Chapter 7
For as long as he lived, Connor would never forget the wide-eyed, shocked expression on Romeo's face as he stared down at the hole in his chest. It was an image that would haunt his dreams for years to come. Guilt flowed from his conscience as freely as the blood pouring from Romeo's body, and he knew that he could never forgive himself for this. How could he have let this happen? He should have made the choice that would have kept them all alive and begged God for forgiveness later. But he couldn't do that.
"No." The word came out soft and defeated. "Rome, I'm sorry. Please, I'm so sorry!" His voice sounded small in his ringing ears and he was aware of the tears rolling down his face.
Looking up, Romeo met Connor's eyes and shook his head; he didn't want his friends to torture themselves over this. The time he had spent with the MacManus brothers had been the most rewarding and fulfilling time of his life and he wouldn't trade it for anything. He needed them to know that, but when he opened his mouth to speak, the only thing to come out was a river of blood.
Murphy had watched in silent shock as the bullet entered Romeo's chest, but seeing his friend struggle to speak was the last straw for him and he snapped. Alternating between coughing and screaming, he cursed Maddox and Geno in every language he knew, and it wasn't until Romeo took his last rasping breath, that he went quiet, his shoulder's shaking with silent sobs.
"Well, that was fun! Who's up next?" Maddox looked back at Connor's defeated form as he directed Geno to move on to Murphy who didn't even bother looking up at the rifle aimed at him. "Are you still sure this is the choice you want to make, Saint?" he raised an eyebrow in question.
Glancing over at Jones, Connor wished he could make the call that would spare the life of his twin, his best friend, but he couldn't. When he didn't respond Maddox gave Geno a nod and Connor turned grief stricken eyes onto Murphy.
The brother's didn't speak, they didn't need to, they just met eyes briefly before simultaneously bowing their heads and picking up a prayer in their favored language, Gaelic.
Geno tensed, preparing to squeeze the trigger, and the gunshot that followed tore a hole through Connor's soul so deep that he knew it would never heal. He had been unable to save the person who meant more to him than anything in the entire world, and he would never be whole again.
"What in the hell?" Maddox's confused voice caused Connor to snap his head up and when he saw Murphy, alive and whole, staring back at him, he moved his gaze to Geno who was looking down in shock at the gaping hole in his chest. The Italian man stumbled backwards a few steps before crashing to the ground, unmoving.
Maddox spun toward the door and the source of the unexpected gunfire, but a new voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Make one move, George, and I will drop you quicker than you can blink."
Connor squinted his eyes at the young man who was standing on the far side of the room with a 9mm glock aimed directly at Maddox's head. Although the man was dressed in an inmate uniform, he could have sworn that he recognized him as one of the prison guards.
"Get down on the floor, hands behind your head." Motioning toward the ground, the newcomer took a few tentative steps forward while keeping his weapon expertly trained on the convict.
Maddox looked furious at having his plans interrupted and he considered the man in front of him with cold eyes.
"Down on the ground!" he ordered again as he adjusted his grip, preparing to fire.
Looking around the small room, Maddox appeared to be weighing his options. For a moment it looked as if he were going to surrender as he raised his blood stained hands in the air and dropped to one knee, but as soon as the younger man started moving toward him, he jumped to his feet and made a dash for the second exit at the front of the classroom.
The newcomer reacted without hesitation, taking a second to adjust his aim before firing off a quick shot. Maddox stumbled as the bullet lodged itself in his leg, just above the knee, but the fleeing convict didn't stop and, throwing open the door, he disappeared through the opening.
"Damn it!" the young man cursed under his breath as he lowered his gun.
Officer Jones shook his head in a mixture of disbelief and confusion. "Edwards, what in the hell are you doing here? All of the guards who were able were supposed to fall back and join the team outside the facility."
Turning back to the remaining captives, he gave Romeo's still body a sad glance as he passed by on his way to Murphy's side. "We all know what started this uprising. They wanted the Saints, and I wasn't going to just leave these men to the wolves like that." Edwards didn't offer any more explanation as he turned his focus completely on to Murphy. "Are you okay?" he asked softly as he dug through his pocket and produced a large ring of different sized keys.
Murphy wasn't sure how to answer that question and he gave a quiet grunt that failed to indicate one way or the other. Nothing felt okay. He couldn't remember the last time he had been this bad off. He could feel his body failing him fast, and Romeo was… he was gone. No, nothing was okay.
