The next morning, Zack and Rodolfo exited their bedroom to find Mark, Emily, Lucia and Penny already up and gathered in the family room area of the Condo. Mark and Emily were on the old sofa, Penny was in the armchair, and Lucia was sitting on the floor, patting the back of Wenceslas, the family's potbellied pig. Understanding from experience that this meant a family meeting was being held, the two boys joined their family, perching themselves on the windowsill nearby.
"Well," Mark spoke first, his expression showing that he wasn't looking forward to this, "I suppose Penny told you all about Kingpin last night?" Mark paused to meet Penny's eyes.
"Everything," Penny confirmed with a nod.
"Good," Mark sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, of course, Sergeant Kurtz has promised that he and the rest of the NYPD will do their best to capture him again. There are even plans to provide us with a full 24 hours of police protection. But Kingpin has a talent for avoiding the police. This leaves us with the issue of what we're going to do. We have to accept the possibility that Kingpin might never be recaptured."
"Then what are we supposed to do?" Lucia asked, visibly concerned and fearful. It was Emily who answered her daughter.
"Sergeant Kurtz thinks…the best solution for us is to enter the witness protection program. This means…we'd all have to leave New York."
"What?" Rodolfo cried. "Leave?"
"For how long?" Zack added.
"Forever, possibly," Mark admitted. "It also means that we can't contact anyone again. That includes Maureen, Joanne and the Coffins."
"But what about Kris? And Zoey?" Rodolfo argued.
"Or my best friend, Julie?" Lucia spoke up. Mark shook his head sadly.
"It would be too dangerous," he reasoned. "For us and for them."
"Dad, no!" Zack cried, jumping to his feet. "We can't leave our friends behind! And what about Zoey? She's only just come back! And now you're saying we can't even write to each other?"
"I'm sorry, Zack," Emily whispered, closing her eyes in internal pain and sympathy. "But to make sure Kingpin won't ever find us, no one can ever know where we are. Even a phone call could give away our location. The only way we can ever be sure we'll be safe is…to completely cut ourselves off. We'd need to leave our entire lives behind. That includes our friends, too." For a moment or two, Zack stood where he was, glaring at his parents in anger, but then stormed out of the Condo, slamming the door behind him. Mark immediately wrapped an arm around Emily, seeing that she was close to tears. After a pause, Penny pushed herself out of the armchair.
"It's okay, Mom," she comforted, hugging Emily tightly. "I'll go talk to him."
"Thank you, Penny," Mark smiled in gratitude. Once Penny had left, Rodolfo hesitantly stepped forward, forcing himself to speak.
"Uncle Mark? Aunt Emily?" he muttered. "Are we… You said that Sergeant Kurtz only suggested this, right? You…never said if we were really going to leave. Are we?"
"I think…it's the best solution," Mark admitted. Rodolfo's face contorted with internal pain. It was clear that he was trying to cling to some vain hope that they wouldn't have to leave New York after all.
"Do…you know when we're going to….?"
"As soon as everything has been finalized. Sergeant Kurtz is working on the preparations. We're…not the usual applicants for the program, so he's trying to convince the people in charge to accept us into the program."
"And what happens if Kingpin is caught before then?" Lucia stepped in. "Do we get to stay?"
"Lucia!" Emily's head shot up, her tone suddenly sharp. "You two better not be planning to try and get Kingpin yourselves!"
"Of course not, Aunt Emily," Rodolfo assured, his honesty reflected on his face. "We were just trying to be optimistic. If they catch Kingpin before we enter this program, we could stay in the city. Right?"
"I…" Mark closed his eyes with a low sigh. "That does sound right. But I wouldn't get your hopes up, Rodolfo. After all, Kingpin is extremely clever and ruthless. It will not be easy for the NYPD to track him down again. They might not manage it at all this time. I'm afraid…our moving away from New York is the only realistic solution left for us." Rodolfo's shoulders slumped as his last remaining hope was lessened. Without a word, he headed off into his bedroom, allowing Lucia to accompany him.
The moment they were alone, Mark took Emily's hand gently, knowing from her expression that she was blaming herself for the whole mess.
"Emily, this isn't your fault," he comforted.
"How can you say that? I'm the one Kingpin wants. He doesn't want you or the children."
"And we're a family," Mark reasoned. "What affects one of us affects all of us." Pausing, Mark glanced at the door, frowning slightly in concern. "Don't worry about Zack. He'll understand once he cools down."
