Danny trudged down the winding road from Gloria's ridiculous mansion. There were no sidewalks, nothing to make it easier for people on foot to make their way up to visit. Just like Gloria liked it: difficult, uninviting. He vowed that one way or another, he'd never go back up there.
Danny watched Regina and Archie whiz by him followed shortly after by Rico. As Rico reached the corner he saw someone pop up from the backseat.
"Fucking Charlie." Danny grumbled to himself, now regretting he couldn't get to Jo's faster.
Ten minutes later, Rico's car sped by him again and away from the farm just as Danny was finally rounding the corner to begin the walk up the Masterson's long driveway. This time Charlie was not tucked inside.
Lacey's silver VW wasn't far behind, rolling to a stop beside him.
"Hey." Lacey smiled at Danny like their worlds hadn't just shattered.
"Hey." Danny said back, somehow attaching all of the weight he felt inside to this single word.
"C'mon, get in."
Danny did as he was told, both quiet as Lacey worked a three-point turn and got them heading back toward Jo's house.
Danny stared at her, this amazing person that he had loved so deeply during the worst time of his life. Lacey's brightness lit up everything and flooded him and his worries, bathing everything with her radiance.
He realized that he hadn't lost anything with her, only gained, and he was thankful. The weight he had been carrying all the way down the hill seemed much lighter now.
"Thank you." Danny felt compelled to tell her that.
Lacey shrugged one shoulder and gave him a half smile, assuming he was thanking her for the ride.
Danny scrounged up a pen and a scrap of paper and scrawled a note intended for Kyle: Charlie is here somewhere. I don't know what he's up to.
Danny showed it to Lacey before folding it up and squeezing it into the palm of his hand.
"Ready?" She asked almost nonchalantly, respecting the fact that Danny was probably wired.
"I am." Danny said confidently.
The fake party was easy. Spending some time making a few more memories with the people he had come to know over the last couple months was not an effort for any of them. It was the looming unknown fallout that weighed heavily on his mind.
No matter how careful they had been, the chance that something would go wrong was almost a certainty. Trust no one had been Gloria's haunting first advice.
"Hey, Bro!" Jo greeted Danny and walked with him from the driveway to the backyard.
"Hey." Danny looked around, "I didn't see Rico?" Danny commented naturally and wasted no time handing the note to Jo.
"He drove up earlier, brought me weed and told me he couldn't stay." Jo explained, trying to make herself sound like she always did when in reality this was not part of the plan.
Jo took off to deliver the note to Kyle, returning a few minutes later with a bag of ice. All appeared to be typical party prep, but Danny knowing that Charlie was out here somewhere made him incredibly nervous.
"Thanks for the invite, Masterson. I need this party after dealing with the assholes that live in my house." Regina stuck her tongue out at Danny.
Danny stared at Regina, watching her with her perfectly manicured nails, designer clothes, all of it paid for by her wealthy family. Why did she take his money? There had to be more he didn't know but he decided that now was not the time to get into it.
"Glad you could come." Jo opened a drink for her and sent her away from Danny's general area.
Danny was suddenly a nervous wreck. He compulsively pulled apart a tiny branch he had found on the ground as he watched Lacey mingle with friends like everything was normal.
Jo watched Danny quietly pine after Lacey, "Why are you and Lacey so—distant?" Jo asked, trying to get Danny's mind off of the anxiety that was obviously building up around him.
"We broke up." Danny said out loud for the first time.
"What happened this time?!"
"We broke up, that's it."
Jo looked at Danny like he had just told her the grass wasn't green.
"There you are—" Lacey joined them and inadvertently put an end to whatever explanation Jo was fishing for, "Having fun?"
"I should have just gone to work." Danny answered honestly.
"Hey now, my party is way better than your camping trip was!" Jo shoved his arm playfully.
"Walk?" Lacey asked Danny gently.
"That a good idea?"
"It's just a walk." Lacey took Danny's hand and gave him a pull. He resisted a little, "Please?"
