Ch. 196..200: Fall For My Ex’s Mafia Dad Chapter 196-200

Chapter 196

destroyed

"I had to do it, Fay," Daniel says, looking at me evenly, his voice serious and heavy with the weight of the life he just took. "He couldn't live - you know that. You've read enough Machiavelli to know that if he lived he'd have come for vengeance. He had to be "Daniel," I say, trying to interrupt and moving around the table now.

"I'm serious!" Daniel continues, stepping away from my father's corpse and facing me as I come around, the bloody knife still clutched in his hand. "This is the only way we survive this, Fay - any of us. He had to die - and I - I know you're too gentle to be able to do it I wanted to take the blood on my hands so you didn't have to -"

"Daniel -" I say, stepping close to him now and looking up into his eyes - reaching out a hand to place against his heaving chest.

"I'm right about this, Fay!" he protests, insistent, needing me to see it. "Men ought to be indulged or utterly destroyed - if you -"

"Daniel!" I interrupt again, wrapping my hand around the lapel of his jacket and tugging it, hard, to get his attention. And then a little smile breaks out on my lips as I open my hand and hold up the little vial still sitting on my palm. "It's just sugar water," I whisper. I look up at my husband, my best friend, very carefully, loving him anew for wanting to take this from me - this inevitable thing that I wanted to save him from as well.

A hard little gasp breaks from Daniel's throat as he throws out an arm and grabs me, pulling me close, his hand that still holds the knife held far away from both of us. "Fay," he groans, and I can hear his voice break on the word. "Why didn't you tell me that part of your plan?"

"Because I didn't think you'd let me go through with it," I say, laughing a little. Because, ultimately, I was right - he didn't let me. He did it himself.

I feel Daniel sigh against me and then he lowers his head to rest his cheek against my hair. "Shit, Fay...we did this. I killed a man."

"We both did it," I murmur, wrapping my arms around his waist and burying my face against his chest, fighting all of the horrible emotions welling up in me. Guilt, and fear, and - perhaps worse, because I'm a murderer now, and I shouldn't feel any of the good things - but relief and freedom, they're there too. "We'll share this, Daniel, all right? Me and you did it. The blood is on both our hands." "All right," he murmurs, and then slowly he releases me.

"You okay?" I ask, my own voice shaking now as I raise a hand to his cheek.

He glances at the corpse next to him and swallows hard before stepping away from me. "I'll be okay when...when it's all done. Yeah?"

"Yeah," I say, stepping back and smoothing my hands down over my dress. And then we both move. Fast. Because as much as Fiona has already got most of the family on her side, she is making her own moves scorched-earth moves right now against those she thought might hold out.

And there's a chance that her efforts have failed, and those who survive would seek to hurt us when they find out what happened at this casual family brunch.

Daniel drops the bloody knife onto the table and fishes a small bottle out of his pocket. As I gather the black briefcase, he pours the contents of the bottle - I smell rubbing alcohol - onto the knife and takes a second to wipe it clean of any fingerprints with a spare napkin. Then he tosses the soaked napkin into a metal bowl and quickly lights it on fire with a lighter from his pocket.

"Is that necessary?" I ask as I wait by the door.

"I don't know," he murmurs, waiting to make sure that the napkin is sufficiently consumed and waving the smoke out of his face. Then he looks at me with a shrug. "My first crime scene too, Fay."

"True," I concede, and then when he joins me at the door I open it and we hurry through the house. We head immediately for the front door but I stop in my tracks when I see Tristin sitting primly on the couch in the parlor, Romulus still by her side, and Estrella asleep in her arms. She looks at me with wide, dark eyes.

I can tell from Tristin's stark expression that she knows precisely what she'll find when she goes into the breakfast room. I don't know how she knows it but...she does.

Daniel stops when he reaches the front door and realizes that I'm not at his side. "Fay..." he says, his voice worried as he hesitates by the front door.

But I just give him a steady look before moving to the door of the living room, meeting Tristin's gaze without an ounce of apology on my face.

"Is it done?" she asks, her voice soft.

I nod. And then my eyes move to the children, to Estrella's perfect face, to Romulus's dark and worried eyes. "The house is yours," I say quietly. "And all of the money in the personal accounts."

"What?" she breathes, shocked. But I don't look at her. Instead, I focus only on Romulus, my little brother who has every reason in the world to come after me one day, to seek his own vengeance. Breathlessly, I hope that he won't, that instead he'll get out of this world.

What I've done today, it's supposed to be a gift - what my mother tried to give to me.

