“It’s been a long time since you’ve shown your face around here. Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick,” Mackenzie said. It was true, Jack had disappeared for months at a time without the ability to call her due to the heat that had built up from his last few adventures around Los Angeles. He took his hat off as he walked in the house and sat down at the table. It was nearly unrecognizable to him. She had kept up with the house well, taking care of everything while he was away.

 “I know how this looks, and listen to me, I can explain everything later, but right now, I just need you to be happy that I am home and ready to move on to the next stage of our lives. There’s plenty of time to talk about everything later.” Jack answered. Mackenzie sat down at the table in front of him and poured him a glass of coffee. The early morning sun was shining in through the window and illuminating the Livingroom.

 “What’s the plan now then?”

 “We’re moving back East, out to Chicago. It’s nice out there, maybe a little colder than you’re used to, but it’s gonna be a better spot for us than out here. We have too much of my past chasing us out here. This gives us a fresh start. Somewhere to build off of. How does that sound?”

“It’s going to be a hell of a lot better than when we were outside of Detroit.” She brushed her hair back behind her left ear. It didn’t matter that they were married, or that he had been gone for so long, she was still smitten with him. He flashed her a smile and grabbed her hand before he finished his cup of coffee, “When do we leave?”

 “I’ll be heading out here in a couple of days, then I’ll come pick you up once I have made arrangements for us while we’re there.”

 “Another house?”

 “Apartment. Someplace quiet, maybe outskirts of downtown, I don’t know for sure yet. I want some place with a little more security. It was too easy for people to try and get into this neighborhood, same issue in Detroit. We’re gonna do this thing right this time.

 “Just don’t forget about me.”

 “I could never.”

 “So what happened in LA? When you left here, you were trying to find out what was going on with some judge.” Mackenzie asked.

 “We ran into some trouble while we were down in LA. While we were down there, it was fine until we ran into the ambush. Shots came out from everywhere, but it wasn’t from the cops like we thought it was. It was from some other family. By the time we got out of there though, the cops were swarming. Al couldn’t get away before we got out of there and got clipped by the other family on the way out,” Jack replied. He ran his fingers through his hair,  moving the longer pieces out of his eyes.

 “The FBI hasn’t found you yet?”

 “No, nothing yet. Are they still coming around the house?”

 “They stopped coming about four months ago. Said that they thought you had left the country. Tried to tell me that there was no point in me waiting for you to come back around.”

 “I’m glad you didn’t listen to them.”

 “If it wasn’t for the money that you made before, I would have been up a creek, Jack. There’s not much left.”

 “Don’t worry about that. I’ve got us covered. I’ve been working hard while I was gone, I’ve got a good amount saved up for us. It’ll be more than enough for what we need. ” Mackenzie got up from the table and as she did Jack stood up to meet her. She threw her arms around him, giving him a tight hug and no longer fighting back the tears that had been welling up in her eyes since the moment that he had walked back in the door to their house. She wasn’t sure that he would come back, nor was she sure that he was even still alive once she saw that the FBI was no longer snooping around. To her, that was when she had given up all hope of ever seeing him again. She had at one time made her peace with that.

 For the first few weeks, she cried every single night, watching out the window and waiting to see if that Dodge would come roaring down the street the way that he used to. Every headlight that flashed down the road would make her heart skip a beat but every time she would feel the disappointment that it wasn’t her husband coming home to her. After a couple of months, she was able to sleep through the night without the cars waking her up as they drove past, but her dreams still haunted her as she thought about what might have happened. She kept to herself mostly, but had made a couple of friends while he was gone. Whenever they would ask about her ring, she would always reply with some small remark that he was gone on business or visiting family.

 But for Jack, it was a different story. He was being driven mad that he couldn’t return home. It wasn’t sadness that welled up inside of him, or heartbreak but rage. He was not only kept away from his wife, his family, and his friends, but his closest ally had been killed and he had no idea who had done it. Jack traveled to a different city seemingly every couple of weeks trying to track down some piece of information as well as lose any kind of trail that was on him. By the time six months had passed, he was mostly forgotten about.

