Yvonne had spent the last few days at Christopher's house. After the lobster debacle, the thought of sleeping alone in his house terrified Christopher, so Yvonne agreed to stay with him until they found the lobsters.
In the morning, while she refreshed her curls, she heard the pitter-patter of tiny feet. When she turned around, she saw two lobsters, digging their claws into a roll of toilet paper. "There you buggers are!"
At the sound of Yvonne's voice, the lobsters scurried in opposite directions.
The lobsters didn't have the same effect on Yvonne that they had on Christopher. She wasn't going to let them get away this time.
"Oh, no you don't!" She shouted as she lunged toward the crustaceans, grabbing each one by the tail.
Yvonne rushed out of the bathroom, hair half curled with the lobsters in hand.
Christopher sat in his study, reading a book about memory loss and its effects on the body, when Yvonne kicked open the door.
With a maniacal grin, she held up her catch of the day. The lobsters jerked around in her hands. "I got them!"
Christopher jolted back and used his book as a shield. "AH!"
Yvonne enjoyed seeing her boyfriend who was usually so calm and collected squirm in his chair.
She took a step closer. "You want to touch them?"
He swatted the book in Yvonne's direction. "NO! No, no, NO!"
Yvonne chuckled as she looked down at the sea creatures. "Alright, alright. I won't tease you anymore. I'm going to boil them. Why waste perfectly good lobster, right?"
Christopher's body trembled as he hid behind his book. "Fine, whatever! Just get them out of here!"
As she left the room, Yvonne kicked the door closed behind her. She strolled to the kitchen, talking to the lobsters as if they could understand her. "Too bad Christopher is so afraid of you. If it were up to me, I'd keep you two as pets." She glanced at one lobster, then the other. "I'd name you Lumpy, and you Stumpy."
In the kitchen, she held both lobsters in one hand as she maneuvered around to grab a huge pot and fill it with water. She threw the lobsters into the pot, and immediately put a lid on top of it. "Okay, you aren't going anywhere now."
She turned the knob on the stovetop, igniting a flame beneath the pot. "Rest in peace, Lumpy and Stumpy. I'm sure you'll be delicious."
Just then, Yvonne's cell phone rang.
The name on the Caller ID surprised her. Yvonne squinted as she peered down at her phone. "What does Debbie want?"
She hesitated but answered the call. "Hey, Debbie."
Yvonne could hear Debbie sniffling.
"Hi, Yvonne," Debbie said in a shaky voice. "I hope I'm not intruding."
Yvonne twisted the knob again, turning up the heat on the stovetop. "You're never intruding. I'm just cooking up some pesky lobsters who escaped from… You know what? It's a long story. Is everything okay, Debbie? You sound upset, almost like you're crying."
Debbie's sobs blared through the speakers. "No! Everything is not okay! It's Alex again!"
Yvonne held the phone away from her ear as Debbie yelled. After she was sure Debbie wouldn't burst her eardrum, she pulled the phone in closer. "What'd he do now?"
Debbie's weeping continued. "Well, we're in Paris, and things were going so well. Actually, I even considered getting back together with him again. That's how well it was going. But, then I remembered that we're barely even friends anymore, so I started freaking out. Then he rented out the apartment at the top of the Eiffel Tower and told me he wanted to get back together. It's too soon, way too soon."
Yvonne's eyes widened. "Wait, there's an apartment at the top of the Eiffel Tower?"
Debbie groaned. "Yes, but that's not the point. I think he's using me. I mean, he never suggested that we go to a real estate convention before. Now, suddenly, we just had to go to this one in Paris. And, this might sound crazy, but everything kept going wrong, but conveniently every mishap pushed us closer together. Doesn't that sound fishy to you?"
With a shrug, Yvonne propped herself up and sat on top of Christopher's counter. "I don't know, Debbie. It sounds like he probably just wanted to be with you."
She heard Debbie sniffling through the phone, again. "But I'm not sure if I want to be with him!"
Thinking that Debbie had a valid point, Yvonne tilted her head from side to side. "He should have respected your boundaries, definitely. I guess if you feel like you need some time by yourself, he has to give you that." She paused for a moment. "But I will tell you this, being with Christopher shifted my whole perspective on relationships. He's caring and sweet. When he looks at me, it's almost as if there's no one else in the world. I feel so valued."
Debbie sighed. "That's the problem, though. Alex does make me feel like that. I don't know what to think. I just want to enter my girl boss era."
Because Debbie said the words so seriously, Yvonne attempted to suppress her chuckle. "If you need to take time to be a girl boss, you can take time to be a girl boss. However, I think you're pretty amazing, with or without Alex by your side. Nothing can change that."
Debbie's sobs tapered down. "I guess you're right, Yvonne. I'm happy I called you."
Yvonne smiled, happy to be on the same page with Debbie again. "Anytime. Well, I'll let you enjoy Paris. Eat a croissant for me!"