Edwards gave the man a sympathetic look as he took in the mixture of tears and blood that covered his face. He laid a gentle hand on Murphy's shoulder before bending down and flipping through his ring of keys. Selecting the small silver handcuff key, he inserted it into the cuff, letting the restraints fall away from Murphy's bloody wrist before starting on the other side.
Once he was free, Edwards grabbed the Murphy's arm and put it around his shoulders as he helped slowly pull him to his feet.
"You got it?" The young guard was concerned by how weak and unstable Murphy felt but he had to get started on releasing the others, they needed to move quickly before anyone else found them or Maddox came back with reinforcements.
"Aye…" Murphy tried to respond but his voice broke off into another coughing fit and he nodded around the spasms.
Edwards waited until the coughs had subsided and the wounded man had his balance before moving on to the lighter-haired twin.
Connor regarded the man in front of him curiously. He had watched and was surprised by the gentle kindness this stranger had shown his brother as he un-cuffed him and kept him steady on his feet. Most guards don't give two shits about the inmates and he didn't understand why this one had risked everything to help them. "Why are you doing this?" His voice was raspy from yelling and he attempted to clear his throat. "Why would you come back in here and endanger your life for us?"
Edwards looked up from where he was busy unlocking the cuffs around Connor's ankles and met his eyes with a steady gaze. "You don't deserve any of this. I suppose I could have just walked away and looked to my own safety, but I owe you more than that. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I left you to the mercy of these men."
Connor was confused. "And why exactly do you feel you owe us anything?"
Edwards dropped his gaze and returned his focus to the task at hand. "I have my reasons."
The response was so quiet Connor almost didn't catch it, but he didn't push it any further. "Well, whatever your reasons, thank you."
The last of the restraints fell free with a clink, and Edwards gained his feet. "You don't have to thank me. Can you stand?" He held his arms out, ready to help Connor out of the chair.
Leaning heavily on the young officer's shoulder, Connor accepted the help and stood stiffly to his feet. After taking a few moments to steady himself, he mustered his strength and headed over to where his brother was standing over Romeo's body. When he reached his twin's side he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and gave him a gentle squeeze, causing him to look up and meet his eyes. The unshed tears that Connor saw shining in their blue depths tugged at his conscience and served as a reminder of how horribly he had failed them.
"Here, see to your friend." The brothers both turned to see Edwards offering up the ring of keys.
"You should help him first." Connor nodded in Jones' direction.
The young man narrowed his eyes at his superior officer who in turn, lowered his gaze to the floor. Turning back to the two men he proffered the keys again. "He can wait."
Murphy accepted the keys without hesitation, and with the utmost tenderness, he began freeing his friend's bruised wrists from the harsh metal. Once he had them all unlocked he passed the keys back to Edwards and together he and Connor lay Romeo's body out gently on the floor. The weight proved to be too much for Murphy's injured body and he groaned in pain as he collapsed to his hands and knees, unable to catch his breath.
"Christ, Murph, let me take a look at ya." Connor attempted to press his brother back so he could check him over but he shoved him lightly away.
"Not yet," he protested around wheezing breaths, "we need to pray first." He nodded his head toward Romeo and crawled past his twin to his friend's side.
"Aye." Connor relented with a nod, his response merely a whisper.
The brothers knelt on either side of Romeo's body and Murphy brushed his hands down the man's pale face, closing his eyes, as Connor crossed his limp arms across his chest.
Edwards listened curiously from where he was unlocking Jones' handcuffs to the prayer the Saints were reciting, and he found himself fascinated with the strange language they were speaking and the way they spoke it in perfect unison with each other.
When they were done, Connor and Murphy both crossed themselves before each planting a gentle kiss to their friend's forehead.
Connor's shoulders shook softly as another tear escaped his eyes and rolled down his bruised and bloodied cheek. "I'm so sorry, Rome. Please forgive me."
Murphy felt his heart break at the sound of his brother's guilt-driven grief, and looking up, he gripped his shoulder, giving him a gentle shake. "This isn't your fucking fault, Connor. Don't you dare start blaming yourself for this. You know he wouldn't want you to do that."
Connor shook his head, clearly not ready to let himself off the hook so easily. "It was my choice, Murph. I might as well have pulled the fucking trigger myself."
