Side of Karen's house.
Hearing what Lip said, Karen was thrilled. She flashed a sweet smile right away, then wisely kept her mouth shut and didn't add any fuel to the fire.
Because Karen knew deep down that Lip and Fiona would make up sooner or later.
She stayed quiet, so Lip didn't say anything else either. He just sat there with a cigarette dangling from his lips, staring out the window with a determined look on his face.
One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes. Four minutes.
Ding-dong.
Frank came jogging up to Karen's front door, a beat-up bag slung over his shoulder, appearing in Lip's line of sight.
Lip saw him and felt a little surprised, but at the same time, it made sense.
He was surprised because Frank had actually shown up on time.
It made sense because when money was involved, Frank always took shit seriously.
Lip curled the corner of his mouth into a silent smirk, then signaled the driver to honk the horn once.
The horn blared.
Frank heard it and immediately sprang into action like the smart guy he was.
In the car, Lip leaned over and gave Karen a kiss. "See you tomorrow."
"Be safe," Karen nodded obediently and got out of the car.
A moment later.
Frank climbed into the car. The vehicle started up and headed toward Canada.
Watching the car pull away, Karen immediately dropped the smile from her face. She let out a long breath, then turned and headed inside, planning to take a shower before going to check on the apartment building.
Karen had been following the news. She knew that pretty much all the deadbeat tenants who refused to pay rent had killed themselves. At this point, she was almost certain their deaths had something to do with Dexter.
To be honest, Karen was a little scared of Dexter now. But only a little.
No matter what the hell was going on with him, his money was real.
Compared to all that cash, the deaths of a few pieces of trash didn't mean shit.
Karen went back inside.
Sheila saw her and immediately came over, looking nervous and concerned. She told Karen about Fiona stopping by and asked if she'd had fun out last night.
Karen still had some respect and care for Sheila. She'd already called last night and lied, saying she was out having fun and wouldn't be coming home.
Karen smiled and gave her a simple answer.
After dealing with Sheila, Karen hurried upstairs. Halfway up, she ran into Eddie coming down.
Instantly.
Karen's expression changed. She glared at Eddie with pure hatred.
Eddie got a headache. He really didn't know what to do with Karen anymore.
In his eyes, Karen had gone completely off the deep end. She was walking down a path that could only be described as evil.
Eddie wasn't stupid...
Karen was beautiful, and at her age, she'd suddenly bought a used BMW, then a bunch of clothes, an air conditioner...
Where the hell was all that money coming from?
Eddie knew the answer in his heart, and it hurt like hell to think about it.
His daughter was using her body to make money...
Sigh.
"Karen, can we talk?" Facing the hateful glare Karen was shooting him, Eddie could only sigh silently and try one more time.
"Fuck off!" Karen snarled viciously and kept stomping up the stairs.
Eddie's mouth moved, but he couldn't get any words out. He just headed downstairs helplessly, thinking he'd talk to Sheila and have her try to talk some sense into Karen.
Fuming, Karen stormed into the bathroom, ran the water, and sank into the tub. Then she pulled out her phone and texted Dexter, reporting everything that had happened that morning.
Bianca had the day off.
Dexter and Bianca were grocery shopping at the supermarket, picking out ingredients and drinks for tonight's dinner.
Dexter's phone vibrated.
He took it out, read the message carefully, and found the whole situation pretty unbelievable.
Lip going to Canada to smuggle with Frank?
How the hell did the plot twist like this?
Had Lip really turned into Frank 2.0?
Where would this lead in the future?
Dexter's mind raced with all kinds of thoughts. After a moment, he texted Karen back: [Good. Got it.]
Karen replied instantly: [Mr. King, I really want to work at that new restaurant you're opening. Can you help me out?]
Dexter chuckled: [It's going to be a regular neighborhood spot. Not much money in it. Wouldn't be worth it for you.]
Karen froze.
A regular restaurant? Not much money?
She immediately lost interest.
Working as a regular waitress for shitty tips? What was the point?
Karen wasn't interested in small money anymore.
[Okay. I thought it was going to be like Dex Restaurant,] Karen replied.
[It's not. Keep working on the apartment building for now. Don't worry—there will be other money-making opportunities coming your way,] Dexter texted back.
[Thank you! I'll work hard!] Karen replied, suddenly excited.
Dexter didn't reply further. He put his phone away and focused on shopping with Bianca. "Grab more of the stuff your parents like. Tonight we're gonna make sure they eat till they can't move."
Bianca blinked in confusion. "???? What?"
"Nothing. You heard wrong," Dexter said with a grin.
Bianca glared at him, then practically begged, "Dexter, can you please be serious tonight? My parents are picky as hell. I don't want them nagging me forever about it."