"Maybe. But I'm not looking forward to seeing him after we move," Emily whispered, fresh tears forming. "The last time he had to say goodbye to Zoey, he took it hard. And I can't imagine how Penny would…"
"Emily?" Mark spoke cautiously. "I've been…wanting to talk to you about that. Believe me, I know how much you love Penny, and how you've never been apart since she was born. But…I think it would be best…if Penny stays here."
"What?" Emily gaped, staring at Mark as if he were crazy.
"I'm just saying that…Penny has been thinking about getting her own place lately. She's old enough to live on her own. And…more importantly, last night, when we were at the Life…. You remember when James and I went up to get the drinks?" Emily nodded, having difficulty in seeing where he was going with this. "Well, Emily, James is planning to ask Penny to marry him. Last night, he was asking for my blessing."
"Oh," Emily gasped. "Our Penny? Married?"
"Yeah," Mark forced a shaky chuckle. "I was surprised, too. But we both know that James would keep her safe. She'll be well cared for, and that's something we both want for her, right?"
"Yes, it is," Emily agreed. "I'm just hoping that Penny will agree to stay behind."
"I'm sure she will," Mark pulled Emily into a hug. "After all, she has a life and a career of her own here. It really would be unfair to ask her to give that all up and start all over again."
"Because that's not what we're doing," Emily laughed in spite of herself.
Outside the apartment building, it only took Penny a second before she saw Zack heading off in the direction of the park. Sighing to herself, she quickly jogged over to his side to walk alongside him.
"Hey," she smiled sadly down at him. "Mind if I walk with you?"
"I'd rather be alone," Zack mumbled.
"Yeah, I understand that," Penny nodded. "But you're still my little brother, Zack, and I don't like the idea of you walking around New York by yourself."
"Fine, do what you want," Zack sulked, folding his arms. For a while, neither of them said anything. As they neared the park, however, Penny broke the silence.
"You know, Zack, Mom and Dad didn't reach their decision easily. Remember, they'll be leaving their friends behind, too."
"It's not the same," Zack grumbled.
"Isn't it?" Penny challenged. "Don't forget that Mom and Dad were friends with Auntie Maureen and Aunt Joanne since before you were even born. In fact, Dad's known Auntie Maureen since he was your age. She's probably his oldest friend, and one of his last ties to Uncle Roger."
"What about you, Penny," Zack rounded on her. "Are you willing to leave James behind?" Instantly, Penny's face deflated in tangible heartbreak and Zack looked away, feeling embarrassed and guilty at the same time. He could tell he'd hurt Penny by mentioning James.
"I'm sorry, Penny," Zack bowed his head. "I shouldn't have…"
"No, it's alright," Penny cut him off in mid-sentence. "I suppose we can relate to each other about this. You can't leave Zoey any easier than I can leave James. But, on the other hand, if we can't bring ourselves to say goodbye to them, we'd have to say goodbye to Mom and Dad instead."
"I hate him," Zack suddenly growled. "I hate Kingpin. If it wasn't for him…."
"I know," Penny agreed with a nod. "I hate him, too."
"Penny, you don't hate anyone," Zack reminded, his eyes suddenly wide upon hearing Penny say those words.
"I wouldn't say that," Penny replied, reaching out to squeeze her brother's shoulder.
"So…" Zack whispered after a long pause. "What am I supposed to do? I can't just forget about Zoey or my friends, but…Mom and Dad, Rodolfo and Lucia…"
"I know," Penny sighed heavily. "I feel the same way. But, let's not think about it for a while. Worrying about it won't help much right now. Come on. I'll buy you a hot dog, okay?" Zack simply nodded in agreement, following Penny to the park.
"Penny?" Zack spoke again after a few minutes. "Thank you for not downplaying my relationship with Zoey. Most people would probably just say that we're both young, and we'd be able to find someone else someday."
"Of course not," Penny smiled in understanding. "I could never dismiss any relationship like that, especially when it's as potent as a first love."
"No, you wouldn't," Zack returned her smile. "I'm glad you're my sister, Penny."
"Good," Penny tussled Zack's hair in response. "Because I'm glad you're my brother."
AN: Sorry for the sappy ending, but from here on in, tender moments are going to be extremely rare, so I recommend you savor them while you can. Also, I would appreciate some more votes in the poll on my profile, since only two people have voted so far. Thanks in advance.