Chapter Four

To Radley's relief, he didn't need to stay long at the hospital. The doctor let him go after a short amount of observation since he had recovered so well and so quickly from the anaphylaxis. He and Yusei—and Jack and Crow, who had indeed joined them—headed back to the diner to check on things there.

Barney met them at the door. "Radley!" He beamed in relief and hugged him. "You're okay!?"

Radley hugged back. "I sure am. Hey, is my family still here?" he wondered.

"Yeah. That's why a couple of us stayed back instead of going with the others," Barney said. "We thought your family should be protected."

"Akiza and I stayed back to help with that too," Antinomy said as he appeared behind Barney.

"Oh good," Radley said in relief. "Thank you, all of you."

In the diner, Emilio was giggling as he played with Antinomy's cat Monkey. He looked up, joyous, when he heard Radley's voice. "Radley!" He ran over, throwing his arms around Radley's waist.

Radley hugged him close. "I'm okay, Pal," he soothed.

"It was awful seeing you hurt," Emilio said.

"I know," Radley told him. "I'm sorry it had to happen. You didn't deserve that."

"You didn't either!" Emilio exclaimed.

Radley had to smile.

Marisol swiftly came over too and joined the hug. "My darling!" She held him close. "It was so horrible to see you in such pain. . . ."

Radley leaned into her embrace. He had longed so much for this kind of love from them. Having it still felt unreal. "I'm sorry I put you guys through that," he said.

"Oh, it was hardly your fault!" Marisol exclaimed. "It was that horrible man!" She stroked his hair.

". . . Has Grandmother said anything?" Radley asked.

Marisol sighed. "No. She went to the lounge and is probably still there." She frowned. "I told you when I first came here that I believed she still loved you, Radley, but then I grew soured and bitter on the idea when she treated you so coldly here. Now . . . I'm not sure what I think. She was clearly deeply affected by what happened tonight. I have never seen her like this."

Radley hesitated. "Do you think I should go to her? Or maybe I should wait for her to come out. . . ."

"It might be nice for you to show her you're alright," Marisol said. "Your father and grandfather are probably in the lounge as well."

Radley nodded. "Okay. I'll go see them." He hugged Emilio again and headed through the diner's main room and down the hall to the lounge at the back. It wasn't open to the public, but he certainly didn't mind if his family used it.

His grandmother was sitting by the fireplace when he went inside. His father and grandfather were on a couch. The men looked tense, while Lucia seemed lost.

Fidelio leaped up as soon as Radley entered. "Radley!" He rushed over, pulling his son into an embrace. "They let you out?!"

"Yeah," Radley smiled, hugging back.

Fidelio shook his head. "You were there so much longer before. . . ."

"Well . . . I got help a lot quicker this time," Radley said softly.

He could feel his father stiffen. In the past, the paramedics had told him that he had just barely got them there in time. If he had gone along with Lucia's insistence that Radley was faking, Radley surely would have died. Radley hugged the man again, reassuringly.

"Your friend is a fast thinker," Alejandro remarked.

"I taught him and the Bunch what to do if this ever happened," Radley explained. "I knew I could count on them." He didn't mention that for a long time he had kept it secret, still hurting and traumatized from how his family had made him feel it was a horrible thing and an insult to the family for him to have his allergy.

"You certainly could," Fidelio quietly said.

Radley slowly pulled back and went over to Lucia, who was still just staring into the fire. "Grandmother? I . . . I just wanted to let you know I'm okay . . . and to thank you again for finding my auto-injector. . . ."

"I do not deserve any thanks," Lucia replied, almost in a monotone.

"Every second counted," Radley said. "You found it in enough time for Kalin to use it on me before things could get much worse."

"I almost let you die in the past because of my bullheadedness," Lucia said. "I hurt you and your mother almost constantly. She hates me now, which I understand. But you say you still love me. I cannot understand that, no matter how hard I try."

"I don't really understand it either," Radley admitted. "But . . . love just doesn't go away when it was there. You were the head of the family and I looked up to you. I wanted you to love me. When I got older, I thought maybe I'd be satisfied if you'd just like me. I still don't know what I did wrong. But . . . Mom said it was her too, so maybe it wasn't me and it wasn't her. Maybe it's just that you have some issues you're trying to sort out and we were casualties of that."