Danny allowed Lacey to continue pulling him along and eventually they fell into their comfortable groove as they walked the perimeter of the property together. Danny knew they didn't have a long time but he definitely wanted to hear whatever was on Lacey's mind.
Kyle was out feeding the horses when they walked by, the three of them acknowledging each other, everything was still going according to plan.
Although they could not see them, Danny and Lacey knew that Eddie and several FBI agents were staged everywhere around the property at this point.
The agents had been shuttled to the farm one at a time for the last week. They parked at a federal prison facility in the next town over and hitched rides with Kyle's feed deliveries to hide the sudden influx of random visitors and extra traffic from the very nosey residents of Green Grove.
Tonight Eddie was dressed up as Kyle's deputy as usual. Eddie had made it know around town in the days leading up to Jo's party that he was going to be a chaperone. His effort was an attempt to lure Gloria into making some moves that would finally become her undoing.
Danny's latest note confirmed that Gloria had taken the bait. If Charlie was out of jail again and actively hiding out on the farm, Gloria was definitely working a plan of her own.
Charlie was busy in the Masterson's driveway planting felony level amounts of drugs in Eddie and Kyle's police cruisers while Rico was across town planting the same in Tess' truck and Eddie's personal vehicle at his house.
Gloria's plan was to call the state police and make a report about the drug activity, using a made up extortion story that would center around her daughter. Once the state police found the planted drugs in the vehicles of the local police department, Kyle, Eddie and Tess would be arrested and prosecuted, leaving no one to meddle with her work. If Danny and the rest of the kids decided to interfere with her Gloria after that, then she had a plan for them to disappear as well.
Scott's father was on board, he'd do anything to keep his son out of trouble and to secure his future. Gloria expected Mr. Ogden, as the DA, to push the trials for the felony drug charges through quickly. Thanks to Danny, Lacey, Jo and Kyle keeping an airtight circle around their own plan, Gloria had no idea that the FBI was prepared to take her down first.
Regina had no idea what her mother's plan was, but Gloria did make her aware that she was trying to take down some drug dealer and that she'd have to lie to the police if they ever came to question her about it. Regina didn't know when that day would come, but had been coached endlessly by Gloria and was ready to help when necessary.
Danny slowed down as they reached the edge of the wooded area that they had made their own. Lacey squeezed his hand and pulled him to follow her to their favorite group of maple trees.
They loved this spot. It was private, beautiful and filled with happy memories. Danny didn't want to add any sad moments here.
Lacey leaned her back against the tree they had made love against several times before. She pulled Danny in closer and wrapped her arms around him. Danny hugged her back tenderly.
"I'm sorry." Lacey began.
Danny ticked his head to the side in curiosity and waited for more information.
"Breaking this off with you—" Lacey shook her head, "We are too damn close to have that happen over a text."
"I appreciate that, but don't apologize, I did the same thing."
"I didn't want to do it like that."
Danny wanted to tell her that he wished they had met under any other circumstances. He wanted to tell her that he saw his whole life in her, that he knew he could be happy with her forever.
He wanted to tell her every single thing he had locked away in his heart, but he held back. It wasn't the right time for them, at least, not now.
Danny ran a hand through the hair that framed the left side of Lacey's face, pushing the bulk of her beautiful curls back behind her shoulder. He searched her eyes, her soft smile. He thought about how on this very spot a few months ago she had asked him to be hers for the summer and now they were back here to let each other go.
He leaned his head down, rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. She always smelled the same, always fit against his body perfectly. Lacey melted against him too, the two of them now relying completely on the maple tree to hold them both up.
Danny pulled his face back long enough to ask for a kiss without saying a damn thing. Lacey moved in and Danny kissed her knowing he may never get the chance again. It was slow and passionate. Lacey gave back just as much as Danny did, it was always that way with their physical relationship. Natural.
When they pulled apart, Danny forced himself to take a step back and then another. The air that flowed between them seemed intrusive, cooling the sizzle that had just crackled between them, yet it was needed.
Lacey licked her lips as if her brain was trying to confirm that she had just had the most amazing kiss of her life, as if maybe she had imagined it and she had to search for any part of it so she could relive that moment again.
