Hello everyone! Brief trigger warning for panic attacks. It's brief and not that in depth but if you want to play it safe you can skip this one. I've provided a summary for the chapter in the ending author's notes.

For everyone who isn't skipping, hope you enjoy the chapter!

11. Shock

Meanwhile, as Saul and Prosper were riding the rails, Fiona was just arriving at Judith's house.

This was after she'd spent a bad night. Sure, she'd gone to bed as soon as she finished her call with Saul but she hadn't been able to get any sleep. Thoughts of her son and husband kept swirling around in her head.

So, within an hour she got up, and began packing her bags, bringing only the essentials. The drive to Judith's house was quite long because she lived on Maroubra beach on the outskirts of Sydney. When Fiona had left it had been dark out, but the sky was clear and blue by the time she'd arrived at Judith's house.

"Oi, Fiona! Welcome!" Judith was already standing on the porch by the time Fiona arrived, waving hello with one of her pudgy arms. Despite the early hour, she was already fully dressed in a tie-dye shirt and skirt.

Fiona waved hello and stopped the car. By the time she'd climbed out Judith had already made her way down the driveway. She enveloped Fiona in a tight hug, almost crushing her against her large body.

"It's going to be okay, love," she said into Fiona's ear.

"Thank you," Fiona said, sniffing a little. She quickly blinked her tears away. It wouldn't do any good to break down now.

Judith released her hug and wend her way around to the trunk. "I'll help you with your bags."

"Oh, that really won't be necessary," Fiona said. "I'm already imposing on your hospitality. I don't want to be any more trouble."

But Judith assured her, "You're not imposing on anything! You're my guest let me treat you like one!"

So, Judith ended up being the one to wheel Fiona's bags up the driveway, up the porch and to the front door.

"Thank you so much for all this," Fiona said. "I'm really grateful to you for having me. And I'm so sorry for showing up here, out of the blue."

"Really, Fiona, my love. Don't worry. All I'm doing is helping out a family friend. And nothing could be better than that." Judith smiled at Fiona through her pink cat-eyeglasses and Fiona just had to smile back. Judith could be quite intimidating, what with her large size and booming voice. Her frizzy gray hair and eccentric taste in clothes made her further stand out. But she also had a large heart and care about people very much and this was certainly evident in the way she was treating Fiona at the moment.

"By the way," Judith said as she pulled out her keys, began unlocking the door. "Things are a little crowded at my place right now. They're all people you know. From Genius Squad."

Fiona gasped. "Oh, Judith! I had no idea you were hosting so many people!"

"Don't worry, Fiona. My house is big, I can handle it. I just wanted you to have a heads up."

"Thank you. Just make sure you care for yourself, Judith."

"You don't have to worry about me, love. With all the money I have, my self-care is completely covered." With that, Judith opened the front door and the two women stepped into the house.

Three people were already in the living room when they walked in. One was in a suit and spectacles. One had long blonde hair and wore a whole host of hippie gear, including open toed sandals. The last was a large man with a brown mustache and large square hands. Tony, Zack and Cliff. They were sitting on the couch, poring over their laptops, and discussing, of all things, Cadel's case.

"Alright, so we know for sure that Cadel was familiar with the bus route, seeing as he took it every weekend." Cliff was saying. "But what of his kidnapper?"

"You think that whoever took Cadel may have been a regular on the bus?" Zack asked.

"Perhaps. Or he started taking the bus route with the intent to find someone to kidnap, like Cadel."

"I agree, that is a possibility," Tony chimed in. Zack sighed.

"If only we knew what Detective Greeniaus was up to. I'm sure he'd be helpful in figuring out this case."

"Ahem!" Judith cleared her throat, causing all three men to look up from their work. They caught sight of Fiona and blushed, embarrassed to be discussing such sensitive subjects in front of her. Tony was the first to regain his wits.

"Um, good morning, Fiona," he said, faintly.

"How are you today?" asked Cliff.

"Um, alright," Fiona said. The conversation had upset her, but she didn't want to cause a scene, so she kept her answers short in hopes that it'd prevent her from breaking down.

"Welcome to the house," said Zack. "Sorry about all the mess and people. It's been very busy here, lately."

"It's alright," said Fiona. "I'm sure I'm not helping things any."

"Oh, you're alright, Fiona," said Zack. It seemed he had quickly recovered from his initial shock and embarrassment and was taking charge quite nicely. "There aren't that many rooms left but there is one with a view of the ocean. You can have it all to yourself."