 When he reached Baltimore, he had found who he was looking for. Unfortunately for him, they had moved on from him. Too far out of reach and with a chance to return home, he decided to take his chance to regroup and return to his pursuit when there was a better opportunity. He was on the first train out of the city. Within a week, he was walking through that front door to his wife.

 “What are you doing when you get to Chicago?”

 “For work you mean? Well, I was thinking of trying to get back into the car business. Run a distillery out the back. Make some real money.”

 “What are you going to do if the FBI comes around again? They seemed pretty adamant about getting to you. I don’t think you’ll stay off their radar for very long. ”

 “If they find me, then we deal with that when it happens. I’ll get a good lawyer on retainer. It won’t be no issue for us.”

 “Do I really need to stay here until you get things set up there? Why can’t I just go with you for this one? It’s been so long, you’ve been gone for so damn long, Jack. Just let me go with you. Please.”

 “Mackenzie, you know how these things are, I gotta go and make sure this place is a safe spot for you. I can’t just take you in there.”

 “I’ll stay in whatever hotel you’re staying in. I’ll wait in the car, whatever I need to do. I don’t want to stay here.”

 “Pack a bag.”

 “When are we leaving?”

 “Tonight since you’re going with me.”

 Landing in Chicago from the plane, Jack and Mackenzie were greeted by a bitter cold that they were not accustomed to. For Mackenzie, she had prepared with a thick coat that Jack had bought for her when they were staying in Detroit. Jack kept his wool jacket from Philly and held her hand as they traversed through the snow towards the cab that was waiting for them at the curb. Their car would be coming later, shipped out from the West Coast due to the time that it would take to get to Chicago from Los Angeles. Jack opened the door for her and removed his hat as the got into the cab before directing the cab driver to the high rise apartment that they were going to look at.

 “Where are we headed?” Mackenzie asked.

 “Alton Tower,” Jack whispered. “It’s a 30 something story building in the middle of downtown. I think you’ll love it. It’s got a view right over the river.”

 “You’re kidding me.”

 “No, just wait til we get there.”

 As they pulled up, there was red and gold awnings covering the entrance, blocking the snow from falling down on them as they stepped out of the cab. Jack helped her out of the cab while the bellhop grabbed their bags out of the trunk. The first six floors were still rented out as part of a hotel while the rest was permanent party apartments and penthouses. As they walked in, they were both impressed by the exquisite decorations that were occupying the lobby of the building.

 “Can I help you two?” The man at the counter asked. The name tag indicated that Jeffrey was the manager of the building.

 “We’re here to look at an apartment. I made arrangements a couple of days back,” Jeff responded.

 “Of course, if you’ll follow me to the elevator, we’ll be going up to the 12th floor. Until then, the bellhop will place your bags behind the desk.”

 Once they reached the room, behind several locks, they were in the fully furnished apartment. Immediately, Jack could see that his wife was in love with the view before her. He nodded to the manager, gave him an envelope, and took the keys from the man’s hands. She immediately ran over to the couch by the large window and admired the view. With a kiss on the forehead, he walked past her and then went to the kitchen, taking his gun off of his belt and placing it in the drawer. It was then that they heard a knock at the door that startled Mackenzie and made Jack clench his gun.

 The knock on the door came one more time and Jack whispered to his wife to move from the window to the bedroom. She got up quickly and moved as quietly as she could while he held a tight grip on the gun in his hand and moved toward the door. As he rested his body up against the door frame to look out the peep hole of the door, he couldn’t see anything outside of it. The sight was blocked by whoever was on the outsides.

 “Who’s out there?” Jack yelled out to the hallway.

 “Just open up, Jack” A man’s voice echoed through the door. Jack barely recognized it, but he couldn’t place where he knew it from. He hesitantly opened the door slowly, peeking out to catch the man’s face before allowing him to walk in to the apartment. Jack remembered him now, “Shocked to see me, Jack?”

 “Johnny, what are you doing here?”

 “I came here to find out why you were tracking me for so long. What happened Jack? Why were you trailing me for so many months?”

 “Your brother set me up. I’m looking for Sonny.”