". . . It's true there were issues," Lucia admitted. "But I never tried to solve them. Perhaps that was my problem." She finally stood and turned to face him. "I didn't know anything about raising children and I did it all wrong. I tried to copy my parents, and either I did it incorrectly or they didn't know how to do it either. They said the most important thing was keeping hold of what we had. I thought that meant the vineyard and the winery. Most likely, they meant our family. I was willing to splinter the family to pieces to keep the business going strong. I treated your mother and her husband and you all abominably. There is no excuse for all I have done. I am not worth your love."

". . . Maybe not, but I still love you anyway," Radley said softly. "Will you at least give me a chance? That's all I ever wanted—a real chance that would be considered and not brushed aside. I'm not a bad person. I never was. I'm not what you wanted me to be, but you're not what I wanted either. I wanted you to be open and affectionate, and that was too much to expect because that's just not who you are. But I love you even as you are. I wish you would feel the same way about me."

"You don't need to prove anything to me," Lucia told him. "It was wrong of me to ever make you feel you had to. I don't know how you can still want to be a part of this family, but if you want to, you are fully welcome now, just as you always should have been. For all I have done, I . . . I am truly sorry."

"Thank you," Radley said, his voice cracking. He wanted to hug her, but he didn't want to make her uncomfortable. He stepped back instead.

Silence fell over the group for a moment.

"All of that needed to be said, and I'm proud of you for finally saying it, Lucia." Alejandro got up from the couch. "But oh, go on and hug the boy! It won't kill you to be affectionate just once."

Lucia started. Radley did too, staring at his grandfather before turning to look back at her, questioning, hopeful. Slowly, hesitantly, Lucia stepped forward and reached out, her hands shaking as she drew Radley into a hug. Radley went stiff, scarcely able to believe it was happening. Then, overcome, he pulled her close. "Grandma," he whispered. He hadn't called her that since he was a kid.

Lucia held him for a long moment, feeling him moving and breathing. His long hair fell forward, half-concealing his face and brushing against the top of her head. She moved to brush it aside but then stopped, just letting it rest there.

"My boy," she whispered. "My dear boy. . . ."

Fidelio broke into a broad smile. Now, finally, everything was set aright.

xxxx

Kalin's heart pounded as he and the Bunch met and climbed the mountain leading to the mine. The Bunch had combed the town without success, leaving the mountain as the most likely possibility to search. Kalin dreaded confronting Lawton at the mine. There were far too many places where he could hide. And with a child's life at stake, they couldn't spend time chasing him here, there, and everywhere.

"Lawton?" Kalin called as they reached the plateau near the main mine entrance. "Why don't you come out now and maybe it will go easier for you. I just want the kid."

A dark laugh. "Do you really think I'll fall for that one?"

Scotch snarled at the sound of the familiar voice. Not having been along on the adventure in the Duel Monsters world, he and the rest of the Bunch hadn't heard Lawton since his takeover of Crash Town. Hearing him now was a bitter pill.

Kalin stepped forward, hoping he was going towards the sound of the voice. It was hard to tell when everything echoed here. "It's the truth," he said. "Getting Ronny back alive and unharmed is the most important thing right now."

"Don't tell me you really don't want revenge for what I made that empty-headed waitress do to save him," Lawton jeered. He still wasn't visible, but Kalin was starting to think he wasn't in the mine at all, but somewhere in the crevices of the mountain.

"Yeah, I want revenge for that," Kalin growled. "But that isn't important. This isn't like you, Lawton. You don't like taking risks! Why did you do this?"

"Correction! I don't like taking unnecessary risks," Lawton answered. "The prospect of putting Radley down like a broken old dog was too good to pass up."

Kalin snarled, clenching his fists tightly enough that he almost drew blood.

"You creep!" Scotch spat. "You won't get away with what you did!"

"What are you so sore about? You've still got the guy with you." Lawton's smooth, unrepentant voice was only making everyone angrier.

Kalin swore, calling Lawton a foul name. "Do you even still have Ronny with you?!" he demanded.

"Oh yeah, I have him," Lawton said. "He's not too talkative right now, but I'm sure you can fix him up. Just come up and get him."

Now Kalin could see a faint movement up above him, in a niche surrounded by rocks and trees. He couldn't see a gun, but he would be surprised if Lawton didn't have some kind of weapon.

