The tension in the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Melissa could feel Chance glaring daggers into the side of her head. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of flinching, wouldn't look. With hardened resolve, she focused purely on the food set before her.

Chance meanwhile was thinking up ways to provoke the girl next to him. Perhaps if she acted out she'd be forced to leave the island. Then he could return to his earlier goal.

Carmen was wishing this first family meal would go better. Trying to engage either of her children in conversation was like hitting a wall. Chance's answers were flippant and angry while Avalon's were quiet and short. One by one the trio finished their meals before going their separate ways.

Carmen started to head to her office only to change course, heading for Avalon's room instead. Peeking inside she saw her daughter busily typing on the computer, mumbling and muttering to herself while her dog rested obediently at her feet.

Raising her hand to knock Carmen let her hand drop. Maybe later.

When she came to check on Chance she found him throwing darts at his sister's photograph. Now was not the time for an argument with either child.

This was one of those rare times where she felt defeated. A walk to clear her head would do wonders so she went to the beach.

…...

Later, under the cover of night, Chance crept to his mother's office, picking the lock without a sound before closing the door behind him. His mother had gone to her room for once, instead of the office as was her usual stop after dinner. Without turning on the lights, he moved to the multiple monitor computer setup, hacking his way inside. He just needed to do something he could pin on his detective sister. Maybe he could disrupt whatever his mom was planning. Perhaps leaking the plans to ACME would do it?

He just had to find her plans.

…...

Tossing and turning, Melissa couldn't seem to fall asleep. Worried if she did she'd die. A fear that she hadn't felt since she was three years old. Now, it had returned with a vengeance, making her sweat, heart beating against her rib-cage looking for an escape.

Ten, nine, eight, seven- No matter how many times she completed her countdown, her anxiety's continued to rise.

Oreo who'd slept to this point, snapped awake, sitting on her hands, he might have been small but he was effectively trained. If he hadn't sat when he did Melissa would've slowly come unraveled, hurting herself.

Ten

breathe.

Nine.

Breathe.

Eight.

Breathe.

You aren't there, you aren't there.

Even when calmed Melissa couldn't sleep, every noise, every shift of the house, every breeze woke her until she caved in the wee hours of the morning, fishing her journal out of its hiding place she began writing by the pale light of the waning moon.

My nerves are shot. I can't sleep, I keep waking up for the brief moment when my brain's not all there I can feel it, the hands around my neck, the cigarette against my back. I still remember the night his terror ended when the cops kicked down the door. I was in the same room too scared to breathe, I was grabbed by my hair: he put a gun to my head...

The pencil slid down the page, her hand shaking too much to continue the account. Instead, turning a new page she tried again to write. Again and again and again until she finally succumbed to sleep in the gray light of early morning, journal falling to the floor while the pencil rolled to places unknown.

…...

Chance crept back to his room after erasing any evidence he'd been in his mother's office. The henchmen who should have noticed him, should've been watching the camera feed more closely were sure to get reamed for their stupidity but that was none of his concern. He had what he needed, a thumb drive full of his mother's most protected files. Once he cracked those it was sure to be easy picking. There was bound to be something that would get goody-goody Avalon off the island.

…...

Carmen, whose days usually started well before sunup, was surprised to learn she'd slept to seven. Chalking it up to the usual jetlag or a faulty alarm clock she got up and got on with her day as quickly as humanly possible. There would be no heists, no thefts until her daughter was no longer in danger. The top priority was keeping her children safe. Both of them.

That was hard to do, however, when Chance kept jetting off to who knew where at the drop of a hat. Something he was likely to do again once she uttered the word schoolwork. Shaking her head, Carmen checked on each child. Chance lay haphazardly in bed with a pillow over his face. How anyone could sleep in the stench of the boys' locker room was mind-boggling.

Avalon slept with her back to the door, facing the window, blankets kicked to the side, her pet stretched firmly against her leg. Just as with Chance before her, Carmen pulled the blanket so she was covered before leaving as softly as she'd entered.

Heading to the kitchen for her much-needed coffee.

…...

Ivy, Zack and, the Chief gathered in a meeting room at ACME HQ to discuss their next moves.

"It'll take years if we comb through every one of her journals," Zack pointed out, "I vote we work our way backward instead of forward"

"Good call," Ivy nodded, "How recent are we talking?"

"We can start with her recently closed cases, a suspect of a past crime could be doing this, or a relative"

"I'll arrange for clearance," Chief declared before popping out.

…...

Melissa sat up groggily.

I feel like crud, she thought with a yawn, I want to go back to sleep. She would have if her brain hadn't been so hard-wired with routine. Standing from bed, she shuffled blearily to her suitcase where she retrieved her many medications before shuffling her way to the adjoining bathroom. Once she'd choked down pills in varying sizes she chose an outfit, getting ready for the day.

Going into the office wasn't an option at the moment so she dressed down in an over-sized shirt that read: Sarcasm the ability to insult idiots without them realizing it, and faded red yoga pants before slipping into her shoes.

Now, what am I supposed to do?

Eyeing her laptop she chose, with an eye-roll to get back to work. Whatever work entailed.

Just ignore the world and I'll be okay.