewalk in front of Amelia’s house, Samson threw Jamira and Cory to the ground. He quickly produced his gun and aimed it at them. “You two are going to walk ahead of me, got it? If any of you gets any funny ideas, I’ll shoot. Now move!”
Jamira stumbled to her feet, and gave an anxious nod of understanding. She reached out a hand to Cory, and helped him to his feet. His palms were bleeding from, having been scraped up by the concrete when Samson had thrown them to the ground.
“Well? Get going already!” Samson screamed, gesturing wildly with his gun.
Jamira and Cory slowly walked forward, the both of them trembling with fear.
When they were just passing Jo’s old house, they saw a familiar figure at the end of the street. Both of them were too afraid to call out, and didn’t. But Amelia could have recognized Samson from any distance. Their history was long, and complicated, and she couldn't mistake him for anyone else. This time, however, he seemed to radiate an aura of sheer malice that set her on edge.
Samson recognized her as well, easily recognizing her silhouette against the snow covered ground. “Amelia,” he grinned.
“Get away from my kids, Samson!” Amelia screamed, running towards him.
Samson held out his gun, and pointed it at Cory and Jamira. “Stop where you are or I’ll shoot!”
Amelia immediately froze in her tracks.
“Here’s what’s going to happen here, Amelia,” Samson said, slowly backing into the street so he was at an angle where he could fire at any of the three of them. “Like you did to me so long ago, I’m going to take my children away from you in the dead of night, and disappear. It’s what you deserve.”
Samson was suddenly blinded by a pair of headlights that rounded the corner, speeding down the cul-de-sac.
“Hey! Stop right where you are!” he yelled, waving the gun around threateningly.
The car didn’t stop, and Samson swung his gun towards the car and fired. It went through the passenger window, and the driver clearly tried his best to step on his breaks, but by the time he hit them, it was too late. The car skidded on the icy road, and hit Samson dead in the chest.
The driver, a dark haired man, leaped out of the car, and ran to Samson’s side, clearly trying his best to wipe away some tears. “Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, are you okay?”
The man started to attempt CPR.
Amelia walked up to the man slowly, and carefully put her hand on his back as he started to cry. She took a brief look at Samson’s corpse, then quickly turned away. Seeing him like that, at peace, for the first time since the beginning of their marriage, reminded her of the fact that as terrible of a man as he’d been, she had loved him once. He was the one who had given her Jamira and Cory. Despite everything he'd done, despite how much she'd grown to hate him, she could never forget that once, a very long time ago, the two of them had been happy together.