"Ronnie Anne... Hey." The voice on the other end sounded tired, annoyed, and surprised. "..Lincoln? you call me for the first time in years and it's in the middle of the night? I'm assuming this must be important then. What do you want? If you're calling about your cut being changed, I-" Lincoln interrupted her with a stammer in his voice. "Wh- Cut?! you're changing my cut?!" Lincoln did his best to sound shocked and outraged. Ronnie Anne took a moment before responding. "..You didn't know? hasn't Sergio told you?" There it was. He needed, he had to sound convincing, or else it all falls apart. "Well, that's... what I actually called about. He never showed up." Another pause from Ronnie Anne. "What do you mean, he didn't show up?" There was anger in her voice and no sign of any concern for the parrot. "I mean that he did not show up. I've been waiting here ever since the arranged time. It's been hours and still, there's no sign of him." Ronnie Anne let out a huff. "Stay there. I'm coming."
Lincoln let out a gasp of relief when Ronnie Anne hung up. She had believed him which was good... though she was coming here. Not good. He shook his head, right now he needed to contact his family. He quickly dialed Leni's number and the phone answered nearly instantly. "LINCOLN! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?! WE'VE BEEN OUT SEARCHING FOR YOU!" Lincoln held the phone away from his ear, wincing. "Voice of an angel, Leni. Listen, it's... complicated. I'm safe, and I'll be home as soon as I can just tell everyone that so they'll calm down." Leni continued to shout down the phone. "CALM DOWN?! YOU'VE GIVEN US ALL PANIC ATTACKS! YOU CAN'T JUST DO THIS TO US!" Lincoln looked down at his feet. He knew that the chewing out he was going to get would be bad but this was already too much for his liking. Still, he knew it was deserved. "Leni, listen, all of you can let me have it later but right now, I can't stay on the phone. I promise you I will come home and soon but I need to hang up right now, okay?" He could tell Leni was fuming on the other end. She muttered a "Fine." before immediately hanging up. If Ronnie Anne didn't kill him, his family sure would. What a life.
Lincoln felt the anxiety rise in his chest as a black car pulled up in front of Gus Fring's Games and Grub. He watched as Ronnie Anne quickly stepped out of it and stormed toward him. Lincoln felt his heart drop. Did she figure him out? was there something he'd forgotten to say that gave it all away? She grabbed him by the shirt and moved him behind her as someone got out of the other side of the car. "WHAT DID YOU DO WITH HIM?!" It was Carl. Holding that same baseball bat and making a beeline toward Lincoln. "Carl, for the last time calm the fuck down! Lincoln said that Sergio never showed-" Carl shouted over his sister. "HE'S A FUCKING LIAR! SERGIO NEVER WOULD'VE SKIPPED OUT ON A TRADE!" Ronnie Anne pushed Lincoln up against the wall, trying to keep him out of Carl's grasp. "I'm not suggesting Sergio skipped but you cannot kill someone without any evidence. Don Hector wouldn't allow it." Carl wasn't listening, he was determined to kill Lincoln here tonight. Suddenly, the driver of the car stepped out. "Carl, you're embarrassing yourselves and the family. Drop the bat." Lincoln looked up into the eyes of Carlos Casagrande, the one Lincoln always considered to be the mind behind the operations. "You cannot and will not kill anyone without permission. You already stepped out of line once already. Did Don Hector not make himself clear the last time?" This made Carl stop dead in his tracks, still glaring at Lincoln. "Now drop the bat." Carl reluctantly did so and stepped back. Ronnie Anne slowly and wearily moved out of the way and turned to face Lincoln. "Let's go around the back."
Lincoln and the others walked back into the alley, Carl immediately began to kick up an argument. "SEE? THE BOXES ARE HERE WHICH MEANS SO WAS HE! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!" Carl again accused Lincoln as Carlos held up his hand. "Carl, silence. Lincoln, you say the boxes were here when you arrived, correct?" Lincoln struggled but managed to take his eyes off Carl and turn to Carlos. "Yes, sir. I looked around for Sergio but there wasn't any sign of him. Just these boxes." Lincoln felt his body go numb as Carlos then instructed Ronnie Anne to check them. She gave a nod and made her way over to the boxes of drugs and began to open them. He prayed and begged that she would only open the first few and not each one. If they found the bucket and mop... Ronnie Anne checked the fifth box and stopped. "Nothing out of the ordinary. Seems to be the normal amount." Carlos gave a nod before turning to Lincoln. "You still have the money, I presume?" Lincoln's eyes darted around from Ronnie Anne to Carl, and then Carlos. "Y-Yes, sir I do." He pulled out the envelope which Carlos promptly took. He checked the amount briefly before tucking it away into his jacket. "Good. Then we are done here." Carl looked up at his father in shock. "DAD! Y-YOU CAN'T LET HIM GO! HE DID SOMETHING TO SERGIO, HE-" Carlos backhanded his son across the cheek. "Enough. Your quickness to anger and rashness is pathetic. We will search for Sergio and he will be found, alive or dead. And if he is indeed found dead then I'm sure you know Lincoln that you would be suspect number 1 and that the consequences would be severe. Now, this month's trade is complete. We will take our leave." Carlos stared back at Carl, ordering him to go first with his eyes. Carl gave one last death glare at Lincoln before he and his father were out of sight. Ronnie Anne stopped next to him. "Lincoln, I want you to know that I've been trying my best to protect you from the others. Carl had all these ideas about sending a message and the only reason he didn't go through with any of them was because of me. But if by some chance Carl is right and you did do something to Sergio... I'm sure you know that I won't be able nor would I want to protect you anymore." Lincoln looked his old friend and crush in the eyes, the girl he once knew seemed unrecognizable to him these days. Ever since she moved in with the rest of her family, she just got worse. "I know. I hope you find him soon, Ronnie." She stayed staring at him for a moment before joining Carl and Carlos, leaving Lincoln alone in the alley.
To Be Continued