"That sounds nice," said Fiona, because she wasn't sure what else to say.

"Doesn't it? I can walk you upstairs myself if you want." But Judith walked up to Fiona and put a large hand on her shoulder.

"I've got it, Zack. Why don't you just continue about your day, and I'll take care of Fiona." She led Fiona out of the living room and into a hall leading to the stairs.

"I'm so sorry about that, Fiona," she said as they walked through the house. "They're trying to help in their own way, but you know how men can be. They're not exactly the most sensitive or aware people. I'll tell them to cut it out."

But Fiona assured her, "No, no, it's fine. Like you said, they were just trying to help."

That's when a loud crash came from the kitchen. Followed by a bang and a round of shouting. "Oi! What's going on in there!?" Judith shouted, but Fiona already had a good guess.

The Winiecki Twins.

Sure enough, when Fiona and Judith arrived in the kitchen they found Lexi and Devin brawling on the tiled floor. Hamish and Sonja stood off to the side, watching the whole thing go down.

"I swear, I had nothing to do with this," Hamish said as soon as he caught sight of Judith. "Those Winiecki twins went crazy all on their own."

Hello-Fiona. Sonja said through the agency of her voice synthesizer. Apparently, her tactic was to ignore the twins entirely.

"Hello, Sonja. Are you getting on alright?"

I-could-be-better. I'm-mostly-worried-about-Cadel.

"I know. I am too."

But-I-think-we'll-find-him. Or-he'll-figure-out-a-way. Cadel-always-does,

"That is true," Fiona agreed.

"Alright, you two. Break it up! Break it up!" Judith had reached the Winiecki twins and was struggling to pull them apart.

"She started it!" Devin said, eager to get his side of the story out. "She took my laptop when I was going to use it!"

"It wasn't your laptop, it was Judith's!" Lexi screeched. "She just let you borrow it!"

"Okay, one person at a time!" Judith shouted. "Devin, you first. What happened?"

"Okay, so, I was at the dining room table, minding my own business, doing work on the computer-"

"Work!?" Lexi shouted. "You were watching anime!" But Judith shot her down.

"Lexi. Let Devin finish."

"Anyway, I was doing my work and then Lexi came in saying she needed it for something. I told her I was still using it and she got mad and claimed I'd been using it for hours, even though I'd only been on there for like, thirty minutes."

"Thirty minutes!?" Lexi scoffed.

"Lexi…" Judith warned, but she would not be stopped again.

"It was not thirty minutes! You were on there for two whole hours! You spent all morning on that thing!"

"I didn't!" Devin shouted. "You're lying so Judith will give my computer to you!"

"For the last time. It's not your computer!" Devin surged forward at Lexi causing Judith to lose control. Within seconds the two had resumed their fight in the kitchen, kicking, punching, even knocking over a plate of waffles, which horrified Hamish.

"The waffles!" he shouted, rushing to the ruins of his breakfast. Shards of plate, whipped cream and cut up strawberries were scattered all on the floor. "Look what you've done!"

It's-way-too-early-in-the-morning-for-this, said Sonja's speech synthesizer. Sonja's cerebral palsy made it hard for her to make facial expressions but Fiona could see the annoyance in her eyes. Mrs. Greeniaus couldn't help but empathize.

"So sorry for the commotion, love," Judith said apologetically. "Seems like I'm going to be occupied for a while. Do you mind if I get someone else to show me to your room?"

"Oh, it's no problem at all."

"Oh, good then." Judith poked her head back into the hall. "GAZO! COME HERE; I NEED YOUR HELP WITH SOMETHING!"

A bit of thumping came from upstairs, coming closer and closer to the kitchen until a young man with a thin, spotty face and pointy ears stepped into the doorway. "What'dya need Ms. Bashford," he said, slightly out of breath.

"Fiona's going to be staying over at our house for the time being." Judith gestured to her guest. "I've got a lot on my hands right now, though. If you could help me out by just showing Mrs. Greeniaus her room, that would be great."

"Of course, Ms. Bashford!" Gazo said with a salute. "Right this way Mrs. Greeniaus. I'm going to show you your room if you don't mind."

"Oh, I don't mind at all Gazo. Thank you so much! And thank you, Judith!"

"No problem love! Sorry things are so crazy."