But perhaps one day he'll decide - as I did - that it's not a gift he wants.

"You'll receive the paperwork for the house in about a month," I say quietly, looking back at her. "And the money in the accounts - you should move it to another account. I won't come after it, but...it's probably a good idea. The businesses, both criminal and legitimate - they're gone. They belong to me or to Fiona now."

Tristin's jaw drops open as she stares at me, realizing that I'm doing my best to make amends. While I've taken her husband down, I'm not trying to burn her life as well. Instead, I seek to give her the means to build one for herself.

"You're not my enemy, Tristin," I say quietly. And then I look at Romulus and Estrella, my siblings. "And neither are they. I hope you find happiness in this world. Fiona will give you whatever you want. But honestly? I hope you sell this house, and take the money, and take them far, far away from all of this."

And slowly, to my shock and pleasure, a very small smile curls on Tristin's lips.

"All right," she says, nodding her head slowly.

And I nod back, and take one more look at my siblings, and step away.

As I move to meet Daniel at the door, a man comes down the steps from the second level of the house, which makes me go rigid with fear. But when I look up, anticipating an enemy, I'm shocked to see that it's simply their electrician - who I've seen here at the house before.

"Where is she?" he breathes, anxious.

"What?" Daniel asks, baffled.

And then I laugh as I figure it out. Because no house has this many electric problems, requiring the electrician to be on call. "In there," I say, gesturing to the living room. "Take care of her."

He gives me a strange look, but then nods, and hurries into the parlor. Laughing still a little, I take Daniel's hand and tug him out the door.

"What the hell just happened?" he asks, looking over his shoulder as we head down the steps and over to our waiting car.

"Let's just say I don't think Tristin is going to come after us any time soon," I say, pulling open my door and tossing the briefcase into the back seat. "And that she and the electrician are going to live a very happy life."

"Oh," Daniel says, his eyebrows raised as he climbs into the driver's seat as I sit in mine. Our doors snap shut at the same time. "Well, that's one less thing to worry about," he murmurs, reaching for the cheap burner phone we picked up last week and typing in the address of our next destination.

"One less thing on a list of about a million," I murmur, pulling out my own burner. I pull up Fiona's number as Daniel starts the car and begins to pull out of the driveway.

"Calculating Best Route to... Pier 62, South Point Marina." I nod when I hear the phone speak out our destination, hoping everything goes as planned when we get there. "Here we go," Daniel murmurs, pulling onto the road.

I finish typing my message and press send.

It's done. Good luck, cousin.

Her response comes quickly.

Everything going as planned on our end too. Drop me a line when you get to where you're going. Love you, baby.

I smile, thinking of all the times she's called me Baby Fay, wondering if the nickname still applies anymore.

Can people still refer to you as baby when you're a murderer? When you've killed your father and stolen the life he's built?

When you've got about twenty more felonies planned for your afternoon?

Well. I guess we'll find out.

I roll my window down and casually toss the phone out of the car, where I hope it gets pulverized by traffic. But even if it doesn't, it won't matter. We'll be off the grid by nightfall. I take Daniel's hand as I press the button to close the window, giving his palm a little squeeze.

"Love you," I say quietly, my eyes on the road ahead of us.

"Love you too," he replies, quite simply.

And then we sit in silence as we drive the hour and a half journey to the coast.

Chapter 197

Kent blinks his eyes twice, hard, shaking his head and trying to clear it -

The world - f**k, it feels like the entire world just exploded -

He looks around at the mess of bent metal and glass around him, realizing that the prison transport van is on its side - that he's laying slumped against the broken window, on the side of the van which does not have the door - He groans, realizing that his head is aching, that there's a wetness on his forehead. He reaches up to touch it, to assess the damage, but his wrists jerk when he tries to go too far - because, of course, he's still chained up in here - One of the prisoners in the seats behind him groans in pain, the other is silent-

Is he even alive?

Kent turns to look, but suddenly two gunshots ring out in the air and he goes still, realizing that...this is something more than a car crash. Instantly alert, he looks around, trying to see whatever he can, to learn - There's a scuffle somewhere - he can hear bodies hitting each other, shouting, commands - more gun shots, people being told to get on their knees, to put their hands behind their backs - Fuck, were those cops? Or...

His attention suddenly turns to the front of the van - the driver is unmoving but the guard - he's ripped from the passenger side door, shouting in pain and fear -

Before Kent can even process this, the siding slide door of the van - currently above his head - slides back with a loud screech. Kent flinches at the sound and the sunlight that comes streaming in. Blinking, he looks up to see a silhouetted figure peering down. And then, to his shock, the figure jumps down into the van, landing right in front of him.

