Six Weeks Post-Operation

Jimmy stood by the apartment door aided by a walker Windy picked up for him to get exercise without ripping any stitches. "Where are they? It's been hours!" What are you? A mother hen! Relax old man.

Just then Windy opened the door. "Jimmy, what are you doing up?"

"Dad!" Jordan yelled from the doorway.

Jimmy watched Dana roll her eyes when their daughter excitedly called for him. "Hey, Jordan! How are you?"

"Do you mind?" Dana gave a quarter turn to show Jimmy the backpack on her shoulder then stepped aside for him to see the huge suitcases.

"Right." Jimmy turned and tried to move out of the way quickly but caught his injured right foot on the wheel of his walker and stumbled. "Damn!"

"Jimmy!" Windy rushed to him. "Sit!" He complied. "Did you hurt anything?"

"Win, I'm fine."

Windy pulled his shirt up to inspect his stitched incision. "Okay. Be careful, going to the hospital is not an option."

"Are you okay, Dad?" Jordan wheeled herself into the apartment ahead of her parents.

"Yeah, I'm good." Jimmy smiled to hide the pain.

"Liar." Jordan shook her head.

"Okay, a little rough, but don't tell Win. Deal?" Jimmy watched his daughter nod in agreement. "How are you feeling?"

"Dr. Liu said I am healing faster than expected." Jordan smiled. "He said it's a good sign that we were a great match!"

A great match! Jimmy felt like a hero. His pain seemingly disappeared in a flash allowing him smiled again. "Oh hey, I got you something. Well, I had Win pick it up."

"Give Jordan a chance to settle in, Babe." Windy walked passed the two. "How's Mama?"

"She looked sad." Jordan sighed. "We lied to her. I hate lying."

"Don't worry we will get her here whenever she wants to visit." Jimmy assured his daughter.

"Hey Jimmy." Brad leaned on Jordan's wheelchair. "Or should I say Jack?"

"Jack?" Jordan frowned. "What are you talking about, Dad?"

"Should we let her in on the secret?" Brad grinned.

Jordan appeared angered. "What secret?" She tilted her head at Jimmy.

Brad flopped onto the lazy boy. "Well, tell her, Jack!"

"Weird." Jordan frowned again, this time at Brad before turning back to Jimmy. She slapped his knee. "Spit it out, old man."

"First, it wasn't meant to be a secret." Jimmy leared at Brad. "We used an alias to rent the SUV and the apartment so I could evade being arrested on trumped up charges."

Brad chuckled as he fully reclined the lazy boy chair.

"An alias?" Jordan looked at Brad then back to Jimmy. "Men?! Just get on with the explanation."

"Okay, okay. I use the name, Jack Legend from time to time. Not a big deal."

"Oh, like that Vegas lounge rat?" Jordan laughed.

Brad echoed her laughter. "Lounge rat! I love it!"

Fuck you, Drummer Boy! "Yeah, the guy your dad played with about eight years ago." Jimmy felt a little better bringing Brad down a notch.

"He has like a million views on YouTube." Jordan added.

"A million views, eh?" I never knew. "This I gotta see!" He pointed to a side table by Brad. "Toss the tablet to me, Drummer Boy."

"Drummer Boy?" Jordan laughed at new marquee title Jimmy gave Brad.

Brad tossed the tablet to Jimmy before laying back and closing his eyes.

The video played. It was the very show Brad filled in as the drummer for his backing band. Jimmy tilted the tablet as he pointed to the drummer. "There's your dad!"

"I bet you didn't think your dad would be an entertainer?" Brad spoke not knowing Jimmy pointed to his face in the video.

Jordan frowned again. "What have you been smoking, Dad? I know you've play in a band for like forever!"

Brad sat up, smiled, and filled his daughter in on the real secret. "Jack Legend is sitting right in front of you, baby doll."

"What? You?" Jordan pointed at Jimmy. "No friggin way!"

"The lounge rat, himself!" Brad revelled.

"Yeah, that was me." Jimmy didn't feel so excited now.

"Wait! Give me that thing." Jordan pulled the tablet from Jimmy and settled back to watch the video. "Now that I know both of you are in this..."

Song after song Jordan would smile, point at the screen, and occasionally look up at Jimmy. When the Queen song started she reacted with disbelief. "No way! Dume dume dume da dume dume." She imitated the bass line before singing along.

Brad opened his eyes and smacked Jimmy on his shoulder. "Our kid knows the song!" Pride washed over the drummer as he air drummed along with his own drumming in the video.

Without looking at Brad, Jimmy agreed. "Yeah, yeah." She is an old soul in a teenager's body.

Dana walked into the living room. "Why is Jordan singing? She needs to rest!"

"Rest her lungs?" Jimmy looked at his ex-girlfriend. "Why would that be a problem?"

"I don't know." Dana pulled the tablet from her daughter and tossed it to Jimmy. "She needs her rest."

"Dani..." Jimmy, about to say something he would regret, was interrupted by Windy.

"Hey Jordan, want to check your room out?" Windy called out, defusing both Jimmy and Dana from potentially beginning world war three.

"Yeah, I guess." Jordan turned and headed down the hall.

Dana gave Jimmy a death stare before following Jordan and Windy.

First Snow - Later that day

The chill in the air turned bitterly cold on the mountainside. Snow flakes began to flutter from the upper atmosphere past the windows in the high rise. Dana stepped out onto the balcony. Brad joined her.

"I had forgotten how beautiful snow can be." Dana leaned into Brad. "It's romantic, don't you think, Honey?"

