Runner

Chance tells his dad that he looks good, and the dad says Melissa’s dad got him a job as a janitor for his office building downtown. He’ll work nights and weekends and get medical, dental, vacation, and sick days.

Chance tells his dad he’s enlisting in the Army. His dad warns him about getting a “pretty girl” pregnant and starting a family before he’s ready. Chance’s dad doesn’t want his son to make the same mistakes he did.

Chance asks why his dad got kicked out of the army. The reasons relate to drinking, missing curfew, and fighting. They have nothing to do with acting cowardly during battle.

Chance realizes he didn’t tell his dad about Burdett, the packages, or the men in the formal clothes. His dad probably couldn’t help him. No one can help him. He got into this mess by himself, so he has to get out of it on his own.

The pickup is May 1, and Chance feels sick and extremely paranoid. The day before the pickup, a black Mercedes speeds by him, and people tear up the inside of the boat. They were looking for the packages but couldn’t find them. Chance’s dad sees the mess and wants to know what’s happening.

Chance tells his dad everything, and his dad opens the packages. They’re not gems but plastic explosives—hooked to a detonator, they can cause mortal damage. Chance’s dad tells him to sneak onto the inflatable of the neighboring boat and row to the beach. Chance then has to speak to Trevor Watts (Melissa’s dad). If Chance talks to the police, the police will investigate, and the terrorists will see them and escape. Chance’s dad wants to catch the terrorists to prevent them from devising a new plan.

Chance tells Melissa he has to speak to her dad—it’s an emergency. Melissa jokingly wonders if Chance will ask for her “hand in marriage.” After Melissa realizes the seriousness of the situation, she tells Chance her dad is home—he’s supposed to take her to buy her a new laptop for college.

In the solarium, Chance notices the telescope and realizes that many of the homes along the bluff have telescopes, so any number of people could have been watching him make the pickups in the rocks. He points the telescope at the pier and notices Tiny Dancer is gone.

Melissa’s dad arrives, and Chance tells him about the explosives and the missing boat. Melissa’s dad theorizes that Chance’s father may have taken the boat into Puget Sound to keep the terrorists away, or the terrorists may have seized the boat.

Melissa’s dad makes phone calls and suggests closing the bridges and holding the ferries. The drastic measures will “paralyze” Seattle, but they should save lives. Melissa drives her dad and Chance to a police helicopter, and the police give Chance binoculars to identify the sailboat.

In the helicopter, Chance doesn’t see Tiny Dancer. He instructs the pilot to head toward Ballard Locks, but there are many sailboats, and Chance can’t make out their names. The helicopter heads toward Puget Sound.

The authorities spot a boat moving “erratically,” and Chance sees his dad. The boat is near the Norwegian Sky, a luxury ship carrying around 1,000 people. On the Tiny Dancer, two men point guns at Chance’s dad. A patrol boat arrives, and gunshots go off. Chance’s dad attacks one of the men while the other man goes below deck. Chance’s dad neutralizes the terrorist with the gun and waves the gun at the helicopter before Tiny Dancer explodes.

Melissa’s dad appoints himself Chance’s lawyer. While Chance sits alone on the 28th floor of a Seattle office building, her dad speaks to a balding man in a gray suit. Returning, her dad asks Chance if he knew he was working for terrorists. Chance says he didn’t, so Melissa’s dad advises him to tell the FBI everything he knows.

After Chance speaks with an agent for hours, Melissa’s dad takes him to the Starbucks in the lobby. Chance feels responsible for his dad’s death, but Melissa’s dad says what happened was beyond Chance’s control. Besides, Chance’s dad died a hero—he stopped a terrorist attack and saved countless lives.

There’s a large funeral for Chance’s dad at a Lutheran church, and Chance hopes to see his mom, but she doesn’t come. Other people cry, but Chance doesn’t shed a tear. He continues to talk to the authorities. As long as he cooperates, they won’t arrest him. Chance thinks he should go to jail to atone for his actions. Melissa’s dad tells him there are other ways to make up for his behavior, and Chance must figure out the best way.

Melissa’s family offers to care for Chance indefinitely. They’ll pay for community college and then for a university. Chance turns down their generosity. He doesn’t want Melissa’s family life to become his life. He has a separate life. Good or bad, it belongs to him, and he must go places for himself and his dad.