"It's not a big deal. I just get along pretty well with Carl," Dexter replied with a smile. "You're Lip, right? You look pretty badly hurt. What happened?"
Lip narrowed his eyes, clearly annoyed. "None of your business."
Heh.
With a mouth like that, someone really ought to sew it shut.
"Sorry—my bad for prying," Dexter said, still smiling. After that, he turned to leave.
Just then—
Frank, who had been itching to jump into the conversation, quickly spoke up. First, he snapped at Lip, "Lip! Is that any way to talk to a guest? Where are your manners?"
After putting on a show of scolding Lip, Frank turned back to Dexter with a grin. "Dexter, kids say stupid things—don't take it personally. Come sit down. I've got some great news I want to share with you."
As if Frank ever had good news.
"Sorry, I've got something I need to take care of," Dexter said flatly. "Let's talk another day."
With that, he didn't waste another word and headed out.
"Hey, hey—Dexter! This is huge news!" Frank called out anxiously, but he couldn't move, so all he could do was yell.
Dexter ignored him and walked straight out.
Just after stepping down the stairs outside—
Suddenly, Fiona ran after him. "Dexter, wait!"
Hearing her, Dexter stopped and turned around.
Fiona hurried up to him. "You're not staying for a bit? I didn't even get a chance to thank you. Thanks for buying Carl so many things."
"No problem," Dexter said with a smile. "Carl's a fun kid. I won't stay today, though—I already promised Kevin I'd go over to his place for a late-night snack."
"Oh, I see," Fiona said, glancing toward Kevin's house. "Then I won't interrupt your fun. Take it easy on the way."
"Alright. You should head back inside too—you're barely wearing anything. Don't catch a cold."
"Yeah. See you around."
"See you."
After saying goodbye, Dexter didn't look back and headed toward Kevin's place.
Fiona stood at the doorway, watching his back as he walked away, slightly dazed, unable to figure him out.
Is he not interested in me? That doesn't seem right.
If he is interested… then why doesn't he do anything?
As a young woman who'd been with ninety-three men already—and was closing in on triple digits—words like "take it slow" and "be subtle" simply did not exist in Fiona's dictionary.
So Dexter's behavior genuinely confused her.
After thinking about it for a moment and feeling irritated, she decided to stop overthinking it, turned around, and went back inside.
Once inside—
Fiona immediately found Carl and casually asked what he and Dexter had been doing outside, and whether anything had happened.
Carl was sharp. He instantly got what Fiona was really asking and gave her a look of pure disdain.
"What's wrong with you? Dexter's my bro, not some creep. The one he wants is you."
"Seriously, you're so dumb. I already invited him into the house for you, and you still didn't know how to take advantage of it."
"Sigh."
Carl let out a long, dramatic sigh.
"…," Fiona was speechless. She raised her hand and lightly smacked Carl on the head. "Watch your mouth. I'm your sister. Is that how you talk to me?"
Carl ignored her, pulled out his multitool knife, and started playing with it happily.
Seeing that, Fiona's eyelid twitched. Instinctively, she reached for it. "Did Dexter buy that for you too? That's dangerous. Give it to me."
Carl pulled back. He knew the knife wouldn't stay with him forever—he'd taken it out on purpose.
"Taking my paintball gun wasn't enough? Now you want this too? Dream on—unless you trade the paintball gun for it!"
Fiona knew Carl way too well. Hearing that, she felt both annoyed and amused. She ruffled his hair.
"You little schemer, plotting against your own sister. You're smart enough for this kind of stuff—why can't you use that brain at school?"
"School's boring. Causing trouble is way more fun," Carl replied confidently.
Fiona sighed, helpless. After thinking it over, she said, "I can give the paintball gun back—but we're setting rules. You don't use it inside the house. You don't shoot people, cars, houses… or any cats or dogs. Deal?"
"Then what, I shoot the air? What's the point?" Carl shot back.
"You can shoot trees. Or empty bottles," Fiona said.
Carl tilted his head, deciding to agree for now—after all, Fiona wasn't home all day to watch him. "Fine. You're so demanding."
