Chloe was already having a shit day at work, and she thought seeing Frank would be a brief moment of relief, but when she saw a person she didn't recognise run out of Frank's RV with his hood concealing his face, she knew something was up.
"Frank. Frank." She whispered, aggressively tapping his shoulder.
"What is it?" He snarled. "I'm tryna- oh. Hi Chloe. What's wrong?"
"That guy just ran out of your RV."
"What the shit…?" Frank turned around to see the boy walking down the street past the diner, his head down. "Oh fuck!" He cried, causing many other customers' heads to turn. "This is bad." He whispered.
"Frank…?" Chloe's face turned white. "Frank you're scaring me."
"Shit. I thought all that shit was behind me." He murmured. He slammed his fist down on the table. "Fuck!"
"What shit? Frank this is serious!"
"Remember Damon?" Frank looked up at her. "Of course you have. He's not someone you'd forget. Especially you."
"I thought you killed him." Chloe shuddered.
"I did. That's why I'm scared. Damon, unlike you and Rachel, wasn't an only child. He was the oldest of 7 siblings. 5 boys and 2 girls. Most of them cut all ties to him after he became a gangster."
"Most of them?" Chloe sat down. She knew she'd get in trouble with Joyce for slacking off, but if Frank's situation involved Damon Merrick, she'd have a lot more to worry about.
"The youngest, Carlos, looked up to him a lot. I know this because Damon told me about him. Back when we were still… you know."
"Friends?"
"I was gonna say colleagues, but yeah. We were friends. When Damon was killed, Carlos was only 17. All his siblings had long since left home, and he must have gotten pissed off. My guess is he's been working his way up here, slowly working out who was responsible for his death."
"So why sneak into your RV? Why not just attack you directly?"
"Cause he wants to hurt me where it actually hurts. You stab a man, he may heal, you destroy things he cares about, he'll never come back." Frank said, sounding like he was reciting from something. His eyes widened and his face fell. Chloe's eyes widened as she realised in tandem.
"Pompidou." They said in sync. Frank got up and ran out to the RV.
"Joyce! I'm gonna take a quick break! I'll be back in 5!" Chloe shouted.
"As long as you get those tables and that bar cleaned. I'll need you in the kitchen fairly soon." Joyce shouted back.
Chloe said nothing and ran outside. She followed Frank to the RV, where he stood in the door, not moving.
"Frank?" She asked slowly, afraid of what she'll see.
"Pompidou." Frank whimpered. "Oh Pompidou what did he do to you?"
Chloe had never heard Frank more distraught in her life. She was relieved when he heard the dog whimper. She followed Frank inside. "Thank God he's still alive- holy shit."
Pompidou was covered in blood. One of his front paws was bent out of shape and his head had been smashed in. A note was pinned to his chest, blood dripping down it.
"I'm coming for the junkie next." Frank read out loud. "Shit! He stole my fucking account book!"
"S-sera? Why her?" Chloe asked.
"He knows exactly where she is, now. Amber hired me to get her a safehouse and check on her. He's gonna go after Sera, and then Amber will find out. And then he'll-" Frank stopped. "Oh no."
"What?"
"That's why he didn't attack me. He's not after me. He's after Rachel."
"Christ." Rachel shuddered, her hands still wet. "What the fuck do we do?"
"We can't let the police know." Frank said. "That'll get all of us busted, including your dad."
Rachel grimaced. She dried her hands and sat down on the couch. "But we can't just do nothing! He could kill my fucking mother!"
"He didn't kill Pompidou." Frank replied. "He had every opportunity to do it, and he didn't. My guess he doesn't have the heart to kill anyone yet, not truly. We could track him down and convince him. It doesn't have to end violently."
For once, Rachel felt like Frank was being reasonable and logical. "Okay. So how do we do that?"
"Uh… Chloe said bring in Max, but I don't know-"
"I know what she means. Pass me to her."
"Rachel, it's me." Chloe said after Frank passed the phone.
"Do you think she can handle it? She's already got so much on her plate-"
"I know. But we do not have much choice. We need all of us working together."
"Okay." Rachel breathed. "This shit is fucking crazy. How long do you think it'll take him to find her?"
Chloe passed the phone back to Frank.
"Not long." Frank said. "He's been tracking me for a while, I can tell. I'd say a day, quicker if he can decipher my account book."
"Crap." Rachel murmured. "Pass me back to Chloe."
Frank passed the phone back.
"What are we gonna do? Max is at Warren's at the moment. I don't want to ruin her day."
"We'll pick her up after my shift and tell her then. Tonight we'll sort out a plan. Frank, is there a time tonight you can meet us?"
Frank murmured a reply.