Kent's eyes go completely round with shock as the figure comes into view, kneeling beside him with a set of bolt cutters in one hand.

"Hey, Kent," Jerome says, his voice serious but concerned. "Are you hurt? Can you get up?"

"What..."

"Seriously," Jerome pushes, his voice tense as he glancing at the other prisoners and then back up at the door. "We don't have a lot of time - if I get you loose can you walk?"

Kent takes a second to assess himself as the kid starts to snip at the chains that links his hands, his legs, and the floor of the van. Then he takes a deep breath as the final pieces snap into place in his mind: that this wasn't a random accident, it's a rescue mission, planned by his people. And if they're going to get away with this, they have to go. Now.

"I'm all right," Kent says, pushing himself to his feet as Jerome snips the final chain. "Just an achy shoulder and..." he swipes his hand at his forehead, which indeed comes away bloody. "Something with my head, but I can't tell..."

Jerome takes a second to peer at it. "It doesn't look bad."

"Hey!" the conscious prisoner says from behind them. "Hey, let me out too! Hey!"

"Sorry," Jerome says, tossing the bolt cutters at his feet. "No time." And then, with more athleticism than Kent has seen him display before, Jerome jumps up and grabs the edge of the door, pulling himself out of the van and reaching a hand down to help Kent. Kent, shaking his head a little in disbelief at the sloppiness of this endeavor - clasps Jerome's hand and lets the kid help pull him out of the van.

Things move quickly from there. Kent and Jerome slide down from the van and Jerome heads immediately for the field next to them at a run, gesturing for Kent to follow. Kent does, knowing that Jerome is a least temporarily in charge. But as he goes, Kent looks around in wonder at the truck with the smoking engine that sits next to the totaled transport van - and then at the other car, a pickup truck, that hit the police car that followed the prison transport -

Kent's eyes move next to the guys in black ski masks who move quickly and efficiently through the group of cops and guards, securing them with zip ties so that they can't follow or contact anyone for help. As Kent follows Jerome through the field - still not knowing where the hell they're going, or why they're going away from the road - a black van appears over the edge of the hill, driving down the road to the scene of the accident.

"Jerome!" Kent snaps, grabbing at the kid's arm. "What the fuck is going on! Shouldn't we be in that?" he says, pointing towards the black van which arrives at the scene of the accident and slides open the door before even coming to a stop. The men in black ski masks start to climb in.

"Nah," Jerome says, glancing over his shoulder and then pulling his hand out of Kent's grasp, starting to move again. "That's just the decoy van for Fiona's guys -"

"Fiona's guys!?" Kent gasps, slowing in his shock.

"Would you come on," Jerome snaps, turning back to grab Kent's arm now, hauling him along with him. "There is a plan, Kent! The slower you move right now, the more likely it is that we get caught! Let's go!" Realizing that he's right, Kent grits his teeth and follows Jerome at a run, hating every second of it. Because this - it doesn't make any sense, and it's basically the opposite of how he would have done any of this -

Jerome slows when they get to a copse of trees on the far side of the field, beckoning Kent to follow. Kent does, and then his jaw drops open when he sees - of all damn things - two horses waiting for them there, tied to a branch. "What the..."

"Come on," Jerome says, untying one of the bridles and flipping the reins over the horse's head. "We have a long ride, and we have to get started before - "

"Stop," Kent commands and Jerome - used to obeying this man - freezes with one foot in the stirrup, turning to his boss. "What the hell is going on here? Who - who planned this?"

And to Kent's surprise, after a moment of frozen silence, Jerome's face breaks into a tiny smile as he laughs. "Kent," he says, shaking his head and then tossing Kent a small black backpack from a saddlebag. "When we were faced with the problem of how to get you from the scene of the crash to the coast unseen and off of main roads, who do you think was the first person to decide that the answer was horses?"

Kent catches the bag and then just blinks at Jerome for a second, confused, before he groans and lets his head fall back. "Fay," he answers, sighing and scraping a worried hand down the length of his face. "You're right. This...screams Fay." "Yeah," Jerome says, pulling himself up onto his horse forward. "But it's a good plan, Kent. It's going to work. But in order for it to work, we need you to get changed and then on the damn horse. All right?"

