Luc congratulated himself. Viola's pills were doing the trick. He saw the telltale glint in her eyes, and the new laziness in her movements. And she was looking better. This morning, for example, she got up, dressed herself in a very becoming, peach sundress, and came downstairs to the garden. Luc loved seeing her there with the flowers; he loved seeing her anywhere besides her bedroom. "Yes," he thought, "she'll be much better from now on."
And it couldn't have happened at a better time. Mr. Fitzwallace would be arriving from London within the next ten days, and Viola had to be ready for him. She was so pleasing when she wanted to be, and thanks to the pills, she'd be pleasing Mr. Fitzwallace quite a bit. One of the charming side effects.
He joined her. "Hello, my darling," he said. "You look so pretty today." He kissed her cheek.
"Thank you, Father."
"What are you up to out here?"
"Watching the butterflies. They don't live very long."
"Butterflies?"
"No, they only live twenty-four hours, but can you imagine what a wonderful day it is?"
"Then we must take a lesson from them and live each of our days like a butterfly. Sounds delightful, doesn't it?"
She nodded.
"Shall we have some tea?" Luc asked. "I can have Puck bring it out to the patio."
"No, thank you. I'd like to take a walk now."
"All right, my love, but first I want to ask you about something."
She didn't answer but gave him an expectant look under her long lashes.
"You know I've worked hard to build Sidarus Enterprises into a legacy for my children. I'd always planned to let you and Ren take over for me someday."
"Rosa and---"
"Oh, Rosa will only be happy when she's serving patients, and our Miranda is much too young and scatter-brained. No, Viola, you and your brother will carry on our tradition."
"I don't know anything about business, Father."
"There's nothing to know. All you have to do is be the agreeable girl you naturally are. Our business associates will like that. Ren will take care of the bothersome end of the company."
"But Ren wants to have a magazine."
"Oh, that will pass. We simply have to be patient. But you, my love, I can't be patient for you."
She frowned, and Luc thought he saw something, just a glimmer of something troubling, behind her eyes. "Why?" she asked.
"Well, I have a business associate coming soon, a very important man from the United Kingdom. And I want you to help me entertain him."
"I'm a horrible hostess, Father. I don't know how to start conversations."
"Nonsense. You are a marvelous young lady, and you won't have anything to worry about. All I want is for you to focus on Mr. Fitzwallace. Don't worry about anything else, but you must accommodate him in every way. Do you understand me, Viola?"
"I think so, Father."
Luc put his arm around her and said, "This is an opportunity for you, Viola, to prove that you can meet a challenge. I've been defending you to everyone for years, saying that you will rise to the occasion when you are called upon. People have told me that you can't be helped, that I should simply send you to the sanitarium---"
She jerked away from him.
"But I've told them, no, she doesn't need that. And I know that when Mr. Fitzwallace arrives, you'll prove I've been correct, all these years. I am correct, aren't I, Viola? You don't need to go to a hospital, do you?"
"No, Father."
"Of course not. Well, then I think you understand the opportunity I'm giving you."
"Yes, Father. I'll do whatever you say."
He smiled. "I know you will, my love. You will never disappoint me."
"May I take my walk now?"
"Yes, but don't go outside the gates."
"No, sir."
She walked down the garden path, and Luc watched as the flowers swallowed her up until he could no longer see her at all.
**************** 
Kara lit the candles and stepped back to take in her table setting. Manufacturing romance in a cramped apartment required considerable creativity and considerable planning. Most importantly, she had to make sure Zach would sleep through their supper, and by manipulating his nap schedule, she'd bought them at least two hours. She didn't like to interfere with his routine, but drastic times called for drastic measures.
And it was a drastic time. She and Hasting hadn't eaten together in two weeks. The case he was working was absorbing him--- physically and mentally. His total abstraction bothered her even more than his absence from their home. When she married him, she'd been prepared for the challenges of being a cop's spouse, but when he was around, she wanted him to focus on their life together. On two occasions in the past few days, she'd had entire conversations with him, and later realized he hadn't been listening at all. She'd rattle on about Zach or her grocery store, and he'd make noncommittal replies until she clued in that he was really miles away. "It's the case," she kept telling herself, and she hoped she was right.