"Junkyard. 8pm." Chloe relayed to Rachel. "Now this begs the pertinent question," she sighed. "Do we tell your dad?"
"No." Rachel said quickly.
"Frank says we should. And I agree."
Rachel grumbled.
"I know you hate him. I saw first-hand how much of a lying asshole he is!" Chloe cried. "But this is his ex-wife we're talking about."
"He doesn't care about her!" Rachel cried.
"Maybe not, but he cares about you." Chloe replied.
Rachel said nothing.
"If she gets killed, and we knew something about it, how do you think he's gonna feel? Your life is in danger. And if you get hurt? He'll never forgive himself. I saw how he felt the day you got stabbed. He felt guilty, Rach. He needs to know."
"But if we tell him, he'll try to stop us!"
"Then we lie to him. Just like we did before. Say we won't get involved. He'll be on the case and we'd sneak in on it and he'd be none the wiser."
"Okay. I'll call him and get him to meet us at the junkyard." Rachel said. "God. This is gonna be hell to explain to Max."
"Let's just hope she doesn't freak out too much." Chloe murmured. "Better go. Mom's getting pissed."
"Take care, Chloe. Give Frank my best."
"Will do. Bye, my love."
"Bye, sweetie." Rachel said before she hung up. She put her feet up on the couch, resting her head on her knees. "Shit."
Max was having such a good time with Warren, she completely forgot that she ever felt that something was wrong, until she got into the truck and saw Chloe's sullen expression.
"Chloe? Is everything alright?" Max asked, terrified of what the answer could be.
"Rachel is in danger. And by extension, us." Chloe said sharply. She wasn't harsh or firm, simply laying out the truth.
"Shit. Must be serious. Where is she?"
"With Frank."
"Frank?" Max cried. "Surely that's the last person she'd wanna see! Next to her dad of course."
"We're seeing him too." Chloe said, looking straight ahead as she drove. Max had never seen this version of Chloe so serious. It terrified her.
"WHAT!?" Max cried. "Where are they?"
"The junkyard. That's where we're going now. Frank and Rachel will be there, and that's where Mr. Amber will meet us."
"Jesus, Chloe. How serious is this?"
"Very. Did I ever tell you why Rachel and I were in so much trouble after we met?"
"You got wrapped up with this drug dealer working with Rachel's dad, to keep her from seeing her real mom."
Chloe nodded. "And the drug dealer in question was stabbed to death by Frank. Now his younger brother is in town and wants revenge."
"Holy shit."
"Pretty scary. I caught him running out of Frank's RV. You should have seen the state he left his poor dog."
"POMPIDOU'S DEAD?" Max shouted, making Chloe almost slam on the brakes.
"God, no, thank Christ. But the dog was in pretty bad shape. After we called Rachel we took him immediately to a vet. We're hoping they can save him."
"God. Why is this all happening now? It didn't happen before."
"Chaos Theory. Law of Equivalent Exchange. Who the fuck knows." Chloe said, in a familiarly bitter tone Max hadn't heard in a long time. Chloe drifted the truck and squealed on the brakes as they drove into the junkyard. Frank's RV was already there. Rachel was sitting on the abandoned barge, shivering. There was no sign of Mr. Amber.
"Max!" Rachel jumped down and ran towards Max, giving her a hug. "Oh thank God."
"Rachel…" Max tenderly stroked Rachel's wet cheek. "Are you alright?"
"Max I'm so scared." Rachel was beside herself. "This is so much more scarier than 3 years ago."
"I know, Rachel. But we'll get through it. We did it before, how much harder can it be?" Chloe soothed. She stepped up close to Rachel and hugged her, letting her head rest on her shoulder.
"There's so much more at stake here!" Rachel cried.
"We can do this. We're a team. With all three of us together, we can't lose." Chloe said, trying her best to encourage Rachel.
"Where's Frank and Mr. Amber?" Max asked.
"Frank's in the RV. I have no idea where Dad is, but he said he'd come."
"He'd better. I'll kill him otherwise." Chloe snarled.
"Heh. Not before I do." Rachel smiled.
"You go talk to Frank. He could use someone to talk to right now. I'll stay with Rachel." Chloe said.
Max nodded, and walked over to Frank's RV. It had been a long time since she talked to him, but he hadn't even met her. Max knocked on the door. As she waited for a response, she quickly remarked on how cold it was outside. The wind was bitter, and she shivered.
"Oh. Hey." Frank said as he opened the door. He was clean shaven and his blond hair was long and shaggy. "You must be Chloe's friend."
"Max." Max smiled. "You must be Frank. It's nice to meet you."
"Tch. Wish it could have been under better circumstances." He said sarcastically.
"This shit is all so terrifying." Max sighed. "Can I come in?"