"No problem," Dexter immediately made an OK gesture. "I promise I'll be on my best behavior and give it a hundred and ten percent."
Looking at Dexter acting like this, Bianca was genuinely worried. After thinking for a second, she threatened, "Hmph! If you screw it up tonight, you're not touching me for a whole week."
Dexter: "..."
Damn. That was one hell of a threat.
The Alibi Room.
"I need a drink," Fiona sat there looking dazed, like an idiot, for a while before finally speaking.
Jimmy heard her and didn't waste any time. He waved the bartender over and ordered drinks.
Soon.
A few glasses were placed in front of her. Fiona picked one up and downed it in one gulp. Then she grabbed another and slammed it back like she was dying of thirst.
This kind of drinking caught the attention of all the old drunks in the bar.
The old-timers watched with amusement and started chattering.
"Definitely Frank's daughter."
"She's just like Frank."
"..."
Fiona kept drinking.
Naturally, it didn't take long before the alcohol hit her and she was wasted.
And just like Frank in the original show...
When Frank got drunk, he got happy.
When Fiona got drunk, she got meaner and more vicious.
Fiona stood up and started laying into the drunks who did business with Lip, spitting out one cutting insult after another.
The drunks she was cursing had pretty decent tempers and could understand someone blowing off steam, but everyone has their limits...
"Hey, buddy," one drunk finally got fed up and called out to Jimmy. "You'd better get her out of here quick, or she's gonna get her ass kicked."
Hearing that.
"Sorry about this," Jimmy apologized with a quick smile. He wrapped an arm around Fiona, trying to get her out.
Not only did Fiona refuse to leave, she started screaming even more viciously at the guy who'd spoken.
Seeing this.
All the drunks showed clear disgust on their faces!
And keep in mind, these guys rarely reacted like this even to Frank.
After some struggling, Jimmy finally managed to drag Fiona out of the Alibi.
Outside the Alibi.
Fiona started cursing again—this time not at the drunks, but at the owner of the Alibi, Kevin.
Jimmy had never seen this side of Fiona before. His head was pounding. He had no choice but to use more force and get her into the car.
A few minutes later.
Jimmy hit the gas and drove Fiona back toward the Gallagher house.
In the car, Fiona kept ranting, this time cursing society and the whole world.
As she was cursing...
Suddenly.
Police sirens blared behind them.
Jimmy jumped, quickly checking the rearview mirror.
This was a stolen car. Running into the cops could mean serious fucking trouble.
"Fuck!" Jimmy muttered under his breath. He had no choice but to pull over and wait.
Moments later.
The police car stopped.
Tony got out and slowly walked up to Jimmy's car, looking them both over with a serious expression—Jimmy in the driver's seat and Fiona still ranting in the passenger seat.
The truth was, Tony had pulled them over specifically because he'd heard Fiona yelling.
Seeing it was Tony—who had no idea that Tony and Fiona had completely fallen out—Jimmy breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at him. "Tony, good morning."
Tony didn't smile back. "License and registration, please."
Jimmy's heart sank.
He had a fake license, but no registration.
"Why?" Jimmy asked instinctively.
Tony raised an eyebrow and moved his right hand to rest on his holstered gun. "Because I told you to."
Jimmy clearly saw the movement. His heart rate spiked. He didn't dare argue anymore. Nervously, he opened the glove compartment, pretended to look around, and handed over the fake license. "Sorry, I left the registration at home. Forgot to bring it."
Before Tony could respond, Fiona—who was already emotionally broken in more ways than one—suddenly whipped her head around and started screaming at Tony.
"Tony, what the fuck! Why the hell did you pull us over? You think being a cop makes you hot shit? Just because I won't fuck you anymore, you come fucking with us..."
Completely drunk, Fiona's mouth was in full gear, cursing nonstop with colorful language.
Jimmy, already panicking, froze for a second. He didn't react fast enough to stop her.
Tony's face changed completely.
The current Tony had not only given up on Fiona completely but hated her guts. He wasn't about to put up with her shit anymore.
The next second.
Tony jumped back, whipped out his gun, aimed it at Jimmy, and roared, "Get out of the car!"
His partner quickly drew his weapon too.
Seeing the guns pointed at them.
Jimmy's head was spinning. He couldn't believe what the fuck was happening.
Fiona immediately shut her mouth.
It turned out Fiona was actually a huge coward at heart.
Jimmy was the same way.
Trembling slightly, Jimmy slowly got out of the car.
Fiona's reaction was even worse. Half-sobered up by fear, she got out with pure terror on her face, eyes welling with tears as she looked at Tony.
Seeing Fiona like this, Tony was delighted. He gave a cold smile, then wasted no time turning to his partner. "Keep an eye on them."
His partner nodded, gun still raised.