But he'd promised that they would share a meal tonight. She'd been working all afternoon to ensure that everything went perfectly, and her worrying had paid off. The table looked great. She had spread it with a batik printed cloth, which made her bright, ceramic dishes from Target look a little more spectacular. The candles flanked a floating magnolia blossom, one of the summer's last. She turned on the Marvin Gaye and checked on the food--- steak and potatoes for Hasting, baked squash and salad for her.
She heard Hasting's usual greeting, "Where's my girl?" just as she was pulling his steak from the oven.
She rushed to him. "Shhh," she said with a big smile, "Zach's sleeping. Don't ruin the opportunity."
"Opportunity?"
She led him into the dining room.
"What's all this?" he asked.
"Oh, Hasting. Don't tell me you forgot."
"I didn't."
"Dinner tonight?"
"No, I remembered. I, uh, just didn't realize it was going to be such a big deal."
She put her arms around his waist. "You forgot."
"Well, maybe just a little bit." He playfully bit her earlobe. "Remind me."
"Later, big boy. First, we eat." She pushed him into a chair and returned to the kitchen.
"Sexy music, candles, tablecloth--- you knocked yourself out, baby-doll."
"Nothing's too good for my husband," she said as she placed a plate in front of him.
"You touched red meat for my sake?"
She smiled and sat across from him, loving the way he looked at her, the way he hadn't in much too long.
"You know what? You're gorgeous," he said.
"So are you. How was your day?"
"My day was the same as it always is, and I'm not letting it ruin tonight. I want to hear what you've been up to."
"Well, Zach went to the store with me this morning. He was so good, and..." She told a story about Zach and one of her employees at Healthy Falls. "You should have seen them playing together. No separation anxiety for him," she said. Then she told him about a problem with the store's soymilk, and about taking soup to a sick neighbor. And he listened. He gave her advice. He laughed at her little jokes. And she thought, "This is what married people do. We're going to be like this from now on. We both just have to try harder."
"This is good wine," Hasting said as they finished their meal. "Everything, really, was great, baby-doll. So what have you got planned next?"
"Well, I think we've got at least an hour before Zach wakes up."
He leaned back and looked her up and down, just the way he had the first night they were together. It had the same effect it had that first time. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and bury her face in his neck, knowing he'd make sure nothing bad ever happened to her again. She rose and sat in his lap. He cradled her in his arms and kissed her.
"I've missed you so much," he said.
"Me too." She reached her arms under his jacket. "I can't believe you didn't take this---" She pulled away. "Hasting," she said, "your shirt is ripped. What happened?"
"It's nothing, baby, just got caught chasing a guy today. I would've changed, but you had everything---"
Kara jumped off his lap.
"What is it?" he asked.
"I hate your job sometimes."
"Because I ripped my shirt?"
"Today you ripped your shirt. What will happen tomorrow?"
"Nothing. Ninety-five percent of the time, nothing bad happens. And it was just a shirt today. Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it right away. I know how you get upset---"
"Oh, so now it's my problem? There's something wrong with me because I want my husband safe and home?"
"I am, right now, I am."
"For the first time, Hasting, in I-don't-know-how-long." She shook her head. "I'm sorry," she said. "I wanted tonight to be so special, and now..."
"No, no, tonight is special. I spend my days chasing scum, and I know you get worried about that, but I do it for you, baby-doll. For you and for Zach, you know. I want us all to live in a safe city." He stood and put his arms around her. "And we do. That's why most of the time, I don't have anything to worry about."
"What about the other times?"
"Well, I've gotta take that risk because I know I'm doing the right thing. And that's the guy you married, a cop." He stroked her hair. "I know it's hard on you. But I've got a good partner who watches my back. You trust me?"
"Yes, I just don't trust the bad guys."
"Well, you know, things'll be a lot better soon. After this case---"
"When?"
"What?"
"When will you be done with this case?"
Hasting sighed. "I can't tell you exactly, but give me a week or so."
"That's all?"
"Promise."
"Okay." She nuzzled him. "I love you so much. When I think about somebody wanting to hurt you---"
Hasting laughed. "None of that," he said. He kissed her cheek and then her lips.
She squeezed him as tight as she could. "Oh, God, Hasting, I---"
"BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!" screamed his pager.