Fiona nodded and made her way out of the kitchen with Gazo. He awkwardly attempted small talk as the two of them climbed the stairs.

"You doin' alright, Fiona?" He asked.

Mrs. Greeniaus responded with a sigh. "I could be better. I should feel lucky I have such a good support network. You've all been good sports about having me around."

"Hey, it's no problem for us! Cadel's missing an' Detective Greeniaus is workin' real hard to find him. That's gotta be a lotta stress fer anyone. So, we're all happy to help you."

"Oh thanks, Gazo. You all really are good friends." The two of them had reached the second floor of Judith's house. There was a patio across from them and on either side were two elegant looking hallways. Gazo led Fiona down the left one and to a room at the end of the hall.

"Your living abode!" He announced. "At least while ya stay here. It's the one wif the view of the ocean. If ya want somethin' else just let me know."

"No, it's quite alright, Gazo. I'm fine with whatever you give me."

"Oh good! Want me to help you unpack?"

Fiona shook her head. "I'm fine, Gazo. Really. I think I just need to be alone for now."

"Ah. I understand," Gazo said. "Well, if you ever need somethin' all of us downstairs are here to help." Fiona nodded and retreated into the guestroom. It was a large space with a queen-sized bed, elegant wooden wardrobe and plush white carpet. The window in the room was large and wide. Looking through it, one could see the Pacific ocean shimmering under the early morning light.

Fiona sat on the plain white blanket and looked out at it, but she wasn't really seeing its beauty. Her mind felt too cluttered, her heart too heavy. She began to wonder if it was a bad idea to come here.

Sure, everyone was being nice, wonderful even, but she couldn't help but feel as if she was being treated with kid gloves. Everyone was doting on her and being so overly kind. Fiona sensed her pity and she wasn't sure if she could handle it in the event of an extended stay.

BANG!

Suddenly the door burst open. It was Hamish and he had an urgent expression on his face. "Fiona! You h-h-have to come downstairs! There's s-s-omething you need to see!"

Hamish and Fiona rushed downstairs and all the way to the living room where everyone in the house was sitting in front of the Judith's fancy wide screen tv. Even the Winiecki twins had stopped their feud to see what the fuss was about.

"What's going on!?" asked Fiona. "Hamish told me something was happening?"

All heads whipped around to Fiona. Most of her fellow housemates had worried expressions on their faces with the exception of Lexi, who was trying (and failing miserably) to hide her smile and Judith who looked quite peeved.

"Hamish! What is Mrs. Greeniaus doing here?" She asked.

"I th-thought that she'd want to know!" He spluttered.

"We agreed we'd tell her in private! Not in front of god and everyone!"

"And wh-what if she found out b-b-b-b-before then? The Apple News app gives constant notifications on y-your phone, ya know."

"Find out what!?" Fiona blurted out. Now she was really getting irritated about how the others were treating her. Unfortunately, before anyone else could say a word the channel went back from commercials, revealing a pretty blonde reporter sitting at a news desk.

"Breaking news!" She said. "We've received reports that criminal mastermind extraordinaire Prosper English is not only back from the dead but at large here in Sydney! And this time he has an accomplice. A Mr. Saul Greeniaus!"

A picture of both men flashed on the screen causing everyone in the room to gasp (even though everyone but Fiona had already seen the report already). Lexi, on the other hand, could no longer contain her glee."

"I knew it!" She screeched, pointing at the tv screen. "I told you Prosper was still alive and you all called me a fool! Well, who's laughing now!?"

"Shut up, Lexi!" Shouted Devin. "This is serious!"

And-I-don't-appreciate-you-taking-joy-in-the-fact-that-Prosper's-still-alive.

"I'm not happy that he's alive!" Lexi argued. "I'm happy thay I was right!"

"Except that you w-w-weren't right!" Hamish said. "You s-said Prosper English had kidnapped Cadel. Detective Greeniaus would never be caught dead with him if that was the case."

"They wouldn't be caught dead in any case," Devin snarked.

"Not unless Saul Greeniaus was actually part of Prosper's operation all along!" Lexi suggested a little too eagerly.

"No, Lexi!" Devin and Hamish shouted, shutting her down.

Meanwhile, Fiona was still staring at the tv but she wasn't processing any of it. She still couldn't believe what she had heard. Prosper English alive!? And Saul was working for him? No! There had to be a misunderstanding. A mistake! This couldn't be right!

