Chapter 42 — Frank Joins the Chaos, and Everything Gets Worse
"Fuck! Why is Tony here!? Debbie—take the kid! Hurry! Go out the back!"
Lip's first instinct wasn't to face the problem, take responsibility, or ask Debbie to apologize for leniency.
Nope.
His first instinct was—
Run.
Classic Gallagher.
But Debbie was still just a kid.
The moment she heard Tony, a real cop, was at the door—
her legs turned to jelly.
Forget running—she could barely stand.
"Lip! Take Debbie and the kid! I'll stall Tony!"
Fiona stepped forward instinctively, shielding her siblings like she always had.
It was carved into her bones.
Even if she had fought with Lip a few days ago, she'd already forgotten it.
"Fuck… taking a kid makes us WAY too obvious!"
If it were just Debbie, Lip was confident he could slip away.
But carrying a two-year-old?
That was beyond his skill level.
"Do you want Debbie to go to juvie!?"
Fiona snapped.
Lip gritted his teeth, grabbed Casey out of the stroller with one arm, pulled Debbie with the other, and rushed out the back door.
A moment later, Fiona finally opened the front door.
Tony stood outside.
She crossed her arms, pretending nothing was wrong.
"Hey, Tony. What's up?"
Because William had driven Steve off early, Fiona had never experienced the usual chain reaction of Steve vs. Frank.
So Tony—who had made a career out of sniffing around Fiona—
had never gotten his "chance."
He still hadn't gotten a taste of her.
"Fiona, is Debbie home?"
Tony's tone was gentle, polite—even apologetic.
"No. Why? What happened?" Fiona asked, feigning ignorance.
"We got a report. Someone saw her taking a little boy from a children's party."
Tony sighed heavily.
"This isn't exactly a minor thing, Fiona.
If you know anything, you should tell me.
Otherwise this won't look good for Debbie… or for you."
The cop was still in full simp mode—
begging Fiona to cooperate for her own good.
But Fiona wasn't playing along.
"Tony, this must be a misunderstanding. You know Debbie—she'd never do something like that."
Her mouth said one thing, but her heart was panicking.
Tony nodded.
"If it's a misunderstanding, it'll get cleared up.
If Debbie comes back, call me immediately."
There was nothing more he could do.
After Tony left, Fiona finally exhaled—
Then collapsed onto the sofa, exhausted.
She lit a cigarette.
Her expression was blank.
Then suddenly—
she let out a bitter laugh.
Tears welled up, spilled, and wouldn't stop.
Why?
Why did her life only stay stable for two days
before everything fell apart again?
---
Meanwhile — Lip, Debbie, and the Kid in Full Panic Mode
The three ran down the street—
Lip didn't know where to go.
The cops knew Debbie had taken the kid.
So they couldn't just abandon Casey in public.
Lip was smart.
But only book smart.
He had almost no real-world experience.
"Lip… where are we going?"
Debbie's voice trembled.
Her mind was mush.
"Don't worry. We'll fix this."
Lip tried to reassure her.
Without thinking, he walked toward the junkyard near the Milkovich house.
And right then—
They ran into Ian.
Seeing them nervous and sweating, Ian hurried over.
"What happened to you two? Why do you look like you just robbed a bank?"
Ian eyed the baby.
"…and who's this?"
"It's… complicated. This is Casey."
Lip lowered his voice.
"Ian, do you know somewhere we can hide Debbie?
Someplace the cops won't think to check?"
Lip's mind was locked onto one priority:
Keep Debbie out of juvie.
"I can ask Mandy."
Ian pointed toward the Milkovich house.
Lip stared at him.
"You're with Mandy now?
When did that happen?"
He still couldn't believe it.
Ian—his gay brother—
suddenly "dating" a girl?
And wasn't it the Milkovich family who almost killed Ian last time because of Mandy?
"I told her I'm gay. Now we're friends," Ian said casually.
As for the fact that he was now secretly involved with Mickey,
that detail did not make it into the conversation.
"Good. Then let Debbie hide at Mandy's for now.
After that, we'll figure out what to do with the kid."
Ian blinked, giving Lip a strange look.
"'Figure out what to do'?
Dude, that sounds like you're planning to kill him."
"Damn it, it's complicated. I'll explain later.
Let's just get Debbie to Mandy first."
Lip shook his head, clearly not in the mood to explain further.
Ian sighed.
"Alright, fine. Follow me."
The four of them started heading toward the Milkovich house.
---
Not far behind…
As they walked a few hundred meters away,
a pile of cardboard boxes in the junk heap suddenly shifted.
A figure sat up.
Frank.
He watched the three little bastards walk off with narrowed eyes.
Frank, rotten to the bone, could already sense from Lip's tone
that something serious was going on.
And maybe—
just maybe—
this was his chance to weasel his way back home.
Ever since Sheila kicked him out,
he'd spent the whole night wandering the streets, half-frozen to death.
He needed any opportunity.
But first, he had to figure out what the hell that kid was.
He shivered violently.
His alcohol withdrawal was kicking in.
---
The Alibi Room
Leaning on his crutch, Frank limped to the bar counter.
"Holy shit, Frank—you smell like a pile of dog crap,"
Kevin said in disgust.
"He is a pile of dog crap,"
Kermit added helpfully.
Frank glared at him.
"Kermit, just for saying that… you owe me a drink."
Seeing Frank try to freeload again, Kermit rolled his eyes.
"Fuck you, Frank."
At that moment, the TV behind the bar was showing breaking news—
a report on Casey's disappearance.
Frank turned around.
The blond hair on the screen…
looked very familiar.
His eyes widened.
"Holy shit!
Those little brats actually dared to pull something like this!"
He was shocked—
but only for a second.
Because one second later, Frank decided—
He was going to snitch on his own kids.
Not just to teach those little punks a lesson.
Not just to score himself a way back into the house.
But also…
Because the news had just mentioned a reward.
He quickly memorized the number shown on the screen.
Abandoning the free drink entirely,
he hobbled to the payphone and searched around for a coin.
Finally found one.
A moment later, the call connected.
"Hello, yes—
I have information about little Casey.
Yes, that poor child…"
Frank paused.
"By the way, can we talk about the reward first?"