"Tiffany," he said without checking it.
"Don't call her," Kara said.
She'd never, not once since they met, asked him to ignore a call from work. The steel in her eyes surprised him. "Kara," he said, "you know I---"
"No, Hasting, not tonight. You told me you'd make sure. You were supposed to tell her that---"
"Look, we're breaking a case right now. If she---"
She stepped back from him. "No, Hasting. Tonight I need you more."
They stared at each other for a moment. Kara held her breath. She'd never made such a bold request, not to him, not to anyone. She felt daring, strong, but at the same time, fear crept up her spine and into her stomach. Because if he didn't do what she asked, what would that mean?
Hasting looked at the floor. He raised his eyes again and looked at her, searching for something, permission, probably. Then he walked to the kitchen to use the phone.
**************** 
Felix surveyed his bedroom, trying to decide what to pack. He couldn't take much, but that was no real hardship. Although he'd been living in a small guesthouse behind Luc's private residence for over a year, Felix had never made a home out of his three rooms there. He'd known from the beginning that he would bail at the first opportunity. Luc's "associates" tended to disappear, and Felix knew he'd be no exception. So he planned to disappear on his own terms.
He'd seen his chance when Luc started getting jumpy about the drugs. He knew Tiffany Watts from high school. He wasn't from Carmine Falls, but he and Tiffany had been into the same music scene, and they'd gotten close a few times. Felix knew that Tiffany was in vice at the C.F.P.D., so he made contact. Well, the police academy hadn't changed her much, and Felix had no trouble convincing her to cooperate. The only thing that shocked him was how little she asked for, but it worked to his advantage. Luc, he knew, would gladly pay three times the sum she required, so Felix decided to give himself a little commission. Felix knew he was a dead man if Luc found out, but Luc wasn't going to find out. "Three days from now, I'll be in Bangkok," Felix thought, "and the old man will never find me." He smiled at the bulging manila envelope that held the thousands he'd swindled from Luc. "That money will go a long way over there, and it'll help me start up a scam of my own."
Because, of course, that's what Felix was, essentially--- a scam artist. He could talk his way into any situation, and then he could turn around and talk himself out of it. That's why Luc had noticed him, and for a while, it had been okay. But now Luc was trying to turn him into a thug, and Felix was too smart to let that happen. All of Luc's henchmen ended up going down for one of Luc's crimes in the end. The way it worked was, Luc got somebody to do something, run some major drugs, hit somebody, something that carried serious time. And he worked it so there wasn't a trail back to Sidarus Enterprises itself. And then, when Luc started to feel the heat, he'd lay his little henchman out to dry. That way, the prosecutor's office took care of people Luc considered liabilities. That's why Luc wanted Felix to hit Nick Rhodes. But Felix had never killed anyone, and he wasn't planning to start just because Luc said so.
He even had a plan to protect himself in case Luc did find him, and it all revolved around that beautiful slip of paper he'd pulled out of Vincent's coffee can fire. Funny, how such few words spoke volumes. Luc didn't want someone to find that note. Obviously, he wanted to hide it from someone in his house, or he would have destroyed it himself, in his own office. But instead, he sent Vincent to do it at Rayburn's. Now, Mrs. Sidarus owned Rayburn's, which led Felix to assume that Luc wasn't worried about her finding the note or its remains. So it had to be one of his kids. He was a control freak about them, anyway, so that made sense. And when Luc made such a big show about how he'd loved Rosa just like his own, Felix knew he was lying. Oh, he loved Rosa, all right; she was obviously his favorite. But there was no way in hell that girl was adopted. She looked like she'd been spit out of Luc's mouth. Same black hair, same dark eyes, same precise features. They even moved with the same controlled grace. She was his kid, no doubt about it. And if she was his kid, but everyone (including Rosa) thought she was adopted, that could only mean one thing. He was lying to her. So Felix had it all figured out. On the off chance that Luc ever found him in the Far East, that scrap of paper would be in a secret location, and one phone call to Rosa would blow the thing right open. Of course, the best would be to find Rosa's mother. That would really screw the old man over, but he needed more information to do that, and he hadn't---
Felix glanced out of his side window and saw Rosa coming toward his house. He ran out his front door and paced himself rounding the corner of the building. His timing was right on, and he collided with Rosa, just as he'd intended to. But he hadn't accounted for her strength and the speed she'd been traveling. He fell and landed on his back. His head struck a stone, and blood ran down his face. Of course, Felix immediately saw how to make the best of the situation.
