Lou woke up the next day with a massive headache. She groaned as soon as she got up from bed. She went downstairs and found no one. It quickly sinks in that Debbie is not home. She checked the fridge for something to eat but what she found is something to drink: bottles of beer. Lou shuts her eyes and unwillingly closed the door of the fridge. She turned around and stared at the big space of her living room. "I need to something to keep me busy", she muttered to herself. Meanwhile, Debbie meets Tammy inside her car parked on the side of the street. "Is this meeting place your definition of discreet?" Debbie asked. "The window is tinted. Do you want what I found or now?" Tammy answered then asked her back. "Alright. Go on then", Debbie answered. Tammy handed her a folder. "I got all those from a friend which I'm not going to say who. Anyway, he has been tracking a group called The Spades. Guess who's in it?" Tammy started.
Debbie opened the folder and found information and pictures about a man. "Carlton James", she muttered. Tammy nodded. "Yes. He founded that group and they specializes on drug trafficking, weapon manufacturing, and your favorite con work", she added. Debbie scoured the file with her eyes. "This is not good at all", she muttered. Tammy scoffed. "You think? This guy is like the godfather meets Mr. Ripley", she said. Debbie looked outside the window. "I need to warn Lou", she said. Back in the apartment, Lou decided to fix the living room to keep herself busy. Then she went to cook herself a breakfast and coffee. She sat and eats by herself when the door opened. She didn't look. "I know you're still mad at me so I cooked you breakfast as well as a peace offering", she said. "That's so nice of you but you really don't have to", a man's voice answered. Lou quickly jumped right out of her chair and turned to look at the man standing inside her apartment. For a moment, it seemed like she has frozen. The man walked casually around the living room observing the place. "This is a nice place, Lou. You really do have a taste", he commented. Lou's face turned cold. "Cut the crap, will you? What are you doing here, Carlton?" she asked.
He smiled when she mentioned his name in her Australian accent that he always adored. He then walked towards her. "Do you really need to ask me that? I came here for you", he answered as he gently touched her face with his hand. "I missed you so much", he muttered. Lou scoffed. "No, you don't and I am not coming with you anywhere", she said strongly. Carlton backed up a little maintaining the smile on his face. "Feisty as always, eh? I really love that about you", he teased but Lou is not happy about that. "You need to leave now before Debbie comes home", she said. Carlton's eyes widened. "Debbie? Oh right, Debbie Ocean. I remember her. I heard she's been out of prison for a year now, huh. Marvelous achievement", he said which made Lou irritated. She tried to walk past him but he grabbed her arm to stop her. "Let me go, Carlton", she said but he didn't follow. "Stop resisting, Lou. We were so good in Berlin. Don't you remember?" he whispered in her ear. Lou tried to free herself but she just couldn't. "How do you think your friend Debbie will react if she finds out what happened in Berlin? Do you think she will still call you a friend?" he asked. Lou stopped fighting and looked at him in the eyes. "That's what I thought", he muttered upon seeing the reaction in her face.
Debbie came home with Tammy. They found Lou by the kitchen drinking beer alone. "Lou", Debbie called but she ignored her. They saw three more bottles on the table which are all empty. "I know about Carlton and I have to warn you to stay away from him. He is much worse than the last time, Lou. He founded a syndicate called The Spades. He is like the extreme degree of a criminal", Debbie said. Lou played with the bottle in her hand and then nodded. "I know", she replied briefly. The two ladies looked surprised. "Hold on a sec. What do you mean you know?" Tammy asked. "I know about all that. It's nice to see you too, Tammy", she answered and then resumed drinking. "Lou, I need you to listen to me. He is a dangerous man and I don't want anything bad to happen to you", Debbie said as she sat next to her. Lou smiled at her. "Of course. I know that, Deb. Alright…no more contact whatsoever", she answered and that made Debbie smiled.
Lou is already sleeping on her bed. She's too drunk to stay awake for another hour. Debbie and Tammy cleaned up the mess downstairs. "I have a question. I know that Carlton messed up Lou's life years ago but what is really the deal with him because he is scaring the shit out of you and I have never seen you like that ever", Tammy asked. Debbie put the bottles of beer in the bin. "He doesn't scare the shit out of me. I am scared of what he can turn Lou into", she answered then sat down to rest. Tammy did the same. "I don't know how long it was ago. Lou was depressed because a man dumped her right before they get married", Debbie started. "I didn't know that", Tammy muttered. "She was so depressed that she had to drink a lot in order to get out of bed. I was focusing on cons so I can pay for the rent. Then she met Carlton in a bar. The two clicked and I thought he'll be good for her until I realized that he's not. He introduced Lou to drugs. In return, Lou made a lot of money for him by doing con in the casino", she continued.
"Oh my god", Tammy muttered.
"Then I found Lou in a hotel room unconscious one night. I didn't know she's there if it wasn't for a bellboy who we both knew. He told me he saw her with a man so I went to her room and found her there unconscious…overdose. I panicked and called 911 and brought her to the hospital. Carlton didn't like that and tried to take her but I called the police and had him arrested. It's a good thing he still got the syringe he used on her", Debbie added.
"You blamed the overdose on him. That's how he got imprisoned", Tammy concluded and Debbie nodded.
"That's right", she said and then she got up to check on Lou upstairs. "Oh my god…" she muttered.
"What is it?" Tammy asked from downstairs.
"She's not here. Lou is not here", Debbie answered.