~Troy~
A steady trickle of blood was running down my arm as we rushed back to the motel in the car. Connor driving, Regan up front with him and me in the middle between Murphy and Rocco.
"Man he shot my finger off! Fuck!" Rocco screamed and whined.
"Troy let me look at that."
"Its ok, wait till we get back to the motel." I assured Murphy placing my hand on his knee. In the room I pulled off my sweater and saw that the bullet had left a small flesh wound, but was nothing major the same could be said for Regan. I pulled a sewing kit from my bag. It wasn't ideal but it was better than the hospital. I grabbed a bottle of whiskey and saw Regan had followed me in as the guys sat in the motels small kitchen.
"Troy what are ya doing?"
"Stitching this up, can you do it I don't think I can reach right." She nodded tipping whiskey on my arm to clean it then dipping the needle and thread in to sterilise that too. She got to work we could hear the guys grunting and Rocco howling in pain. As I stitched up Regan's wound we could hear the guys shouting and bawling about the guy that had shot us up.
"Who the fuck was he, Rocco? I know you fuckin' know!" Connor shouted.
"Fuck you! I told you I never saw him before!" I believed Rocco he had no reason to lie about it.
"Well he sure as fuck knew you!" Murphy spat.
"Fuck you both! Ya ask me, he was aiming at you!" It suddenly sounded like hell had broken loose in the kitchen so Regan and I went out.
"Would you guys stop acting like children for five minutes?!" Regan shouted.
"Let's focus on the fact that some old boy just tried to kill all five of us…what the hell are you boys doing with this damn iron?" They all looked sheepish now we had told them off then Connor picked up the iron.
"Ok girls which one first?"
"Are ya mad?!" I exclaimed looking to see that the cause for all their screaming had come from them cauterising their wounds with the iron.
"Connor ya idiot." Regan gasped rushing to his side. "We stitched ours up, if ya had waited we'd have done yours too."
"You ok Murphy?" I asked moving to him.
"Yeah I am. I didn't know ya cared." He smirked to which I thumped him in the arm. "Ow hey that's tender." I immediately felt bad.
"Sorry Murphy." I said kissing his cheek to which he smiled almost dreamily at me. Rocco huffed and muttered something before turning the TV on. Some guy called Agent Smecker is on the news saying he is looking for the five suspects involved in the spate of killings in Boston. I found myself sat on Murphy's lap as was normal for the bar, but seemed weirdly more intimate here.
"Shit."
"What?" Rocco asks Connor pointing to the TV as me and Regan who is sat by Connor her hand in his, look at Connor to explain.
"What, that guy?"
"That's the guy that got us off the hook with the "Checkov" thing." Murphy answered. I smiled, I needed to buy the guy a pint.
"And he is one smart man." Connor added.
"They got nothing." Rocco added.
"This guy is very sharp. If he hasn't figured us out yet, he will."
"You bet your ass he will." Murphy said almost admiringly.
"What if he found your finger Rocco?" I added as an afterthought.
"Well, I'd say that makes him a lia-fuckin-bility." The boys look at each other and both Regan and I know that they wouldn't allow it, the guy was doing his job and in the eyes of the law we were the criminals whether we were doing God's work or not.
"He isn't to be touched." Connor stated flatly.
"He's a good man." Murphy added and Rocco knew not to argue.
"Okay... whatever." He huffed.
Rocco pulled to the curb early in the morning outside the Church.
"Hey! We gotta talk about this early morning church shit." He growled.
"We can't do the Lords work and not come and worship him Rocco." I smiled and stepped out of the car with Regan. Regan and I were by no means as religious as the boys, but we went at least every Sunday and whenever the boys asked us to accompany them.
"We have to go now." Murphy laughed.
"We're on the lamb." We walked inside and Regan and I took seats as the boys went to the front to say their prayers. Connor looks back towards us and Regan waves, but he doesn't wave back instead he stands and moves quickly towards us and then past us. We both turn to see Rocco shove a Priest in to one of the confessional booths just before Connor can get there.