"Oh my goodness!" Rosa said, reaching down to him. "I'm so sorry."
Felix smiled as he stood up. "No, I wasn't looking where I was going. Are you all right?"
"Yes, I'm fine, but you're not. Here, you live in..." She indicated the guesthouse.
Felix nodded.
"Then let's step inside, and fix this up."
Once inside, Rosa checked his medicine cabinet. "Don't you have any antiseptic?" she asked.
He laughed. "I never expect to get hurt."
"Typical man, I guess. Here..." She seated him on the toilet and ran cold water over a patch of tissue. "I'm Rosa," she said as she cleaned his cut.
"Yes, I know."
"I'm sorry, I don't..."
"Felix Ash."
"Yes, of course. I'm not very good with names. I know who you are, though. I mean, I see you around all the time."
"It's okay. You really don't have to do this. You must be on your way somewhere."
"No, not really. I was going to look at an apartment."
"Wow, I didn't know you were planning to---"
"I hadn't been, but it makes sense, now. Do you want to come up to the house so I can bandage this properly?"
"No, don't go to any trouble. I'll be fine."
"Well..." She handed him another bundle of tissue. Hold this up to it. "I'm going to sit with you until it stops bleeding."
"I'm sure---"
"Head injuries are very dangerous. Now, come on." She took his hand and led him to the bedroom. "Sit there," she said, indicating an overstuffed armchair. There was no other seat in the room, so she sat on his bed.
Felix was at an uncharacteristic loss for words. He knew that he needed to manipulate their conversation towards her biological parentage, but as he sat there, holding toilet paper to his head and looking at her, he had no idea what to say. It was uncanny how much she resembled the old man, but he didn't have legs like that. And he wouldn't have rearranged his schedule one iota just to sit with someone who was hurt. No, Felix didn't know how to talk to this girl at all. Finally, he said, "So you're moving out of the big house?"
"Yes," she said, "but it's not a big deal. I was just thinking it would be nice to be closer to the hospital, and if Viola moves in with me..." She trailed off, and Felix realized she was thinking of something else.
It was time to take the bull by the horns. "Now is she adopted too?" he asked.
"No, um, no, she's not." She frowned. "Who told you I'm adopted?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I know it's none of my business, but see, I'm adopted---"
"Really?" She smiled.
"Yes," he lied. "It's like a club, I guess."
"Yeah, some club."
"Well, you know, it's something very few people understand, so it's always nice to meet someone you can talk to about it."
"I don't talk about it much. How's your head?"
"Uh, still gushing, I'm afraid. Anyway, so Luc adopted you when you were..."
"Ten. I was ten. So that's why, I mean, after fifteen years, I think it's time to get out of the house."
Felix eyed his envelope of money. He said, "Right, I know what you mean."
"You seem like you left home at eighteen, never looked back," Rosa said with a trace of admiration in her voice.
"Well, yeah, you know, I wanted to find my real parents, the ones who had me, I mean."
Rosa brightened. "Did you find them?"
"Yeah, I found my mom. Great lady, just circumstances."
"Was it hard to find her? Like, did you have a name?"
"No, I had to do some searching. Of course, it depends on how much information you have. Like do you know where she---"
"Oh, no, I'm not looking for my mother," she said quickly. "I'm trying to find my father."
Felix thought, "You don't have to look too far." It didn't make any sense. That letter had to be from her mother, because Luc was obviously---
"So what would I do?" she asked. "For instance, if I wanted to look internationally."
"Um, you know, it's easier to trace your mother and then find your father."
"No, I... look, I'm sorry to be rude, but trust me, I know where my mother is."
"You do?" Felix was getting confused; nothing was adding up anymore.
"Yes, um, she's dead. So I can't ask her about my father, okay?"
Now, that made no sense. If she were dead, she couldn't have written that letter. And if she didn't write it, then what was Luc afraid of? No, Rosa had to be wrong. "You're sure she's dead?" he asked.
