Flashback: Like Father Like Son (IC)

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The waiting room was brightly lit. There were chairs and end tables and magazines scattered everywhere. It reminded Sam of a Doctor's office. Sam wasn't sick, however. He wasn't visiting the doctor, either. This waiting room was within the walls of Freedom Hall. He'd been required to "visit" after he was welcomed to town by the police in Wharton State Forest after having stopped a weapons trafficking deal. He'd only been met by the Freedom League's secretary, and only briefly. He'd been instructed to wait in this room until someone was able to see him.

The waiting hadn't lasted long before it gave way to pacing. He felt like a rat in a cage. He was sure they'd have cameras watching him. Used to being a free spirit, and following his own designs, he felt cooped up here, like a caged bird. He reflected briefly on the irony of that feeling when placed next to his nickname.

His reverie was interrupted by a thought from Snow.

A car's pulled up to the building. A man is making his way to the doors. He looks familiar. Blond hair. Tall. Didn't get enough time for a closer look.

No. Couldn't be. Thanks for the tip off, Snow.

A few minutes passed, before there was a knock on the door. It creaked open, and a man Sam hadn't seen from, or heard from in thirteen years stepped through. It IS him! Sam's heart was racing.

"Hello, son." Jack Wolf greeted him.

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Sam was speechless. It was all he could do to keep his jaw from dropping. He hadn't seen his father in over a decade. After the man left him to go fight aliens, and failed to keep his promise to return to his Son. Sam was understandably conflicted about meeting him once again under these circumstances.

A multitude of emotions played back and forth within his head. He felt everything from anger, to resentment, to defiance. He couldn't figure out what any of it meant. It was like the abrupt appearance of his father had caused him to go through the entirety of being a teenager all of a sudden, all at once, and all within his own head.

You should probably say hi

Snow jolted him from his confusion.

Sam's eyes narrowed slightly and his lips pressed together forming a thin line across his face. "Father, what are you doing here? I know that you live in this city. But why bother coming to see me. Is it suddenly so convenient now that you only have to drive a few blocks that you felt it was necessary?"

Jack looked upset. His face was distraught, and becoming pale. Then he smiled. "It really is you," he said quietly, almost to himself. "You don't understand. Sam... I thought you were dead."

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Sam was displeased and he let it show on his face, "Fath- Jack," He still wasn't sure how to address his father after his years long absence from Sam's life. "You of all people should have known that was not a possibility. You trained me. I'm a survivor. This is something that you know. You should not have stopped looking." He turned his back and looked out one of the windows.

"Sam, I..." Jack hung his head slightly, "You're right. I shouldn't have stopped looking. But you have to understand, I was going through a rough time then."

"Understand?" Sam whirled around, glaring, "Understand? You were going through a hard time. While times were hard for you, I was conducting Black Ops missions in Laos. While you were riding in jet planes, I was stealing jeeps. While you were working in that damn tower, I was fighting sleep in a trench, not daring to take my eye from the scope of a Barret .50! Hard times! I've had nothing BUT hard times!"

"And you're wondering why I thought you were dead?" His father regarded him frankly.

Sam opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He clapped his mouth shut, defeated.

"I've been there, Sam. And I know that it was by luck alone that I'm alive today. Seems like my luck's still pretty good. You're alive! And you're here! Don't you see, Sam? This is it. I'm not asking for forgiveness for things that can't be forgiven. I'm just asking for a second chance."