Just A Dream

"War"

The wait for his meeting with Sonny puts an edge in his gut that he just couldn't explain away. Whether it was the tone of his boss's voice or the order to remain at the warehouse that had caused the initial skepticism, Francis now believes Elizabeth's assumption that Sonny wasn't being forthcoming with what he knows.

"What's this about, Corelli? " his boss mutters as he walks into the office. "With Jason's absence, I need to get things situated before the grace period is up."

"Jason's wife." Francis says with a stern edge to his voice. "She was escorted from one of the warehouses at gun point."

"Is she okay?" his boss questions, though he could see that the man barely had any remorse for the deed that had been done.

"She's fine. Its not the first time she's had a gun aimed at her." Francis states plainly. "I'd like to know what would bring you to use such measures in regard to Jason's wife so soon after his passing."

"Steps had to be taken to ensure the integrity of this organization." Sonny snaps, moving to meet him eye to eye. "I'm sorry if she had been affected by the new policies in place, but my priority is getting this place in running order in the wake of Jason's passing."

"Has there been any headway in finding out what happened?"

"No. None." Sonny eases up a little, leaning against his desk. "Which is why I'm doing whatever it takes to secure this organization before another hit lands on our front door."

"Anything I can do?" Francis eyes him intently, waiting for that other shoe to drop, fearful that he would soon lose the one thing that had made any sense in his life.

"Everything's being handled." Sonny waves away his offer. "For now, you and O'Brien should just do what you've been doing. Elizabeth will need someone to watch out for her now that Jason's gone."

"As you wish."

Taking a deep breath, he turns on his heels, the surge of pain shooting through him as he steps out of the office and makes his way out to his car. This is more serious than Elizabeth could have possibly imagined. The last time that Jason went missing, he and Johnny had been busting down doors at the front of the pack.

Like every other tragic time in their lives, aside from when they were incapable of doing so. For Sonny to sideline them now, with such a heavy burden to bear, meant more than he could ever put into words at this point. He's up to something, for sure. But what?

Stepping through the studio door, Francis plops himself down beside Elizabeth, that all knowing look gracing her features when their eyes meet. Obviously she had expected this moment a lot sooner than he had anticipated it actually happening. He would dare question if it was her faith in him or just the loss of her husband that has put such little faith in their abilities.

"Fine." he voices simply, letting out a deep breath. "We'll do it your way."

"Good." she counters, turning her head as Johnny makes his way into the room. "Because we already got started."

Francis couldn't believe his eyes as Johnny tossed a blood stained rag onto the table before popping open a bottle of beer as if it had been the most normal thing in the world. Sure, blood was no stranger to either men in their line of work, but something about his friend's demeanor just didn't sit well with him.

"What did you two do?" Francis dares to glance over at Elizabeth before meeting Johnny's gaze. "I thought I told you to wait."

"Waiting has never been Lizzie's strong point." Johnny reminds him as he downs the rest of his beer. "Besides, we didn't do anything too drastic."

"Again, I ask, what did you do?" Francis questions sternly.

"Routine questioning." Johnny assures. "Some took a little more convincing than others, but hey...when a war's brewing, sometimes a little blood shed can go a long way."

"No one said anything about a war brewing." Francis barely choked out as he could see that it was undoubtedly about to turn into that.

"Pull your big boy pants on Francis because that's exactly what this is turning into." Johnny says seriously. "The hit on Jason came from within the organization. Can you think of anyone with that kind of authority to pull off such an order?"

"Sonny?" Francis dared to guess, knowing that it was between Sonny and Jason, with the latter obviously not stupid enough to call out a hit on himself.

"Sonny." Elizabeth snaps before slowly rising to her feet. "Now that we're officially doing this my way, I've got some calls to make."

"Elizabeth." Francis blurts out, stopping her from taking another step further. "You are going to tell me what the plan is, right?"

"Johnny can fill you in." Elizabeth says simply, removing his hold on her. "For now, I've got places to be. Don't wait up."

Watching her walk out the door, Francis could feel that knot in his stomach grow and tighten all at the same time. That edge to her voice that they heard before has now become a whole different thing entirely. Without Jason's balance, there really isn't a way to curb her thirst for revenge and that's what frightens him most of all. Johnny, on the other hand, seems to be along for the ride, as usual. Usually he and Jason can keep the two of them in check, but he just isn't sure he can do it alone.

"I'm glad you called." a man voices as Elizabeth slides onto a bar stool at the local bar. "Are you really prepared to take me up on my offer?"

"I want to know what really happened to my husband." she says sternly, downing the shot of tequila when its placed in front of her. "For the truth, I'm willing to meet your price."

"You will not regret it."

"I better not, Mr. Alcazar, because you won't like me if I do." she states, pulling out the gun from the small of her back before placing the business end just under his chin. "I'm not just a pretty face to admire and you'll do well to remember that."

"Of course." he replies carefully, slowly removing the gun away from his direction. "Remind me to bring you along to a meeting or two in the future."

"You couldn't possibly afford me." she replies simply, downing one last shot before rising to her feet. "We'll be seeing each other again soon. Try not to get yourself killed until this is over."

"And risk you bringing me back to life just to kill me all over again? Yeah, I'd think not."