"Are you crazy?!" Virgil hissed. "You can't go up there!"

"I don't have a lot of choice," Kalin retorted. "We can't surround him; only one of us can get up there."

"And that should be you, huh?" Virgil frowned.

"It's going to be Kalin, alright," Lawton interrupted. "If anyone else tries to come up, I kill the kid."

A muffled cry of terror chilled Kalin and his friends to the bone.

"He really has gone nuts!" Billy exclaimed. "He just wants you to go up there so he can kill you, Kalin!"

"Probably," Kalin agreed. "But I don't have much choice. We came here to save Ronny, and that's what I'm going to do." He stepped forward to begin the climb into the crevice.

"That's it. Keep coming," Lawton grinned.

Clint shifted. "Does anyone else find it really nerve-wracking that he deliberately talks like John Wayne when he's the opposite of John Wayne?!"

Virgil snorted. "That's why he does it."

Finally Kalin pulled himself up into the grassy crack. His eyes saw better in the darkness than most people's, but even he was having trouble making out where Lawton and Ronny were. "Where are you?" he demanded after a moment.

"Right here." A gun clicked and came to rest against Kalin's forehead. "I'm going to take one of you out one way or another."

"So the police will pick up their search for you even more?" Kalin retorted. "I know you hate us, but you're letting your hate blind your reason!"

"My brother ruined everything when he disrupted the Crew's last scheme to hurt you people," Lawton said. "I'm going to see that it happens."

Ronny suddenly jerked upward, knocking the gun off-balance. Lawton snarled, startled enough that Kalin was able to grab his arm and force it upward. "Run, Ronny!" he ordered the boy. "The Bunch is with me. They'll catch you if you go to the opening."

Terrified, the child slipped past Kalin and ran.

Lawton just sneered. "He was just bait anyway. Now I have what I really wanted. I can't wait for the Bunch to take your corpse back to town so Radley can cry over it and wish he really had died."

Kalin snarled. "You're sick!" He wrenched the gun away, but not before it fired into the air.

Lawton kneed him in the stomach. "This time you're not getting the best of me," he vowed.

Kalin choked in pain. But as Lawton started to force his weight on Kalin to overpower him, Kalin lashed out and pushed him back. "No," he said darkly. "You're not."

He wasn't expecting Lawton to stumble and fall backwards with a scream out the other end of the crevice. The sound seemed to carry on for miles before it suddenly stopped. Shaken in spite of himself, Kalin pulled out his flashlight and shined it below him. The ravine looked like it went on forever. He really couldn't see the bottom.

"Kalin!" Scotch yelled. "Are you okay?! What happened?!"

"I'm fine," Kalin called back. "But Lawton won't be a problem anymore."

". . . Did you kill him?!" Clint exclaimed.

"No," Kalin said. "He fell. It was an accident." But even if it hadn't been, no jury in the world would convict him. He had been acting in self-defense and the defense of a child. He stared into the inky blackness for a moment before turning away. The ravine looked too steep and too narrow to even launch a recovery effort to find the body. Maybe possibly one of Nesbitt's robots could fit, or stretch its long arms down, but Kalin doubted even it could go far enough. He would examine it again in the morning, but for now, there was nothing he could do.

He turned away. Radley, with his soft heart, might be troubled if he was in Kalin's place. But all Kalin could think was that Lawton had deserved what he got. He could only feel relief that their old enemy was finally gone at last.

He walked out of the crevice and back to his friends. "Let's go."

They went with him, agreeably. Scotch carried Ronny, talking to him soothingly and assuring him everything was alright.

Kalin smiled a bit. Now maybe it really would be.

xxxx

Kalin texted Radley and Yusei to let them know the group was safe and returning, but he didn't mention the other details. Both texted back in relief and said they were at the diner. Overjoyed that Radley was doing that well, Kalin immediately headed there with the Bunch and Ronny.

Kathy was right there with her mother, both joyous as the group arrived. "Ronny!" Kathy exclaimed, lifting him into her arms.

Radley beamed, then hurried to his friends. "I'm so glad you're all okay!" he exclaimed.

Yusei and the rest of Team 5Ds echoed their happy agreement.

"Yeah, Lawton really was crazy!" Scotch exclaimed.