Frank looked confused, but didn't object. "Sure. It's a hell of a mess, but it's a damn sight warmer than out there." He opened the door wider and let her in. "You're sure they're alright?" Frank asked, pointing to Chloe and Rachel.
Max turned and looked at them, deep in embrace. "They just need a moment." She turned back towards Frank. "I… heard about your dog. I'm so sorry."
"Pompidou is my companion. Seeing him like that…" Frank trailed off. "I just hope they can make him better."
"This whole situation is so frightening." Max sighed, leaning against the wall of the RV. Frank sat down at the table with his laptop.
"I'm used to having threats on my life, but this…" Frank sighed. "It's all over my head. "Bad enough that this bastard hurt Pompidou, now he has to drag Rachel and her mother into this? God. I wish I had never killed Damon. I had to, but I still wish I never did. If I cou-"
"Turn back time?" Max finished. "Sorry, that was insensitive. It's just something I hear a lot."
"You're young. You still got time." Frank said. "Sheesh, being a teenager seems like an age ago. I'm like 30 now for Christ's sake."
Max said nothing. On the one hand, her turning 30 seemed like an age away, on the other hand, it was so scarily close. 'That's when you're supposed to have your life together.' She remembered Chloe say. She wondered if she would still need her powers then. "It's been a long time since time has felt so out of my control." Max mumbled out loud.
"Then you don't get out much." Frank snickered. "Since when has time ever been in our control?"
Max shrugged. "Good point. I suppose in the end, we're all just specks of dust caught up in the vicious wings of a butterfly."
"How very poetic." Frank said, a mix of appreciation and sarcasm in his voice. "But you're wrong. I would be lying if I said I got here purely by mystical force or some predetermined bullshit. I made enough mistakes of my own along the way."
"To be honest, same."
Frank looked up and walked towards the driver's seat. "He's here." Frank opened his RV door and stepped out. An expensive car of a brand Max didn't recognise drove through the open gates and parked next to the discarded restaurant sign. A man in golf clothes and dark sunglasses stepped out. He had silver-black hair and many wrinkles on his face. His face was fairly neutral, but not vacant. He knew exactly what was going on, but he had dealt with so many dangerous situations that this had become the new normal for him.
"Good evening, Mr. Bowers."
"Amber." Frank nodded.
"I thought you said you were gonna bring the throwaway car?" Frank asked.
The man took off his sunglasses and rubbed his eyes. "This is the throwaway car."
Max peered from around the door but didn't show her face.
"Rachel, miss Price."
"Hello, Mr. Amber." Chloe said. She looked embarrassed and nervous. Max looked at her and saw a 16-year-old Chloe, terrified of the situation she was thrust into. Rachel still had her head buried in Chloe's shoulder.
"Are you guys alright?" Mr. Amber asked. He spoke slowly and calmly, most likely from years of being a courtroom and trying to maintain a level head.
Chloe nodded. "Rachel's still tryna…"
Mr. Amber nodded. "I completely understand." He said in a way that indicated he knew what Chloe was really meaning.
Max walked out of the RV. "Hi, Mr. Amber." She said slowly, very nervous.
"Please, call me James." James Amber nodded. He extended his hand. "I assume you're a friend of Chloe and Rachel."
Max nodded. "My name is Max Caulfield."
"Caulfield?" James repeated. "Fancy that. I met your mother once during a court case several years ago. Vanessa, right?"
Max nodded. "She never told me she met you."
"Who would? It was a court case, not exactly flattering. Anyway, we have more important matters to discuss." James reached into his car and pulled out a folder. "This is everything we still have on Damon Merrick. Because of my involvement with him, I cannot ask the Humboldt county police for any information on Carlos Merrick. What I do know is that he worked for a year on a marijuana plantation, making money to make his way to Arcadia. No files from the plantation could be given, much less to me."
"So, what does that tell us?" Chloe asked.
"That he probably knows his way around a gun, and the police." Frank said. "Humboldt's a dangerous place, and if he worked on the plantation for a year without the police interfering, he knows how to lay low. Fucker probably has a clean record too, so nobody will be keeping an eye on him."
"So how do we approach him?" Chloe looked between Frank and James.
"You won't be going anywhere near him." James said without raising his voice. The change in tone was subtle, but it was enough to absolutely terrify Max. Clearly Chloe felt the same way, as she shrunk back. "Frank, how much does he know?"
"He won't have an exact address, but with my account book it's far easier for him to track my movements. It won't be long until he finds Sera."
James nodded. "And what about Rachel?"
Frank looked at Rachel, who hadn't said a word since James arrived. "I don't know. She's going to be his next target, but I doubt Merrick would have any idea where she is."
