After Anna Matheson takes the first watch, Seamus Callahan retreats to his compartment, acknowledging his deference to Anna’s leadership due to the greater scope of her loss. He contrasts their grief, recalling that he buried his brother, Sean, while Anna’s family, including her brother, was obliterated in the train explosion years ago.

Seamus reflects on his abusive upbringing, his devotion to following Sean’s example into football and the Army, and how Sean’s death left him adrift until he met Anna at a cemetery a little over a year earlier, sent by Aunt Retta. He remembers immediately recognizing Anna’s shared grief and purpose and committing himself to her mission, though he remains unsure what will happen between them after they reach Chicago.

Trying to ease his tension, Seamus retrieves a worn photograph of Sean from his wallet, then puts it away. As he moves, something in his vest pocket bumps his ribs. He removes a small pillbox that Reginald “Reggie” Davis failed to discover when Reggie was searching him and was frightened off by Seamus’s revolver.

Seamus opens the pillbox and finds several chalky white pills inside. He counts them—there are five now—and notes with certainty that earlier there had been six. He closes the box and returns it to his pocket, implicitly acknowledging that a pill has gone missing sometime during the night.