Rosa glared at him. "Yes," she said, "I'm sure."
"But don't you---"
"I know whether or not my own mother is dead."
"Well, sometimes things get mixed up in the social---"
"Listen, Felix, thanks for your persistence, but I am positive that my mother's dead. I saw her."
"Oh, wait, you saw her dead?"
"Yes, that's what I've been trying to tell you. She was raped and murdered in our house while I was sleeping." She sighed. "Luc was her friend. He came and got me afterwards."
They were silent. Felix really had no idea what to say. His assumptions had obviously been completely off the mark, and now he'd hurt her. And what was even more shocking, he cared.
"How's your head?" she asked quietly.
"Rosa, I'm sorry."
"Forget about it. I shouldn't have---"
"No, I shouldn't have pushed it. I was, um, trying to help."
"It's just a really touchy subject for me. But I'm lucky, you know, because I didn't end up in foster care. So..."
"But you want to find your father, you said."
"Yes."
"You don't have to talk about it if---"
"No, there's just nothing to say. I've never met him. I don't even know his last name."
"Then how do you---"
"Letters. I have these letters he wrote my mother."
Felix stood up. "Letters?" he asked.
"Yes, and I gave them to Luc, and he's going to find my father. At least he told me he would."
"When did you give them---"
"Father's Day." She laughed. "I was feeling sentimental, I guess. Look, if you're okay, I really have to---"
"No, no, go ahead." He walked her to the door. "I'm sorry, by the way, if I upset you."
She smiled. "I think I'm just on edge... lately. Don't worry about it."
"You know, if I can help you..."
"Right, thanks. I'll, uh, let you know."
She left and Felix tried to think about packing, but he couldn't concentrate. He went out for some fresh air, to clear his head. Well, Rosa was pretty certain her mother was dead, so that meant at the very least that the person she thought was her mother was dead. And she thought her father was... She couldn't be that gullible, though. Luc adopted her because he was an old friend of her mother's? That was the oldest story in the book. And that damn letter! What the hell was the real story behind it?
Felix finally decided the whole thing was beyond him and went back to the guesthouse. He'd keep the letter for protection. If push came to shove, he might be able to bluff Luc with it, but no matter what, he had to get out of there right away. He couldn't stick around in case the drug deal blew up; Luc would know Felix had been lying. So thank God for that gorgeous wad of---
The money was gone. "Okay, stay calm," Felix told himself. "It's gotta be here. It's... damn it, I shouldn't have left it out!" He tore his room apart, throwing back the bedclothes and emptying his drawers, but after an hour-long search, he had to face the unbearable truth. He laughed in total exasperation. "Well, kid," he thought, "looks like you're not going anywhere after all. The question is: How do I get out of this one alive?"
Episode 7
Previously on Sins of the Fathers
--- Tiffany encouraged Hasting to speed up the drug bust
--- Luc asked Felix to kill Nick Rhodes
--- Felix's plan to leave Carmine Falls before the drug deal was derailed
CLICK-click. CLICK-click. CLICK-click.
"Will you just light one and quit playing with that thing!" Hasting said.
"I don't want to smoke," Tiffany answered.
"Then put the lighter down."
She dropped it in the console of the car. "Sorry."
"Anxious?"
"Are you?"
"No, I'm ready to do this."
"Me, too, Hasting, but..."
"What?" Hasting didn't take his eyes off the road, but she heard the impatience in his voice.
"Nothing," she said.
"Okay."
They were silent for a few minutes. Then Tiffany burst out, "Hasting, I keep feeling like we don't have all the info on this one."
"We never know everything, Tiff. But we know what we need to know. They're meeting at this warehouse at one A.M. to exchange a lot of dope for a lot of cash. We bust it up, and we get both, plus all those collars."
"Right."
"It's your first big bust, that's all." He flashed a confident smile. "Just wait till you're an old-timer like me."
"What if---"
"What if nothing. We've got cover. They'll be outside the warehouse. What could go wrong?"
"But..."
"Yes?"
Tiffany paused before she answered, "Nothing," with something less than the confidence in Hasting's voice.
