Franklin was used to driving at high speeds and he was grateful for that as he raced towards the De Santa home. He pressed his #3 speed dial and waited impatiently for the voice on the other end.

"Why are you calling me?" was the immediate answer to the phone call.

"Hello to you too," Franklin said sarcastically, "listen man...I need some help Lester. I should say Michael needs some help."

"Like that's any surprise" the older man mumbled irritably.

"Whatever man, it's serious...like life or death serious" Franklin raised his voice as he sat impatiently at a red light. He would have raced right through it but a police car sat parked on the side of the street further down the block and he didn't need any extra attention tonight.

"Fine..." Lester sighed, "what do you need from me?"

"I don't s'pose you got any connections that could get us a house visit from a doctor?" Franklin asked hopefully.

"What kind of doctor? He's already seeing a shrink and I can't say that it seems to be helping" Lester let out an annoying cackle of a laugh.

"What the...I just told you this was serious man. I'm talkin' like an emergency doctor...a save a man's life kind of doctor." Franklin liked Lester well enough, but right now he would have been just fine with running the man over if he had been out in the street.

There were a few seconds of silence on the other end before Lester quietly swore and asked "what happened? Is he even alive?"

"Look I don't know what happened aiight? His kid just called me because he found him in the garage and thought he was dead. I'm on my way over there now and if you could manage to stop insulting the man long enough to help I'd appreciate it."

"Alright, alright" Lester replied, sounding equally irritated with Franklin. "I have a couple of favors I can call in. I'll see what I can do."

"Yeah that's what I figured...send 'em over to Michael's house man" Franklin angrily punched the end call button in the middle of Lester's sarcastic reply.

He was two streets away from Michael's home when he looked down at his phone and moved through his contacts until he came to Trevor's name. He hesitated, knowing full well that this was a mistake. He pushed the button anyway.

"Well well well, if it isn't my favorite homie. Miss me?" Trevor's grating voice filled his ear.

"I just want to know one thing" Franklin ignored Trevor's question.

"What's this? Not even a hello? Mikey's rubbing off on you...didn't anyone ever tell you no one likes a prick?" Trevor's voice had grown dangerously low.

"Whatever man...hello. Did you do it?" Franklin replied as he pulled into Michael's driveway.

"Contrary to popular belief, I can't read minds...what exactly is it that you seem to think I did?" Trevor asked as he snorted who knows what.

"Last time I saw you and Michael, you were goin' on and on about how you'd kill him if you saw him again. Gonna ask you again T...did you do it?" Franklin sat in his car, waiting for Trevor's reply before he went into the garage.

There was complete silence from Trevor's end and Franklin was not going to push his luck and ask again. Finally Trevor's voice came across the speaker, eerily calm, "He's dead?"

"Not yet but...he's pretty close" Franklin replied after a moment and then pulled the phone away from his ear when a loud stream of expletives exploded from Trevor's mouth.

"Who?" Trevor growled out the question and it made Franklin even shudder a bit.

"I don't know man...I don't know. I'm at his house now and Lester is sending a doc. I'll let you know as soon as I find somethin' out" Franklin barely had the chance to finish his sentence before Trevor ended the phone call, screaming curses at no one in particular.

Jimmy reached down to lift his father's arm away from his side, to see what injuries were hidden there, and nearly fell on top of him when a groan came from the man. The sound was so quiet that Jimmy almost thought he had imagined it, especially when there didn't seem to be any movement or other sounds that followed.

"Dad?" he called softly, watching his father closely for any physical response. It's not that he had really been expecting anything, but he was still disappointed when there was no reaction.

The door to the garage suddenly flew open and Jimmy stood up so suddenly that he nearly slipped in the blood as he took a step to stand over his father's body.

"Oh man! Dude am I glad to see you" he exclaimed loudly as he grabbed at his chest as if his heart had failed him when he saw Franklin.

Franklin was surprised that Jimmy had stood protectively over his prone father, even though he had no idea who was coming through the door. Maybe the kid wasn't as worthless as everyone seemed to think he was. He didn't reply as he gingerly walked around Jimmy so he could get a good look at the man on the ground. He sucked air in past his teeth as he took a quick survey of all the blood that had pooled around Michael's body.

"What do we do?" Jimmy's loud whisper startled Franklin out of his concentration.

"I got somebody on the way over to take a look at him. We should probably wait to move him until then" Franklin said as he slowly turned in a circle to look around the garage. He pulled his phone out and pressed his #2 speed dial, waiting until he heard the phone ringing before he moved. He found Michael's phone underneath the work table at the back of the garage. Quickly scrolling through the phone's options, he stopped when he got to the recent calls. Dave Norton. That was Michael's last call. He was just about to hit the redial button when he heard a car pull up outside.

