Nicholas: Connor gets to come home finally. I hope you're all happy. You have no idea what I would've done to him. My friend Helena thought I should've made Coccotti ass rape him, but my other friend Amanda begged me not to let that happen...Amanda always wins. I'm very easily manipulated. Oh well...By the way, this isn't the end of the story. There's still quite a bit to go, so don't get the wrong ideas.
Connor hadn't heard the phone call, but he knew Murphy was on the other side of it. He really wished he could've talked to him. He needed some comfort after all this pain and torment. His entire body was officially in complete agony. To add to that, his heart ached like nothing else. He missed his brother, his rat, his Ma and Da, and above all else: he absolutely hated Vincenzo Coccotti.
"Come on, Mick," Vincenzo said as he returned at length. "You want to see your brother?" He set to work getting the duct tape off Connor, but didn't bother with the hand cuffs. Soon Danny came back and helped get Connor on his feet.
At the back of his mind, the only thing Connor could think about was that Alexandria was probably dead. He didn't have anything left in him to try and struggle, so he just let them drag him out of the room. It didn't quite register in his mind what was going on, but whatever it was, he hoped it ended well.
It may have been anywhere from when he felt the cold of the outside air hit his skin, to seeing Joey waiting by a car, even to when he was stuffed in the trunk, at some point in this venture, he lost consciousness. It was probably from blood loss.
Murphy didn't say a word when they left Mary's apartment the second time that day. He decided to drive, most likely to take him mind of the gravity of the situation. Mary didn't try and cheer him up. Something about the way he looked at the moment told her that he would snap. She was currently holding a gun he'd loaded before they left. "You aren't really going to kill anyone, are you?" she had asked, but he didn't bother answering.
The tension in that truck was so much that Mary had to open the window a little to get some air. She glanced at Murphy every now and then, to see if he was still fuming, but she could no longer tell. His eyes were emotionless, and everything about him could be mistaken for boredom.
They drove for maybe a half an hour before Murphy stopped outside some rundown warehouse in what looked like the most ghetto part of Michigan. He didn't get out right away. Neither of them even moved for a long time after the engine shut off. Finally Mary had to say something.
"I'm sure he's okay," she said.
Murphy looked up at her for a long moment. When he smiled, it was real. For the first time, she'd seen him really smile and for that moment, she felt completely at ease. Then he took the gun from her, shouldered his black bag and opened the driver side door. "Stay here." And then he was gone.
The trunk was actually felt like the most comfortable thing Connor had ever woken up in. He could not possibly know how long the drive was, but he was stiff by the time it ended. The trunk opened and a wave of freezing, cold air hit him like a hammer. Just as he was recovering from it, someone grabbed him and pulled him up. He managed to hit the ground awkwardly on his head for a moment before whoever had him took the time to get him to his feet.
Connor couldn't put weight on his right leg because that bullet was probably still lodged in his thigh. He limped unsteadily, leaning against who he now identified as Joey. There were two more people waiting in the dark warehouse along with Vincenzo and Danny. He didn't like the look of things. He was pulled along to a far wall and forced painfully to his knees. Joey put a gun against his head and told him to keep quiet.
A few minutes passed before Connor realized that these guys were waiting for something. A flame of hope flickered to life him his mind. If they were going to kill him they would have done it already. Maybe Murphy was coming…
The dark vastness of the empty warehouse was frightening—more so than the basement he'd become accustomed to. He closed his eyes and ignored the feeling of a gun against the back of his skull. He saw the image of the rosary again, and as it appeared, Connor heard a loud, echoing clang from somewhere in the building. His eyes opened involuntarily.
He couldn't stand this cold much longer, and the strain on his knees was starting to make his back hurt very bad. He twisted awkwardly to try and look around, but aside from the wounds on his chest screaming "HELL NO!!!" Joey kicked him in the side to keep him still.
Connor clenched his eyes shut against the pain; his head began to pound viciously. He could feel a warm, liquid-like feeling on his chest and knew he was bleeding again. His head swam, but he still tried to open his eyes.
He saw a person at the far end of the warehouse. As he approached, Connor saw his face. "Murphy," he muttered. Joey slammed the gun on Connor's head. Connor fell forward.
Murphy held his gun haphazardly, and slung the bag higher on his shoulder. He glared at the group of people across the room. A figure hidden in the darkness caught his attention as it fell to the floor. He could just make out who it was in the darkness. It was Connor. Under any other situation, Murphy would have ran up and held his twin and comforted him, but this was different. He showed no emotion because Coccotti wanted him to. Coccotti wanted him to break down at the sight of his brother in pain, but that wouldn't happen. He looked back at the main group of people under a fluorescent light.
"So you showed up." The man who stepped forward and spoke was Vincenzo. Murphy could tell by the smug, arrogant air the man possessed. "Your brother is alive, as promised. Where's my merchandise?"
Murphy held up the bag and his gun. "I want to see Connor," he said coolly.
"Put the gun in the bag," Vincenzo demanded. Some one behind him drew a pistol and cocked it with a resounding click. Murphy considered the repercussions of trying to shoo every man in here. Was it worth a shot? "Do it."
Murphy decided against it. He was risking a lot just by bringing a gun at all. Right now his main priority was getting his brother back. He took the cartridge out of the gun and placed both in the bag. "Where's me brother?" There was a bit of shuffling of people in and out of the light. A kid—who looked like he definitely did not belong with criminals—moved into the darkness and returned a few moments later supporting Connor's limp form. Murphy glared at the recognizable face of the man helping the kid.
Vincenzo didn't even look back at Connor at all. He kept his eyes trained on Murphy. "Mutual trade. You give me what I want, and I'll return the favor."
"I want to be out of this building with Connor before anyone even attempts to open this bag. Agreed?" Murphy wondered how far he could push this. He looked at Connor and noticed that he was unconscious. He set the bag down.
Joseph pulled Connor along heavily, though the kid next to him looked just as burdened. Murphy tried not to be distracted by the bruises or wounds he could see on Connor's exposed skin. He walked forward carefully and met Joseph and the kid in the middle of the room.
Murphy noticed a slight smirk on Joseph's face and it was all he could do to keep from socking him. Connor was shoved against Murphy and the kid took a pair of keys out of his pocket and undid the handcuffs on Connor's wrists. "Take him and get out of here," Joseph said, "and tell Mary I said hi."
"Fuck ye," Murphy hissed dangerously. He hoisted Connor up and put his arm over his shoulder keep him up. Everything went smoothly from that point on. Murphy made it out to the car without a hitch and Mary got out to help him.
"Do you want me to drive?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly. He could tell she was trying not to look at Connor.
"Nah, just hold him, alright?" Murphy had her sit in the middle seat and pushed Connor in next to her. He was obviously trying to move fast. He shut the door loudly and practically ran to the other side of the car and got in. "We have to go now."
"What's wrong?" Mary kept an arm around Connor to keep him sitting upright. "Are you okay?"
"That wasn't the heroin," he said, trying to start the car. "That was your powdered sugar."
Mary was speechless for a moment until the truck engine finally started.