It was a little after nine in the morning at the hospital.
Fiona had taken the day off work, and Debbie and Carl had skipped school. Along with Liam, who was just a baby and oblivious to everything, they all sat by the hospital beds, waiting for Lip and Ian to wake up.
After waiting for over twenty minutes, Lip and Ian gradually came to.
Fiona, Debbie, and Carl noticed at the same time and were thrilled.
Another fifteen minutes passed before Lip and Ian could manage to speak.
Fiona expressed her concern, then held back the urge to scold them. She leaned toward Lip and cautioned, "Lip, you need to stay away from Karen! Girls like that are just going to cause you trouble."
Lip heard her and adopted his usual, "I-know-everything-and-I-don't-care" attitude. "Whatever."
Honestly, that attitude was so annoying it made people want to punch him.
Fiona didn't like it either, but she held back and said seriously, "I mean it! Do you have any idea how much trouble you caused this time? Ian almost ended up in juvie!"
Lip winced in pain, turned his head to look at Ian in the next bed, and then faced Fiona, nodding slightly. "Got it."
"This can't happen again," Fiona said. She knew Ian was gay, so this whole thing could only be Lip's fault for getting involved in something stupid.
"Uh-huh," Lip replied impatiently, and then, not wanting Fiona to harp on the topic, he changed the subject. "When can we get out of here?"
Fiona shook her head. "I'm not sure, at least three to five days."
"Then you should go to work. Debbie and Carl should go to school," Lip said, calm about the answer.
It was pointless to go to work right now; she would have to go after lunch anyway. Fiona skipped that issue and started nagging again.
Lip just shut down and didn't say a word.
Fiona knew Lip's personality, so after her lecture, she got up to check on Ian.
She only said a few quick words to Ian, telling him not to do that kind of thing again, without laying on the heavy guilt.
Unlike Lip, Ian was genuinely shaken up this time. Even if Fiona hadn't said anything, there was no way he would ever set foot in Karen's house again, or go near her.
"I'm sorry…" Ian apologized to Fiona.
Fiona's nose stung, and her eyes welled up with tears. She reached out and touched Ian's head, her heart a tangled mess of emotions.
Lip had done that stupid thing, but he hadn't apologized since waking up.
The two brothers really were different.
Fiona didn't say anything more.
Just then, Veronica, who had heard the news, walked over. When she saw the miserable state of Lip and Ian, she was shocked. "Damn!"
After her initial shock, she asked about Lip and Ian, then posed a critical question. "What the heck was up with all those nails?"
Lip had been thinking about that exact question. He hated the person who scattered those nails and wanted revenge. Hearing V's question, he answered right away. "The nails definitely weren't outside Karen's house before we went in. Whoever scattered them must have done it between the time we went inside and when we ran out."
Veronica asked again, "But why? Why would someone scatter so many nails around Karen's place for no reason?"
This was the million-dollar question.
Why?
No one could figure it out.
---
At this time, Kevin didn't have much affection for the Gallagher family, so he didn't go to the hospital with Veronica. After Veronica left, he ate a quick lunch alone at home. Done with his meal, he got dressed and walked toward the Alibi Room.
It was still a little early before the bar opened. Kevin planned to check on his weed plants.
When he reached the basement door, he saw the lock had been busted...
"What the fk!" Kevin's heart sank, and he quickly shoved the door open and rushed inside.
He looked around.
The rows and rows of plants were gone—only two stalks were left...
Instantly, Kevin's head spun. He couldn't catch his breath and almost passed out. "Fk me! Who the hell did this?!"
After calming down a little, Kevin clutched his head, unable to believe it.
It wasn't that he couldn't believe someone would steal the weed; it was that he couldn't believe someone knew the weed was even there.
"Motherfker!"
Kevin's heart was bleeding.
That much weed!
How much money was that worth? How long could he have been getting high??
Kevin was devastated.
After mourning for a long time, his gaze fell on the two remaining plants...
Kevin quickly moved, grabbing the tools in the basement and starting to harvest them, deciding to take the last two plants with him. "Bastard! Thank God you left me two! Screw you all!"
Kevin was cursing the whole time he was harvesting.
As for finding out who did it?
Kevin considered it for only a moment before giving up.
After all, how could he investigate? Growing this stuff was illegal!
And even if, by some miracle, he did find out who it was, what was he going to do? Fight them to the death?
Forget it, screw this. He just had to take the loss.
Kevin kept cursing, thoroughly dressing down the whole family of the person who stole his stash.
Dexter was oblivious to all of this.
He had just woken up a little while ago and had grabbed a simple lunch at a restaurant outside.
He had been in this world for a few days now, and he still couldn't adjust to the food. He really missed all the delicious meals from back home: noodles, fried rice, spicy hot pot, hot pot...
"Ugh," he sighed. He shouldn't think about it; the more he thought, the more he craved it.
Just then, his phone rang.
Dexter pulled out his phone.
Hey, it was Mickey.
'Already got it done that fast?' Dexter thought, answering the call.
It was true.
Mickey had successfully sold the weed stash for a total of one hundred and ten thousand dollars. "Where are you? I'll give you the truck and the money."
Dexter thought for a moment and decided not to pick a new spot. He just told Mickey his current location.
"Alright, I'll be there in about ten minutes," Mickey said, hanging up the phone without ceremony.
It didn't take long.
A panel van pulled up in front of Dexter. Mickey got out, gave Dexter a cocky grin, and said, "The money's in the truck. Next time you got a gig like this, hit me up. Later."
Mickey walked away immediately, his gait still just as swaggering—very Mickey.
Dexter smiled, didn't say anything, and got into the truck.
On the passenger seat was a black plastic bag containing fifty-five thousand dollars.
Dexter glanced at it briefly, didn't bother counting, and immediately hit the gas to take the rental truck back to the agency.
After returning the truck, he walked back, carrying the money.
"Time for the next step!" Dexter said to himself, deciding not to waste any time. He needed to find a commercial property and open a business.
Once the shop was open, he would figure out how to hire Fiona to work there, indirectly raising her standard of living. Then, he'd use his knowledge of the plot to guide Fiona at the right moments...
Completing the main mission wouldn't be so hard after all!
So, what kind of shop should he open?