He held a finger to his lips and waved Jimmy behind him, the kid's eyes growing huge as he obeyed. Franklin slowly pulled his gun out and aimed it at the door, waiting for their guest to make his or her appearance. He heard an odd pattern of footsteps approaching the house, followed by a loud whisper. "Franklin...Franklin it's Lester...where are you?"

He rolled his eyes as he called out "in the garage" and put his gun away.

Lester hobbled into the garage, his eyebrows shooting up high on his forehead when he saw Michael's body on the concrete. He quickly shuffled out of the way and waved another man into the garage. There were no introductions made as the man quickly knelt down beside Michael and checked for a pulse before poking and prodding the man's body.

Lester and Jimmy both watched without saying a word. Franklin opened the door to the house and left the garage without alerting the others. He silently made his way through the house, eyes taking in the huge mess that had been left behind. The drawers in the kitchen had all been emptied, their contents all over the kitchen floor. The glass doors that lead to the pool area had been shattered and the dining room furniture in pieces both indoors and outdoors. The couch and chair in the living room looked as if the intruder had taken a knife to them in one quick strike down the middle, leaving behind a giant rip with stuffing spilling out. Family pictures and books were thrown everywhere. Franklin shook his head in disgust and hit the redial button on Michael's phone. There was no answer so he hit the redial button again. He'd keep doing it until the man decided to answer.

"I thought I told you to never call me again" Norton's voice hissed in a whisper.

"You wanna explain to me why Michael might die tonight and you were the last call on his phone" Franklin asked coldly, not even bothering to acknowledge the older man's statement.

"What? What are you talking about? Who is this?" Franklin had to admit, the man sounded genuinely confused but it wasn't like he hadn't played them before.

"Franklin. Franklin Clinton. You know...the guy you've screwed over so many times I've lost count. Now I ain't playin'...you'd better start talkin'" Franklin stated, proud that he sounded much more calm than he felt.

Dave Norton swore quickly before answering "I warned him Franklin, I warned him. That's why I called him. I told him that Devin Weston was pissed off and wanted him dead. But you know Michael...he's cocky. I just don't think he expected it to happen this soon. I gotta go, I can't be on the phone with you right now. Keep your head down and don't call me again." Franklin heard the dial tone before he could even open his mouth again. He swore as he stared at the feeling and took a couple of deep breaths before calling Trevor.

"You better have some news" the older man growled.

"Listen T...it's lookin like Weston was behind this whole thing."

"Weston? Devin Weston? That little snake...I knew I should have killed him a long time ago" Trevor spat. There was a loud crack that sounded like glass breaking, followed by a few dark curses from the man.

"Yo you ok T? What was that?" Franklin asked, slightly concerned.

"I needed a new windshield anyway" Trevor mumbled, almost as if he wasn't even talking to Franklin. "You're lucky I'm in a hurry you little prick" Franklin could hear him yelling before Trevor ended the phone call.

"I'm gettin a little sick of people just hangin' up all rude like that" Franklin mumbled before making his way back towards the garage.

Jimmy had backed himself into the corner that was furthest away from where the doctor and his father were. Lester stood by the door, watching the doctor's moves closely. Jimmy dialed his Mom's number before he could convince himself it wasn't a good idea.

"Jimmy I already told you, I'm not going to go get you any more money. If you want it that bad then go ask your father for it yourself" his Mother immediately started ranting and didn't show any signs of stopping.

"Mom..." he whispered, trying to get a word in edgewise. "Mom!" he said again when she just kept right on talking. His voice must have sounded as freaked out as he felt because she suddenly stopped mid sentence.

"Jimmy? What's wrong? What's going on?" she asked hesitantly, as if afraid of what the answer would be.

Jimmy had zoned out, his arm slowly pulling the phone away from his ear as he watched the doctor suddenly begin to do chest compression's on his father. He wasn't sure how long he stood like that until he suddenly realized that his mom was screaming into the phone.

"Jimmy? Jimmy answer me! Are you ok? Jimmy!"

"Mom..." his voice trailed off when he realized he sounded like he was crying. Why did he sound like that? He hadn't even realized that tears were slipping down his face until one dropped off the end of his nose. "Mom it's Dad..."

"No...no Jimmy...no don't tell me he's..." Amanda's voice broke.

"Mom I think he's dead" Jimmy let out in a sob, "Franklin and Lester are here and...and...there's a doctor guy...and...and I think Dad stopped breathing because the guy is pushing on his chest Mom!"

By this point Amanda was audibly sobbing as she listened to her son cry and try to get the words out. "Where are you? Are you at the house?!"

"Yeah...we're at the house. He's in the garage...someone...someone...it's pretty bad Mom. You probably shouldn't...you shouldn't see this" Jimmy had calmed down enough to get protective of his Mother, not wanting her to see Michael in the condition he was in.

"I'm on my way" Jimmy heard the door slam and knew it was too late to stop her. "Don't call your sister. She's out with her friends and I don't want to scare her until...until we know more."