Murphy moved his hand from his twin's shoulder to the side of his face, forcing him to look at him, willing him to accept his words. "There was no fucking choice! You did the only thing you could do and it's not your fault." His eyes hardened and he dropped his hand back to Romeo's chest, covering the bullet hole. "It's not your fault," he repeated quietly. "That mantle of guilt belongs to someone else."
Murphy raised his eyes back up and Connor was able to see the fierceness that had bloomed there. He held his brother's gaze and the two men held a silent conversation only they were privy to.
After several long moments they both dropped heads, nodding in agreement. Giving Romeo's chest one last pat, they stood to their feet and strode purposefully over to where Geno's body lay sprawled on the floor. Bending down, Connor snagged the rifle from where the man had dropped it and followed Murphy toward the exit.
Edwards looked up from where he was finishing up with Jones and watched in surprise as Connor and Murphy headed toward the door.
"Wait, where are you going?" He stood to his feet and hurried after them, stopping Connor with a hand on his shoulder. The cold, dangerous look in the other man's eyes when he turned to face him caused him to falter and take a step back.
"We're going to finish this." He turned to continue toward the door but Edwards stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
"Please, you can't do that." He held his hands out in a placative manner, begging them to understand. "We are running out of time and I need you to come with me. You have to let him go."
Murphy walked back to his twin's side, and rested heavily on his shoulder for support. "The only person running out of time is that murdering piece of shit. There is no way in hell we're letting him go."
Edwards didn't miss the way Murphy swayed on his feet or how he kept a protective armed curled around his injured ribs. "Look at you, you can hardly stand, let alone go wandering through a prison full of riotous inmates who all want you dead." He noticed the determined set of the man's clenched jaw and softened his approach. "Please, come with me, I can help you."
Connor gave his head a shake. "You've helped us enough, and we appreciate what you've done, but there is no force on this Earth that is going to keep us from finishing this now."
The young guard looked back and forth between the two brothers before relenting with a sigh. "Fine. I guess I'll just have to go with you then."
Murphy exchanged a glance with his twin. "That's not smart. You should take Officer Jones here, and try to find a way out. Guards are going to be targeted just as much as we are and it's not safe."
Edwards shrugged as he checked the ammo left in his clip. "I'm aware of that. I ditched my uniform for a reason. I'll be able to blend in better than you two will." Slamming the clip back into the gun, he stared hard at the brothers, daring them to argue.
"You can't go with them."
All three men turned to stare at officer Jones who was walking up to the group, rubbing the stiffness out of his arms and shoulders. "You've already broken protocol coming in here like this, you'll be lucky if you still have a job after tonight. If you want to salvage what is left of your career, then you need to fall back to the perimeter of the facility with me."
Edwards opened his mouth to argue but Jones cut him off. "I realize I am in no position to tell these two men what to do, but when we restore order to this prison, they will be held accountable for any crimes they may have committed during this riot, as will you if you go through with this. Don't throw your life away like this, Edwards."
Edwards felt a stab of anger at the man's calloused words and for once he didn't back down to his superior officer. "I saved your life! Hell, they saved your life! If I had followed protocol you would be dead right now, and all you can do is threaten to fire me?" The young man took a deep breath and calmed himself down before continuing in a quieter voice. "I'm going with them. If you have to fire me, then I think I can live with that."
Jones was taken aback by the outburst and he stood and stared for a moment before shaking his head and walking away, muttering something about dumb kid and stupid mistake.
Edwards watched as Jones made his way to the back exit and slipped quietly through the door before turning back to the brothers, raising an eyebrow in question. "Shall we?"
Connor gave a sigh and shook his head at the young man's stubbornness. "Aye, you've obviously made your decision. I'm not going to waste anymore time trying to talk you out of it."
Turning back to Murphy who was still supporting himself on his shoulder, Connor's expression turned serious. His twin seemed to be laboring for every breath and it was only getting worse the more he moved around.
Murphy, aware of his brother's careful scrutiny, released his grip and pushed away from him, attempting to stand on his own. "Don't fucking look at me like that, Connor, you've got worry written all over you're fucking face. I'm gonna be fine, let's do this."
Connor wasn't going to let him off that easily. "At least let me have a look at you."
Murphy shook his head and started for the door again. "We don't have time for this shit, I'm fucking fine." The statement was followed by a series of forceful coughs that made him double over, clutching his chest.
