Chapter 60 - 61: Dom Leaves
"Brian. Get Jesse out. You owe us that."
Brian looked at Simon and nodded slowly.
"I'll be watching," Simon said. He drove Dom away.
"What's the plan?" Simon asked on the road.
"Mexico. Somewhere without extradition."
"I'll look after Mia," Simon said. "She's family to me too."
They went quiet for a while.
"I'll get Jesse and Vince to put everything on you," Simon said. "With Brian's help, maybe they get lighter sentences."
"Do what you think is best," Dom said. "I'm not coming back."
"I'll find a way. Trust me."
"I do. Brother."
Simon drove to the garage outside the city. Meg was waiting beside the Supra with a travel bag.
"Take the Supra," Simon said. "Get out before the roads get locked down."
Dom hugged Simon. Simon handed him the bag.
"About six hundred thousand," Simon said. "Enough for a while. Pay me back later."
Dom tried to refuse. Simon made him take it.
Dom hugged him again. Got in the Supra. Drove away without looking back.
Simon watched until the car disappeared.
"Let's go home," he said to Meg.
The next two days, Simon and Mia were questioned repeatedly by police. Meg had hired a lawyer. Simon and Mia hadn't been part of the robberies. They were released.
Jesse and Vince, following Simon's instructions and guided by the lawyer, put everything on Dom. Brian used what leverage he had. Jesse got house arrest and community service with a tracking ankle monitor. Vince would face charges but could get a reduced sentence for cooperating.
It was the best available outcome.
The grocery was quiet now.
"It's strange," Simon said, looking at his sandwich. "I'm not used to it being this quiet."
"It's quieter at night too," Mia said.
"Dom's gone," Simon said, "but I'm still here. Whatever you need, just say it. You're family."
"I'm here too," Meg said, taking Mia's hand.
"Thank you. Both of you," Mia said.
Brian's car pulled up outside.
"You shouldn't be here," Simon said.
Brian raised his hands. "No bad intentions. I just came to tell you about Jesse."
"One minute."
Brian explained — Jesse got house arrest, Vince got a reduced sentence for cooperating. Simon accepted it.
"You can go now," Simon said.
"Can I speak to Mia?"
Simon looked at Mia. She shook her head.
"She doesn't want to talk," Simon said.
"Tell her I'm not a cop anymore," Brian called. "And I'm leaving."
Simon looked at Mia. She walked into the back without a word.
"She doesn't want to see you," Simon said. "Go."
Brian nodded, defeated.
"Hey," Simon called after him. "Next time we meet, hopefully we're not on opposite sides."
"You'll always be a friend to me," Brian said. "Where are you headed?"
Simon asked that question.
"Miami," Brian said. He got in his car and left.
Simon watched him go.
Five years from now, he knew, a different kind of crew would start coming together.
He finished his sandwich and stood up.
"I need to get to work. Meg, stay with Mia?"
"Of course. But you're really still going to work at the Buy More?"
"That place is more interesting than it looks," Simon said.
With Chuck there, he knew it would never stay quiet for long.
Chuck was different when Simon came back to work.
Before, Chuck had moved through the store with the low energy of someone going through motions. Now he was almost visibly lighter — animated, purposeful, like something had lifted.
"Good news?" Simon said.
"I've been thinking," Chuck said. "The Buy More isn't where I belong. I want to figure out what I actually want to do with my life."
"You're done with the spy work?" Simon said.
"Yes."
Simon kept his expression neutral. "Does Casey know? What did he say?"
"Sarah was happy for me. Casey was — Casey."
Simon said nothing outwardly. Internally he ran the calculation fast.
Casey showing no reaction to Chuck wanting out was wrong. Casey would normally be relieved to be done babysitting. The fact that he showed nothing meant he already knew what came next and had accepted it.
Simon knew what came next. Intelligence agencies didn't let people who knew classified secrets simply walk away. Chuck had the Intersect in his head. He'd been embedded in active operations. He knew identities, methods, ongoing programs.
People in that position didn't get to retire quietly.
They got eliminated.
Simon needed to confirm before he moved.
He found Casey near the appliance section.
"Can I get a minute?" Simon said.
"I'm watching someone," Casey said, eyes elsewhere.
"It's about Chuck. One minute."
Casey turned. "Make it fast."
"Is the team being dissolved? Are you being ordered to eliminate Chuck?"
Casey grabbed Simon's collar and lifted.
Simon stayed calm. "That's how your agencies operate. Anyone who knows too much and stops being useful gets cleaned up. You know I'm right."
Casey set him down and walked him into the break room.
"How did you know it would be me?" Casey said.
"Sarah gets emotionally involved. You're the rational patriot. You're the obvious choice for this kind of order."
"Did you tell Chuck?"
"No. It would break him."
Casey said nothing.
"Are you going to do it?" Simon said.
"It's an order. I don't get to refuse."
"You can find a way around it," Simon said. "Chuck has done a lot for this country. You can tell Sarah. Let her get him out."
"That's treason," Casey said.
"Then I'll tell you this directly," Simon said. "If you move against Chuck, I'll intervene. You can stop me right now, or report this conversation upstairs, or you can follow your conscience for once and not do this."
He walked out.
Casey didn't stop him.
That meant something. If Casey was going to report him or act immediately, he would have. The fact that he let Simon walk said that somewhere under the training and the orders, Casey was conflicted.
But conflicted wasn't enough. Simon needed to find a way to make Chuck useful again before the order came down.
The problem was he didn't know why they were canceling the operation. Without knowing the reason, he couldn't address the source.
He found Chuck again.
"I heard Big Mike offered you assistant manager," Simon said. "Congratulations."
"I turned it down," Chuck said.
"Why?"
"The Buy More isn't my future."
Simon thought for a moment. "Chuck. The future isn't always what we expect. Sometimes the safe path is safer than it looks."
"You're being cryptic," Chuck said.
"I'm being honest. What about Sarah? If you're done with this, she leaves too."
Chuck's expression shifted slightly. "I know. But right now things are good. That counts for something."
"Have you thought about just continuing?" Simon said. "Staying in. At least then you and Sarah stay in the same orbit."
And you stay alive, he thought.
"It crossed my mind," Chuck said. "But it's complicated. My whole situation is complicated."
Simon nodded.
He needed more information about what was driving the termination order. Without it, he was working blind.
He went back to work and kept thinking.
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