Very quickly.
Because both Helen and Gwen were traveling, the luggage total reached four suitcases—extra-large ones, at that.
Originally, George had planned to drive his own car and leave Locke's vehicle behind. However, in the end, they took two cars, driving one after another toward JFK Airport.
"Gwen?"
"Hmm?"
Locke maintained a steady speed, following closely behind George's lead vehicle. He asked curiously, "I get the feeling that your grandpa doesn't seem to like George very much?"
Gwen put down her phone. "You noticed?"
Locke nodded.
How could he not? The look George gave him was basically a carbon copy of the look Grandpa gave George—as if it were struck from the same printing plate.
Gwen chuckled. "It's simple. When they first got married, Dad was just an ordinary officer. Once, Grandpa committed a traffic violation. Seeing it was George, he thought he could just drive off, but..."
Locke raised an eyebrow. "George relentlessly slapped the ticket onto Grandpa's face?"
Gwen nodded, then shook her head. "Grandpa thought Dad was letting him go, so he just drove away. As a result, that day, Grandpa was cited for a hit-and-run and fined five hundred dollars."
"..."
Locke went silent.
Gwen shrugged. "If it were you, would you do that?"
Locke shook his head. "No!"
He wasn't just talking. He had evidence! Last year, on that night, according to the Peerless Assassin's usual temperament, anyone standing in his way with a gun was an enemy.
But what did Locke do? He let George go.
The reason? George was a potential father-in-law. Killing a captive is unlucky; killing a father-in-law is a flat-out omen of disaster.
But George? Was he a role model for the principled?
Gwen continued, "I heard from Mom that when they finally got married, Grandpa was so angry he declared he wouldn't give them a single cent."
Locke was fascinated. "And then?"
"Dad worked as a cop by day, a bouncer at a club by night, and picked up armored car transport shifts with some veteran officers. Then, he went back to my grandpa and said he was going to propose to Mom."
"...Grandpa didn't slap him out of the house?"
"Dad told Grandpa that if Grandpa hit him, it would count as assaulting a police officer—because Dad went over while on duty, wearing his uniform."
"..."
Locke was struck with genuine awe. Then, it felt entirely unscientific. After all that, George still managed to marry Helen? It defied logic.
Locke felt like he was watching a suspense drama as he followed George's car onto the main road to JFK International Airport. "And then?"
Gwen shrugged. "Mom says Dad later had a heart-to-heart with Grandpa. Dad said that he was an officer, and if Grandpa were in his shoes, Grandpa wouldn't want his son-in-law to be a cop without principles. An officer without principles inevitably ends up in prison."
Locke blinked. "That's it?"
I find that hard to believe.
"Certainly not just that. Mom said a lot on the side too. Then, over two months of working day and night at various part-time jobs, Dad earned enough to cover the wedding costs himself."
"Later, Grandpa saw Dad's sincerity and softened his heart. He released Mom's wedding fund to her. Mom and Dad used that money, plus five years of savings, to buy that apartment."
Gwen looked at Locke. "Even though Grandpa still finds Dad an eyesore, it's mostly just habit now. Dad is used to it, too."
Understood. George is a masochist. No, they both are.
If it were Locke, and someone dared to send him to traffic court and then had the gall to say they wanted to marry his daughter? Locke would personally twist their head off on the spot.
Wait. No! The moment anyone said they wanted to marry his daughter, Locke would fly into a rage immediately.
(T/N:- Pot meets kettle)
...
JFK Airport.
Locke arrived just in time. He and George stood in the lobby, staring at each other while pushing two carts of luggage. Gwen and Helen had gone to pick up the tickets.
However...
Helen looked at the four first-class tickets Gwen had retrieved and frowned. "Didn't we buy economy class?"
Gwen explained, "Locke bought first class. He was going to buy it for me first, but then he realized he couldn't buy it for me and not for you. So, he just bought them for everyone."
Helen seemed to catch a specific point. "What about your father?"
Gwen didn't speak. She just looked at Helen and asked back, "Is it always like this with them?"
Grandpa and Dad are at odds. Dad and Locke seem to be at odds—though it's not obvious, the signs are there.
