South Side Chicago, outside a certain building.
The temporary captain leading the team waved his large hand. A group of police officers, including Tony, gripped their pistols and rushed into the building in unison.
"Police!"
"Let me see your hands!"
"Get down! Or we shoot!"
Guns were no joke. In America, even junkies whose brains had been scrambled by drugs knew clearly that under no circumstances should they mess with a cop holding a gun. They had to be obedient.
Otherwise, to save their own lives, the police wouldn't hesitate. If they said they'd shoot, they'd really shoot. And once they started shooting, to prevent any chance of the suspect surviving to shoot back, they'd wish they could empty their magazines.
So.
The operation went very smoothly. One by one, stinking junkies were handcuffed and led out of the building.
Not long after.
Tony and the others reached the top floor.
Soon.
A flashlight beam swept across the room.
Voila.
Frank, who looked no different from trash and appeared to be dead, entered Tony's field of vision.
Tony was startled at first. Then, he kicked Frank lightly. Confirming Frank was still alive, he smiled silently.
Arrest Frank and take him to the station?
Or send Frank to the Gallagher house?
Which choice would bring Fiona more pain?
Tony decided on the latter. He decisively exchanged a few words with his colleagues and let Frank go.
About half an hour later, all the junkies in the building had been cleared out. The mission was over. Tony stuffed Frank, who was currently high and delirious, into the trunk of his squad car.
As for why not the back seat...
Please. Frank reeked, and he obviously had fleas. If he put him in the back seat, would the car even be usable afterward?
Having stuffed Frank into the trunk, Tony didn't dawdle. In a good mood, he got in the car, floored the gas, and drove toward the Gallagher house.
The distance wasn't far.
About ten minutes later, he arrived at the Gallagher's front door.
"Wait for me a moment, then I'll treat you to lunch," Tony said to his partner.
His partner nodded. Although hungry, he wasn't in a rush.
Tony said no more, got out, hoisted Frank onto his shoulder, and walked straight to the Gallagher's front door.
Thump, thump, thump~~~
The knock sounded.
Lip and Debbie were both home. Hearing the knock, Debbie was closer, so she got up to open the door.
Opening the door to look...
Debbie saw Tony first. Immediately after, she recognized Frank, who was draped over Tony's shoulder. She was instantly shocked. "Frank???"
Tony was also a bit surprised to see Debbie. "Debbie, you're out. By the way, I just found Frank. Should I leave him here, or bring him in?"
"Bring him in..." Seeing Frank like this, Debbie was already flustered and at a loss. Then, she asked nervously out of instinct, "Is he still alive?"
Carrying Frank, Tony walked into the Gallagher house while replying in a relaxed tone, "Still alive."
At this moment.
In the living room, having recognized Tony's voice, Lip stood up subconsciously and looked at Tony. His eyes were practically spitting fire, and he instinctively clenched his fists!
Seeing Lip, Tony was surprised again. He hadn't expected Lip to be back too.
After the surprise, Tony pulled the corner of his mouth and smiled at Lip. "Lip, long time no see. You're back too."
Tony acted as if he wasn't the one who had arrested Lip and sent him to juvenile detention.
How could Lip handle this? He was instantly so angry that his body couldn't stop trembling.
Tony ignored him, completely unconcerned.
After all, what was there to care about?
Leaving aside that Lip wouldn't dare to make a move, even if he did dare, and actually tried something, so what?
Tony was certain he could hammer Lip to the ground with one punch, leaving him crying for his daddy.
"Debbie, where should I put him?" Tony smiled and looked at Debbie.
Debbie was still flustered and at a loss. Hearing the question, she pointed to the sofa. "On the sofa."
Hearing this, Tony didn't mention the issue of fleas on Frank. He simply dumped Frank onto the sofa. "Good luck."
Dropping this sentence, Tony turned around cheerfully and left the Gallagher house.
---
The Gallagher House.
It wasn't until Tony had disappeared for quite a while that Lip, who had been clenching his fists and was mad enough to explode, began to slowly calm down.
Debbie didn't pay any attention to Lip's reaction at all; her attention was entirely focused on Frank.
Another minute or two passed.
Lip calmed down a lot and turned his head to look at Frank.
Lip had sharp eyes. He immediately noticed some needle marks on Frank's arm. Instantly, the anger he had just suppressed surged up again.
"Debbie!" Frank had actually been injecting heroin. Lip couldn't accept it. Instinctively not wanting Debbie to hold onto any unrealistic expectations for Frank, he shouted abruptly, "Stay away from that trash!"
Debbie was feeling nervous and sad. Hearing this, she couldn't take it. "He is our father! Not trash!"
Hearing these words.
Motherfxxker!
Lip really wanted to scream curses. The words reached his lips, but he held them back with great difficulty and didn't let them out.
The next second.
Lip determined he couldn't communicate with Debbie and didn't want to try. He took out his phone and called Fiona.
The call connected.
"Fiona, come over immediately. We have a situation," Lip said in a very serious tone.
"What situation?" Fiona's heart tightened as she asked.
"You'll know when you get here," Lip hung up the phone.
Soon.
Holding Liam, Fiona arrived quickly at the Gallagher house with Jimmy.
Entering the living room to look.
Buzz~~
Seeing Frank in such a terrifying state, Fiona's head buzzed. She was shocked and rendered speechless for a moment.
Lip glared at Jimmy with cold eyes, held back, said nothing to him, and just spoke to Fiona. "Look at his arm. How are we going to handle him?"
Fiona hadn't noticed Frank's arm yet. Reminded by Lip, she saw the needle marks. Instantly, her head buzzed again.
"Jesus, heroin!" Fiona couldn't handle it and exclaimed.
However, was that all?
No!
Lip spoke again. "Tony just brought him back. What are the odds Tony has already called DCFS?"
Thump!
Holy shit!
In less than a minute, multiple shocks hit rapidly. Fiona's face logically became dark and gloomy.
Fiona panicked.
Deciding to try hard to live her own life was one thing... watching kids like Lip be taken away by DCFS was a completely different matter.
Fiona couldn't accept these kids being taken away and sent to foster homes.
"We have to dump him somewhere!" After panicking for a few seconds, Fiona bit her tongue, forced herself to calm down, and said decisively.
Hearing this.
Debbie immediately refused. "Dump him? No!! He is my dad, not trash!"
"That's the main reason I called you here," Lip heard this and said to Fiona with great helplessness, "You explain it to her. I can't communicate with her."
After speaking, Lip took out his cigarettes, lit one, sat to the side, and smoked silently.
Fiona looked at Debbie, understanding what Lip meant. Instantly, she felt incredibly torn. "Debbie..."