Epilogue
Tri leaned against the telephone pole and pretended not to look at the window of the antique shop across the street. She flipped a penny – borrowed from Lulu's pocket during the "procedure" – in her hand as somebody in the shop eyed a faded trunk on display.
Tails.
The person shrugged and walked away from the trunk.
"Store closes in five," Bartal muttered. He was sitting in an old Bentley and tapping the key against the steering wheel, also watching the window. He was parked only a few inches from the pole.
"Might be tomorrow," she muttered.
"…I don't like this." He set the key down.
"Of course you don't. We're waiting for some random buffoon to buy a trunk that has your best friend's daughter as one of the passengers." A little girl pointed at the trunk, and Tri flipped the coin.
Tails.
The mother shook her head and they walked away.
"Move over!"
"I can't!" Ankha would have groaned if she could with Jester's elbow in her face. "You move!"
"Leave it to Tri to be too cheap to get a new trunk." Blade hissed. "At least we're not stuffed too awkwardly."
"Elbow. In my face. I never stuffed you guys in here like this!"
"Yeah, well, if the damn clown hadn't gotten away you might still be the Puppet Master."
"I was already dead by the time he got away."
"It's going to be a looong wait," Jester groaned.
"Three minutes," Tri muttered.
Thirty seconds ticked by.
"He's still out there, isn't he?" Fringe was sitting on Bartal's shoulder. "We wouldn't be here if he wasn't."
"I don't want to think about that." Bartal responded.
"Two minutes."
Bartal leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. "Tristella-"
"Don't."
"How long will I live? Honestly."
"I don't know." She flipped the coin again.
Heads.
The kid was maybe seventeen and rather gangly, and looked at the trunk with curiosity and puzzlement as he carried it to his car. He set it in the back seat and went to the driver's door.
"Time to go." Tri got in the Bentley.
"This is technically stalking." Bartal started the car.
"Just drive."
The End