Helen pursed her lips and smiled. "Men always care about face. Unfortunately, whether it's your grandpa, your dad, or Locke, they're all the same. And Locke cares about face even more than the two of them."
If it weren't for "face," why would Locke hire a legal team to sue the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and that Nina Bell girl? It couldn't just be for fun. Locke wasn't a sociopath. He was smart, sensible, and polite—a proper gentleman.
Helen thought to herself, then looked at Gwen. "How much was the price difference? I'll give it to you, and you can give it to Locke."
Gwen smiled. "Don't worry, Mom. You don't have to pay. I already gave it to him."
Helen nodded. Locke had initially said it wasn't necessary, but Gwen had been very persistent during dinner a few days ago. As everyone knew, Locke was a master of the "way of compromise." Gwen insisted, so Locke naturally compromised.
George received his ticket, glanced at it, and looked at Helen with a bit of a grumble. "Why..."
Gwen took Locke's arm and interjected, "Dad, Locke upgraded the seats for us."
George opened his mouth, let out an "Oh," and pushed the luggage toward the security checkpoint. He didn't even turn his head. Looking out of the corner of his eye at the boy, his blood pressure soar. If he turned back, George feared only three of the four of them would make it onto the plane today.
...
On the plane.
George and Helen sat on the left. Locke and Gwen sat on the right.
Gwen was flipping through a brochure about their travel destination. Thinking of something, she nudged Locke, who had his eyes closed as if preparing to sleep.
Locke opened his eyes and looked at her.
Gwen whispered, "We won't encounter any weird or strange things this time, right?"
This time they were on land. The ocean? Not only was Gwen forbidden from stepping onto any cruise ships, but George and Helen had also tacitly removed all maritime activities from their list of entertainment.
Locke's expression stiffened. That sounded like a "flag" if he ever heard one.
But Locke carefully recalled the local customs and folklore of their destination in his memory and shook his head. "No, it shouldn't happen."
Gwen nodded. "That's good."
After all, the Poseidon incident hadn't truly ended yet. The compensation lawsuits for the Poseidon weren't easy—there were over three thousand people involved. Although the media had moved on after the initial hype, the parties involved were still at it.
If everything went smoothly, the court verdict might take another three years at the earliest. As for when the actual compensation would arrive?
Well, Locke, Gwen, Kahn, Cindy, Dylan, and Maggie had already received theirs. This was all thanks to Pepper Potts. The cruise line that operated the Poseidon had been secretly transferring assets, but while they could bully the common folk, they had no way to deal with Pepper.
2.3 million dollars in compensation each. It was a very good result. If they had gone to court with everyone else, they'd be lucky to see a few tens of thousands. The company had practically gone bankrupt building the ship; even if you wanted more, they had to have it first.
The US has bankruptcy laws, after all. Some people play it fast and loose, declare bankruptcy, suffer for a few years as a "refresher," and then transform back into millionaires overnight.
Kahn, Cindy, and Dylan didn't plan to pursue it further. Locke, naturally, didn't care either. Again, Locke only got serious when it involved point rewards. If anyone touched his points, he'd take their head. In other situations, Locke was a very easy-going person.
---
By the time they reached their destination, it was nearly noon. They got off the plane and headed to the car rental area. Locke took the keys to an Audi R8 from the rental employee.
"Didn't you say you were going to rent a pickup truck?"
"No need." Locke opened the trunk. Seeing George walking over with a set of Ford pickup keys, he smiled slightly. "We can just drive George's truck into the mountains when the time comes."
George's eyebrow twitched as he glanced at Locke's rented R8. "You really seem to like this car."
That Peerless Assassin also seemed to prefer driving a silver Audi R8 during every operation.
Locke placed Gwen's suitcase in the trunk, closed it, and smiled. "I'm mostly used to driving it. Besides, I already ordered a pickup from Audi. I thought it would arrive in time, but it seems it didn't."
"Order..." George's mouth twitched. He didn't finish his sentence, instead pulling out his phone to make a call.
Again. His annual salary was only eighty thousand. This wild boar had earned a year's worth of his salary in just two months by selling his "good looks."
There was no comparison. And besides, why should he compare his financial strength to a wild boar's?
George thought to himself as the call connected. He immediately changed the subject: "Hank, I'm here. Where are you?"