"Oh aye, obviously, Macho Murph." He rolled his eyes as he stepped back up to his brother's side and grabbed him by the elbow. "You're not going anywhere till you let me see."
Murphy straightened back up and glared at him for a moment before relenting with an annoyed sigh. With shaking fingers he began unbuttoning the front of his prison uniform. "Whatever you say, Ma."
Normally such a statement would have earned his twin a smack upside the head, but Connor restrained himself and waited patiently for Murphy to finish fumbling with his buttons. Once the shirt was hanging loose, he pulled it back to get a better look.
"Jesus." The word came out a mere whisper as he took in the deep purple-black bruise that covered the entire length of his brother's ribs.
Edwards had been standing back, giving the brother's their space, but when he caught sight of the injury, he sucked in his breath and stepped up to assist. Placing a hand on Connor's arm he shot Murphy a questioning glance. "May I?"
Murphy considered him a moment before nodding and Connor backed away, allowing the young man access to his brother.
Very gently, Edwards reached a hand out and ran his fingertips along the bruise; applying soft pressure he tested each bone for breaks. Murphy groaned and bit his lip in response to the light touch on one of the offending ribs and Edwards withdrew his hand.
"I counted at least two broken ribs, possibly more. They're most likely jabbing inward, putting pressure on your lung, which is why you are having trouble breathing. That cough could be a possible sign of a puncture, but without any kind of medical equipment it's impossible to know."
Connor stepped around to Murphy's other side and cocked an eyebrow. "So what, you're a doctor now as well as a prison guard?"
Edwards gave a small smile. "No, not a doctor; I was training to be an EMT before I decided to make a career change."
"Interesting career change." Connor eyed the young man who just shrugged and turned his focus back to Murphy.
"Lung injuries are nothing to mess around with, especially since we don't know the extent of the injury. Any further damage could result in serious complications."
Murphy nodded in understanding as he buttoned his shirt back up and turned to his brother. "There you got to see it, happy now?"
Connor wasn't as willing to brush off the seriousness of the injury as his brother was and he frowned. "Not exactly. Murph…" he hesitated knowing how his brother would react to his next words, "maybe, you should wait here, or perhaps you and Edwards should both go ahead and find a way out of here. I'll be along as soon as it's done."
Murphy laughed once in disbelief before turning angry. "You're off your fucking nut if you think I'm going to let you do this alone!"
Connor held up his hands, fending off his brother's temper, he didn't want this to turn into a fight. "Please, Murphy, you can't breathe and you can barely stay upright. This may come down to a fight and you're not in any kind of shape for that."
Murphy shoved his twin away from him with as much force as he could muster. "Then don't make me waste any of my energy kicking your fucking ass for making such a stupid suggestion!"
In response to being pushed, Connor grabbed Murphy by the front of his shirt and pulled him close, his frustration getting the better of him. "Fuck you, Murphy, I'm just trying to fucking look out for you since you seem to lack the common sense to do the job yourself!"
"Hey! This isn't going to help anything." The sound of Edwards' voice caused both brothers to stop and look over at the young guard, who was coming to step in between the two men. "As foolish as it seems, I agree with him on this," he gestured to Murphy with a nod. "Neither of you are in very good shape and splitting up is not the right choice. I won't be leaving here unless it's with both of you, so if hunting Maddox down is the course you feel you must take, I understand that, but we'll do it together."
Connor released his brother's shirt and walked away shaking his head. "What 'the fuck' ever."
Edwards turned to Murphy and reaching behind his back, he pulled a second glock from his waistband. "Here, you'll want this."
With a grin, Murphy accepted the proffered weapon, his fingers automatically checking it over, making sure it was ready to go. It felt good to go through the motions and feel the familiar weight of a gun in his hand. He nodded a quick thanks to the young man before walking over to where Connor was waiting for them by the door.
Murphy could feel the waves of distress radiating off his brother and he knew he needed to do something to relieve the tension between them. Throwing his arm around his twin's shoulders he pulled him in close.
"We're going to find that motherfucker, and we're going to kill him, along with anyone else who stands in our way. But we're going to do it the way we always have, together."
Connor glanced at his brother out of the corner of his eye and gave a small half smile. "Aye, together, since you're too stubborn to listen to reason." He looked back as Edwards stepped up behind them and he gave Murphy a pat on the shoulder. "All right then, let's do this."
Chapter revised 10/19/17