"And you, the doctor really let you go?" Kalin eyed Radley up and down.

"Oh? You think I broke out of the hospital?" Radley playfully winked. "No, Kalin, I'm really okay. I'm better than okay." He smiled. "Grandma and I are actually patching things up."

Kalin rocked back. "Really?"

"Yeah." Radley beamed. "I'll tell you all about it later."

"That is so amazing!" Scotch gushed.

Many of the rest of the Bunch chorused in agreement.

Virgil seemed skeptical that it was for real, but instead of commenting, he looked to the reunited family. "So, are we arresting her for attempted murder or what?" he frowned, eyeing Kathy.

"She said she'll turn herself in," Radley said. "But I don't feel like pressing charges, given the circumstances."

Kalin grunted. "Even to save her kid brother, what she did was horrible. If you won't press charges, I probably will."

"And that's fine," Radley said. "You're right, it wasn't justified. And we don't want something like this to happen again. It's just that I personally don't have the heart to force the lesson on her. I think she's already learned it. She knows she shouldn't have done it and she's been crying the whole time I've been here, upset about her actions as well as worrying about Ronny."

Kalin looked away. Radley's rule of thumb tended to be that if the person was repentant and no longer a threat, they could do more good out of prison than in it. There was the question of her family too, as Kathy was the only one to support them. Taking her away would be more of a punishment on her innocent mother and brother than on her.

". . . Alright, she'll get another chance," he said at last. "But at least how about she do some community service?"

Radley smiled. "I think that's very fair."

Kalin finally smiled too, but then inwardly sighed. Radley was not going to like the rest of his news. "About Lawton, Radley, Yusei . . . he's dead."

Yusei frowned. "I see."

Radley's eyes flickered, but he didn't look as surprised as Kalin had feared he might. "I kind of thought this might be someone's last stand," he admitted. "I'm so glad it wasn't yours, or any of the Bunch's." He sighed. "Did you bring him back?"

Kalin shook his head. "We couldn't. He fell down a steep ravine. I'll have to see tomorrow if there's any way to recover the body."

Radley nodded. "And I'll have to let Malcolm know. Even though he knows Lawton didn't care about him, this will hurt."

"I guess it will." Kalin sighed. "Is it terrible of me that all I can feel is relief?"

Radley hugged him close. "Not at all."

Kalin clutched Radley to him. So much about tonight had been a nightmare, but they had definitely been blessed in so many ways.

Yusei laid his hands on their shoulders. "At least it's over. We can go forward without fear now."

"Yes," Kalin agreed.

"That isn't a small thing," Radley said. "I wish it didn't have to come at the expense of someone's life, but his own choices led to this outcome."

"And unlike Kathy, he was unrepentant right to the end," Kalin growled.

Radley nodded. "Well, he's gone to a higher court now, and I'm sure his sentence will be harsh. He may yet end up regretting his life." He drew Yusei into the hug. "Thank you for being here tonight."

Kalin hugged Yusei too. "Definitely. I couldn't have gone after Lawton without knowing Radley would be safe."

Yusei smiled and hugged them both. "I was glad to be here."

xxxx

Radley and Kalin called the Facility later that night from their home. After Trudge listened to a recounting of all that had happened, he somberly brought Malcolm to the phone and stepped back.

"This is about Lawton, isn't it?" Malcolm frowned as he studied his old enemy. "They wouldn't let me yammer on the phone for just any reason this late at night."

"Yes," Radley sighed. "I'm sorry to have to tell you, Malcolm, but I requested that Trudge allow me to break the news instead of telling you himself. Lawton came here and tried to have me killed tonight. When Kalin and the Bunch chased him, the end result was that he tried to kill Kalin too and fell into a ravine. He's dead."

"We haven't been able to recover the body yet," Kalin said. "I don't know if we'll be able to at all."

Malcolm let out a long, shaking breath. ". . . Well, I pretty much expected it," he said. "He really signed his own death warrant when he broke out of here the way he did. And he already made it more than clear that I'm nothing to him, so it shouldn't affect me at all. And yet . . . it does anyway."

"I completely understand," Radley said softly. "I'm really sorry."

"Yeah." Malcolm sounded gruff. ". . . I think I need to be alone now."

"Of course," Radley said. "But please let us know if you need anything."

"Right. Thank you, Radley." Malcolm disconnected the call.