Yvonne preferred to hear the sound of Debbie's giggles over her crying. "I will. Thanks, Yvonne. Talk to you later."
After saying goodbye, both women hung up the phone. Like clockwork, Christopher entered the room. "Who was that?"
Yvonne slid off the countertop. "Debbie."
Christopher raised an eyebrow. "Trouble in paradise?"
Yvonne pursed her lips. "You guessed it."
While wrapping his arm around Yvonne's waist, Christopher noticed the boiling pot of lobsters. "Are they dead?"
Yvonne nodded as her lips twisted into a smirk.
Christopher let out a sigh of relief. "Do you need any help cooking?"
Yvonne patted his chest. "Honey, I think it's best if you stay out of the kitchen."
***
Only the flickering of the television screen illuminated the hallowed halls of the bunker.
Lincoln, Justin, and Dangles sat around the television, watching Channel 16.
A smartly dressed reporter addressed the audience. "Now, we have exclusive, behind-the-scenes footage of Ken Stokes' newest documentary about martial arts. Live from the Screaming Eagle Dojo, take it away Ken Stokes."
Leaning forward, Lincoln pressed his hands together in front of his face. "Okay, let's see what's going on here."
Ken Stokes appeared on the screen. He beamed from ear to ear. "Thank you, Carla. I'm here at Baltimore's own Screaming Eagle Dojo with my new karate master, Stefan." He motioned to the shirtless, glowing god of a man next to him. "Now, Stefan has been training me in the arts of martial. It's been a trial of endurance, strength, and most importantly, dedication."
As Ken continued to promote his new documentary, Dangles jumped out of his chair. "Wait! There's Riley! In the back!"
A red hue flashed across Lincoln's eyes. "That little good-for-nothing, selfish, brainless asshole."
Riley and Louis sparred in the dojo behind Ken and Stefan. Riley's face lit up in blissful ignorance
Lincoln clenched his fist. "Why hasn't he called?!"
On the television, Ken Stokes, who suddenly sported a white gee, beamed from ear to ear as he put his arm around Stefan. "So, Stefan, why don't you tell the good people of Baltimore how you got those abs?"
Lincoln grabbed the remote and muted the television. Then, he pointed toward Justin with a shaky finger. "Justin, get up and leave right now. I want you to get that fool, and then, you bring him straight back to me."
Justin crossed his arms but didn't move from his chair. "I'm not doing that. That's a horrible idea."
Unamused by Justin's criticism, Lincoln cocked his head to the side. "Excuse me?"
Justin leaned forward, staring directly into his grandfather's eyes. "I said that it's a terrible idea to bring Riley back here. If I go to that facility, I'm killing Riley and everyone in it."
Lincoln slammed his fist into the arm of the chair. "Absolutely not! I want Naysmith back here. I want to send a message to anyone who thinks they could disobey me!"
Justin rolled his eyes. "What message is bringing him back here going to send? This game of kidnapping cat and mouse is getting us nowhere."
Justin paused, waiting to see a glimmer of understanding in Lincoln's expression. "Look at what happened with Debbie and Mark. We waited too long, and what message did we send? Alex always saves the day. You said it yourself, Gramps. With Alex gone, now is our perfect time to strike. We don't know how long it will be before he's finished screwing Debbie in Paris. Let's kill those four idiots while we have the chance. That's the real way to send a message"
Justin was right. There was no denying it. Lincoln glared at his grandson, trying to think of something that could dispute Justin's logic.
He came up with nothing. Still, Lincoln didn't like being proven wrong. Even though he planned for his grandson to soon take over, Lincoln craved control more than anything else. In fact, he would rather suffer a loss than admit Justin was right.
Lincoln clenched his teeth. "No. I want Riley back here."
Justin shook his head. "Then I'm not going."
Lincoln took a sharp intake of breath. "Fine." His eyes were fixed on Justin. "Dangles. You go get Riley, and you bring him back to me. Now."
Dangles immediately stood at attention. "Yes, sir!"
Without thinking, he ran toward the exit of the bunker, but before he reached the ladder to climb out, he stopped. "Uh, sir?"
Lincoln whipped his head around. "What?"
Dangles shuddered under Lincoln's gaze. "Uh, I need a car."
Lincoln ripped his car keys out of his pocket and threw them at Dangles, who failed to catch them.
After he bent down and picked up the keys, he smiled at Lincoln. "I won't let you down, sir!"
Dangles scurried out of the bunker and into the garage. He hopped inside Lincoln's Lincoln Town Car and put the key in the ignition.
He sniffed the air. "Huh, it smells like old people."
Within ten minutes, Dangles found himself outside of the Screaming Eagle Dojo. The Channel 16 film crew had already departed by the time he arrived.
He hid behind a bush and drummed his fingers together in front of his face. "Alright, Riley. Come to Dangles."