“Except you,” Tiffany said. “You’ve been there since the beginning, haven’t you?”
“Well, pretty darn close to it. I think I met him a few weeks or so after his family was killed. Before he became known as The Eliminator. I helped him take those first steps into this thing.”
“Ever regret it?”
Franks didn’t hesitate. “Not for a second. He needed a purpose and a reason to keep on going. If he didn’t have that, he wouldn’t be here right now. He was lost, like someone who’s on a sinking ship in the middle of the ocean, and you’re just flailing around, drowning, hoping to get your hands on a raft or something. Just something to help keep you afloat for a while until you can get yourself back to shore.”
“Do you think he’s back to shore yet?”
“No. He’s still in the water. But he’s close. He’s got the shore in sight. He’s close. Thanks to you.”
Tiffany shook her head. “No, I didn’t really have much to do with that.”
“You’ve everything to do with it. To be honest, I don’t think he’d even be here if it weren’t for you. Before he met you, I saw some dangerous signs in his eyes. I saw a man who was tired, who was ready to give up, who was losing that purpose to keep on going. Then you walked into his life, and I started to see that energy again, that will to keep on fighting. He was getting that back. And you had everything to do with that.”
“I just want to help him so much. I want to do more for him.”
Franks smiled. “And that’s why you hold a place in his heart. Because he knows that.”
“There must be something else I can do.”
“Just keep being there for him. That’s the best thing you can do. Just keep being there.”
“Do you think he’s going to give this up? Even after Mallette?”
“Oh yeah. He’s helped people along the way, but he’s not in this to be some vigilante superhero, ridding the city of crime and all that. If he can help, he will, but once his mission’s over, it’ll be over for him. Don’t you doubt that.”
“It’s just hard to think about what it’ll be like when this is done.”
“It won’t be too much longer now,” Franks said. “It won’t be long.”
“You know, I was thinking, what if I could get Brett and his brother back together?”
Franks put his hand up. “Wait a minute there, hotsy-totsy. I don’t think that’s such a great idea.”
“Why not? Don’t you think they’d want to?”
Franks rubbed his chin. “Well, I’m just not sure that’s such a good idea right now. Especially with Brett still dealing with Mallette and all. Maybe after everything is over and all, but… I don’t know about right now.”
“I want Brett to be happy again. And if I could help him get his family back together… do you think Terry would be interested in that?”
Franks shrugged. “I dunno. Probably. I know they were pretty close at one point, before all this happened. So if you were close once, you can be again. And I’m not saying you shouldn’t try. I’m just thinking you should wait a bit. Even if you were to get them together again, Brett wouldn’t want to do it while Mallette’s still prowling around out there. After that bastard’s gone, I think you can have at it to your heart’s content. Go ahead and be a matchmaker. Just not yet.”
Tiffany nodded. “I know you’re probably right. I just feel like I don’t do enough. I sit here mostly.”
“That’s not true. You’re what keeps Brett’s fire burning. Without it, no telling where he’d go. No place good, I can tell you that. That wasn’t why you offered to use yourself as bait, is it? ‘Cause you don’t think you’re involved enough? Because if that’s it, I can tell you right now that’s not the case.”
“No, that’s not why. I think it’d be the best way to end this as soon as possible.”
“Speaking of that, did you have any ideas on that?” Franks asked. “About how you’d put yourself out there?”
Tiffany shook her head. She really hadn’t thought that far ahead yet. And she didn’t have any specific plan in mind. “No. I imagine it would have to be going to or from school, though, right?”
“Maybe. I don’t know about that, though. We’ve already done that.”
“But not me alone. They were following me and Brett.”
“Ah, so you’re thinking maybe drive yourself.”
“Maybe. I don’t know. Just a thought.”
“Well, you keep thinking about it. We might need to use it before all is said and done.”
“You don’t think Brett and Nate are gonna find Mallette before the week is up?”
Franks rubbed his chin. “Well, I have my doubts. We’ll just leave it at that. I have my doubts.”
“I guess I should start trying to drum up my courage now, huh?”
“Best thing you can do is not think about it.”
“Didn’t you just tell me to think about it?”
“Did I?”
Tiffany nodded. “Yeah. Pretty sure you did.”
“Oh. Well who listens to me, anyway? Regardless of all that, if it comes, it comes, but don’t spend all day and night worrying about it. That won’t do you any good.” Franks continued to rub his chin, deep in thought. “I’m just wondering, though.”
“What?”
“I’m just wondering if there might be a better way to go about it.”
“About what?”
“Well, if it works out that way where you’re the star of the show, I’m wondering if there might be a better way than putting you at school to draw them out.”
“What way?”
Franks shook his head. He didn’t even have it all worked out in his own mind yet. And maybe he didn’t even have anything at all. It was just an idea. “Maybe we can put the word out, you know, the way