Radley sighed. "I wish I could do more for him. This can't be easy to deal with."

"You've already done a lot," Kalin insisted.

Radley managed a smirk. "You don't think I should do anything, do you?"

Kalin shook his head. "Oh . . . I don't know. I don't understand your soft-hearted nature, especially when it comes to someone like Malcolm, but I'm sure it's because of you that his heart's been changed as much as it has been. You have a unique gift—you draw people to you. Yusei is like that as well."

"I never really realized I had such a gift until I started meeting the Bunch," Radley mused. "But I guess it was active and working when I was going to all those social functions with my family and getting people to want to buy our wine."

"I would definitely say so," Kalin said. He hesitated. "Do you want to share a bed tonight or would you rather have it to yourself? I thought your leg might be sore from where I had to inject it."

"It is, kind of," Radley admitted. "But I'd rather have company anyway."

"I was hoping you'd feel that way," Kalin said. "It may not bother me that Lawton is dead, but it definitely bothered me when I thought you might die."

Radley squeezed his hand. "I figured as much. It didn't make me feel so great either."

"And your grandmother wants to repair your relationship. . . . I can still hardly believe it," Kalin said.

"You can hardly believe it!?" Radley quipped. He looked thoughtful. "I think it was realizing how close she came to losing me for good that was an epiphany for her. It's one thing to just read about something in a newspaper, but seeing it right in front of your eyes and recognizing what's happening is something else again."

"Seeing it actually happening is definitely different," Kalin agreed.

"It's ironic—Lawton actually did me a huge favor by trying to arrange my death," Radley said wryly.

Kalin smirked. "I hope he's throwing a fit."

Radley chuckled. "I kinda do too."

The night was peaceful for them in spite of the hectic events that had led up to their slumber. Radley felt well enough that he wanted to go to the mountain with the others, so after breakfast in the morning they all rode out and took a brief hike up the mountain to the narrow crevice.

"It's ironic it happened here, one of the few spots where life grows on this mountain," Kalin said.

Radley followed him onto the grass and around a few small patches of wildflowers to the other side of the pass. He stared down into the darkness far below. "I don't know how anyone would or could get down there." He took out his flashlight and beamed it down the endless abyss.

"I don't think anyone can," Kalin said. "I don't see any way around it."

". . . You know, it's really kind of creepy thinking about him stuck down there like that," Scotch gulped as he peered through from the entrance. "This place will probably be haunted now."

"We didn't need any more ghosts!" Biff moaned.

Kalin grunted. He hadn't even thought about that, but it certainly seemed plausible. Lawton had been so full of hate. He would almost certainly be a restless spirit.

Radley barely heard them. He stayed where he was, frowning. A gentle breeze blew through his hair as he stood there, staring into oblivion.

"Radley?" Billy asked. "Are you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine," Radley said. He stepped back from the edge but kept looking down.

I know you brought this on yourself, Lawton, but I'm still sorry you're dead. What a waste. Malcolm will miss you, even if you won't miss him.

Finally he turned away. "Let's go," he said. "Everybody'll be getting up and I wanna see them."

Kalin nodded. "Let's." He laid a hand on Radley's shoulder as they walked back the way they had come. They were leaving a ghost behind, partially literally and partially not. Lawton had been so important to each of them as a dangerous enemy. Knowing he wouldn't be around anymore was strange, to say the least.

". . . Grandpa was actually talking about inviting all of us to the villa after Christmas," Radley said as they all started down the mountain.

"Seriously?! Epic!" Scotch exclaimed.

Kalin smiled. "That's wonderful."

"It really is a beautiful place. I'm anxious to show it all to you," Radley beamed.

"I'll be glad to share in that with you," Kalin said. "Are Yusei and Team 5Ds invited too?"

"Everyone is," Radley said. "Maybe they won't all be able to get away for a few days to come, but they're all invited, at least."

"That's great," Kalin said. "Things are really looking up for you."

"Yeah," Radley smiled. "They sure are."

"And when you're happy, I am too," Kalin smiled back.

"So are we," Scotch grinned.

Radley beamed. It was such a shame that Lawton hadn't recognized loved ones as the real treasures. But he couldn't help feeling grateful that he did, and that he had so many who wanted to be with him. He was blessed indeed.