Kent glares up at Jerome for a second, not liking his tone, but then he quickly opens the backpack, taking out the simple pedestrian clothing before stripping off his orange jumpsuit and tugging the clothes on, struggling a little to get them over the handcuffs and leg shackles are still fastened to his body. That done, Kent shoves the jumpsuit into the backpack and then tucks it neatly under a bush before moving over to the horse, untying the bridle. As he climbs onto the horse, Kent suddenly recognizes it, realizing that this is one of his horses. How the hell did they manage that?

"Ready?" Jerome asks, turning the horse towards him.

"You've got a path?" Kent asks, looking steadily at the kid.

Jerome winks and taps his head with his fingertips. "Memorized. She quizzed me. I can do it in my sleep."

"Leave it to Fay," Kent murmurs as he nods to Jerome and they start to ride, heading through the woods away from the scene of the crash, "to design a prison break that involves quizzes."

"It's going to work, Kent!" Jerome calls over his shoulder. "Have faith in her!"

"Oh, I do," he sighs. "Perhaps despite all logic and common sense...I have faith in Fay." And then they kick their horses into a canter and flee the scene.

Jerome wasn't kidding when he said they had hours of hard riding ahead. As the afternoon starts to wane, Kent's body aches with having to use the unfamiliar muscles needed for riding, especially after two months of relative inactivity in the jail. That, combined with sleepless nights, the chafe of metal at his wrists and ankles, and one hell of a car crash -

Yeah. He's hurting.

So when Jerome waves for Kent to follow him towards a red barn after jumping one final fence, Kent does so with relief. They don't dismount until they're inside of the barn, and when Kent does he lets out an unintentional groan of exhaustion. "You okay?" Jerome asks, looking over at him.

"I'm fine," Kent sighs, looking evenly at the kid. Then he looks around at the empty barn. "What next?"

"We wait," Jerome says.

"For what?"

"You'll see." Jerome laughs a little, smiling and leading the horses away to waiting stalls.

"Why is this so cryptic?" Kent asks, frowning as he follows Jerome. "Why can't I know?"

"Because," he says, bolting both horses into their stalls and nodding for Kent to follow him towards the other side of the barn. "She wanted to surprise you."

"Are you...serious?" Kent asks, his mouth falling open as he follows.

Jerome just laughs and shakes his head. "I know. I told her not to, but she insists. Here, give me your hands - I'll see what I can do about those cuffs." Kent does as asked as Jerome takes a paper clip out of his pocket, deftly twisting it in the locks of the cuffs and popping them off.

Kent is a little surprised to see Jerome's skill at this, but then he sighs, deciding to get over being so surprised all the time. It's becoming normal now, his constant shock.

"You know you have the power," Kent says, leaning against the wall and watching Jerome work. "You can just tell me what the surprise is."

"Yeah, but then she'd find out, and that would break her heart," Jerome replies, smiling fondly as he reaches for another pair of bolt cutters and sits on the ground, reaching for Kent's ankle so he can do something about the shackle bolted there. "This is ridiculous," Kent sighs, closing his eyes and rubbing them with the fingers of one hand as he moves his leg closer to Jerome, making his job easier.

"I think that's why it works," Jerome replies, removing the first shackle and then moving to the other. Kent opens his eyes, looking down at the kid, watching him. "If this had been planned by anyone more experienced than Fay, the cops would have been able to predict what was coming next. But because she doesn't think like a seasoned mafia criminal - at least not yet - they won't see her coming."

"I guess there's...a bizarre kind of logic in that," Kent murmurs as the second shackle falls from his ankle.

The barn is quiet for a moment as Jerome gets to his feet. When Jerome stands straight and tosses the bolt cutters to the floor, he turns back to Kent and flinches back a little at the steady, determined expression on Kent's face.

It's one he's seen a thousand times before. And it always means trouble.

"So," Kent says, his voice low as he finally brings up the subject that's been lingering between them for hours. "I hear you're dating my kid."

Chapter 198

"Something's wrong," Ivan murmurs, chewing on his lower lip as he watches Daniel Lippert sitting in the coffee shop, his back to the window. Why the hell isn't he moving? Why is he alone - shouldn't he have some sort of team in place? It was going to take a hell of a lot more than just Daniel to snatch Kent Lippert on his way into the state penitentiary. So why...where was everyone?

Ivan, at least, came prepared. The state wouldn't consent to delay Lippert's transport on such short notice, or add any extra force to the escort, so Ivan had called in every damn favor he could muster and gathered everyone he could here. There were at least twenty cop cars waiting, all focused on Daniel Lippert, waiting for him to make his move.