**************** "As far as that's concerned, though, I could bite it right now," Felix thought as he observed Vincent's erratic driving, "This guy's a loose cannon. Maybe it would be better if I did bite it right now. Who knows what might go down at the warehouse."
"Hey, snap out of it," Vincent said gruffly.
"What?"
"What are you thinking about?"
"Going to bed, actually. Why do all nefarious activities have to take place in the middle of the night?"
"Boss doesn't want anybody to know," Vincent answered simply.
"Seems more obvious to me."
"Well, I guess that's why you're not the boss."
"Yet," Felix joked.
Vincent wasn't amused. "I wouldn't count on anything," he said.
"Meaning?"
"I'm saying you've been a big shot, but you didn't weasel me out of this deal."
"Right, Vincent, because I really wanted to deal with these gun-toting thugs on my own."
"You think you're too good to carry a gun?" Vincent challenged.
"Actually, yes, I do," Felix answered as he glanced at the bulge in Vincent's jacket for the thousandth time. "I'm an intellectual, not that I would expect you to understand."
Felix knew it was risky, provoking Vincent that way. After all, the guy's fuse was getting shorter by the minute. "But," he thought, "there's a fifty percent chance that Luc knows what I've been up to with Tiffany. And if he does, then there's an eighty percent chance this isn't a drug deal at all. And if that's not what's really going on, there's a ninety-five percent chance that this whole venture is actually about doing away with me." He looked at Vincent out of the corner of his eye. "He's trigger-happy," Felix thought, "and feeling threatened. He'd probably love doing it." The full moon lit the warehouse in the distance. Felix sighed. "Well," he thought, "I'll know for sure soon enough. And I'll deal with it then."
**************** Nick Rhodes spit his gum out and pounded the locked door of the old warehouse. "Where the hell are they?" he demanded.
"Keep it cool, man," Frances Baker said. "They'll be here."
"I don't know. Sidarus. I still can't believe he'd be willing to sell us his entire stash."
"It's a lotta smack," Frances agreed. "An' it's going to make us rich."
Nick grunted. "As long as we get Sidarus off our backs."
"No doubt. Free at last, free at last!" Frances accompanied this statement with an impromptu dance.
Nick frowned. "You high?"
Frances laughed.
"ARE YOU HIGH?"
"I had a hit."
"Frances!"
"What? I's no big deal."
"How are you going to cover me if you're coked up?"
"Don't worry, man."
"Did you even remember your gun?"
"Yeah." Frances pulled up his shirt to verify.
"Maybe I better take it."
"No, man, you hate to do the dirty work. I shoot better like this."
"Okay," Nick said doubtfully, "just remember. Don't use it unless you have to, but use it the second you think they might be out for me. Got it?"
"Covered. Damn." Frances squinted at the lights of an approaching car. They both started to hide but realized that whoever was in the car had already seen them. They held still and didn't speak until the car was very close.
"It's them," Nick said.
Felix and Vincent got out of the car.
Nick stared at them for a moment. Then he said, "Let's get this done."
**************** "It's them," Hasting said as he and Tiffany approached the warehouse, "their cars."
"We only know Nick's."
"Yeah, but it's obvious who the other one belongs to."
"I guess."
Hasting glared at her. "What is with you? You've been hot to bust this for months, and now you're acting like---"
"What?"
"Like, I don't know, Tiff, not like you."
She turned away from him and kicked a loose stone up from the dirt drive. "I feel," she said, "like I want to crawl out of my skin."
"Nerves."
"No. No, it's not, Hasting. I think we're missing something here."
"Why are you stuck on that?"
"Because I... forget it. Where's our backup?"
"They'll be here."
"I don't think we should go in till they get here."
"We won't, but you know, Princess, they're not going to hang out in there all night. It's now or---"
"Don't say it." She shook her head. "I'm an idiot, Hasting." She took a deep breath and said, "Okay. I'm ready when you are."
