Dex Restaurant.
The real estate agent and the lawyer, having received Dexter's call, rushed over eagerly and sat down in front of him.
Both had excited smiles plastered on their faces.
This was a big deal. If they pulled it off, both stood to make a serious commission.
Dexter called Mickey over, skipped the small talk, and got straight to the point, laying out his plan.
Here in the South Side of Chicago, there was plenty of abandoned land. Right now, practically no developers were willing to touch the area.
Because of that, buying land wouldn't be difficult at all. On top of that, land prices were dirt cheap, and the city government would be more than happy to sell.
However, opening a large-scale shooting range came with a ton of government requirements. Besides needing to be located away from residential areas, every single aspect inside the range had to be strictly up to code.
On top of that, a facility like this required a mountain of licenses.
Overall, getting this done was going to be a massive headache.
But, how to put it? When the money is right, these "problems" aren't really problems at all.
After all, America is a capitalist country. Cash is king.
With money, anything can be negotiated.
The four of them started talking.
As they talked...
Mandy came bursting in, her chest bouncing wildly... Ahem, it was quite a distracting sight.
Dexter couldn't help but look twice before smiling and speaking up. "Grab a seat for a second."
Mandy smiled and nodded. "Okay."
Dexter and the other three continued their discussion.
They talked for about half an hour, covering everything that needed to be covered.
"Alright then, that's the plan. From here on out, you three work together to get this done as fast as possible," Dexter concluded.
Mickey and the other two nodded, then stood up together to leave.
Before walking out the door, Mickey shot Mandy a look but didn't say anything.
Seeing Mickey acting like that made Mandy grind her teeth. She almost cursed him out but barely managed to hold it in.
Dexter noticed the siblings' interaction, found it amusing, and moved over to sit across from Mandy.
He was just hiring a dishwasher; there really weren't any strict requirements.
Plus, Mandy wasn't even of age yet, so she couldn't be a formal employee. It was strictly part-time.
"Mandy, thought it through? You're absolutely sure you're done with school?" Dexter asked.
Mandy nodded without hesitation, smiling. "Positive. Going to school is a complete waste of time for me."
Dexter thought she wasn't entirely wrong about that.
Mandy, much like Carl who hadn't left the area yet, truly wasn't cut out for academics.
"Alright, then let me lay out the rules. You get one day off a week. You can choose to bank those days or work through them for overtime pay..."
"During work hours, unless it's a life-or-death emergency, you cannot leave the restaurant."
"No smoking inside."
"Watch your language and your behavior."
"..."
Dexter rattled off the rules in one breath.
Mandy listened carefully, nodding repeatedly, signaling she had no problem with any of it.
"Good. Then come with me to the kitchen. I'll show you how to wash the dishes," Dexter said.
The two quickly headed into the kitchen.
Dishwashing isn't exactly a high-skill job; it just requires a bit of attention to detail to ensure everything gets properly clean.
Mandy wasn't stupid. She got the hang of it in no time.
"Alright, you get to it. Let me know when you're done, and I'll come check," Dexter smiled.
Mandy nodded seriously.
Dexter didn't waste any more words and headed out.
As he walked out the door, he turned back and gave Mandy one last look.
Environment shapes a person; that's just a fact.
What would Mandy turn into in this kind of environment...
Dexter was genuinely curious, letting his imagination run as he walked.
Mandy would definitely change, that was for sure.
But to what extent?
Dexter honestly felt it was hard to say.
Because Comrade Mandy, the ultimate ride-or-die chick... had a fatal flaw.
Mandy was so incredibly starved for love that the moment she met a guy who treated her even slightly well, or a guy she genuinely fell for, she would lose her mind and do absolutely anything for him, regardless of the consequences...
This issue stemmed from a miserable childhood, and it was almost impossible to erase.
Actually, Mickey was exactly the same.
Once Mickey fell in love with Ian, he was loyal to the end... You could honestly call him a ride-or-die too.
Happy people use their childhood to heal their whole lives. Unhappy people spend their whole lives trying to heal their childhood.
Thinking about it, that quote popped into Dexter's head, leaving him feeling deeply emotional for a moment.
Carrying that feeling, Dexter sat down in front of Carl.
"Carl, what are your plans for summer vacation?" Dexter asked with a smile.
Carl shook his head. "Hang out, find ways to make money. That's about it."
"Sounds good. I've got a job for you. Interested?" Dexter asked.
Hearing that, Carl's small face instantly lit up with excitement. He nodded decisively. "Hell yeah, I am! What kind of job?"
