Thanks again for all the patience,subscriptions, reviews, and support! You guys are great! Bit of a recap/re-quoting from a previous chapter with Murph and Connor's perspective.

Chapter Eleven: The Plan

Rose had been sitting in an empty apartment for the last hour. A cup of cold coffee remained untouched on the counter and she folded her hands neatly on her lap, thinking. Her brothers were notorious for disappearing without warning but this time felt different. She scolded herself. Even their mother knew well enough to give the boys freedom when they needed it. Then again, Ma didn't really have a choice.

She forced herself to stop obsessing. The schoolwork she had remaining sat as a painful reminder of neglected responsibility. Pulling it over she decided Connor and Murphy would have to wait. She was lucky enough that she hadn't suffered any severe penalties despite having missed over a week of school. She could hardly remember when all the craziness began. It seemed to have all gone by so fast and taken so far she had shirked every other responsibility she had. Her mind flashed to Doc and she wrote herself a note to call him whenever she found her way through the pile.

"It don't feel right." Murphy grumbled to his twin as they crossed the empty streets.

Connor ignored him.

"Are you listenin' ta me? We just bailed on our own flesh and blood." He tried to control his voice.

Silence save for a minor throat clearing.

"fuck you."

Murphy had known from the moment he saw the look on Connor's face that morning they'd leave Rose behind. It upset him and yet he knew she'd be safer this way. They all would. He grit his teeth and kept silent. They wandered for a while, both unsure of where to stop. The sun was beginning to rise and a gradual whir of traffic filled the streets.

"Fitch." Connor's voice deepened.

"Are ya fuckin' crazy, man?"

"Have ya got any better fuckin' ideas?"

"Doc, ah, maybe Da' for Christ's sake. T'ot you might have another brilliant 'plan' lined up."

"Shut it, c'mon."

The boys found Fitch hunched over his workbench whistling to himself. When he turned to face them a mischievous grin was on his face.

"So it was you two, ah? Should've known the MacManus boys were up to no good again."

The twins looked at each other. Their distaste for the man slightly irked.

"Don't worry, I'm on yer side. You've got quite the followin'."

"Listen, Shaemus." Murphy said earnestly. "We need a place to lay low for a while. Our place was trashed and Rosie…"

Shaemus' eyes brightened at the name.

"We really don't want to be gettin' her involved in all this shit." Connor finished.

"Understood." He stood up and lead them to a curtain. Beyond it, a back room stacked with boxes upon boxes of bullets. "Y'er welcome to stay for a while at least."

"We've got some business to attend to first and we'll be out of your hair. Thanks man." Murphy pat him on the shoulder and curled up on a clear spot of the concrete.

"Listen boys, I've got a customer comin' in real soon, so I'd keep yourselves hidden." Shaemus nodded at them, shut the door, and yanked the curtain over.

Several minutes later two sets of footsteps echoed through the small hallway. Muffled voices muttered back and forth. Connor and Murphy's heads were to the door trying to overhear anything of importance.

"You sure we can trust this asshole?" Murphy said concentrating.

"Doesn't appear we have a choice, now does it?"

"You can cut the high and mighty bullshit, alright? It was your series of stupid fuckin' plans that got us into this mess."

"Don't you fuckin' start with me now Murph, not now."

"You're a fuckin' retard, have I told ya that lately?"

Amidst their argument the conversation beyond the door had grown heated. The customer was growing suspicious and began making his way toward the hidden room. Connor and Murphy instinctively flew to either side of the door. They didn't have a weapon but they'd pull him in and grapple him until they did.

As the curtain was pulled the voices grew clearer, both strong with Irish accent. The boys glanced at each other and as the door swung open an old man with a cigar poking out from behind a gray beard strode in.

"You two keep bickerin' like that an' you're sure to get yarselves killed." His voice was calm and commanding. He glared at his sons.

Connor and Murphy exchanged a heated look and emerged from their hiding spots, tails between their legs. Noah exhaled and motioned for the boys to follow him. Shaemus returned to his bench, labouring over a large shotgun of sorts. Noah encouraged them to sit and took a slow puff of his cigar. Before he could say a word Connor cut in:

"How far are we gonna take this Da'?"

"The question is not of how far... The question is, do you possess the constitution and the depth of faith to go as far is as needed…"

"Well I'd say we've sent a pretty clear fuckin' message don't you?" Murphy grumbled kicking his feet up on the small coffee table.