Daniel Lippert, who is sitting in a damn coffee shop eating a croissant...

“F**k," Ivan murmurs, sitting back hard in the passenger seat of the police cruiser and smacking a hand against his leg. He's missing something - he knows it.

But all morning - all of it - each of his suspicions had been confirmed. First, the dark-haired Lippert had come out of the beach house, alone, and taken the Tesla the Alden corporation had given him out onto the road - in the opposite direction of his job. They had trailed him for hours, and it was all exactly as Fay said it would be - Daniel, trying to get close to the state penitentiary on the day his father is being transferred there. Trying something, though Ivan doesn't know what the hell yet... But now...he's just sitting in a coffee shop? Having cup after cup of coffee, alone? What the hell...

Suddenly, a voice buzzes through on the police scanner.

Car crash involving a prison transport -

Ivan's head whips towards the scanner and he stares at it, his jaw dropping open.

No fatalities police officers found bound and gagged -

"Shit," Ivan breathes, his eyes going wide. Because...

Two inmates recovered - the third, Kent Lippert, escaped - we're tracking a black van now, anticipating that Lippert is inside -

"FUCK!" Ivan shouts, moving instantly for his door, pushing it open and throwing himself out.

"Kaminski!" his partner shouts from the driver's seat. "Where the hell are you going!? We need to -"

But Ivan ignores him, striding across the street towards the coffee shop, ignoring the fact that traffic is screeching to a halt all around to avoid hitting him. He doesn't care - he wants answers.

Ivan hurls the door open to the shop and crosses it quickly, slapping a hand on Daniel's shoulder and making him turn. "What the hell is -"

But before Ivan can finish his sentence, the man turns to him and smiles. Ivan freezes, his jaw dropping, his eyes going wide.

Because...because it's not Daniel Lippert.

It looks a hell of a lot like him - the same height, dark hair, square jaw - hell, he's even dressed like Daniel - god, they could be...brothers... But it's definitely, definitely not him.

"Can I help you?" Donnie asks, but he's no good at keeping the smug look off his face.

"Where the fuck is he," Ivan growls, leaning over to glower at this imposter.

"Don't know what you're talking about, man," Donnie says, grinning a little.

"Up," Ivan says, making a snap decision and grabbing the larger man's arm. "You're under arrest - you're coming with me for questioning -"

"I am not," Donnie says, the smile dropping from his face. "I didn't do a damn thing - I'm just having a nice cuppa coffee -"

"You're -" but Ivan stops, because this guy is right. Arrest him for what, looking like a Lippert? Driving Daniel's car? Sure, they might be able to get him on some kind of aiding and abetting - but...they don't even know what the crime is yet - "That's what I thought," Donnie snaps, pulling his arm out of Ivan's grasp and turning back to his coffee as the other customers all watch in silent shock.

Ivan's head whips back to the police cruiser across the street, outside of which is partner is still standing, looking pissed as hell.

"God damn it," Ivan snaps, realizing finally that he's been had. That whatever Daniel was planning - Ivan got the wrong timeline, he's in the wrong damn place -

Fuck, it had better not be too late - he's invested too much in taking Lippert down -

Ivan strides towards the door of the coffee shop, but as he reaches for the handle a voice calls out from behind him.

"Hey!" Donnie shouts, and Ivan turns. "Hey, the little one - she wanted me to give you a message."

"What?" Ivan asks, going suddenly pale.

"The little one," Donnie repeats, "the redhead?" When Ivan nods, letting Donnie know he understands precisely who he's talking about, Donnie's face breaks back into his smug grin. "She asked me to say to you: 'Am I lying now, Ivan?" And then Donnie laughs, shaking his head and turning back to his croissant.

Ivan stares at the back of Donnie's head as his heart feels like it stops in his chest.

And then shatters into a million pieces.

Jerome freezes like a rabbit for a second as he stares up at Kent, and then he slowly takes a step back.

"What are you doing?" Kent asks, his eyes narrowing as Jerome slowly backs away from him.

"Getting away from you," Jerome murmurs, his eyes watching Kent for any movement.

"Why?" Kent asks, frowning.

"Because," Jerome answers, his voice tense. "You punched the shit out of me twice when you falsely accused me of dating Fay. So, what the hell are you going to do when I confirm that I actually am dating Daniel?" And Kent, despite himself, bursts out laughing.

"I'm not going to punch you, Jerome -"

"Then what are you going to do!?"

"Nothing!" Kent sighs, laughing and running a hand through his hair. "I just...I'm surprised I didn't see it."