"Starting tomorrow, you're going to follow Mickey around and help out with that shooting range project. Just do whatever you can handle. Pay is seventy or eighty bucks a day, exact amount depends on how you do," Dexter smiled.
Carl had overheard the entire discussion between Dexter and the others earlier, and he was already incredibly hyped about the shooting range.
Hearing this, Carl beamed, completely ignoring the money. "Awesome! Do I get to shoot the guns?"
"Later, yes. Not right now," Dexter refused. "Also, don't get too excited just yet. I have conditions."
"Name 'em. I'll do whatever," Carl agreed instantly, absolutely zero hesitation.
"Two conditions. First, no matter what, not a single cent of the money you make goes to Frank. Second, you can give at most half of it to your family. The rest, you can lose it or save it, whatever you want."
Carl thought about it for a second, then nodded. "Deal! I promise!"
Dexter laughed. "Alright, then go home and talk to Fiona and the others. If they say yes, you start tomorrow."
"I don't need their permission! If I say yes, it's a yes!" Carl replied with extreme seriousness.
Dexter shook his head. "Nope. They have to agree."
"Fine..." Carl looked annoyed for a second but quickly bounced back. "Then I'm going home right now. Thanks for the lobster!"
"Take it easy on the way back."
Carl jogged off, his steps light and happy.
Dexter smiled.
At that moment, Veronica spoke up, laughing. "Boss, if you keep treating Carl this well, we're really going to start thinking he's your long-lost son."
"Screw off," Dexter cursed with a laugh, then looked over at Kevin. "Kevin, why are you still sitting here? Don't you have a bar to run?"
"???" Kevin finally snapped out of it, quickly jumping up and sprinting for the door. "Shit!!"
Seeing that.
Dexter couldn't stop laughing.
Kevin really was the comic relief.
---
The free clinic was always packed with people.
And the vast majority of them were either alcoholics, junkies, or homeless people radiating a foul stench...
Fiona sat on a plastic chair, constantly wrinkling her nose, looking utterly disgusted.
This was actually a very interesting phenomenon.
Fiona always carried this bizarre, misplaced sense of confidence, genuinely believing she was better than everyone else. Oh right, and she also hated rich people.
How funny is that? She looked down on broke people. She hated rich people.
Fiona honestly believed she existed in a league of her own.
Fighting through her disgust, Fiona forced herself to be patient and waited quietly.
After waiting for hours, it was finally her turn.
The doctor seeing her was a guy who looked incredibly sleazy at first glance.
Seeing him, Fiona's frown deepened. "Is it possible to get a female doctor?"
The male doctor shook his head decisively, a sleazy glint flashing in his eyes, but he kept his face straight, pretending to be professional. "The female doctors are all busy. If you don't want me to examine you, you can leave. There are plenty of patients waiting outside."
Fiona debated it.
She'd waited for hours. If she left now, what then?
She had no choice. She gritted her teeth, sat down, and explained her symptoms.
The doctor nodded, quickly snapped on a pair of latex gloves, still keeping a straight face. "Let's take a look."
Fiona had no choice but to obediently drop her pants and let the doctor do his thing.
The guy was hands-on, even pulling out a magnifying glass, messing around for quite a while before finally taking a swab and announcing he was done. "We still need the lab results to be one hundred percent sure, but there's basically no doubt. You have gonorrhea. It's still in the early stages, so it's not too severe yet."
Fiona quickly pulled her pants up. Hearing it was early stage, she let out a small sigh of relief.
After that, it was just the standard procedure.
A few minutes later, Fiona walked out of the free clinic with her meds. As she walked home, she viciously cursed out whichever guy—she still had no idea who—gave her gonorrhea, calling him every name in the book.
---
Outside the Gallagher house.
A van pulled up.
Two middle-aged men opened the doors in complete silence, pulled Peggy Gallagher—who had been granted early compassionate release—out of the vehicle, and rolled her wheelchair into the Gallagher's front yard.
Sitting in her wheelchair, Peggy looked over at Dexter's house next door. She noticed Daijiu standing by the door and Little Crow perched on the railing, and looked a bit surprised.
After a few seconds of surprise, Peggy turned to the two men who were still standing there and snapped, "What are you waiting for? A tip?"
The two men were, in fact, waiting for a tip. Hearing that, they were totally speechless and had no choice but to get back in the van and drive off.
Right then.
Carl came jogging back. He gave Peggy a slightly confused look but ignored her and walked straight toward his house.
"Hold on," Peggy called out to him. "What's your name?"
Carl heard her and turned around. "Carl."
Peggy smiled. "Figured."
