Chapter 2 - Deception

"Look, I don't want anyone to end up dead. I'm just doing my job, just turn around and put your hands behind your back and nobody gets hurt." Harrington said as she put the tortoise down, shifted the gun to Marshall, and pulled a pair of handcuffs out of her pocket.

They were literally backed against a wall. Francis looked at Marshall, he was glaring daggers at the agent but looked like he was about to comply. Francis felt the door just behind her. She thought about escaping to her car. She thought about Marshall. Her mind ping ponged back and forth between the two thoughts. Marshall started to turn, the gun now inches away from him. Francis started coughing and wheezing and fell to her hands and knees.

"What's going on now?" Harrington asked, her attention being diverted, interrupting the handcuffing.

"My inhaler" She barely got out as she pointed out the window in the direction of her car parked just outside.

Harrington slid over to Francis, put her in a loose headlock and put the gun to her head. She looked at Marshall. "You've got two minutes."

He sprinted out of the door and opened the trunk. There was no inhaler. But there was a very expensive pistol with Rick's name engraved on it.

He burst through the door and immediately pointed the gun at Harrington's head. "Drop the gun and get your hands off of her."

Harrington backed away from Francis, who had been magically cured of her asthma and was now walking over to Marshall. Harrington lowered the gun but refused to let go of it.

"Who are you and why are you here?" Marshall interrogated. "Are you with Hildy? Are you DEA?"

"I'm FBI. And I was sent here to clean up the North Carolina water contamination situation."

Marshall's heart dropped when he realized what that meant. It was Hildy, only she was deranged enough to poison an entire town.

"Well you got the wrong people." Francis snapped at the agent. "Do you have any idea who he is? How many lives he's saved?" She pointed to Marshall. "If you arrest him, there will be riots. You won't be able to show your face in public without getting attacked."

"If I don't arrest him, someone very important to me is going to get hurt. So I'm willing to roll those dice." Harrington shot back.

Marshall looked at Francis and then at Harrington. "I think we might be able to make a deal."

Francis looked at him quizzically.

"I'm listening." Harrington said hesitantly.

"I can take you to the person who really did it, but only if you can get the charges against us dropped."

Harrington switched on the safety and holstered her gun. "I'll see what I can do."

Marshall lowered his gun.

"Can I speak with you outside?" Francis asked, looking at him apprehensively. They stepped outside the camper van and walked a ways away, as to be out of earshot. It was night now and the air was cold. Her hair was blowing in the gentle wind and she covered her arms with her hands nervously. "I really don't think we should be working with the FBI, they've already tried to kill you and I really don't think they're going to drop the charges. We should just get in my- well Rick's car technically, and just get out of here while we still can."

He put his hands on her arms reassuringly. "Francis, I've been running for so long, I can't do it anymore." He looked away, he couldn't handle the thought of doing this alone. He'd already lost everything, his fortune, his mushrooms, his home. She was all he had left. "But I know it wouldn't be right to force you into this so, if you want to go you can."

She backed away from him slowly. "Marshall I really don't want to lose you but," she looked away, still so tense "but I can't just walk into her trap. I won't do that to myself. I'm sorry." She began walking to her car without looking back, simultaneously feeling confident in her decision and heartbroken.

But when she got to her car she was met by the one person she actually wanted to leave. She froze. The agent spoke, "That was some impressive con work in there, have you ever considered working for the federal government?"

"Okay don't talk to me, I will not be involved in this!" She shouted, trying to seem assertive despite being petrified.

"Hey chill I was joking." Harrington put her gun on the ground and kicked it away from her. "I just want to talk."

"Talk about what? The fact that five minutes ago you put a gun to my head?"

"I only did that because my boss was going to put me and someone I really care about in jail if I didn't. But I'm done giving into fear. Are you?" Harrington replied.