"What is that fucktard doing?" I hissed.
"I don't know, but come on." We both stand and follow Connor into the end booth.
"You gonna do what I say, got it?" We hear Rocco whisper to the priest.
"Yes." The priest replies in fear.
"I'm sorry you're gonna hafta see this. Don't look at me!" I couldn't believe this moron I'd wring his neck when he gets out.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't see."
"Shut up! Shut the fuck up!" Rocco hisses. Connor is furious as he works at the lattice that separates the booths. I pull out a pocket knife from my jeans pocket and pass it to Connor. Just as Rocco is about to kill Smecker, Connor manages to open a big enough hole to fit his fingers through and grabs a hold of Rocco's thick curly hair, yanking him back his face smashing into the slider on our side. Rocco pushes the priest back into position while still holding the gun to his head. Regan pulls out her gun and holds it to Rocco's head.
"You little fuck. Let him go. I'll drop you right here."
"Okay, just calm down. He could hurt us, brother. He could ruin the whole thing."
"Let him go or I will deliver you, right now." Connor says and Regan pulls back the hammer on her gun.
"You won't do it Connor, you won't. You love me man."
"Doesn't matter how much he loves you, we'll do it if you force our hand Rocco." I whispered. Just then Smecker started to stir in the other booth.
"Hello? You there?"
"Y-Yes my son." The priest stutters.
"Do your thing Father. Don't fuck this up." Connor tugged on Rocco's hair again.
"What do you want me to say?"
"Just be natural, goddamit."
"How long since your last confession, my son?"
"Oh, Christ, uh, I've never confessed. According to the dogma of the Catholic church, I should probably burst into flames right here in this booth. But I've come here for advice, not salvation." We all stop breathing to hear what Smecker has to say.
"Why have you come to a church for council if you're not religious?" The priest asks.
"Why have I come to a church? I never have before. I guess I just... felt I should."
"What is it my son?"
"It's ethics. I put evil men behind bars, but the law has miles of red tape and loopholes for these... cocksuckers to slip through. I've found out there are these young people who fix the situation with an iron fist. As if they have God's permission. But what they do is wrong and I should arrest them…technically." He definitely had my full attention now as he was saying everything that we had about the scum of the world.
"God's permission? God doesn't..." Rocco shakes the priest to stop him from finishing his sentence.
"But in this day and age I believe what they do is... necessary. I feel it is... correct."
"You believe?"
"Yes." I couldn't stop the smile coming on my face, this was going to be alright.
"You feel?"
"Yes."
"You feel? A soul is what gives you feelings. Happiness, guilt, right or wrong. It is a conduit through which the Lord speaks to us. You felt that your answers would be here in the house of God today. You feel these men are necessary. The Lord has spoken to you twice this day." We all look between us, this priest was convincing Smecker that what we are doing is right.
"Has he now?" Smecker asks sarcastically.
"You have entered the house of the Lord of your own free will speaking of beliefs and feelings. Is it so much to believe that God has brought you here?" And the priest had him again.
"I guess not."
"It is easy to be sarcastic about religion. It is harder to take small hints from God, your feelings and listen to them... to take a stand." This priest deserved a damn Oscar as far as I was concerned.
"You're right."
"Those who do not act are in a constant state of ethical indecision."
"I want to stand for what I believe in, father."
"Then you must find out what your beliefs are."
"I believe these young people are right."
"You know them personally?"
"Yes."
"Do you think they would harm an innocent man, for any reason?"
"No. They would never do that." The priest turns anger on his face. "Well, the two Irish guys and the girls wouldn't. But the Italian guy, he might. He's kind of an idiot." Fear returns to the priest as Rocco presses the gun harder into his head.
"Goddam right, I am." Rocco whispers.