"Yeah, well," Jerome murmurs, still keeping his distance and a wary eye on his boss. "The secrecy was kind of on purpose. You know, to avoid the...punching."

Kent just chuckles, shaking his head and looking Jerome over. He has to admit, the kid is more capable than he had given him credit for before. If this is Daniel's choice...well, he can't say it's a bad one. "Listen, I know you say you're not going to hit me, but history would suggest otherwise." Jerome says, watching Kent warily from a safe distance.

"Listen," Kent says, smiling at the kid, liking him despite himself, "have you kept your hands off Fay?"

"Yes," Jerome says, spreading his hands out as if it's obvious. "Because beyond knowing what you'd do to me if I touched her, I actually have no interest in any of Fay's many charms. I prefer...." But then Jerome just blushes, realizing...well, that any description he gives of what he actually does prefer is going to sound a lot like a description of Kent himself, considering that Daniel is essentially his replica.

Kent laughs again, a wide smile on his face. "Well then," he says, "I have no reason to punch you, do I? As long as you don't go breaking Daniel's heart or anything. Then I'll beat the shit out of you again."

"No problem," Jerome says, raising his hands innocently. "I will... refrain."

Kent opens his mouth to say something else, but before he can, they both hear a car - or, is that two? - crunching in the gravel in front of the barn.

"They're here," Jerome says, turning towards the front of the barn. "Ready?"

"Sure," Kent says, standing up straight and sinking his hands into his pockets. "Surprise number...six today. Let's do it."

And then Kent follows the kid out of the barn, where a car waits, parked next to a truck with a horse trailer attached.

Kent blinks in the light of the setting sun, looking around, but his face bursts into a smile the moment he hears his name called.

"Kenny!"

Kent laughs, turning towards his favorite uncle, who climbs down from the passenger side of the truck hauling the trailer. Kent opens his arms, welcoming the shrunken old man into a hug. "Uncle Gino," he says, shaking his head in a little bit of wonder as the old man holds him tight for a brief moment before letting him go. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Your girl sent me," Gino says, smiling up at his favorite nephew. "She knew I'd take care of the horses better than anyone else. I'm going to take them back, give you the car so you can get to the port."

"Port?" Kent asks, confused.

Gino just waves a dismissive hand. "I don't know much about it - she said she'd tell me what I needed to know when I needed to know it." Then he laughs, looking at Kent slyly. "Sounds like someone else I know."

Kent laughs too, slipping his hands into his pockets, a little amazed at how...easy this is. How with every passing moment he feels further and further from prison and captivity and more like his old self. "Yeah," he replies, "I think she picked up a thing or two from her time with me."

"Don't let this one go," Gino commands, lifting a gnarled finger to point in Kent's face. "She's a good one."

Kent, to his own surprise, blushes a little. He hadn't been aware that Gino...figured it out - that anyone had. Damn, and he thought he'd been so closed down about it. Who else knew -

"Don't overthink it, kid," Gino says, laughing and patting Kent's cheek with an open palm. "I've known you since you were born. I can read you. I saw the way you watched her."

Kent smiles, just a wry twist of his mouth. "Yeah well. Can you blame me?"

"I cannot," Gino says, laughing and moving away to the door of the stables. He waves a hand over his shoulder. "Good luck, Kenny! I'm glad I got to see you before you left. Come see me again when you can."

Kent stands still a moment, watching his uncle disappear, thanking Fay silently in his mind for giving him a chance to say goodbye to the one person he'd actually regret leaving behind. Because as much as his final destination is a mystery, Kent knows that they're leaving - that their only choice now is to go somewhere far away for a long, long time.

"Ready?" Jerome says, already at the driver's side of the sedan, accepting the keys from a man that Kent doesn't recognize. One of Fay or Fiona's guys now, he assumed. Not his.

Laughing a little at the bizarre changes the world has taken on in the past two months, Kent nods and makes his own way to the passenger side of the sedan. "I'm ready," he says, opening the car door and climbing in. "Where are we headed?" "Coast," Jerome says, giving him a wide smile as he sits and pulls his door shut. "We're close, though - she didn't want us on the road too long. Just pray we don't hit any police check points on the way."

Kent nods, fastening his seatbelt and lowering the back of his seat so that his head can't be seen above the window. And then he closes his eyes and puts his trust in Jerome as the kid begins to drive.

It was going to take a hell of a lot more than just Daniel to snatch Kent Lippert on his way into the state penitentiary. So why...where was everyone?