It couldn't…

It couldn't…

"Fiona!" Mrs. Greeniaus froze when she felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder. Judith. "Are you alright?"

"Do you want us to turn off the tv?" Asked Zack. "Or do you need to know more?"

"Need somewhere to sit?" asked Gazo.

"I… I…" But Fiona found herself unable to speak, unable to breathe. Everybody's words jumbled into meaningless noise as her vision slowly slipped.

"I need to be alone!" Fiona finally blurted out before pushing past everyone and dashing to the privacy of her room.

Fiona finally allowed herself to cry in the privacy of her own room. And she really let it rip, full on sobbing as she sat on the bed. She was at a complete loss. She couldn't understand how this could have happened. How Prosper could be alive and how Saul could have joined him. The two men hated each other! That much was clear in the way he used to talk about the crime lord. It didn't make sense for him to betray everyone he knew, to betray her like this.

Wait a minute, Fiona thought. I should have more faith in my husband!

Fiona may not have known what exactly Saul was doing with Prosper English but she couldn't make assumptions. There had to be a good reasonable explanation for this. Perhaps Prosper had kidnapped him and was forcing Saul to work for him as a way for him to get Cadel back. Or, even more likely, this entire thing was a hoax. Prosper was a notorious criminal. And using one of the main officers in a fake conspiracy could be seen as a way to lend legitimacy to their fake little trick.

Well, there was only one person Fiona could trust to figure that out for her.

Within seconds Fiona had whipped out her cellphone. It took her three tries to dial the number because her hands were shaking so much but eventually she managed to reach the right person.

He picked up on the third ring.

"Fiona? Is that you?"

Fiona's heart seemed to turn to liquid at the unmistakable American accent that belonged to Kale Platz, an FBI agent and one of Saul's closest friends.

"Yes. It's me," she said, almost out of breath. "Have you heard about what happened?"

"About Saul and Prosper?" Suddenly Kale's voice was very grave. "Yes, I heard. I got the alert as soon as it hit the news, which in the U.S. is right after I got off from work."

"So, you don't know much about it?" asked Fiona, feeling her heart sink.

"Not yet. But you better believe the entire FBI is looking into it right now. We won't let Prosper get away again!"

"What about Saul?" asked Fiona. There was silence on the other line. "Kale? What about Saul?"

"Well… well Saul…"

"Because he's completely innocent!" Fiona fretted. "There's no way he could be working with Prosper English in a criminal conspiracy, it's completely impossible!"

"Fiona-"

"Because he's a police detective. And he hates Prosper. There's no way he'd ever work with him."

"Fiona, we'll look into it," Kale said sternly. "We can't confirm anything right now. Not when the FBI itself has so little information."

"But you don't believe Saul's a criminal, do you? I mean, you two are friends. Good friends."

"Fiona… I can't let my personal experiences with people cloud my judgement while I work with the FBI."

"Oh…" Fiona said.

"But I will say this. Here in America, everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Prosper's already proven that he's a scum human being. But we don't know how Saul fits into this equation yet. When we figure it out, we'll act accordingly, and if he's completely innocent, we'll clear everything up."

"Okay. Thank you, Kale." Kale's response hadn't been 100% reassuring but it was nice to know that the authorities wouldn't walk up to him guns blazing.

Probably.

"Oh, Fiona!" Kale shouted from the other end of the line. "I've just gotten a text from work."

"Really!?" Fiona asked, snapping to attention. "What's it say!?"

"Looks like I'm back to working on the case of Prosper English's criminal empire. And I'm coming to Australia."

So, yeah. Hope you liked it.

For anyone who skipped basically what happens is that Fiona arrives at Judith's house while Cliff, Zack, Tony, Hamish, Sonja, Gazo and the Winiecki twins are staying there. Gazo shows Fiona her room and then after a few moments of privacy Hamish drags her down to the living room so he can see the news report on Saul and Prosper. As one would expect this causes her great stress which is exacerbated by all the well-meaning but ultimately insensitive people in the room. She has a panic attack and breaks away from everyone to cry alone. Then she calls Kale Platz and he tells him about the investigation into Saul and Prosper including that he will be coming to Australia.

So yeah. That's the abridged version of the chapter. Hopefully that's enough to keep you from being confused next time.

So yeah, that's all I wanted to say. Sorry for the long author's note. Next chapter will be out soon!