"I love you." Danny confessed, "Maybe I should have focused more on keeping it light and having fun like you wanted, but—" Danny looked up, searching for the strength to stop from pouring his feeling out all over the place.
"I love you, too."
"I'm here, Lacey. If you ever need anything, if you just want to talk, hang out. I'll always call you a friend."
"Seeing how you've treated Whitney, I know that's true. I'll always be here for you too."
"It's really over." Danny whispered, but not to her. It was more like he was pleading in confusion to whatever god could hear him.
Danny turned away from her a little more, the pain in his chest hurting more and more the longer they stood there. Even so, he almost welcomed it if it meant a few more moments with her.
They had to get back. The end to this nightmare was almost here and they knew they had a strict plan to follow.
The pair reluctantly began their walk back toward the party, holding hands, joking and laughing about stupid shit just like always. As the house came into view, Lacey noticed the car first.
"Speaking of Whitney—"
Danny looked at Lacey and followed her sight line. There in the Masterson's long driveway sat Whitney's car. It wasn't part of tonight's meticulous plan and as happy as Danny should have been to see her again, any deviations made him incredibly nervous at this point.
"What is she doing here?" Danny wondered as they picked up the pace.
"You didn't invite her?" Lacey wondered.
"No." Lacey picked up on Danny's growing anxiety.
"Was she in the group invite?"
"I don't think so—"
"There they are!" Whitney bubbled when she caught sight of Danny and Lacey, "Surprise!" She giggled as she walked up and threw her arms around Lacey first before moving on to squeeze Danny.
"I am definitely surprised." Danny said after Whitney bounced away to hug Lacey for a second time.
"Archie texted me earlier, thought maybe another friend at this party couldn't hurt." Whitney rambled on.
Danny had wrapped his arms around himself and glanced at Jo, trying to take her temperature on if this could mess anything up for tonight.
Jo gave him a simple nod, "The more the merrier!"
Danny turned his attention to Archie who looked back at him like a scared animal. Archie winced and walked closer.
"I invited her for you, not me." Archie said carefully, his breath reeking of cheap beer.
"It's cool, thanks. How many have you had to drink?"
"Yes."
"Jesus—"
"I have arrived!" Tyler declared, case of beer in hand, making everyone cheer, "Sorry I'm late but the adults in Green Grove were especially difficult to persuade to buy me drinks tonight. I may owe our dear librarian favors I cannot mention." He added huskily and walked up to kiss Jo.
Before he reached Jo's lips, Tyler paused dramatically and did a double take, looking around to see if anyone else saw the striking platinum blonde stranger standing within their friend group.
"Ummm, hi." Tyler stuck his hand out to shake Whitney's hand, "I'm in love."
"Well, that's an unfortunate name." Whitney said, unimpressed by this stereotypical jock being so on brand, "Whitney."
It was no secret that Tyler preferred blondes, but it was also no secret that he and Jo were together. Whitney held his hand as if it were a gross, wet paper towel.
"Dude." Archie scowled, protective over both Jo and Whitney.
"Yeah, hi." Jo waved in front of her boyfriend's face, "I'm the one you're stuck with, remember?"
"Jo, I was just—"
"It can change real easy—"
"I was just saying hello—"
"Oh no you weren't—" Jo dragged Tyler off to the side to continue squabbling.
"You're all friends with that guy?" Whitney judged them hard.
"No." Danny and Archie said at the same time.
"Lacey?"
"That's just Tyler, he's Jo's boyfriend ." Lacey explained like he was just a piece of old furniture, "We all went to school together."
"Toxic." Whitney surmised as she opened and chugged one of Tyler's beers.
Jo looked at her phone: 9:50 pm
"Alright, let's get this party up on the roof!" Jo shouted.
"Seriously?!" Archie protested, drunk, but still fully aware that he was afraid of heights.
"I just watched you pound can after can of liquid courage, Yates, let's go." Jo scolded her cousin and dragged him along.
Danny's adrenaline pulsed throughout his entire body, it was time. The plan was to get all of them onto the roof to protect them from whatever could unfold below.
