Episode 19.3

"All right at the Pecos Bill," a voice with an unmistakable southern drawl says over Joey's radio as he pushes his way through the crowd headed for the Border.

"Same in Country Bear," another voice says. Hidden among the people lining the streets, Joey watched two young men in blue shirts leave the front porch of the Pecos Bill Café. Two others showed up from the Country Bear Jamboree. His way of walking was exactly the same:

determined and powerful, but never too fast. Just the right speed to avoid attracting attention. It was all part of the training, Joey confirmed. He will never scare visitors from the parquet. "Out of the corner of his eye he saw a man and a woman moving through the crowd. They weren't wearing matching shirts, but Joey spotted them by the way they walked: more park security. A few seconds later, all three Groups split off in opposite directions, checking out the surrounding restaurants, shops, and attractions.

"We'll take care of the Pirates," a female voice said over the radio as the pair of guards turned the corner in the direction of the Pirates of the Caribbean.

In the center of the crowd, Joey decided not to continue. Charlie and Oliver were much smarter than that. It was one thing to lose yourself in the crowd; It is quite another to deliberately walk into a potential dead end, such as a nearby restaurant or attraction. Moving his head from right to left, Joey carefully surveyed the rest of the area. Souvenir shops... kiosks equally prompting purchase... and an endless stream of boisterous tourists. The only quiet moment in that hurricane seemed to be up ahead, where a wooden revolving door blocked part of the street. Joey couldn't take his eyes off her. The Disney cops were concerned about protecting paying visitors, but if Charlie and Oliver were still on the run, they couldn't afford to be seen, they'd need somewhere quiet and out of the way. Joey took another look at the revolving door. Just behind it was a sign with the words "Cast Members Only."

"Quiet and secluded," he whispered.

"Have you found anything?" Noreen asked through the earpiece.

"Maybe," Joey said, heading for the revolving door, leaving the Disney cops behind. I'll tell you in a minute...

-That...? How are you...? My mouth hangs to the floor as I stare at a dead man. What the hell is going on here?

Shep approaches us as he points his gun at me, but he seems much more concerned with Gallo, who has a black hole in the middle of his back. Shep directs one of his reproachful looks at Gillian. She shrugs as if she had no choice.

On the concrete floor of the warehouse, Gallo's body lies face down in a slowly growing pool of blood. The same position Shep's body was in the last time I saw him.

"Does it look familiar?" Shep asks, reading my mind.

Still shaken by the shock, I can't take my eyes off him. Forearms like sausages. His nose jagged. It's almost like it's not him. But it is.

"Come on, Oliver…say something," he teases.

My fist closes around the gun. If Gallo fired blanks at him... Shep knew what was going to happen... Gallo was working with him. That's how they got Duckworth's worm into the bank.

"You were his man inside the bank?"

-You see it? That's why they pay you all that money.

My face flushes red and reality slowly settles in like a melting block of ice on the back of my neck.

"So all this time... how could you...?" Were you watching us during the whole...?

"Oliver, this is not the place for that.

"So you were there from the beginning?" Did you know that you would try to finish us off? Or... or was that the goal from the beginning, to invite us to participate and then create scapegoats?

"Let's get out of here and then we can..."

"I want an answer, Shep. Is that why you made us participate? To blow our heads off?

-Why not...?

-I want an answer!

Understanding that I have no intention of moving, Shep checks the hangar entrance. It's clear.

'What did you want me to say? Oliver: 'I'm so happy you guys found out our secret. Now let's take this three million because there's another three hundred million waiting." Once you had seen the pot of honey, I had no choice.

"You tried to kill us, Shep.

"And you tried to steal our money."

"They are all sinners," Gillian says. Shep glares at her and she backs away. Although it's only been a few minutes since I've seen them together, there's no doubt who's in control of the relationship.

"When it all fell apart, Oliver, this was your choice," Shep says. If you hadn't been so obsessed with your revenge fantasy of Lapidus, Gallo, DeSanctis and I would have walked out without a problem. Besides, if you want to start calling a spade a spade, you were the ones who tried to screw me over.

"What are you...?"

"I looked up that bank in Antigua that Charlie showed me in the Red Sheet. The pasta was never there.

"That was the only thing that saved our necks." If Charlie hadn't done it,

at this time we would not be here talking.

"No, you wouldn't be here talking if I hadn't saved your ass at the Duckworth house," Gillian interrupts again.

"You did it just to cover yourself," I tell him.

Once again, Shep silences her with a glare.

"I'm not saying I blame you, Oliver. In fact, I respect you. We all take our opportunities where we find them," he explains, not taking his eyes off Gillian. Especially when it comes to money.

"So you never thought of sharing it with anyone, did you?" - asked-. Not with us, not with Gallo, not with anyone.

"Let me tell you something, Oliver. Gallo may have gotten his hands on the best idea in the world, but without a bench to carry it out, Duckworth could have reinvented gunpowder.

"Then I guess there was no problem getting rid of everyone along the way."

—As I told you at the beginning, there are only two perfect crimes: the crime that is not committed and the crime

during which the criminal dies. If you succeed, it's a good trick. But if I was going to be the corpse who was blamed for the crime... well, the martyr gets the spoils. The only splinter in the eye was when they let you escape from that station.