"Perhaps she should come home with me, just in case." James suggested.
"No. Hell no. She stays with us." Chloe fumed.
"I can accommodate you two just fine." James responded firmly.
"Uh… not to be rude, but…" Max cleared her throat. "If she's at your house, wouldn't that make it easier for him to find you? I mean, you have signs literally outside your house for the next election."
James Amber's eyes flashed angrily at Max for a second, and then his expression softened.
"She's right." Frank said. "This whole plan of his is to draw Rachel out. If we act like she doesn't even know it's happening, his plan will fail."
"But he could kill my mother!" Rachel yelled, finally turning to face Frank and her father.
Silence. In the distance, a flock of birds resting on the dimly-lit trees flew off.
"That… is a possibility. And one we're hoping will not come true." James said gravely.
"The chances of that happening are slim, Rachel. He didn't kill Pompidou. He could have, but he didn't."
"Pompidou...?" James asked.
"My dog. Today Merrick snuck into my RV and beat the hell out of him and stole the account book." Frank snarled. "God the one time I don't put it away!"
"Is he alright?"
"I took him to the emergency vet first chance I got. No way to pay for it but I do what I must."
"I can help cover it if you need." James nodded. "So. We know he's potentially dangerous and sneaky, but perhaps not lethal. That being said, we must take precautions. I can get an investigative team onto him, especially since we should have evidence from the assault."
Frank shook his head. "The vets found nothing. All we have is the note he left behind. He was wearing gloves." Frank took the note out of his pocket and held it so James could see.
"Well, that's charming." James said. "So only your fingerprints are on that note?"
"I would assume so. Chloe didn't touch it, and I'm fairly sure he was wearing gloves when he wrote it."
"Good. We can still use that. We won't have enough to get a warrant for his arrest yet, but if we can track him, we'll be able to charge him once he makes a move."
"How? We don't even know what his plan is. We have no idea where he is." Chloe said.
James walked over and placed a hand on Chloe's shoulder. "Trust me. We'll figure something out."
Chloe shook him off. Rachel glared at him.
"I think we've done all we can today." James Amber said, putting his sunglasses back on his face. "Thank you for contacting me, Chloe. And Frank, thank you for looking after Sera during this time."
"Thanks for coming, Amber. I hope this shit all blows over soon and we can put this shithead behind bars." Frank spat on the ground.
"I wouldn't word it that way, but I hope so too." James looked at Max as he opened the car door. "It was very nice to meet you."
"Likewise." Max smiled.
He got into the car and shut the door. He turned on the car and wound down the window, not moving the car. Rachel took a deep breath and walked towards her father.
"I miss you, Rachel." James said, looking up at his daughter. "And I love you. That's all I'm gonna say."
Rachel smacked the roof of the car. "Goddamnit, Dad!" She sobbed. "I so badly want to hate you but I'm so scared!"
"You have every right to feel that way, honey." James stuck a hand out the window and touched Rachel's cheek. "Come home, sometime. Your mother would love to see you."
"She's not my mother."
"She's the woman who raised you, and unlike me she didn't do anything to hurt you. Please, Rachel." James wiped a tear from Rachel's face.
Rachel grabbed his hand and held it briefly, before pushing it away. "Please. Just go."
James nodded. He wound up the window and reversed the car out the junkyard and drove off. Frank got into his RV and followed. As the last rays of sun disappeared behind the mountain, the girls got in the truck and drove home.
Meanwhile, at a parking lot in town, a young man was trying to steal an expensive looking car. The owner of the car grabbed him.
"Hey, what do you-" The car owner said, and stopped. "Wait, I know you. You're that Merrick fellow, aren't you? The one the Los Angeles police are looking for, right?"
Merrick shuddered. "I don't know what you're talking about." He shook his arm, but the man was holding it in a tight grip.
"I have a proposition for you. You want to get Rachel Amber, right?"
"How the hell do you know that?" He shuddered.
"Oh please. Everyone knows the former DA was involved in your brother's death, going after his daughter would be the perfect revenge. Let's just say I'm not too far away from her, and I need her too. She does have a habit of being awfully slippery, doesn't she?"
"What are you saying?"
"I have a plan. The only catch is that I need her alive. But believe me you will get your revenge eventually." He said. "Must be hard, losing a sibling. I lost my mother when I was a child. I was heartbroken. Cancer, you see. She was only 40. Now, if I let you go, will you run?"
Merrick broke free of the man's grip, but remained where he was.
"Good. So, if I were to help you track down this Rachel Amber, would you be able to bring her, and her associates, to me alive?"
"Easy." He shrugged.
"Good. Now one final question, Mr. Merrick," Mark Jefferson grinned. "Do you like photography?"