**************** Felix checked out the warehouse. Ugly, dark, and bare. Stacks of boxes (filled with the "merchandise" in question) sporadically broke the thick carpet of dust and God-knows-what-else that covered the concrete floor. The atmosphere was growing more ominous by the minute. He thought the car ride with Vincent had been weird, but this... Not that they should have high-fived Nick and Frances, or talked about the Mets game. But they could have at least made the exchange efficiently. No, there was something going on below the surface, a different agenda, or several different agendas. Vincent was definitely close to the breaking point. Frances was obviously high, and Nick, well, he just seemed suspicious. "You know," Felix thought, "maybe I should get out of here now. If I can sneak out, I can take the car. Vincent's so stupid he always leaves the keys in the ignition. Why don't they get it over with anyway?" Then, suddenly, it made sense. Vincent's terseness, the stalling. Luc had told Felix to get rid of Nick, but he couldn't really want that. If Nick died now, who would unload the drugs? And that was what Luc was really after, right? No, Luc knew Felix was above doing a hit, so the whole purpose of that inane request was just to distract Felix. After all, Luc hadn't even checked to see if Felix was actually carrying a gun. In a moment of total clarity Felix thought, "It's me. Vincent's going to kill me. That way, they take the drugs off the old man's hands, and if anyone ever finds out about the deal, I'll be the fall guy, the perfect kind, the kind who can't talk. Damn it, how could I have been so dense?" He looked at Vincent's thick hands and thought, "I've got a few lives left, but you're not taking one. There's gotta be a way out."
A way out, that was the crucial point. Felix had allowed Vincent to take the lead on the exchange, and Vincent had happily obliged. Unfortunately, Vincent had decided to conduct business right in front of the door. The back way led to a primitive loading dock, but the door to it was bolted, and Felix didn't think he'd be able to get it unlocked without attracting Vincent's (and his gun's) attention. But there was a particularly large stack of crates, and if Felix could inch his way there before the three stooges finished their haggling...
But at the luckiest possible moment, Frances became irritated and screamed, "Listen man, don't make me pull---"
"Whoa---" Nick said.
"I told you---" Vincent answered.
They were fighting, and that was good, because it decreased the likelihood that they'd notice what Felix was up to. "If only they would all sample some of that merchandise," Felix thought.
As their argument escalated, Felix crept behind the crates. From his position there, he was able to reach the bolts on the loading dock door. They obviously hadn't been turned any time in the past millenium or so. He needed a wrench, but made do with his hands. He recalled Zen sayings as he gripped the bolts. "One, two, three," he thought as he twisted and breathed in time to his efforts. "One, two, three..." So deep was his concentration that he failed to notice how heated the argument up front had become. In fact, he didn't notice anything until the fighting stopped completely. The warehouse was deadly silent. Then, footsteps.
"Felix," Vincent called.
Felix heard Vincent approaching, and then he heard the unmistakable, barely perceptible sound of a gun being pulled from its holster.
Then shouting up front again.
Nick said, "Frances, get---"
"Holy sh---"
"Frances, get---"
BANG!
Without thinking, Felix rose to see Frances, gun in hand, falling backwards. The blank look on Frances' face told Felix that the kid was already dead. Vincent was drawn and aiming at Nick. Neither of them looked at Felix. He forced himself back into action and returned to the bolts.
As he worked, the fighting resumed. "Okay," Nick said, "I don't know what you---"
"Shut up!" Vincent yelled. "I don't care---"
"Anything, Vincent. Okay? I'll do anything you say."
"Too late, Nicky-boy, you---"
His words were broken by a crash at the front of the warehouse, and at that exact moment, Felix's bolts gave way. Felix pushed the door to the loading dock open, thankful that the pandemonium at the front of the warehouse hid its loud creak. But just as he crawled out the door, Tiffany's voice stopped him.
"Weapons down!" she shouted.
"I'm unarmed!" Nick said.
Felix stood and saw Tiffany and Hasting at the front of the warehouse, guns drawn, backed up by several blue-clad officers. Nick raised his hands above his head, but Vincent pointed his gun from one cop to another.
"Shoot him!" Nick said. "For---"
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Nick collapsed.
Vincent reeled backwards.
And then Felix saw a jerky movement in the line of blue.
"Tiffany!" Felix yelled.
Hasting made eye contact with Felix and pointed his gun directly at him. "Oh, no," Felix thought, "if Vincent didn't take me down, no cop is." He dashed out the loading dock door and into the silvery black of night.
Tiffany fell to the ground as blood seeped out of a hole in her chest and soaked the dusty floor around her.
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