"Oh my god you do not get to lecture me. I am not a coward. I'm the only person in this whole insane situation who hasn't almost died. You wanna know why? Because I'm smart, I look out for myself."

"Look, it's a free country, you can go if you want to go. But I once left my best friend when he really needed me. Needless to say, I ended up regretting it."

Francis wasn't even angry anymore, she was just sad, but she wasn't about to let this shady government hitman see that. She glared, then got in the stolen car, and drove away.

Harrington shrugged and walked over to where Marshall was standing, outside his camper van. He looked lost in thought. "So tell me about the real culprit." She inquired.

Marshall sighed. "Her name is Hildegard Flannery." He started.

Meanwhile in Averasboro North Carolina, Hildy and Thaddeus were climbing the ladder of the water tower. When they got to the top, Thaddeus unloaded the drum of blue angel tincture that was strapped to his back. "You know, you could do the heavy lifting one of these days." He said in between deep, strained breaths.

"No, I'm too important to risk injury." She said as she started lifting the access panel on top of the water reservoir.

Thaddeus rolled his eyes. "Hildy, why are we still doing this? We're almost out of mushrooms, and we can't grow any more because you killed Marshall and the tortoise is gone too."

"Well hold on, just because we used tortoise feces before doesn't mean that's necessarily the only way." She thought for a moment as she pushed over the drum. The neon blue liquid flowed into the town's water supply. "Thaddeus from now on just go in a bucket, your toilet privileges are revoked."

"Alright that's it! I'm out. You're a lunatic And I don't even know why I agreed to this to begin with." He shouted, pointing a very condescending finger at her.

"Thaddeus I would reconsider if I were you." She reached into her back pocket.

Thaddeus's eyes widened. He moved to the ladder and started rushing down as fast as he could. But it was too late. He looked up to see Hildy pointing her revolver at his forehead.

The sound of the gunshot rang through the forest. A murder of crows shrieked in horror and fled the scene into the night sky. Hildy watched as his grip on the bars loosened and his corpse fell down. The Forest was so quiet that the sound of his body hitting the forest floor could be heard even by her at the top of the water tower. It didn't phase her though. Because in her mind, she wasn't a villain, she was just a conduit, ushering in a new and glorious age of humanity.

Meanwhile on Pinto Basin road, exiting Joshua Tree, Francis quietly stared at the road ahead. Her mind was as blank as the gray asphalt. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of the wind. She didn't feel scared, or excited, she felt nothing. After driving several miles in the silence, the void became irritating. She turned on the radio. A love song was playing. She changed the channel quickly and landed on a commercial. "Don't let diarrhea steal your sparkle, try Enablin trademark of Reutical Pharmaceuticals." After that, a different voice, that sounded similar to Rick's, said "I used to shit myself constantly, Enablin saved my marriage."

Francis turned off the radio. The commercial disgusted her. Not because of the bathroom talk, but because it reminded her of how she had once betrayed her longest-had and best friend, just to get a promotion at that god awful company. Even after he had helped her mother and expected nothing in return. The guilt and grief and longing pressed down on her chest and clasped its cold, bony hands around her throat. She cut the wheel, kicked up sand, and made a u-turn.

She sped into the parking area of the RV park and screeched to a halt, leaving the car running as she leapt out of the door and ran to Marshall's camper. She knocked on the door.

The door opened. "Francis?" He questioned, looking shocked.

"Marshall, this is the stupidest thing I could possibly do."

"Did you seriously come back just to-?"

She cut him off abruptly. "But if I don't do it, I'm going to regret it for the rest of my life!" Her voice sounded strong but tears were welling up in her eyes. She embraced him. He hesitated, still surprised. The look of skepticism on his face faded. He smiled as he put his arms around her. She was in this, 100% now, for better or for worse.

Just out of sight, outside on the other side of the camper, Harrington spoke into her phone "Yeah I was right, they got back together. You owe me twenty."

Capano on the other end replied "God damn it. This just broke my winning streak."