The roof had plenty of room for them all to spread out and Kyle felt it was the safest option with the amount of ammunition that was about to be live in their general vicinity. One thing Kyle hadn't planned on at this faux party was half of them drinking alcohol.
Danny was the first one in and led everyone upstairs and through the narrow staircase onto the roof.
"Whoa, this is rad—" Whitney said as she gazed up at the stars she never got to see in the city.
"It's amazing isn't it?" Danny stood beside her and stared up at the sky briefly, "Thanks for coming Whit."
"Well now you owe me. I met someone the other day and the second her and I break up I expect you to be ready to eat ice cream and bash her with me."
"Deal. I'm happy for you."
"Me too, it's been a dry-ass summer. I'm ready for a sloppy fall if you know what I mean." She laughed, earning a smile from Danny.
"Where are you staying?" Danny asked, half wondering as a friend, half wondering where the hell he would fall after this all went down.
"At her place."
"Living together already?"
"I answered her ad for a roommate." Whitney shrugged, "Didn't expect the apartment to come fully equipped with a girlfriend too." She smiled her bright Whitney smile.
"You should have brought her—"
"She's working, unlike me. Someone's gotta pay the bills."
Jo, Danny and Lacey had spread out strategically on the roof, the three of them facing the hill where the Crane mansion sat so that their friends would mostly be facing them and away from seeing Kyle's random vehicles that were lined up along driveway, ready to storm Gloria's property.
The whole plan hinged on not tipping Gloria off before the FBI could arrest her.
At first, the unknown of where Charlie was milling about had thrown a small wrench into their plan. Thanks to the heads up from Danny, Eddie's team had located him and were monitoring him, ready to take him down directly after Gloria was in custody.
The closer to go time the worse Danny felt. He forced himself not to pace around but this misplaced energy was suffocating him and his need to move was beginning to consume him and leak out in other ways.
"What time is it?" He shouted to Jo.
Jo checked her phone: 10:03 pm. The take down would begin in two minutes.
"It's just after 10 big guy, bored already?" Jo tried to joke back, giving him a long stare in an effort to calm him down and not have him blow this after all of their hard work.
Danny's face remained in obvious deep thought. Lacey knew he was going through the roughest moments of his life right now and held up the sign for 'I love you' with her hand. Danny just looked away and shook his head, not wanting his brain to start thinking about losing her again.
"Why are you so grumpy?" Whitney asked after watching their whole exchange.
"I just don't wanna deal with that."
"I can see that, but the Danny I know wouldn't be a such prick about it. Especially not to her—"
"Maybe you don't know me anymore."
"Oh, I know you." Whitney ignored his angsty attitude that she was very aware existed, "You're anxious, more anxious than I've ever seen you. I know you're going through some shit, but what else is wrong?"
Danny's eyes darted over to Jo and she held up one finger. One more minute and his life would change completely again. One more minute and Danny would find out if putting his trust in the Mastersons and not Gloria was the correct choice.
Danny closed his eyes and tried not to have a total meltdown. He stuck his fingers in his hair and bunched it in his fists a few times. His lips parted and he began to suck in way too much air for someone just standing still.
"Tell me what's going on—" Whitney pushed.
"I can't do this."
"Do what?"
"This, you, talking to you." Danny's voice rose, laced with increasing irritation, "You like fucking my friends so why are you all over me anyway?"
"Ouch. There he is."
"Lacey's free now—"
"I'm not though, remember? Talk to me."
"Fuck off—"
Their conversation was one Whitney had experience in dealing with and she was prepared to keep pushing until Danny let it all out, that was until Regina inserted herself, fed up with hearing all of his cheap shots.
"You are such an asshole!" Regina yelled at him.
Danny caught sight of the vehicles as they began leaving and flying up the winding road to the Crane mansion. He couldn't keep a poker face even if he wanted to but didn't want to tip Gloria off now by having his wire pick up what was happening either so he tried to stay focused on his current situation.
"I'm sorry—" Danny brushed off his mood and said this as if saying sorry would be enough.