"And if you break the deal, I take the paintball gun back."
"Yeah, yeah. You're so annoying."
Just like that, Carl successfully got his paintball gun back.
And Fiona finally managed to get a brief moment of peace.
---
At Kevin's place, Dexter ate, drank, and messed around until after eleven before heading back to his hotel.
He didn't plan on doing anything tonight.
Tomorrow, he was going to head farther out, buy a motorcycle, and start the next phase of his "good deeds."
Frank was untouchable for now.
As for Lip—that little punk probably wouldn't be able to move around for a few more days anyway.
And if Dexter wanted to "shut Lip up," he'd need a solid plan. Otherwise, it'd be hard to do it without anyone suspecting him.
As for Karen…
He hadn't figured out what to do about her yet.
So after thinking it through, he settled on his next target—
Mickey's psychotic father: Terry Milkovich.
In Dexter's view, if that bastard died, no one would really miss him… not even Mickey or Mandy.
But Terry was different from trash like Frank.
Taking him out and not getting caught wouldn't be easy.
He needed a vehicle—something fast, something that would let him strike unexpectedly and get away clean.
As Dexter walked back to the hotel, he ran simulations over and over in his head.
Before long—
He imagined himself riding a motorcycle, suddenly pulling up next to Terry, drawing a gun—
Rat-tat-tat—
Turning Terry into Swiss cheese.
Heh.
Exhilarating.
—
A new day.
After the lunch rush—
As soon as Fiona got her break, she rushed home like always to make lunch for Frank, Lip, Ian, and Liam.
While she was cooking—
Knock, knock, knock.
Someone was at the door.
Fiona was puzzled. She couldn't think of who would be knocking at this hour.
She opened the door and saw a middle-aged woman she didn't recognize.
"Yes?" Fiona asked.
"Hello. My name is Abby Ruggiero," the woman said. "May I speak with Virginia?"
Fiona blinked. "??? Who?"
"Virginia Louise Gallagher," Abby said, frowning. "This is her house. You don't know her?"
That's when Fiona remembered. "Oh—Aunt Ginger. Yes, I know her. She doesn't live here anymore. She's in a care facility in Wisconsin. Why are you looking for her?"
Hearing that, Abby let out a cold smile. "Oh? Wisconsin, huh. And you are?"
"Fiona Gallagher."
"Then tell me— is Frank Gallagher in the house?" Abby asked.
Without hesitation, Fiona shook her head. "No."
"And what is Frank Gallagher to you?" Abby pressed.
Fiona countered, "What exactly is this about?"
"Fiona," Abby said seriously, "I work for the Office of the Inspector General. I investigate Social Security fraud."
As she spoke, she pulled out her credentials and showed them to Fiona.
"Yesterday afternoon, we received a report stating that Virginia Louise Gallagher has been dead for twelve years, and that Frank Gallagher has been collecting her Social Security benefits the entire time."
"After investigating, we confirmed that someone has indeed been collecting her benefits here in Chicago for the past twelve years."
"Now you're telling me she lives in Wisconsin."
"I have reason to believe that Frank Gallagher has committed a crime."
"Please tell me where Frank Gallagher is."
The moment Fiona heard that—
Her heart dropped.
Her expression changed instantly. Panic set in. She was almost certain it was true.
"I—I don't know where he is," she said quickly. "I haven't seen him in a long time."
Abby sneered. "Fiona, fraudulently collecting Social Security benefits is a felony. Collecting benefits for someone who's been dead for twelve years is extremely serious."
"If Frank Gallagher has committed a crime, and you're harboring or protecting him, that's also a crime. Do you understand?"
Those words hit her—
And Fiona's head started buzzing nonstop. She had no idea what to do and fell silent.
After waiting a moment, Abby said, "In that case, Fiona, I'll be back shortly—with FBI agents and a search warrant. We'll see each other again very soon."
With that, Abby turned and walked away.
Fiona was genuinely terrified. Completely rattled, she slammed the door shut and rushed into the living room—straight toward Frank…
---