Lip didn't dare stop as he sprinted into the alleyway, twisting and turning through the maze. His chest was burning, his lungs feeling like they were tearing apart.
Finally, he slowed down in a corner. He peeked out, made sure no one was tailing him, and then slowly walked deeper into the corner to stop.
He leaned his hands against the wall and started dry heaving, but nothing came up.
Sweat had completely soaked through his undershirt. As the adrenaline faded, fear and regret rushed in.
It was over. Over. Completely over.
The van. Kevin's van. The equipment inside. And... his laptop!
That laptop held all the coding projects he'd been grinding on for days, hiding client contact info.
More importantly, it had the script that automatically logged into Fiona's debit card, backend data for their online course website, and detailed accounting records for the breakfast stall from the past few days...
It wasn't just a laptop anymore. It was the Gallagher family's lifeline.
His brain acted like an out-of-control projector, frantically flashing images:
Kevin's name popping up in City Hall records, followed by Fiona's. DCFS social workers knocking on their door again, this time with solid proof. Debbie and Carl's confused, crying faces as they were taken away. Shane staring at a paralyzed course website, the first look of helplessness appearing on his usually confident face...
And all of it came from his own smart-ass decision.
He managed to trick the inspector, but he couldn't trick himself, and he certainly couldn't trick the impending investigation.
"Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!!!"
Lip completely lost control. He kicked the wall in front of him like a madman until sharp pain shot through his toes, then he punched the wall hard.
The stinging pain from his hand and foot hit him at the same time, but the physical pain was a fraction of the remorse and panic tearing at his heart.
His smart brain, the one the whole family always relied on, the one he thought could always find the optimal solution, had this time precisely calculated the shortest path to disaster for himself and the Gallaghers.
He could already see the disappointment in Shane's eyes when he found out, Fiona's sheer panic, and even this family, which had just started to get back on its feet, plunging back toward the abyss.
Fiona didn't know why, but her heart was pounding hard.
It wasn't even 9 AM yet. Usually, at this time on a Monday, there would still be some customers. But she noticed the older vendors around her had packed up surprisingly early today, hurriedly pushing their carts away around 8:45.
Fiona decisively boxed up the rest of her food, selling it off at practically half price. She wasn't going to sell anymore.
Before long, she had packed everything from the breakfast stall onto the new handcart Shane had bought.
She pulled the cart and quickly reached the alley where they usually parked the van.
But as she got close, the scene before her made Fiona freeze.
Their breakfast van—Kevin's piece-of-shit van—was currently half-blocked at the alley entrance by an unfamiliar sedan.
Two men in dark jackets were standing by the van. One was writing something down, the other was holding a camera, snapping pictures of the open back of the van.
What the fuck?
Fiona's mind went completely blank. She stood frozen in place, staring blankly at the scene.
"Hey, Fiona, over here! Hey!"
A very low voice called out from diagonally across the street.
Fiona turned her head and saw Lip poking half his head out from behind a newsstand on the opposite street, frantically gesturing for her to come over quickly.
Fiona's heart raced. She forced herself to look away, trying her best not to draw the inspectors' attention.
She dragged the handcart to a nearby corner, hid it, kept her head down, and quickly crossed the street.
As soon as she got close, Lip grabbed her wrist and yanked her into the alley behind the newsstand.
"What happened? What happened to the van?"
Once in the alley, Fiona's voice was tight as she shook off Lip's hand.
"Didn't you say you checked? Didn't you say we'd be totally safe if we packed up by 8:40? Huh? Lip, what the fuck is going on?"
The flush on Lip's face hadn't faded yet. He explained rapidly, "Listen, Fiona, it was a fluke. Those city bastards didn't play by the rules. We got reported, definitely by those jealous vendors! I'll figure it out. I'll find a way to get the van—"
Under Fiona's unblinking stare, his explanation slowly ground to a halt.
Fiona's gaze moved from his face, first glancing at the cash box clutched to his chest.
Good, the money's still here.
But then, her eyes moved to Lip's empty back, where his laptop bag—the one he never let out of his sight—should have been.
Fiona's heart gave a massive jolt, then plummeted.
"Where's your laptop?"
Lip dodged Fiona's eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing. His gaze started darting uncontrollably to the side.
Fiona knew that look all too well. It was Lip's signature expression when he was frantically weaving a lie.
"You motherfucker—"
Fiona's voice started to tremble. Not from anger, but from the terrifying possibility of what that meant.
She felt a rush of heat shoot from the soles of her feet straight to her head. "They confiscated the laptop too?"
"No, no they didn't confiscate it," Lip quickly denied.
"I hid it. I shoved it in a gap in the van, they won't find it. I just can't get it out right now. Once they let their guard down, I'll—"
"You didn't bring the laptop out?!"
Fiona stepped forward, grabbing Lip's shoulders hard and slamming him against the wall.
"You didn't bring the laptop out? Lip, look me in the eyes and say that again."
Fiona hit him hard. The impact made Lip's shoulder blades throb, but that pain was nothing compared to the shock of seeing the absolute, frantic panic in Fiona's eyes.
Lip tried to break free, but it was useless.
"Listen, Fiona, listen to me," Lip lowered his voice.
"I can fix this. The van, the laptop, I can figure out a way to get them back. Listen to me, I have a plan. I have a plan—"
A moment later, Fiona, head down and walking quickly, was holding a cup of freshly bought coffee.
At the mouth of the alley, the middle-aged man was communicating something over his radio. He turned around.
Splash—
Fiona, holding the coffee, slammed right into the man, splashing coffee all over both of them.
"Oh, shit! Are you fucking blind?!"
Fiona immediately took the offensive, pointing at her soaked shirt and the cup on the ground like she was the victim.
Interrupted from his call and covered in coffee, the middle-aged man furrowed his brow and tried to explain, "Ma'am, you ran into me—"
"I ran into you? I was just walking down the street, you're the one who spun around!"
Fiona was relentless, her voice getting louder and her gestures extremely exaggerated.
Not far away, the skinny inspector taking photos of the van was distracted by the argument. He stopped what he was doing and looked over.
Now!
Hiding nearby, Lip saw that both city workers' attention was locked on Fiona. He slipped silently into the alley where the van was parked.
His plan was simple: Fiona creates a distraction, he uses the chaos to sneak back to the van and grab the laptop.