"That's all you do, lie, and apologize, lie, and apologize—" Regina wasn't having it, apparently.
"What have I lied about?!" Danny's voice got even louder.
"Being a nice guy. Just because Lacey doesn't want you anymore doesn't mean you have to be an asshole to everyone!"
"Fuck you!" Danny shouted.
"Whoa, whoa—" Archie stepped in between them.
"I tried, you shot me down! Glad I dodged that bullet, I'm not a fan of domestic violence!"
"You both need to stop!" Lacey could not believe this was happening right now.
"I never hurt her! I love her!" Danny shouted at the top of his lungs, helping to release some of his anxiety.
"Danny, I swear to god—!" Regina screamed through Lacey's attempts at wrangling her toward the other side of the roof.
Danny followed them, marching up close, Lacey and Archie now both in between them.
"What are you gonna do, Regina?! Steal from me again?!" Danny watched Regina's face morph from anger to shock, "Yeah, I know it was you. It's on camera, genius!"
"Danny, stop yelling—" Whitney said calmly as she pulled him backward by his arm.
"Get off of me!"
Danny yanked his arm away and accidentally bumped a very buzzed Archie, sending him stumbling forward a few steps.
Archie's fear of heights peaked when he was thrown off balance and his hands shot out to grab onto anything around him, that thing being Lacey. Lacey then pushed into Regina and almost sent the two girls right off the roof in the most horrific domino effect that had all begun with Danny's anxiety.
Everyone was still holding their breath as Archie bravely reached out to pull them away from the roof's edge.
"Holy shit—" Lacey took a few deep breaths and squeezed Regina tighter.
"Oh my god." Regina exhaled and clung to Lacey.
As everyone relaxed a little Lacey ran back through how they almost got pitched off the roof in the first place.
"What's Danny talking about?" Lacey asked a now super quiet and withdrawn Regina about Danny's accusation.
"Oh, excuse me while I recover from almost dying, Lacey." Regina growled at her.
"You stole Danny's money?"
Lacey took a step away, realizing that the daughter of wealthiest person in town stole from someone who had nothing, who had worked his ass off to try and get his life straight. Regina would have to say a lot to get that to make sense for her.
"Yooo, what is happening at old lady Crane's right now? Y'all see that?" Tyler pointed to the cavalcade of vehicles and blue lights that could be seen through the trees on the hill.
Danny, Jo and Lacey exchanged glances and didn't say anything.
"Oh my god." Regina said for the second time in two minutes.
The group remained quiet and watched a handful of armed agents emerge out of the corn fields around Jo's property wearing bulletproof vests with the letters FBI reflecting from the front. Another group was running up from the end of the Masterson's driveway to take Charlie down in the middle of front yard as he tried to run away.
"I didn't do anything!" Charlie screamed as they took him to the ground and cuffed him.
A single shot was heard in the distance, leaving Regina wide-eyed and frantic when she connected the dots about what the noise was and where it had come from.
The radios for the people wrestling with Charlie on the ground suddenly blared in unison.
"Target one is down, self-inflicted. Repeat, target one is deceased."
The man sitting on Charlie's legs replied.
"Copy. Target two is in custody. Repeat, target two is in custody."
Regina darted toward the stairs and was stopped by Danny who stepped in her path.
"Danny, get out of my way." She tried to take another route and Danny mirrored her, not allowing her to gain any ground.
"You shouldn't leave—"
Lacey and Jo backed Danny up and stood behind Regina, trying their best to help her through this.
"I—I need to find out what's happening at my house." She begged, knowing deep down what must have happened.
"There's nothing you can do." Danny watched her face crumple. He wrapped his arms around her and just held her, eventually transitioning them down to sit, "I'm sorry, Regina. I'm so sorry." Danny said sincerely.
Regina began to cry, "Did you know?"
"Yes." Danny said softly, "I didn't know what the outcome would be."
"I knew too." Lacey confessed and sat down next to her best friend.
Regina pulled away from Danny's surprisingly comforting arms and wiped her nose on her sleeve.