"Aye, but ya never leave a job unfinished boy."

Connor lowered his voice, "What about Fitch?"

"Shaemus is a good lad, he might deal with the wrong crowd but he's a good man and hails from a good family. You both know that." Noah inhaled another puff. "B'sides, you two are comin' with me anyway. 'Only reason I came here was to find out where you two've been hiding."

"Rose put us up for the night." Murphy said conscience-ridden.

Noah looked at his son watched as the pain surfaced and subsided on his face as he spoke. He felt ashamed of himself that he couldn't know the depth of the sibling relationship between his children. Ashamed that after finishing off Yakavetta he would never know his daughter. He knew well enough that Murphy didn't want to leave her. That part of his son was terrified that the mob would come after her in retaliation… If they knew.

"It's for the best son." He said finally. "You can't protect her forever."

Murphy didn't look at his father; instead he let his eyes wander awkwardly.

"Now, I think we've spent enough of Shaemus' time. Meet me at my flat; 22 Addison Street, take different streets and we'll discuss what we're going to do with Yakavetta."

Noah left first, followed shortly after by Connor. Murphy remained seated debating whether or not the leap of faith was worth abandoning the only thing he ever felt was worth protecting. He swallowed his pride and took a seat beside Shaemus as he tinkered with a silencer.

"I need to ask ya a favour."

"Aye."

"Shit might get heavy… Can ya just – can ya watch over my sister?"

A stunned look crossed Shaemus' handsome features.

"Like she were me very own."

"And I don't mean fuckin' hittin' on her every four minutes. I mean, look out for her like Connor or I would… I dunno what's going to happen."

"Yeh got it man." He extending his hand and before Murphy could hesitate, grabbed his and shook it firmly.

As he walked along Addison Street, Murphy couldn't help but remember what Shaemus and his siblings were like back home. They had gotten along well as kids, more often than not picking on Rose until she'd leave them alone. After all it wasn't 'cool' to have a freckled, pigtailed little sister follow them around.

As they got older and Rose began to mature, the boys in town had started to take notice. As a teenager Shaemus knew he was handsome and was adored by all the girls – all except Rose. From what the boys had gathered she thought Shaemus to be foppish and arrogant. Yet, Connor and Murphy would hear of Shaemus' sexual triumphs and laugh. How foolish those girls had been to fall for a man like Shaemus Fitch.

As Shaemus slowly started developing a keen interest in Rose, the boys began watching him more closely. It wasn't as though they didn't trust her judgment but rather that Shaemus didn't get carried away. Despite warnings from them Shaemus continued to chase Rose. She laughed at him on occasion, but more often than not found herself slamming the door in his face whenever he'd come around. Then, the night before Rose was to leave for America, Murphy found Rose and Shaemus talking. He had been afraid she had cracked and Connor was ready to throttle him then and there. Instead, they ended up listening:

"What are you doin' here?" She whispered angrily.

"Had ta see ya before ya go." He smiled and touched her knee.

"Piss off."

"Rosie, please." His eyes pleaded for attention. "Just one?"

"No Shaemus. I told you already." Angry tears pricked her eyes.

"It's only for a few years love and I'll wait for you."

If not for Rose being directly related to them, the boys would have came out cackling at "Lady Killer Fitch" getting shut down. Instead they grew angry. The sly bastard had targeted their sister. It seemed even when she was sure she was alone, Rose kept her guard up. Murphy could tell by the way they looked at each other that there had been a spark. He had missed something.

Murphy ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. As much as he hated to admit it, Connor was right; there were bigger things to worry about. He felt a pang of guilt for wanting to watch her so closely. She'd probably bitch about it anyway. His thoughts drifted to Rocco and a steady rage replaced his familial concern. Yakavetta would come first and he would pay for every life he stole, including that of Murphy and Connor's.

As Murphy went to knock on the door he could already hear Connor's voice.

"Dere was this new report about Yakavetta's trial. What about that? We get in and send him home."

Noah opened the door for his son. "Could work. Lots of security to get by, chances of us gettin' in are slim, gettin' out – suicidal."

"Aye." Murphy said. "But, we've got some friends on the inside."

"Y'think Smecker would go for tha?"

"Can't see why not." Murphy grinned darkly. "He hates that asshole more than we do."