"Any place is romantic with you, Baby." Brad wrapped his arm around his wife, pulling her close. She wrapped her arm around his waist, tucking her head into his chest.

Jimmy looked out at the couple reuniting before walking into the kitchen to see Windy. "Hey Win."

"Babe?"

Jimmy sat on his walker. "Now that we're all together, what's the real plan for us to survive this. But not have to travel the world looking over our shoulders?"

"Babe, we are in their sights." Windy leaned her elbows on the table an stared back at Jimmy. "We may need to look over our shoulders the rest of our lives."

"Win, I'm not doing that!" Jimmy raised his hands. "I have a daughter now. We're going to get married!"

"Babe, we are gonna need to come up with a plan to put them all away."

"In Canada? The easiest country in the world for any mob family to operate!" Jimmy laughed. "They simply buy their way out of any trouble."

"So what are you suggesting?"

Jimmy looked up to see Jordan at the archway leading into the kitchen. "What are the two of you whispering about?"

"We're just keeping our voices low so we wouldn't wake you up." Jimmy knowingly lied to Jordan.

Jordan called him out again. "Liar. Dad, how am I ever going to trust you!" She wheeled into the kitchen on the stolen wheelchair. "I am beginning to believe mom when it comes to you lying."

"Okay! Come in here." Jimmy had enough of being called a liar.

"Babe." Windy warned Jimmy. "This isn't the time."

"Win. I've had it up to here!" Jimmy placed his hand at his neck. "If I keep anything to from you, I'm a liar. If I tell you, your mom will kill me herself."

"Even if it affects me? Jordan watched Jimmy nod. "That's not fair!" The fiery teenaged girl fired back at her father.

"You can't hear what this is and ever be the same." A cold breeze blew through the apartment making Jimmy change the subject. "How long have you been able to sing like that?"

Dana entered the kitchen rubbing her hands to warm them. "New snow is falling, isn't it beautiful? It's been so long, I had forgotten." Her happiness evident as she sat beside her daughter.

"Mom, why are we really here?" Jordan frowned at Jimmy. "The old man wouldn't tell me."

"We didn't want to crowd Mama." Dana did the lying now.

"Even I know that is a lie!"

"Jordan!"

"Mom! I want to know!" Jordan demanded answers. "Now!"

Brad rushed to the kitchen. "Jordan?!"

"Everyone is here, so tell me!" This time commanding the adults to divulge whatever they were hiding.

Windy looked to the other adults. "Maybe it's best from me."

"Windy, no!" Dana objected.

"Dana, we're not protecting Jordan by keeping her in the dark." Windy looked to the mother before continuing. "I know you are intelligent and your intuitions are accurate. There is a reason you are here and not with your grandmother."

"Windy?" Jordan urged her on.

"Jimmy, your father, helped put a mobster's son in prison for a long time." Windy bit down on her bottom lip before continuing. "It would never be long enough for that man."

"He killed people?"

Jimmy took over. "Yes, but he also made life difficult on many more. I investigated Joey Fortune and handed my findings to the police. I tried to walk away then."

"But the cops wouldn't let you?" Brad asked likely knowing the answer.

"The judge gave me an ultimatum, divulge my source or tell the courts what I knew." Jimmy shook his head. "I knew it would have been a death sentence for the person." He paused. "My mom just passed away, Win and I were on hiatus, so I took the responsibility. I mean I never knew you existed Jordan, Honey."

Dana folded her arms. "Is that the truth, Windy?"

"Every word, Dana." Windy nodded. "The crown reduced the charges and the judge gave Joey Fortune a seven year sentence. He served four."

"And it's Joey that wants you arrested?" Brad looked at Jimmy.

"Dead."

"Dead?!" Dana rubbed her face with both hands. "Dear God!"

Jimmy continued. "You met his brother, Johnny at the Hospital in Richmond."

"That was his brother?!"

"I broke his jaw and lured Joey to a place I knew he used for nefarious activities let's say."

"Are you serious, Jimmy?" Dana stood and cocked her arm.

Brad wrapped his arms around his wife. "Let him finish, Dana."

Jordan sat quietly listening to Jimmy explain his reasoning.

"I actually wanted Joey to kill me but something made me fight for my life. I wrestled the gun from Joey and jammed it into his chest. But before I fired I thought of what you guys would think of me."

"You spared their lives. Because of us?" Jordan looked into her father's eyes.

Jimmy nodded.

"I tied them to an old concrete mooring that has since sunk below the waterline. I knew they wouldn't drown. It was already high tide."

"But they could've died of hypothermia." Windy added.

"Yes. I knew this was a good possibility. I drove his Cadillac SUV out of town. That was a Sunday night. I was late getting back into town." Jimmy wasn't about to mention the sisters from The Big Catch.

"Don't stop there!" Dana motioned. "There must be more."

"They tried to kill me since. Robert Fortune Senior showed up at the hospital Friday, after the surgery. Pulled a handgun out and was about to kill me to revenge his sons."

"We were right next door!"
Brad questioned. "Why'd he stop?"

"Christina walked in to check on me." Jimmy shrugged. "I guess he didn't want to kill her too, so he left."

"That doesn't explain the elaborate plan to cone here." Dana eyed Jimmy.

"Two officers called on me a little later. It seems Mr. Fortune phoned his buddy, Judge Ballanno issue an arrest warrant for my arrest." Jimmy sat back into the backrest of his walker. "You're all caught up."

"Geezus Jimmy, we're screwed." Brad rubbed his clean shaved face.

"Not exactly." Windy opened her laptop.