Chapter 5 - Stripped of the Badge
"Effective immediately," Vance added, taking a step back and extending his hand toward her neck. "Turn over your credentials."
Emily felt a cold lump form in her throat, but she did not shed a tear. Her hands raised slowly to her chest. Her fingers caught the metallic clip of her official airline identification badge—the lanyard that gave her access to the security doors, the computer terminals, the breakrooms, the life she had built over the last two years.
With a swift, deliberate tug, she unclipped the badge. She held the plastic card in her palm for a split second, looking at her own smiling photograph above the bold black letters: EMILY - PASSENGER SERVICE.
She placed the badge into Vance’s outstretched palm.
"Hand over your uniform blazer pin as well," Vance demanded coldly, glaring at the silver corporate logo pinned near her heart.
Emily unpinned the silver wings, placing them beside the badge in his hand.
"Now get out of my terminal," Vance sneered, pocketing the items inside his dark suit. "Security will be notified that your clearance has been revoked. If you are on these premises in ten minutes, I will have you escorted out in handcuffs for trespassing."
Vance turned on his heel, smoothing down his tie with a sharp, satisfied flick of his wrist. He began walking away toward Gate 22, pulling his smartphone from his pocket to call the shift supervisor to replace her.
Emily stood alone beside the bench. Her arms hung uselessly at her sides. The reality of what she had just done hit her like a wave of ice water. She had no job. She had no reference from her manager. She had forty-two dollars in her checking account.
She turned slowly toward the bench, intending to apologize to the old woman for the scene that had just unfolded.
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"I'm sorry about that, ma'am," Emily began, her voice cracking slightly under the sudden weight of her ruined future. "He... he gets very stressed when the flights are delayed..."
The old woman did not look upset. In fact, she was no longer shivering.