"I'm beginning to see. I've been doing my job... well for fifteen years and it's just not enough. All the things I wish I could do, these guys are doing. Millions of dollars in tax payers' money wasted on shit like wire taps and surveillance. Theses go in and take care of it for price of a bullet." Smecker pauses and then starts.
"Ww-what do you think I should do? Because I'm a law man." Rocco jostles the priest and Connor bristles, I look at Regan and she nods, we were going to give him a piece of our mind.
"The laws of God are higher than the laws of man."
"Yes! Yes! I was thinking that, too. No. I was feeling it. All I needed was to hear you say it! Amen! I'll help them."
"Forgive me father." The priests whispers.
"Thank you, Father, thank you. Whatever. Goodbye, amen." Smecker exits and Connor lets go of Rocco who lets go of the priest. Rocco turns and starts fixing up the priest's ruffled suit. We go and wait outside for Rocco. Regan and I both have our arms crossed as Connor stands hands on hips telling Murphy what he did.
"The Lord works in mysterious ways." Rocco giggles.
"You are an idiot!" Regan snaps and slaps him.
"You utter retard, do it again and I will shoot you." I growled and punched him none too softly on the jaw. He rubs his face, but continues to giggle as we leave.
"What should we do about the old guy?" Regan asked as we sat at the back of a diner.
"I think we should call Smecker and see if he can find out who he is, for us." Connor said.
"It's an idea, he said he's gonna help us." I stated.
"Well go ahead Connor call." As Connor and Regan left to call him we sat and discussed the best way to go about killing Poppa Joe. "Look I think you and Regan need to stay outside for this one, cover the back and wait for us."
"You are not benching us, Murphy we are all in this together all five of us, I will not stand back and you can't make me."
"I don't know Troy,"
"Zip it Rocco." I snap and he gets up walking out.
"Troy I don't want anything bad ta happen ta ya, Poppa Joe is gonna have guards and everything."
"More reason for me to go. Do you have any idea how I would feel if you got killed? Do you understand how heartbroken I'd be?" I hadn't meant to say that it just slipped out and comprehension dawned on Murphy's face. Before I could say anything he pulled me to him and kissed me, no playing or joking, pure passion, it was long and deep and I hated to break away from it.
"So that's what you and Regan have been whispering and winding each other up about?" I nodded.
"I didn't want to ruin our friendship, but I'm still coming in that house with you." I said and he nodded.
"Ok, but it turns bad you run, you and Regan, just get out fast." I agreed, but didn't promise.
From the moment we got there it went downhill, so many men. So many guys with guns. Poppa Joe had realised we were coming for him. The guys had been carted off to the basement and we had been locked in the kitchen, handcuffed to the radiator, with threats of rape and torture promised for if the boys didn't tell them what they wanted to know.
"Regan we gotta get outta here, we gotta get Smecker."
"I know, I know damnit. I'm working on it!" She snapped. We both heard the gunshot and I couldn't stop the tears that started to fall. "It won't be them, it can't be. They'll have got free, you watch." Regan tried to assure me as she worked at the lock on the cuffs. It finally gave and we both stood quickly grabbing knives from the counter top. We'd seen them take the boys to the basement so knew which door to take. Stood outside it were two of the goons.
"Now who let you bitches free?" One of them asked, but before he could say much more Regan and I attacked slashing and stabbing with the knives. Yanking open the basement door, I took three stairs at a time and slipped at the bottom only to see Murphy and Connor in tears, one of the goons dead on the floor and Rocco laid out between them.
"Rocco…" I almost choked on his name.
"Roc." Regan knew he was dead and dropped to her knees.
"No…No! Rocco you son of a bitch! You can't die!" I cried and knelt by him. Murphy pulled me to him as Connor placed pennies over Rocco's eyes. Regan slipped her arms round Connor as the boys began to chant their prayer. I looked up and to the door as I heard another saying their prayer and couldn't believe who I saw.