Lost Me, Gained Regret (Jane and Bryant Ferguson)

Gregory raised an eyebrow, his tone aggressive, "You planning on joining him?"

Pearl, always a bit intimidated by Gregory's domineering demeanor, instinctively took a step back. "Since you know the antidote isn't something he can just hand over, why make things harder for us?" Gregory dismissed her concern with a wave of his hand. "That's not for me to worry about on your behalf."

"Lucius, take her away."

At Gregory's command, Kane grabbed his weapon, ready to resist, only to see Lucius wasn't coming for him.

Instead, Lucius walked straight to the couch and threw an unconscious Dorothy over his shoulder.

Kane raised his handgun, yelling, "What the hell do you think you're doing to her?!"

"Gregory!"

Pearl, increasingly panicked, tried to reclaim Dorothy, only to be pushed aside by Lucius's firm kick, "What the hell do you want?!"

Gregory straightened up, brushing off his suit as if ridding it of dust, "When you've got the antidote, come find me."

"You..." Knowing Gregory was a man of his word, Pearl could only grit her teeth and warn, "You better not lay a finger on her!"

Gregory smirked, "Now, that I can't promise. I'm not exactly known for my steady hand; accidents happen."

With that, he left with his entourage, the sleek Bentley and several black sedans speeding away as crisply as they had arrived.

Pearl, tears welling up, clutched at Kane's arm. "Kane, what do we do now... what do we do?"

"Don't be scared." Kane was equally unsettled but tried to comfort her, "He's after the antidote. He won't dare harm Dorothy before he gets his hands on it."

"You don't know him!"

Pearl, cleaning her tears furiously, retorted, "He's always been reckless, a real loose cannon! Who knows what he might do to Dorothy, especially since she's got bad blood with Jane... He might just harm her to get back at Jane."

"Kane, you've got to think of something!"

Feeling the urgency, Kane immediately responded, "I'll call Mark!"

The black Bentley raced through the night.

Lucius, behind the wheel, voiced his confusion, "Gregory, there's something I can't figure out."

Gregory, who had been resting his eyes, lazily opened them, "You're wondering how I knew Josiah wasn't acting alone?"

Lucius nodded, "Exactly."

"He managed to pull off such a big stunt in Vista Town without us catching wind. That's not something a lone fugitive can achieve."

Gregory gazed out into the night,

"Plus, the patent infringement case predates his return to the country, pointing to a connection between the two."

"But these two cases..."

"Seem unrelated at first glance, right?"

Gregory took over the conversation, ready to delve deeper into the

analysis when a diner caught hil.net

eye, sparking a moment of

tenderness, "Pull over here."

Lucius glanced in the rearview mirror, easing the car to a stop, "What's up?"

"That diner, Jane loves their pancakes."

Dropping this bombshell, the man who usually preferred the path of least resistance got out of the car, heading straight for the diner.

Lucius rolled down the window, muttering to himself about the pitfalls of love.

After Gregory returned with a

takeout box of pancakes, Lucius et

hurried over, urgency in his steps,

"Greg, Josiah just sneaked out right after we left!"