Saying that, Peggy struggled slightly to stand up. "Come here, help me carry this wheelchair inside."
Carl didn't move. "Who are you?"
"I'm your grandmother," Peggy smiled.
A bunch of question marks instantly popped up in Carl's head. "I have a grandmother?"
Hearing that, Peggy could tell the kid wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. She chuckled. "Of course. Where the hell do you think Frank came from?"
Carl looked thoughtful, scratched his head, and finally moved. As he helped carry the wheelchair, he kept asking questions. "Why have I never seen you before?"
"Because I've been in prison," Peggy replied.
Hearing that, Carl instantly got excited. "Awesome! Is prison fun?"
Peggy found the kid actually pretty entertaining. "It's a blast. You'll probably find out for yourself soon enough."
"Cool!" Carl looked incredibly expectant.
Talking back and forth, the two of them entered the house and reached the living room.
Peggy sat down on the sofa and let out a long sigh. "Where is everybody else?"
Carl shook his head. "Don't know. Debbie's probably in the backyard."
"Go get her. Let me see her," Peggy ordered.
A moment later.
A completely bewildered Debbie was dragged into the house by Carl and stood in front of Peggy.
Peggy looked her up and down carefully and threw out a few compliments.
Being praised, Debbie felt a little bit of goodwill toward this grandmother who had just popped out of nowhere.
The three of them chatted for a bit.
Peggy took Carl and Debbie upstairs, went into the bathroom, pointed to a spot on the wall next to the toilet, and told Carl, "Carl, go find a hammer and smash this open."
When it came to destroying things, Carl was incredibly enthusiastic. In the blink of an eye, he found a hammer and started smashing the wall with a loud bang, bang, bang.
Debbie watched, completely uncomprehending and very worried. "Grandma, Fiona is going to be pissed."
"You don't say anything, I don't say anything, Carl doesn't say anything, and Fiona will never know," Peggy said with a smile.
Debbie was speechless: "..."
Right at that moment.
Fiona, feeling extremely agitated, walked into the house. Hearing the loud banging from upstairs, her brow twitched instantly, and she yelled, "Carl! What the hell are you doing?!"
The yell echoed through the house.
Debbie immediately turned to Peggy. "Fiona's home."
Peggy nodded. "Carl, stop hitting it. Close the door."
With that, Peggy leaned forward, reached into the hole in the wall, and pulled out a small cloth bag. She opened it, pulled out a wad of cash, peeled off two bills, and handed them to Carl and Debbie.
"This is our little secret, understand?" Peggy said.
Carl and Debbie took the money, flashed bright smiles, and nodded in agreement.
Stomp, stomp, stomp.
Fiona ran upstairs, reached the bathroom door, tried the handle, and found it locked. "Carl, what the hell are you doing in there?!"
Carl didn't make a sound, just looked at Peggy.
Peggy slowly stood up and nodded at Carl to open the door.
The door swung open.
Fiona opened her mouth, ready to start yelling again, but suddenly saw Peggy and instantly froze.
Peggy smiled. "Fiona. Don't recognize me?"
"Grandma," Fiona snapped out of it, extremely surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"Got out early. What's wrong? Not happy to see me?" Peggy asked.
Fiona absolutely was not happy to see her, but she couldn't exactly say that out loud. She had no choice but to lie. "No..."
"Good. Then don't just stand there. Find me a room. I'm living here now," Peggy said as she walked out.
Fiona: "????"
Just one more massive headache to deal with.
Fiona really wanted to refuse, but she honestly didn't know how. Weakly, she stepped aside.
A moment later.
Fiona saw the massive hole in the wall next to the toilet, and her head started pounding.
Peggy just got back and immediately smashed a hole in the wall. If she actually lives here, what's going to happen? Is she going to tear the whole house down??
---
Night fell.
7:30 PM.
Dexter picked up Bianca.
Seeing Dexter, Bianca was thrilled, instantly breaking into a bright smile.
"Stop giggling like an idiot. Did you eat yet?" Dexter asked with a smile.
Bianca smiled and shook her head. "No. I want the lobster you cook."
"Alright. Let's go to the restaurant. I'll make it for you," Dexter agreed with a smile.
"Mhmm. Should we stop by my apartment first? I need to grab a few things," Bianca blinked and asked.
Dexter immediately knew what she meant and grinned widely. "Looks like Ms. Green has made up her mind."
"Stop smiling, or I'll change my mind," Bianca pretended to be mad.
"Alright, alright, I won't smile," Dexter said, though his face was still covered in a massive grin.
Seeing it, Bianca turned her head away, too embarrassed to look at him.