Tony holstered his weapon, pulled out his handcuffs, and walked quickly behind Fiona. Without any gentleness, he yanked her arms back and snapped the cuffs on.
Of course, Tony knew procedure. While cuffing her, he formally read her her rights and the charges.
Then.
Tony tossed the fake license back to Jimmy. "In one hour, come to the station with bail money, or Fiona's spending the night in lockup."
Jimmy caught the license and let out a long, silent breath of relief. He nodded quickly. "Okay."
For Jimmy, this was actually a blessing in disguise.
Fiona was getting arrested, and Tony had no interest in checking the car anymore...
Heh. If Tony had checked the car... well, Jimmy would've been headed straight to prison.
Tony didn't waste any more words. He marched a now mostly-sober and terrified Fiona—who couldn't even speak—toward the police car.
Soon, the squad car sped away with sirens blaring.
Jimmy blinked hard, finally relaxing. He jumped back in the car, floored it, and raced toward the chop shop.
On the way.
Jimmy lit a cigarette and took hard drags, his mind replaying what had just happened with lingering fear.
Why had Tony treated Fiona like that?
What the hell had happened between Tony and Fiona?
The question only flashed through Jimmy's mind for a second. He didn't really care.
His main focus was on one thing.
Getting involved with the Gallaghers was fucking bad luck!
"Goddamn Gallaghers!" Jimmy cursed viciously.
The police station.
Tony personally locked Fiona in the holding cell, thoroughly enjoying the satisfaction it brought him.
Fiona was genuinely terrified of places like this and of the other female inmates in the cell. She started shaking uncontrollably.
The fear made her want to cry.
Afterward, although her pride told her not to beg Tony, the fear quickly overpowered it...
"Tony..." Fiona said, eyes red, "Don't do this. I have to go home and take care of Liam. Please don't do this to me..."
Tony sneered. "You verbally assaulted a police officer. This is what you deserve."
!
With that, Tony turned and walked away.
Fiona immediately opened her mouth to curse him... because that's just who she was.
Luckily, she still had a shred of sense left. She held it in and only cursed out Tony and his entire family in her head.
After finishing her mental tirade.
Fiona looked around the cell in terror at the other female inmates...
Many of them looked genuinely scary.
Fiona didn't dare get close. She bit her lip and shrank into the corner.
Seeing this.
Most of the inmates burst out laughing and started mocking her.
Fiona stared at them in fear, listening to the taunts... and cursing them furiously in her heart...
How fucking entertaining.
Meanwhile.
Tony's partner gave him a thumbs-up. "Nice work. Congrats on finally moving on."
Tony smiled. "She's a bitch. I must've been out of my mind wasting all those years on her."
His partner laughed heartily. "Sometimes it just takes a while to see clearly... At least you got to fuck her a few times."
"Some guys don't even get that."
Tony's partner paused, then added, "But Fiona's probably an exception. She's fucked half the city. Getting with her shouldn't be hard."
"Speaking of which, have you been to the doctor? Better make sure you didn't catch anything."
Tony actually hadn't gone. It hadn't even crossed his mind.
After all, Fiona used to seem like a goddess to him...
Tony frowned slightly. "I'll go when I have time."
Gallagher house.
Jimmy and Fiona walked in.
Ian, who had been reluctantly babysitting Liam on the couch, raised an eyebrow when he saw Jimmy. "Jimmy. Didn't expect to see you again."
Jimmy didn't have any strong negative feelings toward Ian, though he didn't like him much either.
To Jimmy, Ian was mostly just someone who existed in the background.
"I live in Chicago. We were bound to run into each other eventually," Jimmy replied with a smile.
Ian smiled back and didn't say anything more.
Fiona's love life was Fiona's business. Unlike Lip, Ian didn't think he had any right to get involved—and honestly, he wasn't that interested anyway.
He turned to Fiona and could immediately tell she'd been drinking. "Fiona, where've you been? Don't you have work today?"
Work...
Fiona paused for a second, then gave a bitter smile and shook her head. "A lot of shit happened..."
"What happened?" Ian asked. "Didn't find Lip?"
Fiona shook her head. "No. He's probably already on his way to Canada by now..."
As she spoke, she felt like crying. "I was in a really bad place, so I had a few drinks..."
Fiona gave a quick summary of how she'd gotten arrested.
After she finished.
She started cursing Tony out.
"That piece of shit Tony..."
Ian was genuinely surprised. In just a few hours this morning, so much had happened. He didn't even know what to say.
Time flew by. It was evening.
Dex Restaurant was closed for the night.
Dexter and Bianca had come home early and were busy in the kitchen preparing dinner.
Bianca genuinely didn't know how to cook much, but she was enthusiastically helping out anyway, being sweet as always.
The atmosphere in the kitchen was warm and cozy.