By the time Lisa was old enough to start attending school, Lenny had dropped out completely, he continued his studies in secret between 'jobs', though he'd never admit it aloud school was his favourite (aside from caring for Lisa), he couldn't wait to help Lisa with her homework just to have some semblance of his old life (a life before fear. (though he is glad for the responsibility )). Lisa began to thrive, with friends in every direction, everyone seemed to love her instantly, especially the other parents. Many of them assumed he was her dad, neither wanted to correct them, they'd bring extra treats for her sweet tooth and casseroles for Len, which always made Lisa laugh as he awkwardly accepted, grateful but unsure. Len and the other parents struck an unusual accord, on days where he knew Lewis' buddies were coming over, Lisa was picked up by one of their surrogate mothers. Knowing Lisa was in safe hands, with a meal and shelter from the life he'd spent so long trying to hide from her, he excelled in his craft. His skill for detailed plans, an eye for perfection had him ahead of everyone, Lewis' ability to pull off perfect scores built him renowned fame amongst thieves. The bigger the job, the bigger the reward, the bigger the risk of Lewis spoiling the game. His problem with alcohol was almost as well known. Of course Lewis, maintained the firm belief that the only 'problem' he had with the fermented elixir was that he didn't have enough. It was on one of these nights when Lisa was safe (anywhere but home), Lewis was beyond drunk, despite the job they had less than a few hours away, Len's mood soured as he filled in the 'crew' on the job ahead, hoping against all hope that the old man watching TV in the other room would sober up. Though his only job tonight was to drive, they did not need to run the risk of getting pulled over. With a bottle of water and a cup of coffee, he tried to reason with the man, offering the drinks in his hands out, trying to get him to understand the importance of what was being said. It was like a switch had been flicked on, his rage for his only son filled his eyes as he beat the boy with the half empty green bottle in his hand, shards of glass scratched at his skin and stained the kid's worn out top. When he'd decided he was done, he turned, collapsed back onto the sofa and passed out.
As he felt his father slowing, heard the crash as he let the remaining pieces of the bottle hit the floor, he risked peeking around his arm that covered his head to see the man drift off into sleep. He quickly catalogued his injuries, assessed what had to be dealt with now, and what would have to wait until he got back. He got too his feet, body shaking with the exertion and pain, he grabbed the bottle of water he'd been holding when he came in off of the floor and swallowed the cool liquid gratefully. With a deep breath out he turned to see a doorway filled with faces ranging from shock to outright disbelief 'Guess we need a new driver, any ideas?' he asked as he began to pick out bits of glass that had imbedded themselves in his side. As the men began to gather themselves a new member was added and the plan amended, all the equipment was piled into a dirty van followed with the 'crew' and a newly-cleaned, stiched and changed Len. The tension from what had been witnessed continued to grow as the already too crowded group refused to look at another or speak. 'Whatever the problem is you better get it out know, I won't let you screw this up because Lewis can't handle his drink' he almost spat to the others in the box. This was followed with a shift of eyes from each and several deep breaths 'It's all good boss, nothing to worry about' one of the nameless lackey's piped up 'Good'. The rest of the ride was filled with details of the plan, making sure everyone knew where to be and when.