 Johnny ran his hand over the back of his head. He looked Jack in the eyes and then focused on the door once more. As Jack tried to relax in the chair, his hands couldn’t help but tense up. He stood back up, pacing through the room until he was on the other side of the bar.

 “I can’t let you go after my brother, Jack. You know that he’s untouchable for you. Whatever happened between you and my brother, that’s fine and I can set up a meeting between the two of you, but you don’t lay a hand on him.”

 “Johnny, you’re brother set me up. He almost got me killed. He got Al killed and he’s the reason I had to move to this damn city. I’m not letting your brother off the hook for this damn thing.”

 “Let me arrange a sit down between the two of you. We can work out a deal, clear the air, do whatever we need to do, but no harm comes to my brother. I need your word Jack. Or so help me God, you won’t know what hit you. If you think the setup was bad, there’s no walking away once I get involved.”

 Jack was seething, at his wits end because of this. He relented after several minutes and agreed not to hurt Sonny. Once Jack had agreed, Mackenzie slowly opened the bedroom door, peering out to see if the coast was clear for her to leave the bedroom. Jack extended his arm and invited her out into the living room.

 “This your wife?” Johnny asked. Jacked nodded his head.

 “Can I get you anything to drink?” Mackenzie asked. Her long red hair was flowing over her shoulders.

 “No thank you, I’m actually heading out. Don’t forget Jack. I’ll be in touch.”

 “I’ll be waiting to hear from you.”

3 Days Later….

 With the phone ringing out throughout their apartment, Mackenzie leapt up from the bed, waking Jack up from his slumber. Jack rubbed his left hand over his eyes and started making his way out to the living room as she picked up the receiver. He could hear her shuffling around as she frantically tried to get him to hurry over to the phone while she looked for a pen and paper.

 “Yes, one second, he’s right here, Johnny,” Mackenzie said. She found the pen and paper and set it on the counter as Jack came to the phone. “I’m handing the phone to him now. One second.”

 “Johnny, what’s going on?” Jack asked, taking a glance at the clock on the wall to see that it was five in the morning.

 “I have a meeting set up with you and my brother. Sonny is gon’ meet you down at the cafe on 7th. Listen to me, Jack. No guns. No knives. Nothin’. Sonny has people watching the building. I’ll have people watching for you.” Johnny instructed him.

 “What time?”

 “You have about twenty minutes to get down there or they’re all leaving and you won’t get a meeting with them.”

 “I’ll be there.” Jack put the phone down and then turned to his wife. “Kenzie, I need you to stay here, I’ve got the meeting with Johnny but if I don’t hurry, I’m going to miss my chance.”

 “Go.” Mackenzie told him.

 “I don’t know when I’ll be back. Don’t answer that door for anybody.”

 “I know the drill.”

 Jack grabbed his coat, threw some clothes on and started to head for the door, kissing his wife on the way out. As he headed downstairs, he saw how quiet the building was this early in the morning. Once out of the street, the snow was pouring down. Quickly, he made his way to the cafe. He could see the lookouts and bodyguard watching over Sonny, but he didn’t see anyone he could perceive as possibly being one of Johnny’s men.

 “Jack, take a seat.” Sonny said as Jack walked in the door. The cafe was empty, there was no one inside except for Sonny’s guys. Jack was tense, but he sat down across from Sonny and looked him in the eye.

 “Sonny,” Jack said.

 “I was surprised to hear that you made it out of Los Angeles. You know, it was a terrible thing that happened there.”

 “I’m sure you were surprised.”

 “Tell me Jack, what did you want to meet for?”

 “Why did you set me up Sonny?”

 “It had to be done. I couldn’t let you start encroaching on my guys. You stay away from mine, I can assure you that you’ll be safe from this point on.”

 “You killed Al. Your safety, your word, it doesn’t mean anything.”

 “Al was an unfortunate accident. Let’s just let things be, move on from this.”

 “Why should I?”

 “Because I can help you out. I want you to help me out with running my distillery. I’m offering you 20%.”

 “You’re kidding me. You wanted to set up this meeting to offer me a job?”

 “No better way to mend fences.”