"And that's what made you hatch the big plan?" Follow us to Florida, set up Gallo, and bring your wife in on it?

"He managed to trick you, didn't he?"

I look at Gillian; she doesn't look away from her. She doesn't hesitate to face me. As Lapidus always said, business is business. I can't believe she hasn't been able to see it sooner.

"It's not the end of the world," Shep says. You still have the goose and the golden eggs. Now the time has come to decide what to do with them.

There is a completely new tone in his voice, like the day he offered to share the money with us at the bank. He has returned to his Big Brother Shep persona. Yes, there is no doubt that he will teach us the best way to hide the money... Then, the instant he gets what he wants, he will smash our kneecaps. It is the same tone that Gallo used just two minutes ago. I get sick hearing it.

"Don't say no yet, Oliver. You haven't even listened to my offer.

-Oh no? Let me guess. You wave your gun in my face, making you the fifth person this week to threaten to kill me unless I tell you where the money is.

"Let Shep finish what he has to tell you," Gillian says, still pointing at me. We can all get what we want.

"I already know what I want...and I'm not going to get it from you."

"Who do you plan to get it from then?" Shep asks. From the police? From Lapidus? From your friends at work? This is so much bigger than you and Char…" He breaks off and takes a quick look around, "Where has your brother gone? - She asks.

There is no chance of me answering him.

"A few meters from here. In the other room.

"Go find him," Shep orders.

"You go find him," Gillian challenges.

"Did you hear what I told you?"

As before, the discussion is over. Gillian tucks the gun into the back of her pants and heads for the passageway that leads to the other ship.

The instant she opens the door, she bellows the warning.

"Charlie, she's a men...!"

Shep grabs my chin and covers my mouth with his hand. He tries to free me but he's too strong. Gillian looks at me and shakes her head.

"You really are an asshole," she says, turning and walking into the passage. She shuts the door in my face and the noise bounces off my chest.

Shep continues to cover my mouth tightly until he stops struggling.

"Oliver, listen to me for once. If you don't calm down, none of us will make it out of here. We have three hundred million bucks to deal with... We might as well...

"Do I really seem so stupid to you?" I ask, removing his hand from my chin. He puts his hand on my shoulder. He's not going to let me go too far. Do you really think we will help you? -asked-. It's over, Shep. We are very good here.

-So you think? -says-. You haven't even stopped to think about this, have you Oliver? As soon as you set foot in the bank again, you're fired. Lapidus will bury you before you can say "professional shame." And when you go to the police, even if you manage to avoid going to jail, even if you pay the money back, do you think they will organize the victory parade for you? Your signature is still affixed to the original electronic application. For that alone your life is over. So now you have no job, no money, and no one will ever trust you again. And worst of all, by the time the lawsuits are over and your savings are gone, your mom won't be able to afford even a spool of thread, let alone pay the rest of her credit card and hospital bills. Who will pay for all this now, Oliver? And what about Charlie? How long do you think he can survive without your help?

As the words come out of his mouth, I know he's right. But that doesn't mean he's going to put me in bed with a snake and his…

-Nobody move! yells a female voice behind us.

Shep and I turn and look for the source of the voice at the warehouse door. There is a woman with a gun. The development investigator... the redhead... Joey... she's pointing her gun right at us.

First me, then Shep.

With a huge sense of relief, I take a step toward her, away from Shep.

"I said nobody move!" she yells and I throw my hands up in the air.

"About time," Shep says, his tone calm. She was asking me when she would arrive.

-Sorry? Joey asks.

I hope to see some sort of recognition on her face. Shep is alive and she is smart enough to fill in the rest of the story. Instead, she seems confused.

"Who the hell are you?" — she asks.

Her arms go numb as they point toward the ceiling. I can not believe it. She has no idea who Shep is.

-I? Shep asks with a crooked smile. She scratches her forearm and lets out a deep, easy laugh. I'm a researcher... just like you.

-He is lying! -say-. It's Shep!

"Don't let him fool you, Miss Lemont...

"How do you know my name?" Joey asks.

-I've told him; I've been investigating this case from the beginning. Call Henry Lapidus, he will explain everything.

When she speaks the name of Lapidus, there is a new calm in her voice. She reaches inside her jacket...

"Don't even think about it!" Joey warns him.

"It's not a weapon, Miss Lemont. From his shirt pocket he pulls out a black leather wallet. Here's my ID," she says, tossing the wallet at Joey's feet. She bends down to pick it up, but at no point does she stop aiming at us.

"I swear, Joey, his name is Shep Graves..."

—Miss Lemont, don't listen to him... —...he faked his death so they would blame us!

She takes a look at the

Shep's ID and then she closes the bag.

"So you work with Lapidus?" Joey asks skeptically.

Shep nods.

"And he'll back up his story?" "Absolutely," Shep says.

I'm not sure if Shep is bluffing or if he has some completely new trick up his sleeve. In any case, Joey has come too far to walk away without the truth.

"Noreen, are you there?" she asks, speaking into the small microphone attached to her blouse. Nodding to herself, she adds, "Give me Henry Lapidus.