"Target one was my mother." Regina said to no one, her brief tears replaced with a loathsome scowl, "It was always about her, she made me do the worst things. My mother told me that I had to learn the business, that I'd be taking it over soon so she could retire, but I didn't want to. I wanted to travel, to see the world. She told me it was a waste of time and that I'd have to pay for all of it myself—that's why I took your money. I had to get out of here."
Danny tried to put himself in her shoes. He had a shitty mom too, but he knew it had to be far more frightening to have a mother like Gloria.
"I can definitely relate to wanting an escape."
"I'm sorry."
"Me too." Danny rubbed her back gently.
"Target three, Target four, Target five in custody." The group heard from below.
Three, four and five were Mr. Ogden, Scott and Cole.
"Copy. Update on Target six and Target seven please." Danny heard a voice he recognized as Eddie's ask through the radio.
"Target six and Target seven in custody." They all heard someone respond from below.
Danny, Jo and Lacey knew that was Rico and Doug, the last two on the list. It was finally over.
"Copy. Update on Target eight please." A different agent asked.
The group could hear agents gathering near the kitchen entrance of Jo's old farmhouse. Danny, Lacey and Jo looked at each other, no idea what was happening, obviously not privy to this step of the plan.
"Target eight location known. Moving in now." Eddie responded.
They heard agents stomping through Jo's house and begin climbing up the stairs.
"Jo who's eight?" Danny asked in panic.
The steps got closer.
"I—I don't know—"
Danny looked around: Jo, Lacey, Whitney, Regina, Tyler, Archie and himself. Who were they coming for? He thought back to all of the fake drug deals he completed for Gloria at Kyle's request. Was he about to go down too?
The tiny door flung open and three agents with guns drawn climbed onto the roof, several hanging back at the base of the stairs. Eddie was the agent leading the group.
"Oh shit—" Tyler stuck his hands in the air, "It's just like on tv!" He smiled like a dumb idiot, high as hell and hoping for the best.
"Everyone stay where you are, hands out in front." Eddie asked almost nicely, signaling for his team to put their weapons away.
Eddie squatted down in front of Danny and Regina. Danny couldn't breathe. This was it, he either fucked himself or set himself free.
"Regina, I'm sorry about your mother. Not the outcome we hoped for tonight." He reached out and touched Regina's shoulder.
Regina shrugged him off immediately, "Don't touch me! You did this! You gave her no options!"
"I know you're hurting but my mission tonight is not over. You're going to have to come with me." Eddie bounced back up and pulled Regina up with him.
"Am I being arrested?!" Regina shrieked in outrage.
One of the agents began reading Regina her rights while another agent locked her wrists in handcuffs. Danny tried to stand, meeting one of Eddie's hands in his face.
"Remain seated." He warned Danny.
Kyle finally made his way onto the roof, face filled with regret as his eyes landed on Regina's furious tear-stained face.
"Regina—"
"You killed her!"
"Your mother decided her own fate." Kyle gave her a hug anyway, his chest hurting for the young woman he had known since she was little.
"Chief Masterson, these kids are free to go." Eddie waved his hand around to the rest of the group.
Danny realized that he was one of 'those kids' and for the first time since he had arrived in Green Grove he felt free.
"Off the record, your nephew is drunk and his friend is so high he could float away right now. I suggest you clean this up before it becomes my problem." Eddie had to make sure that he pointed out Kyle's shortcomings, something he still enjoyed doing after so easily sleeping with his wife.
"Thank you, Agent Garrett. I will handle it." Kyle replied with grace, as he would.
Eddie turned his attention to Danny now that Regina had been hauled away, "Nice job, Danny. We'll be in touch, I'll need to get some statements from you to close this investigation out."
"What about my record, sir? The charges from the party in the city?"
"What charges?" Eddie smiled, "Gone kid. Your record is clean. Archie's too." Eddie gave Archie the side eye as he watched the young man lie down so his world would stop spinning, "For now."
"Thank you." Danny stood and reached to shake Agent Garrett's hand, never in a million years believing that he'd be thanking this asshole for anything.